Chevy Clinches IRL Championship

Chevrolet Clinches IRL Championship as Hornish Wins Richmond with
Late-Race Charge

RICHMOND, Va., June 29, 2002 -- Sam Hornish Jr. practiced his night moves
at Richmond International Raceway, passing Gil de Ferran on the
next-to-last lap and scoring his third victory of the season by 1.8323
seconds. The first championship of the season was also decided tonight as
Hornish's victory mathematically clinched the IRL Manufacturer's
Championship for Chevrolet.

"We worked on the car all day long and did it as a team," said Hornish.
"The best 50 laps that the car handled were the last 50 laps. I didn't know
until the very end if we'd be able to catch up. It was a stressful day all
around."

Sam's stress level was raised when he crashed during practice on
Friday, damaging his Pennzoil Chevrolet Dallara. The Panther Racing team
rebuilt the car and Hornish qualified it third on the grid.

"They work awesome together," said Hornish. "They overcame adversity
yesterday and did all the right things."

With eight victories in eight races, Chevrolet now has an insurmountable
lead over Infiniti in the Manufacturer's Championship. Chevy Indy V8
engines have raced to a perfect record in 2002, winning on circuits from
the .75-mile Richmond bullring to the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This is the sixth consecutive year that a General Motors engine has won the
IRL manufacturer's title.

"Chevrolet returned to open-wheel racing with two goals -- to win
the Indianapolis 500 and to win the IRL Manufacturer's Championship,"
said Chevrolet General Manager Kurt Ritter. "We've now achieved both
objectives through the exceptional efforts of GM Racing engineers, our
affiliated engine builders and the teams and drivers who have made the
Chevy Indy V8 the dominant engine in the IRL series.

"Chevrolet has won more championships in NASCAR, NHRA, road racing
and off-road racing than any other manufacturer," Ritter noted. "Today's
victory continued that winning tradition. Wherever there is a winner's
circle, Chevy will be there."

De Ferran started Penske Racing's Chevrolet Dallara on the pole and led 168
of the 250 laps. He took the lead for the last time on lap 165 with a quick
pit stop, and held it until Hornish made his decisive inside move in turn
1.

"The car was handling well in the beginning, but as the race wore on the
car just kept getting looser and looser," said de Ferran. "We kept
making adjustments on the pit stops, but it kept going more and more loose.
I had a few pretty big moments.

"Sam had a good run off turn 4 with two laps to go," he recalled. "There
was nothing I could do apart from throwing him in the grass, which I
shouldn't do as a professional driver. I was sad to lose the lead so late
in the race, but at that point I didn't feel there was much else I could
have done. I would have liked to have come home with a win, but second
place is a good day in difficult circumstances."

Felipe Giaffone extended his string of consistent performances,
finishing third in Mo Nunn Racing's Hollywood G-Force and completing
Chevy's sweep of the podium.

"We were just trying to save fuel for the first part of the race,"
Giaffone explained. "I had no issues at all with the engine -- it was
good."

The 3/4-mile Richmond oval is the shortest on the IRL circuit, creating
heavy traffic and frequent accidents. The race was slowed by eight caution
periods. The most serious incident was a fire in the Hemelgarn pits;
fortunately there were no injuries. Six cars made contact with the wall,
including points leader Helio Castroneves who crashed his Penske Racing
Chevrolet Dallara on lap 7. The team repaired the car and Castroneves
returned to competition 149 laps later. He finished 17th and retained his
lead in the championship race by three points (280-277) over his teammate
de Ferran. Sam Hornish Jr. is third with 256 points.

After the frantic action on the Richmond bullring, IRL teams will return
to the more familiar territory of a 1.5-mile superspeedway next weekend.
The next event is the Ameristar Ameristar Casino Indy 200 at Kansas
Speedway near Kansas City, Kan., on July 7.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Richmond International Raceway, .75-mile oval
Winner: Sam Hornish Jr., Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara
Margin of Victory: 1.8323 seconds
Average Speed: 99.124 mph
Pole: Gil de Ferran/Chevrolet, 168.705 mph
Fastest Lap: Buddy Lazier/Chevrolet, 158.490 mph

TOP FIVE FINISHERS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 250 laps
2. Gil de Ferran/Chevrolet, 250
3. Felipe Giaffone/Chevrolet, 250
4. Tomas Scheckter/Infiniti, 250
5. Al Unser Jr./Chevrolet, 250

MANUFACTURER RESULTS
Laps Led: Chevrolet 211, Infiniti 39
Starters: Chevrolet 17, Infiniti 5
Running at Finish: Chevrolet 11, Infiniti 1

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 8 of 15 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Helio Castroneves/Chevrolet, 280 (2)
2. Gil de Ferran/Chevrolet, 277 (1)
3. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 256 (3)
4. Felipe Giaffone/Chevrolet, 237
5. Al Unser Jr./Chevrolet, 194

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Chevrolet, 80 (8)
2. Infiniti, 56

NEXT EVENT
July 7, Ameristar Casino Indy 200, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City,
Kan.; 1.5-mile oval, 200 laps
TV: ABC, 1 p.m. Eastern