Defending U.S. Bank Presents The Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland winner Sebastien Bourdais (#2 McDonald's Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) said on Saturday that he didn't plan on following anyone through Burke Lakefront Airport's treacherous Turn One despite the fact that he was gridding third for Saturday's race.

His words turned out to be prophetic ones as the Frenchman emerged from the standard Turn One chaos with the lead and never looked back in romping to a win. The reigning Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford Rookie of the Year led 88 of the 97 laps around Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport on another Chamber of Commerce weather day on the North Coast. The win was the third of the year for Bourdais and sparked the third 1-2 Newman/Haas finish of the year when Bruno Junqueira (#6 PacifiCare Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) came home in second place. Junqueira ran the fastest lap of the race with three laps to go to earn a championship point, allowing him to maintain his series points lead by three points over Bourdais.

Bourdais came out of the first turn with the lead after front-row starters Paul Tracy (#1 Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Justin Wilson (#34 Mi-Jack Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) ended up heading home after Wilson had contact with Alex Tagliani (#8 Johnson Controls Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) before bouncing sideways into Tracy. The contact ended the day for both Tracy and Wilson while Tagliani fell back in the pack after going off course to the left of the turn.