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2002 Indy Racing League

Sports season

The 2002 Indy Racing League (IRL) was one of transition, with two reigning CART championship teams, Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, joining the series with full time entries. The Oldsmobile engine was rebranded as a Chevrolet, and both Honda and Toyota announced their participation in the series starting in 2003 while Infiniti announced its withdrawal.

Sam Hornish Jr. won 5 races on his way to his second straight championship ahead of Penske juggernaut Hélio Castroneves, winner of two races including a second straight Indy 500, on his way to second in the championship. The season was also notable for seeing six drivers win their first career Indy Racing League races.

Confirmed entries

Team	Chassis	Engine	#	Drivers	Rounds
USA Team Menard	Dallara	Chevrolet	2	nowrap	USA Jaques Lazier	1–4
nowrap	USA P. J. Jones	5
nowrap	BRA Raul Boesel	5–6
nowrap	USA Mark Dismore	7–11
nowrap	BRA Vítor Meira	12–15
31	USA Robby Gordon	5
USA Marlboro Team Penske	Dallara	Chevrolet	3	nowrap	BRA Hélio Castroneves	All
6	nowrap	BRA Gil de Ferran	1–14
nowrap	ITA Max Papis	15
USA Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	4	nowrap	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	All
15	GBR Dan Wheldon	14–15
USA Treadway Racing	G-Force
Dallara	Chevrolet	5	USA Rick Treadway	5
55	1–4, 6, 9
NED Arie Luyendyk	5, 11
USA Anthony Lazzaro	7
USA Will Langhorne	12, 14–15
USA Robby McGehee	13
USA Kelley Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	7	USA Al Unser Jr.	1–9, 12–15
USA Tony Renna	10–11
78	12–15
8	USA Scott Sharp	All
USA Target Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Chevrolet	9	USA Jeff Ward	All
22	SWE Kenny Bräck	5
33	BRA Bruno Junqueira	5
USA Cahill Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	10	nowrap	USA Robby McGehee	1–5
USA A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Chevrolet	11	CHL Eliseo Salazar	1–3, 10–15
nowrap	USA Richie Hearn	4
nowrap	USA Greg Ray	5–9
14	BRA Airton Daré	All
USA Donnie Beechler	1
41	5
USA Greg Ray	10–13
USA Bradley Motorsports	Dallara	Infiniti	12	JPN Shigeaki Hattori	2–7
nowrap	BRA Raul Boesel	9–15
67	USA Rick Treadway	15
USA Walker Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	15	nowrap	ESP Oriol Servià	5
USA Racing Professionals	G-Force
Dallara	Chevrolet	16	nowrap	USA Jon Herb	1–8
USA Mo Nunn Racing	G-Force	Chevrolet	17	BRA Tony Kanaan	5
21	BRA Felipe Giaffone	All
USA PDM Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	18	USA Tyce Carlson	1–2
nowrap	USA Jeret Schroeder	3
nowrap	AUS John de Vries	6
USA Scott Mayer	14
nowrap	USA Cory Kruseman	15
99	USA Anthony Lazzaro	5
USA Jimmy Kite	5
USA Team Rahal	Dallara	Chevrolet	19	nowrap	USA Jimmy Vasser	3, 5
USA Convergent Racing	G-Force	Chevrolet	20	JPN Hideki Noda	1–3
USA Sam Schmidt Motorsports	Dallara	Chevrolet	20	USA Richie Hearn	5, 7–12
nowrap	USA Greg Ray	14–15
USA Anthony Lazzaro	13
99	1–2, 4
nowrap	USA Richie Hearn	3, 6
nowrap	USA Mark Dismore	5
USA Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	G-Force	Infiniti	24	USA Robbie Buhl	1–3, 5–15
nowrap	USA Memo Gidley	3
USA Sarah Fisher	4
23	5, 8–15
USA Team Green	Dallara	Chevrolet	26	nowrap	CAN Paul Tracy	5
27	nowrap	GBR Dario Franchitti	5
39	nowrap	USA Michael Andretti	5
USA Indy Regency Racing	G-Force	Chevrolet	28	JPN Hideki Noda	13–15
USA [310 Racing](310-motoring)	G-Force	Chevrolet	31	nowrap	USA George Mack	All
USA Duesenberg Brothers Racing
USA CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports	Dallara	Chevrolet	32	GBR Johnny Herbert	5
nowrap	USA Memo Gidley	5
54	USA Robby McGehee	7–9
USA Conquest Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	34	nowrap	FRA Laurent Redon	All
USA Brayton Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	37	nowrap	AUS John de Vries	1–5
nowrap	USA Scott Harrington	5, 11
USA Blair Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	44	nowrap	USA Alex Barron	All
USA Red Bull Cheever Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	51	nowrap	USA Eddie Cheever	All
52	nowrap	ZAF Tomas Scheckter	1–12
USA Buddy Rice	13–15
53	11–12
ITA Max Papis	5
USA Robby McGehee	15
USA Zali Racing	G-Force	Chevrolet	81	nowrap	USA Billy Roe	1, 5
USA Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	91	nowrap	USA Buddy Lazier	All
USA CURB/Agajanian/Boat Indy Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
Infiniti	98	nowrap	USA Billy Boat	All

