MASTER OF ITS UNIVERSE; Champ Car perseveres in the face of ever-present doubt.(News)

Byline: STEVEN COLE SMITH

Give the Champ Car World Series credit for controlling its own destiny. The turbocharged Cosworth V8 engines are built by a company owned by Champ Car principals. The handsome Panoz DP01 car that debuted this year is not without problems-refueling issues, leaky fuel cells-but nothing major. The series extended its Bridgestone tire contract through 2009. Mazda is now the "manufacturer sponsor'' and is proving to be dedicated to motorsports at an unprecedented level.

With six races in the books [this story was written before the Grand Prix of Toronto scheduled for July 8] in this long season, we already have four different winners: Newman-Haas-Lanigan driver and reigning champ Sebastien Bourdais, as well as fast-everywhere Team Australia driver Will Power, Forsythe's Paul Tracy and Minardi Team USA's Robert Doornbos, who won for the first time at Mont-Tremblant. It appears the field will remain at 17 cars, but one or two more could pop up before season's end.

Heading into Toronto, Bourdais and Doornbos were tied for the points lead with 145, and Power was not far back with 131. The personable, confident, startlingly consistent Doornbos is the story so far, with a serious but slightly amused persona that is winning fans. Doornbos was penalized at Cleveland for blocking (and accused of such by Bourdais at Mont-Tremblant)-which, for the ex-Formula One driver, is just how they race in Europe-and to him and other European imports, such as PKV drivers Neel Jani and Tristan ...