# 2002 Michigan Indy 400

42°03′58.68″N 84°14′29.18″W﻿ / ﻿42.0663000°N 84.2414389°W﻿ / 42.0663000; -84.2414389
The 2002 Michigan Indy 400 was the eleventh round of the 2002 Indy Racing League season. The race was held on July 28, 2002, at the 2.00 mi Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. In what many consider to be one of the greatest finishes in IndyCar history, rookie Tomas Scheckter scored his first win in open-wheel competition after charging to the front in a race that saw an astonishing number of passes and lead changes in the closing laps of the race, including the first time a woman has ever led an IndyCar race on merit (Sarah Fisher). Team Cheever teammate Buddy Rice finished in second place in his IndyCar debut while team owner/driver Eddie Cheever crashed during the race. It would be the team's only win of the season and their last in open-wheel racing.
The circumstances surrounding the first-ever IRL-sanctioned race at Michigan made for a dramatic and electric atmosphere: Scheckter, despite his quickness during the season, was more known for his recklessness, frequently crashed and cost Team Cheever several potential wins. Eddie Cheever was grooming Buddy Rice to take over Scheckter's seat in the #52, but due to contractual obligations he could not release Scheckter until the next race at Kentucky Speedway. Nevertheless, Cheever gave Rice the preferred equipment, spare parts, and pit crew for the race. Scheckter, now on a personal vendetta, dominated the race from pole position, led the most laps, but almost gave up the win after a poor late-race pit stop, falling back to 12th place, the last car on the lead lap. From there, he ferociously battled his way back to the front in an amazing display of raw speed and talent. Despite the win, Scheckter was still let go from Team Cheever after Kentucky.
The prevalence of drafting allowed for the field to race in tight side-by-side packs, not unusual for NASCAR events but very unusual for open-wheel races. Drivers would often swap positions each lap in order to take advantage of the draft and gain ground on the next competitor. This became especially important during the last twenty-five lap sprint to the finish when multiple drivers jockeyed for position.

## Qualifying

July 27, 2002 - Qualifying Speeds :
| Rank | Driver | Time | Leader | Speed (mph) | Team |
| 1 | Tomas Scheckter (R) | 32.4518 | — | 221.868 | Team Cheever |
| 2 | Buddy Rice (R) | 32.6785 | +0.005 | 221.831 | Team Cheever |
| 3 | Eddie Cheever | 32.6785 | +0.227 | 220.328 | Team Cheever |
| 4 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 32.7898 | +0.338 | 219.580 | Panther Racing |
| 5 | Mark Dismore | 32.8325 | +0.381 | 219.295 | Team Menard |
| 6 | Helio Castroneves | 32.8631 | +0.411 | 219.091 | Team Penske |
| 7 | Alex Barron | 32.9341 | +0.480 | 218.634 | Blair Racing |
| 8 | Sarah Fisher | 32.9341 | +0.482 | 218.618 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
| 9 | Eliseo Salazar | 32.9366 | +0.485 | 218.602 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 10 | Tony Renna (R) | 32.9428 | +0.491 | 218.561 | Kelley Racing |
| 11 | Robbie Buhl | 32.9849 | +0.533 | 218.282 | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
| 12 | Felipe Giaffone | 32.9891 | +0.537 | 218.254 | Mo Nunn Racing |
| 13 | Airton Daré | 33.0377 | +0.586 | 217.933 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 14 | Laurent Redon (R) | 33.0435 | +0.592 | 217.895 | Conquest Racing |
| 15 | Buddy Lazier | 33.0929 | +0.641 | 217.569 | Hemelgarn Racing |
| 16 | Scott Sharp | 33.0942 | +0.642 | 217.561 | Kelley Racing |
| 17 | Gil de Ferran | 33.1146 | +0.663 | 217.427 | Team Penske |
| 18 | Raul Boesel | 33.1181 | +0.666 | 217.404 | Bradley Motorsports |
| 19 | Billy Boat | 33.1408 | +0.689 | 217.255 | Curb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports |
| 20 | Arie Luyendyk | 33.1763 | +0.724 | 217.022 | Treadway Racing |
| 21 | Richie Hearn | 33.1785 | +0.727 | 217.008 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
| 22 | Jeff Ward | 33.3209 | +0.869 | 216.081 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 23 | Greg Ray | 33.5079 | +1.056 | 214.875 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 24 | George Mack (R) | 33.5806 | +1.129 | 214.410 | 310 Racing |
| 25 | Scott Harrington | 33.8255 | +1.374 | 212.857 | Brayton Racing |
| Source: ||||||

## Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 52 | Tomas Scheckter (R) | Team Cheever | 200 | 2:14:03 | 1 | 52 |
| 2 | 53 | Buddy Rice (R) | Team Cheever | 200 | +1.704 secs | 2 | 40 |
| 3 | 21 | Felipe Giaffone | Mo Nunn Racing | 200 | Running | 12 | 35 |
| 4 | 7 | Tony Renna (R) | Kelley Racing | 200 | Running | 10 | 32 |
| 5 | 6 | Gil de Ferran | Team Penske | 200 | Running | 17 | 30 |
| 6 | 3 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | 200 | Running | 6 | 28 |
| 7 | 4 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Panther Racing | 200 | Running | 4 | 26 |
| 8 | 23 | Sarah Fisher | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 200 | Running | 8 | 24 |
| 9 | 8 | Scott Sharp | Kelley Racing | 200 | Running | 16 | 22 |
| 10 | 20 | Richie Hearn | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 200 | Running | 21 | 20 |
| 11 | 34 | Laurent Redon (R) | Conquest Racing | 200 | Running | 14 | 19 |
| 12 | 44 | Alex Barron | Blair Racing | 198 | +2 Laps | 7 | 18 |
| 13 | 91 | Buddy Lazier | Hemelgarn Racing | 198 | +2 Laps | 15 | 17 |
| 14 | 98 | Billy Boat | Curb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports | 198 | +2 Laps | 19 | 16 |
| 15 | 12 | Raul Boesel | Bradley Motorsports | 197 | +3 Laps | 18 | 15 |
| 16 | 55 | Arie Luyendyk | Treadway Racing | 197 | +3 Laps | 20 | 14 |
| 17 | 41 | Greg Ray | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 196 | +4 Laps | 23 | 13 |
| 18 | 2 | Mark Dismore | Team Menard | 194 | +6 Laps | 5 | 12 |
| 19 | 11 | Eliseo Salazar | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 192 | +8 Laps | 9 | 11 |
| 20 | 31 | George Mack (R) | 310 Racing | 183 | +17 Laps | 24 | 10 |
| 21 | 37 | Scott Harrington | Brayton Racing | 171 | +29 Laps | 25 | 9 |
| 22 | 51 | Eddie Cheever | Team Cheever | 165 | Contact | 3 | 8 |
| 23 | 14 | Airton Daré | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 127 | Mechanical | 13 | 7 |
| 24 | 24 | Robbie Buhl | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 95 | Engine | 11 | 6 |
| 25 | 9 | Jeff Ward | Chip Ganassi Racing | 91 | Contact | 22 | 5 |
| Source: ||||||||
* ^ Includes two bonus points for pole position and leading the most laps.

## Race Statistics

* Lead changes: 25 among 9 drivers
Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1-36 | Tomas Scheckter |
| 37-38 | Buddy Rice |
| 39-41 | Helio Castroneves |
| 42-44 | Tony Renna |
| 45-69 | Tomas Scheckter |
| 70 | Felipe Giaffone |
| 71-80 | Tomas Scheckter |
| 81-87 | Felipe Giaffone |
| 88-92 | Scott Sharp |
| 93-97 | Gil de Ferran |
| 98-122 | Tomas Scheckter |
| 123-129 | Buddy Rice |
| 130-134 | Felipe Giaffone |
| 135-139 | Sam Hornish Jr. |
| 140-141 | Gil de Ferran |
| 142-143 | Helio Castroneves |
| 144-162 | Tomas Scheckter |
| 163-168 | Buddy Rice |
| 169-173 | Sam Hornish Jr. |
| 174-178 | Gil de Ferran |
| 179-184 | Felipe Giafffone |
| 185 | Sarah Fisher |
| 186 | Felipe Giaffone |
| 187-189 | Sarah Fisher |
| 190-193 | Felipe Giaffone |
| 194-200 | Tomas Scheckter |
| Leader | Laps |
| Tomas Scheckter | 122 |
| Felipe Giaffone | 24 |
| Buddy Rice | 15 |
| Gil de Ferran | 12 |
| Sam Hornish Jr. | 10 |
| Helio Castroneves | 5 |
| Scott Sharp | 5 |
| Sarah Fisher | 4 |
| Tony Renna | 3 |
Cautions: 5 for 25 laps :
| Laps | Reason |
| 46-50 | Debris |
| 57-58 | Debris |
| 95-101 | Ward crash |
| 147-149 | Debris |
| 166-173 | Cheever crash |

## Standings after the race
### Drivers' Championship standings

| Rank | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Gil de Ferran | 377 |
| 2 | Helio Castroneves | 365 |
| 3 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 359 |
| 4 | Felipe Giaffone | 330 |
| 5 | Alex Barron | 261 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.