Hornish seeks mistake-free Indy

Despite winning the IRL IndyCar series twice, Hornish hasn't finished higher than 14th in the sport's most prestigious race and is insistent that he and his Penske team are on top of their game on Sunday.

Hornish has been marked out by the media as the favourite for the 90th running of the race after dominating practice held so far, topping the timesheets on all eight of the nine days. He will start the race from pole position.

However, he believes the key to winning the race will not just be down to pace alone.

"I've got a great shot at it," Hornish said. "We've been quick all month. But it is a long race.

"Definitely the biggest thing I've learned is it's not always the fastest car that wins but the one that makes the least amount of mistakes. In the past, it seems likes at other tracks you can get away with things that you can't get away with at Indianapolis.

"That's got a lot to do with the fact that you're going faster than you go at any other tracks, and it's one of the most difficult tracks that we race on as far as getting the car consistent throughout the runs as well.

"We need to get ourselves past that point and figure out how to make the least amount of mistakes. Our pitstops have to be right.

"We have to make good decisions in the car. I have to make good decisions.

"We led the first 145 out of the first 155 laps at Miami earlier this year and didn't win the race because we pitted and the yellow came out with 20 laps to go and we were eighth in line.

"I ended up getting up to third, but that was not what we thought we should have had that day.

"The big thing for me is just to continue to go into this race knowing that we need to make it to the end. If you feel you have a car to win when it comes down to the last 50 miles or whatever it is, you can go for it. You need to make sure you make it through the first 450 first."

Hornish also believes that in addition to racing well, he will need a slice of good fortune if he is to have a likeness of his face emblazoned on the Borg-Warner Trophy.

"I know things can happen at Indianapolis just like anywhere else," he added. "It's even harder to pass there than at Miami. You do need to have a little bit of luck on your side. Hopefully I'll get that racing luck."