2002 Delphi Indy 300

United States 2002 Delphi Indy 300
Race details
Race 14 of 15 in the 2002 Indy Racing League season
Date September 8, 2002
Location Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi / 2.4 km
Distance 200 laps
300 mi / 482.803 km
Weather Dry and sunny
Pole position
Driver Sam Hornish Jr. (Panther Racing)
Time 24.5528
Fastest lap
Driver Buddy Rice (Cheever Racing)
Time 24.4216 (on lap 146 of 200)
Podium
First Sam Hornish Jr. (Panther Racing)
Second Al Unser Jr. (Kelley Racing)
Third Buddy Lazier (Hemelgarn Racing)

The 2002 Delphi Indy 300 was an Indy Racing League (IRL) motor race held on September 8, 2002, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It was the fourteenth out of fifteen scheduled race of the 2002 Indy Racing League season and the second annual running of the event. Panther Racing driver Sam Hornish Jr. won the 200-lap race from pole position with the closest margin of victory in the IRL of 0.0024 seconds over Al Unser Jr. of Kelley Racing. Third place went of Hemelgarn Racing's Buddy Lazier.

Hornish won the second pole position of his career in the IRL by posting the fastest lap in qualifying. In the race, Hornish led until he was passed by Buddy Rice after the first restart that was necessitated by a caution to tend to Laurent Rédon's car on the 25th lap. Hornish retook it when he got ahead of Unser on lap 75 but lost it to Scott Sharp 42 laps later. Sharp lost the first position to Hornish on lap 151. Unser returned to the lead after he overtook Hélio Castroneves on the 167th lap. Unser and Hornish exchanged the lead for the rest of the race, and it was Hornish who edged out Unser to secure his fourth victory of the season, and the seventh of his career.

There were five cautions and eighteen lead changes among four drivers during the course of the event. The result of the race meant Hornish returned to the top of the points' standings with 481 points. Castroneves, who led the championship before the race, dropped to second, while his Team Penske teammate Gil de Ferran fell to third after crashing heavily on the 52nd lap. Felipe Giaffone and Alex Barron maintained fourth and fifth with one race left in the season.

Report

Background

The 2002 Delphi Indy 300 was confirmed as a part of the 2002 Indy Racing League (IRL) schedule for their racing series in June 2001.[1] It was the second consecutive running of the race; it was the 14th race scheduled for 2002 by the IRL, out of 15, and was held at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois on September 8, 2002.[2] At this late stage of the season, Helio Castroneves held the lead in the points standings with 437 points. He was one point ahead of nearest championship rival Gil de Ferran in second, who in turn was seven points in front of Sam Hornish Jr. in third. Felipe Giaffone was fourth on 391 points, 73 ahead of Alex Barron in fifth.[3]

There was one driver change heading into the event. 1999 U.S. F2000 National Champion and two-time winner in the Indy Lights series Dan Wheldon joined Panther Racing to partner Hornish for the final two races of the season.[4] He travelled to Chicagoland Speedway in June to further acquaint himself with IRL.[5] Wheldon said he was looking forward to be associated and working with Panther Racing, and spoke of his feeling it was a good opportunity to learn with the team's personnel.[4] 1999 Indy Racing League champion Greg Ray was hired to drive the No. 20 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car for the rest of the season after asking his former manager A. J. Foyt to be released from his contract. Ray filled the place of the team's regular driver Richie Hearn who broke his foot at the Belterra Casino Indy 300 in August 2002.[6]

Practice and qualifying

Buddy Rice (pictured in 2007) qualified on the front row of the grid in second place.

Four practice sessions were held before the Sunday race; two on Friday and Saturday. The first and second sessions lasted 90 minutes, the third 60 minutes and the fourth 30 minutes. The racers were split into two groups, which were each allowed to run laps for half a session.[7][8] Conditions were warm and sunny for the Friday practice sessions. The first yellow caution flag came out when Hideki Noda's engine failed leaving the fourth turn and stopped on the backstretch; he did not participate in the second session because his team was changing his engine. The second was shown for Giaffone who hit the outside retaining barrier between turns three and four,[7] and Hornish was involved, bending his left-front suspension, his front wing and his chassis tub was punctured. Both drivers were uninjured. Buddy Rice was the fastest driver of the session with a time of 24.4578 seconds, ahead of Eddie Cheever Jr. in second, and Billy Boat third. Vítor Meira and Sarah Fisher rounded out the top five.[9]

