2002 Indy Racing League

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.

2002 Indy Racing League season
Indy Racing League
Season
Races15
Start dateMarch 2
End dateSeptember 15
Awards
Drivers' champion Sam Hornish Jr.
Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves
Sam Hornish Jr. (left) won his second Drivers' Championship (second straight title) while Hélio Castroneves (right) finished second in the championship.

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.

Team and driver chart
Team Chassis Engine # Drivers Rounds
Team Menard Dallara Chevrolet 2 Jaques Lazier 1–4
P. J. Jones 5
Raul Boesel 5–6
Mark Dismore 7–11
Vítor Meira  R  12–15
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
Kelley Racing Dallara Chevrolet 7 Al Unser Jr. 1–9, 12–15
Tony Renna  R  10–11
8 Scott Sharp All
Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Chevrolet 9 Jeff Ward All
A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Chevrolet 11 Eliseo Salazar 1–3, 10–15
Richie Hearn 4
Greg Ray 5–9
Donnie Beechler 5
14 Airton Daré All
Bradley Motorsports Dallara Infiniti 12 Shigeaki Hattori 2–7
Raul Boesel 9–15
Racing Professionals G-Force
Dallara		 Chevrolet 16 Jon Herb 1–8
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 20 Richie Hearn 5, 7–12
Greg Ray 14–15
Anthony Lazzaro  R  13
99 1–2, 4–5
Richie Hearn 3, 6
Mark Dismore 5
Jimmy Kite 5
Mo Nunn Racing G-Force Chevrolet 21 Felipe Giaffone All
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Infiniti 24 Robbie Buhl 1–2, 5–15
Memo Gidley 3
Sarah Fisher 4
310 Racing G-Force Chevrolet 31 George Mack  R  All
Conquest Racing Dallara Infiniti 34 Laurent Redon  R  All
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
Treadway Racing G-Force Chevrolet 55 Rick Treadway  R  1–4, 6, 9
Arie Luyendyk 5, 11
Will Langhorne  R  12, 14–15
Robby McGehee 13
Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Chevrolet 91 Buddy Lazier All
CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet
Infiniti		 98 Billy Boat All
Part Time and Indy 500 Entries
Treadway Racing G-Force Chevrolet 5 Rick Treadway  R  5
67 15
Cahill Racing Dallara Chevrolet 10 Robby McGehee 1–5
Walker Racing Dallara Chevrolet 15 Oriol Servià 5
Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 15 Dan Wheldon  R  14–15
Mo Nunn Racing G-Force Chevrolet 17 Tony Kanaan 5
PDM Racing Dallara Chevrolet 18 Tyce Carlson 1–2
Jeret Schroeder 3
John de Vries  R  6
Cory Kruseman  R  15
Team Rahal Dallara Chevrolet 19 Jimmy Vasser 3, 5
Convergent Racing G-Force Chevrolet 20 Hideki Noda  R  1–3
Indy Regency Racing 28 13–15
Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Chevrolet 22 Kenny Bräck 5
33 Bruno Junqueira 5
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Infiniti 23 Sarah Fisher 5, 8–15
Team Green Dallara Chevrolet 26 Paul Tracy 5
27 Dario Franchitti 5
39 Michael Andretti 5
Team Menard Dallara Chevrolet 31 Robby Gordon 5
Duesenberg Brothers Racing Dallara Chevrolet 32 Memo Gidley 5
Johnny Herbert 5
Brayton Racing Dallara Chevrolet 37 John de Vries  R  1–5
Scott Harrington 5, 11
A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Chevrolet 41 Greg Ray 10–13
Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara Infiniti 53 Max Papis 5
Buddy Rice 11–12
Robby McGehee 15
CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 54 Robby McGehee 7–9
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 55 Anthony Lazzaro  R  7
Kelley Racing Dallara Chevrolet 78 Tony Renna  R  12–15
Zali Racing G-Force Chevrolet 81 Billy Roe 1, 5

Season Summary

Schedule
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

Race results
Rnd Race Pole position Fastest lap Most Laps Led Winner
1 Homestead Sam Hornish Jr. Jeff Ward Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.
2 Phoenix Hélio Castroneves Robbie Buhl Sam Hornish Jr. Hélio Castroneves
3 Fontana Eddie Cheever Tomas Scheckter Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.
4 Nazareth Gil de Ferran Tomas Scheckter Gil de Ferran Scott Sharp
5 Indianapolis Bruno Junqueira Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Hélio Castroneves
6 Texas 1 Tomas Scheckter Eddie Cheever Tomas Scheckter Jeff Ward
7 Pikes Peak Gil de Ferran Felipe Giaffone Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran
8 Richmond Gil de Ferran Buddy Lazier Gil de Ferran Sam Hornish Jr.
9 Kansas Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Airton Daré
10 Nashville Billy Boat Tomas Scheckter Sam Hornish Jr. Alex Barron
11 Michigan Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter
12 Kentucky Sarah Fisher Tomas Scheckter Felipe Giaffone Felipe Giaffone
13 Gateway Gil de Ferran Sam Hornish Jr. Hélio Castroneves Gil de Ferran
14 Chicagoland Sam Hornish Jr. Buddy Rice Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.
15 Texas 2 Vítor Meira Buddy Rice Hélio Castroneves Sam Hornish Jr.

