| | Associated Press
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Paul Tracy and teammate Dario
Franchitti had a deal. Or did they?
After agreeing that whichever of the Team Kool Green drivers was leading after the last pit stop in Sunday's Vancouver Molson Indy would stay out front, Tracy couldn't help but wonder if Franchitti would live up to the bargain.
The last stop for both drivers came on lap 53 of the 90-lap race, under the fourth of five caution flags. In that few moments, the race was decided.
|  | | Paul Tracy, left, and Christian Fittipaldi, right, douse Dario Franchitti with champagne Sunday on the podium. |
Franchitti's car momentarily stalled and Tracy drove into the
lead.
When the green flag waved for the start of lap 60, it appeared Franchitti might have forgotten team owner Barry Green's orders, moving right up to the rear of Tracy's nearly identical Honda-powered Reynard.
"He was pressuring me and I asked Barry on the radio, 'Is this
what the deal is?'" Tracy said.
Franchitti, still looking for his first win of the season, grinned and said, "I was just keeping him honest. He knew I wasn't allowed to pass him. I don't think he trusted me, but an agreement is an agreement. I'm at peace with that."
Tracy might have had visions of past incidents in which the
teammates have not fared as well.
In 1998 in Houston, Tracy ran into Franchitti as the two battled
for the lead and was knocked out of the race. In 1999 in St. Louis
and earlier this summer in Chicago, both Tracy and Franchitti were
taken out in crashes while battling each other for position.
This time, Franchitti backed off and let his teammate enjoy the
final laps of his 18th career win, his second in a row and
series-leading third of the season.
Last fall in Houston, with Fittipaldi battling for the CART
FedEx Series championship, Green ordered the Scottish driver to let
Tracy stay out front. That decision cost Franchitti, who lost a
tiebreaker for the title to Juan Montoya, the championship.
"This is an entirely different situation," Franchitti said.
"Last year in Houston, Paul was clearly faster. He was 14 seconds
down the road. I didn't have a problem with that decision,
either."
This time, though, it was Franchitti who appeared to be faster.
He started from the pole and led 50 of the first 52 laps, building
leads of more than seven seconds over his teammate.
"I'm disappointed not to have won," said Franchitti, who
matched his season-best finish. "We just bogged down trying to
leave the pit and it stalled. We'll have to sit down and take a
look at what happened."
It was also frustrating for Franchitti to simply follow in the
tire tracks of his teammate the rest of the way.
"I felt I had enough to pass Paul, especially on cold tires,"
Franchitti said. "But he's going for a championship and a deal is
a deal."
Tracy said, "The problem Dario had opened the door for us. I
don't think we would have beat him outright on the racetrack."
The two green and white cars crossed the finish line about five
car-lengths apart, with Tracy averaging 85.034 mph. The margin of
victory on the 1.781-mile, 12-turn temporary street circuit at the
edge of downtown Vancouver was 0.384 seconds.
It was an emotional win for Tracy, who spun his car in a pair of
smoking donuts in front of the main grandstand and then burst out
of the cockpit, punching the air in joy.
Besides dedicating the win to friend and fellow Canadian Greg
Moore, a suburban Vancouver native who died in a crash last
November in Fontana, Calif., Tracy's win moved him within easy
reach of the series lead.
In fact, with series leader Michael Andretti finishing 12th
after a fuel flow problem on the final lap cost him five positions,
the championship is a tense, six-driver battle after 15 of 20
races.
Going into next Sunday's race in Monterey, Calif., Tracy trails
Andretti 126-120. Adrian Fernandez, Gil de Ferran and Roberto
Moreno are all within 11 points of the leader, and rookie Kenny
Brack is 20 points behind.
Fernandez finished third Sunday, followed by Christian
Fittipaldi, de Ferran and Cristiano da Matta, running third until
he had to pit for a splash of fuel five laps from the end. Brack
wound up ninth, Moreno ninth and Andretti 12th -- the final
points-paying position.
Andretti, who came into the race leading Moreno by 13 points and
25 ahead of then-sixth-place Tracy, started eighth and was running
in eighth heading into the last lap.
He suddenly slowed and at first thought his Newman-Haas Racing
team had run him out of fuel. Andretti, the 1991 series champion,
exploded in anger, telling his team over the radio they may have
cost him another title.
Later, however, a cooler Andretti said, "I think they just
found a problem in the fuel tank. Something broke. We still had
fuel left.
"We still could have finished eighth, so that really hurt."
Asked his thoughts about the tightening championship battle,
Andretti said, "I'm not happy about it. It's going to be tough."
| |
ALSO SEE
Molson Indy Vancouver results
Notebook: Future uncertain for Vancouver race
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Paul Tracy joins John Kernan on RPM 2Night.
RealVideo: 28.8
Dario Franchitti stalls on his final pit stop, giving up the lead to teammate Paul Tracy.
avi: 1872 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Paul Tracy takes the checkered flag in the Vancouver Molson Indy.
avi: 1366 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Paul Tracy talks about taking the lead from teammate Dario Franchitti.
avi: 1256 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Helio Castroneves breaks the suspension on his car and slams into the wall.
avi: 456 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Michael Andretti slams on the brakes, spins out, but does not hit the wall.
avi: 1015 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Paul Tracy is ready to win the CART FedEx championship.
wav: 84 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Paul Tracy talks about re-signing with the Team Kool Green.
wav: 80 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Micheal Andretti talks about having problems with his fuel tank.
wav: 156 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dario Franchitti says his car was fast enough to win on Sunday.
wav: 219 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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