Hornish's left-front section of his car was repaired for the second session,[7] where he recorded the fastest lap of 24.4910 seconds;[9] Cheever was second and Rice third. Al Unser Jr. and Giaffone followed in the top five. Two caution flags came out for track inspections.[7] The third practice session was held under sunny and warm weather conditions and had Unser set the fastest lap at 24.5953 seconds. He was followed by Rice in second, and Meira came third. Boat was fourth-quickest, and rounding out the top five was Robbie Buhl.[7][10]

An hour after the third practice session ended, the 25 drivers determined the starting grid through qualifying. Each driver ran two laps, and the competitor with the slowest time failed to qualify. Conditions were sunny and warm.[8] Hornish eclipsed the track record at Chicagoland Speedway,[11] and clinched his second pole position of the season,[12] with a time of 24.5528 seconds.[13] He was joined on the grid's front row by Rice, who recorded a lap 0.0570 seconds slower than Hornish. Unser qualified third and Boat took fourth.[12] Rounding out the top tenwere Cheever, Wheldon, Laurent Rédon, Buhl, and Giaffone. Behind them the rest of the field lined up as de Ferran, Fisher, Jeff Ward, Eliseo Salazar, Airton Daré, Scott Sharp, Tony Renna, Alex Barron, Raul Boesel, Ray, Castroneves, Buddy Lazier, Will Langhorne, George Mack, and Noda.[13] The sole driver not to qualify was Scott Mayer because of fluctuating oil pressure, and the IRL forbade him from participating in the race due to his lack of time on the track.[14] After qualifying, Hornish said he would put forward his strong form into the race, "When we start on the pole and the people were are running with for the championship are 11th and 20th or whatever, it helps out quite a bit."[11]

The final practice session was held on Saturday afternoon in hot weather conditions. The first caution came after eighteen minutes when race officials located debris in turn two. Nine minutes later, Wheldon slowed in the fourth turn with his engine failing, and engaged neutral gear before stopping.[8] Hornish topped the time sheets with a lap of 24.3401 seconds with Unser Jr. in second. Third place went to Rice, and Wheldon placed fourth. Rounding out the top five in the time sheets was Cheever.[15]

Race

The conditions on the grid were dry and sunny. The air temperature was at 86 °F (30 °C) with the track temperature at 113 °F (45 °C) and calm winds.[16] USAC Chaplin Dave Cochran began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Singer Elle Gerdes performed the national anthem, and chairman, president, and CEO of the Delphi Corporation J.T. Battenberg commanded the drivers to start their engines. The race began at 12:10 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Hornish maintained his pole position advantage to lead the field on the run into the first corner. After starting eleventh, de Ferran was running in seventh by the start of lap four. Nine laps later, de Ferran overtook Meira in turn two for sixth. The first caution was needed on the next lap when Rédon's failed in turn two, and he returned to pit road to retire. During the caution, several drivers chose to make pit stops for fuel and tires. Ward and Noda made a pit stop to have new front wings installed on their cars for aerodynamic purposes. The green flag was shown on lap 25 to resume racing. Hornish held his lead into turn one, but he lost it to Rice who passed him on the inside lane two corners later. De Ferran was now running in fifth place by lap 28. Three laps later, Unser lost the third position to Boat in turn one. On the 43rd lap, Unser overtook de Ferran around the outside for fourth place at turn three. On lap 46, Unser used Noda's slower car to pass Hornish for second at turn one.[16]

Sam Hornish Jr. (pictured in 2008) edged out Al Unser Jr. by 0.0024 seconds to win his fourth victory of the season.

Unser drew alongside Rice for one lap, and led the field by 0.0375 seconds on the 48th lap. Hornish got by Rice soon after. On lap 52, the second caution was shown.[16] De Ferran swerved to avoid Renna's lapped car which slowed because it had no fuel pressure, and lost control of his vehicle going into turn two due to air catching his front wing.[17] De Ferran heavy clouted the outside wall. His car sustained heavy damage to its right-hand corner, and came to a stop on the backstretch.[16] Debris from his car landed on the circuit.[18] Safety crews had to shut down de Ferran's car before the IRL medical team could extract him into the medical helicopter. He was transported to St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, Illinois with a concussion and a hairline fracture on his left wrist.[17][19] The field elected to make pit stops for tires, fuel and replacement front wings for aerodynamic reasons during the 22 lap caution. Unser led the field back to racing speeds on the 74th lap. Hornish retook the lead from Unser on the inside lane in the third corner on that lap. On lap 87, Hornish's lead of 0.6869 seconds was reduced to nothing when Salazar's rear wing fell backward, and he spun on the backstretch, but no other car came into contact with him, causing the third caution. As with the previous two cautions, several drivers made pit stops for fuel, tyres and new front wings for aerodynamic purposes.[16]

