2002 Michigan Indy 400

The 2002 Michigan Indy 400 was the eleventh round of the 2002 Indy Racing League season. The race was held on July 28, 2002 at the 2.00 mi Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. In what many consider to be one of the greatest finishes in IndyCar history, rookie Tomas Scheckter scored his first win in open-wheel competition after charging to the front in a race that saw an astonishing number of passes and lead changes in the closing laps of the race, including the first time a woman has ever led an IndyCar race on merit (Sarah Fisher). Team Cheever teammate Buddy Rice finished in second place in his IndyCar debut while team owner/driver Eddie Cheever crashed during the race. It would be the team's only win of the season and their last in open-wheel racing.

2002 Michigan Indy 400
Race details
Race 11 of 15 in the 2002 Indy Racing League season
DateJuly 28, 2002
Official name2002 Michigan Indy 400
LocationMichigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.000 mi / 3.219 km
Distance200 laps
400.000 mi / 643.800 km
Pole position
Driver Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Time32.4518
Fastest lap
Driver Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Time32.5672 (on lap unknown of 200)
Podium
First Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Second Buddy Rice (Team Cheever)
Third Felipe Giaffone (Mo Nunn Racing)

The circumstances surrounding the first-ever IRL-sanctioned race at Michigan made for a dramatic and electric atmosphere: Scheckter, despite his quickness during the season, was more known for his recklessness, frequently crashed and cost Team Cheever several potential wins.[1] Eddie Cheever was grooming Buddy Rice to take over Scheckter's seat in the #52, but due to contractual obligations he could not release Scheckter until the next race at Kentucky Speedway. Nevertheless, Cheever gave Rice the preferred equipment, spare parts, and pit crew for the race. Scheckter, now on a personal vendetta, dominated the race from pole position, led the most laps, but almost gave up the win after a poor late-race pit stop, falling back to 12th place, the last car on the lead lap. From there, he ferociously battled his way back to the front in an amazing display of raw speed and talent. Despite the win, Scheckter was still let go from Team Cheever after Kentucky.

The prevalence of drafting allowed for the field to race in tight side-by-side packs, not unusual for NASCAR events but very unusual for open-wheel races. Drivers would often swap positions each lap in order to take advantage of the draft and gain ground on the next competitor. This became especially important during the last twenty-five lap sprint to the finish when multiple drivers jockeyed for position.

Qualifying

July 27, 2002 - Qualifying Speeds
RankDriverTimeLeaderSpeed (mph)Team
1 Tomas Scheckter (R) 32.4518 221.868 Team Cheever
2 Buddy Rice (R) 32.6785 +0.005 221.831 Team Cheever
3 Eddie Cheever 32.6785 +0.227 220.328 Team Cheever
4 Sam Hornish Jr. 32.7898 +0.338 219.580 Panther Racing
5 Mark Dismore 32.8325 +0.381 219.295 Team Menard
6 Helio Castroneves 32.8631 +0.411 219.091 Team Penske
7 Alex Barron 32.9341 +0.480 218.634 Blair Racing
8 Sarah Fisher 32.9341 +0.482 218.618 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
9 Eliseo Salazar 32.9366 +0.485 218.602 A.J. Foyt Enterprises
10 Tony Renna (R) 32.9428 +0.491 218.561 Kelley Racing
11 Robbie Buhl 32.9849 +0.533 218.282 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
12 Felipe Giaffone 32.9891 +0.537 218.254 Mo Nunn Racing
13 Airton Daré 33.0377 +0.586 217.933 A.J. Foyt Enterprises
14 Laurent Redon (R) 33.0435 +0.592 217.895 Conquest Racing
15 Buddy Lazier 33.0929 +0.641 217.569 Hemelgarn Racing
16 Scott Sharp 33.0942 +0.642 217.561 Kelley Racing
17 Gil de Ferran 33.1146 +0.663 217.427 Team Penske
18 Raul Boesel 33.1181 +0.666 217.404 Bradley Motorsports
19 Billy Boat 33.1408 +0.689 217.255 Curb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports
20 Arie Luyendyk 33.1763 +0.724 217.022 Treadway Racing
21 Richie Hearn 33.1785 +0.727 217.008 Sam Schmidt Motorsports
22 Jeff Ward 33.3209 +0.869 216.081 Chip Ganassi Racing
23 Greg Ray 33.5079 +1.056 214.875 A.J. Foyt Enterprises
24 George Mack (R) 33.5806 +1.129 214.410 310 Racing
25 Scott Harrington 33.8255 +1.374 212.857 Brayton Racing
Source:[2]

Race

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/retiredGridPoints
1 52 Tomas Scheckter (R) Team Cheever 200 2:14:03 1 521
2 53 Buddy Rice (R) Team Cheever 200 +1.704 secs 2 40
3 21 Felipe Giaffone Mo Nunn Racing 200 Running 12 35
4 7 Tony Renna (R) Kelley Racing 200 Running 10 32
5 6 Gil de Ferran Team Penske 200 Running 17 30
6 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 200 Running 6 28
7 4 Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing 200 Running 4 26
8 23 Sarah Fisher Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 200 Running 8 24
9 8 Scott Sharp Kelley Racing 200 Running 16 22
10 20 Richie Hearn Sam Schmidt Motorsports 200 Running 21 20
11 34 Laurent Redon (R) Conquest Racing 200 Running 14 19
12 44 Alex Barron Blair Racing 198 +2 Laps 7 18
13 91 Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Racing 198 +2 Laps 15 17
14 98 Billy Boat Curb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports 198 +2 Laps 19 16
15 12 Raul Boesel Bradley Motorsports 197 +3 Laps 18 15
16 55T Arie Luyendyk Treadway Racing 197 +3 Laps 20 14
17 41 Greg Ray A.J. Foyt Enterprises 196 +4 Laps 23 13
18 2 Mark Dismore Team Menard 194 +6 Laps 5 12
19 11 Eliseo Salazar A.J. Foyt Enterprises 192 +8 Laps 9 11
20 31 George Mack (R) 310 Racing 183 +17 Laps 24 10
21 37 Scott Harrington Brayton Racing 171 +29 Laps 25 9
22 51 Eddie Cheever Team Cheever 165 Contact 3 8
23 14 Airton Daré A.J. Foyt Enterprises 127 Mechanical 13 7
24 24 Robbie Buhl Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 95 Engine 11 6
25 9 Jeff Ward Chip Ganassi Racing 91 Contact 22 5
Source:[3]
  1. ^ Includes two bonus points for pole position and leading the most laps.

Race Statistics

  • Lead changes: 25 among 9 drivers

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.

Full race available on IndyCar's official YouTube page.

References

  1. "2002 IRL at Michigan". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  2. "IRL: Michigan starting lineup". motorsport.com. July 27, 2002. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  3. "2002 Michigan Indy 400 results". racing-reference.info. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
Previous race:
2002 Firestone Indy 200
IndyCar Series
2002 season
Next race:
2002 Belterra Casino Indy 300
Previous race:
2001 Harrah's 500
Michigan Indy 400 Next race:
2003 Firestone Indy 400
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