CART INSIDE LOOK: HEAVY DRAMA IN A SLIM FIELD OUT OF 18 CARS, HALF DON'T FINISH.

Byline: A.J. Perez Staff Writer

FONTANA - The 18-car field that started the Toyota 500 on Sunday appeared even smaller at the roomy California Speedway, the only superspeedway left on CART's schedule.

This two-mile banked track has 43 cars each April for its NASCAR Winston Cup race and CART has raced as many as 27 cars since the track opened in 1997. But this time there were fewer cars than last year's race had leaders (19).

However, as several drivers claimed after the race, fewer cars doesn't always mean less excitement.

``I just saw one of the greatest races I have ever seen,'' said 2002 CART champ Cristiano da Matta, who was one of the nine drivers unable to finish the 250-lap race.

Eight cars didn't finish for mechanical reasons, one because of a collision, and only four cars finished on the lead lap.

``That's the way it (a 500-mile race) normally is,'' said Michael Andretti, who finished second. ``That's what racing is all about.''

Andretti's duel with winner Jimmy Vasser was made possible when da Matta's engine blew on turn 4 of lap 235. Vasser passed da Matta as he coasted to a stop at turn 1.

``I had no indication there was a problem,'' da Matta said. ``It just happened.''

When da Matta won the race last year, the 26-car field had 10 cars not finish for various reasons. The main culprit over the years is the high speeds, which leads to engine failure on what is advertised as ``the fastest superspeedway in the world.''

``A 500-mile race is tough. A 500-mile race as fast as this one is even tougher,'' da Matta said. ``You have to take care of everything and still run fast. It makes things very interesting.''

With a lot of wide-open space to race, Vasser averaged 197.995 mph, making it the fastest race in the open-wheel history. The previous record was 189.727 mph set in 1990 by Al Unser Jr. in Michigan.

Michigan also happens to be where CART started the fewest cars in its history. In the series' inaugural year in 1979, the Gould Grand Prix started 14 cars and only three cars finished.

Car count has been a cause for concern this season, especially after PacWest Racing and Sigma went under. The year started with 20 cars, but was left with 18 when PacWest's two-car team and Sigma's one-car team folded.

With some financial help from CART, PacWest's Scott Dixon was able to find a ride with Chip Ganassi Racing to keep the car count at 18.

Next year, Chris Pook, CART's CEO and president, has said the series will have ``18 to 22'' cars and he has worked diligently to make that happen. The cost to race in the series will drop by about half next year and Pook has created the Entrant Support Program to give each team $1.5 million a car next year.

CART will lose about half its drivers to the IRL, Formula One or the NASCAR Busch Series. That means to get to the ``18 to 22'' number, CART could be in for a youth movement.

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Pit crews were busy Sunday at California Speedway, as high speeds contributed to mechanical problems during the Toyota 500.

Lafonzo Rachal Carter/Staff Photographer