The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 29

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM Sports MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2002 D9 AUTO RAGING 'mi wniirj' ww" 1 mi 1 1 i i. i Force wins No. 10 at Minnesota track 1 1 It ROUNDUP 'vm Motorola 220 (Top finishers) Driver Car 1. Cristiano da Matta L-T 2. Alex Tagliani R-F 3.

Bruno Junqueira L-T 4. TonyKanaan L-H 5. Jimmy Vasser L-F 6. Christian Fittipaldi L-T 7. Patrick Carpentier R-F 8.

Mario Dominguez L-F 9. Michel Jourdain Jr. L-F 10. Michael Andretti L-H Chassis: L-Lola, R-Reynard Engines: F-Ford, H-Honda, T-Toyota Series points leaders: Da Matta 143; Carpentier 101; Junqueira 101; Da-rio Franchitti 85; Fittipaldi 82 Da Matta puts end to slump with win CART points leader halts his 3-race slide by taking his 6th victory of the season. Associated Press ELKHART LAKE, Wis.

Victories have come in bunches for Cristiano da Matta since late last season, but Sunday's win in the Motorola 220 was one he really needed. Da Matta came to Road America in a three-race slump, during which he finished no better than 12th and earned only four championship points. The humbling stretch made the Brazilian set his sights lower. "Before the Paul Sancya Associated Press Kidding around: Kid Rock (left) plays for photographers while standing next to Tony Stewart before the start of the Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Stewart finished second in the race.

Sadler move adds pressure Associated Press John Force raced to his 10th Funny Car victory in Minnesota on Sunday, beating teammate Gary Densham in the final round of the Rugged Liner NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. Force drove his Ford Mustang to a 5.405-second pass at 216.62 mph in a tire-smoking battle against Densham (6.929 at 130.27). Force has an NHRA-rec-ord 103 career victories. Kenny Bernstein inched closer to the Top Fuel points lead, beating Larry Dixon of Indianapolis in the final round with run of 4.830 at 303.16. Bernstein, who trailed Dixon by 259 points in June, cut the lead to 80.

Jeg Coughlin earned his third win of the season and 26th of his career by beating Greg Anderson in the final round of Pro Stock. Coughlin finished in 6.981 at 199.11. Geno Scali earned his first Pro Stock Bike victory with a 7.277 run at 183.05, beating Craig Treble. Scali become the Ferrari sweep Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary Rubens Barrichello wasn't about to surrender his lead in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Barrichello edged teammate Michael Schumacher to win the Hungarian GP on Sunday, and their 1-2 finish allowed Ferrari to clinch the Formula One team title with four races left.

Barrichello, starting from the pole, cruised to his second victory of the season and third of his career, only losing the lead during his two pit stops. At the Austrian GP in May, Barrichello obeyed team orders and moved over on the final straightaway to let Schumacher take the checkered flag. This time, the Brazilian driver protected his lead on the tight 2.47-mile Hungaroring circuit. MS ,1.1 4 race did not lead a lap in his Pon-tiac. "I'd have to say NASCAR did a good job." Notes Stewart has finished first and second in his two races since being fined and put on probation for punching a freelance photographer working for The Indianapolis Star after the Brickyard 400.

He said the incident and its aftermath have brought his team together and improved its focus. "It was like hitting a reset button for our whole race team," he said. Jeff Gordon finished 19th Sunday, extending his winless streak to 31. But by finishing, he set a modern-era record of 54 consecutive races without a DNF (did not finish). The Dodge diversity program has produced its first three graduates, all with crew jobs lined up in NASCAR.

Two are going to work for Ray Evernham, who said, "It's great to be a part of something I'm proud of." Eight more scholarship recipients are set to begin the 51-week training course. Call Steve Ballard at 1-317-444-6184. Pepsi 400 (Top finishers) Driver Car Ford Pontiac Chevrolet Ford Ford Dodge Chevrolet Pontiac Chevrolet Chevrolet 1. Dale Jarrett 2. Tony Stewart 3.

Kevin Harvick 4. Jeff Burton 5. Mark Martin 6. Sterling Marlin 7. Jimmie Johnson 8.

