CART NOTEBOOK: FITTIPALDI IS HUNGRY $1 MIL. PAYDAY AWAITS MARLBORO WINNER.Byline: Mark Reinhiller Staff Writer FONTANA - Ask Christian Fittipaldi Christian Fittipaldi (born January 18, 1971, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car and NASCAR. why the Marlboro 500 is highlighted in his day planner and the Brazilian will give you a fast answer. ``It's the paycheck,'' he said. The paycheck. Simply put, win Sunday's Marlboro 500 at California Speedway The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. and walk away with a million dollars. CART's season finale is once again at Fontana's two-mile oval. In April, Fontana played host to NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. . This time, the international flavor of CART concludes its season Sunday. In addition to the CART finale, NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series will conclude its season Saturday and the Indy Lights The Indy Lights was an open-wheeled racing series that acted as a developmental circuit for CART from 1986 to 2001. Founded in 1986 as the American Racing Series (ARS), the series was renamed Indy Lights in 1991. Series will race prior to the CART race. But the key for the weekend comes down to the reward Fittipaldi won last year. ``When everything is working well, you know that it will be a very fast race,`` Fittipaldi said. ``You have to stay away from the walls, though. That's the biggest headache. It's a race that I have been looking forward to and anxiously want to successfully defend.'' --Speed does rule: During qualifying last year, Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967) in Paris, France to Brazilian parents, is a former racing driver. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for the Penske Honda Team and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500. set a closed-course speed record with an average lap speed of 241.428 mph. It marked the second time that record had been set in CART's four-year presence at Fontana. ``Fontana is a very, very, very fast racetrack,'' de Ferran said. ``The fastest that we race on during the season. To produce the type of record last year speaks well of that surface. For two miles, you race on a track with such wide turns. It allows you to carry lots of speed.'' Last season, it took de Ferran until the final race of the season to win the CART title. De Ferran successfully defended his Vanderbilt Cup For the contract bridge competition, see . The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. title Saturday by placing fourth at the Honda 300 in Surfers Paradise, Australia. De Ferran owns 191 points for the season and holds a 28-point lead over runner-up Kenny Brack n. 1. An opening caused by the parting of any solid body; a crack or breach; a flaw. Stain or brack in her sweet reputation. - J. Fletcher. 1. Salt or brackish water. with just 22 points on the line at Fontana. By winning the title, de Ferran became just the fourth driver in CART history to win consecutive titles and the first since Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi, (born October 23, 1966 in Bologna, Italy), is an Italian racing driver. He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver. in 1997-98. --Hard times: While California Speedway officials do not discuss attendance numbers, speedway president Bill Miller admits the Sept. 11 attacks could have an impact on attendance for the three days of racing. ``CART has an international flavor,'' Miller said. ``We have had some inquiries abut To reach; to touch. To touch at the end; be contiguous; join at a border or boundary; terminate on; end at; border on; reach or touch with an end. The term abutting implies a closer proximity than the term adjacent. the weekend. People from Mexico, due to the circumstances in the world, have told us they won't be able to attend. But I think people now want to do something fun. It's not like our crowd specifically comes from out of town. We have a lot of people from Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, who attend our events. But the crisis has affected everyone, no question.'' Security measure have not changed from events in the past, Miller said. Speedway officials still encourage fans to arrive early. Miller said fans should be expect to be checked upon entering the venue. ``We have taken down the size of the bags people can bring down,'' Miller said. ``All along, we've had a no cooler policy. We'll have a larger security presence. For those people who drive to the infield and the media, even they will be checked.'' RACING WEEKEND --Where: California Speedway, Fontana --TV: Saturday - NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series Auto Club 200, ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , 1:30 p.m.; --Sunday - CART Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota, ESPN, 12:30 p.m. --Information: (909) 429-5300 SCHEDULE Friday 7 a.m.: Gates open to public 8 a.m.: NASCAR Trucks practice 8:45 a.m.: Indy Lights practice 9:45 a.m.: CART practice Noon: NASCAR Trucks qualifying 2 p.m.: CART practice 3:30 p.m.: Indy Lights practice 4:45 p.m.: NASCAR Trucks final practice Saturday 7 a.m.: Gates open to public 7:15 a.m.: Indy Lights practice 8 a.m.: CART practice 10: a.m. Indy Lights qualifying 11:15 a.m.: CART qualifying 1:30 p.m. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series Auto Club 200 3:45 p.m.: CART Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge Sunday 7 a.m. Gates open to public 10:15 a.m.: Indy Lights race 12:30 p.m.: CART Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota CART money leaders --1. Gil de Ferran, $736,500 --2. Kenny Brack, $725,750 --3. Helio Castroneves, $623,250 --4. Michael Andretti, $545.500 --5. Cristiano da Matta Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born September 19, 1973, in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil) is an auto racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Toyota Formula One driver. , $534,000 --6. Dario Franchitti, $477,250 --7. Max Papis, $464,250 --8. Scott Dixon, $444,750 --9. Patrick Carpentier, $405,250 --10. Roberto Moreno, $381,750 CAPTION(S): 3 boxes Box: (1) RACING WEEKEND (see text) (2) SCHEDULE (see text) (3) CART money leaders (see text) |
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