Schedule

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Track
March 2	Grand Prix of Miami	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida
March 17	Bombardier ATV 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona
March 24	Yamaha Indy 400	California Speedway	Fontana, California
April 21	Firestone Indy 225	Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth, Pennsylvania
May 26	[86th Indianapolis 500](2002-indianapolis-500)	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana
June 8	Boomtown 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
June 16	Radisson Indy 225	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado
June 29	SunTrust Indy Challenge	Richmond International Raceway	Richmond, Virginia
July 7	Ameristar Casino Indy 200	Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas
July 20	Firestone Indy 200	Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee
July 28	Michigan Indy 400	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
August 11	Belterra Casino Indy 300	Kentucky Speedway	Sparta, Kentucky
August 25	Gateway Indy 250	Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois
September 8	Delphi Indy 300	Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet, Illinois
September 15	Chevy 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
Sources:

Results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race winner	Driver	Team
Homestead	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	USA Jeff Ward	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
Phoenix	BRA Hélio Castroneves	USA Robbie Buhl	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	BRA Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	Chevrolet
Fontana	USA Eddie Cheever	RSA Tomas Scheckter	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
Nazareth	BRA Gil de Ferran	RSA Tomas Scheckter	BRA Gil de Ferran	USA Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
[Indianapolis](2002-indianapolis-500)	BRA Bruno Junqueira	RSA Tomas Scheckter	RSA Tomas Scheckter	BRA Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	Chevrolet
Texas 1	RSA Tomas Scheckter	USA Eddie Cheever	RSA Tomas Scheckter	USA Jeff Ward	Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Chevrolet
Pikes Peak	BRA Gil de Ferran	BRA Felipe Giaffone	BRA Gil de Ferran	BRA Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	Dallara	Chevrolet
Richmond	BRA Gil de Ferran	USA Buddy Lazier	BRA Gil de Ferran	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
Kansas	RSA Tomas Scheckter	RSA Tomas Scheckter	RSA Tomas Scheckter	BRA Airton Daré	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Chevrolet
Nashville	USA Billy Boat	RSA Tomas Scheckter	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	USA Alex Barron	Blair Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
Michigan	RSA Tomas Scheckter	RSA Tomas Scheckter	RSA Tomas Scheckter	RSA Tomas Scheckter	Cheever Racing	Dallara	Infiniti
Kentucky	USA Sarah Fisher	RSA Tomas Scheckter	BRA Felipe Giaffone	BRA Felipe Giaffone	Mo Nunn Racing	G-Force	Chevrolet
Gateway	BRA Gil de Ferran	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	BRA Hélio Castroneves	BRA Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	Dallara	Chevrolet
Chicagoland	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	USA Buddy Rice	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
Texas 2	BRA Vítor Meira	USA Buddy Rice	BRA Hélio Castroneves	USA Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet

BOLD indicates a Superspeedway. Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Race summaries

Grand Prix of Miami

This race was held on March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole. The race was dominated by Sam Hornish Jr. who at one point had a lap on the entire field. On lap 193 of 200, while Hornish was leading by more than 20 seconds, fourth placed Robbie Buhl's engine expired, bringing out the yellow and packing up the field. The green came back out on Lap 197, but Airton Dare crashed immediately in turn 2 on the restart. The race finished under yellow, with Hornish on the top step of the podium. Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves were second and third respectively, for Team Penske in their first race of their first full season in the IRL.

Top ten results

4- Sam Hornish Jr.
6- Gil de Ferran
3- Hélio Castroneves
9- Jeff Ward
11- Eliseo Salazar
52- Tomas Scheckter
21- Felipe Giaffone
44- Alex Barron
99- Anthony Lazzaro
14- Airton Daré

Bombardier ATV 200

This race was held on March 17 at Phoenix International Raceway. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

3- Hélio Castroneves
6- Gil de Ferran
4- Sam Hornish Jr.
11- Eliseo Salazar
7- Al Unser Jr.
2- Jaques Lazier
91- Buddy Lazier
98- Billy Boat
55- Rick Treadway
20- Hideki Noda

Inaugural Yamaha Indy 400

This race was held on March 24 at California Speedway. Eddie Cheever won the pole.

Top ten results

4- Sam Hornish Jr.
2- Jaques Lazier
34- Laurent Rédon
6- Gil de Ferran
3- Hélio Castroneves
21- Felipe Giaffone
91- Buddy Lazier
8- Scott Sharp
19- Jimmy Vasser
9- Jeff Ward

Inaugural Firestone Indy 225

This race was held on April 21 at Nazareth Speedway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.

Top ten results

8- Scott Sharp
21- Felipe Giaffone
6- Gil de Ferran
24- Sarah Fisher
3- Hélio Castroneves
44- Alex Barron
51- Eddie Cheever
98- Billy Boat
99- Anthony Lazzaro
12- Shigeaki Hattori

[[2002 Indianapolis 500|86th Indianapolis 500]]

The Indy 500 was held on May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bruno Junqueira sat on pole. The race end was one of the most controversial in history as Paul Tracy passed Hélio Castroneves just as the yellow was coming out for a crash. Race officials ruled that the pass occurred after the yellow and declared Castroneves the winner.

Top ten results

3- Hélio Castroneves
26- Paul Tracy
21- Felipe Giaffone
44- Alex Barron
51- Eddie Cheever
20- Richie Hearn
39- Michael Andretti
31- Robby Gordon
9- Jeff Ward
6- Gil de Ferran

Boomtown 500

This race was held on June 8 at Texas Motor Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.

Top ten results

9- Jeff Ward
7- Al Unser Jr.
14- Airton Daré
3- Hélio Castroneves
21- Felipe Giaffone
12- Shigeaki Hattori
98- Billy Boat
91- Buddy Lazier
99- Richie Hearn
44- Alex Barron

Radisson Indy 225

This race was held on June 16 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.

Top ten results

6- Gil de Ferran
3- Hélio Castroneves
4- Sam Hornish Jr.
21- Felipe Giaffone
8- Scott Sharp
7- Al Unser Jr.
34- Laurent Rédon
51- Eddie Cheever
14- Airton Daré
44- Alex Barron

SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held on June 29 at Richmond International Raceway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.

Top ten results

4- Sam Hornish Jr.
6- Gil de Ferran
21- Felipe Giaffone
52- Tomas Scheckter
7- Al Unser Jr.
14- Airton Daré
20- Richie Hearn
9- Jeff Ward
54- Robby McGehee
44- Alex Barron

Ameristar Casino Indy 200

This race was held on July 7 at Kansas Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.

