IRL: A LONG DAY'S NIGHT FOR CHEVY ON RICHMOND SHORT TRACK

    RICHMOND, Va., June 26, 2004 - When you step into a bullring,
sometimes the bull wins. That was the case tonight on the 3/4-mile
Richmond International Raceway bullring as accidents and handling problems
sidelined five of the six Chevy-powered drivers. Felipe Giaffone avoided
the mayhem for 250 laps and brought the Team Purex/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet home in one piece with his second straight top-10 finish. Dan
Wheldon won in Andretti Green Racing's Honda Dallara.

    "We just didn't have enough time to get the car exactly where I
wanted it," said Giaffone after the IRL IndyCar Series' second night race
of the season. "I didn't have the grip we wished for, so we went down one
lap soon. You let one car by and then you really lose position because it's
all about momentum. On the other hand, when we had the momentum and got a
good jump we could move up a couple of positions as well. Overall I have to
be happy because we're gaining as a team and in the next two or three races
I hope to be right there."

    While auto racing is supposed to be a non-contact sport,
tonight's SunTrust Indy Challenge on the shortest track on the IRL schedule
saw four Chevrolet drivers involved in incidents with other cars. It began
on the ninth lap when Alex Barron, third in the preceding event, was forced
into the Safer barrier.

    "I was going into Turn 1 and the No. 55 car just drove up and pushed
me into the wall," Barron reported. "It's a shame because we had such a
good car. It was really early in the race to pull a move like that. I was
holding my line, but obviously he wasn't."

    Al Unser Jr. was the next retiree on Lap 119. "The Chevy engine was
great, and the Firestone tires were consistent throughout the run," Unser
said. "We just had handling problems. We haven't gotten the handling right
all weekend, and in the race, we were a moving chicane. That is not the way
we race, so I brought the car in."

    On the 222nd lap, Mark Taylor's Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet
Dallara tangled with Dario Franchitti's machine and spun on the
backstretch. In the aftermath, Taylor's teammate Tomas Scheckter was
squeezed into the outside wall, sustaining damage to the suspension of his
Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara. Scheckter had run in the top
five from the moment the green flag fell, and was in position to make a bid
for the victory.

    "It's too bad we had to end this way," said Scheckter, who was
credited with a 17th-place finish. "Everybody at Pennzoil and Chevrolet
deserved a top-five finish, and it looked like we were going to get it.
That's racing. The car was great all night and I was ready to make our
final push to the front."

    "It was a real struggle tonight," conceded Taylor. "We'd been
having handling problems in the car all day, and were just trying to sort
everything out. I'm not sure what happened. I didn't know where the car
behind me was. It's unfortunate to finish this way, we were really hoping
to get to the finish. The Menards/Johns Manville guys couldn't haven't
worked any harder."

    Running a strategic race, Ed Carpenter was poised for a top-10 finish
when he had contact with Greg Ray's lapped car. His Red Bull Cheever
Racing Chevrolet Dallara car slowed on the front straight and Carpenter's
race ended with a 16th-place finish. Before the incident, the rookie led
his first lap in IndyCar Series competition.

    "It was a stupid move that Greg Ray tried to pull," said Carpenter.
"He was five laps down and should have just parked his car instead of
taking me out of the race. He was driving recklessly and gave me a
16th-place finish when I had a car good enough to finish in seventh."

    The IRL IndyCar Series will celebrate the Fourth of July in the
heartland at the Argent Mortgage Kansas Indy 300 on the 1.5-mile Kansas
Speedway circuit. The seventh round of the 16-race IndyCar Series will be
televised live on ABC at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

RACE SUMMARY
Track: Richmond International Raceway, .75-mile oval
Winner: Dan Wheldon, Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara
Margin of Victory: Under caution
Average Speed: 114.589 mph
Pole: Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 171.202 mph
Fastest Lap: Sam Hornish Jr./Toyota, 169.419 mph

RESULTS
Pos./Driver/Engine/Laps
1. Dan Wheldon/Honda, 250
2. Vitor Meira/Honda, 250
3. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 250
4. Bryan Herta/Honda, 250
5. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 250

10. Felipe Giaffone/Chevrolet, 248
16. Ed Carpenter/Chevrolet, 244 (accident)
17. Tomas Scheckter/Chevrolet, 222 (accident)
18. Mark Taylor/Chevrolet, 217 (accident)
21. Al Unser Jr./Chevrolet, 119 (handling)
22. Alex Barron/Chevrolet, 9 (accident)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After 6 of 16 events)
Driver/Engine/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Tony Kanaan/Honda, 240 (2)
2. Dan Wheldon/Honda, 225 (1)
3. Helio Castroneves/Toyota, 181
4. Buddy Rice/Honda, 172 (1)
5. Scott Dixon/Toyota, 146

Manufacturer/Points (victories in parentheses)
1. Honda, 57 (5)
2. Toyota, 43 (1)
3. Chevrolet, 32

NEXT EVENT
July 4, Argent Mortgage Kansas Indy 300, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City,
Kan., 1.5-mile oval
TV: ABC, 12:30 p.m. EDT

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