Round 1 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami
Circuit: Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex
Circuit Type: 1.5 mile oval
Laps: 134
Location: Homestead, USA
Official website: Race Miami
Date: March 21, 1999

Greg Moore finally won the Miami GP after performing well in the 1998 race. Michael Andretti was in contention until he stalled in the pits during a fuel stop.

Notables: Al Unser Jr. and Naoki Hattori both suffered injuries due to a crash on the first lap of the race, both drivers will be out for several races. A lack of confidence with the new Swifts causes Patrick Racing and Team Gordon to swith to Reynard 98Is. Shigeaki Hattori suffered a mild concussion during practice and was forced to sit out the race.

1 2 3
Greg Moore Michael Andretti Dario Franchitti
Forsythe Racing Newman/Haas Racing Team Green
Reynard 99I-Mercedes-Benz IC108E Swift 010.c-Ford XD Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 2 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Firestone Firehawk 500
Circuit: Twin Ring Motegi
Circuit Type: 1.549 mile oval
Laps: 194
Location: Motegi, Nippon
Official website: Twin Ring Motegi
Date: April 10, 1999

A dramatic start to the race occured when polesitter, Gil de Ferran, spun on cold tires approaching the first turn. The spinning Reynard-Honda incredibly missed all the other cars and the walls. Since the yellow was immediately waved, de Ferran was able to restart the race in first place. De Ferran was able to keep the lead for some time until his tires lost grip, allowing Gugelmin to take the lead. Both Andretti and Fernandez were also able to take the lead during various stages of the race. With but a few laps to go, a yellow came out, allowing all the leaders to go for a needed splash and go, except Fernandez. As it looked like Fernandez would run out of fuel, Moore spun on the restart, allowing Fernandez to win the race on a yellow flag.

Notables: Adrian Fernandez won the race incredibly on a Reynard 97I with updated 98 and 99 parts. Tarso Marques was elected to substitute for the injured Al Unser Jr. at Team Penske for both the Motegi and Long Beach rounds. Walker Racing decided not to find a substitute for the injured Naoki Hattori.

1 2 3
Adrian Fernandez Gil de Ferran Christian Fittipaldi
Patrick Racing Walker Racing Newman/Haas Racing
Reynard 97I-Ford XD Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Swift 010.c-Ford XD

Round 3 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Circuit: Long Beach
Circuit Type: 1.85 mile temporary street course
Laps:
Location: Long Beach, USA
Official website: Long Beach GP
Date: April 18, 1999

Surprising polesitter, Tony Kanaan, took control of the race from the first lap. Only Kanaan and Franchitti seemed to have the speed during the first half of the race as they pulled away from the rest of the field. Later yellow periods and pit stops allowed rookie Montoya to get past Franchitti and into second place. An aggresive Montoya pressured Kanaan for several laps and the Forsythe driver eventually braked too late at one turn and crashed. Juan Pablo Montoya was then unstoppable and won his first World Championship event, in only his third race in Champ Cars.

Notables: A new aquarium that was constructed since the 1998 race resulted in a redesign of the course. The series of slow corners that negociates around the aquarium caused many problems during practice, but all the drivers were able to avoid any chaos during the race. Patrick Racing finally raced their new Swifts. Gualter Salles returned to the World Championship driving for Payton/Coyne in a one off race.

1 2 3
Juan Pablo Montoya Dario Franchitti Bryan Herta
Chip Ganassi Racing Team Green Team Rahal
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Ford XD

Round 4 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix
Circuit: Nazareth Speedway
Circuit Type: 0.9 mile oval
Laps: 225
Location: Nazareth, USA
Official website: Penske Speedways
Date: May 2, 1999

Polesitter Montoya and Castro Neves, the two fastest drivers all race weekend, had a fiece struggle during the race. Castro Neves was able to pass Montoya during the early part of the race with a bold move on the outside of a turn. However, Montoya's pit crew allowed the Columbian to regain the lead during the first round of pitstops. Later, Castro Neves used traffic perfectly to pass Montoya once again with a spectacular move. However, the Chip Ganassi crew once again allowed Montoya to regain the lead over Castro Neves in the second round of pitstops. Castro Neves would eventually spin-out and later crash to end the challenge to Montoya.