Top ten results

14- Airton Daré
4- Sam Hornish Jr.
3- Hélio Castroneves
21- Felipe Giaffone
6- Gil de Ferran
8- Scott Sharp
91- Buddy Lazier
44-Alex Barron
98- Billy Boat
20- Richie Hearn

Firestone Indy 200

This race was held on July 20 at Nashville Superspeedway. Billy Boat won the pole.

Top ten results

44- Alex Barron
6- Gil de Ferran
4- Sam Hornish Jr.
20- Richie Hearn
12- Raul Boesel
51- Eddie Cheever
21- Felipe Giaffone
8- Scott Sharp
3- Hélio Castroneves
7- Tony Renna

Inaugural Michigan Indy 400

This race was held on July 28 at Michigan International Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.

Top ten results

52- Tomas Scheckter
53- Buddy Rice
21- Felipe Giaffone
7- Tony Renna
6- Gil de Ferran
3- Hélio Castroneves
4- Sam Hornish Jr.
23- Sarah Fisher
8- Scott Sharp
20- Richie Hearn

Belterra Casino Indy 300

This race was held on August 11 at Kentucky Speedway. Sarah Fisher won the pole, the first by a female driver in a major open wheel series.

Top ten results

21- Felipe Giaffone
4- Sam Hornish Jr.
91- Buddy Lazier
8- Scott Sharp
3- Hélio Castroneves
7- Al Unser Jr.
78- Tony Renna
23- Sarah Fisher
44- Alex Barron
24- Robbie Buhl

Gateway Indy 250

This race was held on August 25 at Gateway International Raceway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.

Top ten results

6- Gil de Ferran
3- Hélio Castroneves
44- Alex Barron
52- Buddy Rice
4- Sam Hornish Jr.
24- Robbie Buhl
7- Al Unser Jr.
12- Raul Boesel
2- Vítor Meira
51- Eddie Cheever

Delphi Indy 300

Main article: 2002 Delphi Indy 300

This race was held on September 8 at Chicagoland Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

Top ten results

4- Sam Hornish Jr.
7- Al Unser Jr.
91- Buddy Lazier
3- Hélio Castroneves
51- Eddie Cheever
21- Felipe Giaffone
8- Scott Sharp
2- Vítor Meira
52- Buddy Rice
15- Dan Wheldon

Gil de Ferran was injured during a crash in this race and would miss the season finale at Texas.

Chevy 500

This race was held on September 15 at Texas Motor Speedway. Vítor Meira won the pole.

Top ten results

4- Sam Hornish Jr.**
3- Hélio Castroneves
2- Vítor Meira
8- Scott Sharp
44- Alex Barron
52- Buddy Rice
91- Buddy Lazier
51- Eddie Cheever
78- Tony Renna
34- Laurent Rédon

Max Papis filled in for the injured Gil de Ferran at Penske; however, he finished 21st due to a blown engine.

By winning the race, Sam Hornish Jr. won his second championship in a row.

