Race: Lazier steals Hornish's thunder

The 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner from Vail, Colorado became the first Colorado native to win an Indy Racing League event at Pikes Peak International Raceway by winning Sunday's Radisson 200.

"Winning at home, there is nothing like it," Lazier said. "I don't have to fly home tonight. I get to drive home with the trophy in my car, sleep in my bed and I get to be the hero of the house - and maybe the hero of the town.

"There's going to be a heck of a party in Vail. There will be a lot of Coors' Light flowing."

Lazier, the defending IRL champion, scored his fifth career victory when he was able to track down race leader Sam Hornish Jr. and pass him in the third turn, 44 laps from the finish. Hornish had led 152 laps after taking the lead from pole winner Greg Ray.

Hornish appeared so insurmountable, at one point he had lapped the entire field up to third place. But a caution flag for a track inspection that lasted from laps 147 to 154 evaporated Hornish's lead. On the restart on lap 155, Hornish was in the lead, but two laps later, Lazier was able to go to the outside of Hornish's Dallara/Aurora in the third turn.

Three laps later, Lazier was able to pull away, as the handling on Hornish's car became loose. In fact, on lap 162, Hornish's car wiggled in the second turn and nearly hit the wall.

"I was real close to hitting the wall," Hornish said. "I thought it was over with. I thought it was the end of the day, but we somehow got lucky."

With Lazier enjoying a wide lead over Hornish, he radioed to his crew, "I'm in the lead! I love it."

Lazier won by 10.108-seconds over Hornish and the victory was worth $131,300. Robbie Buhl was third followed by Billy Boat and Airton Dare.

"Huge, this is huge," Lazier said afterwards. "This is my home track. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it until the end. My engineer (Ron Dawes) did a great job. We just kept counting down the laps. We just kept digging and digging. I wanted to win so bad in front of my hometown friends and family.

"It's Father's Day. I guess I won it for him (2-year-old son Flinn). With the money I won, he's going to college now."

Lazier was also able to celebrate the victory with his father, former Indy car driver Bob Lazier.

"This was the way every father should spend Father's Day," Bob Lazier said. "It was a good day for the Laziers."

After leading most of the race, Hornish was disappointed with a second place finish, but happy that he continues to lead the IRL points by 56 over Eliseo Salazar. His run was so superior at times, he had lapped all cars in the field up to fifth place by the 50th lap.

"We had an awesome run today, as usual," Hornish said. "We had a tough set of tyres at the end and the car just got loose. We were pretty close to lapping Lazier before the caution came out.

"I'm not quite sure what that caution was for. We were pretty close to lapping third place and real close to lapping second (Lazier). We put a set of tyres on and the car was really loose. You either stay up in the front and take a chance or you go to the back and try to start over again."

Hornish won $110,850 for second place.

Despite 97-degree temperatures, a crowd estimated at 35,000 fans attended the race near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

After last week's race at Texas Motor Speedway where several drivers said there was overly aggressive driving throughout the event, Sunday's race was wreck-free with only three caution flags - two for debris and one for a stalled race car on the track. Indy Racing League vice president of operations Brian Barnhart had warned the competitors in drivers meetings on Saturday and Sunday that overaggressive driving would not be tolerated and
the black flag would be used if necessary.

The only time the black flag was used in Sunday's race was for Billy Roe's car being too slow on the race track and Billy Boat running over an air hose in the pits during his final pit stop. Boat was assessed a drive-through penalty in the pits, but still finished fourth.

"I wasn't looking for the hose, but it's one of those things that happens," Boat said. "We got a break when we got that yellow and we got our lap back. We had a great race car at the end. If we had been up there, we could have run with anybody but that's what happens. That's why they call it racing.

"The important thing for us is the consistency and the running up front and running in the front."

Lazier has plenty of experience running in the front. His five career IRL victories leaves him one shy of the career record of six held by Scott Sharp. But Sunday's race was the first time this season Lazier has led a lap and he made the most of his time up front by staying there for the checkered flag.

And that allowed the resident of the Rocky Mountain State a chance to win on his home turf.

"When we first came here in 1997, I wanted it so bad that I probably overdrove the car so bad, you wouldn't believe it," Lazier said. "Last year, we had a failure on the very first lap. I was thinking of having a home-track advantage, being adjusted to the altitude and out on the first lap. I've learned not to have high expectations coming here. It's such a letdown when things do go wrong.

"That's why this is so sweet."