Americas Oldest Car Company Powers Hornish To Final IRL Victory: Bye Bye Olds Thanks For The Memories!

Hornish Scores Final Oldsmobile Victory in Chevy 500

FORT WORTH, Texas, Saturday, October 6, 2001 - Oldsmobile brought down
the curtain on its motorsports program in winning style today at Texas
Motor Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr., the youngest champion in open-wheel
racing, gave America's oldest car company its final Indy Racing League
victory in the Chevy 500, the season finale of the Indy Racing Northern
Light Series. The "Oldsmobile Era" in the IRL ended with 49 victories in 51
races, 51 consecutive pole starts and a sweep of the engine manufacturer,
driver, team and rookie championships for five straight years.

    It was a historic day for Hornish and Oldsmobile. The 22-year-old
driver posted his third victory of the year in Pennzoil Panther Racing's
Oldsmobile Dallara to put an exclamation point on his championship season.
He beat Oldsmobile driver Scott Sharp to the finish line by .0188 seconds,
the closest margin of victory in league history. Hornish led 114 of 200
laps in a breathtaking race that featured a record 32 official lead changes
among six drivers - and dozens of unofficial lead changes on the
high-banked 1.5-mile oval.

    "It was great to win the Chevy 500 because we're going to be running
a Chevy engine next year," said Hornish, who sealed the victory with a
last-lap pass of Sharp. "I tried just about everything to get around him so
I thought I'd try something different. I thought if I shifted down to
fourth gear I'd get enough momentum to pass him. I'm glad I figured that
out on Lap 199 and not Lap 200!"

    The season-ending event featured the side-by-side competition that
has become the trademark of IRL events at Texas Motor Speedway. Hornish
dueled with Jaques Lazier for the first 50 laps until a miscue in the pits
took Lazier out of contention. Packs of cars raced within inches of each
other throughout the 300-mile race, while Hornish, Sharp, third-palce
finisher Robbie Buhl and fourth-ranked Eliseo Salazar ran wheel-to-wheel in
the closing stages.

    "It was an unbelievable race," said Sharp, who won two of the last
four races at TMS. "The last 30 laps went by in a blur. We drove as close
as we could without touching. Once I got in the lead, I wasn't going to
budge off the bottom. When I saw the white flag, I thought I had it - but
sure enough Sam came smokin' by me."

    Hornish and the Pennzoil Panther team again showcased the consistency
that propelled them to the $1 million championship. Hornish was running at
the finish of all 13 races, completing all but seven of 2,650 laps. He
posted ten podium finishes and 12 Top Ten finishes.
    
    "Speedway Engines is as much a part of winning this championship as
we are," said team co-owner John Barnes. "They've done a tremendous job for
us this year. Every time we were a little bit down they worked 20 hour
days, seven days a week, to get us back on top."
   
    The Chevy 500 marked the conclusion of Oldsmobile's
long-running motorsports program, a heritage that began with company
founder Ransom E. Olds. Oldsmobile powered 21 of the 25 starters and nine
of the 10 finishers in today's race. Oldsmobile drivers led 169 of 200
laps, and Rookie of the Year Felipe Giaffone turned the fastest lap at
221.540 mph in Treadway-Hubbard Racing's Oldsmobile G-Force.

    "Oldsmobile could not be more pleased with its very
beneficial relationship with the Indy Racing League," said Oldsmobile
General Manager Debra Kelly-Ennis. "We are proud of our longstanding
relationship with the IRL series and our partnership with the teams,
drivers, engine builders and sponsors.

    "Competing in this demanding arena has greatly enhanced awareness of
the world-class Aurora V8 production engine," Kelly-Ennis added. "The
success that Oldsmobile has enjoyed is very rewarding, and we expect that
Chevrolet will extend GM's winning record in the years ahead. Tony George
had a vision for open-wheel racing, and we are very proud to have played a
part in seeing it become reality."

    Twenty drivers have won IRL races with Oldsmobile engines since the
GM division entered the series in January 1997 with a naturally
aspirated 4.0-liter engine based on the design of the production Aurora V8.

    "I drove an Oldsmobile in the Trans Am series back in 1989,"
recalled Sharp, who scored five IRL victories with Oldsmobile power. "It's
been exciting to be part of the domination that Oldsmobile has enjoyed in
the IRL. Olds won a huge percentage of races, something that no one thought
at the beginning would happen. They put together an unbelievable product
and it has taken years for Nissan to catch up. We appreciate everything
that Oldsmobile has done and the support they have given the league and the
teams. It's also nice to see that it will all stay in the GM family."

    With the 2001 season now in the record book, GM Racing engineers
are focusing on the competition debut of the new Chevy Indy V8 at the start
of the 2002 season on March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Race Summary

Track: Texas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Winner: Sam Hornish Jr., Pennzoil Panther Racing Oldsmobile Dallara
Margin of Victory: .0188 seconds (series record)
Average Speed: 168.523 mph
Pole: Sam Hornish Jr./Oldsmobile (starting grid set by entrant points
after qualifying cancelled due to rain)
Fastest Lap: Felipe Giaffone/Oldsmobile, 221.540 mph

Top Five Finishers

Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Sam Hornish Jr./Oldsmobile, 200 laps
2. Scott Sharp/Oldsmobile, 200
3. Robbie Buhl/Infiniti, 200
4. Eliseo Salazar/Oldsmobile, 200
5. Rick Treadway/Oldsmobile, 200

Manufacturer Results

Laps Led: Oldsmobile 169, Infiniti 31
Starters: Oldsmobile 21, Infiniti 4
Running at Finish: Oldsmobile 9, Infiniti 1

Final Championship Standings
After 13 of 13 events

Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Sam Hornish Jr./Oldsmobile, 503 (3)
2. Buddy Lazier/Oldsmobile, 398 (4)
3. Scott Sharp/Oldsmobile, 355 (1)
4. Billy Boat/Oldsmobile, 313
5. Eliseo Salazar/Oldsmobile, 308

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Oldsmobile, 127 (12)
2. Infiniti, 94 (1)

 Next season Chevrolet is replacing sister company Oldsmobile, the next race takes place on : 
March 2, 2002, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.