Notables: Shigeaki Hattori crashed during practice, his fourth crash so far this year. This prompted CART to suspend Hattori's license for the next two races. Hattori would be re-evaluated prior to the Milwaukee race to see if he has improved. Luiz Garcia Jr. decided to sit this race out to prepare for the Rio 200 since the deal with Payton/Coyne came so late in the off-season to do any testing. Al Unser Jr. returned to racing for the first time since injuring himself at Round 1.

1 2 3
Juan Pablo Montoya PJ Jones Paul Tracy
Chip Ganassi Racing Patrick Racing Team Green
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Swift 010.c-Ford XD Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 5 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: GP Telemar Rio 200
Circuit: Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway at Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet
Circuit Type: 1.86 mile oval
Laps: 108
Location: Baixada de Jacarepagua, Brasil
Official website: Rio 200
Date: May 15, 1999

Fittipaldi took his first ever pole position, but was out-braked into turn one by Montoya, who qualified third. Montoya, Fittipaldi, and Franchitti were able to stay with each other, but there were no opportunities to pass on the track. During pitstops, Fittipaldi came out in front of Montoya, however, his cold tires did not have enough grip and Montoya retook the lead. Franchitti also passed Fittipaldi during the first few laps out of the pits. Franchitti was hampered by a speed shifter problem almost the entire race, which allowed Montoya to build enormous leads everytime a restart occured.

Notables: Mark Blundell was slightly injured during testing pior to the race and was replaced by Roberto Moreno. Bettenhausen had Gualter Salles fill in for the suspended Shigeaki Hattori. Penske fielded a two car team for the first time this season, with Marques partnering Unser.

1 2 3
Juan Pablo Montoya Dario Franchitti Christian Fittipaldi
Chip Ganassi Racing Team Green Newman/Haas Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Swift 010.c-Ford XD

Round 6 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Motorola 300
Circuit: Gateway International Raceway
Circuit Type: 1.27 mile oval
Laps: 236
Location: Madison, USA
Official website: Gateway
Date: May 29, 1999

Rookie Montoya took another pole and lead for the first part of the race. However, problems during a pit stop caused him to fall back in the order. Different fuel strategies allowed Unser and Moreno to take the lead at various moments of the race. It was Andretti and a spirited Castro Neves who had the most speed and produced an exciting race to the checkers. As the race winded down, Franchitti was also able to close in on the two leaders. The trio got close to each other and crossed the finish line in that order.

Notables: Team Penske decided to try a Lola while continuing the development of the Penske chassis. Unser piloted the newly acquired Lola B99/00 while Marques continued with the Penske PC27B. CART allowed Shigeaki Hattori to return to racing. Della Penna Racing abandoned the Swift chassis for Reynard. Hearn raced a Reynard 98I at Gateway, but the team is expected to receive a 99I prior to the next race.

1 2 3
Michael Andretti Helio Castro Neves Dario Franchitti
Newman/Haas Racing Hogan Racing Team Green
Swift 010.c-Ford XD Lola B99/00-Mercedes-Benz IC108E Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 7 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Miller Lite 225
Circuit: The Milwaukee Mile
Circuit Type: 1.0 mile oval
Laps: 225
Location: West Allis, USA
Official website: Milwaukee Mile
Date: June 6, 1999

Castro Neves, who finally took his first pole position, lost the lead in the early stages when his turbo lost pressure. The leaders of the race then had a hard time passing slower traffic, until Andretti took the lead and began to take control. However, during Andretti's first pit stop, he ran over his vent man and effectively ended his race. Vasser and Montoya then became the focus of the race. As the race reached its end, both of them decided to pit for a splash and go, however, Tracy and Moore decided to stay out. With a handfull of laps remaining, a yellow came out, allowing Tracy and Moore to stay out without any last second refueling.

Notables: Montoya was penalized for passing two cars under a full course yellow. This resulted in the points leader dropping back significantly and closing the points race.

