#21 Giaffone IRL Kentucky Sunday Race WIN

Felipe Giaffone

#21 Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Chevrolet G-Force
Belterra Casino Indy 300 - Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002 - Race Notes/Quotes
Kentucky Speedway - Sparta, Ky. - 1.5-Mile Tri-Oval
Round 12 of 15 on the 2002 Indy Racing League

Felipe Giaffone and the #21 Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Chevrolet G-Force won
today's Belterra Casino Indy 300 Indy Racing League event at Kentucky
Speedway.  It was the first win in 25 career IRL starts for last year's
series Rookie of the Year, and the first win in the 2-1/2-year history of Mo
Nunn Racing, which came to life just prior to the 2000 CART FedEx
Championship Series season and added Giaffone and the Hollywood IRL program
to its stable for the first time this year.  He started a season-high third
on the grid, moved into the lead on Lap 27 of today's 200-lap event around
the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway tri-oval, and went on to lead a race-high 124
laps altogether.  The win came despite a botched pit stop early in the race,
when Giaffone overshot his pit stall and had to circle the track again
before finally pitting.  That dropped him back from second to 21st position.
But, opting to stay on track while most of the leaders pitted on Lap 60
under green, Giaffone was back in the lead and then was able to take
advantage of a yellow to make his second stop on Lap 94.  He beat defending
series champion Sam Hornish, Jr., across the finish line by .0932 of a
second, holding off his dramatic charge on the final lap.

Giaffone became the sixth first-time winner in the IRL this season.
First-timers have won six of the last seven races.  And there hasn't been a
repeat winner in the last nine races.

Hornish moved into the driver points lead with his second-place finish
today.  His 399 points is only a 17-point margin over Giaffone, who has 382
points and is within site of the season championship with just three races
remaining.  Helio Castroneves is second with 395 points after today's
fifth-place finish.  Gil de Ferran, who finished 28 laps down today in 21st
position after mechanical problems, is third in the points with 386.

The next race on the 2002 Indy Racing League schedule is in two weeks (Aug.
25), the Gateway Indy 250 at Madison, Ill., just across the river from St.
Louis.

FELIPE GIAFFONE

"It was like a perfect weekend because our car was good since the first
practice even though we didn't test here.  Morris was saying to me after the
race that we aren't going to test anymore because this is one of the only
tracks where we didn't test.  The only problem we had all weekend was the
mistake I made on my first pit stop today.  I got a little confused and just
missed our pit stall.  That set us back, but I just put my head down and
thanks to all the good work by the guys on my car, I was able to drive to
the front without any problems.  My car was as good during the whole race as
it's been all year.  I knew Sam Hornish was going to be a tough guy to beat.
It was tough, but we did it.  We were so close to getting our first victory,
and we finally got it today.  Now we are in position for the championship.
Today, I knew I had to be aggressive because I had a good car that I knew
was capable of winning a race.  That hasn't always been the case, so I
always did just what I had to to bring the car home and get the maximum
points.  It's funny because my wife Alice told me this morning that she had
a dream that I would win the race today.  And Morris (Nunn's) other driver,
Tony Kanaan, called me telling me he had the same dream.  But he said it was
a nightmare because Tony's been wanting so bad to be the one to give Morris
his first win.  Now we got the first win, and we hope we can use the
momentum for a legitimate shot at the championship.  I think that would make
Morris very happy, too."