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Sunday, April 28, 2002

By The Associated Press

Bruno Junqueira had the speed to win the Bridgestone Potenza 500. Yet it was patience that paid off for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver from Brazil.

Junqueira, who had the fastest time in practice and started from the pole, used outstanding pit strategy in Motegi, Japan, yesterday to earn his second career CART FedEx championship series win.

"The car was good from when we started running Thursday," Junqueira said. "I knew that Tony [Kanaan] and Paul [Tracy] led early, but I also knew it would be a long race and I just tried to be patient."

Junqueira, driving a Toyota-powered Lola, took the lead for good four laps from the finish of the 201-lap race at the 1.5-mile Motegi oval, north of Tokyo, and crossed the finish line with a total time of 2 hours, 5.882 seconds.

Other races

Auto Club 300: Rookie Scott Riggs started last and finished first in the Busch Series race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Riggs, sent to the rear of the 43-car field after his team was forced to change engines, moved steadily to the front. He took the lead from Jack Sprague 49 laps from the end and held off Jeff Green for his second win.

NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals: Top Fuel leader Larry Dixon earned his fourth No. 1 qualifying position of the season in Bristol, Tenn. Dixon drove his dragster to a 4.583-second run at 323.19 mph to gain the top position. Tony Pedregon (Funny Car) and Troy Coughlin (Pro Stock) lead their divisions.

Spanish Grand Prix: Michael Schumacher claimed his third pole of the season and was joined on the front row by Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello in Barcelona.

IROC: Kevin Harvick outdueled Bobby Labonte for a victory at California Speedway. Harvick, the 2001 Busch Series champion, earned his first IROC victory in only his second start.

News

Roush speaks: Jack Roush, the NASCAR team owner who hit a power line April 19 and flipped his tiny plane upside down into 8 feet of water, held a telephone news conference from his Alabama hospital bed. Roush, 60, was rescued by Larry Hicks, a resident of the Troy, Ala., neighborhood where the crash occurred and a retired Marine with air and sea rescue training.

"Since I have no recollection of the day, I can't know if I had a problem with the aircraft or if I simply had a pilot problem of judgment in not seeing the wire," said Roush, who was initially listed in critical condition but has since been upgraded to fair.

Hicks rowed his fishing boat out to the downed plane, made three dives before finding Roush, got the owner out of his harness and pulled him up onto the wing. He resuscitated the unconscious Roush and kept him breathing until rescue workers arrived minutes later.