Document text
--> --> Brack is finally a name in CART By The Associated Press Now that Kenny Brack has broken into the victory column in CART, he looks like a solid bet to win any race. For more than a season, it seemed as if the former champion of the rival Indy Racing League couldn't buy a CART victory. Although he came close a number of times as the top rookie in the Champ car series, Brack went 20 races without a win in 2000. The 35-year-old Swede went through the first three races this season without reaching Victory Lane, although he did finish second again in Nazareth, Pa. To finally get that first CART win, Brack had to travel halfway around the world - earning a victory last month in Motegi, Japan. Last Sunday, in Milwaukee, he did it again, making it two in a row. "Winning the first one was a relief because we have been so close so many times," said Brack, who really had the look of a winner in the final race last year in Fontana, Calif. "We were leading the most laps, dicing for the lead when we had a mechanical problem. "We had other situations last year where we were really competitive and running up front, and always something happens. Then, this year, we started with two poles and four front-row starts, and in Nazareth we were clearly the class of the field." In a car so good, "It was like taking candy from kids," he wound up second because a superior pit-stop strategy worked out for rookie Scott Dixon. Brack charged from 10th to second at the end of the Lehigh Valley Grand Prix. So, after so many close calls, nobody was surprised when Brack gave Team Rahal its first victory since Max Papis won last year's season-opener. Now, though, it appears Brack has turned into a monster for the rest of the series. After five races, Brack has taken the points lead, 70-47, over Helio Castroneves. "Winning has taken a big weight from my shoulders," Brack said. "I am very happy about that for myself, but also for the whole Team Rahal team because they have worked very hard to get this result." Despite being weaned on road courses in Europe, all of Brack's victories in American open-wheel racing - four in the IRL, including the 1999 Indianapolis 500, and the two in CART - have been on ovals. "I think oval racing is very difficult to learn at first because of the high speeds," he said. "It's a shocking experience." His first time driving on an American track was on the one-mile Phoenix oval in 1997 during a test with the IRL's Galles Racing team. "Being from Europe, we didn't think much of the ovals because it's only a couple of turns," Brack said, laughing. "You don't realize how fast you've got to go to be competitive between two concrete walls." Brack called that first experience with ovals intimidating. "The good drivers get over it and get on with the program," he said. "The ones who don't, well, you know, they get that written all over their faces." Bobby Rahal, who hired Brack away from the IRL, he never doubted that the Swede would eventually win - and win big - in CART. "The thing about Kenny is, he is very, very focused on racing and winning," Rahal said. "That comes through to the whole team. He motivates everybody around him to work even harder than they already are working. "When I went after Kenny, I believed he had the ability to win championships. I haven't changed my mind." To take the title in the ultracompetitive CART series, Brack will have to show he also can be competitive on the road and street courses. The next four races, starting in Detroit on June 17, are off the ovals. Brack knows what's needed. "We have to improve," he said. "That's the name of the game. We have got to stay focused. We can't relax just because we won a couple of races. We need this positive energy." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing