Vasser

FONTANA, Calif. -- Michael Andretti was leading the race and knew he was in trouble.

Jimmy Vasser charged past Andretti on a restart two laps from the end of Sunday's Toyota 500 and pulled away for an easy victory in the fastest 500-mile race ever.

Andretti was apparently on the way to a win at California Speedway before Dario Franchitti's blown engine brought out a yellow flag four laps from the end of the 250-lap race, prompting CART officials to invoke a new rule stopping the action until the track could be cleaned.

It was the second time this year CART used the new rule allowing it to suspend the race -- letting the drivers battle for the win instead of finishing under caution.

"The guy leading in that situation is like a sitting duck out there," said Vasser, who had lost the lead to Andretti on a restart on lap 242. "It would have been difficult to catch Michael under race conditions."

Officials gave the field two warmup laps before turning the cars loose on lap 248. Vasser's Ford-power Team Rahal Lola fell about 10 car-lengths behind Andretti as they approached the flagstand, then shot forward as the green flag waved.

Vasser caught Andretti's Lola-Honda in the first turn and shot past as the cars entered the second turn. By the end of that lap, Vasser was ahead by several car-lengths, and Andretti was unable to mount a challenge on the last trip around the 2.029-mile oval before finishing 0.400-seconds -- about 10 car-lengths -- behind.

"It's the same thing (Alex) Zanardi and I did to Greg Moore here in 1998," said Vasser, who won that race. "It happened to me on the restart when it went yellow with 15 to go."

That was when Andretti, who had been chasing Vasser most of the day, pulled the same move that won it for Vasser, shooting past the leader in the first turn and apparently heading toward his second win of the season.

"I knew if I could make the pass going through (Turns) 1 and 2, I'd have a good chance at winning the race," Vasser said. "Everything went our way."

It was Vasser's first win since the Houston street race in October 2000. With the drivers routinely racing at more than 225 mph and a total of four cautions and 17 laps of yellow, Vasser's winning speed of 197.995 easily topped the previous 500-mile record of 189.727, set in 1990 in a CART race at Michigan International Speedway by Al Unser Jr.

	The win is the first of the year for Vasser and Bobby Rahal.

Vasser, the 1996 series champion and now winner of three 500-mile races, including the U.S. 500 at Michigan in 1996, led a race-high 148 laps.

Third-place Patrick Carpentier said, "Jimmy was fast all day. He deserved it."

Andretti, who was furious after CART didn't stop the rain-soaked race in Australia the previous week until after he pitted and lost the lead, wasn't as sure but appeared much less upset Sunday.

"I knew I was a sitting duck there at the end," said Andretti, who will become an owner-driver and move his new team to the rival Indy Racing League in 2003. "It was kind of a bummer because if the red flag hadn't come out, I think I would have won.

"It's the new rule. If it's in the rulebook that it's supposed to finish under the green flag, that's the way it works. I don't like it, but I have to accept it."

Vasser said: "The red flag was the right call to make. It's about the fans, giving them a green flag finish."

Cristiano da Matta, who had clinched the 2002 championship previously, was part of the battle up front until his engine blew as he took the lead on lap 236. That left the fight to the only two American drivers in the 18-car lineup. Andretti had the only other victory by an American this season, winning in April in Long Beach.

"The race was going to be between me and Jimmy," said da Matta, who has one more chance to equal the CART record of eight season victories in the finale in Mexico City on Nov. 17. "There were only 14 of 250 laps to go and it kind of breaks your heart."

Vasser said: "Cristiano had a little left in his hip pocket because he really started playing with me at the end. He was going to be tough to beat."

Carpentier and pole-starter Tony Kanaan were the only other drivers on the lead lap at the end, with Oriol Servia, Scott Dixon and Christian Fittipaldi one lap down.

Bruno Junqueira held onto second place in the standings despite finishing three laps down in ninth place after losing a tire leaving the pits on lap 34. He leads Carpentier by three points and Franchitti by 10.