2002 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante
Introduction The '''2002 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante''' was the nineteenth and final round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 17, 2002 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first Champ Car race at the track since the 1981 season. The race preceded a mass exodus of significant drivers and teams who all competed in their final Champ Car event, most of whom knew beforehand that they would not return. Most rued the fact that they were leaving for the rival Indy Racing League, wishing to continue in CART rather than endure a more stable future in the IRL. CART's winningest driver (42 wins), Michael Andretti, along with Kenny Brack, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and Japan's most successful driver in U.S. open wheel racing Tora Takagi would all bid CART adieu in favor of the IRL. Other entities leaving CART included 1996-1999 champions Chip Ganassi Racing, 1995 champions Team KOOL Green, and Mo Nunn Racing permanently switched to the IRL, and Japanese automotive industry giants Honda and Toyota likewise left CART for the IRL. Season champion Cristiano da Matta was set to leave CART for Formula One with his engine supplier's F1 team, and Christian Fittipaldi attempted a stock car career.
Qualifying results  Pos Nat Name Team Qual 1 Qual 2 Best 1  Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing ''1:25.941'' ''1:26.126'' '''1:25.941''' 2  Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 1:26.027 1:27.670 '''1:26.027''' 3  Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 1:26.147 1:26.891 '''1:26.147''' 4  Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 1:26.719 1:26.394 '''1:26.394''' 5  Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 1:26.703— '''1:26.703''' 6  Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:27.147 1:26.786 '''1:26.786''' 7  Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 1:26.904 1:27.322 '''1:26.904''' 8  Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 1:26.971 1:27.573 '''1:26.971''' 9  Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 1:27.344 1:26.975 '''1:26.975''' 10  Michael Andretti Team Motorola 1:27.355 1:27.053 '''1:27.053''' 11  Tora Takagi Walker Racing 1:27.144 1:27.150 '''1:27.144''' 12  Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 1:27.174 1:27.405 '''1:27.174''' 13  Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 1:27.245 1:27.919 '''1:27.245''' 14  Alex Tagliani Team Player's 1:27.483 1:27.437 '''1:27.437''' 15  Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:27.525 1:27.447 '''1:27.447''' 16  Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 1:29.659 1:27.727 '''1:27.727''' 17  Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 1:27.923 1:27.807 '''1:27.807''' 18  André Lotterer Dale Coyne Racing 1:28.058 1:27.898 '''1:27.898''' 19  Luis Díaz Fernández Racing 1:27.992 1:27.969 '''1:27.969'''
Race  Pos  No  Driver  Team  Laps  Time/Retired  Grid  Points 1 12  Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 73 1:56:48.475 6 '''20''' 2 1  Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 73 +3.987 secs 12 '''16''' 3 4  Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 73 +5.073 secs 1 '''16''' 4 32  Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 73 +10.842 secs 7 '''12''' 5 27  Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 73 +12.548 secs 3 '''10''' 6 5  Tora Takagi Walker Racing 73 +16.762 secs 11 '''8''' 7 44  Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 73 +23.622 secs 15 '''6''' 8 10  Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 73 +25.846 secs 4 '''6''' 9 20  Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 73 +28.034 secs 16 '''4''' 10 33  Alex Tagliani Team Player's 73 +29.949 secs 14 '''3''' 11 8  Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 73 +30.628 secs 5 '''2''' 12 19  André Lotterer Dale Coyne Racing 73 +31.426 secs 18 '''1''' 13 9  Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 73 +32.055 secs 17 '''0''' 14 52  Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 73 +50.219 secs 13 '''0''' 15 11  Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 67 Engine 2 '''0''' 16 26  Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 61 Suspension 8 '''0''' 17 39  Michael Andretti Team Motorola 50 Contact 10 '''0''' 18 55  Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 16 Suspension 9 '''0''' 19 51  Luis Díaz Fernández Racing 1 Engine 19 '''0'''
Caution flags Laps Cause1-2  Tracy (26) & Vasser (8) contact51-55  Andretti (39) contact
Notes Laps Leader1-40  Tony Kanaan41-52  Dario Franchitti53-61  Michel Jourdain Jr.62-73  Kenny Bräck Driver  Laps ledTony Kanaan  40Kenny Bräck  12Dario Franchitti  12Michel Jourdain Jr.  9* '''New Track Record''' Bruno Junqueira 1:25.941 (Qualification session #1)* '''New Race Record''' Kenny Bräck 1:56:48.475* '''Average Speed''' 104.468 mph
External links *  Friday Qualifying Results*  Saturday Qualifying Results*  Race Results