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Michigan 500 Fireworks

It has been called one of the greatest duels in the history of open wheel racing, and it took place at the Michigan International Speedway in 2000. That year’s Michigan 500 race came in the middle of the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series season and turned into a showdown between second-year driver Juan Montoya and racing royalty, veteran Michael Andretti.

Fifty thousand fans watched as the two former series champions raced to one of the closest finishes in history. Montoya, who won the series championship in his rookie year, battled Andretti at close quarters over the final 17 laps of the 250-lap race. In those 17 laps, Andretti, himself a series champion in 1991, was never separated from Montoya by more than 0.7 seconds. Each driver led for at least part of each of those final 17 laps, with Montoya making the final pass in turn four of lap 250 to win by less than a car length.

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