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Honda's goal for the third year was the championship title. Following the U.S. 500 of the 1995 season, the number of teams wanting to use Honda engines increased significantly, and as a result Honda became a supplier to four teams, for a total of six machines during the 1996 season.
The first race of the season, where Honda scored an impressive one-two finish, was a sign of the great strides Honda was to make in the 1996 season. Launching into the year with four straight victories, Honda eventually won eleven out of sixteen races, including the U.S. 500. The results were enough to give Honda triple honors: the Manufacturers Championship title, the PPG Cup Championship title for driver Jimmy Vasser and the Rookie of the Year award for driver Alex Zanardi.
Honda's victorious season was a top news story the day following the final race, with the national newspaper USA Today proclaiming the achievement in a large headline on its second page. Sales were then boosted through the use of a well-timed promotional campaign in which the winning machine was displayed at dealerships.
The number of dealers and employees who have come to the circuit to cheer their teams has risen steadily year after year, offering proof that many who work for Honda in the U.S. have come to know and appreciate the extent of the company's competitive spirit.
Vasser, who won the PPG Cup Championship in 1996, said "Honda puts forth its best effort, down to the minor details, in order to achieve success. They never compromise on anything when it comes to winning."
The views of project team members, on the other hand, are somewhat different. "Although it's a competition, we learned that we must not neglect the element of customer satisfaction in racing," said one engineer.
Honda's competitive spirit, born and nurtured in Japan, has indeed crossed the ocean intact. In the U.S. it has prospered, taking root within the popular racing culture.
In 1998, Honda repeated its "triple crown" earning the Manufacturers Championship by winning thirteen of nineteen races, while driver Alex Zanardi won his second PPG Cup trophy as the top driver (for the second straight year) and Tony Kanaan won the Rookie of the year award.
Says Asaka of the company's involvement in U.S. CART series, "I want HPD to become the champion of Honda's competitive spirit. I want it to be an organization that reminds people of the vision of our Old Man, Soichiro Honda." |
