2002 The 500

Last updated
Flag of the United States.svg 2002 Fontana
Race details
Race 18 of 19 in the 2002 CART season
Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Speedway.svg
California Speedway track layout
DateNovember 3, 2002
Official name 2002 The 500 Presented by Toyota
Location California 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
Driver Tony Kanaan  (Mo Nunn Racing)
Time31.483
Fastest lap
Driver Oriol Servià  (Patrick Racing)
Time31.469 (on lap 234 of 250)
Podium
First Jimmy Vasser  (Team Rahal)
Second Michael Andretti  (Team Motorola)
Third Patrick Carpentier  (Team Player's)

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.

Contents

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

PosNatNameTeamTime
1 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 31.483
2 Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 31.601
3 Flag of Brazil.svg Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 31.679
4 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Andretti Team Motorola 31.685
5 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 31.734
6 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 31.736
7 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Team Player's 31.737
8 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrick Carpentier Team Player's31.740
9 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green31.759
10 Flag of Italy.svg Max Papis Fernández Racing 31.798
11 Flag of Mexico.svg Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal31.804
12 Flag of Japan.svg Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing31.836
13 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing31.877
14 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing31.923
15 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing31.981
16 Flag of Japan.svg Tora Takagi Walker Racing 32.050
17 Flag of Mexico.svg Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 32.087
18 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 32.277

Race

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
18 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 2502:33:42.977621
239 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Andretti Team Motorola 250+0.400416
332 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 250+1.794814
410 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 250+2.502113
520 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 249+ 1 Lap1810
644 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 249+ 1 Lap148
711 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 249+ 1 Lap136
833 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Team Player's248+ 2 Laps75
94 Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing247+ 3 Laps24
1027 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 242Engine93
111 Flag of Brazil.svg Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing236Engine32
1212 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing235Drive shaft151
139 Flag of Mexico.svg Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal218Engine110
1451 Flag of Italy.svg Max Papis Fernández Racing 214Engine100
1552 Flag of Japan.svg Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing202Upright120
1655 Flag of Mexico.svg Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 107Engine170
1726 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green86Throttle50
185 Flag of Japan.svg Tora Takagi Walker Racing 85Contact160

Caution flags

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

Notes

LapsLeader
1-8 Michael Andretti
9-11 Tony Kanaan
12-16Michael Andretti
17-18 Paul Tracy
19Michael Andretti
20-22Paul Tracy
23-32 Jimmy 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
66-70 Dario Franchitti
71-75Tony Kanaan
76-98Jimmy Vasser
99Tony Kanaan
100-131Jimmy Vasser
132-134 Michel Jourdain Jr.
135-137Dario Franchitti
138-164Jimmy Vasser
165-167Michel Jourdain Jr.
168-170Dario Franchitti
171-197Jimmy Vasser
198-201Michel Jourdain Jr.
202Dario Franchitti
203-213 Cristiano 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 Vasser 148
Michael Andretti 37
Dario Franchitti 16
Paul Tracy 15
Cristiano da Matta 14
Michel Jourdain Jr. 10
Tony Kanaan 10

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References

  1. "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search".
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).