OSCAR TO A BEAUTIFUL RACE.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK

FONTANA - The Indy Racing League might have picked the wrong weekend to have its first race in the Los Angeles market, what with the Oscars going on Sunday night and all.

But as they say, hindsight is 20-20, and by the looks of the crowd at California Speedway for the first running of the Yamaha Indy 400, most of the people in the L.A. market had their eyes on the Academy Awards show rather than open-wheel race cars.

That's not to say the race wasn't worth watching. There were several impressive performances. As Pennzoil Panther Racing team manager John Barnes said, some might have made a mistake by not coming out to the race track.

``I think people did the wrong thing (Sunday),'' Barnes said. ``If they were here, they would have had a hell of a time.''

Regardless of whether fans were watching the Oscars or Indy racing, the race was one of the best, not only in California Speedway history but maybe in auto-racing history. It was a race worthy of accolades and honors.

In recognition of the Academy Awards, and to try and put auto racing in the perspective of award-show-watching folk who might have missed the race, here are the Oscar equivalents for the California Speedway race:

Best driver in a leading role: Sam Hornish Jr. The defending series champion jumped out to a seemingly unsurpassable lead, reminiscent of his opening-race performance at Miami. If not for a couple of caution flags thrown early in the race for clearing debris on the track, Hornish might have lapped the field again.

``The best place to be in a race is out front,'' Hornish said. ``I'm upset we lost our lead like that, but I had confidence in our guys.''

And Hornish's guys were able to get him back in contention even though the field was allowed to bunch twice during the race because of debris. But Hornish's driving skills at the end of the race were what made the difference. He didn't dominate as he did in Miami, but Hornish definitely rose above the field in a race that was decided by a fraction of a second.

Best driver in a supporting role: There were two drivers to choose from here: Richie Hearn and Memo Gidley. Both were racing as substitutes for injured drivers. Even though Gidley had the biggest hole to dig out of - he started last because the driver he replaced, Robbie Buhl, had already qualified and crashed at the end of his session - Hearn had the better race. Hearn, a Pasadena High graduate driving for Anthony Lazzaro, who fractured his spinal column in Phoenix last Sunday, started 19th, ran as high as 12th and finished 14th.

Best directors: Team Menard. Without help from other drivers and competing as a one-car team, Team Menard and driver Jaques Lazier were able to fend off challenges for the lead by teammates Eddie Cheever Jr. and Tomas Scheckter midway through the race. Additionally, during the third pit stop, Lazier's radio went out and he couldn't communicate with his crew. After three laps of trying to call him in and the threat of running out of fuel looming, the Menard crew got Lazier to pit by using the old-fashioned method of putting a sign along pit road telling him to pit.

Best song: ``I Want to Be Like You.'' Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the swing band from the movie ``Swingers'' and of The Brown Derby fame, cover the ``Jungle Book'' song by King Louie, the orangutan that wants to learn how to make fire. The band played to the sparse crowd after the race. And what race fan wouldn't want to be a race car driver?

Best story (otherwise known as best picture in Oscar circles): Lazier and Laurent Redon crash the Penske-Panther podium party. Pennzoil Panther Racing driver Hornish and Marlboro Team Penske drivers Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves had a stranglehold on the top three spots of the first two IRL races. Hornish won his second race of the season and returned to the podium for the third time in three races this season. But Lazier made a valiant effort at the end of the race, bumping wheels with Hornish and battling all the way to the finish line. ``I didn't really know we bumped wheels,'' Hornish said. ``I guess it was good that it wasn't any more exciting than it was.''

Lazier's second-place finish is his best of the season and might be a turning point in the Team Menard season.

``It's huge,'' Lazier said. ``Going into this weekend, we were coming into our own. A second-place start and finish shows that Team Menard is back.''

Redon, driving for Conquest Racing, turned in his best finish of his short IRL career, finishing third and earning his first podium.

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Racing was tight Sunday at California Speedway, as Eddie Cheever Jr., front, and Sam Hornish Jr. duel in the Turn 1.

Will Lester/Associated Press