Chevy Sweeps Gateway IRL

De Ferran Leads Chevy Sweep at Gateway

MADISON, Ill., Aug. 25, 2002 -- Chevrolet driver Gil de Ferran, who is
known as "The Professor" for his scholarly approach to racing, taught a
textbook lesson in short-track driving today at Gateway International
Raceway as he won the Gateway Indy 250 by 2.1 seconds over his Penske
Racing teammate Helio Castroneves. De Ferran started on the pole, led 81 of
the 200 laps and moved to second in the IRL championship, one point behind
Castroneves. He tallied Chevrolet's 12th victory in 13 IRL events.

Alex Barron finished third in Blair Racing's Rayovac Chevrolet Dallara to
give Chevrolet its 11th podium sweep of the season. Defending series
champion Sam Hornish Jr. was fifth across the stripe and now trails
Castroneves by seven points.

De Ferran was elated with his second win of the season on a short
track. Although his victory appeared effortless, he worked hard in the
cockpit to master the tricky egg-shaped 1.25-mile oval. 

"It was one of the hardest races I have driven," said de Ferran. "The pace
was incredible. Helio was driving 100 percent, and to stay up with him I
had to drive at ten tenths. The advantage we had was that our car was
really well set up, and as the stint went on I was able to catch up in
relation to him."

De Ferran's decisive move came on lap 184 when he passed his teammate
in traffic coming onto the front straight.

"I started to catch him in traffic and saw an opportunity in the middle
of Turns 3 and 4," de Ferran reported. "He got stuck behind a guy, so he
had to get out of the throttle. I went around the outside, the front end
stuck, and I was able to squeeze between him and the backmarker on the
front straight . . . and that was that."

Castroneves agreed with de Ferran's take on the asymmetrical oval: "It's
a tough circuit. You have to lift at one end and on the other end go flat
out. It's very challenging for the engineers and the drivers.

"Today was a good race; I'm happy and disappointed at the same
time," continued Castroneves. "As a race car driver you want to lead
everything, and unfortunately that never happens. We were going really
fast, side-by-side, with a lot of passing. It's a great day for Marlboro
Team Penske to finish first and second."

Alex Barron was poised to repeat his earlier victory in Nashville when
he drove from 14th on the starting grid to the lead on lap 119. He led
29 circuits, surrendered the lead to Castroneves on a yellow-flag pit stop,
and then attempted to retake the point on the restart. As he
challenged Castroneves in the first turn, his car went wide into the
marbles and he lost momentum. Barron battled back to finish third, scoring
his second podium finish.

"Our big breakthrough this year was when we signed a deal with
Chevrolet," said Barron. "Rayovac came on board and we've been running
strong ever since. It's a lot easier to race when you have power.

"When you have a car like that you just enjoy yourself," he continued.
"You're going fast and it's easy. I've been looking to drive a car like
that for a long time and fortunately this year I have that opportunity. We
had incredible power today; I haven't been in a race in a long time where I
had that kind of power. I thought we had the car to beat."

With two rounds remaining on the schedule, the championship race is
coming down to a three-way battle between Chevrolet drivers de Ferran,
Castroneves and Hornish. After a two-week break, the IRL series will return
to Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 8 for the Delphi Indy 300. The 200-lap
race on the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, Ill., will be televised live on ABC at
1 p.m. EDT.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Gateway International Raceway, 1.25-mile oval
Winner: Gil de Ferran, Penske Racing Chevrolet Dallara
Margin of Victory: 2.1024 seconds
Average Speed: 143.711 mph
Pole: Gil de Ferran/Chevrolet, 175.120 mph
Fastest Lap: Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 168.884 mph

TOP FIVE FINISHERS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Gil de Ferran/Chevrolet, 200 laps
2. Helio Castroneves/Chevrolet, 200
3. Alex Barron/Chevrolet, 200
4. Buddy Rice/Infiniti, 200
5. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 200

MANUFACTURER RESULTS
Laps Led: Chevrolet 197, Infiniti 3
Starters: Chevrolet 17, Infiniti 7
Running at Finish: Chevrolet 14, Infiniti 4

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 13 of 15 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Helio Castroneves/Chevrolet, 437 (2)
2. Gil de Ferran/Chevrolet, 436 (2)
3. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 429 (3)
4. Felipe Giaffone/Chevrolet, 391 (1)
5. Alex Barron/Chevrolet, 318 (1)

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Chevrolet, 127 (12) *clinched championship
2. Infiniti, 94 (1)

NEXT EVENT
Sept.8, Delphi Indy 300, Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill.; 1.5-mile
oval, 200 laps
TV: ABC, 1 p.m. Eastern