"Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head"

Rain in the City of Roses

Call me sadistic if you will, but I like to watch racing in the rain. I think it brings out the best in a driver -- that combination of boldness, caution, skill and a certain intangible at the wheel that puts you in awe of the talent to hustle an over-powered car around a tricky circuit at high speed.

Sunday's CART FedEx race in Portland was no exception. Team Rahal's Max Papis won from the pole, but there was plenty of action behind him.

Okay, I'm a fan, and two things bothered me about Portland, as much as I like to see open wheel cars weighing only 2 pounds for every horsepower try to get a grip on rain-slick asphalt.

• Memo Gidley. Who? Yep, the Super Sub got a ride when the Chipster dropped Nicolas Minassian after a so-so start to the year and put the son of a California fisherman in the seat of his Toyota Lola. "Every day for the past two years I have prepared for an opportunity to race for a team like Target Chip Ganassi Racing," Gidley said. "I can't thank Chip enough for giving me this chance to show what I can do on the track." Too bad he got caught up in a first lap wheel-banging and went directly to the pits never to return.
• Paul Tracy. The old Paul Tracy showed up at Portland, driving like a wizard and gaining spots early in the race only to be bitten by bad luck when he was waved out of his pit stall directly into the path of Bruno Junqueira. He got back into the race after a little suspension repair but spun and was knocked out for good by Mauricio Gugelmin.

Racin' 'Round the 'Net

• Max Papis wins from pole in the rain in Portland
  by Mark Cipolloni
  Max Papis has won the GI Joes 200 at Portland today driving a perfect race on a day when most other drivers went off course one time or another. After slumping for most of the year with a lot of bad luck, this day belonged to Papis and Team Rahal. Roberto Moreno was 2nd and Christian Fittipaldi rounded out the top 3. Rookie Max Wilson drove a good race to finish 4th.
  Read Cipollini's full story at Autoracing1.

• Mad Max Mean in the Monsoon!
  By Anne Proffit
  

  Max Papis slogged his way through continual rain and errors by his competitors to take a near wire-to-wire victory in the Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway. It was the #7 Miller Lite Lola/Ford driver's second Champ Car win; his initial victory was in the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year. This was also Ford-Cosworth's first Portland victory since Michael Andretti's three-peat in 1992.