2002 Bridgestone Potenza 500

The 2002 Bridgestone Potenza 500 was the third round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on April 27, 2002, on the oval at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan.

Japan 2002 Motegi
Race details
Race 3 of 19 in the 2002 CART season
Twin Ring Motegi track layout
DateApril 27, 2002
Official name2002 Bridgestone Potenza 500
LocationTwin Ring Motegi
Motegi, Tochigi, Japan
Course1.5-mile oval
1.548 mi / 2.491 km
Distance201 laps
311.148 mi / 500.691 km
Pole position
DriverBruno Junqueira (Target Chip Ganassi Racing)
Time25.907
Fastest lap
DriverTony Kanaan (Mo Nunn Racing)
Time26.425 (on lap 31 of 201)
Podium
FirstBruno Junqueira (Target Chip Ganassi Racing)
SecondAlex Tagliani (Team Player's)
ThirdDario Franchitti (Team KOOL Green)

This marked the final Champ Car race for PacWest Racing. It also marked the final time Champ Car would compete in Japan as next years event was contested by the Indy Racing League.

Qualifying results

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Pos Nat Name Team Time
1   Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 25.907
2   Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 26.051
3   Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 26.059
4   Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 26.133
5   Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 26.173
6   Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 26.206
7   Michael Andretti Team Motorola 26.292
8   Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 26.300
9   Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 26.337
10   Townsend Bell Patrick Racing 26.376
11   Tora Takagi Walker Racing 26.398
12   Alex Tagliani Team Player's 26.412
13   Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 26.430
14   Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing 26.485
15   Scott Dixon PWR Championship Racing 26.502
16   Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 26.594
17   Max Papis Sigma Autosport 26.655
18   Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 26.791
19   Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 26.847
20   Oriol Servià PWR Championship Racing 26.951

Race

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Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 4   Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 201 2:00:05.882 1 21
2 33   Alex Tagliani Team Player's 201 +12.282 12 16
3 27   Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 200 + 1 Lap 5 14
4 32   Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 199 + 2 Laps 6 12
5 9   Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 199 + 2 Laps 13 10
6 17   Oriol Servià PWR Championship Racing 199 + 2 Laps 20 8
7 51   Adrian Fernández Fernández Racing 199 + 2 Laps 14 6
8 5   Tora Takagi Walker Racing 199 + 2 Laps 11 5
9 7   Scott Dixon PWR Championship Racing 198 + 3 Laps 15 4
10 52   Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 198 + 3 Laps 18 3
11 16   Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 197 + 4 Laps 19 2
12 11   Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 193 + 8 Laps 16 1
13 6   Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 186 Pulled in 8 0
14 20   Townsend Bell Patrick Racing 136 Contact 10 0
15 10   Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 121 Engine 2 1
16 39   Michael Andretti Team Motorola 115 Gearbox 7 0
17 12   Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 101 Engine 4 0
18 22   Max Papis Sigma Autosport 94 Brakes 17 0
19 26   Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 84 Wheel bearing 3 0
20 8   Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 38 Fire 9 0

Caution flags

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Laps Cause
40-45 Vasser (8) tow-in
90-97 Debris
139-155 Bell (20) contact
157-161 Nakano (52) lost wheel

Notes

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Laps Leader
1-38 Tony Kanaan
39-76 Paul Tracy
77-80 Kenny Bräck
81-83 Michael Andretti
84-100 Tony Kanaan
101 Bruno Junqueira
102-118 Tony Kanaan
119-143 Bruno Junqueira
144-166 Alex Tagliani
167-190 Bruno Junqueira
191-197 Dario Franchitti
198-201 Bruno Junqueira
 
Driver Laps led
Tony Kanaan 72
Bruno Junqueira 54
Paul Tracy 38
Alex Tagliani 23
Dario Franchitti 7
Kenny Bräck 4
Michael Andretti 3
  • Average Speed 155.447 mph
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Previous race:
2002 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
CART Indycar World Series
2002 season
Next race:
2002 Miller Lite 250
Previous race:
2001 Firestone Firehawk 500
2002 Bridgestone Potenza 500 Next race:
2003 Indy Japan 300
IndyCar Series event