
Round Ten: Marlboro 500 at Michigan * Nigel Mansell set a new track record alongside Raul Boesel and and Michael Andretti in a three-abreast start. At the start-finish line on Lap 24, third place runner Robby Gordon burst a right front tyre. Seemingly by instinct he gradually slowed the car under the yellow, never touching the wall, and was able to continue undamaged. Soon after polesitter Mansell suffered a stuck throttle, and described to ESPN's Jon Beekhuis, "That's the scariest moment I've had in my whole career." Not a fun problem to have at 240 miles per hour (390 km/h). No fun for Adrian Fernandez on Lap 65 when he lept from his racecar (like Rick Mears at Indy in 1981) as methanol spilled during a routine pit stop. A moment later Michael Andretti jammed the brakes to avoid Paul Tracy and caught the wall, ruining the suspension. On Lap 78 rookie Jacques Villeneuve suddenly pushed up the banking into the wall in Turn 3, walking away unharmed. o The lead pack included the Penske cars of Unser and Fittipaldi, Raul Boesel, Scott Goodyear, and Robby Gordon, who recovered from his flat tyre. Just short of halfway, Mario Andretti's engine failure made him the 11th retiree of the day. Inside of 70 laps remaining, Gordon's engine blew in the middle of Turns 3 and 4. He maintained control of the car for several seconds on the banking, but the new oil on the track took away his traction and sent him into a 270-degree spin entering the pitlane. He never completed the spin, and <b>...</b>
1994
NIGEL
MANSELL
MICHIGAN
INDYCAR
GRAND
PRIX
(FASTEST
LAP
EVER)
Raul
Boesel
Michael
Andretti
new
track
record
Marlboro
500
Jon
Beekhuis
Paul
Tracy
rookie
Jacques
Villeneuve
methanol
fire
pit
stop
Ford
XB
engine
Al
Unser
Jr
Fittipaldi
champ
car
indy
Penske
Willy
T.
Ribbs
Marco
Greco
james
allen
world