| | Associated Press
MONTEREY, Calif. -- Helio Castroneves dominated the race and
Gil de Ferran took over the series points lead Sunday as the
teammates started and finished 1-2 in the Honda Grand Prix of
Monterey's featured Shell 300.
|  | | Brazilian teammates Helio Castroneves (right) and Gil de Ferran took first and second, respectively, at the Shell 300 in Monterey. |
Castroneves, who hadn't won a CART FedEx Series event before this season, now has three victories, all on road or street
courses.
The winner dedicated this one to Gonzalo Rodriguez, who was
killed last year in a crash during practice at Laguna Seca Raceway
while racing for Marlboro Team Penske, the team for which
Castroneves and fellow Brazilian de Ferran now drive.
The excited Castroneves scrambled out of his Reynard-Honda and
leaped onto a nearby fence, thrusting his arms in the air as the
crowd cheered around the victory stand.
"My team gave me a great car," Castroneves said. "I told them
we were going to win, and we did."
The last half of the 83-lap race on the hilly 2.238-mile,
11-turn circuit in the picturesque Monterey Peninsula was a fuel
conservation effort by all of the drivers.
When the 25-year-old Castroneves was asked if he was concerned
about making it to the end, he grinned and replied: "A lot. But I
trust my guys. They told me I could make it and I did."
Castroneves led all but two laps -- giving up the top spot to
Juan Montoya during the first round of pit stops by the leaders --
and, at times, built margins over more than four seconds over
either Montoya or de Ferran.
Montoya lost any chance at the victory on lap 48 when his
airjack collapsed under the car during his second stop and kept him
on pit road for about 10 seconds too long. That gave the runner-up
spot back to de Ferran.
De Ferran, a wily 32-year-old veteran, never let his teammate
get too far ahead but finished just 0.954 seconds -- about eight
car-lengths -- behind.
The winner averaged 104.949 mph.
"This finish propelled us to the championship lead, so I'm
very, very pleased," he said. "I tried to make a race out of it.
I tried to make him press a little, but he didn't make any
mistakes."
De Ferran's second-place finish vaulted him past Michael
Andretti and into the series lead, although the closest
championship battle in CART's history got even tighter.
The top six drivers began the day separated by 20 points and
ended the race just 17 apart, with de Ferran ahead of Andretti
132-126, followed by Paul Tracy with 122, Adrian Fernandez with
118, rookie Kenny Brack with 116 and Roberto Moreno with 115.
Castroneves, who began the day ninth, far out of the title
picture, kept his long shot hopes alive by moving to seventh, just
29 points behind with four races and a total of 88 points
remaining.
Dario Franchitti, coming off a second-place finish a week
earlier in Vancouver, wound up third Sunday, followed by Bryan
Herta, who came into the race as the two-time defending champion,
Brack and defending series champion Montoya.
Tracy wound up 11th after spinning on the last lap, and
Fernandez was 12th -- the final points paying position.
Andretti, who had the flu and an ill-handling car, managed to
get up to fifth place before making a late pit stop for fuel. He
fell back to 15th and never managed to get back into the points.
Although a spectacular crash on Friday, with Patrick
Carpentier's car somersaulting over a wall, had everyone on edge --
especially in the wake of the fatal accident a year earlier -- the
race was a quiet one.
Moreno brought out the only full-course caution flag in the race
when he slid off-course and into a concrete barrier while battling
for position with Max Papis on lap 47. Moreno was not injured.
| |
ALSO SEE
CART Monterey results
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Helio Castroneves takes the checkered flag in Monterey.
avi: 2086 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Helio Castroneves talks with ESPN's Marlo Klain about Sunday's win in Monterey.
RealVideo: 28.8
Helio Castroneves talks about winning the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey.
avi: 1555 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 It was a big day for Gil de Ferran, who took over the CART series lead.
wav: 114 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dario Franchitti attributed his trouble passing to an outdated track.
wav: 125 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Battling fuel problems, Bryan Herta settled for fourth place.
wav: 158 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Alex Tagliani comments on his engine problems during the Honda Grand Prix.
wav: 270 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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