Old Men Lost In Sea Of Cars In Cart Series

Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal have combined for six CART victories at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but appear to be too far back in the field to challenge for the top spot in today’s Miller 200.

Andretti, who won in 1990 and 1991, will start 10th. Unser, the 1994 and 1995 winner, is 18th on the starting grid and Rahal, victorious in 1985 and 1986, is 16th.

No one has won a CART race at the track from farther back than eighth. Unser accomplished that in 1995, taking the lead from Andretti, who had engine problems, with four laps to go.

The only former Mid-Ohio winner to qualify among the top nine is Alex Zanardi, who won last year’s race from the pole and was the secondfastest in Saturday’s qualifying.

Rahal, 44; Unser, 36, and Andretti, 35, have become the “old guard” of the CART series, which had several drivers older than 40 earlier in the 1990s. They rank first, second and fourth respectively in CART races started, with Andretti’s father, Mario, who retired in 1995, third.