St. Petersburg, Fla. ? Winning races isn’t new to Paul Tracy. Getting off to a fast start in the points race is.

Tracy did both Sunday, taking control midway through the inaugural St. Petersburg Grand Prix and driving away with the victory.

The winningest active driver in CART’s Champ Car World Series, Tracy earned his 20th win in the season-opening race on the temporary 1.806-mile, 14-turn downtown street circuit.

More important, he came away with 21 points — 20 for winning the race and one for leading the most laps.

“I am usually a slow starter. Normally it takes me four or five races to get a point, and you’re 60-70 points behind by then,” Tracy said.

The 34-year-old Canadian, making his first start for Team Player’s, passed rookie Tiago Monteiro for the lead on lap 35 and stayed out front to the end of the 105-lap event.

Tracy, who has failed to finish better than third in the championship in 12 seasons, is considered the favorite in 2003. He will take the points lead into the next race, March 23 in Monterrey, Mexico.

“I hope we don’t fall on our faces next race,” he said. “I’ve won just about everything, but not a championship.”

Michel Jourdain Jr. finished second, but never challenged for the lead and was 12.136 seconds — several hundred yards — behind Tracy at the end.

Paul Tracy leads the field down the back stretch en route to winning the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Tracy won the first race of the CART season Sunday at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Bruno Junqueira was third despite losing ground when his crew had trouble with his right-rear tire on his first pit stop and late-race brake problems.

Junqueira, second in last year’s championship to Cristiano da Matta — now in Formula One — was followed by Mario Haberfeld, the best finisher among nine rookies in the 19-car field.

Roberto Moreno, who had no ride last year and, at 44, the oldest driver in the field, finished fifth.

Jimmy Vasser, in sixth, was the top American finisher, with Monteiro seventh.

Rookie Sebastien Bourdais, who was so impressive in winning the pole, led the first 30 laps. He hit a concrete wall, though, breaking his left-rear suspension and flattening a tire. He finished 11th.