Points standings

Pos	Driver	HOM
PHX
CAL
NAZ
[INDY](2002-indianapolis-500)
TMS1
PPR
RIC
KAN
NSS
MIS
KEN
GTW
CHI
TMS2
Pts	1	531	2	511	3	443	4	432	5	366	6	332	7	311	8	305	9	304	10	280	11	268	12	229	13	225	14	210	15	204	16	184	17	177	18	161	19	158	20	157	21	142	22	140	23	128	24	121	25	96	26	90	27	78	28	76	29	73	30	70	31	70	32	54	33	53	34	40	35	36	36	35	37	30	38	26	39	24	40	23	41	23	42	19	43	16	44	11	45	9	46	9	47	9	48	4	49	3	50	2	51	1	–	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	Pos	Driver	HOM
PHX
CAL
NAZ
[INDY](2002-indianapolis-500)
TMS1
PPR
RIC
KAN
NSS
MIS
KEN
GTW
CHI
TMS2
Pts
USA Sam Hornish Jr.	1*	3*	1*	17	25	18	3	1	2	3*	7	2	5	1*	1
BRA Hélio Castroneves	3	1	5	5	1	4	2	17	3	9	6	5	2*	4	2*
BRA Gil de Ferran	2	2	4	3*	10	16	1*	2*	5	2	5	21	1	23
BRA Felipe Giaffone	7	19	6	2	3	5	4	3	4	7	3	1*	21	6	17
USA Alex Barron	8	23	12	6	4	10	10	10	8	1	12	9	3	12	5
USA Scott Sharp	20	16	8	1	27	14	5	21	6	8	9	4	18	7	4
USA Al Unser Jr.	19	5	11	12	12	2	6	5	17			6	7	2	20
USA Buddy Lazier	22	7	7	23	15	8	15	18	7	12	13	3	15	3	7
BRA Airton Daré	10	12	13	11	13	3	9	6	1	17	23	23	11	16	12
USA Eddie Cheever	25	15	20	7	5	19	8	14	16	6	22	11	10	5	8
USA Jeff Ward	4	18	10	19	9	1	20	8	12	11	25	16	13	21	25
FRA Laurent Redon	15	14	3	15	22	15	7	15	22	16	11	20	22	25	10
USA Billy Boat	16	8	18	8	18	7	14	22	9	14	14	19	23	19	24
ZAF Tomas Scheckter	6	24	24	21	26*	17*	16	4	*15**	13	*1**	22
USA Richie Hearn			14	14	6	9	12	7	10	4	10	24
USA George Mack	13	20	16	18	17	21	13	20	18	15	20	17	16	14	28
USA Robbie Buhl	12	13	Wth		16	20	23	13	21	21	24	10	6	20	18
USA Sarah Fisher				4	24			16	14	22	8	8	20	22	11
BRA Raul Boesel					21	13			11	5	15	13	8	11	22
CHL Eliseo Salazar	5	4	15							19	19	14	14	18	16
USA Robby McGehee	14	21	17	13	DNQ		17	9	13				12		13
USA Buddy Rice											2	12	4	9	6
USA Greg Ray					33	12	18	12	19	20	17	25	19	17	14
USA Tony Renna										10	4	7	24	15	9
BRA Vítor Meira												15	9	8	3
USA Jaques Lazier	18	6	2	20
JPN Shigeaki Hattori		25	26	10	20	6	19
USA Rick Treadway	24	9	22	16	29	23			23						19
USA Mark Dismore					32		11	11	20	18	18
USA Anthony Lazzaro	9	17		9	Wth		22						DNS
USA Jon Herb	DNS	11	19	22	DNQ	22	21	19
JPN Hideki Noda	23	10	25										17	24	27
AUS John de Vries	17	22	23	DNS	Wth	11
CAN Paul Tracy					2
USA Will Langhorne												18		13	23
GBR Dan Wheldon														10	15
NLD Arie Luyendyk					14						16
USA Michael Andretti					7
USA Robby Gordon					8
USA Jimmy Vasser			9		30
USA Tyce Carlson	11	Wth
SWE Kenny Bräck					11
ITA Max Papis					23										21
GBR Dario Franchitti					19
USA Billy Roe	21				DNQ
USA Memo Gidley			21		DNQ
USA Scott Harrington					DNQ						21
USA Cory Kruseman															26
USA Jeret Schroeder			27
BRA Tony Kanaan					28
BRA Bruno Junqueira					31
USA Donnie Beechler	Wth				DNQ
USA Jimmy Kite					DNQ
ESP Oriol Servià					DNQ
USA Scott Mayer														DNS
GBR Johnny Herbert					Wth
USA P. J. Jones					Wth

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th–10th place
Dark Blue	Finished
(Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish
(Ret)
Red	Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black	Disqualified
(DSQ)
White	Did not start
(DNS)
Blank	Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing

|- |

In-line notation
Bold
Italics
*
DNS

|} |}

Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Footnotes

References

"NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 2002". Motorsport Stats.
(September 26, 2002). "Final Indy Racing League Leaders". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

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