CART Jourdain breezes to first victory

He led 233 of the 250 laps of the Milwaukee Mile.
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) -- Every time one of Bobby Rahal's drivers wins at the Milwaukee Mile, he enjoys a bit of vindication.
Rahal, a three-time CART series champion with 24 career victories, never won at the 100-year-old track. He was 0-for-18 as a driver.
As an owner, it's different. With Michel Jourdain Jr.'s win Saturday night, Team Rahal has two victories in the last three Milwaukee races. Kenny Brack won in 2001.
"I'm really happy for Michel because I think this proves he is a real championship contender, but this is pretty big for Team Rahal, too," said Rahal.
Jourdain needed eight years and 126 races for his first Champ Car win. But the Mexican made it look easy in the first night race in CART's 25-year history -- he led 233 of the 250 laps on the 1.032-mile oval.
Came close in Long Beach
Jourdain came close on April 13, dominating a race on the streets of Long Beach, Calif., until his gearbox broke seven laps from the end. Rahal hugged Jourdain to his chest as the youngster wept.
On Saturday night, the two hugged again, and Jourdain cried again -- this time from joy.
"I am so proud of the job Michel has done this season," Rahal said. "I always felt that there was untapped potential in Michel and he has proved me right numerous times since we signed him."
In the first six races this season, Jourdain has finished sixth or better everywhere except Long Beach, where he wound up 15th after coming so close to a victory. That's been good enough to move him into the series lead by 10 points over Paul Tracy.
"Our plan was to become a championship contender this year," Jourdain said.
Tracy and Oriol Servia did as much as they could Saturday night to keep Jourdain from winning. But in Tracy's pit stop 38 laps from the finish his car dropped off its hydraulic jack before the lugnut on his left rear wheel was fully tightened. The wheel rolled from the car moments after Tracy went back on track and he wound up losing a lap and finishing 13th.
That left Servia, winless in four CART seasons, to try to chase down his friend. Servia came up about three car lengths short as he and third-place Patrick Carpentier finished less than a second behind Jourdain.