By Dick Mittman
indy500.com

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

It's difficult to realize that Sam Hornish Jr. is only 23. On May 25, he will drive in his fourth Indianapolis 500. He's a two-time champion of the IRL IndyCar^™ Series.

At 23, A.J. Foyt was driving in only his first Indianapolis 500. Mario Andretti didn't make his first start in the world's most famous race until he was 25. Al Unser was 26. So was Rick Mears.

Hornish drives the yellow No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone. He has gained polish and poise since he drove in the "500" in 2000 as a rookie for PDM Racing. He was uncomfortable being interviewed at 19. Now he's much more at ease talking to the media or speaking in front of groups.

But there are two things about Hornish that haven't changed since 2000: his skills inside the cockpit and his deep desire to win the Indianapolis 500.

So far, Indy has been the one stumbling block in his meteoric climb to the top as one of America's finest race drivers.

As a rookie, he lasted 153 laps before an accident took him out in 24th. An early spin in 2001, his first season with the powerhouse Panther team, put him in a hole yet he wound up 14th and running at the finish. Last May he qualified seventh but was subjugated to a 25th-place finish due a brush with the wall that required car repairs in mid-race.

He has yet to lead a lap at Indy.

That's why winning the 500 is first and foremost in his mind.

"I would like to win the Indianapolis 500," he said. "That's what I've always wanted to do."

This year Hornish faces a tough task to reach Victory Lane at Indy.

He qualified 18th at a speed average of only 226.225 mph for Sunday's race, the best starting spot for a Chevy-powered car. That's more than 5 mph slower than pole sitter Helio Castroneves speed of 231.725 in a Toyota-powered car.

But Hornish isn't conceding anything despite the strong performance of Toyota- and Honda-powered cars in qualifying. He said it would be tough to win this race if only five cars were on the track.

"This is the time to shine if you're going to at any time or date during the year," he said. "And as I've said up to here, I need to lead only one lap.

"And I don't care if it's making a pass going into (Turn) 3 on the last lap for the closest finish in Indy 500, and I went across the line. If that's what it takes to win, that's what I want. Of course, you'd like to go out there and beat everybody by five laps, but that just doesn't happen anymore."

If anyone has the experience of winning close races, it's Hornish.

Last year, Hornish clinched his second straight IndyCar Series title with consecutive scintillating victories to close the season. He edged Al Unser Jr. by a record .0024 of a second at Chicagoland and beat Castroneves at the wire in a near duplicate finish of .0096 of a second at Texas in the season finale.

The 2003 season hasn't started particularly well for Hornish. He opened the year with a 10th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway after qualifying third. He finished 21st at Phoenix after an accident, and he added another 10th at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Hornish blames part of the early problems on unfortunate pit stop luck, coming in for service on green only to have the caution flag wave a lap or two later.

Hornish knows that to win at Indy he must be patient - but not for too long. The field is so competitive this year that he cannot wait far into the race to make his move.

"It's really tough being patient in 18th place because you want to get through all the people that have crashed together," he said. "You don't want to get caught up in somebody else's crash.

"You've got people behind you wanting to pass you. It's tough to be there and be patient, but you know that's what it's going to take. It doesn't matter if people pass you in the first 20 laps or pass you the first 50 laps, even going to the 100 laps mark."

But Hornish thinks turning it up from 90 to 100 percent at Lap 170, as the old saying goes, is too late. He said there are too many competitive drivers to pass at that point to get to the front in the remaining 75 miles.

Hornish said there are various ways to catch and pass a fast driver, such as following closely and waiting for the right opportunity or pitting with that driver and winning the race back on the track. He figures that there are going to be eight to 10 pit stops during the race, and if he beats two cars in front him out of the pits on each stop, he'll be in position to contend for the checkered flag.

"There's ways that you can go about being patient without letting everybody pass you on the racetrack and saying, 'I'll just get them back later.'" he said.

Hornish revealed he has a plan formulated for the race, but whether it will work or whether he can stick to it is uncertain. Still, somehow, by hook or crook, he badly wants to pull off a surprising victory.

"I'm not going to be excited about this until it's time," he said, "because it is the biggest race in the world. You want to be up front, you want to lead, you want everybody looking at you all day long.

"But the only time it matters is when somebody's looking at you on the Borg-Warner Trophy."

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