'They raised the level of competition to a whole new level,'said Menard, who fielded cars Sunday for pole-winner Greg Ray, thedefending IRL champion, and Robby Gordon. 'We're not here witha CART flag.' But John Menard, one of the original IRL team owners, sawMontoya's overwhelming victory as proof that the newer open-wheelseries is not yet a match for CART. 'We're here like any other IRL team,' said Montoya, aseven-time CART winner last year as a rookie. But there was nothing political about the slow post-race ridethat Montoya and Ganassi took around the track atop a convertible,with many of the 400,000 spectators screaming their approval of thewin by CART's most dominant team.

Many will view the victory by Target/Chip Ganassi Racing as awin for CART, whose big-name teams and drivers had boycotted Indysince the IRL began in 1996. As the driver he plucked from virtual obscurity a year earliercrossed the finish line while thrusting his fist in the air,Ganassi shouted into his radio: 'You're world famous now.' The 24-year-old Colombian fended off a late challenge from 1996winner Buddy Lazier, passed teammate Jimmy Vasser to retake thelead 21 laps from the end and raced on to become Indy's firstrookie champion since Graham Hill in 1966. Montoya overwhelmed the rest of the 33-car field, leading 167 ofthe 200 laps and taking the checkered flag with his closestcompetitor still in the fourth turn on the 2.5-mile oval. The defending champion of Championship Auto Racing Teams seriesmade car owner Chip Ganassi look brilliant for his decision toreturn to the Indy Racing League's biggest event after a four-yearabsence.

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