On lap 94, racing resumed with Hornish leading the pack of cars into turn one. Castroneves was running in sixth position by the 108th lap. Six laps later, the fourth caution was necessitated when debris was observed lying on the track Several drivers, including Hornish, went down pit road for tires and fuel. Sharp won the race off pit road, and assumed the lead for the restart on lap 120. On that lap, Boat slowed in turn four with an electrical issue that shut down his engine. He got back to pit road and retired. Hornish and Lazier drew alongside each other at turn two in the battle for second place on the 136th lap. The battle was won by Hornish who passed Lazier for second three laps later. By lap 144, Sharp had been sufficiently gained upon by Hornish who got alongside him for the lead in the fourth turn. Sharp edged him out by 0.0042 seconds on that lap. On the 145th lap, green flag pit stops began with Lazier entering pit road for tires and fuel. Sharp made his pit stop from first six laps later. On lap 153, Daré hit the outside wall on the exit of turn two. His car sustained heavy damage to its rear but he climbed out without external aid. The crash prompted the fifth (and final) caution to be necessitated. Pit stops for fuel and tires continued to be made under caution.[16]

Castroneves led the field into the first turn at the lap 166 restart. On the following lap, Unser became the new leader with Hornish returning to second.[16] Hornish took back the lead from Unser on the 169th lap. On the next lap, Unser attempted to get back past Hornish but the latter responded by blocking his manoevure.[20] Unser did manage to overtake Hornish on lap 172 but the latter retook the lead before the start-finish line. Boesel got by Rice and Cheever to move into sixth during lap 173.[16] On the 178th lap, Hornish went up the track slightly, and Unser moved underneath him to lead the lap.[16][20] Hornish and Unser raced alongside each other and exchanged the lead for the remaining 21 laps but the victory went to Hornish, his fourth of the season, and the seventh of his career.[16] Hornish's margin of victory over Unser was 0.0024 seconds (about 3 in (76 mm)), the closest finish in IRL history.[20][21] Second went to Unser, Lazier was third, Castroneves came fourth, and Cheever took fifth. Giaffone, Sharp, Meira, Rice, and Wheldon completed the top ten finishers. Behind them, the last of the classified finishers were Boesel, Barron, Mack, and Ray.[22] There were eighteen lead changes amongst four different drivers during the course of the race. Hornish led nine times for a total of 102 laps, more than any other driver.[22]

Post-race

Hornish appeared in victory lane to celebrate his fourth victory of the season in front of the crowd; he earned $126,600 for winning the race.[22] He said of his success at Chicagoland Speedway, "The fastest way around is to push another car around. But it's really hard to pass when you have to push a car aside. Having a guy that's experienced like Al, and all the races I've been in with him and all the respect I have for him, it's just like a high-speed pace lap."[21] Unser spoke of his enjoyment of competing against Hornish and reminded himself of his close victory over Scott Goodyear in the 1992 Indianapolis 500, "We just came up short again. I honestly thought that we won the race. I thought I had him. It was that close. I tell you, they don't come any closer than that.", and, "That was the closest wheel-to-wheel racing I think you'll see in the country today. There are fenders on those cars down south for a reason, and that's to rub on each other."[20] Third-placed Lazier revealed his team got out of sequence during the pit stops for fuel but it later worked in their favor, "We were just running wheel to wheel, as close as you could get. I'd get a run on someone, and my momentum would be stopped, and four or five guys would get by me until I would get my momentum back. But if you're patient and you bide your time, then you'll start picking them off. It was a lot of fun out there, but it sure was hair-raising."[16]

Cheever accused Castroneves of blocking him and intentionally putting him in danger during the final laps of the event, "I want to sit down with (IRL vice president of operations) Brian (Barnhart) and show him the last laps with Helio Castroneves. I want Brian's opinion on whether or not that is blocking. (Castroneves) totally moved me under the white line. Those aren't the rules of the game."[23] Castroneves responded to Cheever by saying, "As far as I'm concerned, my friend, I was racing, I was trying to be there and win the race and, hey, tough luck. In that particular time, he might be frustrated because he couldn't pass the guy and he tried to attack him. I know Eddie and hopefully he doesn't have any hard feelings."[23] Four days after the race, Castroneves and Rice were issued fines of an undisclosed amount of money for transgressing rules 8.1 and 8.3 of the IRL regulations.[24] Barnhardt said of his reasoning in issuing the fines, "What makes this type of racing possible is a code of ethics that's been developed by the drivers and Indy Racing League officials over the past seven years. Both Helio and Buddy displayed actions on the track during the race Sunday that were not appropriate."[24]

