Long Beach, CA (My Sportsbook) - Champ Car defending champion Paul Tracy won the 2004 season opener - The Grand Prix of Long Beach. The No.1 Forsythe Championship Racing driver took the checkered flag 5.681 seconds ahead of runner-up Bruno Junqueira.

The victory was the 27th of Tracy's Champ Car career.

"The car was just perfect all weekend," said Tracy. "We didn't get a chance to show it in qualifying (started third), but we had a great car."

The key to the race came on the first turn under green flag racing. Following a delayed start and one caution lap, Tracy jumped past pole sitter Junqueira and his Newman Haas Racing teammate Sebastien Bourdais at the first turn, ducking underneath the pair.

"I knew he was going to try something like that," said Junqueira.

From that point, to the checkered flag, Tracy led every lap except when he made a green flag pit stop for fuel and tires. He built up a 6.8-second lead by lap 30.

When he pitted on lap 58, Patrick Carpentier grabbed the lead for two laps, until it was time for him to make a stop. Tracy regained the top spot which he would never surrender.

The Scarborough, Canada native had built his lead to 8.616 seconds over Junqueira on lap 61 when his crew radioed to him that they would be tight on fuel and that he should try to conserve. The lead dropped to 6.354 seconds before his teamed called him up again to say that they had made a mathematical error and he had plenty of fuel.

Tracy immediately expanded his lead to a comfortable margin and except for getting slowed by backmarker Roberto Gonzalez on lap 76, cruised to the checkered flag.

"I think my car was faster than Tracy, because I caught him twice," said Junqueira. "But these rules, there was no race and these people didn't get to see what they expected - me and Tracy."

Junqueira was talking about new Champ Car rules requiring two green flag pit stops and gave drivers the use of a "push-to-pass" button giving them 60 seconds of additional boost (about 50 horsepower) during the race.

Bourdais, Carpentier and Mario Dominguez completed the top-five.

The next scheduled event is the Monterrey Grand Prix on Sunday, May 23rd.