Patient Andretti Wins in Toronto

One thing Michael Andretti has learned in his 16 years of Champ car racing is patience.

Once one of the most aggressive racers in the open-wheel series, Andretti is now a more cautious driver. That was clear Sunday as he won his sixth Toronto Molson Indy.

Early in the race, Andretti trailed pole-winner Helio Castoneves. Later he was behind Cristiano da Matta, who led a race-high 72 laps. In both cases, the 37-year-old second-generation racer waited for quick pit stops to get him past instead of risking his race.

“You learn,” he said after beating Adrian Fernandez to the finish line on the 1.755-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit, winning by 6.529 seconds and averaging 98.248 mph.

“Probably a few years ago, I would have taken some chances,” Andretti said. “A few times, I had a little go and thought, ‘No, I’m not going to do that.’ Notch one up for experience.”

Andretti’s patience and some great pit work by his Newman-Haas Racing crew paid off for his 40th career victory.

As befitting a former CART FedEx Series champion and the leading race winner in CART history, his victory lap was calm and measured.

Andretti waved unemotionally to the crowd, a marked contrast to the outburst by first-time winner Roberto Moreno two weeks earlier in Cleveland.

Combined with Moreno’s 13th-place finish, one position out of the points, Andretti cut the Brazilian’s series lead from 22 to two points after 10 of 20 races this season.

Andretti won five of the first 10 races in Toronto, but had not taken the checkered flag since the course at the edge of the downtown area was somewhat altered in 1996.

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Michael Schumacher packed his bags, waved to the fans and left. He did not wait around to see Mika Hakkinen win the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg.

Schumacher, who leads in the points standings, never completed a lap. He dropped out after being bumped by Ricardo Zonta in the first corner after the start.

Hakkinen, refreshed after an unusual midseason vacation his racing team allowed him to take for personal reasons, won for the second time this season and put himself back in the race for the championship. The Finn started from the pole and never relinquished the lead, except during his pit stop. He averaged 129.765 mph.

McLaren-Mercedes teammate David Coulthard finished second and also gained on Schumacher.

More than three hours after the race, Formula One officials confiscated Hakkinen’s “black box,” which records the car’s electronics because one of the official seals was missing. The box will be examined in London, and a ruling was not expected immediately.

Schumacher has won five races this season but has failed to finish three of the last four. His championship lead has been reduced to six points. With seven events left, Schumacher has 56 points, Coulthard 50 and Hakkinen 48.

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Ron Hornaday raced to his first NASCAR Busch Series victory, defeating Elton Sawyer by 1.992 seconds in the Econo Lodge 200 at Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania.

Hornaday, 42, the two-time Craftsman Truck Series champion who drives the No. 3 Chevrolet for Winston Cup star Dale Earnhardt, was winless in 18 starts this year.

Hornaday, who led twice for a total of 104 laps, averaged 89.131 mph on the unique mile tri-oval. The race was slowed by seven caution periods covering 38 laps.

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Joe Amato raced to his sixth victory at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., defeating Tony Schumacher in the top fuel final of the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals.

Amato had a quarter-mile run of 4.837 seconds at a top speed of 300.53 mph. Tony Schumacher, the defending NHRA Winston champion, finished in 4.913 seconds at 281.36 mph.

Whit Bazemore (funny car), Kurt Johnson (pro stock) and Angelle Seeling (pro stock motorcycle) also won their divisions.