Chevy Powers Hornish to Chicago IRLWin
Chevy Powers Hornish to Second Chicagoland Victory
JOLIET, Ill., Sept. 7, 2003 - The outside was the right side for
Sam Hornish Jr. today as he won the Delphi Indy 300 by inches at
Chicagoland Speedway. Chevrolet powered the Pennzoil Panther Racing driver
to his second win of the season and his second consecutive victory on the
1.5-mile Chicagoland oval. Chevy had three top-10 finishers as Alex Barron
and Robbie Buhl finished seventh and 10th respectively.
Hornish took the outside lane as he raced to the finish line
three-wide alongside runner-up Scott Dixon and third-place finisher Bryan
Herta. The interval between the three rivals was .0100 seconds - the
closest 1-2-3 finish in IndyCar Series history.
"I knew that I had to be up toward the front," said Hornish after
scoring his record 10th career IRL victory. "We stayed there and conserved
fuel all day long, and we turned it up when we needed it. We got the most
out of our Chevrolet, for sure. It was a great finish.
"I like to be on the high side because I'm in control," Hornish
explained. "I don't like being pinched down to the apron - plus being on
the high side seems to work out in those close finishes."
Hornish has now won the three closest finishes in IRL history with
Chevy Indy V8 engines. He led five times for a total of 40 laps and
averaged 184.294 mph over the 300-mile distance, the second fastest race in
the IRL record book.
"For racing fans, it doesn't get any better than that," said Joe Negri,
GM Racing IRL program manager. "It's great to see an exciting finish
with Chevrolet up front. Sam and Panther Racing did their usual excellent
job to take the victory."
The fuel efficiency of the Chevy Indy V8 gave the Panther Racing team
a strategic advantage. Hornish made his final fuel-only pit stop on Lap
189 under caution when he was able to stay out longer than many of his
rivals, who had to pit under green-flag racing conditions.
"All day long we tried to stay in the leader's draft and conserve
fuel," Hornish noted. "It really worked out for us because when the last
caution came out, we were able to go until the pits opened. It was good to
be able to start at the front of the pack."
Hornish has now posted two wins and two runner-up finishes in his
last four starts with the new Chevy Indy V8. That late-season surge has
propelled him to within 41 points of leader Helio Castroneves in the
championship race. A maximum of 104 points can be won in the two remaining
races.
"I made a commitment to the team to try to come out of here a
champion again," Hornish declared. "We had a great day in the points. We've
got two more races, both at tracks where we won last year.
"Now that we've got the horsepower, we can make some things happen
for us," he continued. "I'm really proud that Chevrolet has done what
they've done and been able to give us all the support that they have this
year. They really bore down and made sure that we had what we needed to
compete - not just to compete for the top three, but to win races."
Richie Hearn started Team Menard's Chevrolet Dallara on the pole
and threatened to run away with the race when he led the first 37 laps. A
miscue on a pit stop and handling problems resulted in a 14th place finish
for the pole winner.
"My car was really good in the first run, but I just picked up a
huge understeer from then on, and I could not run in traffic," Hearn
reported. "I was just hanging on."
Alex Barron drove the Red Bull Cheever Racing Chevrolet Dallara to
a seventh place finish, the team's best finish of the season.
"The weekend went great and we earned a solid finish," said Barron. "I
was happy with our race setup. We had a really good balance in the car. The
Red Bull Cheever Racing Team had flawless pit stops, and the Chevy
engine performed great. Overall, it was just a really good race for us. The
yellow caught us out for a couple of positions, but we're still happy with
the result."
Robbie Buhl notched his third straight top-10 finish in his
Purex/Aventis Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet Dallara with a 10th place
finish, but he had hoped for a better result.
"We had too good of a car to be 10th," Buhl said. "We were putting
that car in places that nobody else was. We had a run there at the end, but
just couldn't take it anywhere. I know I drove all-out in the race, so
we'll just pick it up and move on from here."
Rookie Ed Carpenter finished 13th in his first IndyCar Series race
with PDM Racing's Metabolife Chevrolet Dallara. In the first 10 laps of the
race, he moved from his 18th starting position into the top 10. He
completed all 300 miles, finishing on the lead lap.
"At the start of the race, we just started flying," Carpenter recalled.
"I never thought I'd be passing some of the guys I was passing right away
in our first stint. We can be contenders once I figure out how to do
restarts and get in and out of the pits a little better. As far as the car
goes, we were capable of running up front."
Several Chevy teams will test this week as they prepare for
the penultimate race in the 16-event 2003 IndyCar Series on Sept. 21 at
California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The Toyota Indy 400 will be
televised live on ABC at 3:30 p.m. Eastern and broadcast on the IMS Radio
Network.
RACE SUMMARY
Track: Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Winner: Sam Hornish Jr./Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara
Margin of Victory: .0099 seconds
Average Speed: 184.294 mph
Pole: Richie Hearn/Chevrolet, 223.159 mph
Fastest Lap: Bryan Herta/Honda, 223.602 mph
RESULTS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 200
2. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 200
3. Bryan Herta/Honda, 200
4. Dan Wheldon/Honda, 200
5. Tomas Scheckter/Toyota, 200
7. Alex Barron/Chevrolet, 200
10. Robbie Buhl/Chevrolet, 200
13. Ed Carpenter/Chevrolet, 200
16. Buddy Lazier/Chevrolet, 199
18. Sarah Fisher/Chevrolet, 198
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after 14 of 16 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 439 (2)
2. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 427 (3)
3. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 425 (1)
4. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 422 (2)
5. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 398 (2)
Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Toyota, 128 (10)
2. Honda, 94 (2)
3. Chevrolet, 86 (2)
NEXT EVENT
Sept. 21, Toyota Indy 400, California Speedway, Fontana, Calif.
TV: ABC, 3:30 p.m. Eastern
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