Chevy Motegi IRL Qualifying

Rain Washes Out Motegi IRL Qualifying; Hornish Is Top Chevy Starter

    MOTEGI, Japan, April 12, 2003 - The rain that makes Japan an island
of green brought an early end to qualifying for Sunday's inaugural Japan
Indy 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. The showers that began after six cars had
completed their qualifying turned to steady rain, forcing IRL officials to
cancel qualifying for the series' first overseas race. Per IRL rules, the
starting grid was determined by the best times run in the three practice
sessions. Seven of the 24 starters will use the new 3.5-liter Chevy Indy
V8.

    Sam Hornish Jr. is the top Chevy seed in the 24-car field. He circled
the 1.5-mile oval at 203.068 mph in Friday's practice to put Pennzoil
Panther Racing's Chevrolet Dallara 13th on the grid. He will start
alongside Sarah Fisher, who turned a fast lap of 202.600 mph on Saturday
morning to put Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Chevrolet Dallara 14th on the
grid.

    "My qualifying run wasn't as fast as we'd like it to be, but the car
was very good and we'll see what we can do tomorrow," said Hornish after
running 199.871 mph in the abbreviated qualifying session. "When I went out
there it was sprinkling a little, but with the rain, it really doesn't
matter how qualifying went."

    The egg-shaped Motegi track is notable for the different radius turns
at the ends of the track. While all four corners are banked at 10 degrees,
the third and fourth turns are much tighter than the wide-open first and
second turns.

    "In qualifying everyone runs one gear, but in the race I think we'll
be shifting gears every lap," Hornish explained. "This track is like a
larger version of St. Louis or Phoenix. Whenever you have a track that's
pinched at one end, you have to have the best of both worlds. You want to
free up the car enough to get through Turn 1 and Turn 2 and be fast on the
straightaway, but you also have to be able to make it through 3 and 4. I
think we'll be able to pass in several places. It will come down to having
a good setup and keeping up the momentum."

    Buddy Lazier was among the six drivers who completed a two-lap run in
the rain-shortened qualifying session. The rain was a blessing, as
Lazier's 200.687 mph practice speed easily bettered his 194.366 mph
qualifying speed. He will start 17th in Sunday's race.

    "The car was very, very loose," said Lazier after his qualifying run.
"We changed the car; we're still learning. We ran pretty good this morning,
but it was a really disappointing qualifying run. We missed on something,
but we'll learn from it and be good tomorrow. The car was dangerously loose
and the rearend didn't want to stay underneath me. This is the first fast
track we've been to; Phoenix was our first race with this car."

    The Japan Indy 300 will start at 12:30 p.m. local Japan time on
Sunday, April 13. The 300-mile, 200-lap race will be televised on tape
delay in the U.S. by ABC at 1 p.m. EDT and broadcast on the IMS Radio
Network.

JAPAN INDY 300 QUALIFYING SUMMARY (based on practice speeds):
Pos./Driver/Engine/Speed
1. Scott Dixon, Toyota, 206.996 mph
2. Tony Kanaan, Honda, 206.775
3. Tora Takagi, Toyota, 206.747
4. Tomas Scheckter, Toyota, 206.350
5. Dan Wheldon, Honda, 206.020

13. Sam Hornish Jr., Chevrolet 203.068
14. Sarah Fisher, Chevrolet, 202.600
16. Jaques Lazier, Chevrolet, 201.626
17. Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, 200.687
19. Robbie Buhl, Chevrolet, 200.409
20. Buddy Rice, Chevrolet, 199.851
24. Scott Mayer, Chevrolet, 196.315

CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES:

SARAH FISHER, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet Dallara, qualified 14th
at 202.600 mph:
    "We came a really long way. I was pretty happy because we started
off slow, but we all pitched in after the first session. Everybody gave
just a little bit more in the afternoon, and it shows what happens when you
give your all. We had more than a second gain. We are just looking at some
things we can do for Sunday, just so we have a good race car. As long as we
have that, we will be pretty good."

JAQUES LAZIER, Team Menard Johns Manville Chevrolet Dallara, qualified 16th
at 201.626 mph:
    "I am pretty happy with our performance right now. We had all kinds
of problems in the first session, then made several improvements in the
second session. Things are going really well."

BUDDY RICE, Red Bull Cheever Racing Chevrolet Dallara, qualified 20th
at 199.851 mph:
    "It's another of these weekends that has not gone as perfect as we
planned so far, but it's going to work out OK, like it did for us at
Phoenix. The Twin Ring Motegi is a pretty neat track. It's fun. There's a
lot of G's, and things are happening fast. It will be a good race."