Chevy Indy 500 Results

BARRON TOP CHEVY FINISHER IN RAIN-SHORTENED INDY 500

    INDIANAPOLIS, May 30, 2004 - Alex Barron was the highest
finishing Chevrolet driver in the rain-delayed and rain-shortened
Indianapolis 500, placing 12th in Red Bull Cheever Racing's Chevrolet
Dallara when the race ended under caution after 180 of a scheduled 200
laps. Buddy Rice won the 88th running of the Indianapolis 500 in a
Honda-powered G Force.

    As heavy rain fell on Indianapolis Motor Speedway shortly after 6
p.m., Felipe Giaffone crossed the famous yard of bricks at the finish line
15th in the Team Purex/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet Dallara. Al Unser
Jr. started and finished 17th in his first race with Patrick Racing's
Chevrolet Dallara, and Tomas Scheckter was 18th in Pennzoil Panther
Racing's Chevrolet Dallara. Ed Carpenter and Mark Taylor tangled in a Turn
3 accident at 62 laps, taking the two rookies out of contention.

    "We're pretty pleased with our result, especially since we had an up
and down month," Barron said. "My car was good all day, but I only had one
good restart. I just didn't have the timing down, but when we were running
we had no problem overtaking.

    "The Chevy engine was good to me and I was really pleased with
its performance," Barron added. "The Red Bull Cheever Racing crew performed
solid pit stops all day and really toughed it out through the entire month.
They've been great and I'm glad I could give them a good finish."

    Felipe Giaffone finished 15th in his first race with the Dreyer &
Reinbold Racing team. The team's pit stop strategy could have paid off if
the weather had cooperated.

    "Felipe didn't need to pit again with the great fuel mileage we got,
so the stops were key for us," explained co-owner Dennis Reinbold. "Maybe
the chance of it staying green for the last 30 laps was remote, but we
would have made it to the end without another stop and most of the other
teams would have had to pit."

    "We had a better pace in traffic, and the car was OK toward the end,"
said Giaffone. "I missed our pit box on the next-to-last stop and had to go
around another lap, which probably cost us three or four spots. The team
did a great job, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."

    In his 17th appearance in the Indy 500, Al Unser Jr. started 17th
and finished 17th.

    "I didn't loose any ground and, unfortunately, I didn't gain any
ground," said the two-time Indy 500 winner. "The Patrick Racing crew did a
fantastic job. The car didn't stutter one bit the whole month, and
Chevrolet gave me great power. I just wish the car would have handled a
little better. Every time I got in traffic I just couldn't do anything with
anybody, so I ended up losing ground."

    Tomas Scheckter ran consistently in the top 10 in Pennzoil
Panther Racing's Chevrolet Dallara until a series of problems slowed the
South African's pace.

    "We made some aerodynamic changes, but the car just got really bad
halfway through the run so we came in for almost an emergency pit stop
because I was going to crash it sometime," Scheckter explained. "We came
out, and the car was much better. So a tough day overall, but we'll carry
on working for the rest of the races."

    Driving Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's second Chevrolet Dallara, 1996 Indy
500 winner Buddy Lazier lost radio communication with his pit at the start
of the race. Co-owner Robbie Buhl called on his years of racing experience
to adjust the car without input from Lazier.

    "Robbie did a great job of calling the changes and tuning the car
even though we weren't able to talk about it," Lazier said. "I'm not sure
if we ran out of gas or if we had an electronics issue to end our day. We
had a strong top 10 car here. I didn't have any trouble passing anywhere."

    Robby Gordon's bid to win the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600
was sidetracked by rain that delayed the start of the race for two hours
and 11 minutes, and then interrupted the race for 1 hour and 47 minutes
after 27 laps. While Gordon flew to North Carolina, relief driver Jaques
Lazier took over the Meijer/Coca-Cola Chevrolet Dallara and was credited
with 29th place. Lazier got as high as 23rd until he pitted with an
electrical problem. After repairs, Lazier continued until a broken
halfshaft ended his day.

    Lazier replaced Gordon in a car that he had never driven. "That's
pretty tough," he noted. "Of all the difficult things I've done in my
career, that's right up there. The Meijer car was great, however. I think
you can go out and drive a good car like this at about 95 percent, but it's
that last five percent that takes work. I was starting to learn the car and
understand what it liked and didn't like."

    Robby McGehee advanced 11 positions from his 33rd starting spot to
finish 22nd in PDM Racing's Chevrolet Dallara.

    "We just needed more track time," said McGehee, who had only a few
hours of practice before the start of the race. "The first couple of stints
the car was loose in traffic, but the PDM crew worked hard to dial it in,
and towards the end the car was awesome. We weren't as fast as the leaders,
but we were running well with the cars we were racing."

    The next event on the IRL IndyCar Series schedule is the Bombardier 500
on Texas Motor Speedway's high-banked 1.5-mile on Saturday night, June 12.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.5-mile oval
Winner: Buddy Rice, Rahal-Letterman Racing Honda G Force
Margin of Victory: Under caution
Average Speed: 138.518 mph
Pole: Buddy Rice/Honda, 222.024 mph
Fastest Lap: Vitor Meira/Honda, 218.401 mph

RESULTS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Buddy Rice/Honda, 180
2. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 180
3. Dan Wheldon/Honda, 180
4. Bryan Herta/Honda, 180
5. Bruno Junqueira, Honda, 180

12. Alex Barron/Chevrolet, 180
15. Felipe Giaffone/Chevrolet, 179
17. Al Unser Jr./Chevrolet, 179
18. Tomas Scheckter/Chevrolet, 179
22. Robbie McGehee/Chevrolet, 177
23. Buddy Lazier/Chevrolet, 164
28. P.J. Jones/Chevrolet, 92 (accident)
29. Robby Gordon - Jaques Lazier/Chevrolet, 88 (halfshaft)
30. Mark Taylor/Chevrolet, 62 (accident)
31. Ed Carpenter/Chevrolet, 62 (accident)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After 4 of 16 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Dan Wheldon/Honda, 158 (1)
2. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 157 (1)
3. Buddy Rice/Honda, 129 (1)
4. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 128
5. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 106

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Honda, 37 (3)
2. Toyota, 31 (1)
3. Chevrolet, 20

NEXT EVENT
June 12, Bombardier 500, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas,
1.5-mile oval
TV: ESPN, 7 p.m. Eastern