CART TOYOTA 500: GETTING VASSER EDUCATION TOYOTA 500 CHAMP SHOWS FIELD HOW TO WIN IN FINAL LAPS.

Byline: Louis Brewster Staff Writer

FONTANA - Jimmy Vasser knows how to win a 500-mile race at California Speedway: Make the last pass count.

In the throes of a 39-race victory drought, Vasser blew past Michael Andretti two laps from the finish to win Sunday's Toyota 500 in front of an estimated 60,000 fans. The move was reminiscent of 1998, when Vasser passed the late Greg Moore on the last lap for his first Fontana victory.

Vasser completed the 250 laps around the two-mile oval in record time. His average speed of 197.995 mph was the fastest open-wheel race in history, breaking the previous CART mark of 189.727 mph set by Al Unser Jr. in 1990 at Michigan International Speedway.

Patrick Carpentier finished third and pole-sitter Tony Kanaan was the only other driver on the lead lap. Half of the 18-car field was running at the end of 2-hour, 34-minute race.

``Racing is about speed,'' Carpentier said, ``and the guys with the fastest cars ended up in front. It was wide open all day.''

Vasser made his pass, the last of 43 official lead changes among seven drivers, after CART borrowed a page from NASCAR. The race was stopped for nine minutes on lap 247 to deal with the aftermath of Dario Franchitti's burning car when chief steward Chris Kneifel and CART senior manager of competition Gary Barnhart decided not to end the race during a caution period.

That rule was partly instituted because the 2001 Fontana race, already curtailed 30 laps because of darkness, ended on a yellow flag with Cristiano da Matta in front. It also erased the bitter memories of last week's race in Australia that ended after a parade of 33 caution laps.

In all, Vasser was out front 10 times for a race-high 148 laps, a speedway record.

``The red flag was the right call to make,'' said Vasser, driving the Team Rahal Ford Lola. ``It's all about the fans, giving them a green-flag finish. Had it not been for Dario causing the red flag, it would have been difficult to catch Michael under race conditions.

``Michael drove a great race,'' said Vasser, whose crew put together a new car in two days after arriving from Australia. ``He expertly knew how to take away my air and just drove a great race. At the end, he was in a tough position.''

Andretti posted his best finish in the last of his six CART races at the track. He will drive next year in the IRL series. Andretti said he knew what was going to happen in the end. He had taken the lead on lap 243 after a caution period when da Matta's engine expired outside turn 1.

``After the yellow, I thought I had the race won,'' said Andretti, who led 11 times for 34 laps. ``Then Dario's car lost a motor and I became a sitting duck. What's fair is fair. The yellow came out and cost Jimmy and the red flag came out and cost me. The red flag is in the rulebook, so it was the right decision.

``I'm sure Jimmy loved the red flag.''

Vasser, winless since the Houston race in October 2000, said ``the guy leading on the last lap is a sitting duck.''

Andretti said his Newman-Haas Racing Honda Lola was not enough in the closing laps.

``Jimmy probably had the best car and deserved to win,'' Andretti said. ``I tried to catch him in turns 3 and 4 at the end, but came up a little short. I radioed to the crew, `I'm done.' ''

Da Matta, the new series champion, said he would have done to Vasser what the winner did to Andretti had his Toyota engine, installed before morning practice, not died.

``To end this was is a huge disappointment,'' da Matta said. ``We waited for this point in the race to come before we went for it. (Vasser) had a strong car but I was hoping to draft by him in the last two laps if he got back in front of me. I was almost three seconds ahead and then I lost power."

While the race did not come close to matching last year's record 73 lead changes among 19 drivers, it did produce a racing atmosphere. New rules involving the wing package and maximum number of laps before pitting (33) increased the tempo.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Jimmy Vasser, whose average speed of 197.995 mph was the fastest open-wheel time in history, drives to the Toyota 500 victory.

Jeff Malet/Staff Photographer

(2) After ending his victory drought of 39 races, Jimmy Vasser celebrates with teammates and team owner Bobby Rahal, center.

Will Lester/Staff Photographer