2002 The 500

The 2002 The 500 presented by Toyota was the eighteenth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 3, 2002 at the California Speedway in Fontana, California, United States.

2002 Fontana
Race details
Race 18 of 19 in the 2002 CART season
California Speedway track layout
DateNovember 3, 2002
Official name2002 The 500 Presented by Toyota
LocationCalifornia Speedway, Fontana, California, United States
Course2 Mile Banked Oval
2.029 mi / 3.265 km
Distance250 laps
507.250 mi / 816.250 km
WeatherMostly Cloudy
Pole position
DriverTony Kanaan (Mo Nunn Racing)
Time31.483
Fastest lap
DriverOriol Servià (Patrick Racing)
Time31.469 (on lap 234 of 250)
Podium
FirstJimmy Vasser (Team Rahal)
SecondMichael Andretti (Team Motorola)
ThirdPatrick Carpentier (Team Player's)

The race was won by Jimmy Vasser, the final Champ Car victory for the 1996 season champion. The race was completed in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 42.9877 seconds, for an average speed of 195.185 MPH under the common 2.000 mile measuring standard used by NASCAR and INDYCAR. Because of CART's discrepancy in listing the track at 2.029 miles for a 507.25 mile race, they listed the average speed at 197.995 MPH. Regardless, it was the record for the fastest 500 mile race ever contested until it was broken at the 2014 Pocono IndyCar 500 (2:28:13).[1]

The 500 at Fontana was the final 500 mile race in Champ Car history. A 500-mile race scheduled at the same race track in 2003, the 2003 King Taco 500, was cancelled because of wildfires in Southern California. No further 500 mile races were scheduled by CART for the remainder of its history. Also, other than the famed Indianapolis 500, it was the last 500-mile open wheel race for ten years, when IndyCar Series held the 2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships at Fontana as the season finale.

Qualifying results

Pos Nat Name Team Time
1 Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 31.483
2 Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 31.601
3 Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 31.679
4 Michael Andretti Team Motorola 31.685
5 Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 31.734
6 Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 31.736
7 Alex Tagliani Team Player's 31.737
8 Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 31.740
9 Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 31.759
10 Max Papis Fernández Racing 31.798
11 Michel Jourdain, Jr. Team Rahal 31.804
12 Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 31.836
13 Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 31.877
14 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 31.923
15 Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 31.981
16 Tora Takagi Walker Racing 32.050
17 Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 32.087
18 Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 32.277

Race

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 8 Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 250 2:33:42.977 6 21
2 39 Michael Andretti Team Motorola 250 +0.400 4 16
3 32 Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 250 +1.794 8 14
4 10 Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 250 +2.502 1 13
5 20 Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 249 + 1 Lap 18 10
6 44 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 249 + 1 Lap 14 8
7 11 Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 249 + 1 Lap 13 6
8 33 Alex Tagliani Team Player's 248 + 2 Laps 7 5
9 4 Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 247 + 3 Laps 2 4
10 27 Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 242 Engine 9 3
11 1 Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 236 Engine 3 2
12 12 Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 235 Drive shaft 15 1
13 9 Michel Jourdain, Jr. Team Rahal 218 Engine 11 0
14 51 Max Papis Fernández Racing 214 Engine 10 0
15 52 Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 202 Upright 12 0
16 55 Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 107 Engine 17 0
17 26 Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 86 Throttle 5 0
18 5 Tora Takagi Walker Racing 85 Contact 16 0

Caution flags

LapsCause
34-37Junqueira (4) lost wheel
99-104Jourdain (9) spin; Tagliani (33) spin
238-241da Matta (1) tow in
245-247Franchitti (27) fire

Notes

LapsLeader
1-8Michael Andretti
9-11Tony Kanaan
12-16Michael Andretti
17-18Paul Tracy
19Michael Andretti
20-22Paul Tracy
23-32Jimmy Vasser
33Michael Andretti
34-38Jimmy Vasser
39-45Michael Andretti
46-47Paul Tracy
48-49Michael Andretti
50-51Paul Tracy
52-54Michael Andretti
55Paul Tracy
56-57Michael Andretti
58Paul Tracy
59Michael Andretti
60-61Paul Tracy
62Michael Andretti
63-64Paul Tracy
65Tony Kanaan
66-70Dario Franchitti
71-75Tony Kanaan
76-98Jimmy Vasser
99Tony Kanaan
100-131Jimmy Vasser
132-134Michel Jourdain, Jr.
135-137Dario Franchitti
138-164Jimmy Vasser
165-167Michel Jourdain, Jr.
168-170Dario Franchitti
171-197Jimmy Vasser
198-201Michel Jourdain, Jr.
202Dario Franchitti
203-213Cristiano da Matta
214-222Jimmy Vasser
223Cristiano da Matta
224-229Jimmy Vasser
230-231Cristiano da Matta
232-235Dario Franchitti
236-242Jimmy Vasser
243-248Michael Andretti
249-250Jimmy Vasser
 
DriverLaps led
Jimmy Vasser148
Michael Andretti37
Dario Franchitti16
Paul Tracy15
Cristiano da Matta14
Michel Jourdain, Jr.10
Tony Kanaan10
  • New Race Record Jimmy Vasser 2:33:42.977
  • Average Speed 197.995 mph (Fastest 500 mile race in history; using the CART standard of 2.029 miles; 195.185 mph using the more recognised 2.000 mile distance)

References

Previous race:
2002 Honda Indy 300
CART Indycar World Series
2002 season
Next race:
2002 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante
Previous race:
2001 Marlboro 500
2002 The 500 Next race:
2003 Toyota Indy 400 (IRL)
2003 King Taco 500 (CART)
Cancelled
2012 MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championships
(next 500-mile open wheel race)

NOTE: In 2002, both Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (500 miles), and Indy Racing League, LLC (400 miles) held races at Fontana. Both sanctioning bodies scheduled races in 2003, but the CART event was called off because of wildfires. From 2004-05, only the IRL held races for open-wheel racing at Fontana. In 2012, the next open-wheel California 500 was held, again by the now-unified Indy Racing League, LLC (dba INDYCAR).

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