2002 CART season

2002 American Championship Car season
Series : CART
Champion : Cristiano da Matta
Previous: 2001	Next: 2003

The 2002 CART season, the twenty-fourth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 19 races, beginning in Monterrey, Mexico on March 10 and concluding in Mexico City, Mexico on November 17. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Cristiano da Matta. Rookie of the Year was Mario Domínguez.

Drivers and teams[]

Bridgestone became the exclusive tire supplier for CART, replacing Firestone, an association that would continue until the final Champ Car season in 2007.^[1] The 2002 season was last to feature multiple engine manufacturers.

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2002 CART Championship Series season.

Team	Chassis	Engine	No	Drivers	Races
Newman/Haas Racing	Lola B2/00	Toyota	1	Cristiano da Matta	17-19
			6	Cristiano da Matta	1-16
			11	Christian Fittipaldi	All
Team Player's	Reynard 02i	Ford-Cosworth	32	Patrick Carpentier	All
Team Player's	Reynard 02i	Ford-Cosworth	33	Alex Tagliani	All
Team KOOL Green	Reynard 02i/Lola B2/00	Honda	26	Paul Tracy	All
Team KOOL Green	Reynard 02i/Lola B2/00	Honda	27	Dario Franchitti	All
Team Rahal	Lola B2/00	Ford-Cosworth	8	Jimmy Vasser	All
Team Rahal	Lola B2/00	Ford-Cosworth	9	Michel Jourdain, Jr.	All
Sigma Autosport	Lola B2/00	Ford-Cosworth	22	Max Papis	1-5
Herdez Competition	Lola B2/00	Ford-Cosworth	16	Mario Domínguez	1-4
Herdez Competition	Lola B2/00	Ford-Cosworth	55	Mario Domínguez	5-19
Patrick Racing	Reynard 02i/Lola B2/00	Toyota	20	Townsend Bell	1-9
Patrick Racing	Reynard 02i/Lola B2/00	Toyota	20	Oriol Servià	10-19
Walker Racing	Reynard 02i	Toyota	5	Toranosuke Takagi	All
PWR Championship Racing	Lola B2/00	Toyota	7	Scott Dixon	1-3
PWR Championship Racing	Lola B2/00	Toyota	17	Oriol Servià	1-3
Target Chip Ganassi Racing	Lola B2/00	Toyota	4	Bruno Junqueira	All
			12	Kenny Bräck	All
			44	Scott Dixon	4-19
Mo Nunn Racing	Reynard 02i	Honda	10	Tony Kanaan	All
Fernández Racing	Lola B2/00	Honda	51	Adrián Fernández	1-10, 12-17
				Max Papis	11, 18
				Luis Díaz	19
			52	Shinji Nakano	All
Team Motorola	Reynard 02i	Honda	39	Michael Andretti	All
Team St. George Dale Coyne Racing	Lola B2/00	Ford-Cosworth	19	Darren Manning	15
Team St. George Dale Coyne Racing	Lola B2/00	Ford-Cosworth	19	André Lotterer	19

Team changes[]

The biggest change to the team lineup in the 2002 CART season was the defection of Team Penske to the rival Indy Racing League.^[2] The departure of Team Penske, a CART stalwart from its earliest days, was an early sign of a major shift in the CART-IRL rivalry. Several other major CART powers would follow Penske to the IRL for the 2003 season. Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Mo Nunn Racing both set up separate IRL teams in 2002, but continued to compete in CART for the time being, though Mo Nunn downsized his team to a single car. They would be among the teams to leave CART for the IRL in 2003. Blair Racing also left CART for IRL.^[3] Patrick Racing downsized their effort to a single car, while Forsythe Racing shutdown their third car driven by Bryan Herta in 2001 for lack of sponsorship.^[4]

Driver changes[]

1996 series champion Jimmy Vasser, one of two former champions in the 2002 field (the other being Michael Andretti), left Patrick Racing for Team Rahal.^[5] Joining him at Rahal was Michel Jourdain Jr. who left Herdez Competition.^[6] Rahal's 2001 drivers, Kenny Bräck and Max Papis moved to Target Chip Ganassi Racing^[7] and Sigma Autosport.^[8] Papis took the seat previously occupied by Oriol Servià, who replaced the retiring Maurício Gugelmin at PWR Championship Racing. The 2002 season started with two rookies. 2001 Dayton Indy Lights champion Townsend Bell led a one car effort at Patrick Racing.^[9] Mario Domínguez signed on for another single car effort with Herdez Competition.^[10]

