The Race Report.(Racing)

What a difference a week makes, and favorable conditions can't hurt either. The miserable, rain-soaked debacle in Australia was the slowest CART event in history, at an embarrassing pace of a little less than 56 mph. Just seven days later on the two-mile oval at Fontana, CART put on the fastest 500-mile race in history, run at an average speed of 197.99 mph. At the finish, Jimmy Vasser slipped past Michael Andretti on a green-white-checker restart for the win.

Speed was also the theme in practice, as Tony Kanaan ran laps at more than 235 mph with the aid of the draft. He also took the pole, at a slightly slower 232.011 mph. In all, nine of the 18 cars qualified faster than last year's pole speed. For Fontana, CART trimmed its Handford device three inches, reducing aero drag considerably and permitting more speed. Most drivers agreed the revised aero configuration allowed cleaner and better racing. CART's new mandatory pit window rule (set at 33 laps for this event) also worked exactly as intended this time, forcing a fast pace all day.

At the start, Andretti rushed up the outside from his third starting spot to take the lead from Kanaan in Turn One. Andretti would lead often, although the relatively poor fuel mileage of his Lola-Honda forced him to drop back into the pack at times. Paul Tracy challenged early, but fell out with electrical ...