Champ Car: Race Final !

The green flag flew all day on Sunday. It was the first all green flag race on the Champ Car circuit since 2000. Last years race in Portland, the start was yellow flagged and then stayed green the rest of the way.

Sebastian Bourdais display of driving was amazing. He quickly fell back to fifth place and more than fifteen seconds behind Justin Wilson. After the first pit stop, something happened to the CDW car. It was still going fast, but not as fast as everyone else. Bourdais was able to start reeling him in. He was making up almost a second a lap. The Newman/Haas McDonald's car was ordered to the pits for the second stop of the afternoon. After hitting his marks, Sebastian cued the radio and said to his team "I SMELL BLOOD"...You could feel that Sebastian was going to run down Wilson and pass him....it was just a matter of laps now. A handful of laps later, Bourdais took over the lead and didn't let it go. He built up a thirteen second lead and ran away with the race. This was Bourdais second win in Portland. After the post race celebration, Sebastian and a small group of media had a Q and A session outside the media center. Most of the questions focused on Sebastian's upcoming races away from Champ Car. He will have an F1 test coming up and some believe that this will be his chance to prove he can drive with the other series. Some think he won't cut it, so why bother. Bourdais says he has the best ride, best team in Champ Car. He doesn't just want to give it up for something else. Time will tell.

Paul Tracy had a good morning warm up, and the race was a little better. Paul's team elected to bring him in early, allowing him to run in clean air, to hopefully get up back toward the front after spinning and losing third place. The alternate pit stop put Paul at the back of the field and he finished 10th.

The weather held for the most part. After sprinkles in the morning session, only light showers fell on the back part of the track. The rain wasn't heavy enough to warrant concern up and down pit lane. Drivers complained about the track starting to lose grip as the clouds moved over the track. The rain stayed away and made for a great race. The first ever standing start took place without incident. I think it was a great move on the part of Champ Car to go ahead and allowing the standing start.

Will Champ Car return to Portland ? That is the biggest question following the race. Only time and sponsorship will tell. I hope so. Its the only race in the Pacific Northwest and to lose the Portland race, you can kiss the millions of dollars that come with it. The City of Portland needs to step up and work with Champ Car to ensure this race is around for years to come.