1 2 3
Paul Tracy Greg Moore Gil de Ferran
Team Green Forsythe Racing Walker Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Mercedes-Benz IC108E Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 8 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200
Circuit: Portland International Raceway
Circuit Type: 1.96 mile permanent road course
Laps: 192
Location: Portland, USA
Official website: Portland International Raceway
Date: June 20, 1999

Second place starter Castro Neves pipped polesitter Montoya into the first corner of the race and the two began to take control. However, Castro Neves' race ended early with a mechanical problem. Montoya then proceeded to dominate most of the first half of the race. A slightly delayed pit stop allowed Gil de Ferran to overtake the Colombian later in the race. On the restart, almost all the teams decided to conserve fuel to finish the race without anymore fuel stops. Walker Racing decided to go full throttle instead, and have a late splash and go. de Ferran proceeded to build a huge lead over the rest of the field. When the Brasilian's lead was 29 seconds, he pitted for a 3 second refuel stop. When he returned to the track, de Ferran still had an 8 second lead and controlled the race to its conclusion.

Notables: AAR wanted a second opinion of its chassis and replaced Alex Barron for Gualter Salles for at least the next three races. Adrian Fernandez finally received a Reynard 99I.

1 2 3
Gil de Ferran Juan Pablo Montoya Dario Franchitti
Walker Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Team Green
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 9 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland
Circuit: Burke Lakefront Airport
Circuit Type: 2.106 mile temporary road course
Laps: 100
Location: Cleveland, USA
Official website: IMG Motorsports
Date: June 27, 1999

Montoya and de Ferran lead the race from the start and the order was mostly static until rain began to fall. The sudden downpour caught many drivers off guard before they could change to wet tires and resulted in many crashes. After a lengthy caution period when the rain was most heavy, the race resumed on wet conditions. A hard charging de Ferran was able to pass a slowing Montoya after a few laps, demonstrating the better traction of the Goodyear rain tires. However, when the track dried enough for slick tires, Montoya was able to repass de Ferran on a restart, demonstrating the better Firestone dry tires. Montoya would finish the rain-shortened timed race as the winner.

Notables: Rumours during the weekend indicated that this would be the last Grand Prix of Cleveland due to rising sanctioning fees. Road Atlanta is rumoured as a replacement track for the 2000 schedule.

1 2 3
Juan Pablo Montoya Gil de Ferran Michael Andretti
Walker Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Newman/Haas Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Swift 010.c-Ford XD

Round 10 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Texaco/Havoline 220
Circuit: Road America
Circuit Type: 4.0 mile permanent road course
Laps: 55
Location: Elkhart Lake, USA
Official website: Road America
Date: July 11, 1999

Juan Pablo Montoya easily overhauled polesitter Andretti on the main straight at the start of the race and took control of the lead. Montoya began pulling away from the field and looked set to win the race until gearbox problems forced him to slow down. Meanwhile, Fittipaldi was able to pass Andretti thru pitstops. With a few laps remaining, Montoya's gearbox expired, allowing Fittipaldi to record his first World Championship win.

Notables: During the initial start of the race, two seperate incidents caused the retirement of 6 cars, forcing a 30 minute red flag delay. It was confirmed that Cleveland would be dropped from the 2000 World Championship calander. Valvoline announced that they would stop primary sponsorship of Walker Racing in 2000.

1 2 3
Christian Fittipaldi Michael Andretti Adrian Fernandez
Newman/Haas Racing Newman/Haas Racing Patrick Racing
Swift 010.c-Ford XD Swift 010.c-Ford XD Reynard 99I-Ford XD

Round 11 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Molson Indy
Circuit: Exhibition Place
Circuit Type: 1.721 mile temporary street course
Laps: 95
Location: Toronto, Canada
Official website: Molson Indy
Date: July 18, 1999

Dario Franchitti started second but was able to pass polesitter Gil de Ferran on the first lap. Franchitti then showed that he was the quickest driver of the day and proceeded to pull away from the field to win the race. Unlike Franchitti, the other contenders for the championship encountered problems. Third place starter Andretti had a bad start and eventually crashed out of the race. Montoya started fourth, but faded as the race progressed. De Ferran had a strong second place run until he clipped a tire during his final pit stop, causing a penalty. Eventually, the Brasilian would retire after spinning on oil spilled from Moore's car.

Notables: Luiz Garcia Jr. was scheduled to race, but did not show up. Payton/Coyne therefore had Dennis Vitolo fill in as driver of the Tang sponsored car. Roger Penske signed Alex Barron to drive the team's second car at Brooklyn and Fontana after Dan Gurney agreed to release the Californian from his contract with AAR.

