July 16th, 2000, Toronto, Canada: The Old Master reverted to a hungry predator at the Molson Indy, as Michael Andretti haunted the mirrors of a succession of leaders en route to his sixth Toronto victory. Although the expected summer squall never materialized, the sun-filled race had a spooky mysterious air, haunted by unusual sightings, rare occurrences, and a pair of ghosts.

Paul Tracy conjured the first ghost by wearing the battle colors of his fallen countryman Greg Moore. In tribute to the twenty-four year old speed demon who died in a crash last November, Tracy wore a helmet painted by California artist Troy Lee in Moore's unique metallic silver and blue design. Tracy's substitute helmet, which was auctioned off for charity, was one of many unusual visions in the paddock.

Fans were seeing double all weekend, as the usual features of the CART carnival were eerily duplicated by the scenery and props of Hollywood. Sylvester Stallone's once-small film crew has grown exponentially in the last few weeks, sprinkling fake drivers, crews, pit stalls and transporters throughout Toronto's Exposition Place. The ubiquitous film crew even had their own fleet of deep-throated race cars from the CART 101 Racing School. Rumbling around the course during breaks in the real action, Stallone's normally-aspirated motor pool looked realistic but sounded like a preposterous NASCAR splinter-group.

The first lap of the actual race featured an event stranger than any cinematic fiction, triggered by pole-sitter Helio Castro Neves' small miscue in Turn 3. The chain of events caused by Helio's off-line excursion jammed Dario Franchitti's nose into Juan Montoya's rear suspension like a harpoon into a blowhole. CART's expert safety crew appeared uncharacteristically puzzled as they pushed, pulled and yanked at a million dollar jumble of fused carbon fiber that refused to yield.

The cars were eventually separated, and returned to the pits under their own power, yet neither vehicle could pass muster by CART's inspectors. Fans cheered an imposter champion, as Sly, rather than Juan, strolled along pit lane waving to the crowd as if he had just retired from the race.

Meanwhile Cristiano da Matta had inherited the lead from Castroneves, and maintained it for more than half the race. The possibility of da Matta bringing his PPI team their first ever CART victory conjured up the second ghost, PPI driver Jeff Krosnoff, who died in a crash in the 1996 Toronto event. "Stay Hungry" was inscribed on Krosnoff's car, and it would have been the perfect headline had da Matta brought home the checkered flag to PPI on the same site as Krosnoff's tragic accident.

Storybook endings only happen in the movies, and da Matta's victory hopes were dashed by an increasingly ill-handling car. Deep into the second stint, da Matta was haunted by the black and silver car of Michael Andretti, who started in third position. As da Matta struggled to control a loose Reynard that skated around every turn, Andretti's Lola tracked like a laser, weaving left and right like an angry hornet. "I just trying to fill his mirrors and force a mistake. He made a few small ones, but not enough to do anything, and then he pitted before me," Andretti explained later. Andretti's pit crew took care of the unfinished business, as a quick final pit stop gave Andretti a lead that he never relinquished.

The thirty-seven year old Andretti, who leads all active drivers with forty career wins, won his sole CART championship in 1991. The intensity, drive, and sheer force he displayed all weekend reminded observers of his old championship form. In fact, one of his crewmembers claimed that Andretti's Toronto car was the best handling Newman Haas ride since that magical '91 season. All the elements of Michael's mystique were on full display today: raw speed, hunger for the lead, and an unparalleled level of psychological gamesmanship. The final stint saw Andretti leave the other front runners in the dust, finishing 6.5 seconds ahead of Adrian Fernandez, 9.1 seconds ahead of Tracy, and almost 15 seconds ahead of fourth-place da Matta.