page_title: 2002 Delphi Indy 300
section_title: Race
hierarchical_section_title: 2002 Delphi Indy 300 / Race
caption_attribution_description: Shot by The Daredevil at Daytona during Speedweeks 2008
context_page_description: The 2002 Delphi Indy 300 was an Indy Racing League motor race held on September 8, 2002, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It was the 14th of 15 scheduled rounds of the 2002 Indy Racing League and the second annual running of the event. Panther Racing driver Sam Hornish Jr. won the 200-lap race from pole position with the closest margin of victory in the IRL of 0.0024 seconds over Al Unser Jr. of Kelley Racing. Third place was Hemelgarn Racing's Buddy Lazier.
  Hornish won the second pole position of his IRL career by posting the fastest lap in qualifying. In the race, Hornish led until he was passed by Buddy Rice after the first restart that was necessitated by a caution to tend to Laurent Rédon's car on the 25th lap. Hornish retook it when he got ahead of Unser on lap 75 but lost it to Scott Sharp 42 laps later. Sharp lost the first position to Hornish on lap 151. Unser returned to the lead after he overtook Hélio Castroneves on the 167th lap. Unser and Hornish exchanged the lead for the rest of the race, and it was Hornish who edged out Unser to secure his fourth victory of the season, and the seventh of his career.
context_section_description: The conditions on the grid were dry and sunny. The air temperature was at 86 °F (30 °C) with the track temperature at 113 °F (45 °C) and calm winds. USAC Chaplin Dave Cochran began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Singer Elle Gerdes performed the national anthem, and chairman, president, and CEO of the Delphi Corporation J.T. Battenberg commanded the drivers to start their engines. The race began at 12:10 p.m. Central Daylight Time (UTC−05:00). Hornish maintained his pole position advantage to lead the field on the run into the first corner. After starting eleventh, de Ferran was seventh by the start of lap four. Nine laps later, de Ferran overtook Meira in turn two for sixth. The first caution flag was brought out on the next lap when Rédon's engine failed in turn two, and he returned to pit road to retire. During the caution, several drivers chose to make pit stops for fuel and tires. Ward and Noda made a pit stop to have new front wings installed on their cars for aerodynamic purposes. The green flag was shown on lap 25 to resume racing. Hornish held his lead into turn one, but he lost it to Rice who passed him on the left two corners later. De Ferran was now running in fifth by lap 28. Three laps later, Unser lost the third position to Boat in turn one. On the 43rd lap, Unser overtook de Ferran around the right of him for fourth place at turn three. On lap 46, Unser used Noda's slower car to pass Hornish for second at turn one.
  Unser drew alongside Rice for one lap, and led the field by 0.0375 seconds on the 48th lap. Hornish got by Rice soon after. On lap 52, the second caution flag was shown. De Ferran swerved to avoid Renna's lapped car which slowed with no fuel pressure, and lost control of his vehicle going into turn two due to air catching his front wing. De Ferran struck the right-hand side wall, sustaining heavy damage to the right-hand corner of his car, and stopped on the backstretch. Debris from his car landed on the circuit. Safety crews shut off de Ferran's car so the IRL medical team could take him to the medical helicopter. He was transported to St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, Illinois with a concussion and a hairline fracture on his left wrist. The field made pit stops for tires, fuel and replacement front wings for aerodynamic reasons during the 22 lap caution. Unser led the field back to green flag racing on the 74th lap. Hornish retook the lead from Unser on the left lane in the third corner on that lap. On lap 87, Hornish's lead of 0.6869 seconds was reduced to nothing when Salazar's rear wing fell backward; he spun on the backstretch, but no other car came into contact with him, causing the third caution flag. As with the previous two cautions, several drivers made pit stops for fuel, tyres and new front wings for aerodynamic purposes.
  On lap 94, racing resumed with Hornish leading the pack of cars into turn one. Castroneves was up to sixth by the 108th lap. Six laps later, the fourth caution flag was necessitated when debris was observed lying on the track. Several drivers, including Hornish, went down pit road for tires and fuel. Sharp won the race off pit road, and assumed the lead for the restart on lap 120. On that lap, Boat slowed in turn four with an electrical issue that shut down his engine. He entered pit road to retire. Hornish and Lazier drew alongside each other at turn two in the battle for second place on the 136th lap. Hornish passed Lazier for second three laps later. By lap 144, Sharp had been sufficiently gained upon by Hornish who got alongside him for the lead in the fourth turn. Sharp edged him out by 0.0042 seconds on that lap. On the 145th lap, green flag pit stops began with Lazier entering pit road for tires and fuel. Sharp made his pit stop from first six laps later. On lap 153, Daré hit the right-hand side wall on the exit of turn two. His car sustained heavy rear damage but he clambered out without external aid. The crash prompted the fifth (and final) caution flag. Pit stops for fuel and tires continued to be made under caution.
  Castroneves led the field
caption: Sam Hornish Jr. (pictured in 2008) edged out Al Unser Jr. by 0.0024 seconds to win his fourth victory of the season.
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