Chevy Kansas IRL Results

Contact: Rick Voegelin
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Fisher and Buhl Team Up for Top Chevy Finish in Kansas

    KANSAS CITY, Kan., July 6, 2003 - Teammates Sarah Fisher and Robbie
Buhl were the top Chevy finishers in the Kansas Indy 300 at Kansas
Speedway, finishing 11th and 12th respectively. The Dreyer & Reinbold team
successfully coped with high temperatures, a hot track and a blistering
pace that caused attrition among the 22-car field. Buddy Lazier was the
third Chevy driver running at the finish in 13th place. Bryan Herta scored
his first IRL victory in Andretti Green Racing's Honda Dallara.

    "We're notorious for being able to fix and tune the car throughout
the race - if we're not with it at the beginning, we'll be there by the
end, thanks to my A-league team out there," said Fisher, who gained 11
spots from her starting position. "The car was great today once we found
the right push level - I didn't have to work much at all. And, after going
head to head with Robbie, it was the best finish for Chevrolet as well. The
Chevy motor was consistent today - it gave us what we asked for."

    "That's the best handling car I've had all year from start to
finish," said Buhl. "We didn't make a single change to the car throughout
the entire race. I could run low, which forced people to pass us high (and
some people couldn't), or I could run high - like those five laps with
Sarah. My car was good either place. It makes it fun again. We still had to
make an extra pit stop, but the car feels great in the draft, and it's good
to be the top Chevys."

    Sam Hornish Jr. again put on a show for IRL fans, running as high as
fifth after starting 18th on the grid in Pennzoil Panther Racing's
Chevrolet Dallara. His charge to the front ended with an electrical problem
after 156 laps.

    Buddy Rice's streak of 12 consecutive finishes ended with a persistent
oil leak.

    "It was a very frustrating day for Red Bull Cheever Racing," said
Rice. "The team did a great job of setting up the car all weekend and we
had a good chance of finishing really well today.

    "The team worked so hard to fix the car for me, so I'm very
disappointed in the result we had today. All we can do is learn from these
mistakes and look to the next race to have a better finish."

    Vitor Meira was sidelined by a clutch problem in Team Menard's
Chevrolet Dallara after 61 circuits.

    "We had a really, really good car," said the Brazilian. "When I left
the grid, the clutch was spinning a lot. It was hard on the restarts, and
the clutch was spinning in the corners and straights. We were still really
fast. It's unfortunate for me, for the team and for Chevrolet."

    The next event on the IRL calendar is the Firestone Indy 200 under
the lights at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday night, July 19. The ninth
round of the 16-race IRL IndyCar Series will be televised live on ESPN at 8
p.m. EDT.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Winner: Bryan Herta/Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara
Margin of Victory: 7.3264 seconds
Average Speed: 167.570 mph
Pole: Scott Dixon/Toyota, 218.08 mph
Fastest Lap: Tony Kanaan/Honda, 217.273 mph

RESULTS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Bryan Herta/Honda, 200
2. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 200
3. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 200
4. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 200
5. Kenny Brack/Honda, 199

11. Sarah Fisher/Chevrolet, 196
12. Robbie Buhl/Chevrolet, 196
13. Buddy Lazier/Chevrolet, 192
17. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 156
19. Buddy Rice/Chevrolet, 85
20. Vitor Meira/Chevrolet, 61

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 8 of 16 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)

1. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 279 (1)
2. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 248 (3)
3. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 247
4. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 239 (1)
5. Kenny Brack/Honda, 217

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Toyota, 74 (6)
2. Honda, 60 (2)
3. Chevrolet, 42

NEXT EVENT
July 19, Firestone Indy 200, Nashville Superspeedway, Nashville, Tenn.
TV: ESPN, 8 p.m. Eastern

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  E-mail from: Rick Voegelin, 06-Jul-2003