Vasser sidelined early

Monday, April 19, 2004 | 9:27 a.m.

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Jimmy Vasser spent the majority of his first race as an owner/driver watching Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Las Vegas from the pits.

Vasser, one of four Las Vegas residents competing in the Champ Car World Series, was involved in a five-car pileup in the first turn on the second lap and was forced to retire from the race.

"First corner, first race of the new season -- I don't really know what to say," said Vasser, who is a part owner of PKV Racing and drives the team's No. 12 Gulfstream Ford/Lola. "There was chaos out there with guys weaving all over the place.

"I got hit in the left rear tire, spun around and collected. It's too bad because it's a beautiful day and we were running here for our local sponsor, Gulfstream."

The other three Las Vegas drivers in the field Sunday fared better, led by race winner Paul Tracy; Patrick Carpentier took fourth and Alex Tagliani was eighth.

"I am pretty happy," Carpentier said. "I think it's the first time I finished a race here at Long Beach. I pushed really hard the whole race and that is when I realized that my winter training really paid off."

Carpentier had some close calls in the latter stages of the race, but still managed to post his best finish in seven starts in Long Beach.

"I hit the wall a little bit everywhere on the car during the last stint, but it held together,' he said.

Tagliani ran in the top three for the first two-third of the race, but his crew had trouble mounting his right rear tire during a pit stop on lap 59. Tagliani, who was running second at the time, came out of the pits in eighth and could not advance his position in the closing laps.

"Our second pit stop put us back a few positions from where the car should have been running, but stuff happens and we can't predict the outcome," Tagliani said. "We had a good race, but some bad luck, but this is only the start and we'll be in the hunt for podium finishes and great results all season."

Cruise also was the passenger in a two-seater Champ Car that led the field around on the pace laps before the start of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Pole-sitter Ryan Dalziel of Scotland led all 31 laps and cruised to a 2-second victory over teammate Andrew Ranger of Canada in the season opener. It was Dalziel's third career Toyota Atlantic victory while Ranger, 17, was making his series debut.

Al Unser, the 21-year-old son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr., crashed on the first lap and finished 21st in his series debut.

Veteran road racers Greg Pickett and Boris Said finished second and third, respectively.