The 2002 Indy Racing League (IRL) was the seventh season of the IRL, sanctioned by the organization of the same name. It encompassed the 91st championship season of premier American open-wheel car racing, alongside the rivaling 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series. It was seen as a season of transition, with two reigning CART championship teams, Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, joining the series with full time entries. The Oldsmobile engine was rebranded as a Chevrolet, and both Honda and Toyota announced their participation in the series starting in 2003 while Infiniti announced its withdrawal.
Sam Hornish Jr. won 5 races on his way to his second straight championship ahead of Penske juggernaut Hélio Castroneves, winner of two races including a second straight Indy 500, on his way to second in the championship. The season was also notable for seeing six drivers win their first career Indy Racing League races.
Confirmed entries
TeamChassisEngine#DriversRounds Team Menard Dallara Chevrolet 2 Jaques Lazier 1–4 P. J. Jones 5 Raul Boesel 5–6 Mark Dismore 7–11 Vítor Meira 12–1531 Robby Gordon5 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara Chevrolet 3 Hélio Castroneves All 6 Gil de Ferran 1–14 Max Papis 15 Panther Racing Dallara Chevrolet 4 Sam Hornish Jr. All15 Dan Wheldon 14–15 Treadway Racing G-ForceDallara Chevrolet5 Rick Treadway 5 1–4, 6, 9 Arie Luyendyk 5, 11 Anthony Lazzaro 7 Will Langhorne 12, 14–15 Robby McGehee 13 Kelley Racing Dallara Chevrolet 7 Al Unser Jr. 1–9, 12–15 Tony Renna 10–11 78 12–158 Scott SharpAll Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Chevrolet 9 Jeff Ward All22 Kenny Bräck533 Bruno Junqueira5 Cahill Racing Dallara Chevrolet 10 Robby McGehee 1–5 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Chevrolet 11 Eliseo Salazar 1–3, 10–15 Richie Hearn 4 Greg Ray 5–914 Airton Daré All Donnie Beechler 1415 Greg Ray10–13 Bradley Motorsports Dallara Infiniti 12 Shigeaki Hattori 2–7 Raul Boesel 9–15 Rick Treadway 15 Walker Racing Dallara Chevrolet 15 Oriol Servià 5 Racing Professionals G-Force Dallara Chevrolet 16 Jon Herb 1–8 Mo Nunn RacingG-ForceChevrolet17 Tony Kanaan521 Felipe GiaffoneAll PDM Racing Dallara Chevrolet 18 Tyce Carlson 1–2 Jeret Schroeder 3 John de Vries 6 Scott Mayer 14 Cory Kruseman 15 Anthony Lazzaro 5 Jimmy Kite5 Team Rahal Dallara Chevrolet 19 Jimmy Vasser 3, 5 Convergent Racing G-Force Chevrolet 20 Hideki Noda 1–3 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Chevrolet 20 Richie Hearn 5, 7–12 Greg Ray 14–15 Anthony Lazzaro 13 1–2, 4 Richie Hearn 3, 6 Mark Dismore 5 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Infiniti 24 Robbie Buhl 1–3, 5–15 Memo Gidley 3 Sarah Fisher 4235, 8–15 Team Green Dallara Chevrolet 26 Paul Tracy 5 27 Dario Franchitti 5 39 Michael Andretti 5 Indy Regency Racing G-Force Chevrolet 28 Hideki Noda 13–15 310 Racing G-Force Chevrolet George Mack All Duesenberg Brothers Racing CURB/Agajanian/Beck MotorsportsDallaraChevrolet32 Johnny Herbert 5 Memo Gidley 554 Robby McGehee7–9 Conquest Racing Dallara Infiniti 34 Laurent Redon All Brayton Racing Dallara Chevrolet 37 John de Vries 1–5 Scott Harrington 5, 11 Blair Racing Dallara Chevrolet 44 Alex Barron All Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara Infiniti 51 Eddie Cheever All 52 Tomas Scheckter 1–12 Buddy Rice 13–155311–12 Max Papis5 Robby McGehee15 Zali Racing G-Force Chevrolet 81 Billy Roe 1, 5 Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Chevrolet 91 Buddy Lazier All CURB/Agajanian/Boat Indy Racing Dallara Chevrolet Infiniti 98 Billy Boat All
Schedule Rnd Date Race Name Track City 1 March 2 Grand Prix of Miami Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida 2 March 17 Bombardier ATV 200 Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona 3 March 24 Yamaha Indy 400 California Speedway Fontana, California 4 April 21 Firestone Indy 225 Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania 5 May 26 86th Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 6 June 8 Boomtown 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas 7 June 16 Radisson Indy 225 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado 8 June 29 SunTrust Indy Challenge Richmond