New Chevy Fourth in IRL MIS Qualifying

Hornish Qualifies New Gen IV Chevy Fourth at MIS

    BROOKLYN, Mich., July 26, 2003 - It seemed like old times for Sam
Hornish Jr. today as he qualified the new Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 fourth on
the starting grid for the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International
Speedway. Hornish, the fastest driver in Friday's combined practice
sessions, will start the Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara on the
outside of the second row after his 221.837 mph qualifying lap on the
2-mile oval. Tomas Scheckter won the pole with a 222.458 mph lap in Ganassi
Racing's Toyota G Force.

    "We're excited about qualifying in the top five on a superspeedway,
which is something we haven't done this year," said Hornish, the only
driver testing the new Chevy powerplant under race conditions this weekend.
"Everything is going very smooth so far. We'll put our race motor in for
the final practice this afternoon and then see what it does tomorrow in the
race."

    While Hornish set the pace under calm and sunny skies in
practice yesterday, qualifying today was conducted in windy, overcast
conditions.

    "Yesterday in practice we had a very good handling race car,"
Hornish reported. "That's something we've worked on a lot this year to make
sure that when we got the power we needed we'd have a car that could make
the most of it. The wind picked up a little bit today. We didn't do many
qualifying runs, so we didn't know exactly how the car would run, but we're
happy with it."

    The Firestone Indy 400 will be a demanding 400-mile test of the new Gen
IV Chevy Indy V8. The 2-mile banked track requires nearly
continuous full-throttle operation.

    "We ran over 400 miles in testing with the new engine, and the way
it looks right now we're not going to have a problem with it, but you never
want to speak too soon," Hornish cautioned. "We'll just go about our
strategy like we have at every other race this year. It's all about being
able to maneuver through traffic and position yourself for the last five
laps of the race."

    Vitor Meira was the fastest Chevrolet driver who qualified with the
Gen III version of the Chevy Indy V8. He circled the MIS circuit at 217.439
mph in Team Menard's Johns Manville Chevrolet Dallara, putting him 17th on
the starting grid.

    "It was windy out there and we had to shift," Meira said. "We had a
range of gears to fit every situation."

    Meira was impressed with the initial performance of the new
Chevrolet engine in the Panther Racing entry. The Gen IV engine will be
available to all full-time Chevy teams for the event at Kentucky Speedway
on Aug. 17.

    "I can't say enough; the numbers and the speeds that the Panther team
has been showing speak for themselves," said Meira. "There's still a race
to run, so this is a good test. If the reliability is good here, it will be
good everywhere.

    "Tomorrow's race is going to be drafting, drafting, drafting,"
Meira predicted. "You must have a good car in the draft. We are struggling
a bit; we are missing something on our race setup with full tanks and old
tires. We are going to really make an effort on that."

    Buddy Rice will start Red Bull Cheever Racing's Chevrolet Dallara
from 18th on the grid with a 215.828 mph qualifying speed. The #52 Cheever
Racing entry is currently the second highest Chevy team in the entrant
points standings; the IRL has determined that the second-ranked Chevy team
at the conclusion of the MIS event will test the new Gen IV engine in the
Emerson Indy 250 on Aug. 10 at Gateway International Raceway.

    "For qualifying today we just trimmed our car down and it's the
fastest we've probably gone the whole weekend," said Rice. "The hope is
that we'll get the new engine for St. Louis, so we're preparing our car for
that. We're going to wait and see how the weekend goes and move on from
there.

    "Hornish has made a big impression this weekend with the way he
is running," said Rice. "I think it's going to be a big relief for all the
Chevy teams."

    The Firestone Indy 400 will start at 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 27.
The 200-lap, 400-mile race will be televised live on ABC and broadcast on
the IMS Radio Network.

FIRESTONE INDY 400 QUALIFYING SUMMARY:
Pos./Driver/Engine/Speed
1. Tomas Scheckter, Toyota, 222.458 mph
2. Scott Dixon, Toyota, 222.425
3. Helio Castroneves, Toyota, 221.953
4. Sam Hornish Jr., Chevrolet, 221.837
5. Al Unser Jr., Toyota, 221.465

17. Vitor Meira, Chevrolet, 217.439
18. Buddy Rice, Chevrolet, 215.828
19. Robbie Buhl, Chevrolet, 214.438
20. Sarah Fisher, Chevrolet, 214.380
21. Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, 213.091