Home » Sports » Indy Racing League » Sam Hornish, Jr. Wins His First IRL Event

Sam Hornish, Jr. Wins His First IRL Event

© Seth Ronald Eichhorn

The Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 was a cakewalk for 21 year old Sam Hornish, Jr., as he took the lead on the first lap and stayed out front for most of the race. Hornish, who qualified second, was by far the class of the field as he outdistanced Eliseo Salazar to take his first ever IRL victory. His average speed for the event was 125.072 mph, for the one mile oval.

In recent memory, he is the youngest driver to win a major open-wheeled event, surpassing Troy Ruttman at the 1952 Indianapolis 500 and Greg Moore at the Milwaukee Mile in a CART event. Both of them were 22 at the time they won. Hornish's win came in his 9th IRL event, and in his first driving for Panther Racing. He replaced Scott Goodyear, in the Panther entry at the end of the 2000 season.

The Defiance, Ohio, native spoke of his victory and when he knew he had the car to beat, saying, "I think about Lap 1 when I got in the lead by passing on the outside. I knew we were going to have a good day...I was trying as hard as I could to concentrate. The Pennzoil crew gave me a great car all day long." When he took the lead for the final time on lap 128, he never looked back enroute to his win.

In other Indy Car news, Dr. Jack Miller, a veteran Indy Car driver, will debut his new Cahill Racing machine at Atlanta on April 28. Miller, who has driven in 21 IRL events will pilot the #11 Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone for the remainder of the season. Primary sponsorship will be by Olympus America, Inc. and OpalescenceÒ Tooth Whitening System, in a co-sponsorship arrangement.

Owner/Driver Eddie Cheever announced that he has changed the name of his team to Cheever Indy Racing, in an effort to show his team's commitment to Indy Racing League competition. Cheever, who won the 1998 Indianapolis 500, talked about the goals for Cheever Indy Racing and is quoted as saying, "Our goals for 2001 and beyond are ambitious, but with the support of Excite@Home and Infiniti we are taking our program to the next level," Cheever said. "We won’t be satisfied unless we win another Indianapolis 500 and the Northern Light Cup."

The next race on the IRL schedule is the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami from Homestead-Miami Speedway on April 8th. Of course, Sam Hornish, Jr. will be a favorite to repeat after his Phoenix victory, but look for Eddie Cheever, Jr. to make a strong showing as well with his Infiniti. Nothing would be sweeter for that manufacturer than to win its own race.