Finalists announced for Greg Moore Legacy Award.

Four finalists have been revealed ahead of this year's Greg Moore Legacy Award presentation, with representatives from the three main CART-supported series vying for the prestigious recognition.

CART FedEx Championship Series race winners Paul Tracy and Patrick Carpentier, Toyota Atlantic Championship runner-up Michael Valiante, and 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series champion AJ Allmendinger have been announced as the protagonists for the third annual Award, which has been won in the past by Brazilian Helio Castroneves Tracy's Team KOOL Green team-mate Dario Franchitti, a close friend of Moore's before the Canadian's untimely death in 1999.

The award was created to the driver who best typifies Moore's legacy of outstanding talent on track, as well as displaying a dynamic personality with fans, media, and within the CART community.

"It was very special to receive the Greg Moore Legacy Award last year because of what Greg meant as a friend and as a competitor," Franchitti said, "Greg was the guy that brought all the drivers together away from the racetrack. He had such a great personality and he was so easy to get along with. On the track, he was a fierce competitor from his first day as a rookie at Homestead to making all those crazy passes through all five of his wins. I would still much prefer if Greg was still hanging around, but it was a very special moment to win the award."

As Moore was a product of the CART Ladder System - having competed in the Dayton Indy Lights Championship from 1993-95 and winning ten of twelve races en route to the series title in 1995 - drivers from the top two CART development series are also eligible for the award, hence the inclusion of Valiante and Allmendinger.

"Greg Moore was one of the brightest stars in the CART FedEx Championship Series prior to his tragic death, and I have no doubt that he would have won several more races and the series championship," said CART president and CEO Chris Pook.

"The four drivers that have been chosen as finalists for the 2002 Greg Moore Legacy Award have shown the same kind of spirit and dedication throughout this season that Greg had throughout his entire career. This is an extremely special award, and all of the drivers who have been nominated should feel tremendously honoured."

Pook heads up a seven-member panel - also including CART Toyota Atlantic Championship president Vicki O'Connor, Player's/Forsythe Racing owner Gerald Forsythe, Imperial Tobacco president and COO Bob Bexon, Championship Drivers Association CART representative Adrian Fernandez, SPEED Channel commentator Derek Daly, and RACER magazine senior editor David Phillips - who voted on the 2002 recipient during the past weekend's race at California Speedway.

Tracy collected his 19th career CART FedEx Championship Series race victory in June's Miller Lite 250 at The Milwaukee Mile, and owns four other podium finishes in competition this season, while fellow Canadian Carpentier is enjoying the best season of his five-year CART FedEx Championship Series career, having scored his second and third career victories at Cleveland and Mid-Ohio respectively. Carpentier, Moore's team-mate at Player's/Forsythe Racing in 1998-99, currently stands third in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series point standings.

Valiante, like Moore a native of British Columbia in Canada, earned three victories in his rookie Toyota Atlantic campaign - equalling Ryan Hunter-Reay for most wins - and finished runner-up to Jon Fogarty in the championship. Allmendinger, a Californian, finished on the podium in all but one of ten Barber Dodge Pro Series starts, including a series-high six victories, en route to the Barber Dodge Pro Series title. His worst finish of the season was a fourth place result in Cleveland.

The award will be presented during the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series 'Victory Celebration' at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Miami on 22 November.