was elevated to the winner, tentatively his first-career Indy car triumph. Throughout the race, Unser's machine was observed bottoming out, and on lap 90, a portion of the plywood skidpad flew off the bottom of the car. Vasser was informed of the decision three hours after the race. Team Penske protested the ruling, claiming that the skidpad damage was caused by a bumpy track surface. The appeals process dragged out through the summer, and in August, CART officials formally denied the appeal. The case was then sent to a three-member panel for a second appeal. The panel ruled that the CART technicians used inconsistent methods to measure Unser's car versus the other cars in the field. The panel re-instated the victory, and 21 championship points, to Unser on September 22. Vasser was moved back to second place. The ruling did not change the championship standings, however, as Unser would finish second in the final points standings with or without the victory. 1996: Rookie Alex Zanardi won his first CART series race, leading 88 of the 102 laps. About 30 laps into the race, a rain shower swept over the track, but Zanardi elected not to switch to rain tires. His 17-second lead evaporated, and Al Unser Jr. passed Zanardi for the lead on lap 39. The lead was short-lived, as Unser's rain tires began to fall off. Two laps later, Zanardi was back in the lead, and the rain soon stopped. Zanardi pulled away for a 9-second win over Gil de Ferran. CART Fedex Championship Series 1997: The race was the closest finish in the history of the CART series on a road course, as well as the closest three-car finish of any Indy car race at the time. Rain fell most of the day, making for a slick track, resulting in several spins and numerous off-course excursions. Late in the race, Gil de Ferran led with Christian Fittipaldi close behind in second, but the race was approaching the two-hour time limit. With the track slowly starting to dry, some teams elected gamble and change to slick tires. Paul Tracy, Maurício Gugelmin, Alex Zanardi, and others all came out on slicks and proceeded to spin off course. On lap 68 Mark Blundell also switched to slicks, and he too attempted to chase down the leaders. The race was set to end early at the completion of lap 78. With two