Emotional Moreno Ends Long Drought

Roberto Moreno screamed, cried, sang and celebrated a victory that was 15 years in coming.

The emotional Brazilian dominated Sunday on the way to a win in the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland, taking the checkered flag for the first time in 70 CART races.

He did it in style, leading 91 of the 100 laps on Burke Lakefront Airport’s wide, bumpy, 2.106-mile, 10-turn road course.

“That’s what happens when they give you a good race car,” Moreno said after his tears subsided. “It’s the same setup we had yesterday. We did a little fine-tuning. . . . This has been great for me. I even got my green card in America this year.”

Moreno, whose only full-time seasons in CART came in 1986 and 1996, ran his first race in the series in the New Jersey Meadowlands in June 1985. He earned the nickname “Supersub” over the last few years, filling in for injured and released drivers.

But Moreno finally got an opportunity this year with Patrick Racing, one of the top teams in the open-wheel series, and has taken full advantage.

He drove into the points lead with a second-place finish the previous Sunday in Portland, Ore., came up with his first career pole here Saturday, then drove away from the field in the race, averaging 112.629 mph. He now has a 22-point lead (90-68) over Michael Andretti in the series standings.

As he drove his black Ford-powered Reynard slowly around the course after beating runner-up Kenny Brack to the finish line by 0.826-seconds--about five car-lengths--Moreno started screaming.

When he reached turn one, still hollering at the top of his lungs, Moreno spun the car in a doughnut with black smoke boiling from the tires, reminiscent of the on-track celebrations of two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi.

Jim McGee, the general manager of the Patrick team and the man who communicates with Moreno on the team radio, had trouble getting in a word of congratulations. “Roberto did a great job setting the car up,” McGee said. “He was just flawless today.”

When Moreno--at 41 the oldest driver in the series--finally scrambled from his car, he raised his right thumb and repeatedly pumped his right arm, then turned and leaped into the arms his crewmen.

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David Coulthard wanted to pass, and Michael Schumacher wouldn’t let him. So Coulthard, like a highway driver with a case of road rage, greeted his Formula One rival with a clenched fist and an obscene gesture.

Schumacher got the message. The next time Coulthard tried to pass him, Schumacher let the British driver by and Coulthard was on his way to a French Grand Prix victory at Magny-Cours, France.

“I won the race and I am delighted about it, but I just don’t think Michael was very sporting in the way he drove on the track,” said Coulthard, who later apologized for the gestures.

As it was, Schumacher--the season leader--had to quit 13 laps before the end of the 72-lap race on the 2.64-mile Nevers Magny-Cours circuit with smoke billowing from his red Ferrari.

Coulthard, averaging 116.283 mph in his McLaren-Mercedes, went on to get his ninth career victory, his third this season, and 10 points for the race that allowed him to cut Schumacher’s lead in the driver standings to 12 (56-44) with eight events remaining on the 17-race schedule.

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Jeff Green raced to his fourth NASCAR Busch Series victory of the year, beating Jeff Purvis by 0.797 seconds in the DieHard 250 at West Allis, Wis.

Green, who started from the pole in his Chevrolet, has won three of the last four races to open a series-record 388-point lead over Todd Bodine in the season standings. Green is tied with Winston Cup star Mark Martin for the series victory lead.

Green, who has eight career Busch Series victories, led 207 of 250 laps on the flat mile oval and averaged 89.206 mph.

Kyle Petty, who drove in the Winston Cup Series’ Pepsi 400 on Saturday night in Daytona Beach, Fla., replaced his late son, Adam, in the No. 45 Chevrolet and finished eighth. Adam Petty was killed May 12 in a practice session at New Hampshire International Speedway.

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Five-time motorcycle world champion Joey Dunlop, honored by Buckingham Palace for his humanitarian work, was killed in a road race at Tallinn, Estonia when his bike skidded in heavy rain and hit a tree.

Dunlop, 48, from Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, was racing in a 125cc race on a 3.7-mile road circuit in the Estonian capital when he crashed.