International Raceway Richmond, Virginia 9 July 7 Ameristar Casino Indy 200 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas 10 July 20 Firestone Indy 200 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee 11 July 28 Michigan Indy 400 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan 12 August 11 Belterra Casino Indy 300 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky 13 August 25 Gateway Indy 250 Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois 14 September 8 Delphi Indy 300 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois 15 September 15 Chevy 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TexasSources:
Results Rd.RacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace winner DriverTeamChassisEngine 1 Homestead Sam Hornish Jr. Jeff Ward Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraChevrolet 2 Phoenix Hélio Castroneves Robbie Buhl Sam Hornish Jr. Hélio CastronevesTeam PenskeDallaraChevrolet 3 Fontana Eddie Cheever Tomas Scheckter Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraChevrolet 4 Nazareth Gil de Ferran Tomas Scheckter Gil de Ferran Scott SharpKelley RacingDallaraChevrolet 5 Indianapolis Bruno Junqueira Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Hélio CastronevesTeam PenskeDallaraChevrolet 6 Texas 1 Tomas Scheckter Eddie Cheever Tomas Scheckter Jeff WardChip Ganassi RacingG-ForceChevrolet 7 Pikes Peak Gil de Ferran Felipe Giaffone Gil de Ferran Gil de FerranTeam PenskeDallaraChevrolet 8 Richmond Gil de Ferran Buddy Lazier Gil de Ferran Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraChevrolet 9 Kansas Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Airton DaréA. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraChevrolet 10 Nashville Billy Boat Tomas Scheckter Sam Hornish Jr. Alex BarronBlair RacingDallaraChevrolet 11 Michigan Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Tomas Scheckter Tomas ScheckterCheever RacingDallaraInfiniti 12 Kentucky Sarah Fisher Tomas Scheckter Felipe Giaffone Felipe GiaffoneMo Nunn RacingG-ForceChevrolet 13 Gateway Gil de Ferran Sam Hornish Jr. Hélio Castroneves Gil de FerranTeam PenskeDallaraChevrolet 14 Chicagoland Sam Hornish Jr. Buddy Rice Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraChevrolet 15 Texas 2 Vítor Meira Buddy Rice Hélio Castroneves Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraChevrolet
BOLD indicates a Superspeedway. Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.
Race summaries
Grand Prix of Miami This race was held on March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole. The race was dominated by Sam Hornish Jr. who at one point had a lap on the entire field. On lap 193 of 200, while Hornish was leading by more than 20 seconds, fourth placed Robbie Buhl's engine expired, bringing out the yellow and packing up the field. The green came back out on Lap 197, but Airton Dare crashed immediately in turn 2 on the restart. The race finished under yellow, with Hornish on the top step of the podium. Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves were second and third respectively, for Team Penske in their first race of their first full season in the IRL.
Top ten results 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 6- Gil de Ferran 3- Hélio Castroneves 9- Jeff Ward 11- Eliseo Salazar 52- Tomas Scheckter 21- Felipe Giaffone 44- Alex Barron 99- Anthony Lazzaro 14- Airton Daré
Bombardier ATV 200 This race was held on March 17 at Phoenix International Raceway. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.
Top ten results 3- Hélio Castroneves 6- Gil de Ferran 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 11- Eliseo Salazar 7- Al Unser Jr. 2- Jaques Lazier 91- Buddy Lazier 98- Billy Boat 55- Rick Treadway 20- Hideki Noda
Inaugural Yamaha Indy 400 This race was held on March 24 at California Speedway. Eddie Cheever won the pole.
Top ten results 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 2- Jaques Lazier 34- Laurent Rédon 6- Gil de Ferran 3- Hélio Castroneves 21- Felipe Giaffone 91- Buddy Lazier 8- Scott Sharp 19- Jimmy Vasser 9- Jeff Ward
Inaugural Firestone Indy 225 This race was held on April 21 at Nazareth Speedway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.
