Vasser's 10th CART victory came after a red flag, a record-setting average of 197.995 mph and a final green-flag restart at California Speedway.
Jimmy Vasser, starting sixth, won the 250-lap race at Fontana on 3 November 2002. The winning average speed set a mark for 500-mile American open-wheel racing, and the race was CART's last at California Speedway.
Jimmy Vasser won The 500 at California Speedway in November 2002, becoming the first driver to take the race twice. The 18th round of the CART FedEx Championship Series was decided on a restart after a red flag, and the winning average of 197.995 mph set a new mark for 500-mile American open-wheel racing. Michael Andretti finished second and Patrick Carpentier third.
Who won the 2002 The 500?
Jimmy Vasser won the race for Team Rahal from sixth on the grid. It was his 10th career CART victory and his first since the 2000 Grand Prix of Houston. He finished 0.400 seconds ahead of Michael Andretti of Team Motorola.
The win also gave Vasser a place in the record books, since he became the first two-time winner of the race. He had won the event in 1998 and returned to Fontana to repeat the feat, collecting $100,000 for the victory.
A two-time winner, a red flag and a restart that gave Jimmy Vasser the 2002 The 500 at 197.995 mph average.
What was the championship picture before the race?
Cristiano da Matta, the defending champion of The 500, had already clinched the Drivers' Championship after his win at the Grand Prix Americas on 6 October. He led the standings with 219 points, ahead of Bruno Junqueira on 144 and Dario Franchitti on 135. Patrick Carpentier and Christian Fittipaldi were fourth and fifth on 131 and 116 points.
Lola had secured the Constructors' Cup, holding 148 points more than Reynard. Toyota had taken the Manufacturers' Cup with 301 points, ahead of Honda on 255 and Ford-Cosworth on 226.
CART had also trimmed the Handford device by three inches for the race, which cut drag and allowed a faster pace. Vasser predicted the event would be a wild one because of that change, while da Matta said he felt confident of winning at California again after a disappointing finish at the Honda Indy 300.
How did practice and qualifying go?
Tony Kanaan earned pole with a time of 31.483 seconds, his fourth CART pole. Bruno Junqueira qualified second, just 0.118 seconds slower. Da Matta qualified third, Andretti fourth and Paul Tracy fifth, with Vasser sixth and Alex Tagliani seventh.
Practice had given an early hint of the pace. Kanaan was fastest in the first session at 31.364 seconds, and Tagliani led the second at 31.252 seconds. Kanaan improved again in the final session with 31.006 seconds, ahead of Franchitti, Tagliani, Carpentier and Michel Jourdain Jr.
Qualifying lasted 120 minutes, and each driver could complete up to five warm-up laps before two timed laps. Carpentier qualified eighth, Franchitti ninth and Papis tenth, while Kenny Brack, Tora Takagi, Mario Dominguez and Oriol Servia completed the grid.
Adrian Fernandez could not race after suffering two thoracic fractures in a pile-up at Surfers Paradise, so Max Papis took his place in the No. 51 car. Tora Takagi had pelvic fractures from the same accident but was cleared to race as long as he felt comfortable.
How did the early laps unfold?
The Speed Channel broadcast the race live from 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, with Bob Varsha providing play-by-play and Scott Pruett and Tommy Kendall as analysts. The green flag fell at 12:38 p.m. with air temperatures of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius), and about 50,000 people attended.
Andretti shot past Kanaan on the outside line at the start to take the lead. Kanaan then lost second to Tracy on lap two and got it back four laps later. Using Andretti's slipstream, Kanaan passed him on lap nine to lead, but Andretti was back in front on lap 12 as Vasser moved past Tracy for third.
The leaders swapped places several times before the first stops. Tracy went from third to first on lap 17, Andretti retook the lead two laps later, and Tracy passed him again on the 20th lap. Vasser then moved into the lead for the first time three laps later and opened a 1.6-second advantage by lap 32.
How did the race change over the middle stint?
The first round of green-flag stops came on lap 33, and Vasser led the field into pit road. The first caution followed on lap 34, when a lug nut on Junqueira's tyre worked loose and the wheel came off as he left the pits. Junqueira rejoined several laps down.
On the lap 39 restart Andretti charged past Vasser to lead again, and Tracy overtook Vasser for third a lap later. Tracy then pulled alongside Andretti on the outside at turn four, and on the 46th lap he reclaimed the lead. Andretti passed him back two laps later, and the pair traded the lead nine times between laps 48 and 64.
