From: Michael Powell 
 
FANTASTIC FINISHES A STAPLE OF INDYCAR SERIES RACING
 
INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, Sept. 8, 2003 - The drivers of the IndyCarTM Series
proved once again that the series can claim some of the most breathtaking
finishes in worldwide motorsports.
 
The Delphi Indy 300 Sept. 7 at Chicagoland Speedway featured a photo finish in
which Sam Hornish Jr. defeated Scott Dixon by just .0099 of a second in the
third closest IndyCar Series race in history. 
 
Bryan Herta finished third, just .0100 of a second behind Hornish and an
unbelievable .0001 behind second-place Dixon. The .0100 margin from first to
third was the closest 1-2-3 finish in the series history. 
 
In all, 35 of the 85 IndyCar Series races have had a finish of less than a
second. This year, eight races have had a margin of victory of less than a
second, tying the record set in 2002.  
 
And when it comes to winning those nail-biting races, no driver has had more
success than two-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. 
 
Hornish has won the top three closest finishes in IndyCar Series history. In
addition to this year's Chicago race, Hornish defeated Al Unser Jr. in 2002 at
Chicago by .0024 of a second, the closest finish in history.
 
The week after Chicago, Hornish defeated Helio Castroneves by .0096 of a
second at Texas Motor Speedway in the second-closest finish in history. 
 
Hornish has been involved in 10 of the top-16 closest finishes in history and
has a record of 5-5. He won the closest finish in history as well as the,
second, third, sixth and seventh closest and has finished second in the fifth,
11th, 14th, 15th and 16th closest. 
 
"I hate to lose, so I try to win as many races as I can," Hornish
said. "I
can't stand it, especially when I know that I did something wrong, not to be
able to win the race."
 
The last two races of the 2003 season take place at California Speedway (Sept.
21) and Texas Motor Speedway (Oct. 15). In addition to last year's thrilling
win at Texas, Hornish also won at Texas in Oct. 2001 when he defeated Scott
Sharp by .0188 of a second, the sixth closest finish in IndyCar Series history.
 
At California in 2002, Hornish defeated Jaques Lazier by .0281 of a second in
the seventh-closest finish in IndyCar Series history.
 
The Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway is Sept. 21 and will be broadcast
live at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) on ABC-TV and the IMS Radio Network. For tickets, log
onto www.californiaspeedway.com or call (800) 944-7223.
 
The season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway is Oct. 12 and will be
broadcast live at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) by ESPN and the IMS Radio Network. For
tickets, log onto www.texasmotorspeedway or call (817) 215-8500.
 
35 Finishing Margins Of Less Than One Second in IRL IndyCar Series History
 
Margin
 
Date
 
Track (winner, runner-up)
 
1.
 
.0024 of a second
 
Sept. 8, 2002
 
Chicagoland (Sam Hornish Jr., Al Unser Jr.)
 
2.
 
.0096
 
Sept. 15, 2002
 
Texas (Sam Hornish Jr., Helio Castroneves)
 
3.
 
.0099
 
Sept. 7, 2003
 
Chicagoland (Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Dixon)
 
4.
 
.0111
 
June 8, 2002
 
Texas (Jeff Ward, Al Unser Jr.)
 
5.
 
.0121
 
July 27, 2003
 
Michigan (Alex Barron, Sam Hornish Jr.)
 
6.
 
.0188
 
Oct. 6, 2001
 
Texas (Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Sharp)
 
7.
 
.0281
 
March 24, 2002
 
California (Sam Hornish Jr., Jaques Lazier)
 
8.
 
.059
 
June 11, 2000
 
Texas (Scott Sharp, Robby McGehee)
 
9.
 
.064
 
Aug. 17, 1997
 
New Hampshire (Robbie Buhl, Vincenzo Sospiri)
 
10.
 
.0810
 
June 7, 2003
 
Texas (Al Unser Jr., Tony Kanaan)
 
11.
 
.093
 
Aug. 11, 2002
 
Kentucky (Felipe Giaffone, Sam Hornish Jr.)
 