1 2 3
Dario Franchitti Paul Tracy Christian Fittipaldi
Team Green Team Green Newman/Haas Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Swift 010.c-Ford XD

Round 12 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: U.S. 500
Circuit: Michigan Speedway
Circuit Type: 2.0 mile super speedway
Laps: 250
Location: Brooklyn, USA
Official website: Penske Motorsports
Date: July 25, 1999

The first third of the race was a hotly contested race between Andretti and Montoya, who kept passing each other for the lead. Papis then turned up his speed and began to take control of the race. Despite the Handford device, Papis was able to build a lead that denied other cars an opportunity to use his draft. Meanwhile, Andretti, Montoya, Franchitti, and Tracy had an immense battle behind the Italian. Tony Kanaan, who had to make a black flag pitstop, had a good race strategy that allowed him to overcome being a lap down to emerge from the last pitstop in second place. Going into turn three of the last lap, Papis unbelievably ran out of fuel due to problems with his car's telemetry. Kanaan hesistated for a second, allowing Montoya to get right into his draft. The two Honda powered cars passed the slowing Papis and dashed for the finish line, with Kanaan just barely ahead of Montoya.

Notables: Team Penske returned to using the Penske chassis for both drivers, and despite good speeds during the race, both did not finish due to mechanical problems.

1 2 3
Tony Kanaan Juan Pablo Montoya Paul Tracy
Forsythe Championship Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Team Green
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 13 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit
Circuit: Raceway at Belle Isle
Circuit Type: 2.36 mile temporary street course
Laps: 72
Location: Detroit, USA
Official website: Detroit Grand Prix
Date: August 8, 1999

Polesitter Montoya was clearly the class of the field during the first third of the race as he easily pulled away from the field. Behind him, Franchitti was able to pass his teammate, Tracy, for second position. A full course caution late in the race was a perfect opportunity for all the competitors to make their final pitstop. However, a miscommunication from the Chip Ganassi team caused Montoya to stay out while every other driver entered pit lane for service. After the green was waved, Montoya stepped up his pace to make a large gap between him and Franchitti, hoping to make a final pit stop and retain his lead position. However, when the Columbian exited the pits after his final pit stop, he was in eighth place. An overly ambitious passing attempt by Montoya caused Moreno to spin, bringing out a full course caution. During this time, it was noted that the pace car was leaking fuel. The decision was made to change pace cars. This caused confusion with some of the competitors when they saw the pace car entering the pits. Montoya initially thought that this signaled the race restart and proceeded to step on the gas. He quickly found out that the race was not restarting and hit the brakes. At the exact same moment, Castro Neves, who was behind Montoya, stepped on the gas and ran into Montoya. This incident took Montoya out of the race and ended the race in yellow, with Franchitti as the race winner, and the new points leader.

Notables: Roger Penske announced that Gil de Ferran and Greg Moore would be his drivers for 1999. Gonzalo Rodriguez piloted Penske's second Lola-Mercedes for the Detroit GP. Naoki Hattori and Mark Blundell finally returned to racing since their injuries. Christian Fittipaldi was injured in a testing accident prior to the race weekend and Pupo Moreno was hired as the substitute driver. Memo Gidley piloted the second Payton/Coyne entry after Luiz Garcia Jr. announced that he would be parting with the team. PJ Jones was replaced by Jan Magnussen at Patrick. On the first day of qualifying, Adrian Fernandez was injured in a crash and would not race during the weekend. During the race, Patrick Carpentier was injured and would be out of action for awhile.

1 2 3
Dario Franchitti Paul Tracy Greg Moore
Team Green Team Green Forsythe Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Mercedes-Benz IC108E

Round 14 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Miller Lite 200
Circuit: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Circuit Type: 2.25 mile permanent road course
Laps: 83
Location: Lexington, USA
Official website: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Date: August 16, 1999

The early third of the race was in complete control by Team Green, with polesitter Franchitti and teammate Tracy out front. That all changed after the first round of pitstops. Montoya was able to improve front 8th place to 3rd after the stops, and began to mount a challenge on the Green cars. Meanwhile, one of Franchitti's tires began to leak, causing handling problems. Franchitti pitted first for the last round of pitstops; while on the track, Montoya was able to get around Tracy. After all the stops were made, the order became Montoya, Tracy, and Franchitti. The last third of the race became a Montoya rout as he pulled off another victory. However, Franchitti was able to maintain as the points leader by one point, thanks to the bonus points of winning pole and leading the most laps.

