Post race notes - Chicagoland.
20 lead changes, the closest three-way finish in series history, three drivers leading their first laps of the year and the continuation of an eight year record were just some of the facts thrown up by Sunday's Delphi Indy 300.
The margin of victory was .0099 of a second, the third-closest finish in IRL IndyCar Series history. Sam Hornish Jr. defeated Al Unser Jr. in 2002 at Chicagoland Speedway by .0024 of a second, and Hornish defeated Helio Castroneves in September 2002 at Texas Motor Speedway by .0096 of a second.
20 lead changes, the closest three-way finish in series history, three drivers leading their first laps of the year and the continuation of an eight year record were just some of the facts thrown up by Sunday's Delphi Indy 300.
The margin of victory was .0099 of a second, the third-closest finish in IRL IndyCar Series history. Sam Hornish Jr. defeated Al Unser Jr. in 2002 at Chicagoland Speedway by .0024 of a second, and Hornish defeated Helio Castroneves in September 2002 at Texas Motor Speedway by .0096 of a second.
The difference between first and third was .0100 of a second, the closest 1-2-3 finish in IndyCar Series history. The previous record for a 1-2-3 finish came at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2001 when Hornish defeated Scott Sharp and Robbie Buhl. The margin between Hornish and Buhl was .0468 of a second.
Hornish Jr. won his second race of the season in a span of just three races. He won in August at Kentucky.
Hornish Jr. has now won 10 career IRL IndyCar Series events, extending his lead over Scott Sharp and Buddy Lazier to two.
Panther Racing has now won 13 IndyCar Series races, more than any other team. The next closest team is Team Menard, which has won 10 races.
Rookie Dan Wheldon finished fourth, tying a career best. He also finished fourth in July at Nashville. Wheldon also led the first laps of his IRL career, heading the field for 32 laps in the #26 Jim Beam/Klein Tools Dallara-Honda.
Buddy Lazier led four laps, the first time he has led laps this season. He has led laps in every IndyCar Series season to date.
Hornish Jr. has won the three closest finishes in IRL IndyCar Series history and the sixth- and seventh-closest finishes. He finished second in the fifth-closest finish in IRL IndyCar Series history. Hornish also has won the two closest 1-2-3 finishes in IndyCar Series history.
The lead changed hands a total of 20 times between eight drivers.
IRL debutant Ed Carpenter finished 13th for PDM Racing, matching their best result of the season.
Helio Castroneves recorded his worst finish since Japan and allowed the points race to tighten considerably. There are now just 41 points between Castroneves in first place and Hornish Jr in fifth.
Richie Hearn led his first IRL laps since Las Vegas 1996, the fifth race in series history.
Hornish's winning average speed of the race was 184.294mph, the second fastest of the year behind Kentucky.