12.
 
.120
 
June 27, 1999
 
Pikes Peak (Greg Ray, Sam Schmidt)
 
13.
 
.140
 
Oct. 15, 2000
 
Texas (Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever Jr.)
 
14.
 
.1697
 
Aug. 24, 2003
 
Nazareth (Helio Castroneves, Sam Hornish Jr.)
 
15.
 
.1741
 
July 7, 2002
 
Kansas (Airton Dar#, Sam Hornish Jr.)
 
16.
 
.1976
 
July 8, 2001
 
Kansas (Eddie Cheever Jr., Sam Hornish Jr.)
 
17.
 
.222
 
June 29, 1997
 
Pikes Peak (Tony Stewart, Stephan Gregoire)
 
18.
 
.2990
 
May 25, 2003
 
Indianapolis (Gil de Ferran, Helio Castroneves)
 
19.
 
.4243
 
July 20, 2002
 
Nashville (Alex Barron, Gil de Ferran)
 
20.
 
.445
 
Aug. 29, 1999
 
Pikes Peak (Greg Ray, Davey Hamilton)
 
21.
 
.4969
 
April 21, 2002
 
Nazareth (Scott Sharp, Felipe Giaffone)
 
22.
 
.570
 
May 29, 1997
 
Indianapolis (Arie Luyendyk, Scott Goodyear)
 
23.
 
.5752
 
March 2, 2003
 
Homestead-Miami (Scott Dixon, Gil de Ferran)
 
24.
 
.617
 
Sept. 26, 1999
 
Las Vegas (Sam Schmidt, Kenny Brack)
 
25.
 
.689
 
July 19, 1998
 
Dover (Scott Sharp, Buddy Lazier)
 
26.
 
.695
 
May 26, 1996
 
Indianapolis (Buddy Lazier, Davy Jones)
 
27.
 
.731
 
Aug. 1, 1999
 
Dover (Greg Ray, Buddy Lazier)
 
28.
 
.8466
 
Aug. 10, 2003
 
Gateway (Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan)
 
29.
 
.854
 
March 23, 1997
 
Phoenix (Jim Guthrie, Tony Stewart)
 
30.
 
.866
 
Jan. 27, 1996
 
Walt Disney World (Buzz Calkins, Tony Stewart) 
 
31.
 
.888
 
June 12, 1999
 
Texas (Scott Goodyear, Greg Ray)
 
32.
 
.926
 
Oct. 11, 1998
 
Las Vegas (Arie Luyendyk, Sam Schmidt)
 
33.
 
.928
 
June 6, 1998
 
Texas (Billy Boat, Greg Ray)
 
34.
 
.9328
 
March 23, 2003
 
Phoenix (Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves)
 
35.
 
.944
 
Aug. 29, 1998
 
Atlanta (Kenny Brack, Davey Hamilton)
 
IRL IndyCar Series Finishing Statistics
 
Season: 1996
 
Races: 3
 
Caution Finish: 0
 
Green Finish: 3
 
Less Than One Second: 2
 
Season: 1996-97
 
Races: 10
 
Caution: Finish 2
 
Green Finish: 8
 
Less Than One Second: 4
 
Season: 1998
 
Races: 11
 
Caution Finish: 0
 
Green Finish: 11
 
Less Than One Second: 4
 
Season: 1999
 
Races: 10
 
Caution Finish: 1
 
Green Finish: 9
 
Less Than One Second: 5
 
Season: 2000
 
Races: 9
 
Caution Finish: 1
 
Green Finish: 8
 
Less Than One Second: 2
 
Season: 2001
 
Races: 13
 
Caution Finish: 1
 
Green Finish: 12
 
Less Than One Second: 2
 
Season: 2002
 
Races: 15
 
Caution Finish: 2
 
Green Finish: 13
 
Less Than One Second: 8
 
Season: 2003*
 
Races: 14
 
Caution Finish: 4
 
Green Finish: 10
 
Less Than One Second: 8
 
*After 14 of 16 races
 
___ Internet Rex 2.29
 


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