The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Michael Schumacher is the U.S. Grand Prix champion again. Now he has to wait two weeks for a chance at a record sixth Formula One title.

Schumacher took the lead for good after his final pit stop with 25 laps remaining and pulled away to win the U.S. Grand Prix by 18.2 seconds over pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen Sunday.

The victory, his second at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and record 70th of his career, raised his lead in the points series.

He is ahead of Raikkonen 92-83, with sixth-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya right behind with 82 points.

"Obviously, it's a very good position for us to start the last race," Schumacher said. "We just need one point, basically, but you first have to finish. My target will be to win another race."

Schumacher can clinch the F1 championship by finishing seventh or better in the season's final race Oct. 12 in Japan. An eighth-place finish would guarantee at least a tie for the title.

Harald Frentzen finished third, 37.9 seconds behind Schumacher. Jarno Trulli was fourth, another 10 seconds back.

Raikkonen, who started from the pole for only the second time in his career, led the race until his first pit stop on the 19th lap, giving Schumacher his first lead.

But an early drizzle turned into a heavy rain, forcing all the cars into the pits to change tires, and Raikkonen never led again.

2004 DATES: The U.S. Grand Prix, held in late September since 2000, will be moved to June 20 next year, giving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway three major races in a span of 10 weeks. The Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 30, then after the Formula One race on the reconfigured road course, the track layout will be changed back to an oval for the NASCAR Brickyard 400 on Aug. 8.

CART: Mario Dominguez was the surprising winner of CART's Grand Prix of the Americas Sunday, benefiting from a late crash that knocked leaders Adrian Fernandez and Bruno Junqueira from contention.

This was the second career victory for Dominguez. The Mexican was the first driver to win a race starting outside the first two rows.