Popular driver Max Papis finally realized his star potential today, taking the lead from Paul Tracy nine laps before the finish of the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami. Using backmarker Luiz Garcia Jr. as a pick, Papis ducked down in Turn 1 and slipped by Tracy on the inside. Fellow Ford-driver Roberto Moreno dutifully followed Max's line, and used a subsequent slower car to close on the Mad Italian during the final minute of the race. When the checkered flag waved, Moreno trailed first-time winner Papis by 0.577 seconds. Tracy was happy with his third-place finish, having struggled with a poor-handling car all weekend.

One of the most charismatic, emotional, and likable personalities in the paddock, Mad Max was cheered by fans, crews, and fellow drivers as he conducted the Italian national anthem from atop the podium, wearing his country's flag as a cape. His victory was especially poignant because of his close friendship with Greg Moore, the defending Miami winner who died in a horrific accident at Fontana in November.

The season-opening race was the first look at many changes around the garage. While a number of owners such as Penske and Ganassi switched both engine and chassis for the Y2K season, all three podium finishers drove for owners who had stuck with their 1999 packages. Every team was dealing with a new variable today: the debut of the Hanford Mark II rear wing, designed to offer increased downforce and stability on the midsize ovals. Unfortunately, drivers reported significant turbulence when following within six car-lengths of another driver, and the result was a spread-out line of cars remarkably similar to last year's less-than-thrilling event.

It was this very turbulence that proved to be the undoing of Paul Tracy, who was driving a brilliantly patient and clever race after starting seventeenth. Looking suspiciously like Al Unser, Jr., or Bobby Rahal, the once-hotheaded Tracy let attrition, mistakes, and poor pit stops take their toll on other drivers.

The race started Miami-hot, as flag-waving Colombians cheered Juan Montoya's opening-lap pass of Gil de Ferran, who's pole position had given Roger Penske his first good night's sleep since the Lewinsky affair. Penske's other new driver Helio Castro-Neves, suffered a broken Honda on lap 11, the first of a frustrating series of early engine failures. The detonation of shiny 2000-model engines retired Juan Montoya while leading lap 21, Michael Andretti from P2 on lap 37, Adrian Fernandez while leading lap 48, and Kenny Brack from P2 on lap 78. Mercedes proved to be the only manufacturer without an engine failure, an encouraging sign for their new-for-2000 design.

Often a maverick in pit strategy, Penske opened the initial round of put stops by bringing in de Ferran in from P3 on lap 50. Leader Kenny Brack waited until lap 54, and found himself trailing de Ferran by 2.4 seconds only six laps later. De Ferran went into hyperspace during the second segment, extending his lead over rookie Alex Tagliani to 6.67 seconds by lap 90. Perhaps de Ferran was running full rich while other contenders were running lean, because he again pitted first under green on lap 99.

Continuing a trend from the 1999 season, the leader was punished for his early final stop, as Big Mo Gugelmin stalled on the backstretch, bringing out a yellow flag on lap 102. Tagliani ruined what would have been a stellar debut by roaring past the pace car, and the resulting penalty sent him around to the back of the lead lap cars. At the same moment, second-place runner Tony Kanaan entered the closed pits, and also was sent back to the end.

With a wave of the chief steward's hand, the patient veteran Tracy inherited first place as the green flag waved on lap 111. Tracy later reported that he knew his unstable car would be a nightmare in traffic. From lap 111 to 140 Tracy successfully controlled the pace of the front group so as to avoid hastening the inevitable catching-up of slower cars.

The struggling 1999 Reynard of Luiz Garcia Jr. proved to be Tracy's undoing, creating a wake of turbulence that accentuated Tracy's daylong instability exiting turns. As Tracy completed lap 140 he felt his car sliding up the track, and made a snap decision to lift rather than "legging it and either looking like a hero or ending up in the fence." When asked if he would have made a different decision a few years ago, Tracy smiled and declared "Oh, I definitely would have legged it, and most likely I would have crashed."

Meanwhile, Max was being egged-on by owner Bobby Rahal, who declared "Alright, this is it babe" as Tracy came upon Garcia. Max obeyed his boss, moved left, and took the lead, the win, and the first twenty points towards a championship run. When asked if the win was necessary for Max to overcome his near-miss on the last lap of the US 500 last summer, Max waxed philosophical:

"This stuff in Michigan is more in your heads than mine. I forgot it the next day, when I was kayaking in front of my house in Miami Beach… Inside of me I didn't need anything… I take every day as God's gift, and it is very important to take what you can take from any particular day. You need to believe you are a winner in your own heart."

And a big heart it is. Max made special tribute to two fallen colleagues during his post race comments. Speaking of his buddy Greg Moore, Max said "I always think about him with a lot of smiles and happiness. I think of him like the little crazy kid that he was." Max also made a point to mention Jeff Krosnoff, Max's predecessor at Arciero-Wells who was killed in a racing accident in Toronto in 1996. "I always had Jeff in my heart and my brain every day, every lap."