IRL: Ray builds points lead after winning at Pikes Peak
30 August 1999
FOUNTAIN, Colo. - Greg Ray took a 44-point lead in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League point standings after holding off Davey Hamilton to win the Colorado Indy 200 presented by Deloitte & Touche Sunday at Pikes Peak International Raceway."Winning an Indy-car championship is a big, big deal," Ray said. "It would be a big, big step in my life, for me and my family."
Ray, from Plano, Texas, took the points lead from Scott Goodyear after winning the PPG Pole and the race. Ray leads Goodyear, 246-202, with two races remaining this season.
Mark Dismore finished third in the MCI WorldCom Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear, while Buddy Lazier was fourth in the Delta Faucet-Coors Light-Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear. Sam Schmidt rounded out the top five in the Sprint PCS G Force/Aurora/Firestone.
Ray led four times for 146 laps on the 1-mile tri-oval, taking the lead for good on Lap 181 when Dismore made his final pit stop. Ray was forced to snake through lapped traffic while Hamilton and Dismore closed in on the rear of his Glidden-Menards Dallara/Aurora/Firestone.
Hamilton pulled to within .407 of a second of Ray in his Galles Racing Spinal Conquest Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear with one lap to go as they passed the lapped Schmidt. But Ray pulled away slightly on the final lap to win by .445 of a second. He earned $159,000 for his league-leading third victory of the season, averaging 135.450 mph.
The victory secured a season sweep of the two Indy Racing events at PPIR this season for Ray. He edged Schmidt by .120 of a second in the Radisson 200 on June 29.
"At the end, it was deja vu all over again, with Davey right behind me," Ray said. "I passed Sam in (turns) 1 and 2, which I didn't want to do. I got both left-side tires below the white line, but it was what I thought I had to do to win."
A quick pit stop on Lap 164 put Hamilton into contention for his first Indy Racing victory. But he had to settle for his fourth career runner-up finish.
"There were a few times I had a run, but he had something to block me," Hamilton said of Ray. "I gave it all I had. It was a fun race."
The point standings were jumbled considerably after this race.
Ray jumped from second to first, while Goodyear fell out of the lead for the first time since the Indianapolis 500 in May. Goodyear finished 21st in the 24-car field after a lengthy pit stop to repair a loose plug on a water line in the Pennzoil Panther G Force/Aurora/Goodyear.
Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack remained third at 199 after finishing 10th in the A.J. Foyt Power Team Racing Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear. Lazier jumped from ninth to fourth at 185, while Hamilton climbed from a tie for 10th to fifth.
The next Indy Racing event is the Vegas.com 500 on Sept. 26 at Las Vegas..
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