Sports season
The2002 Indy Racing League (IRL) was one of transition, with two reigningCART championship teams,Team Penske andTarget Chip Ganassi Racing , joining the series with full time entries. TheOldsmobile engine was rebranded as aChevrolet , and bothHonda andToyota announced their participation in the series starting in 2003 whileInfiniti announced its withdrawal.
Sam Hornish Jr. won 5 races on his way to his second straight championship ahead of Penske juggernautHélio 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.
Team Chassis Engine # Drivers Rounds Team Menard Dallara Chevrolet 2 Jaques Lazier 1–4 P. J. Jones [ N 1] 5 Raul Boesel 5–6 Mark Dismore 7–11 Vítor Meira R 12–15 31 Robby Gordon 5 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 3 Hélio Castroneves All 6 Gil de Ferran 1–14 Max Papis 15 Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 4 Sam Hornish Jr. All 15 Dan Wheldon R 14–15 Treadway Racing G-Force Dallara [ N 2] Chevrolet 5 Rick Treadway R 5 55 1–4, 6, 9 Arie Luyendyk 5, 11 Anthony Lazzaro R 7 Will Langhorne R 12, 14–15 Robby McGehee 13 Kelley Racing Dallara Chevrolet 7 Al Unser Jr. 1–9, 12–15 Tony Renna R 10–11 78 12–15 8 Scott Sharp All Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Chevrolet 9 Jeff Ward All 22 Kenny Bräck 5 33 Bruno Junqueira 5 Cahill Racing Dallara Chevrolet 10 Robby McGehee 1–5 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Chevrolet 11 Eliseo Salazar 1–3, 10–15 Richie Hearn 4 Greg Ray 5–9 14 Airton Daré All Donnie Beechler [ N 3] 1 41 5 Greg Ray 10–13 Bradley Motorsports Dallara Infiniti 12 Shigeaki Hattori 2–7 Raul Boesel 9–15 67 Rick Treadway R 15 Walker Racing Dallara Chevrolet 15 Oriol Servià 5 Racing Professionals G-Force Dallara [ N 4] Chevrolet 16 Jon Herb 1–8 Mo Nunn Racing G-Force Chevrolet 17 Tony Kanaan 5 21 Felipe Giaffone All PDM Racing Dallara Chevrolet 18 Tyce Carlson 1–2 Jeret Schroeder 3 John de Vries R 6 Scott Mayer R 14 Cory Kruseman R 15 99 Anthony Lazzaro R [ N 5] 5 Jimmy Kite 5 Team Rahal Dallara Chevrolet 19 Jimmy Vasser 3, 5 Convergent Racing G-Force Chevrolet 20 Hideki Noda R 1–3 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 20 Richie Hearn 5, 7–12 Greg Ray 14–15 Anthony Lazzaro R 13 99 1–2, 4 Richie Hearn 3, 6 Mark Dismore 5 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Infiniti 24 Robbie Buhl 1–3, 5–15 Memo Gidley 3 Sarah Fisher 4 23 5, 8–15 Team Green Dallara Chevrolet 26 Paul Tracy 5 27 Dario Franchitti 5 39 Michael Andretti 5 Indy Regency Racing G-Force Chevrolet 28 Hideki Noda R 13–15 310 Racing G-Force Chevrolet 31 George Mack R All Duesenberg Brothers Racing CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 32 Johnny Herbert [ N 6] 5 Memo Gidley 5 54 Robby McGehee 7–9 Conquest Racing Dallara Infiniti 34 Laurent Redon R All Brayton Racing Dallara Chevrolet 37 John de Vries R [ N 7] 1–5 Scott Harrington 5, 11 Blair Racing Dallara Chevrolet 44 Alex Barron All Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara Infiniti 51 Eddie Cheever All 52 Tomas Scheckter R 1–12 Buddy Rice R 13–15 53 11–12 Max Papis 5 Robby McGehee 15 Zali Racing G-Force Chevrolet 81 Billy Roe 1, 5 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Chevrolet 91 Buddy Lazier All CURB/Agajanian/Boat Indy Racing Dallara Chevrolet Infiniti [ N 8] 98 Billy Boat All
Rnd Date Race Name Track City 1 March 2 Grand Prix of Miami Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida 2 March 17 Bombardier ATV 200 Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona 3 March 24 Yamaha Indy 400 California Speedway Fontana, California 4 April 21 Firestone Indy 225 Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania 5 May 26 86th Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 6 June 8 Boomtown 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas 7 June 16 Radisson Indy 225 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado 8 June 29 SunTrust Indy Challenge Richmond International Raceway Richmond, Virginia 9 July 7 Ameristar Casino Indy 200 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas 10 July 20 Firestone Indy 200 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee 11 July 28 Michigan Indy 400 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan 12 August 11 Belterra Casino Indy 300 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky 13 August 25 Gateway Indy 250 Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois 14 September 8 Delphi Indy 300 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois 15 September 15 Chevy 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas Sources: [ 1] [ 2]
BOLD indicates a Superspeedway.Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.
Grand Prix of Miami [ edit ] This race was held on March 2 atHomestead-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 This race was held on March 17 atPhoenix 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 [ edit ] This race was held on March 24 atCalifornia 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 [ edit ] This race was held on April 21 atNazareth 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 The Indy 500 was held on May 26 atIndianapolis Motor Speedway .Bruno Junqueira sat on pole. The race end was one of the most controversial in history asPaul Tracy passedHélio 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 This race was held on June 8 atTexas 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 This race was held on June 16 atPikes 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 [ edit ] This race was held on June 29 atRichmond 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 [ edit ] This race was held on July 7 atKansas 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 This race was held on July 20 atNashville 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 [ edit ] This race was held on July 28 atMichigan 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 [ edit ] This race was held on August 11 atKentucky 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 This race was held on August 25 atGateway 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 This race was held on September 8 atChicagoland 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.
This race was held on September 15 atTexas 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 injuredGil 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.
Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue Finished Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify Brown Withdrawn Black Disqualified White Did not start Blank Did not Not competing
In-line notation Bold Pole position Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps DNS Any driver who qualifies RY Rookie of the Year R Rookie
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. ^ Injured during a practice crash at Indianapolis. ^ Used byAnthony Lazzaro at Pikes Peak; entry run in cooperation with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. ^ Injured during a practice crash at Homestead. ^ Raced from Texas onwards; both chassis were used during the Indy 500 month. ^ Replaced during the second week of Indy 500 practice. ^ Withdrew during Bump Day due to a racing conflict. ^ Replaced at Indianapolis ahead of Bump Day. ^ Used from Kansas onwards.
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Sam Hornish Jr.
Laurent Rédon
Hélio Castroneves
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