RACE: On the surface, it may have been a runaway, but watching Paul Tracy hammer out qualifying-like laps tempting disaster and wondering whether it will all pay off when he pitted for the splash and go was great stuff.

TRACK: Just three cars eliminated by contact in only two incidents? This was Vancouver, right?

TRACY: Did a Schumacher. Then did a Zanardi.

JOURDAIN: Last year he went up to the level of his team. This year, he had to bide his time while the team got up to his level.

ALLMENDINGER: Anyone following AJ's career was not surprised by this result.

RUSPORT: And anyone who has followed this team through Atlantics and into Champ Car knew it was only a matter of time before they became a group to be reckoned with.

BOURDAIS: Sebastien did what drivers who win championships do -- score as many points as possible with a car that was not going to win.

TAGLIANI: Still looking to give Tracy a reason to respect him...

VASSER: Quite a change of fortune from one race ago.

GIDLEY: Memo had his fans jumping in joy only to send them home groaning.

WILSON: Now that Allmendinger is coming on strong, Justin cannot afford anymore bad luck.

LAVIN: Wow! Two years ago we were all over Mario Dominguez, then the next year he shut us all up. Last year, we were all over Rodolfo, now he is slowly starting to prove us all wrong again. With Michel Jourdain's slow rise to the top, maybe we would be wise to hold off judging Mexican drivers for at least a year.

GONZALEZ: Which means next year ... nah.

MAZZACANE: For crying out loud, send Gaston back to where he came from.

SPERAFICO: And take Alex with you.

COYNE: What is it with Dale Coyne, Vancouver, and lousy drivers doing stupid things on the pace lap? Oh wait, that's a redundancy.

CARPENTIER: You're too nice Patrick. This was one time that would have justified taking a driver back behind the tool shed.

PHILIPPE: "I've earned my spot in the Champ Car World Series." Hey, Nelson, did you see what Gidley did with your "outdated poorly engineered" car? Outdid Tagliani (did you ever do that?) with the best qualifying effort for Rocketsports this year. Oh year, we forgot, it wasn't your fault. It's the team's. Silly us.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Clean.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 28 -- The number of seconds Paul Tracy opened the lead to in order to keep it when he needed the extra pit stop.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Tracy becomes the second driver to win Vancouver from the pole in two consecutive years. Michael Andretti did it in 1991 and 1992.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Tommy Kendall in describing the push to pass button when you are ahead of the driver, "You might call it the FU button which is ... ahh ... ahh ... the follow us button."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Tommy Kendall who was in his usual form all broadcast describing Tracy's donuts, "Paul Tracy, the master baker."

SCHEDULE: Road America -- the best road racing circuit in the country. However, just like Mid-Ohio and Portland, if the fans feel so emotional about keeping it on the schedule, they have to attend the race.

Copyright © 2004 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.

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