NOTEBOOK: RAHAL HAPPY WITH HIS FINISH.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES

Staff Writer

LONG BEACH -- In a way, Sunday was the first Champ Car World Series race of the season for rookie Graham Rahal, who finished eighth in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Rahal, the 18-year-old son of Bobby Rahal, started the April 8 Vegas Grand Prix, but he crashed on the first lap after an aggressive move by Dan Clarke.

That said, his finish in Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was not necessarily a disappointment. Rahal started in the fifth spot in his No. 2 Medi/Zone ride.

"The Medi/Zone team had a pretty good day," said Rahal, who races for Newman/Haas/Lanigan. "We struggled a little bit with the fueling on both (pit) stops. It was no fault of the crew; the new equipment just took longer. We have to fix the issues. On the track, I think we were competitive with whoever we were running with.

"Unfortunately, we got behind Neel Jani at the end. He may have been slower than us, but he had a lot of straightaway speed. I don't know where he got it because I was better off the hairpin than he was. But he had some speed, which eliminated the possibility of getting by him."

Jani finished seventh.

Bourdais on Tracy: When Paul Tracy crashed during Champ Car practice Saturday and suffered a compression fracture of the first lumbar vertebrae, it meant that Oriol Servia was back in Champ Car.

The 32-year-old from Spain, who finished second in the series standings in 2005, replaced Tracy and is now part of Forsythe Championship Racing.

According to Sunday's winner, Sebastien Bourdais, this is a good-news, bad-news scenario.

"It brings Oriol back in the series and he deserves a ride," Bourdais said. "But we can't wish anything bad on any driver."

For the moment, Servia is the beneficiary of Tracy's injury.

Servia replaced Tracy and finished second behind Bourdais.

When Tracy is ready to return, it is believed he will re-take his position with Forsythe.

"I hope Paul gets back soon," Servia said. "I hope I find another ride. But I hope he gets back soon. He's a good friend. You always feel bad when a driver gets hurt."

Figge not hurt: Alex Figge crashed his ride into the tires on Turn 9 on his 69th lap. He did not finish the race, and was wheeled off the track on a gurney. But he did not have to go to the hospital, as he suffered just a bruised foot.

Matos madness: Raphael Matos won the Atlantic Championship race Sunday, making it the second year in a row that a driver has won the first two races of the season. Matos also won April 8 at the Vegas Grand Prix.

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