Notables: Luiz Garcia Jr. debuted in the second Hogan entry. PJ Jones subbed for the injured Adrian Fernandez. The second Patrick entry backed by Visteon was changed to a Reynard from a Swift. Team Gordon announced that they would campaign Eagle chassis for the remaining oval races of the season.

1 2 3
Juan Pablo Montoya Paul Tracy Dario Franchitti
Chip Ganassi Racing Team Green Team Green
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 15 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Target Grand Prix
Circuit: Chicago Motor Speedway
Circuit Type: 1.0 mile oval
Laps: 250
Location: Cicero, USA
Official website: Chicago Motor Speedway
Date: August 22, 1999

First time polesitter, Max Papis, lead the early pace of the race until Franchitti got past him in the first third of the race. Montoya, Andretti, and Tracy, who all started mid-pack, were able to inch towards the front and begin to challenge for the lead. It was Montoya who would wrestle the lead over Franchitti. However, the remaining race was very close with Franchitti constanly pressuring the Columbian rookie. Still, Montoya was able to maintain control and take the win and regain the points lead.

Notables: Luiz Garcia Jr. crashed his Hogan entry during qualifying, and without a backup car, did not start the race. This race marked the first time in 81 years that the World Championship has competed in the Chicago area.

1 2 3
Juan Pablo Montoya Dario Franchitti Jimmy Vasser
Chip Ganassi Racing Team Green Chip Ganassi Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 16 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Molson Indy Vancouver
Circuit: Concord Pacific Place
Circuit Type: 1.82 mile temporary street circuit
Laps: ?
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Official website: Molson Indy
Date: September 5, 1999

Rainfall mandated the race to start under yellow flag for about half an hour as the course workers worked to clear several large puddles on the street course. When the race really got under way, polesitter Montoya was able to create a large lead over the field. Eventually, as the streets began to dry, Tracy was able to catch and pass the Columbian. However, Tracy made a mistake and spun out, handing the lead back to Montoya. Franchitti than began pressuring Montoya. An overlly optimistic passing attempt by Franchitti took himself out of contention and gave Montoya the win.

Notables: Naoki Hattori returned to racing after a one race hiatus due to reaggrevating previous injuries. Helio Castro Neves' car had all kinds of trouble prior to the race, with five engine failures, neccessitating the Brasilian to start from the back of the pack.

1 2 3
Juan Pablo Montoya Patrick Carpentier Jimmy Vasser
Chip Ganassi Racing Forsythe Racing Chip Ganassi Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Mercedes-Benz IC108E Reynard 99I-Honda HRS

Round 17 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Honda Grand Prix of Monterey
Circuit: Laguna Seca Raceway
Circuit Type: 2.238 mile permanent road circuit
Laps: 83
Location: Monterey, USA
Official website: Laguna Seca
Date: September 12, 1999

The race was overshadowed by the death of Gonzalo Rodriguez during Saturday practice. The Uruguayan, in only his second World Championship race, died after impact at the Corkscrew corner. The race was dominated by Bryan Herta, who lead from his pole position to win his second straight Monterey GP. A charging Moreno was able to pass others to get into position two, but was unable to catch match Herta's speed. Championship contenders, Montoya and Franchitti, started from the middle of the field and both slowly moved up. However, Franchitti made an overly optimistic moved to pass Moore and ended up crashing both cars out of the race. Montoya was never a challenge for the win, but steady driving aided with numerous retirements moved him up to pick up some more championship points.

Notables: Team Penske withdrew Al Unser Jr.'s entry after the death of Rodriguez out of repect for the rookie's family. The drivers decided to cancel Saturday qualifying to pay respect to Rodriguez's family. CART terminated Shigeaki Hattori's competition license due to the Nipponese's inability to demonstrate the level of skill required to race in Champ Cars. Adrian Fernandez returned to competition for the first time since sustaining injuries at Detroit. Honda clinched the manufacturer's championship with Tracy's fourth place finish.