In-season changes[]

Lack of sponsorship led to the shutdown of PWR Championship Racing after the third race in Motegi, Japan. Scott Dixon landed in a third car at Target Chip Ganassi Racing, while Oriol Servià was sidelined for the time being.^[11]^[12]
Having already dropped the Bettenhausen name from its team name with the conclusion of the 2001 season, Herdez Competition changed their car number from 16 to 55 beginning with the fifth round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. #16 had long been associated with Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. and his race team.
The fifth race at Laguna Seca was the last appearance for Sigma Autosport, which, like PWR earlier in the season, found their sponsorship well run dry, leaving Max Papis without a ride.^[13]
A run of disappointing performances and a two probation sanctions from CART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach, Sr. led to the firing of Townsend Bell from Patrick Racing after the ninth round at Cleveland. Oriol Servià drove the #20 car for the remainder of the season.^[14]
Adrián Fernández fractured his hip in a crash in the tenth race at Vancouver and sat out the following race at Mid-Ohio. Max Papis substituted for him.^[15]
Dale Coyne helped put together what was described as an "all-England" team named Team St. George for a one shot effort for the fifteenth race at Rockingham, England. Darren Manning was chosen to be the driver. The team used Coyne's traditional #19 car.^[16]
After clinching the season championship by winning the sixteenth race in Miami Cristiano da Matta ran with #1 on his car for the rest of the season.
Adrian Fernández was involved in a crash in the seventeenth race at Surfer's Paradise, Australia and suffered two thoracic fractures, which forced him to sit out the final two races of the season. Max Papis sat in for him again at Fontana and Luis Díaz substituted at Mexico City.^[17]^[18]
Dale Coyne Racing reappeared under its own name and ran André Lotterer at the final race of the season at Mexico City.^[19]

Races[]

Rnd	Race Name	Circuit	City/Location	Date
1	Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey	Fundidora Park	Monterrey, Mexico	March 10
2	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California	April 14
3	Bridgestone Potenza 500	Twin Ring Motegi	Motegi, Japan	April 27
4	Miller Lite 250	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	June 2
5	Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300	Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca	Monterey, California	June 9
6	G.I. Joe's 200	Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon	June 16
7	CART Grand Prix of Chicago	Chicago Motor Speedway	Cicero, Illinois	June 30
8	Molson Indy Toronto	Exhibition Place	Toronto, Ontario	July 7
9	Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank	Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport	Cleveland, Ohio	July 14
10	Molson Indy Vancouver	Streets of Vancouver	Vancouver, British Columbia	July 28
11	CART Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	August 11
12	The Grand Prix at Road America featuring the Motorola 220	Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	August 18
13	Molson Indy Montreal	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve	Montreal, Quebec	August 25
14	Shell Grand Prix of Denver	Streets of Denver	Denver, Colorado	September 1
15	Sure For Men Rockingham 500	Rockingham Motor Speedway	Corby, United Kingdom	September 14
16	Grand Prix Americas	Miami Bayfront Park Street Circuit	Miami, Florida	October 6
17	Honda Indy 300	Surfers Paradise Street Circuit	Surfers Paradise, Australia	October 27
18	The 500 Presented by Toyota	California Speedway	Fontana, California	November 3
19	Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante Presented by Banamex/Visa	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	Mexico City, Mexico	November 17

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Full series results[]

Race results[]

