Wednesday, March 29, 2000 | 5:47 a.m.
Max Papis knew exactly what he was getting into when he agreed to drive for retiring star Bobby Rahal.
"I took the place of a legend, Bobby Rahal, and I had to find a way to win," said Papis, the 30-year-old Italian who had shown moments of brilliance when Rahal chose him as his successor.
Rahal, the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner, retired after the 1998 season to concentrate on running the team he owns with TV personality David Letterman. The three-time CART champion finished his career with 24 race victories.
"I knew Max had the ability because I'd been out there driving wheel-to-wheel with him," Rahal said. "All it was going to take was some time for him to learn how to win and for everybody on the team to get on the same page."
In his first year in the Miller Lite Reynard-Ford, Papis made rapid strides toward the top of the CART FedEx Series standings, finishing a career-best fifth in the points and coming close to that first victory.
At Michigan Speedway in July, Papis dominated the U.S. 500 and was leading with two turns to go on the final lap when he ran out of fuel, giving Brazilian Tony Kanaan his first CART victory.
Other drivers might have cried or pouted and expressed anger at coming so close. Papis flashed his trademark smile and congratulated Kanaan.
"It will come," Papis said at the time. "I will get my wins."
Rahal said, "Max won that race and we lost it for him. But I think Max won a ton of fans the way he handled himself after the race. As difficult as it was to experience that loss, Max showed his personality and his passion to succeed. He knew he could race up front and win."
Instead of getting down, Team Rahal was buoyed by the near miss.
In the eight races following Michigan, Papis finished seventh or better six times. He ended the year with finishes of third, fourth, second and second.
The team could hardly wait for the 2000 season to begin and, on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Papis got that first victory, taking the season-opening Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami.
"He should have won last year on a couple of occasions. But he kept his head down and worked hard," Rahal said. "This guy is going to be tough now that he has won a race. He now has the patience to drive a smart race."
Papis, who has a degree in political science from Milan University, needed some time to put everything together on the racetrack.
"Bobby showed confidence in me when he brought me to his team," Papis said. "I wanted very much to reward that confidence with wins. But it takes time to get everything in the right place."
Papis, the former sports car star who served his CART apprenticeship with what was then the Arciero-Wells team, admits he felt the pressure of replacing one of the open-wheel sport's biggest stars.
"It was a big shock to everyone," Papis said. "It took a while to massage everyone on the team to get them comfortable.
"From race one to the last race, Bobby Rahal was another person. He adjusted from being a race car driver to being an owner and we developed a very special relationship. He showed his trust in me and treated me like one of his sons. We grew tremendously as a team, and we did it together."
Now, with that first year behind them, some new team personnel and a new, more powerful Ford engine, Papis sees unlimited potential.
"Last year, we didn't even know each other," Papis said. "Now, we have what you call chemistry. I think you can consider me one of the guys who is going to be running consistently up front."
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On the Net: Max Papis site: http://www.maxpapis.com
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