51.   For Gordon, the four-time and defending series champion, it was his best finish since a victory in Kansas City last September.

52.   Geoff Boss, who briefly held second place, wound up a career-best third, followed by defending series champion David Empringham of Canada.

53.   Gil de Ferran, the defending series champion, had particular praise for the work the Laguna Seca staff did on the runoff areas where those two crashed occurred.

54.   Gordon, a three-time series champion, has started turning to Nadeau for advice on setups and strategies.

55.   Green, the defending series champion, was fifth, followed by Kenny Wallace, David Green, Elton Sawyer, Randy LaJoie and Scott Wimmer.

56.   Hakkinen, the defending series champion, starts second.

57.   He beat the former series champion to the finish line by the length of the hood on his Pontiac Trans-Am, winning his first IROC race.

58.   He moved within four points of Schumacher, the three-time and defending series champion.

59.   He won the spring race by less than a yard over new series champion Bobby Labonte.

60.   Hill, the Formula One series champion from Britain, was reduced this year to driving for the lowly Arrows team.