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| June 30, 2002 – Jonathan Macri 7th at Chicago Chicago appears to hold a fair amount of psychological weight as it brings to a close the first part of the 2002 CART Toyota Atlantic season and simultaneously gives way to the second half. If the weather was any measure of the intensity on track, it was high, heavy and hot. The Chicago sun hovered mercilessly, pushing temperatures upwards to as high as 92 degrees F. For the 6th leg of the 12-race series and the 2nd of two races on an oval this year, Milwaukee being the other, the open-wheel racing drama kept building at Chicago’s Motor Speedway. Some drivers, such as Michael Valiante (Lynx Racing) and Jon Fogarty (Dorricott Racing) raced for the Championship lead. Valiante came out ahead with 73 points as compared to Fogarty’s 61 after Chicago. Other drivers, however, had their eyes focused squarely on accumulating points - as many of them as possible. P-1 Racing’s Jonathan Macri was one, who after stepping onto the podium two times in the last three races, now hungered for the top prize. But Chicago did not register or grant Macri his wish. After starting the weekend, placing 3rd in the Friday Practice Session and 6th in the Saturday Practice Session, he fell back to 10th position in Qualifying. The team laboured to find the right set-up but found itself over a half second behind Ryan Hunter-Reay’s time. From a 10th place start, the Gormley, Ontario native pounced on the competition and gained two spots. His NTN Bearings/Miller Genuine Draft/ Battlefield Rentals Swift was quicker compared to his qualifying car, as evidenced by Macri’s posting of the 4th fastest lap of the race. However, the one-mile Chicago oval seemed to disappoint. Passing was not quite as easy as many drivers expected it to be. Macri would find himself duelling for 8th, 9th and 10th place for the entirety of the race, his break to come to the fore just two laps to the end of the race, when he caught the 8th and 7th place drivers who were themselves being held up by back markers. Macri did not hesitate and raced ahead to claim 8th and then 7th, where he would finish the race. “The weekend ended pretty well,” Jonathan said. Tenth isn’t where you want to qualify and as drivers learned very quickly, Chicago Motor Speedway is not an easy track to pass on. We improved lap times. No doubt, it’s a tough go when you start in the mid-pack. But things turned out well overall. We walked away with some good points and the car is in one piece. This is important because we’ve got Toronto to look forward to next week and the last thing we want is a car in need of extensive repair. Obviously, we were looking to do a lot better here but we’ve done O.K in all. I’ve moved up to 8th place in the Standings. Some patience and we should be back in front at Toronto.” As the 6th leg of the season draws to a close, Jonathan finds himself with a healthy, competitive outlook. Sitting 8th in the Standings with 47 points puts him 26 points behind leader Michael Valiante and only 14 points shy of second place Jon Fogarty. Chicago may well have proven to be a pivotal race for Valiante who reclaimed the Championship lead, but for others like Macri, Chicago was a chance to maintain the order, to solidify his position. Some progress was made in the Standings; however, more importantly, Jonathan gained the psychological advantage of ending the 6th and final race of the first half of the season in good stead. The next six races should see Macri vying for wins and podium positions. Once again, it would seem that Chicago has resolved little by way of the Championship dominance by any one driver. Valiante’s lead is all but tenable with only 12 points separating himself and Jon Fogarty and Fogarty’s 2nd place in the Standings is by no means safe with only 14 points separating him from Jonathan in 8th. The 2002 Championship is far from over. It has been marked and continues to be marked by exceptionally high levels of competition. Macri, no doubt, is still in the hunt. Hylton Motorsports’ Ryan Runter-Reay and Roger Yasukawa came first and second, respectively. Michael Valiante came third for Lynx Racing followed by Jon Fogarty (Dorricott Racing) and Waldemar Coronas for Squadra Fortia. Race Report by Fedele Fortino |
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