1 2 3
Bryan Herta Pupo Roberto Moreno Massimiliano Papis
Team Rahal Newman/Haas Racing Team Rahal
Reynard 99I-Ford XD Swift 010.c-Ford XD Reynard 99I-Ford XD

Round 18 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Texaco Grand Prix of Houston
Circuit: Houston
Circuit Type: 1.53 mile temporary street circuit
Laps: 131
Location: Houston, USA
Official website: Texaco GP
Date: September 26, 1999

Polesitter Montoya was off and running from the start of the race and began to build a large lead over the rest of the field. Meanwhile, Franchitti was having trouble with his tires and began to drop down the order. Eventually, Franchitti went to the pits early to change tires and add fuel. The race changed when Montoya crashed into Castro Neves' stalled car. This gave the lead to Paul Tracy. Driving hard and with the help of full course cautions, Franchitti was able to obtain second place behind a victorious Tracy. Andretti was able to obtain third place when his teammate, Fittipaldi, went for a late race splash and go.

Notables: Hogan Racing withdrew the entry of Luiz Garcia Jr. when the money promised from his sponsor did not show up. Team Penske raced its Penske PC27B instead of its Lola B99/00.

1 2 3
Paul Tracy Dario Franchitti Michael Andretti
Team Green Team Green Newman/Haas Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Swift 010.c-Ford XD

Round 19 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Honda Indy 300
Circuit: Surfers Paradise
Circuit Type: 2.8 mile temporary street circuit
Laps: 57
Location: Surfers Paradise, Australia
Official website: Honda Indy 300
Date: October 17, 1999

With the prospect of clinching the championship after the race, Montoya knew that he had a battle in hand when he only qualified sixth and allowed Franchitti to earn pole position. The race started well for Franchitti, as he lead the race comfortably. Meanwhile, Montoya steadily moved up his position. With a different fuel strategy from the main contenders, Fernandez and Papis were able to lead temporarily during fuel stops. However, Montoya's race ended during the middle of the race when he crashed into the wall while chasing Fernandez. Franchitti kept his composure and went on to win the race, taking maximum points for the weekend, and taking the points lead.

Notables: Bettenhausen returned to the World Championship, this time with Gualter Salles as the driver in an unsponsored car. Team Gordon elected to use the Swift chassis one final time, the Eagle will be used in Fontana. Prior to the race weekend, Team Penske announced that it will use Honda engines in 2000, despite Roger Penske owning 25% of Ilmor Engineering.

1 2 3
Dario Franchitti Massimiliano Papis Adrian Fernandez
Team Green Team Rahal Patrick Racing
Reynard 99I-Honda HRS Reynard 99I-Ford XD Reynard 99I-Ford XD

Round 20 of the 1999 World Championship
Official Race Name: Marlboro 500
Circuit: California Speedway
Circuit Type: 2.0 mile super speedway
Laps: 250
Location: Fontana, USA
Official website: Penske Motorsports
Date: October 31, 1999

The World Championship battle was completely overshadowed on the final race of the year when Greg Moore was killed in a horrendous accident on lap 10. The race was won by Adrian Fernandez, who used fuel strategy to take one less fuel stop compared with the other front runners. Dario Franchitti had problems with the fitting on the right rear wheel, which caused him to lose several laps. Franchitti did eventually move into point paying positions, but a trouble free race allowed Montoya to finish in fourth, and to take the World Championship title.

Notables: This race marked the last appearance of Al Unser, Jr. and Scott Pruett in the World Championship. Goodyear announced their withdrawel from CART competition starting with 2000. Chip Ganassi Racing shocked the series when they announced that they would switch to Toyota engines in 2000. Hogan Racing announced that they would fold after the race.

1 2 3
Adrian Fernandez Massimiliano Papis Christian Fittipaldi
Patrick Racing Team Rahal Newman/Haas Racing
Reynard 99I-Ford XD Reynard 99I-Ford XD Swift 010.c-Ford XD

Upcoming Races(2000):
R1: Homestead, USA
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This "Season" page first created on May 8, 1998.
Version 2 created on April 30, 1999.
Last modified on November 3, 1999.