DENVER, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Pole-sitter Bruno Junqueira of Brazil led flag-to-flag Sunday and won the inaugural CART Shell Grand Prix of Denver.
Driving a Toyota/Lola, Junqueira avoided any mistakes on the bumpy and tricky 1.647-mile temporary street course and finished 0.282 seconds ahead of Target/Chip Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon of New Zealand.
It was Junqueira's second victory of the season and third of his career. He also won from the pole at Motegi, Japan.
Dixon chased Junqueira over the final four laps as both were clear of the rest of the field. But he made no aggressive moves on his teammate.
Series points leader Cristiano da Matta finished third, claiming a podium finish after starting seventh in the 100-lap race. With five races remaining, da Matta holds a 52-point lead over Junqueira in the standings.
Adrian Fernandez of Mexico started second and finished fourth, followed by Brazilians Christian Fittipaldi and Tony Kanaan. Sweden's Kenny Brack, another Target driver, was seventh.
CART returned to the Denver area for the first time since 1990-91.
