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Thursday, August 09, 2001

By Chris Dolack, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

After the first round of practice for the Miller Lite 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year, there was little doubt about who would win the race.

Team Penske drivers Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves had the field covered in their Honda-powered Reynards. Juan Montoya, a threat to win each week last year while driving for Chip Ganassi, drove off the course just trying to keep up with the Penske drivers.

By the time the checkered flag waved, Castroneves led de Ferran, the eventual series champion, across the finish line for a Penske sweep.

Team Rahal's Kenny Brack, in his first CART race at Mid-Ohio, finished fifth without much fanfare. Brack, 35, didn't win a race last year but was fourth in the final standings and was the circuit's rookie of the year.

As the series returns to Mid-Ohio, about an hour north of Columbus, this weekend, Brack has three victories and a 22-point lead on Castroneves in the standings. He is clearly the driver to beat with nine races remaining despite his subpar finishes after strong qualifying efforts on road and streets circuits earlier this season.

"We have had the majority of our points from oval racing," Brack said. "We have been competitive on the road and street courses, too, it's just that we haven't been able to get to the finish line in a lot of them because of various mechanical problems."

But despite his success, which includes winning the 1998 Indy Racing League crown and the 1999 Indianapolis 500, Brack still is relatively unheralded for a veteran driver with his credentials.

"I never had a manager running around the paddock, telling team bosses how great I am as a race driver," said Brack, who competed in various European series for much of his career. "I guess I never found one that I thought could do a good job for me. I had to do everything on my own, finding sponsors and stuff like that. It really wasn't until I came to the United States when I won the 500 that I got a lot of publicity, and maybe that helped a little bit.

"I wouldn't change anything for the world in my career."

One thing Brack, a native of Sweden, might like to change is the hot and humid weather, which is expected to continue through the drop of the green flag at noon Sunday at a place he called "the most physically demanding track on our schedule."

"The heat is going to really be a factor," Brack said. "It's been like 95 to 100 degrees here in Columbus. That's real grueling."

So tough, in fact, that Brack and the other drivers must find ways to beat the heat for the expected two-hour duration of the race.

"We do have water in the car," he said. "It's not enough to keep you hydrated. You have to drink a lot before the race. Then you add some during the race, then you drink about a gallon or a gallon and a half after the race just to try to reset the loss of your fluid. I mean, it's a tremendous loss of fluid during a race."

Brack, though, is determined not to let the heat stall his race to the biggest championship of his career.