The qualifying saw Jimmy Vasser take the pole with Adrián Fernández alongside, but at the second attempt to start (the first was called off due to field alignment issues), it was the second-row starters Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Andretti who raced away into the first two spots.

He led until the second round of pit stops when a caution due to Gil de Ferran's crash bunched the field up, allowing second-placed Montoya to close and pass him on the restart.

Papis led comfortably until a crash for P. J. Jones erased a nine-second lead and allowed Andretti to jump him in the pit stops.

The restart saw Papis battle with Andretti and Dario Franchitti for a few laps before breaking away again, only for another caution caused by Scott Pruett's crash to again bring the field closer to him.

Kanaan however, held on to beat Montoya by 0.032 seconds, with Tracy taking the final step of the podium after passing Andretti at the line.