Rnd	Race Name	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
1	Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey	Adrián Fernández	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Newman/Haas Racing	Report
2	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Jimmy Vasser	Bruno Junqueira	Michael Andretti	Team Motorola	Report
3	Bridgestone Potenza 500	Bruno Junqueira	Tony Kanaan	Bruno Junqueira	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
4	Miller Lite 250	Adrián Fernández	Kenny Bräck	Paul Tracy	Team KOOL Green	Report
5	Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Newman/Haas Racing	Report
6	G.I. Joe's 200	Cristiano da Matta	Bruno Junqueira	Cristiano da Matta	Newman/Haas Racing	Report
7	CART Grand Prix of Chicago	Dario Franchitti	Paul Tracy	Cristiano da Matta	Newman/Haas Racing	Report
8	Molson Indy Toronto	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Newman/Haas Racing	Report
9	Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank	Cristiano da Matta	Paul Tracy	Patrick Carpentier	Team Player's	Report
10	Molson Indy Vancouver	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Dario Franchitti	Team KOOL Green	Report
11	CART Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio	Patrick Carpentier	Cristiano da Matta	Patrick Carpentier	Team Player's	Report
12	The Grand Prix at Road America featuring the Motorola 220	Bruno Junqueira	Bruno Junqueira	Cristiano da Matta	Newman/Haas Racing	Report
13	Molson Indy Montreal	Cristiano da Matta	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Team KOOL Green	Report
14	Shell Grand Prix of Denver	Bruno Junqueira	Kenny Bräck	Bruno Junqueira	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
15	Sure For Men Rockingham 500	Kenny Bräck	Jimmy Vasser	Dario Franchitti	Team KOOL Green	Report
16	Grand Prix Americas	Tony Kanaan	Christian Fittipaldi	Cristiano da Matta	Newman/Haas Racing	Report
17	Honda Indy 300	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Mario Domínguez	Herdez Competition	Report
18	The 500 Presented by Toyota	Tony Kanaan	Oriol Servià	Jimmy Vasser	Team Rahal	Report
19	Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante Presented by Banamex/Visa	Bruno Junqueira	Shinji Nakano	Kenny Bräck	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	Report

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Final driver standings[]

Pos	Driver	MTY	LBH	MOT	MIL	LAG	POR	CHI	TOR	CLE	VAN	MDO	ROA	MTL	DEN	ROC	MIA	SUR	FON	MEX	Pts
1	Cristiano da Matta	1*	8	13	11	1*	1*	1*	1*	16	12	13	1	2	3	2	1*	8*	11	2	237
2	Bruno Junqueira	11	17	1	10	4	2	2	14	13	9	4	3	13	1*	5	5	14	9	3	164
3	Patrick Carpentier	7	19	4	15	5	5	16	10	1*	5	1*	7	15	17	3	16	2	3	4	157
4	Dario Franchitti	2	9	3	12	19	3	3	13	14	1	17	12	1*	18	1	10	7	10	5	148
5	Christian Fittipaldi	3	13	12	4	2	13	14	3	12	13	2	6	7	5	17	2	11	7	15	122
6	Kenny Bräck	18	5	17	8	3	15	18	2	4	18	6	14	18	7	8*	13	4	12	1	114
7	Jimmy Vasser	20	2	20	9	8	16	17	6	6	17	8	5	5	10	7	3	12	1*	11	114
8	Alex Tagliani	5	16	2	19	10	12	7	7	5	7	7	2	11	12	18	4	6	8	10	111
9	Michael Andretti	12	1*	16	7	11	9	15	11	2	6	3	10	8	13	10	8	9	2	17	110
10	Michel Jourdain, Jr.	4	4	5	5	9	6	10	12	9	4	11	9	6	9	11	6	10	13	13	105
11	Paul Tracy	8	7	19	1*	17	17	9	16	3	2*	18	13*	4	8	19	12	3	17	16	101
12	Tony Kanaan	16	20	15*	16	12	8	8	17	8	3	14	4	3	6	15	9	5	4	8*	99
13	Scott Dixon	6	18	9	6	6	7	6	5	15	16	5	17	10	2	12	18	15	6	7	97
14	Adrián Fernández	13	10	7	2	18	14	13	9	11	8		18	12	4	14	7	DNS			59
15	Toranosuke Takagi	14	6	8	14	16	18	4	8	7	15	12	15	14	15	6	15	DNS	18	6	53
16	Oriol Servià	10	11	6							14	10	16	16	11	4	17	16	5	9	44
17	Shinji Nakano	15	12	10	18	14	11	5	4	10	11	9	11	9	16	16	14	13	15	14	43
18	Mario Domínguez	17	14	11	17	15	10	11	18	17	10	16	8	17	14	13	11	1	16	18	37
19	Max Papis	9	3	18	3	13						15							14		32
20	Townsend Bell	19	15	14	13	7	4	12	15	18											19
21	Darren Manning															9					4
22	André Lotterer																			12	1
23	Luis Díaz																			19	0
Pos	Driver	MTY	LBH	MOT	MIL	LAG	POR	CHI	TOR	CLE	VAN	MDO	ROA	MTL	DEN	ROC	MIA	SUR	FON	MEX	Pts

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th-10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps
Rookie of the Year
Rookie

Point Scoring System:

Points are awarded based on each driver's resulting place (regardless of whether the car is running at the end of the race):

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Points	20	16	14	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

Bonus Points:

1 For Fastest Friday Qualifying Lap
1 For Fastest Saturday Qualifying Lap
1 For Leading The Most Laps Of The Race

Nation's Cup[]

Top result per race counts towards Nation's Cup.

