IndyCar
IRL: Chicagoland: Firestone race report
Hornish headlines closest 1-2-3 in series history It was another thrilling show at Chicagoland Speedway as defending IRL IndyCar Series champ Sam Hornish Jr. picked up his second win of the season in dramatic fashion. Hornish, driver of the No. 4 ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:32 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Hornish headlines closest 1-2-3 in series history
It was another thrilling show at Chicagoland Speedway as defending IRL IndyCar Series champ Sam Hornish Jr. picked up his second win of the season in dramatic fashion. Hornish, driver of the No. 4 Penzoil Panther car, led a pack of drivers across the finish line in the closest 1-2-3 finish in IRL IndyCar Series history.
Hornish started in eighth position and leaned heavily on his Firestone Firehawks from the start, quickly picking his way through the field and taking the lead for the first time on lap 52. In the end, the tires' durability was a key factor in the race's finish. Hornish and the other top three drivers on the last pit stop chose not to change their tires, but instead relied on the consistency they knew they could get from their Firestones to race hard all the way to the end.
"The tires were great," said Hornish. "We didn't have a problem all day long, and I could run wherever I wanted to on them."
He was followed very closely across the finish line by Scott Dixon, in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi car - only 0.0099 of a second behind - and Bryan Herta driving for Andretti Green Racing in the No. 27 Archipelago/Motorola, who followed Dixon by just 0.0001 of a second.
Quote from Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing:
"Awesome! I don't know how Sam Hornish and the Panther crew continue to win some of the closest finishes in racing history. Maybe they have some secret they're not willing to share with anyone else. Once again we're very pleased that the consistency, durability and control of the Firestone Firehawks help deliver this incredibly close racing. None of the top cars changed tires on their last pit stop, which really shows how much confidence all these teams and drivers have in their Firestones. We can't wait for the final two races this year at Fontana and Texas."
Firestone Performance Award:
Dan Wheldon Dan Wheldon, driving the No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam for Andretti Green Racing, led lap 85 today, earning a $10,000 bonus from Firestone Racing. The award commemorates Firestone competing in every Indy Racing League IndyCar event since the series' beginning in 1996.
Race temperatures ranged from 104 to 111 degrees track and from 83 to 84 degrees ambient (F).
Race temperatures ranged from 40 to 44 degrees track and from 28 to 29 degrees ambient (C).
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article IRL: Chicagoland: Team Penske race report
Next article IRL: Indy Racing League notebook 2003-09-10
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Dixon
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
IndyCar
IndyCar
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
IndyCar
IndyCar
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
Latest news
MotoGP riders step up pressure in final bid to avoid Qatar Grand Prix
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
10 min
MotoGP riders step up pressure in final bid to avoid Qatar Grand Prix
Live: MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix as it happens
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Malaysian GP
36 min
Live: MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix as it happens
Carson Kvapil gets Rodney Childers a clock and the O'Reilly Chase is wide open now
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Martinsville II
2 h
Carson Kvapil gets Rodney Childers a clock and the O'Reilly Chase is wide open now
Drivers believe softer bumpers will impact NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
2 h
Drivers believe softer bumpers will impact NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville
Feature
Discover prime content
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe