Helio Castroneves topped the charts at the California Speedway by besting Tomas Scheckter's qualifying speed last season by over four miles per hour. Scheckter turned the two-mile D-shaped oval at 222.559 miles per hour to take the first position for the 2002 race in a Dallara chassis with an Infinity engine. This season Castroneves turned a fast lap of 226.757 miles per hour in a Dallara chassis with a Toyota engine.
These Indy cars can really hook 'em up at the Fontana, California facility. The D-shaped 3,100 foot front stretch is banked 11 degrees to allow higher speeds through the D, while the turns are banked 14 degrees allowing minimal to no braking and higher speeds going into the 2,500 foot 3 degree banked back stretch. The 75 foot wide track also allows for three and sometimes four wide racing with the small Indy cars.
A lot of press was afforded to the new Generation IV Chevy engine a few weeks ago. The highest Chevy engine to qualify at California was in the sixth position at 225.042 miles per hour. The lowest two positions in qualifying were also Chevy engines at the speed of 221.647 and 222.147 miles per hour. It was hoped that eh Chevy engine could really prove itself in the wide open qualifying range at the Fontana facility, but it apparently fell somewhat short compared to the Toyota and Honda engines.
Sam Hornish Jr. took the checkered flag for the Toyota Indy 400, racking up his third win of the 2003 season and the 11th win of his career. The two-time IndyCar Series Champion set a race record of 207.151 miles per hour for the 400 mile event, breaking the previous record of 197.897 miles per hour set by Hornish at Kentucky during the 2002 season.
Hornish claimed at a post race interview that he didn't have the fastest car, but it had perfect handling allowing him to use the track as he wanted to, which gave him the upper hand and the victory. The win marked the second victory for the new Generation IV Chevy engine.
Following Hornish across the finish line were: Scott Dixon, No. 9 Toyota; Tony Kanaan, No. 11 Honda; rookie Dan Wheldon, No. 26 Honda; Tomas Scheckter, No. 10 Toyota; Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Toyota; Roger Yasukawa, No. 55 Honda; Scott Sharp, No. 8 Toyota; Al Unser Jr. No. 31 Toyota; Alex Barron, No. 52 Chevy;
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