Hornish Wins with New Chevy Indy V8

Contact: Rick Voegelin
rickvoegelin@compuserve.com
GM Racing Communications
(831) 761-2201
http://media.gm.com/gmracing


Hornish Has the Horses in Runaway Kentucky Victory

    SPARTA, Ky., Aug. 17, 2003 - Sam Hornish Jr. put Chevy back in the
IRL winner's circle today with a dominant performance in the Belterra
Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Starting from the pole, Hornish and
his Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara led 181 of 200 laps, lapped
17 of his 19 rivals, set the IndyCar Series average speed record at 197.897
mph, and scored his record-setting ninth career victory. Powered by the new
Gen IV Chevy Indy V8, Hornish notched Chevy's first victory of the season
and the red Bowtie's 15th IRL win.

    Hornish and his Chevy checked out as soon as the green flag
flew, surrendering the lead only during three green-flag pit stops. The
race pace was fast and furious, interrupted only by ten laps under caution
(an IRL record) beginning on Lap 147. Hornish had opened up a 14-second
lead - half a lap on this 1.5-mile track - when the race's only yellow came
out. Runner-up Scott Dixon was unable to mount a challenge on the restart,
and Hornish finished 1.1712 seconds ahead of his pursuer.

    Hornish's victory was a giant step on Chevy's road to redemption in
the IndyCar series. Chevy returned to the IRL winner's circle four weeks
after IRL officials approved the Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 for competition.

    "I never lost faith in Chevrolet, and I knew they would get the job
done one way or another," said Hornish. "They took a big chance and it
worked out for us. I'm glad that Chevy had the commitment to put us back in
front. It's a world-class organization as far as I'm concerned.

    "Not only does this engine have more horsepower than the
previous generation, but it also has better fuel consumption," Hornish
noted. "We're right on pace with the competition, and that's great for the
series and the fans."

    In the first race in which all Chevrolet teams were eligible to use
the Gen IV engine, the new powerplant had a perfect reliability record.
Robbie Buhl finished seventh in his Purex/Aventis Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet Dallara, giving Chevy two top-10 finishers. Among other Chevy
racers, Buddy Rice finished 11th for Red Bull Cheever Racing, Sarah Fisher
was 14th in the AOL/GMAC Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara, and Buddy Lazier
was 16th in Hemelgarn Racing's Metabolife/Delta Faucet Dallara.

    "We're part of the game now, and that's what we all want," said Buhl
after his best finish of the year. "The moves Chevy made to make us
competitive are pretty exciting. We're just at a different level now. In
some ways it's almost like being at the beginning of the season again, with
a steep learning curve. We were flat out for the last 30 laps, and working
our way back up passing cars. Passing cars . . . man, what a great
feeling!"

    Buhl's teammate Sarah Fisher ran the fastest lap of the race at
219.413 mph.

    "Chevy's back! Now let's go racing," exclaimed GM Racing IRL
program manager Joe Negri. "Sam and the Pennzoil Panther Racing team put on
an awesome display, and we congratulate Robbie Buhl on scoring Chevy's
second top-10 finish today.

    "Our GM Racing engineers and our technology partners at Cosworth
Racing did an outstanding job to prepare all of the Chevrolet teams for
this event," said Negri. "It was an incredible debut for the new Gen IV
Chevy Indy V8, with an absolutely flawless performance."

    Hornish's victory moved him from seventh to fifth in the
championship standings with four races remaining. With his run for the
roses today in Kentucky, he served notice that he will be a contender for a
third straight title.

    "I'm looking forward to the four races left this season," said
Hornish. "We're 77 points back in the championship - it's a long way to go,
but we'll see what we can do."

    Next Sunday's Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway will be the third
of three races on consecutive weekends and the IRL series' final race of
the season on a short track. The Firestone Indy 225 will be televised live
on ESPN at 3 p.m. and broadcast on the IMS Radio Network.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Kentucky Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Winner: Sam Hornish Jr./Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara
Margin of Victory: 1.1712 seconds
Average Speed: 197.897 mph (series record)
Pole: Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 219.614 mph
Fastest Lap: Sarah Fisher/Chevrolet, 219.413 mph

RESULTS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 200
2. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 200
3. Bryan Herta/Honda, 200
4. Al Unser Jr./Toyota, 199
5. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 199

7. Robbie Buhl/Chevrolet, 199
11. Buddy Rice/Chevrolet, 198
14. Sarah Fisher/Chevrolet, 198
16. Buddy Lazier/Chevrolet, 196

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 12 of 16 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)

1. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 385 (1)
2. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 377 (1)
3. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 373 (3)
4. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 372 (2)
5. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 308 (1)

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Toyota, 111 (9)
2. Honda, 84 (2)
3. Chevrolet, 69 (1)

NEXT EVENT
Aug. 23, Firestone Indy 225, Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pa.
TV: ESPN, 3 p.m. Eastern

General Motors Corp. , the world's largest vehicle
manufacturer, employs 342,000 people globally in its core automotive
business and subsidiaries. Founded in 1908, GM has been the global
automotive sales leader since 1931. GM today has manufacturing operations
in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in more than 190 countries. In
2002, GM sold more than 8.6 million cars and trucks, nearly 15 percent of
the global vehicle market. GM's global headquarters is at the GM
Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM and its products can
be found on the company's consumer website at www.gm.com.

# # #


  E-mail from: Rick Voegelin, 17-Aug-2003