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

Grand Prix of Miami

This race was held on March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  2. 6- Gil de Ferran
  3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  4. 9- Jeff Ward
  5. 11- Eliseo Salazar
  6. 52- Tomas Scheckter
  7. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  8. 44- Alex Barron
  9. 99- Anthony Lazzaro
  10. 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

  1. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  2. 6- Gil de Ferran
  3. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  4. 11- Eliseo Salazar
  5. 7- Al Unser Jr.
  6. 2- Jaques Lazier
  7. 91- Buddy Lazier
  8. 98- Billy Boat
  9. 55- Rick Treadway
  10. 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

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  2. 2- Jaques Lazier
  3. 34- Laurent Rédon
  4. 6- Gil de Ferran
  5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  6. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  7. 91- Buddy Lazier
  8. 8- Scott Sharp
  9. 19- Jimmy Vasser
  10. 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

  1. 8- Scott Sharp
  2. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  3. 6- Gil de Ferran
  4. 24- Sarah Fisher
  5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  6. 44- Alex Barron
  7. 51- Eddie Cheever
  8. 98- Billy Boat
  9. 99- Anthony Lazzaro
  10. 12- Shigeaki Hattori

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.

Top ten results

  1. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  2. 26- Paul Tracy
  3. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  4. 44- Alex Barron
  5. 51- Eddie Cheever
  6. 20- Richie Hearn
  7. 39- Michael Andretti
  8. 31- Robby Gordon
  9. 9- Jeff Ward
  10. 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

  1. 9- Jeff Ward
  2. 7- Al Unser Jr.
  3. 14- Airton Daré
  4. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  5. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  6. 12- Shigeaki Hattori
  7. 98- Billy Boat
  8. 91- Buddy Lazier
  9. 99- Richie Hearn
  10. 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

  1. 6- Gil de Ferran
  2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  3. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  4. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  5. 8- Scott Sharp
  6. 7- Al Unser Jr.
  7. 34- Laurent Rédon
  8. 51- Eddie Cheever
  9. 14- Airton Daré
  10. 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

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  2. 6- Gil de Ferran
  3. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  4. 52- Tomas Scheckter
  5. 7- Al Unser Jr.
  6. 14- Airton Daré
  7. 20- Richie Hearn
  8. 9- Jeff Ward
  9. 54- Robby McGehee
  10. 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

  1. 14- Airton Daré
  2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  4. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  5. 6- Gil de Ferran
  6. 8- Scott Sharp
  7. 91- Buddy Lazier
  8. 44-Alex Barron
  9. 98- Billy Boat
  10. 20- Richie Hearn

Firestone Indy 200

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

Top ten results

  1. 44- Alex Barron
  2. 6- Gil de Ferran
  3. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  4. 20- Richie Hearn
  5. 12- Raul Boesel
  6. 51- Eddie Cheever
  7. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  8. 8- Scott Sharp
  9. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  10. 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

  1. 52- Tomas Scheckter
  2. 53- Buddy Rice
  3. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  4. 7- Tony Renna
  5. 6- Gil de Ferran
  6. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  7. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  8. 23- Sarah Fisher
  9. 8- Scott Sharp
  10. 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

  1. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  3. 91- Buddy Lazier
  4. 8- Scott Sharp
  5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  6. 7- Al Unser Jr.
  7. 78- Tony Renna
  8. 23- Sarah Fisher
  9. 44- Alex Barron
  10. 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

  1. 6- Gil de Ferran
  2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  3. 44- Alex Barron
  4. 52- Buddy Rice
  5. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  6. 24- Robbie Buhl
  7. 7- Al Unser Jr.
  8. 12- Raul Boesel
  9. 2- Vítor Meira
  10. 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

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  2. 7- Al Unser Jr.
  3. 91- Buddy Lazier
  4. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  5. 51- Eddie Cheever
  6. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  7. 8- Scott Sharp
  8. 2- Vítor Meira
  9. 52- Buddy Rice
  10. 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

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.**
  2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
  3. 2- Vítor Meira
  4. 8- Scott Sharp
  5. 44- Alex Barron
  6. 52- Buddy Rice
  7. 91- Buddy Lazier
  8. 51- Eddie Cheever
  9. 78- Tony Renna
  10. 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.

