Tracy enjoys success in CART

But three deaths rock NASCAR

 Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr. and Tony Roper all died in crashes that raised questions about driver safety.

 The family of Greg Moore, who died in a 1999 crash at Fontana, Calif., also filed a wrongful death suit against Championship Auto Racing Teams and International Speedway Corporation.

 "It was such a great season in so many ways, but the deaths just put a real cloud over it," said three-time champion Darrell Waltrip, who ended his NASCAR career in 2000.

 Petty, the 19-year-old star from one of auto racing's most famous families, was killed in May at New Hampshire International Speedway in a crash during practice for a Busch Series race.

 The 30-year-old Irwin, the 1999 Winston Cup rookie of the year, was killed at the same turn of the track less than three months later.

 The throttle cables on both cars were believed to have got stuck, sending them crashing nearly head-on into a concrete barrier. The deaths prompted NASCAR to require an engine shut-off button on the steering column and a new type of stop on the throttle cable.

 Roper, 35, was fatally injured in a crash during a Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

 In a death away from the track, Stan Fox, a former open-wheel driver, was killed Dec. 18 in a car crash in New Zealand. He was 48.

 Tracy, the former bad boy of CART, became the first Canadian to win the Vancouver Molson Indy after teammate Dario Franchitti stalled his Team Kool Green car leaving his final pit stop. The victory ended a week where Moore, who grew up in nearby Maple Ridge, B.C., was honoured.

 "The crowd is so enthusiastic here," said Tracy. "For the last five laps I could see everybody just jumping up and down and waving flags."

 Questions remain about whether 2001 will be the final Molson Indy in Vancouver. There is speculation the race could be moved to Montreal.

 Tracy went into the final race of the season at Fontana with an outside chance of winning points title but bowed out of the race on Lap 23 with a blown engine.

 The decision by the Moore family to take legal action came as a surprise. The suit, filed in San Bernardino, Calif., cites negligence by both CART and the speedway in not paving the infield at Fontana.

 Moore was killed on Oct. 31, 1999, when his car crashed into a wall on the second turn during the Marlboro 500.

 The family of Gonzalo Rodriquez also filed a wrongful death suit against CART and the International Speedway Corp. after the rookie driver was killed during practice for the Shell 300 at Laguna Seca Raceway in September 1999.

 The NASCAR season began with Dale Jarrett, the defending series champ, winning one of the dullest Daytona 500s ever. NASCAR drew criticism after the race for allowing Fords to get what was considered a competitive edge.

 Things picked up and evened off after that, though, with 10 different winners in the first 10 races and a record-tying 14 overall, including heralded rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr.

 The 26-year-old Little E, a third-generation driving star, added another victory early in the season but wound up losing the rookie title to Matt Kenseth, who also won a race.

 After the season, Bill France Jr., 67, announced he was stepping down as NASCAR president. France, recovering from cancer, gave the top spot to hand-picked successor Mike Helton and made himself chairman of a new five-person board of directors that will help Helton run the series.

 In Formula One, German driver Michael Schumacher finally gave Ferrari the driving championship it had been chasing since 1979, when Jody Scheckter won for the Italian team.

 Canadian Jacques Villeneuve enjoyed a better F-1 season, finishing seventh in the drivers' standings for British American Racing.

 On the way to his third title, Schumacher tied a record with nine wins in 16 races, including taking the first F-1 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was also the first grand prix in the United States in nine years.

 His victory at Indy, overcoming a spin late in the race, ended his season-long battle with two-time defending series champion Mika Hakkinen.

 CART was just as competitive as NASCAR, with 11 different winners in 20 races.

 Gil de Ferran of Brazil won one of the closest championship races in CART's 22-year history, giving Team Penske its 10th title and first since 1994.

 In the rival Indy Racing League, Buddy Lazier won the championship in another incredibly close competition, beating out Canadian Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever Jr.

 There were nine different winners in 11 races, with only Lazier able to win more than once.

 The IRL victory list included 1999 CART champion Juan Montoya, who won the Indianapolis 500 for team owner Chip Ganassi. Ganassi, whose unprecedented string of four straight championships was ended by de Ferran, was the first owner to take his CART team to Indy since the IRL began competition in 1996.

 "Everybody there treated us like a million bucks," said Ganassi, whose driver won him more than that with his Indy victory. "I don't know if any other CART teams will follow, though. That's up to them. I plan to be back next year."

 Other 2000 champions included Jeff Green in the Busch Series, Greg Biffle in the NASCAR trucks, Brian Simo in the Trans-Am Series, Stever Kinser in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and Alan McNish in the American Le Mans Prototypes.

 In NHRA drag racing, John Force won in Funny Car, Gary Scelzi in Top Fuel and Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Pro Stock.