Da Matta

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Cristiano da Matta gets nervous when he has to wait around to race.

"Really, I'd like to run every week," said da Matta, who hopes that a month between races won't stem his momentum in the CART FedEx Series. "I don't like to think about it. I'd rather be in the race car."

De Matta finished the 2001 season with a pair of victories, then won the season-opening race in Monterrey, Mexico.

That was on March 10.

"We've been testing and working hard, but a month is a long time to wait," said da Matta, the favorite heading into Friday's opening practice for the Long Beach Grand Prix.

If he can keep it going, the Brazilian -- who drives for Newman-Haas Racing -- would match the CART record of four straight victories set by Al Unser Jr. in 1990, and equaled by Alex Zanardi in 1998.

Both of them won in Long Beach that year, but that race was not part of either record streak. Both of them also won the series championship that year, a fact not lost on da Matta.

"It's a very long season, but a win in Long Beach would be a big thing for me and the team," he said. "We'd like to keep things going in the right direction."

Dario Franchitti, who lost the title by just one point three years ago and hasn't come close since, is considered the biggest threat to da Matta's streak after finishing second in Mexico.

"It's definitely time for me to win this race," Franchitti said. "I've been a runner-up here twice and, given the way we've started the season, there's no reason to believe we don't have a good chance. This track is not without its challenges, though. You've got to stay out of trouble. There's not a lot of passing opportunities."

In that respect, the 1.968-mile temporary course, winding through the streets at the edge of downtown, is very much like the Mexican circuit where da Matta dominated last month.

Long Beach is "one of the most challenging street tracks we go to," da Matta said. "You have some hard breaking areas and fast straightaways. You have to be fast on the straights, but you can't take too much downforce away from the car or you'll struggle in the twisty parts.

"It's quite different than other street courses, where you can just go and you just put the maximum level of downforce in the car, and that's it. The Long Beach track has something particular about it that you cannot do this."

Teammate Christian Fittipaldi, who was third in the opener, gives Newman-Haas another chance at winning four straight races for the first time in its 20 years in CART.

"What I like about the track, believe it or not, is the tight hairpin area, especially during the race," Fittipaldi said. "You really need to be able to put the power down very well. If you can do that, you actually create a very good passing place at the end of the straight.

"I just like this track and our team has always had pretty good luck here."