Andretti

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Last is not in Michael Andretti's vocabulary, but that's exactly where he will be for the start of Sunday's Bridgestone Brand Prix of Monterey.

The 42-time winner, including this year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, will start 19th in a field of 19 after a frustrating second day of qualifying on Saturday.

''I can honestly say that this is not one of my most memorable days at Laguna Seca,'' Andretti said. ''Of course, Max did start last here last year and won, so you never know what can happen.''

Max Papis set a CART road course record and tied the overall record by coming from 25th to win the Monterey race last year.

Andretti said the car never made it back after a gearbox problem in the morning practice round.

''Right now the car is not handling very well, and we really need to do some work tonight and get the race car much better for tomorrow.''

Team general manager Kim Green said the gearbox problem lost the team valuable track time.

''Our goal tomorrow will be to take as many championship points as possible from this weekend, because in the end, the championship is what matters most. We'll take all that we have learned with the Lola chassis this weekend and look forward to having a much better qualifying car in Portland.''

Driver's education
Chris Pook, president of Championship Auto Racing Teams, admits that the circuit was too slow in recognizing the importance of developing young drivers, particularly those from the United States.

Pook made the comment at a news conference where the eight scholarship winners in the Skip Barber Racing School were introduced. Some of those drivers will advance to the Barber Dodge Pro Series, the first level of CART's ladder system for developing drivers.

''We're tardy in the United States in jumping on Skip's concept of bringing in new drivers, but we're now embracing it,'' Pook said. ''CART believes in it and we're going to go for it.''

Only three of the 19 drivers at CART's Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey are from the United States. Three are from Canada.

The Barber Dodge series and the level up from it, the Toyota Atlantic Series, need to be promoted heavily so racing fans can learn about the best up-and-coming drivers, Pook said. Sponsors need to get behind the young drivers to help them make their way through the increasingly high costs of the sport as they advance to higher levels, Pook said.

''What's happened is the sanctioning body has not created the right environment for the youngster to come through the system,'' he said, ''and have the availability to either get into a completely funded team or the ability to put him together with a sponsor that can put him into a team.

''We've been shown up pretty well by our neighbors to the south, particularly the Brazilians who have the ability to get supported by Brazilian corporation and come into the series heavily funded,'' Pook said, ''and they get into one of our high-profile seats.''

The scholarship drivers include two from Brazil, one from Canada and six from the United States.

Fuel rules
The fuel strategy that enabled Max Papis to win last year's Grand Prix of Monterey race is no longer allowed under CART rules.

''I think that's one of the major reasons they changed it,'' Papis said.

A change this year requires pit stops at a maximum lap interval, which is calculated based on a formula determined by CART. The stated goal is to eliminate fuel mileage runs and have every competitor running as hard as he can on every lap.

Last year at Laguna Seca, while the rest of the contenders made two pit stops, Papis visited the lane five times as he worked his way toward the front. The early leaders all pitted during a caution period on lap 50 of the race, but Papis stayed on the track and moved into contention.

Back again
Next year's Grand Prix of Monterey again will be held in June. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca announced its 2003 schedule on Saturday, and said the CART race will be held on an unspecified June date.

The race was switched to June this year from its traditional October date, and raceway officials said that took some race fans by surprise. Next year's race will return to network television, on CBS.

The 2003 schedule was announced far earlier than usual, and includes the only North American appearance of the World Superbike Championship, the Honda International Superbike Classic July 11-13. The American Le Mans Series will hold its race Sept. 5-7. It will be televised by NBC.

The 30th annual Rolex Monterey Historic Aubomobile Races will be held Aug. 15-17.

The 2003 season will close with the U.S. Sports Car Invitational on Oct. 3-5.