February 29, 2004
HORNISH EDGES CASTRONEVES IN 1-2 TOYOTA FINISH AT TOYOTA INDY 300
- Sam Hornish edged his Marlboro Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves in a photo finish to give Toyota a one-two finish in the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) made it three Toyotas in the top-four with a fourth-place finish.
- The Toyota victory is its 12th in 17 IndyCar series races dating back to last year's season-opening win here at the Toyota Indy 300. With the win, Sam Hornish becomes the seventh different driver to win with Toyota power in the 12 IRL victories. Hornish's triumph is the sixth for Team Penske in 17 races with Toyota power.
- With today's win, Toyota continues a streak that has seen it lead the Manufacturer's Championship after each of its 17 races in Indy Racing League competition.
-Sam Hornish's victory is his 12th in 53 IRL starts and his first with Marlboro Team Penske and Toyota power in his first start with the team. This year's victory marks his third victory here at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in the last four years.
- Sam Hornish has now won three of his last five races and has finished either first or second in four of those five starts.
- Helio Castroneves led the most laps today on his way to a second-place finish. Castroneves has now finished in the top-two in nine of his last 20 IndyCar Series races.
- Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) made a strong late run on his way to a fourth-place finish today. It was his best finish since playing third last June at Texas.
- Rookie Darren Manning (Target Toyota) made a strong debut with Target Chip Ganassi Racing by earning a fine sixth-place finish. His teammate and defending series champion Scott Dixon was in the hunt for the victory and running in the top three when he had an incident while entering the pits on Lap 88. He finished 18th.
- Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) made it five Toyotas in the top-nine today with a ninth-place finish. Sharp ran in the top-five into the late portions of today's race.
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: "It was a thrilling finish and a great start to the 2004 season. Every win is nice, but it's particularly special for a Toyota to win the Toyota Indy 300."
Driver, Start/Finish
Sam Hornish 7/1
Helio Castroneves 10/2
Tora Takagi 16/4
Darren Manning 13/6
Scott Sharp 17/9
A.J. Foyt 19/15
Scott Dixon 12/18
Next Race: Copper World Indy 200, Phoenix International, March 21, 4 p.m., ABC
MICHAEL SHANK RACING ON PODIUM IN LEXUS-DOMINATED MIAMI GP
Despite being spun by another car early in the race, the Michael Shank Racing (MSR) Lexus of Oswaldo Negri and Burt Frisselle earned the team's first podium finish in just its second Daytona Prototype race while placing third in Saturday's Lexus-dominated Rolex Series event at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
After starting third, the MSR entry moved into second-place early, but fell back in the pack after being turned around by another car in the early going. First Negri, then Frisselle proceeded to climb back through the field in their first race with the team.
"We got behind early when another car spun us, but it was a good finish for us," said team owner Michael Shank. "At the end, everybody but the pace car was hitting us! Now we have a fourth-place finish from Daytona and a third-place finish here in just our first two starts, and I think there is a lot more to come. These guys (Frisselle and Negri) showed they can run with the fastest guys out there, so we are looking for more. We are also proud to be the highest finishing Lexus, and hopefully we can get them to the top step of the podium soon."
For much of the event, it appeared inevitable that a Lexus would reach the top step on the victory podium as both CompUSA Ganassi Lexus entries, along with the Doran-Lista Racing Lexus led the race, with Scott Pruett never falling out of the lead during his first stint in the car after starting from the pole.
With just 14 laps remaining, a potential Lexus podium sweep fell to the way side when race leader Luis Diaz slid off the track just after a re-start. At that point, the race was shaping up as a Lexus duel between the Max Papis' CompUSA entry and Jan Magnussen's Doran-Lista mount. As the two dueled for the lead, they made contact repeatedly until both eventually suffered significant damage with the Papis/Pruett entry finishing seventh, while the Magnussen/Didier Theys car retired in 19th.
The Rolex Series returns to action on April 10 at the Phoenix International Raceway.
February 27, 2004
PRUETT LEADS LEXUS SWEEP OF TOP THREE IN HOMESTEAD GRAND-AM QUALIFYING
Scott Pruett put his CompUSA-sponsored Lexus on the pole for the second consecutive race to lead a Lexus sweep of the top three spots in today's Grand American Rolex Series qualifying at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Pruett will co-drive with Max Papis in Saturday's 250-mile sprint race. The Ganassi Racing duo will be joined on the front row by the Doran-Lista Racing Lexus of Didier Theys and Jan Magnussen. The Michael Shank Racing combination of Oswaldo Negri and Burt Friselle rounds out the Lexus top three qualifying effort. The Lexus-powered entry of Luis Diaz and Jimmy Morales was edged out for the fourth position and will start fifth tomorrow in the duo's first race in a second CompUSA-sponsored entry for Ganassi Racing.
Pruett also won the pole for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in Lexus' debut event in the series.
We really didn't expect to go as fast as we did, but the Ganassi Racing team did a great job," said Pruett. "The Lexus engine was very strong and I think we've got a solid package for tomorrow's race. We brought Lexus their first pole, now it would be nice to bring them their first win."
