Chevy St. Louis IRL Results

Hornish Gives Gen III Chevy Final Send-Off with Sixth in St. Louis

    MADISON, Ill., Aug. 10, 2003 - With a sixth-place finish in his final
race with the Gen III Chevy Indy V8, Sam Hornish Jr. was the highest
finishing Chevrolet driver in today's Emerson Indy 250 at Gateway
International Raceway. Hornish completed all 200 laps on the challenging
1.25-mile oval with the Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara, crossing
the stripe 5.086 seconds behind race winner Helio Castroneves, who drove a
Penske Racing Toyota Dallara. Vitor Meira was Chevy's second top-10 driver,
finishing ninth in Team Menard's Johns Manville Chevrolet Dallara.

    The Emerson Indy 500 was also the final test of the new Gen IV Chevy
Indy V8 prior to its introduction by all Chevrolet IRL teams at Kentucky
Speedway on Aug. 17. Buddy Rice had the lone Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 in the
field today in Red Bull Cheever Racing's Dallara, but he had a dearth of
racing luck. Twice he lost laps when the yellow flag flew immediately
following a green-flag pit stop. Rice fought handling problems throughout
the 250-mile race, finishing 14th in the 21-car field.

    "We didn't get the result today that we were looking for," Rice
said. "Chevy gave us a great engine to work with all weekend and we were
very impressed with its performance. It proved to be a reliable engine that
has the capacity to be very competitive.

    "Unfortunately for the Red Bull Cheever Racing Team, it was
a disappointing day," Rice conceded. "We didn't get the car setup like we
wanted to and it showed in our performance. We hope that next weekend in
Kentucky will prove to be a better race for us and give us the chance to
show what the Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 can do."

    The Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 passed its final test with flying colors
as Rice's engine ran flawlessly in practice, qualifying and the race.

    "We now have two durability runs under racing conditions behind us with
no engine-related issues," said GM Racing IRL program manager Joe Negri.
"We realize we have a major task ahead of us to get all of our teams up
and running this week, and we're looking forward to the first event with
every Chevrolet team running the Gen IV Chevy Indy V8."

    Hornish started his Gen III-powered car 14th on the grid and ran as
high as fifth before losing a position on the final restart on Lap 166.

    "Our goal was get a top-five finish in our last race with the Gen
III engine," said Hornish reported. "With the introduction of the Gen IV
next weekend, we'll have a shot at winning races. I'm looking forward to
going to a track we like and where we've done well in the last two years."

    After Hornish's sixth-place finish today, the two-time champion is
seventh in the championship standings with five races remaining.

    "We still think we have a good shot at the championship,"
Hornish declared. "I have a positive attitude; I can't wait to get back out
there. After winning two championships, this is more exciting for me now to
see if we can come back and get it done."

    Vitor Meira scored his first top-10 finish of the season in Team
Menard's Chevrolet Dallara, ending a string of four straight DNFs.

    "We didn't finish the last four races, so it feels good to finish the
race and carry on the work," said the Brazilian. "We have to learn more on
short ovals; we're struggling on these tracks. But we've been really good
on 1.5-mile and 2-mile ovals, so I hope that with the Gen IV Chevrolet and
the Team Menard Dallara, we're going to start a new season right now."

    Robbie Buhl echoed Meira's words after finishing 12th in the
Purex/Aventis Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet Dallara: "We're ready for
the second half of our racing season to really begin next week with the Gen
IV," said Buhl. "We had some good laps today, and the guys did a great job
with our stops. We just need a little more power to keep us up there with
the rest of the field. There's a lot of racing left and we just need to get
into a rhythm to show people what we're capable of."

    Sarah Fisher, who drove the GMAC Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet Dallara to a 13th-place finish today, is also eagerly
anticipating her return to Kentucky Speedway, where she won her first pole
position last August.

    "Kentucky's been good to me and I'm really looking forward to getting
back there," said Fisher. "We'll test the new Gen IV this week just to
shake it down, and we'll be ready when we hit the track for real."

    The "second season" for Chevy IRL teams begins on Aug. 17 at
Kentucky Speedway when the Belterra Casino Indy 300 signals the series'
return to a superspeedway oval. The 12th round of the 16-race IRL IndyCar
Series will be televised live on ABC at 2 p.m. EDT.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Gateway International Speedway, 1.25-mile oval
Winner: Helio Castroneves/Penske Racing Toyota Dallara
Margin of Victory: .8466 seconds
Average Speed: 135.286 mph
Pole: Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 175.965 mph
Fastest Lap: Scott Dixon/Toyota, 169.433 mph

RESULTS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 200
2. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 200
3. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 200
4. Tomas Scheckter/Toyota, 200
5. Dan Wheldon/Honda, 200
6. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 200

9. Vitor Meira/Chevrolet, 198
11. Buddy Lazier/Chevrolet, 196
12. Robbie Buhl/Chevrolet, 196
13. Sarah Fisher/Chevrolet, 195
14. Buddy Rice/Chevrolet, 193

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 11 of 16 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)

1. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 357 (1)
2. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 350 (2)
3. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 347 (1)
4. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 333 (3)
5. Kenny Brack/Honda, 268

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Toyota, 104 (9)
2. Honda, 79 (2)
3. Chevrolet, 59

NEXT EVENT
Aug. 17, Belterra Casino Indy 300, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky.
TV: ABC, 2 p.m. Eastern