| | Associated Press
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It still hurts Max Papis to think about last year's Michigan 500.
At that time, the Italian driver was winless in the CART FedEx Series and the checkered flag was tantalizingly close.
"God just didn't want me to win that day," said Papis, who led 143 of 250 laps on the two-mile, high-banked Michigan Speedway oval, only to come up short by 12 ounces of menthanol fuel -- about what it takes to fill one of his sponsor's beer cans.
As his Ford-powered Team Rahal Reynard coasted off of the fourth turn, Brazilian Tony Kanaan flashed past to take his first checkered flag in a Champ car. Papis finished seventh.
"It was the nicest day of my life," said Papis, who is among the favorites for Sunday's running of the Michigan race. "It was that until the last half of that last lap. It was almost our day."
But Papis, now 30, calmly congratulated his friend on his victory and made a lot of new friends with his magnanimous words.
"I felt good because we dominated the race," said Papis, who had never led a CART event before that day. "I knew I could win races and I knew this team could win. It was only a matter of time."
He was right. Victory came in this year's season-opener in Homestead, Fla., where he came had to come from behind to win.
"That was a special moment," Papis said. "But it was a long time ago now."
Since that win, Papis has had an inconsistent season. He
finished second last month in Detroit, but has failed to score
points in five of the first 10 races.
He is 11th in the season standings, trailing leader Roberto Moreno by 38 points with 10 races to go.
Coming off an eighth-place finish last Sunday on the temporary street circuit in Toronto, Papis in full of confidence about racing again on an oval.
Besides his great showing last July in Michigan, Papis led 110 of 250 laps in the season-ending Marlboro 500 at California Speedway, and wound up second to Adrian Fernandez.
"We feel good about the ovals," he said. "Our combination of car, engine and tires is extremely good on those tracks and we have a lot of confidence."
But Papis is just one of eight winners already this year in CART, and Sunday's race could be a real toss-up.
Kanaan, who beat eventual season-champion Juan Montoya here last year by a mere 0.032-seconds -- the second closest finish in Champ car history -- is hoping to return to the cockpit to defend his title after missing three races with injury.
The 25-year-old racer broke his left forearm and four ribs in a crash during qualifying in Detroit on June 17. He has been driving a go-kart every day since Saturday, under doctor's supervision, to get ready to get back in Morris Nunn's Reynard-Ford in time for the opening of practice on Friday.
"I am hopeful I will be back and we can have another good shot at winning a race," said Kanaan, whose ride has been taken in the interim by Bryan Herta, who will stand by this weekend.
Montoya won seven races last year but has won only once this season, is ninth in the standings and just two points ahead of Papis. But it's too soon to count the 24-year-old Colombian out of the title chase, particularly with a series of oval races coming up.
His CART victory this season came on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee, a week after Montoya ran away with the rival Indy Racing League's Indianapolis 500.
"It's been great to be starting so many races toward the front of the field," said Montoya, who has a series-high four poles and has started among the top four six times already this year. "But, at the same time, it's been frustrating to not take advantage of our starting spot. A bunch of little problems and some bad luck
have been preventing us from reaching the podium recently.
"We'll bounce back and challenge for the points lead before this season's through. These last 10 races are a new season for me, and I plan to finish the races as close as possible to where I've been starting them."
Another driver to watch in Michigan is Michael Andretti, who trails Moreno by just two points after winning in Toronto, his second victory this year.
"Nobody has taken hold of this championship yet, but I think that the Michigan and Fontana races are going to be the two key races for the championship," Andretti said.
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