De Ferran was released from hospital the day after the race. He was later deemed unfit to compete in the season-closing Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway that took place one week later by Henry Block, the IRL's director of medical services.[25] Block stated it was more appropriate not to put de Ferran at further risk because of his injuries, "Recovery periods for any type of concussion vary for many reasons, but rarely do symptoms completely disappear in seven to 10 days."[19] De Ferran spoke of his disappointment but said he would respect Block's decision. He was replaced by Championship Auto Racing Teams driver Max Papis for the Chevy 500.[23] With his victory, Hornish became the new leader of the points' standings with 481 points. Castroneves fell to second with 469 points, while his teammate de Ferran was still third with 443 points despite his accident. With 419 and 336 points respectively, Giaffone and Barron rounded out the top five.[22]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No. Driver Team Time Speed Gap
1 4 United States Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing 24.5528 222.867 —
2 53 United States Buddy Rice Cheever Racing 24.6100 222.349 +0.0572
3 7 United States Al Unser Jr. Kelley Racing 24.6363 222.111 +0.0835
4 98 United States Billy Boat CURB Motorsports 24.6811 221.708 +0.1283
5 2 Brazil Vítor Meira Team Menard 24.7269 221.297 +0.1741
6 51 United States Eddie Cheever Jr. Cheever Racing 24.7287 221.281 +0.1759
7 15 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Panther Racing 24.7658 220.950 +0.2130
8 34 France Laurent Rédon Conquest Racing 24.7660 220.948 +0.2132
9 24 United States Robbie Buhl Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 24.7663 220.945 +0.2135
10 21 Brazil Felipe Giaffone Mo Nunn Racing 24.8056 220.595 +0.2528
11 6 Brazil Gil de Ferran Team Penske 24.8105 222.552 +0.2577
12 23 United States Sarah Fisher Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 24.8393 220.296 +0.2865
13 9 United States Jeff Ward Chip Ganassi Racing 24.8686 220.037 +0.3158
14 11 Chile Eliseo Salazar A. J. Foyt Enterprises 24.8743 219.986 +0.3215
15 14 Brazil Airton Daré A. J. Foyt Enterprises 24.8848 219.893 +0.3320
16 8 United States Scott Sharp Kelley Racing 24.8858 219.884 +0.3330
17 78 United States Tony Renna Kelley Racing 24.8899 219.848 +0.3371
18 44 United States Alex Barron Blair Racing 24.9494 219.324 +0.3966
19 12 Brazil Raul Boesel Bradley Motorsports 24.9560 219.266 +0.4032
20 20 United States Greg Ray Sam Schmidt Motorsports 24.9829 219.030 +0.4301
21 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 25.0026 218.857 +0.4498
22 91 United States Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Racing 25.0097 218.795 +0.4569
23 55 United States Will Langhorne Treadway Racing 25.0314 218.605 +0.4786
24 31 United States George Mack 310 Racing 25.1640 217.454 +0.6112
25 28 Japan Hideki Noda Indy Regency Racing 25.9775 210.644 +1.4247
DNQ 18 United States Scott Mayer PDM Racing — — —
Source:[13]