Pos	Country	MTY	LBH	MOT	MIL	LAG	POR	CHI	TOR	CLE	VAN	MDO	ROA	MTL	DEN	ROC	MIA	SUR	FON	MEX	Pts
1	Brazil	1	8	1	4	1	1	1	1	8	3	2	1	2	1	2	1	5	4	2	325
2	Canada	5	7	2	1	5	5	7	7	1	2	1	2	4	8	3	4	2	3	4	247
3	United States	12	1	14	7	7	4	12	6	2	6	3	5	5	10	7	3	9	1	11	164
4	Scotland	2	9	3	12	19	3	3	13	14	1	17	12	1	18	1	10	7	10	5	148
5	Mexico	4	4	5	2	9	6	10	9	9	4	11	8	6	4	11	6	1	13	13	142
6	Sweden	18	5	17	8	3	15	18	2	4	18	6	14	18	7	8	13	4	12	1	113
7	New Zealand	6	18	9	6	6	7	6	5	15	16	5	17	10	2	12	18	15	6	7	96
8	Japan	14	6	8	14	14	11	4	4	7	11	9	11	9	15	6	14	13	15	6	73
9	Spain	10	11	6							14	10	16	16	11	4	17	16	5	9	44
10	Italy	9	3	18	3	13						15							14		32
11	England															9					4
12	Germany																			12	1
Pos	Country	MTY	LBH	MOT	MIL	LAG	POR	CHI	TOR	CLE	VAN	MDO	ROA	MTL	DEN	ROC	MIA	SUR	FON	MEX	Pts

Chassis Constructor's Cup[]

Pos	Chassis	Pts
1	Lola	401
2	Reynard	235
Pos	Chassis	Pts

Engine Manufacturer's Cup[]

Pos	Engine	Pts
1	Toyota	332
2	Honda	283
3	/ Ford-Cosworth	259
Pos	Engine	Pts

Driver breakdown[]

Pos	Driver	Team	Entries	Wins	Podiums	Top 5's	Top 10's	Poles	Laps Led	Points
1	da Matta	Newman-Haas Racing	19	7	11	11	13	7	619	237
2	Junqueira	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	19	2	6	10	12	4	196	164
3	Carpentier	Team Player's	19	2	5	10	13	1	159	157
4	Franchitti	Team KOOL Green	19	3	7	8	11	1	252	148
5	Fittipaldi	Newman-Haas Racing	19	0	5	7	11	1	18	122
6	Bräck	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	19	1	3	6	10	1	268	114
7	Vasser	Team Rahal	19	1	3	5	12	1	162	114
8	Tagliani	Team Player's	19	0	2	5	12	0	115	111
9	Andretti	Team Motorola	19	1	3	3	11	0	90	110
10	Jourdain, Jr.	Team Rahal	19	0	0	5	14	0	24	105
11	Tracy	Team KOOL Green	19	1	4	5	9	0	314	101
12	Kanaan	Mo Nunn Racing	19	0	2	5	11	2	145	99
13	Dixon	PWR Championship Racing Target Chip Ganassi Racing	19	0	1	3	12	0	0	97
14	Fernández	Fernández Racing	16	0	1	2	6	2	15	57
15	Takagi	Walker Motorsport	19	0	0	1	7	0	0	53
16	Servià	PWR Championship Racing Patrick Racing	13	0	0	2	6	0	0	44
17	Nakano	Fernández Racing	19	0	0	2	6	0	10	43
18	Domínguez (R)	Herdez Competition	19	1	1	1	3	0	5	37
19	Papis	Sigma Autosport Fernández Racing	7	0	2	2	3	0	1	32
20	Bell (R)	Patrick Racing	9	0	0	1	2	0	0	19
21	Manning (R)	Team St. George	1	0	0	0	1	0	18	4
22	Lotterer (R)	Dale Coyne Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
23	Díaz (R)	Fernández Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0