PacWest drivers Mauricio Gugelmin and Mark Blundell are introduced to the sponsors' guests in the team hospitality tent.

10:44 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

Another view of the Target Chip Ganassi Racing two-seater Reynard.

10:47 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF9.5

This is Diane Holl, Tony Kanaan's race engineer in the McDonalds Forsythe Championship Racing team.

11:03 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/250 CF5.6

Bryan Herta leads the field onto the front straight for the start of the Shell 300. Firestone engineers report a track temperature of 108º F and an ambient temperature of 70º F at the start of the race.

12:13 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

Herta starts to open up his lead over Tony Kanaan and Max Papis as they approach Turn 2.

12:13 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

At Turn 2 Greg Moore runs wide, but keeps under control. Further back Adrian Fernandez is past Mauricio Gugelmin for sixth place and Paul Tracy is charging through the field from his eleventh place start.

12:13 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

Michael Andretti forces his way past Greg Moore to take fourth place as they make their way through Turn 3 for the first time.

12:14 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

On lap six, Naoki Hattori spins off on Turn 3 but gathers it back in and continues on course without apparent damage to the car. "We had some good lap times today, and a good finish. I spun on cold tires and that cost us several positions, otherwise we might have finished in the points. It is something to build on, I think."

12:20 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

On lap ten Jan Magnussen brakes hard at Turn 3 to avoid the spinning combination of Mark Blundell and Cristiano da Matta. Both cars continue without apparent damage but Blundell falls from 20th to 24th, while da Matta falls from 19th to 26th position.

12:25 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

With the help of a tap from Dario Franchitti, it is Mauricio Gugelmin's turn to spin at Turn 3. Both cars continue on course without apparent damage, but Franchitti takes over eighth while Gugelmin falls to 20th place after the incident.

12:48 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

Bryan Herta has never started worse than second position at Laguna Seca, and has achieved victories in CART, Indy Lights and Barber Pro Dodge at the track. Today he led from start to finish, winning for the second year running.

12:55 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF8.0

Roberto Moreno, in his super-sub role for injured Christian Fittipaldi, also had his best result of the season. Reporter: "You seem to gain a lot of positions through good pit strategy. Do you have anything to do with that?" Roberto: "I touch my mechanics butts before we go out. They seem to like that."

12:56 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF6.7

Scott Pruett in his final Champ Car race at Laguna Seca and the only Toyota-powered car to finish in the points. "What a great run for the Pioneer team. We had one of our best, most consistent runs of the season, and it felt great."

12:56 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF6.7

Gil de Ferran finished sixth despite dropping back from tenth to 15th on lap 13. "The race started well for us, but I was adjusting the mixture and knocked off the ignition switch. I knew right away what had happened, but it took a couple of tries to get the engine to restart. That cost us a lot of positions and maybe a podium finish."

12:56 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF6.7

Juan Montoya increased his lead in the championship over Dario Franchitti by finishing eighth, and with Dario dropping out due to an over-optimistic attempt to pass Greg Moore. He was definitely hampered by the cancelled Saturday qualifying session, starting back in 16th position.

12:58 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/350 CF6.7

Herta's teammate Max Papis locks a wheel as he enters the Corkscrew. With his third-place run today he scored the best finish of his CART career. "It was a very hard race. We were racing on fuel and trying to conserve tires."

13:06 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1500 CF5.6

Adrian Fernandez came in fifth. "The car was beautiful all day, it was excellent. We managed to have good restarts which was a concern of mine with my arm, but we had some very good ones today. We were also very fast going to down the hill into the last turn."

13:06 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1500 CF5.6

Paul Tracy: "Team KOOL Green's game plan today was that we were going to be like garbage men and pick up the points that everybody leaves behind. Michael left a bunch of points there for us to take. That helped us out in the championship."

13:07 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1500 CF5.6

Bryan Herta leads the field into a restart on lap 61 after Robby Gordon had to be retrieved from the gravel trap at Turn 6. Michael Andretti has moved up to second place after a fantastic pit stop, but Bryan is slow getting away and Michael has to get on the brakes to avoid him and is subsequently passed by Max Papis.

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Going through Turn 2 Roberto Moreno also manages to get by Michael and Jimmy Vasser is approaching fast.

13:36 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1500 CF5.6

By Turn 3 Jimmy is by too, but Michael doesn't yield positions that easily. He tries to get underneath Jimmy and the cars make side-to-side contact, with Michael spinning sideways in the turn. Michael returns in 13th place and finishes the race tenth. Jimmy isn't so lucky.

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Jimmy Vasser: "It all started in Turn 2. I was alongside Papis, and Michael got into my radiator. I thought I'd gotten away clean but then spun on my own water in Turn 5. It seemed like a racing incident. Michael seemed to be struggling in Turn 2 and I thought I'd gotten ahead of him by 3, so I was concentrating more on Max."

13:37 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/1500 CF5.6

Bryan, what's your secret of your continuing success at Laguna Seca: "I'm not telling. If there is a reason, I don't know what it is, and I don't really care. I'm just happy to have a place like this where I've experienced some success, and I hope it will continue."

14:04 Fujifilm Nexia A200 SS1/700 CF5.6