Forty-five cars are set to start tomorrow's Rolex Series event - almost triple the 16 that raced in the event here last year.
The green flag is scheduled to fall for Saturday's race at 3 p.m. EST. SPEED Channel will provide tape-delayed coverage of the event.
February 24, 2004
LEXUS EYES FIRST PROTOTYPE WIN AT HOMESTEAD
After a runner-up finish in its series debut at the Rolex 24 of Daytona, Lexus hopes to move up one spot in this weekend's Rolex Series Daytona Prototype race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway as part of the Toyota Indy 300 weekend.
Lexus prototypes finished second, fourth and six among the 17 Daytona Prototypes entered at Daytona with all three cars finishing the grueling 24-hour marathon race. In addition, Scott Pruett (CompUSA Lexus) won the pole in Lexus' first race.
"To win the pole and have all three Lexus-powered entries finish in the top six in our first race - you couldn't ask for much more - except to win," said Mike Wells, Lexus vice president of marketing. "We hope to add that distinction this weekend. We're proud of the effort of our drivers and teams to be able to come out of the box so strong. This series has grown tremendously in just one year and it's extremely competitive. To win here against the likes of BMW, Porsche, GM and Ford would be a terrific accomplishment."
The lineup of Lexus-powered teams will grow by one this weekend with the addition of a second entry from Chip Ganassi Racing. Jimmy Morales, who co-drove in the No. 01 car at Daytona, will partner with former Toyota Atlantic Championship series star Luis Diaz in the No. 02 CompUSA Lexus.
Joining the No. 02 entry will be the Daytona pole-winning No. 01 CompUSA Lexus with Pruett and Max Papis. Ganassi Racing will try to pull off a unique double-header this weekend with the Lexus prototype entries in Saturday's Rolex Series race and a pair of Target Toyotas in Sunday's IRL IndyCar Series season-opening Toyota Indy 300.
Joining the Ganassi efforts will be the one-car entries from Doran-Lista Racing and Michael Shank Racing. The Doran-Lista team's second-place showing at Daytona was the highest among the Lexus-powered teams. Lead driver Didier Theys will co-drive with sports car star and former F1 pilot Jan Magnussen, who will be filling in for Fredy Lienhard.
After a strong fourth-place showing at Daytona, Michael Shank Racing will be making the switch from endurance to sprint mode at Homestead. With the switch comes a pair of South Florida residents in open-wheel hard-chargers Oswaldo Negri and Burt Friselle, the son of ex-road racer Brad Friselle, a former IMSA star and designer of the Frisbee chassis that dominated Can-Am competition in the early 1980s.
Qualifying for the Grand Prix of Miami is on Friday, February 27 at 4:30 p.m., with the green flag falling on Saturday, February 28 at 3 p.m.
February 23, 2004
FAST FACTS - TOYOTA INDY 300
Sunday, Feb. 29, 2 p.m. EST on ESPN
Miami-Homestead Speedway
200 laps on the 1.5-mile oval for 300 miles
TOYOTA LOOKS TO MAINTAIN WINNING WAYS - Heading into the 2004 season opening Toyota Indy 300, Toyota-powered cars have won 21 of the last 35 open wheel races they've participated in, as well as two consecutive championships. A year ago, Toyotas won 11 of 16 IndyCar Series events on the way to winning both the Driver's (Scott Dixon) and Engine Manufacturer's championships. In 2002, Toyota won the CART Manufacturer's Championship by registering 10 victories, with current Toyota F1 pilot Cristiano da Matta earning the Driver's Championship.
DIXON RETURNS TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN - Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) entered last year's Toyota Indy 300 in his first IndyCar Series start and was somewhat overlooked among the pre-season favorites for the 2003 title. He left with his first IRL victory and was on his way to dominating the series in every statistical category, while winning the IndyCar Series championship. The 23-year-old Dixon led the series in wins, poles, and laps led in collecting his sixth open-wheel championship in 10 years of racing cars beginning at the age of 13.
IN-HOUSE TOYOTA SHOWDOWN, Part 2 - In 2003, the IRL IndyCar Series championship came down to a pair of Toyota-powered teams in Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Marlboro Team Penske. In the end, Target Ganassi driver Scott Dixon edged Penske drivers Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves as Toyota-powered drivers swept the top three spots in the title hunt.
After the most recent IRL open test at Phoenix, the 2004 season could see a repeat after Dixon, Castroneves and new Penske driver Sam Hornish, Jr., claimed the top three spots.
What makes the rivalry of two of the top teams in the sport compelling is that they have combined to win the last four Indianapolis 500s and their current drivers have won the last three IndyCar Series titles with Dixon winning last season and Hornish winning in 2001 and 2002.
Even more impressive is that one of the two teams has won the series championship in seven of the last eight seasons they've competed against one another in open-wheel racing. Ganassi won championships in CART in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999; Penske won CART titles in 2000 and 2001 and the Target Ganassi squad came back to win last year's IndyCar Series crown.
