ONE BIGBright Dot; If CART can start connecting them...

Byline: J.P. VETTRAINO

As shtick goes, the Big Shtick in Cleveland was effective. Major-league open-wheel cars turned left and right at night, under lights, for the first time anyone seems to know of, and it went off without a significant hitch. The house was packed tighter than at any CART race this year. Whether that was night racing or Independence Day revelry, it didn't matter much.

Northeastern Ohio was diggin' Champ cars under the lights. Frenzy, hardly, but as the sun settled over Lake Erie there was anticipation in the air, as it is when a crowd gathers for a rock 'n' roll show. Of course, CART has never had a real problem with events, even during its leanest times. The problem the last five years has been stringing those events together with any kind of NASCAR-style cohesion. Few beyond the hardcore seem to realize that Long Beach has a relationship to Cleveland or Mexico City or Surfers Paradise.

The racing in Cleveland was excellent, with plenty of lurid bumps and slides and typical Burke Lakefront Airport wheel rubbing through the field. Studious Sebastien Bourdais won his third race this season and his first in the United States. The other CART rookies who have managed three wins were named Fabi, Mansell, Zanardi and Montoya.

Bourdais has been fast since he first sat in a Newman-Haas Lola. His heavy-rimmed glasses match his approach to racing: precise, controlled, methodical. Where others complain about crowded qualifying sessions, forced fuel conservation or new edicts from the stewards, Bourdais seems to seek his edge. Yet during his first session on the runways at Burke, where runoff space is huge and hard concrete barriers limited, Bourdais quickly discovered the joy of Cleveland: When you go off it doesn't hurt much!

"It's a lot of fun, this track,'' Bourdais said. "You can push very hard because basically you can get out of the track and still continue in the session.''

After a flare-up in Portland, griping among drivers about blocking continued in earnest at Cleveland. As usual, points-leader Paul Tracy was a primary target. "Something has to be done,'' said senior statesman Jimmy Vasser. "When someone is on a flyer behind you, if you're not, it is common courtesy to get out of the way. I do.''