Top three IRL stars set for IROC

The IROC stock car championship traditionally takes the best drivers in America's various motorsport arenas and pits them against each other in identical Pontiac Firebird Trans-Ams. Next year the IRL trio will line up against some of the top stars in the NASCAR Winston Cup.

IRL champion Hornish Jr said: "I'm really excited about doing the series next year. I remember watching IROC as a kid with Al Unser Jr and Dale Earnhardt battling it out on different tracks and I thought it was cool. Getting a chance to run against all the best drivers is a great challenge, because you know if you win one of those races, you've beaten the best."

Lazier will return to IROC for the second consecutive season in 2002. He finished ninth in the championship standings this year after crashes at Daytona and Indianapolis. Like Hornish Jr, Sharp will be an IROC rookie.

Double CART champion Gil de Ferran will miss the chance to race in IROC for the second consecutive season because all the race dates clash with Champ Car rounds. This year he was sidelined before the first race by an injury sustained while testing for Team Penske.

The first round takes place at Daytona on February 15, with three more rounds following at the California Speedway, Chicagoland and Indy.