A full month has passed since the last CART Toyota Atlantic Race in Vancouver. It was here that the Championship was decided. Hoover Orsi, racing for Hylton Motorsports, laid claim to the grand Atlantic prize. Another award, the Rookie of the Year, however, remains to be captured. Granted, Joey Hand would seem the natural shoe-in for the award, having won his first race in his rookie season in Vancouver for DSTP. Even Jonathan Macri would agree that his own chances were significantly diminished after a mechanical problem put him out of the race, consequently pushing him farther away from rookie contention - a distance of 22 points. However, that there is a shot, albeit a long shot, Jonathan is upbeat about the final two races.
“We’ve done some really good preparatory work the past two weeks,” Jonathan said. I had two test dates at Laguna Seca with Skip Barber, driving a Formula Dodge just to get some on-track experience for the Monterey Grand Prix. My next stop was Buttonwillow. We did a couple days of testing there with the team. It went really well. We discovered a lot about the car that will help us to be really competitive at Houston and Laguna. We should be in good shape for Houston. It’s a street course, which I like, and so I think that the quicker I can learn the track, the more time we’ll have to spend on the set-up. Usually on street courses, teams have to deal with handling problems. Qualifying will obviously be important since the track doesn’t allow for too much passing. It’s slow and bumpy, with a few sharp turns. The only real passing opportunity is on the straight. I think team P 1-Racing/NTN Bearings have done an excellent job in preparing the car and I’m looking forward to being really competitive in Houston.”
With only two races left in the 2001 Atlantic season, and a full 22 points behind Rookie of the Year challenger Joey Hand, Jonathan is in tough. Mathematically, however, Jonathan is still in the hunt. After all, as Jonathan puts it, “this is racing. One day you’re a couple points away from leading the rookie race, the next day, you're trailing by 22 points. Houston will be another race. Hopefully, things will swing my way. The best you can do at the end of the day is to give it 100%.” |
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