Race details | |
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Race 15 of 19 in the 2002 CART season | |
Date | 14 September, 2002 |
Official name | 2002 Sure for Men Rockingham 500 |
Location | Rockingham Motor Speedway, Corby, Northamptonshire, England |
Course | Permanent racing facility 1.479 mi / 2.380 km |
Distance | 211 laps 312.069 mi / 502.18 km |
Weather | Cloudy, Cool |
Pole position | |
Driver | Kenny Bräck (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
Time | 24.908 |
Fastest lap | |
Driver | Jimmy Vasser (Team Rahal) |
Time | 25.217 (on lap 210 of 211) |
Podium | |
First | Dario Franchitti (Team Green) |
Second | Cristiano da Matta (Newman/Haas Racing) |
Third | Patrick Carpentier (Forysthe Racing) |
The 2002 Sure for Men Rockingham 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on 14 September 2002 at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire, England in front of an estimated crowd of 38,000 people. It was the 15th round of the 2002 CART season, the second Rockingham 500, and the only race of the year to be held in Europe. Team Green driver Dario Franchitti won the 211-lap race starting from fifth position. Cristiano da Matta finished second for Newman/Haas Racing, and Forsythe Racing's Patrick Carpentier was third.
Kenny Bräck won the pole position and maintained his advantage heading into the first lap. He led for a total of 134 laps, more than any other competitor. Franchitti employed a strategy that enabled him to drive in clean air while other drivers made pit stops. Bräck reclaimed the lead for the lap-163 restart, but lost it six laps later when a crew member dropped a wheel nut, which cost him time. Franchitti took the lead and held it for the remainder of the event to achieve his third victory of the season, his first on an oval track, and the tenth of his CART career. There were five cautions and nine lead changes during the course of the race.
The result put da Matta 58 points ahead of Bruno Junqueira in the Drivers' Championship. Franchitti maintained third place but was closer to Junqueira, with Carpentier and Christian Fittipaldi fourth and fifth. Toyota extended their advantage over Honda in the Manufacturers' Championship while Ford Cosworth remained in third, with four races left in the season. The race attracted 60 million worldwide television viewers. It was the final United Kingdom CART race to be held at Rockingham Motor Speedway as it moved to Brands Hatch, Kent in 2003.