Race

Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 4 United States Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing 200 2:04.39.5354 1 52
2 7 United States Al Unser Jr. Kelley Racing 200 +0.0024 3 40
3 91 United States Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Racing 200 +0.0596 22 35
4 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 200 +0.1072 21 32
5 51 United States Eddie Cheever Jr. Cheever Racing 200 +0.1584 6 30
6 21 Brazil Felipe Giaffone Mo Nunn Racing 200 +0.5240 10 28
7 8 United States Scott Sharp Kelley Racing 200 +0.7270 16 26
8 2 Brazil Vítor Meira Team Menard 200 +0.8735 5 24
9 52 United States Buddy Rice Cheever Racing 200 +0.8857 2 22
10 15 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Panther Racing 200 +0.9387 7 20
11 12 Brazil Raul Boesel Bradley Motorsports 200 +1.1150 19 19
12 44 United States Alex Barron Blair Racing 199 +1 Lap 18 18
13 55 United States Will Langhorne Treadway Racing 180 Mechanical 23 17
14 31 United States George Mack 310 Racing 180 +20 Laps 24 16
15 78 United States Tony Renna Kelley Racing 153 Fuel pressure 17 15
16 13 Brazil Airton Daré A. J. Foyt Enterprises 153 Crash 15 14
17 20 United States Greg Ray Sam Schmidt Motorsports 140 +60 Laps 20 13
18 11 Chile Eliseo Salazar A. J. Foyt Enterprises 131 Engine 14 12
19 98 United States Billy Boat CURB Motorsports 120 Engine 4 11
20 24 United States Robbie Buhl Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 113 Engine 9 10
21 9 United States Jeff Ward Chip Ganassi Racing 106 Engine 13 9
22 23 United States Sarah Fisher Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 61 Engine 12 8
23 6 Brazil Gil de Ferran Team Penske 51 Crash 11 7
24 28 Japan Hideki Noda Indy Regency Racing 45 Handling 25 6
25 34 France Laurent Rédon Conquest Racing 14 Engine 8 5
Source:[22][26]
Notes
  • ^1 — Includes two bonus points for leading the most laps.[22]

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos +/– Driver Points
1 1 United States Sam Hornish Jr. 481
2 1 Brazil Hélio Castroneves 469 (−12)
3 1 Brazil Gil de Ferran 443 (−38)
4 Brazil Felipe Giaffone 419 (−62)
5 United States Alex Barron 336 (−145)
Source:[22]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for the drivers' standings.

References

  1. ↑ "Michigan, Nazareth join '02 IRL schedule". Autosport. July 1, 2001. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Final 2002 IRL schedule released". Crash. January 1, 2001. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Gateway Indy 250 results". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. August 26, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "Former U.S. F2000 champ Wheldon to join Hornish at Panther for remainder of IRL season". Autoweek. June 9, 2002. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ "IRL PR: Weekly notebook". TrackSide Online. June 27, 2002. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  6. ↑ Crowley, Joe (September 4, 2002). "Ray To Drive For Schmidt For Final Two Races Of Season". Indy Racing League. Archived from the original on October 3, 2002. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Delphi Indy 300 Notes -- Friday, Sept. 6". Indy Racing League. September 6, 2002. Archived from the original on October 3, 2002. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 "Delphi Indy 300 Notes -- Saturday, Sept. 7". Indy Racing League. September 7, 2002. Archived from the original on October 3, 2002. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Crask, Andrew (September 6, 2002). "Buddy Rice Leads IRL Practice at Chicago". Speed. Archived from the original on December 31, 2002. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ "IRL: Chicagoland practice session three". motorsport.com. September 7, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Auto racing: Hornish captures pole for Delphi Indy 300". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. September 8, 2002. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Hornish Jr.takes pole at Delphi Indy 300". United Press International. September 7, 2002. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 Crask, Andrew (September 7, 2002). "Hornish Takes Chicagoland Pole as Penske Duo Struggles". Speed. Archived from the original on December 31, 2002. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Hornish wins pole as Penske struggles". Crash. September 8, 2002. Archived from the original on January 23, 2003. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Final Practice Session – Results Summary – Delphi Indy 300" (PDF). Indy Racing League. September 7, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2003. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Delphi Indy 300 Notes -- Sunday, Sept. 8". Indy Racing League. September 8, 2002. Archived from the original on October 3, 2002. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  17. 1 2 "IRL: De Ferran in hard crash at Chicagoland". motorsport.com. September 8, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  18. ↑ "De Ferran in Good Shape After Crash". The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register. Associated Press. September 7, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  19. 1 2 "Crash at Chicagoland forces de Ferran from IRL finale at Texas". Autoweek. September 9, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Kersey, Brian (September 8, 2002). "Hornish wins Delphi Indy 300 by 0.0024 seconds". USA Today. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  21. 1 2 "Hornish edges Delphi Indy 300". BBC Sport. September 8, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "2002 Delphi Indy 300". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  23. 1 2 3 Hilderbrand, Brian (September 11, 2002). "Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Cheever accuses Castroneves of blocking". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  24. 1 2 "Castroneves, Rice fined for poor conduct". Crash. September 12, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Injury keeps de Ferran from run at IRL title". Chicago Tribune. September 10, 2002. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Race – Delphi Indy 300". Indy Racing League. September 8, 2002. Archived from the original on October 22, 2002. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
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