The Budweiser 500, Round 2 of the PPG Cup chase,allows CART to export a distinctly Americanproduct — oval track racing — to Japan, givingthat country's enthusiastic race fans theopportunity to experience the firstAmerican-based open-wheel championship round everheld in Asia.

It will also be the first competitive event everheld at Twin Ring Motegi, a 1.549-mile ovallocated roughly 60 miles northeast of Tokyo. PPGCup points leader Michael Andretti(Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford) leads a fieldof the most skilled Championship Car racers inthe world into next Saturday's 201-lap,500-kilometer Budweiser 500 (Note: Saturdaybroadcast, 2 p.m. ET, tape delay, ABC-TV), secondof 19 events in this year's FedEx ChampionshipSeries.

"It's going to be a great event for us," saidAndretti, fresh off his CART-leading 37th careervictory in last Sunday's season-opening MarlboroGrand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota at theMiami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex. "I'mproud of the fact that we are racing in Japan. Weare exporting an American product to theJapanese. It's just one more indication that theseries is growing.

"We're the first racing organization to hold achampionship round in Japan and I think that willadd to the excitement because the stakes are sohigh," added Andretti, who holds a 21-17 leadover Greg Moore (Player's/Indeck ReynardMercedes) in the PPG Cup standings following hissecond consecutive victory at Homestead. "The PPGCup championship is at stake and the points wecan score in Japan can bring us one step closerto winning it."

Andretti, the 1991 PPG Cup champion, leads thestandings for the first time since leading ScottPruett, 51-47 after Nazareth last season. Moore,meanwhile, stands second in the championship forthe first time since Cleveland last year, when hetrailed Paul Tracy, 106-95.

Moore comes to Motegi off his first career poleat Homestead, which made him the youngest polewinner in CART history at age 22 years, 10 monthsand 20 days. John Paul Jr. had been CART'sprevious youngest pole-winner (23 years, sevenmonths and 18 days) when he started first at LasVegas in 1983.

Defending PPG Cup champion Alex Zanardi (TargetReynard Honda) started strongly in his bid tobecome the series' first repeat titlist sinceBobby Rahal (1986-87) by finishing third atHomestead. It was his seventh podium finish inthe past eight races, a feat unmatched by anyCART driver since Andretti scored seven podiumsduring the final eight events of his 1991championship season.

Andretti's teammate, Christian Fittipaldi (KmartSwift Ford) made it an outstanding opener forNewman/Haas Racing by finishing fourth atHomestead, matching his best finish since thirdat Vancouver in '96.

It was also a terrific day for Patrick Racing, asteammates Pruett (Visteon Reynard Ford) andAdrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/LabattReynard Ford) finished fifth and sixth,respectively. It was Pruett's third consecutivetop-five finish at Homestead, and the bestseason-opening performance of Fernandez' six-yearcareer.

Last year's PPG Cup runnerup, Gil de Ferran(Valvoline/Cummins Special Reynard Honda) ran hisstreak of consecutive points-paying finishes toseven, and 14 in his last 15 starts, with aseventh-place performance in Homestead. BryanHerta (Shell Reynard Ford) finished eighth forTeam Rahal, his third consecutivepoints-producing finish at Homestead.

Dario Franchitti (KOOL Reynard Honda) made hisTeam KOOL Green debut a successful one, finishingninth to match a career-best in 17 FedExChampionship Series starts. Mauricio Gugelmin(Hollywood PacWest Mercedes) qualified andfinished 10th to keep his streak of top-10qualifying performances alive at 21 and hisstreak of points-paying finishes intact at eight.

Other drivers collecting PPG Cup points atHomestead included Patrick Carpentier(Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes), who finished11th, and Mark Blundell (Motorola PacWestMercedes), who took 12th. Carpentier enjoyed hisfirst scoring performance since Cleveland lastyear, while Blundell recorded his best finish inthree career season-opening events.

CART's first-ever visit to Japan will havespecial significance for Hiro Matsushita(Panasonic/Duskin Reynard Toyota), the firstJapanese driver in CART history. Matsushita, anine-year veteran of the FedEx ChampionshipSeries, announced last week that he will retirefollowing Round 5 of this year's championship atRio de Janeiro. The opportunity to race in frontof his compatriots figures to be a highlight ofhis career.

Although Champ Car drivers have yet to race atMotegi, 14 of them participated in an open teston the oval in November. Jimmy Vasser (TargetReynard Honda) averaged 215.180 mph for thefastest lap of the two-day open test, followed byFranchitti, at 213.614 mph and Richie Hearn(Budweiser/Ralphs Food 4 Less Swift Ford), at212.986 mph.

Al Unser Jr. (Marlboro Penske Mercedes) and Rahal(Miller Lite Reynard Ford) travel to Motegiseeking to add to their career victory totals of31 and 24, second and fourth, respectively, inCART annals. Tracy (KOOL Reynard Honda) has wonthree of the past five FedEx Championship Seriesevents contested on short ovals, with consecutivevictories at Nazareth, Rio de Janeiro andGateway, respectively, last season.

Andre Ribeiro (Marlboro Penske Mercedes)qualified second at Homestead, his best startsince winning the pole at Toronto in '96.

Max Papis (MCI Reynard Toyota), PJ Jones(Castrol-Degree Reynard Toyota) and rookie AlexBarron (Castrol-Degree Reynard Toyota) will belooking to put together strong performances fortheir Japanese engine manufacturer at Motegi.Michel Jourdain Jr. (Herdez/Viva Mexico! ReynardFord) hopes to regain the momentum which broughthim the STP Most Improved Driver award by vote ofhis peers last season.

Roberto Moreno (Hawaiian Tropic Reynard Mercedes)gave Project Indy a strong 15th-place showing inthe opener at Homestead. Meanwhile, JJ Lehto(Hogan Motor Leasing Inc. Reynard Mercedes) ledthis year's FedEx Championship Series rookie cropwith a 14th-place finish in the opener, improvingfrom the 29th and final starting spot to accountfor the greatest start-to-finish improvement inthe field.

Indy Lights alumni Tony Kanaan (LCI ReynardHonda) and Helio Castro-Neves (Alumax AluminumReynard Mercedes) finished 29th and 24th,respectively, in their FedEx Championship Seriesdebuts.

Gulater Salles, replacing the stillinjured Dennis Vitolo at Payton Coyne and Arnd Meier (BAAN Business Software/Total Tel)will be out to improve on the career-bestoval-track finishes.

Hideshi Matsuda (BMB Minijuke Swift Ford) joinsHearn to form a two-car entry for Della PennaMotorsports. Matsuda will be seeking his firststart in the FedEx Championship Series since the1995 Indianapolis 500, the only other start ofhis career.

Following the Budweiser 500, the FedExChampionship Series returns to North America forits second event in as many weeks, the ToyotaGrand Prix of Long Beach, scheduled for Sunday,April 5 on the streets of Long Beach, Calif.