Kanaan slowly climbed the order and regained the lead on the 65th lap. The second round of stops began on lap 66, when Franchitti stayed out and led, and Vasser went past Kanaan for the lead on lap 76. Da Matta and Fittipaldi also swapped fifth place around that time.
Problems were mounting for the leaders. Takagi braked too hard entering pit road on the 91st lap and hit the pit wall with the right side of his car, which ended his race without a caution. Tracy had an electrical issue and then engine trouble, and he retired shortly after.
A third caution came on lap 99 after Jourdain spun leaving the pits on cold tyres while Tagliani slid towards the inside wall. Dominguez retired with an engine failure after the restart on lap 105, and Andretti had moved into second by lap 108.
How did the lead battle end?
Da Matta and Andretti fought for second until da Matta pulled ahead on the 124th lap, and by lap 130 Vasser's lead over da Matta had dropped below four tenths of a second. On lap 132 the leaders made their fourth round of stops, and da Matta came out ahead of Vasser, who then regained second place.
Vasser built a 1.2-second lead by lap 158, though he had to drive on the apron of the front straight while passing a lapped car. He reclaimed the lead on the 171st lap after the fifth round of stops, and the gap to da Matta shrank to 0.4 seconds by lap 179.
Andretti took third from Carpentier on the 189th lap and then passed da Matta for second on lap 194. The sixth round of stops began on the 198th lap, and da Matta was ahead of Vasser when they rejoined. Vasser closed in again and retook the lead on lap 214 with a move in turn three.
Jourdain retired on lap 219 after his engine poured smoke, and Carpentier and Andretti fought a close duel for fourth. Da Matta tried the outside line to pass Vasser on lap 222 and failed, but he passed him in the third corner on lap 223. Vasser responded with a slingshot pass, and da Matta swerved back past him to lead on lap 230.
On lap 232 the leaders made their seventh round of stops, and Franchitti took the lead once again. Vasser's stop was slightly longer because a crew member struggled with a tyre, and da Matta slipped ahead as he left the pits. Franchitti's engine failed on lap 236 and handed the lead back to Vasser.
How did the final restart decide the race?
Da Matta's car had been parked in an unsafe part of the track, so officials brought out the third caution two laps later. Green-flag racing resumed on lap 242 with Vasser ahead of Andretti and Carpentier. Andretti went around Vasser on the first turn and built a 0.3-second lead.
Franchitti's car caught fire and stopped on the front straight on the 245th lap, bringing out the fourth and final caution. Officials then showed the red flag to give the race the best chance of a green-flag finish. After two laps under caution, the race restarted on lap 248.
Vasser used Andretti's draft to pull alongside him in the first corner and took the lead for good. He held it over the final two laps, finishing ahead of Andretti. The race covered 250 laps, with 44 lead changes among seven drivers during the event.
What were the final results?
Vasser won, Andretti was second and Carpentier third. Kanaan completed the top four and Servia took fifth. The result gave the race a finish that carried a record average speed of 197.995 mph (318.642 km/h), the fastest 500-mile race in American open-wheel history at that point.
| Position | Driver | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Vasser | Team Rahal; sixth on the grid; first two-time winner |
| 2 | Michael Andretti | Team Motorola; 0.400 seconds behind |
| 3 | Patrick Carpentier | Forsythe Racing; finished the year third in points |
| 4 | Tony Kanaan | Pole sitter; fourth place |
| 5 | Oriol Servia | Fifth place |
How did drivers and the media react?
Vasser praised the team, which had worked hard to repair the car after the Australian round, and he credited Andretti for a strong race. Andretti said the racing style had changed, with the leader gaining a clear advantage after restarts, and he admitted he was not pleased with the stoppage, though he accepted the rule.
Carpentier said he had experienced major oversteer during the final restart, but he was happy with third. Da Matta enjoyed the race because whoever was fastest was going to win, a view that matched the aero package the series had introduced.
Veteran journalist Robin Miller argued that CART's decision to stop the race after Franchitti's incident gave the series credibility it had needed with fans and teams, following the controversy of the Honda Indy 300. Vasser agreed, and Andretti said he accepted the rule even though he had not wanted the stoppage.
What did the result mean for the series?
Da Matta finished the season with 221 points, 73 ahead of Junqueira in second. Carpentier moved into third on 145 points, Franchitti dropped to fourth with 138 and Fittipaldi finished fifth on 122. Lola finished the Constructors' Cup on 379 points, with Reynard on 223.
The race was CART's last at California Speedway, because the 2003 event was cancelled after the nearby Old Fire. Excluding the Indianapolis 500, it was also the final 500-mile race in American open-wheel racing until the 2012 MAVTV 500, which was also held at California Speedway.
