Northern Light IRL: Hornish stays on top; Teams log 3,110 testing miles

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Sophomore sensation Sam Hornish Jr. topped the daily and overall speed charts for the Feb. 23-24 Indy Racing Northern Light Series Open Test at Homestead-Miami Speedway despite high winds, afternoon intermittent showers and an accident on Saturday.

Late Friday afternoon, Hornish, who completed 185 laps over the weekend, powered his No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone to an overall quick lap of 26.9819 seconds, 200.134 mph around the 1.5-mile oval. Of the 2,073 laps (3,110 miles) turned by 14 drivers, Hornish was the only driver to break the 200-mph barrier during the two-day test.

On his 29th and final lap of the Saturday morning session, Hornish hit the outside Turn 4 wall then slid to a stop halfway down the front stretch along the inside wall. Hornish was uninjured in the accident. Before the crash, he again unleashed the fastest time of the day with a lap of 27.186 seconds, 198.629 mph.

"I was going through Turns 3 and 4, and I was halfway through the corner and lost it," said Hornish. "There was a gust of wind. I just couldn't keep up with it. The back end came around. I don't like to make the guys work any harder. I feel fine. I'm just disappointed. I don't like to make the guys fix wrecked cars."

Sarah Fisher, another second-year Northern Light Series driver, brought out the only other accident-related caution of the weekend. Driving the No. 15 Walker Racing Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone, she hit the wall coming out of Turn 4 and slid to a stop, just 15 minutes into the afternoon session. Fisher was uninjured.

Chilean-native and Miami-resident Eliseo Salazar put on a hometown show with an overall fast time of 27.2143 seconds, 198.425 mph, just short of Hornish's overall best. Salazar logged just 86 laps and did not turn any laps after noon on Saturday because of high winds during the final session.

Although several teams have conducted private tests at the track, this was the first official activity for the Indy Racing Northern Light Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The teams were preparing for the April 8 Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami presented by 123.com Americatel, the debut of Indy Racing in South Florida.

"With Homestead being a new track on the schedule, this was a good test for our teams," said Brian Barnhart, vice president of operations for the Indy Racing League. "Again, I'm pleased with what we've seen from our competition package so far. The teams ran more than 2,000 laps the past two days, and there was only one engine problem.

"The Homestead-Miami Speedway is a first-class facility, and everyone involved in the Northern Light Series is looking forward to returning for the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami in April."

The best laps from the two-day Homestead-Miami Speedway open test with time and speed follow:

Position Driver Best Lap Time Speed Laps

1. Sam Hornish Jr. 26.9819 200.134 mph 185
2. Eliseo Salazar 27.2143 198.425 mph 86
3. Buddy Lazier 27.2552 198.127 mph 161
4. Jeff Ward 27.2735 197.994 mph 102
5. *Felipe Giaffone 27.3147 197.696 mph 102
6. Greg Ray 27.3469 197.463 mph 138
7. Stan Wattles 27.4071 197.029 mph 162
8. Airton Dare 27.4599 196.650 mph 179
9. Eddie Cheever Jr. 27.6389 195.377 mph 196
10. Sarah Fisher 27.8130 194.154 mph 223
11. Robbie Buhl 27.9574 193.151 mph 179
12. Buzz Calkins 28.0968 192.193 mph 134
13. Jon Herb 28.3430 190.523 mph 209
14. *Tyce Carlson 28.3816 190.264 mph 17
* indicates only ran on Friday, Feb. 23.

Saturday's best laps with time and speed follow:

Position Driver Best Lap Time Speed Laps
1. Sam Hornish Jr. 27.1863 198.629 mph 29
2. Eliseo Salazar 27.2143 198.425 mph 18
3. Jeff Ward 27.2735 197.994 mph 56
4. Buddy Lazier 27.4153 196.970 mph 69
5. Airton Dare 27.4599 196.650 mph 99
6. Stan Wattles 27.4710 196.571 mph 62
7. Greg Ray 27.5005 196.360 mph 76
8. Eddie Cheever Jr. 27.6389 195.377 mph 98
9. Robbie Buhl 27.7025 194.928 mph 75
10. Sarah Fisher 27.8130 194.154 mph 79
11. Buzz Calkins 28.0968 192.193 mph 75
12. Jon Herb 28.3430 190.523 mph 58

Text Provided By Paul Kelly

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