Johnny Benson 9. Jeff Green 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Series points leaders: Marlin Martin Johnson Stewart Jeff Gordon 2,944 rear, he found he rather enjoyed the challenge it presented. "A day like today is fun, when you have a car like that and you make passes," he said.

"When I spun out, I didn't know if I had enough talent to finish this day." Not only did he finish it, he finished it ahead of 42 other cars. Call Steve Ballard at 1-317-444-6184. Shirley T.luldowney! first rider to win on a Kawasaki since 1992. The next NHRA event is the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Labor Day weekend.

American Le Mans Series Tom Kristensen moved closer to the American Le Mans Series championship, teaming with Ri-naldo Capello to win the mail2web.com Grand Prix at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario. The Audi R8 drivers raced to their third victory in the past four ALMS events, winning by a lap over the Audi R8 of Johnny Herbert and Stefan Johansson. Defending series champion Emanuele Pirro was taken to a hospital for observation after crashing hard while battling Kristenson for the lead. The Audi driver was briefly unconscious but was awake when transported. clinches title FORMULA ONE "The most important thing was to win the constructors' title," said Barrichello, who finished in 1 hour, 41 minutes, 49.001 seconds.

We had the best car out there, it was just a matter of bringing it home." Schumacher, already assured a record-tying fifth driver's championship, finished 0.4 seconds behind Barrichello and just missed becoming the first driver to win 10 races in a season. Schumacher's younger brother, Ralf, was third in a BMW-Williams, 13.3 seconds off the lead. Barrichello moved into second place in drivers' standings, five points ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished 11th. Free "Insider" Report: "How to End IRS Problems Forever!" 877-451-9111 Toil-Free 24 Hour Recorded Message FHA Purchases Conventional Bill Consolidation 1 st 2nd Mortgages Payoff land Contracts Up to 125 Home Value Slow Credit, Bankruptcy OK In-Home Appointments Available Soulh-5601 S. Meridian St.

(317)787-2150 North -3806 W. 86th St. (317)879-9010 www famirymortgagefundi ng com I TOOLS 1 mm NASCAR NOTES Robert Yates said the hiring of Sadler as a teammate to Dale Jarrett signals a new direction for his team. That made it easier to give up his signature No. 28.

"There are a few heartstrings that tear a little bit, but I got over that the first night," he said. "This is a new deal. We want to create our own identity." Fords hold their own NASCAR's one-race experiment giving General Motors cars more front-end downforce by extending their air dams seemed doomed after Chevrolets swept the top five spots in qualifying Friday for the Pepsi 400. But Jarrett and Jeff Burton wound up dueling for the win Sunday in Fords, with Jarrett prevailing. Kevin Harvick, who led a race-high 42 laps, had the only Chevy in the top six.

"It seems like it was a pretty good mix of cars all day up front," said runner-up Tony Stewart, who despite running near the front virtually the entire for the first time since the second week of the season, Marlin picked up a dozen spots in the closing laps to place sixth, one spot behind points runner-up Mark Martin and one ahead of third-place Jimmie Johnson. "Sixth place wasn't too bad, but we had a better car than that," Marlin said. Stewart wouldn't second-guess the decision of his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, to take just two tires when Jarrett took four. If another caution hadn't come out on lap 186 when Derrike Cope crashed, Stewart said he very well might have won. "I think we had a shot if it had stayed green, but you can say 'what all day," Stewart said.

"(Jarrett) was the strongest at the end and he won the race. To see the different scenarios play out really has changed the complexion of Winston Cup racing." Jarrett's scenario isn't one he would recommend or try to repeat, but once he got over the initial frustration of going to the Driver's switch to Robert Yates Racing to replace veteran Rudd finally official. By Steve Ballard steve.ballardindystar.com BROOKLYN, Mich. With opportunity comes pressure to take advantage of it. Elliott Sadler already is feeling as much.

The long-rumored move of Sadler to Robert Yates Racing for 2003 became official Sunday with the announcement he will drive the No. 38 car with sponsorship. Although his debut in the Day-tona 500 is six months away, Sadler, 27, said he is feeling the weight of expectations as he replaces veteran Ricky Rudd on one of NASCAR's elite teams. "I've had a lot of sleepless nights before I got this deal done, and now that it's done, I think I'm sleeping worse," said Sadler, who has one win in four Winston Cup seasons. "This car has always run good.