BACK IN THE FAMILY - Two-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., officially joins the Toyota IRL program this weekend at Homestead, but it will mark a return to the Toyota family for the Ohio native. Hornish was the 1999 Toyota Atlantic Championship Rookie of the Year, winning his first Atlantic race at the tender age of 20 for Michael Shank Racing. Shank Racing will be campaigning a Lexus-powered Daytona Prototype at Homestead-Miami this weekend.
TOYOTA AND MIAMI - Now in its second season as the title sponsor of the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Toyota's racing roots in Miami run deep. The IndyCar Series sponsorship in South Florida marks the third different racing series to run in Miami in which Toyota has either served as either the title or presenting sponsor since 1993. In addition to the current title sponsorship, Toyota also served as the title sponsor for the downtown IMSA race in 1993 and as the presenting sponsor for CART races both downtown and at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Toyota is the number one selling car brand in South Florida.
ALL-TIME WINNERS - A pair of Toyota-powered drivers enter the 2004 campaign as the winningest drivers in IndyCar Series history. Sam Hornish Jr., holds the career mark with 11 IRL triumphs, while Scott Sharp is (Delphi Toyota) second with eight. Sharp holds the series record for most consecutive seasons with a victory with seven (1996-97-2004).
NEW FACES - Two drivers will be making their first start with Toyota power in IRL competition this weekend. Sam Hornish, Jr., moves into the #6 Marlboro Toyota for Team Penske, while Darren Manning will join Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the #10 Target Toyota. Reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and Mo Nunn Racing's Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) hold the distinction of having the longest on-going relationships with Toyota among the drivers in the series. Each will be entering his fourth season with Toyota power.
"QUOTES"
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: "It's important to start the season strong, particularly at a race where Toyota serves as the title sponsor in a key market for us. By winning at Homestead last year, we were able to establish some momentum and never trailed in the points race. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to carry over any over those points to this year. As competitive as it was a year ago, I think it will be even tougher this season."
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up Entering Toyota Indy 300
Car Driver Car
No. 1 Scott Dixon Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force)
No. 3 Helio Castronves Marlboro Toyota (Dallara)
No. 6 Sam Hornish Marlboro Toyota (Dallara)
No. 8 Scott Sharp Delphi Toyota (Dallara)
No. 10 Darren Manning Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force)
No. 12 Tora Takagi Pioneer Toyota (Dallara)
No. 14 A.J. Foyt IV Conseco Toyota (Dallara)
February 12, 2004
TOYOTAS DOMINATE FINAL TUNE-UP FOR IRL SEASON OPENER
Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) led the way as Toyota-powered drivers registered the top three times in Thursday's IndyCar Series open-test at Phoenix, the last official tune-up before the Indy Racing League kicks off its 2004 season with the Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Feb. 29.
Dixon, the reigning IndyCar Series champion, turned in the fastest time of the two-day test with a Thursday morning lap of 178.715 mph. The 23-year-old held off fellow Toyota pilots Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves for the top spot as the two Penske drivers were second and third among the 19 drivers testing at the one-mile Phoenix oval. Dixon was the fastest driver in both sessions run today.
Thursday's action saw the Toyota-powered Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Marlboro Team Penske squads reverse Wednesday's results when Castroneves edged Dixon for the top spot on the time-charts in the first day of the test.
"We're a little better today than we were yesterday," said Dixon. "We sat down last night and tried to work out what the majority of our problems were. I wouldn't say we're overly happy. We still have a lot of work to do."
Toyota-powered cars won 11 of 16 IndyCar Series events last season on the way to earning the 2003 IndyCar Series Engine Manufacturer's Championship.
The season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway can be seen live on Feb. 29 on ESPN at 2:00 p.m. EST.
February 01, 2004
LEXUS TAKES RUNNER-UP FINISH IN ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
The Doran-Lista Lexus charged through the field from the 31st starting position to capture second in the Daytona Prototype class and give Lexus a podium finish in its first prototype start in the Rolex 24 - the most grueling test in racing.
Doran-Lista Lexus drivers Didier Theys, Fredy Lienhard, Jan Lammers and Marc Goosens improved 25 positions during the race to finish fourth overall after being forced to start 31st due to a paperwork snafu in qualifying.
Joining the Doran-Lista team in the top-10 overall were the Lexus-powered entries of Michael Shank Racing (fourth in class, seventh overall) and Chip Ganassi Racing (sixth in class, 10th overall). All three of the Lexus teams were running at the finish of the twice-around-the-clock spectacular.
Michael Shank Racing's impressive performance came in the team's first race in prototype competition after successfully campaigning in the Toyota Atlantic Championship. Drivers Kelly Collins, Thomas Erdos, Cort Wagner and Mike Newton kept the car in the top 10 for virtually the entire 24 hours.
The pole-sitting Ganassi CompUSA Lexus appeared to have a great shot at the overall victory as it consistently ran in the top two through the first 12 hours of the event. Unfortunately, the team was forced to change radiators during the night. After falling far back in the field, drivers Scott Pruett, Max Papis, Scott Dixon and Jimmy Morales carved their way back through the field and back into the top 10 in the final hour of the race.
The Rolex Series returns to action on Feb. 28 at the Miami-Homestead Speedway during the Toyota Indy 300 weekend.