Texas IRL Results - Meira Wins -10/12/03

Meira Brings Chevy Home in Fourth in IRL Season Finale

    FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 12, 2003 - The eyes of Texas were on Sam
Hornish Jr. as he made his bid for a third straight IRL championship in the
Chevy 500 IRL season finale at Texas Motor Speedway. Hornish's comeback was
sidelined by a mechanical problem on Lap 176, leaving Vitor Meira to bring
the red Bowtie home in fourth place. Gil de Ferran won his last race with
Penske Racing in a Toyota Dallara.

    The race ended after 195 of a scheduled 200 laps due to an
accident involving Kenny Brack and Tomas Scheckter. Brack was transported
by helicopter to a nearby hospital, and was reported to be in serious but
stable condition.

    "We got the lead, came in to pit, and when we came back out we
couldn't get back up to speed," said Hornish after his final drive for the
Pennzoil Panther Chevrolet team. "We don't know what happened yet. We were
leaking a little bit of oil so they wanted us to come off the track.

    "We had a really good car today," he continued. "We could move in and
out of traffic and pass when we wanted to."

    It was a classic Hornish performance as he quickly moved up from 12th
on the starting grid to challenge for the lead. He picked off cars on the
high line, moving up to fourth in the first 20 laps as all five contenders
for the $1 million championship raced wheel to wheel. Hornish passed Helio
Castroneves on the inside, Tony Kanaan on the outside, Tomas Scheckter on
the inside, and race leader Scott Dixon on the outside, taking the lead on
Lap 138. His come-from-behind quest for the title ended 38 laps later.

    "We had a great run this year," said Hornish, who finished 17th in
the race and fifth in the championship. "We had some ups and some downs,
and we never gave up. I would have liked to have won that third
straight championship, but that's tough to do. I've been blessed to be able
do what I want to do and compete for another championship. This team
deserved to get a championship."

    Vitor Meira overcame adversity to score his best finish of the season
in Team Menard's Johns Manville Chevrolet Dallara. After losing a wheel on
his first pit stop due to a faulty air wrench, Meira battled back to the
lead lap and ultimately finished fourth. The Brazilian just missed
repeating his third-place finish in last year's season-ending race in
Texas.

    "The team made a really great recovery after we lost a rear wheel nut
on the first pit stop, Meira reported. "It's good to be back in the top
five. This was a very turbulent year for Team Menard, with driver changes
and the Chevrolet engine change. We learned a lot and I think it's starting
to show. I'm really glad today for the team and for Chevrolet. We'll be
there for sure next year."

    Robbie Buhl ran as high as sixth in his Purex/Aventis Dreyer &
Reinbold Racing Chevrolet Dallara, finishing 11th at the checkered flag.
Buhl's teammate Sarah Fisher finished 12th.

    "I think we had as good a car on the high side as anybody," said Buhl.
"We didn't get in and out of the pits as fast as we would have liked, so we
missed the lead pack and weren't in the draft. We had a fast car, and I'm
excited for the next two months. We're going to regroup, evaluate things,
and do a lot of testing and development for Chevy as they keep rolling
things out."

    Alex Barron was involved in an accident with Felipe Giaffone. The
driver of Red Bull Cheever Racing's Chevrolet Dallara was credited with a
20th place finish.

    "I just got caught up in an incident," said Barron, who was checked
and released from the infield care center. "I was just an innocent
bystander and unfortunately it caught me out.

    "It's really unfortunate that this incident put us out of the race
because the Red Bull Cheever Racing team gave me a really strong race car,"
Barron added. "I just wish we could have finished the season on a positive
note."

    The Chevy 500 marked the conclusion of Chevrolet's second season in
IRL competition since its return to open-wheel racing in 2002. The 2004
IRL IndyCar Series will kick off on Feb. 29 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
in Homestead, Fla.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Texas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Winner: Gil de Ferran/Penske Racing Toyota Dallara
Margin of Victory: Under caution
Average Speed: 156.268 mph
Pole: Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 222.864 mph
Fastest Lap: Tony Kanaan/Honda, 223.452 mph

RESULTS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 195
2. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 195
3. Dan Wheldon/Honda, 195
4. Vitor Meira/Chevrolet, 195
5. Bryan Herta/Honda, 195

11. Robbie Buhl/Chevrolet, 195
12. Sarah Fisher/Chevrolet, 194
17. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 176 (spray)
18. Richie Hearn/Chevrolet, 172 (accident)
20. Alex Barron/Chevrolet, 98 (accident)
21. Ed Carpenter/Chevrolet, 69 (electrical)

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

1. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 507 (3)
2. Gil de Ferran/Toyota, 489 (3)
3. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 484 (2)
4. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 476 (1)
5. Sam Hornish Jr./Chevrolet, 461 (3)

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Toyota, 145 (11)
2. Honda, 106 (2)
3. Chevrolet, 101 (3)

NEXT EVENT
Feb. 29, 2004, Indy 300, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.

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