Pikes Peak notebook: Hard but clean racing

There were no crashes in the race, which was slowed just three times for 23 laps of caution - twice for debris and once for a stalled race car.

"I saw some really hard racing," said race winner Buddy Lazier. "In every race series, you start to define your driver's code of ethics. We are developing as a series. There has never been open-wheel racing this close, cars so equally matched. It's like stock cars in that everybody is equal. When you are running that close, we have never had that before.

"We are still running as hard as we possibly can run. I felt like today was a very clean race, but nobody gave anybody anything."

Second-place finisher Sam Hornish Jr. was able to lap his way through the field without much trouble.

"At some points in time, there were some people getting lapped for the second and third time that didn't want to give a whole lot of room, but when this track gets greasy, they can't help it," Hornish said. "I think everybody was being pretty careful. It's amazing when you go from a race where you had two bad wrecks to a race where the only cautions you have are for debris on the track.

"It just proves we can do it and we can put on a good race and we don't have to interlock wheels and try to scare people out of their minds. There is enough of that as it is when you have a loose car."

Other drivers praised the IRL leadership for getting their message across to the drivers.

"The racing has always been good in the IRL," said third-place finisher Robbie Buhl. "Brian Barnhart (the IRL's vice president of operations) and his guys have always been conscious of keeping it competitive and being safer and that direction hasn't changed."

Tony George, the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of the IRL, said he was concerned after last Saturday night's race at Texas Motor Speedway and was proud to Barnhart act decisively.

"I think there are some universal issues and some issues at the 1.5-mile tracks that certainly needed to be addressed since last week," George said. "Brian spent a lot of hours viewing tapes and editing tapes down to be used in the drivers meetings this week. I think he handled it well.

"I'm disappointed not everyone was as receptive as they should have been hearing from the man responsible for the conduct of the competition, because it clearly affects everyone that is in the room. The meetings were prefaced by saying what is said in the room, stays in the room. Apparently, that doesn't mean much to some people which I find very disappointing."

George understands that the series must keep in proper perspective what is a great race and what is safe.

"It is hard to sit up in race control and see everything that goes on when it goes on," George said. "We have a pretty good capability now of recording the race from the track cameras and the in-car cameras and use that as a tool to help the competitors put on the safest and best show possible. That is what we attempted to do today.

"Hopefully, that will be useful to those who chose to listen."


Sam Hornish Jr. was running away with Sunday's Radisson 200 Indy Racing League race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. In fact, he was in a different time zone than most of the field, leading 152 laps in the 200-lap event.

But when the yellow flag waved for the final of three caution periods in Sunday's race, Hornish's huge lead vanished and after his last pit stop, the car became loose.

Buddy Lazier was able to pass Hornish in the third turn and led the final 44 laps to win the race.

"We're not really sure what changed on that last pit stop that made the car very loose," Hornish said. "Up until that last pit stop, we were closing in on Robbie Buhl and Buddy. They were both within eyesight, which was making us feel pretty good. Things change. There is a lot of luck involved in racing.

"I got lucky enough to not hit the wall, so I was pretty lucky with that."

Hornish was referring to the 162nd lap when his car wiggled in the second turn and he nearly hit the wall. But the 21-year-old driver was able to gather it back and finish the race second to Lazier.

"I have to thank the guy upstairs for having me keep it out of the wall," Hornish said. "We have had a great year so far and the Pennzoil Panther guys have done what we need to do to be in the championship lead."

Hornish had very mixed feelings about dominating the race, but finishing second.

"I wanted to go out there and win for my Dad, like any other person who was out there today," Hornish said. "That's how it goes sometimes. I could almost taste it. I wouldn't say heartbreaking. I'm happy with the way things are going. I'm happy I didn't the wall. I'm happy I'm in the ride I'm in.

"Last year, I would have been thrilled to be second. This year, I'm not so happy about it."

Before the race, chief mechanic Kevin Blanch told Hornish that he could lap the field.

"I told him I would do my best," Hornish said. "We were pretty close to it at one time. Then, it would have been real hard for that caution period to hurt us."



Robbie Buhl was the highest-finishing Infiniti driver with a third-place finish in Sunday's race.

"We are really happy with this finish," Buhl said. "The way our season started was not what we scripted. We still had some teething problems with our Infiniti motor program. We made some changes on the team and that motor started to come to life at Indianapolis. We thought we could win the Indianapolis 500 and we came up a little short on that. The motor program is coming around.

"This team is going to win races this year, I have no doubt about that. This is good momentum for us going into a busy time of the year. We are looking for a good second-half of the season."

Buhl is currently 12th in the IRL point standings, 135 points behind the leader, Sam Hornish Jr.

"There is nothing better than what those guys did," Buhl said. "They had a dominant car."


Billy Boat lost a lap when he was penalised for running over an air hose during his final pit stop, but was able to rally back to finish in fourth place, the last car on the lead lap.

It was Boat's third-straight top-10 finish for his CURB Records team, which is operated by Beck Motorsports. Boat finished ninth in the Indianapolis 500, fifth at Texas last Saturday night and fourth at Pikes Peak.

"We're not a big team, we don't have a ton of money, but we have a lot of good people with a lot of heart," Boat said. "We know we aren't going to sit on the pole. We know we have to have a good race car and be there at the end of the day. That is the key and that is what we are going to do."

Boat is looking forward to the IRL's next race at Richmond International Raceway on June 30 because it is the first time the series has raced on a track under one-mile in length.

"We're looking forward to going to Richmond," Boat said. "I think my style and my experience will help me there, so I'm looking forward to it."


Pole winner Greg Ray had a very long day. He lost the lead to Sam Hornish Jr. after just four laps and eventually retired from the race after 132 laps because of handling problems with his car.

"It was just one of those bad days," Ray said. "The car was diabolical out there. It was loose from the get go. This track historically has gone to a push. We tried everything - springs, bars, weight jackers, wing. We were seven or eight laps down. I had a really hard time keeping a handle on the car running by myself, and it was impossible to keep a handle on it when traffic was passing me high and low.

"I just didn't want to be a factor in the race. Last weekend made me pretty angry. It is only respectable to get out of the way."


Team owner Larry Cahill did not field a car in Sunday's race after his driver, Robby McGehee, suffered a compound fracture in the final crash of last week's race at Texas Motor Speedway. McGehee said from his home in St. Louis that Cahill hope to be back by the July 8 IRL race at Kansas Speedway. McGehee also hopes to be back in the cockpit by then, although it would take a monumental effort to heal from such an injury in a short period of time.