By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Thursday, September 4, 2003
The Indianapolis 500 has become the Holy Grail for Sam Hornish Jr. Hornish joined Marlboro Team Penske for the 2004 season to enhance his determined search to find victory in the great race.
That message came through loud and clear during a recent teleconference as Hornish repeatedly emphasized how much he wants to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He made it clear that everything else in racing was secondary until he stands atop the Victory Podium at Indy.
"Right now, I am focused on the IndyCar™ (Series) side of (racing) and winning the Indianapolis 500," Hornish said when questioned why he bypassed opportunities in stock car racing.
"Team Penske has had an awesome record at the Indy 500, and I think that's the foreseeable future that needs to be my focus, is to win the Indianapolis 500 and to winning races over here. That's as far as I can see right now; that's what I am going to be focusing on. That's the job that I have been hired to do is to drive Indy cars."
The Indianapolis 500 has been the one bugaboo in an otherwise remarkable record during his four seasons of driving in the IRL. He's won two championships and a league-record nine races in three seasons with Pennzoil Panther Racing and still is in the hunt - though a long shot - to grab a third straight title in the final three races of this season.
Yet at Indianapolis, he still seeks a top-10 finish after four tries.
As a 20-year-old rookie driving for PDM Racing in the 2000 race, Hornish qualified 14th but a spin into the wall took him out in 24th place after completing 153 laps. The next year, his first with Panther, he started 13th and was still running at the finish but four laps down to winner Helio Castroneves, who will become his teammate next season.
Hornish became a serious contender for Indy victory in 2002 and was running second to rookie Tomas Scheckter after the first round of pit stops. Then Hornish brushed the wall on Lap 74, forcing repairs to the car. Hornish wound up 25th although he was still running at the finish. He was 14 laps down, again to Castroneves.
In May 2003, Hornish's chances were slim from the start because the Chevrolet Gen III engine was underpowered compared to Toyota and Honda. He qualified 18th, 5 mph slower than pole sitter Castroneves. He did a remarkable job to run as high as sixth on Lap 190 but fell out with engine problems in 15th place after 195 laps.
In four Indianapolis 500 starts, Hornish has completed 730 of 800 laps, has yet to start in the top two rows and has an average finish of 19.5.
"Like I've said before, I never knew, I never imagined that I'd be an IndyCar (Series) driver," Hornish said. "It was always a goal of mine but I didn't - while I wanted it - actually think that it would happen.
"And then now to have won races and championships, I think the next thing, to win an Indianapolis 500, is to get the ride that I got. It's unreal to me."
Hornish then shared a dream he had toward the end of his karting career. In the dream, he met with Roger (Penske) and Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan, and they wanted him to drive with them. The next morning when he awoke, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief at such a cool fantasy but thought it would never happen.
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Mears always has been Hornish's idol. Now they will be united with Penske Racing since Mears is a team consultant.
"Winning the Indianapolis 500, just being able to compete in the Indy 500, was something that I never thought that I would be able to do," Hornish said. "Now that I have found that, it is the next logical progression.
"I said many times, there's some things that you want to do. I've got the opportunity to do that, and the pressure is on, I guess. I try not to think about all that stuff too much, focusing on trying to win this third championship, trying to figure out ways to get the job done."
When Penske Racing came to the IRL full time for the 2002 season, it was expected that Castroneves or Gil de Ferran would dominate the championship. Instead, Hornish nipped Castroneves at the line in the final race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway to win the title over Castroneves. It was Hornish's second straight championship.
Now, Hornish will replace one of the Penske stars, de Ferran, and share a garage with the other one, Castroneves. In the most recent race of the IndyCar Series at Nazareth, Pa., Castroneves and Hornish dueled right down to the finish, with Castroneves winning by less than a second over Hornish and his powerful new Chevy Gen IV engine.
"I actually talked to Helio a little bit yesterday, and he's a little bit of a comedian so he wanted to know how come I was pushing him so hard in the race," Hornish said.
"I didn't want him to feel that I am not going to race hard. I wanted to win that race bad."
About de Ferran, Hornish said: "He is a great competitor on the track, and he's a great spokesman off the track. A lot of people look at Penske Racing, you've got Rick Mears, Al Unser Jr. and Danny Sullivan and so on, all these great drivers. They say, 'How does it feel to be living up to great drivers like that?'
"But when you look at Gil, he's really put himself in the record books. He got the 100th victory for Penske, won two championships and the Indianapolis 500 so, I mean, it will be a very big success to fill, but I am looking forward to it. I think that it will be a lot of fun to go over there and see if I can get the job done."
After the season ends with the Chevy 500 Oct. 12 at Texas, then Hornish can turn his focus on his new team and next year's Indianapolis 500, scheduled for May 30.
"If I can't win the Indianapolis 500 in the program that I am in, I am probably not going to do it," he said. ***
2004 Indy 500 tickets: Tickets for the 2004 Indianapolis 500 are on sale, and the IMS ticket office encourages customers to place orders early to ensure the best possible opportunity to acquire good seats.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
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