2002 Michigan Indy 400

Coordinates: 42°03′58.68″N 84°14′29.18″W / 42.0663000°N 84.2414389°W / 42.0663000; -84.2414389

2002 Michigan Indy 400

Race details
Race 11 of 15 in the 2002 Indy Racing League season
Date	July 28, 2002
Official name	2002 Michigan Indy 400
Location	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.000 mi / 3.219 km
Distance	200 laps 400.000 mi / 643.800 km
Pole position
Driver	Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Time	32.4518
Fastest lap
Driver	Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Time	32.5672 (on lap unknown of 200)
Podium
First	Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Second	Buddy Rice (Team Cheever)
Third	Felipe Giaffone (Mo Nunn Racing)

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.^[1] 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
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:[2]

Race[]

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/retired	Grid	Points
1	52	Tomas Scheckter (R)	Team Cheever	200	2:14:03	1	521
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		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	55T	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:[3]

Race Statistics[]

• Lead changes: 25 among 9 drivers

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.

External links[]

Full race available on IndyCar's official YouTube page.

References[]