ROUNDUP: TRACY CLINCHES CART TITLE.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Paul Tracy won the CART drivers' championship Sunday when closest rival Bruno Junqueira crashed with 10 laps left in the Gold Coast Indy in Surfers Paradise, Australia.

American rookie Ryan Hunter-Reay was the winner in a race cut short by thunderstorms and hail the size of marbles. Hunter-Reay beat another rookie, Darren Manning of England, by 1.546 seconds for his first CART victory.

Tracy finished 13th, two laps behind the winner. But his 28-point lead over Junqueira entering the race meant Junqueira had to pick up at least seven points to send the title chase to the final event at California Speedway in Fontana on Saturday.

Tracy had tears in his eyes when handed the Vanderbilt Cup for winning the title.

``I went through every range of emotion you could in two hours,'' he said. ``To finally win it is something. I've won lots of races and led plenty of laps, but to get to this level is what it's all about.''

There were crashes on the first turn and a 75-minute delay because of hail. The race was shortened to 47 laps from 65 because of the weather.

``I can't believe it, it was just such a battle,'' said Hunter-Reay as he held the American flag at the trophy presentations.

Junqueira finished 15th and was leading before the storm. Cars were forced off the track after 14 laps. The race restarted after hail was plucked from the floor of some cockpits, drivers changed wet socks and shoes and water was squeezed off the street course.

``Before the rain it looked as if we could win,'' Junqueira said.

Jimmy Vasser, Hunter-Reay's teammate and the 1996 winner of the Australian race, was third. He was followed by Michel Jourdain Jr., who led briefly with 20 laps to go, and Patrick Carpentier of Canada.

This was the 13th consecutive year a different driver has won this race. It was also the first time rookies finished 1-2 in a CART race since Teo Fabi and Al Unser Jr. at Pocono in 1983.

Last year, eight cars were involved in a crash in heavy rain on the first turn. In previous years, rain has forced the race to finish in near-darkness on the 2.5-mile temporary circuit.

--Fires concern Fontana: Smoke and flames from fires burning over the Inland Valley have caused concern about the CART race next weekend in Fontana.

California Speedway officials will meet with San Bernardino County representatives today to ``find out where we stand,'' said speedway spokesman Dennis Bickmeier.

``(Speedway president) Bill Miller opened a dialogue with the county last week about the fires,'' Bickmeier said. ``At that time, he offered the speedway grounds to fire crews for whatever need they might have, from refilling the helicopters with water and/or fuel to our shower facilities.

``We'll discuss with the county today what kind of contingency plans we might have to make.''

The most pressing concern for Miller is the arrival of charter jets carrying cars and equipment for the CART series. The jets departed Australia after the completion of Sunday's race and are due today at San Bernardino Airport.

--Pedregon is Funny man: Tony Pedregon clinched his first Funny Car championship and won the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.