Castroneves Puts Chevy on PIR Pole

Contact: Rick Voegelin
rickvoegelin@compuserve.com
GM Racing Communications
(831) 761-2201


Castroneves Puts Chevy on Phoenix Pole

PHOENIX, March 16, 2002 -- Chevrolet enjoyed a day in the sun in the
Arizona desert today as Chevy Indy V8 engines swept the first two rows in
qualifying for Sunday's Indy Racing League Bombardier ATV Copper World Indy
200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Chevy powered the polewinner for the
second consecutive IRL event as Helio Castroneves circled the one-mile oval
at 179.888 mph in Marlboro Team Penske's Chevrolet Dallara, a record speed
for naturally aspirated IRL cars at PIR.

    "I believe that was as fast as I could go," said Castroneves
after capturing his first IRL pole. "The car was very solid in the rear,
very solid in the front. I hope that we can keep the same speed for the
race. On a one-mile oval, you have to have a fantastic car in the traffic."

    Qualifying was completed under brilliant blue skies and balmy breezes
in the Valley of the Sun. Sam Hornish Jr., winner of the season-opening
race in Miami, will start alongside Castroneves with a 179.735 mph
qualifying speed in Panther Racing's Chevrolet Dallara. Jeff Ward was third
quickest in Ganassi Racing's Chevrolet G-Force at 178.602 mph, and Felipe
Giaffone, last season's Chevy Rookie of the Year, was fourth at 178.083
mph.

    The seven fastest qualifiers all bettered the 177.633 mph speed record
set last year by Greg Ray. Twenty-two of the 26 entries for the
200-lap/200-mile race are using Chevrolet engines.

    "I probably could have been a little bit better," said Hornish,
the defending race and series champion. "I left a little too much going
into Turn 1 on the last lap, but it's all about the race. We're trying hard
to repeat our victory in Florida.

    "The Pennzoil Panther Dallara is always fast, and I'm always
confident when I get into this race car," Hornish continued. "We have
Chevrolet with us this year, and they're doing an awesome job. At any
racetrack you need horsepower; if you don't have a strong motor, you're not
going to do well. Chevrolet power has been good for us so far."

    A General Motors engine will start on the pole at PIR for the
sixth straight year and for the 53rd consecutive IRL race.

    "We had a strong start in Miami with a dominant performance by
the Chevrolet teams, and we look forward to a repeat performance tomorrow,"
said GM Racing engineer Dick Amacher. "Phoenix International Raceway is a
very challenging track and the wind has been a factor all weekend. The wind
affects both the handling of the car and the performance of the motor, but
we have worked hard on developing a very flexible engine package that
allows the Chevrolet teams and engine builders to adjust to the track and
weather conditions. We believe the Chevy Indy V8 will perform very well in
traffic, which is certain to be a consideration with 26 cars on a one-mile
oval."

    Jeff Ward led 29 laps at the preceding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway
in Ganassi Racing's Chevrolet G-Force, and he turned in a strong
qualifying performance today with his new team.

    "We've never tested here, and the car needed some more front wing,"
Ward explained. "The car went through the first two turns really well, but
in the fourth turn it got blown up the track and I had to get out of the
throttle before I hit the wall.

    "I'm real happy with the power of the Chevy engine," Ward noted. "Even
if you have to lift a little bit, it's got the torque to recover. On
this one-mile oval, the G-Force chassis with a Chevy motor is going to be
hard to beat."

    Starting fourth on the grid, Felipe Giaffone equaled the best
qualifying performance of his IRL career in Hollywood Mo Nunn Racing's
Chevrolet G-Force.

    "We just pushed a little harder and the car was right there,"
said Giaffone. "If I could have gone faster, it wouldn't have been much
faster. For the race we're going to go with some more downforce and change
the springs, but it won't be a big adjustment. Horsepower doesn't hurt, but
handling is very important here."

TOP TEN QUALIFIERS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Speed
1. Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 179.888
2. Sam Hornish Jr., Chevrolet, 179.735
3. Jeff Ward, Chevrolet, 178.602
4. Felipe Giaffone, Chevrolet, 178.083
5. Tomas Scheckter, Infiniti, 177.971
6. Robbie Buhl, Infiniti, 177.858
7. Gil de Ferran, Chevrolet, 177.672
8. Billy Boat, Chevrolet, 176.523
9. Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, 176.169
10. Eliseo Salazar, Chevrolet, 175.539

SCHEDULE
The Bombardier ATV Copper World Indy 200 will start at 2 p.m. MST on
Sunday, March 17. The 200-lap, 200-mile race will be televised live on ABC
at 4 p.m. EST and broadcast live on the IMS Radio Network.

                        # # #


  E-mail from: Rick Voegelin, 16-Mar-2002