Final points standings
Pos Driver HOM
 PHX
 CAL
 NAZ
 INDY
 TXS
 PIK
 RIR
 KAN
 NSH
 MIS
 KTY
 GAT
CHI
 TXS
 Pts
1 Sam Hornish Jr. 1* 3* 1* 17 25 18 3 1 2 3* 7 2 5 1* 1 531
2 Hélio Castroneves 3 1 5 5 1 4 2 17 3 9 6 5 2* 4 2* 511
3 Gil de Ferran 2 2 4 3* 10 16 1* 2* 5 2 5 21 1 23 443
4 Felipe Giaffone 7 19 6 2 3 5 4 3 4 7 3 1* 21 6 17 432
5 Alex Barron 8 23 12 6 4 10 10 10 8 1 12 9 3 12 5 366
6 Scott Sharp 20 16 8 1 27 14 5 21 6 8 9 4 18 7 4 332
7 Al Unser Jr. 19 5 11 12 12 2 6 5 17 6 7 2 20 311
8 Buddy Lazier 22 7 7 23 15 8 15 18 7 12 13 3 15 3 7 305
9 Airton Daré 10 12 13 11 13 3 9 6 1 17 23 23 11 16 12 304
10 Eddie Cheever 25 15 20 7 5 19 8 14 16 6 22 11 10 5 8 280
11 Jeff Ward 4 18 10 19 9 1 20 8 12 11 25 16 13 21 25 268
12 Laurent Redon  RY  15 14 3 15 22 15 7 15 22 16 11 20 22 25 10 229
13 Billy Boat 16 8 18 8 18 7 14 22 9 14 14 19 23 19 24 225
14 Tomas Scheckter  R  6 24 24 21 26* 17* 16 4 15* 13 1* 22 Wth 210
15 Richie Hearn 14 14 6 9 12 7 10 4 10 24 204
16 George Mack  R  13 20 16 18 17 21 13 20 18 15 20 17 16 14 28 184
17 Robbie Buhl 12 13 DNS 16 20 23 13 21 21 24 10 6 20 18 177
18 Sarah Fisher 4 24 16 14 22 8 8 20 22 11 161
19 Raul Boesel 21 13 11 5 15 13 8 11 22 158
20 Eliseo Salazar 5 4 15 19 19 14 14 18 16 157
21 Robby McGehee 14 21 17 13 DNQ 17 9 13 12 13 142
22 Buddy Rice  R  2 12 4 9 6 140
23 Greg Ray 33 12 18 12 19 20 17 25 19 17 14 128
24 Tony Renna  R  10 4 7 24 15 9 121
25 Vítor Meira  R  15 9 8 3 96
26 Jaques Lazier 18 6 2 20 90
27 Shigeaki Hattori 25 26 10 20 6 19 78
28 Rick Treadway  R  24 9 22 16 29 23 23 19 76
29 Mark Dismore 32 11 11 20 18 18 73
30 Anthony Lazzaro  R  9 17 9 DNQ 22 DNS 70
31 Jon Herb DNS 11 19 22 DNQ 22 21 19 70
32 Hideki Noda  R  23 10 25 17 24 27 54
33 John de Vries  R  17 22 23 Wth DNQ 11 53
34 Paul Tracy 2 40
35 Will Langhorne  R  18 13 23 36
36 Dan Wheldon  R  10 15 35
37 Arie Luyendyk 14 16 30
38 Michael Andretti 7 26
39 Robby Gordon 8 24
40 Jimmy Vasser 9 30 23
41 Tyce Carlson 11 DNS 23
42 Kenny Bräck 11 19
43 Max Papis 23 21 16
44 Dario Franchitti 19 11
45 Billy Roe 21 DNQ 9
46 Memo Gidley 21 DNQ 9
47 Scott Harrington DNQ 21 9
48 Cory Kruseman  R  DNP 26 4
49 Jeret Schroeder 27 3
50 Tony Kanaan 28 2
51 Bruno Junqueira 31 1
– Donnie Beechler DNS DNQ 0
– Johnny Herbert DNQ 0
– Davy Jones DNQ 0
– P. J. Jones DNQ 0
– Jimmy Kite DNQ 0
– Oriol Servià DNQ 0
– Scott Mayer DNQ 0
Pos Driver HOM
 PHX
 CAL
 NAZ
 INDY
 TXS
 PIK
 RIR
 KAN
 NSH
 MIS
 KTY
 GAT
CHI
 TXS
 Pts
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 Pole position
(2 points)
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
(1 point)
DNS Any driver who qualifies
but does not start (DNS),
earns all the points
had they taken part.
 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.

See also
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