I don't know what state of mind I'll be in by the time I get to Daytona." Jarrett Strategy of taking 4 tires on final pit stop key to win. From D1 that's what I had on my mind. That's won us more races than it's cost us." Jarrett said his primary concern was having to work too hard to catch up, allowing Burton time to get away. He had to work hardest to get around pole sitter Dale Earnhardt who faded to 10th at the finish, and then Stewart. "That's two very tough customers to be trying to pass at the end of a race," Jarrett said.

"I spent a little more time there than I really wanted to. But when I got to (Burton), I could see he wasn't going to be a factor." Like Jarrett, points leader Sterling Marlin opted for four tires but didn't get quite the same result. In danger of surrendering first place in the points standings VETERAN EX-IRS AGENTS TAX PROFESSIONALS Clients Never Meet with the IRS Settle for Pennies on the Dollar Written Guarantee Free Tax Settlement Analysis: Confidential Interview In Our Local Office 800-450-0984 Toil-Free www.jkharris.com (Nation's) most successful tax-resolution company." -The Wall Street Journal JK Harris Company Indianapolis (475 Offices Nationwide! Locally owned and operated CALL HOW! race, I sat down with my engineer and my crew and decided we really needed to finish the race," he said. "Anything we could bring home today better, than fifth would be good Da Matta "During the race, I was feeling good and the car was running very well. At that point, I knew we had the pace to win." The CART series leader won for the first time on the scenic 4-mile road course in central Wisconsin, earning his sixth win in 12 starts this season, his eighth in the past 14 races and the 10th of his career.

It wasn't a dominant victory, like some da Matta has had this season. Paul Tracy actually led the most laps (24) in the race, which was extended this year from 55 to 60 laps, and pole winner Bruno Junqueira and Alex Tagliani both were contenders to the end. Tracy, who started fourth in the 18-car field, got a great start and passed Junqueira on the fifth turn of the first lap to take the lead. He led easily until making his first pit stop on lap 25, building margins of up to 23 seconds. Junqueira inherited the lead and stayed in front until he pitted on lap 39.

Da Matta, who had been lurking near the leaders throughout the early going, took the lead at that point and never lost it. It appeared Junqueira might have enough speed to catch his countryman and boyhood friend, but a small mistake on his final pit stop cost him a shot at the win. As Junqueira pulled into the pits along with the other leaders, during a caution period on lap 50, the left rear tire changer on his Target Chip Ganassi team banged into his rear wing and momentarily dropped his air wrench. That slight delay allowed Tagliani to beat Junqueira out of the pits, and that's the way it stayed to the end, with Tagliani finishing 0.805-seconds about six car-lengths behind da Matta. Despite an obviously fast car, Tracy never got back into contention after his first pit stop.

He was back up to fourth place, but still trailing Junqueira by nearly five seconds, when Kenny Brack tried to pass on the inside of the narrow Canada Corner, a tight righthander. Brack's car bounced off the curbing and banged into the side of Tracy's car. Both skidded into the gravel trap, ending their race day. "He wasn't close enough, to pass me," Tracy said. "There was not enough room to pass.

When we got out of the car, I said, 'Where did that come Brack said, 'I'm sorry, I'm But that doesn't get us any points." vvr) Don't Miss "Big Daddy" Don Garlits NATIONALS UlhM "'l' Indianapolis Raceway Park Clermont, Indiana Friday, August 30 Pro Mod Qualifying 6 p.m. Pro Qualifying begins 6:45 p.m. Saturday, August 31 Filters Pro Bike Klash 1 2:30, 2:1 5 4:45 (final) Pro Mod Qualifying 2:45 6 p.m. Pro Qualifying begins 12:45 p.m. Sunday, September 1 Pro Qualifying begins 11 a.m.

Budweiser Shootout 12:30, 2:15 4 p.m. (final) Pro Mod Qualifying 2:30 5:30 p.m. Monday, September 2 Pre-race Ceremony 9:30 a.m. Final Eliminations 10:30 a.m..