Alex Zanardi

Alex Zanardi, who lost both his legs on Sept. 15 in a crash during a CART race at Lausitz, Germany, stood for the first time on artificial legs during a ceremony in his hometown of Bologna, Italy. "I'm so emotional that my legs are trembling," he said after presenting a Golden Helmet award to Formula One champion Michael Schumacher. "I can't walk yet, but this is the first step of the most important race. I have an extraordinary team beside me.

Pole-sitting specialist Alex Zanardi, who has been quoted as saying he drove a pizza truck two years ago in Rome when he was temporarily out of racing, put an end to the story Friday during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. "It was a joke, a joke between me and Jimmy [Vasser] over a Target commercial we did together a year ago," the Italian driver explained.

Alex Zanardi, who would rather be known as Alessandro, had a feeling it was a good omen Friday when he went to pay his bill at a fancy Long Beach restaurant and found that an anonymous diner had already paid it. Sunday, in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, winning was more gratifying for the Italian driver, and just about as easy. In one of the more uneventful races of the 23 run through the streets of Long Beach, Zanardi drove his Honda-powered Reynard to a 3.

Two mistakes and a dead radio were not enough to make Alex Zanardi lose his cool. Zanardi, 30, of Italy charged back from 22nd in the 28-car field to win Sunday's Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland, turning the tables on Gil de Ferran in a virtual replay of last year's finish. Zanardi, the 1996 rookie of the year, took the lead from de Ferran six laps from the end of the 90-lap, 189.54-mile event at Burke Lakefront Airport. He steadily pulled away, winning by 1.281 seconds.

The second U.S. 500 wasn't billed as a Demolition Derby, but it seemed to turn out that way. Nine drivers led during the 500 miles Sunday, but six of them never made it to the finish line. One after another, the leader and the contenders dropped out--either because of hitting the wall or engine failure brought on by hot temperatures and high speeds. At the end of CART's longest race, Alex Zanardi, the talkative little Italian from Chip Ganassi's Target team, was left.

It was a year ago today when Alex Zanardi straightened out Laguna Seca Raceway's fabled corkscrew corner with a daring dash through the dirt on the last lap to deny Bryan Herta his first CART victory. The pass has taken its place in motor racing lore as one of the most dramatic ever seen in an Indy car race. It gave the little Italian driver a surprising victory and also the impetus needed to dominate the 1997 season in Chip Ganassi's Reynard-Honda as the teammate of CART champion Jimmy Vasser.

Alex Zanardi may not spin any of his trademark "doughnuts" in the Century Plaza lobby Saturday night, but he'll probably feel like it when he collects checks adding up to $2,096,250 as the PPG CART World Series champion. The exciting and excitable Italian driver will be guest of honor at the awards banquet, where president and chief executive officer Andrew Craig will hand out the season's prize money.

Alex Zanardi, perhaps the most exciting driver to watch in the world today, may also be one of the most sought after. The CART PPG Cup champion is in the last year of his contract with Chip Ganassi's team, so Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach could be the last chance for Southern California fans to see him where he excels: on a temporary street circuit.

How do you say Superman in Italian? Zanardi, obviously. As in Alex Zanardi, winner of Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Faster than a speeding bullet? You bet, if the speeding bullet is Bryan Herta. More powerful than a locomotive? Sure, when the locomotive is a 10-car pileup in the temporary street course's hairpin turn. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Piece of cake.

The rains failed to arrive, the sun came out and impetuous Alex Zanardi helped the 24th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach become the most exciting and competitive race since John Watson came from far back to win the final Formula One race in 1983.