Top ten results 8- Scott Sharp 21- Felipe Giaffone 6- Gil de Ferran 24- Sarah Fisher 3- Hélio Castroneves 44- Alex Barron 51- Eddie Cheever 98- Billy Boat 99- Anthony Lazzaro 12- Shigeaki Hattori
86th Indianapolis 500 The Indy 500 was held on May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bruno Junqueira sat on pole. The race end was one of the most controversial in history as Paul Tracy passed Hélio Castroneves just as the yellow was coming out for a crash. Race officials ruled that the pass occurred after the yellow and declared Castroneves the winner.
Top ten results 3- Hélio Castroneves 26- Paul Tracy 21- Felipe Giaffone 44- Alex Barron 51- Eddie Cheever 20- Richie Hearn 39- Michael Andretti 31- Robby Gordon 9- Jeff Ward 6- Gil de Ferran
Boomtown 500 This race was held on June 8 at Texas Motor Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.
Top ten results 9- Jeff Ward 7- Al Unser Jr. 14- Airton Daré 3- Hélio Castroneves 21- Felipe Giaffone 12- Shigeaki Hattori 98- Billy Boat 91- Buddy Lazier 99- Richie Hearn 44- Alex Barron
Radisson Indy 225 This race was held on June 16 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.
Top ten results 6- Gil de Ferran 3- Hélio Castroneves 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 21- Felipe Giaffone 8- Scott Sharp 7- Al Unser Jr. 34- Laurent Rédon 51- Eddie Cheever 14- Airton Daré 44- Alex Barron
SunTrust Indy Challenge This race was held on June 29 at Richmond International Raceway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.
Top ten results 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 6- Gil de Ferran 21- Felipe Giaffone 52- Tomas Scheckter 7- Al Unser Jr. 14- Airton Daré 20- Richie Hearn 9- Jeff Ward 54- Robby McGehee 44- Alex Barron
Ameristar Casino Indy 200 This race was held on July 7 at Kansas Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.
Top ten results 14- Airton Daré 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 3- Hélio Castroneves 21- Felipe Giaffone 6- Gil de Ferran 8- Scott Sharp 91- Buddy Lazier 44-Alex Barron 98- Billy Boat 20- Richie Hearn
Firestone Indy 200 This race was held on July 20 at Nashville Superspeedway. Billy Boat won the pole.
Top ten results 44- Alex Barron 6- Gil de Ferran 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 20- Richie Hearn 12- Raul Boesel 51- Eddie Cheever 21- Felipe Giaffone 8- Scott Sharp 3- Hélio Castroneves 7- Tony Renna
Inaugural Michigan Indy 400 This race was held on July 28 at Michigan International Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.
Top ten results 52- Tomas Scheckter 53- Buddy Rice 21- Felipe Giaffone 7- Tony Renna 6- Gil de Ferran 3- Hélio Castroneves 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 23- Sarah Fisher 8- Scott Sharp 20- Richie Hearn
Belterra Casino Indy 300 This race was held on August 11 at Kentucky Speedway. Sarah Fisher won the pole, the first by a female driver in a major open wheel series.
Top ten results 21- Felipe Giaffone 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 91- Buddy Lazier 8- Scott Sharp 3- Hélio Castroneves 7- Al Unser Jr. 78- Tony Renna 23- Sarah Fisher 44- Alex Barron 24- Robbie Buhl
Gateway Indy 250 This race was held on August 25 at Gateway International Raceway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.
Top ten results 6- Gil de Ferran 3- Hélio Castroneves 44- Alex Barron 52- Buddy Rice 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 24- Robbie Buhl 7- Al Unser Jr. 12- Raul Boesel 2- Vítor Meira 51- Eddie Cheever
Delphi Indy 300
This race was held on September 8 at Chicagoland Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.
Top ten results 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 7- Al Unser Jr. 91- Buddy Lazier 3- Hélio Castroneves 51- Eddie Cheever 21- Felipe Giaffone 8- Scott Sharp 2- Vítor Meira 52- Buddy Rice 15- Dan Wheldon
Gil de Ferran was injured during a crash in this race and would miss the season finale at Texas.
Chevy 500 This race was held on September 15 at Texas Motor Speedway. Vítor Meira won the pole.
Top ten results 4- Sam Hornish Jr.** 3- Hélio Castroneves 2- Vítor Meira 8- Scott Sharp 44- Alex Barron 52- Buddy Rice 91- Buddy Lazier 51- Eddie Cheever 78- Tony Renna 34- Laurent Rédon
Max Papis filled in for the injured Gil de Ferran at Penske; however, he finished 21st due to a blown engine.
By winning the race, Sam Hornish Jr. won his second championship in a row.