Bruno Junqueira sits just 18 points behind Paul Tracy with only 4 races to go, but as we have learned from previous races this season, 18 points is not a tremendous deficit to overcome.

Starting this Friday, the Champ Car season will end its United States street racing tour, as it heads to sunny Miami, Florida. The weather forecast however, may not be so sunny, with Thunderstorms forecasted throughout the weekend.

“It should be interesting in Miami if we get the same kind of race weekend we had during our first visit there last year,” said championship leader Paul Tracy. “Miami’s been known to get some of those afternoon showers, and they just happened to come at the wrong time during Saturday qualifying, and I ended up qualifying near the back of the grid.” With that said, the weather could play a deciding factor in the point’s race, with qualifying being a huge part of the scenario.

The pressure is going to be all on the shoulders of Bruno Junqueira, as his season could be won or lost in Miami. "The race is going to be really important for the Championship," said Junqueira. "Now is the time that every point is important. To get a win and to get closer to Paul Tracy in the championship is going to be really important for me." Junqueira is going to have to finish in front of Tracy first and foremost, but must also qualify well. Last week in Denver, it was Junqueira who out qualified Tracy, and gave Newman Haas Racing a 1-2 finish, gaining valuable points on Tracy.

Tracy on the other hand, must make sure that he finishes the race in the points, as a DNF could be a fatal blow to Tracy’s championship lead. Miami proved to be a very “messy” circuit last year, and made it a very difficult task to come out of the race unscathed.

While the championship is still up for grabs, the Miami event proves to be just that, an event! With a Kid Rock concert on Friday night, and an Elton John concert on Saturday night, along with the Toyota Atlantic Series, Trans Am Series, and the American Le Mans Series co-headlining with the Champ Car’s definitely makes a 100$ ticket for all seven events going on, well worth the price of admission.

One way or another, as we leave Miami, we will probably come back with a few stories, a few announcements, and some good times, whether that is the rumored 2004 schedule announcement, or a possible press conference with the OWRS principles. The Champ Car series is continuing to move forward, and its future is beginning to come clearer, so sit back and relax the Champ Car’s in Miami this Sunday on CBS.