The Race Report.(Dario Franchitti wins CART race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec)(Brief Article)

Dario Franchitti capitalized on a blunder in pit stop strategy by Cristiano da Matta's Newman-Haas team to score his second win of the season in the inaugural CART race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec.

First, to get the inevitable comparisons out of the way: In qualifying, the 1550-pound (plus driver) Champ cars were nearly six seconds per lap slower than the carbon-braked, 1323-pound F1 cars on the identical 2.709-mile Ile de Notre Dame course used in the Canadian Grand Prix each June. But the claimed 66,000 fans in attendance didn't seem to care one bit, especially the reported 20,000 with pit passes, most of whom swarmed around the Team Player's paddock and local heroes Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani for much of the weekend. CART's Canadian street-race venues have consistently drawn audiences that shame its U.S. dates for both size and enthusiasm. ``Maybe we could run a Canadian championship,'' quipped Tony Kanaan.

Da Matta and his Lola-Toyota led the first 11 laps from the pole (1:18.959, vs. the 1:12.836 F1 mark set by Juan Montoya in June) but his team elected to short-pit during the caution caused when Mario Dominguez was stranded on course. The decision of second-place Franchitti to stay out for the full 21-lap ...