TRACK: I thought it never rains in Southern California.

RACE: Looked like a Michigan 500 of old. This is why the championship should not be concluded with a 500-mile race.

HANDFORD DEVICE: Never worked better at Fontana. It was more like Michigan with all the passing, slicing, and dicing. However, the drag may have contributed to all the engine failures.

DE FERRAN: Talk about winning a close championship. Not the points. The mere inches, or less, Gil missed Andretti's spinning car. Good to see a nice guy finally prove his worth.

PENSKE: Yeah, Team Penske is back. Ganassi and Green won't have it so easy anymore.

FERNANDEZ: His attempt to back into a championship was foiled.

BRACK: He certainly gave it his best shot.

TRACY: A first [plenum explosion] prevents a first [championship].

MORENO: Despite his faltering in the latter part of the season, a fine year for Roberto with his first full time ride.

FITTIPALDI: Christian?! The same guy who made every mistake in the book at Michigan? Well, he learned his lessons.

MONTOYA: So close to the "triple crown." Have fun in F1, Juan.

MEARS: Attrition not withstanding, that was one fine debut for Casey. Other than out of sequence pit stops, Casey was never lapped on the track.

BARRON: The biggest disappointment out of all the day's disappointments.

VASSER: Now Jimmy, exactly how did the gearbox sound going into Turn 3?

DA MATTA: That's why they always throw the yellow flag for debris on a superspeedway.

BLUNDELL: This race was a metaphor for Mark's CART career. Started out with great promise, proceeded slowly, became competitive, and then went up in smoke.

ANDRETTI: Glad to see the red flag. Not so glad to see blue smoke.

GANASSI: Who are we to criticize Chip's driver choices considering the huge success he has had in that area. However, his two new drivers are not exactly going to help pack the grandstands.

MERCEDES: What a way to leave the series -- everytime their engine led the race, it promptly blew up.

UGLY STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Six cars finish the race. Thought those days of attrition were long gone.

INTERESTING STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Juan Montoya topped the year in laps led by more than double the margin of second place Castroneves. The points don't always tell who the top drivers are.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: What seemed to be the sigh for all the competitors, Max Papis said, "Unfortunately, the million dollars is going to someone else."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: In the honesty category, Christian Fittipaldi said, "I have to admit I lucked out a little bit today." Then again, that goes for most 500-mile winners.

SCHEDULE: Twenty-two races for next year. Let's get it on!

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