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

United States 2002 Michigan Indy 400
Race details
Race 11 of 15 in the 2002 Indy Racing League season
DateJuly 28, 2002
Official name2002 Michigan Indy 400
LocationMichigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.000 mi / 3.219 km
Distance200 laps
400.000 mi / 643.800 km
Pole position
DriverSouth Africa Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Time32.4518
Fastest lap
DriverSouth Africa Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
Time32.5672 (on lap unknown of 200)
Podium
FirstSouth Africa Tomas Scheckter (Team Cheever)
SecondUnited States Buddy Rice (Team Cheever)
ThirdBrazil 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
RankDriverTimeLeaderSpeed (mph)Team
1 South Africa Tomas Scheckter (R) 32.4518 221.868 Team Cheever
2 United States Buddy Rice (R) 32.6785 +0.005 221.831 Team Cheever
3 United States Eddie Cheever 32.6785 +0.227 220.328 Team Cheever
4 United States Sam Hornish Jr. 32.7898 +0.338 219.580 Panther Racing
5 United States Mark Dismore 32.8325 +0.381 219.295 Team Menard
6 Brazil Helio Castroneves 32.8631 +0.411 219.091 Team Penske
7 United States Alex Barron 32.9341 +0.480 218.634 Blair Racing
8 United States Sarah Fisher 32.9341 +0.482 218.618 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
9 Chile Eliseo Salazar 32.9366 +0.485 218.602 A. J. Foyt Enterprises
10 United States Tony Renna (R) 32.9428 +0.491 218.561 Kelley Racing
11 United States Robbie Buhl 32.9849 +0.533 218.282 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
12 Brazil Felipe Giaffone 32.9891 +0.537 218.254 Mo Nunn Racing
13 Brazil Airton Daré 33.0377 +0.586 217.933 A. J. Foyt Enterprises
14 France Laurent Redon (R) 33.0435 +0.592 217.895 Conquest Racing
15 United States Buddy Lazier 33.0929 +0.641 217.569 Hemelgarn Racing
16 United States Scott Sharp 33.0942 +0.642 217.561 Kelley Racing
17 Brazil Gil de Ferran 33.1146 +0.663 217.427 Team Penske
18 Brazil Raul Boesel 33.1181 +0.666 217.404 Bradley Motorsports
19 United States Billy Boat 33.1408 +0.689 217.255 Curb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports
20 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 33.1763 +0.724 217.022 Treadway Racing
21 United States Richie Hearn 33.1785 +0.727 217.008 Sam Schmidt Motorsports
22 United States Jeff Ward 33.3209 +0.869 216.081 Chip Ganassi Racing
23 United States Greg Ray 33.5079 +1.056 214.875 A. J. Foyt Enterprises
24 United States George Mack (R) 33.5806 +1.129 214.410 310 Racing
25 United States Scott Harrington 33.8255 +1.374 212.857 Brayton Racing
Source:[2]

Race

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/retiredGridPoints
1 52 South Africa Tomas Scheckter (R) Team Cheever 200 2:14:03 1 521
2 53 United States Buddy Rice (R) Team Cheever 200 +1.704 secs 2 40
3 21 Brazil Felipe Giaffone Mo Nunn Racing 200 Running 12 35
4 7 United States Tony Renna (R) Kelley Racing 200 Running 10 32
5 6 Brazil Gil de Ferran Team Penske 200 Running 17 30
6 3 Brazil Helio Castroneves Team Penske 200 Running 6 28
7 4 United States Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing 200 Running 4 26
8 23 United States Sarah Fisher Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 200 Running 8 24
9 8 United States Scott Sharp Kelley Racing 200 Running 16 22
10 20 United States Richie Hearn Sam Schmidt Motorsports 200 Running 21 20
11 34 France Laurent Redon (R) Conquest Racing 200 Running 14 19
12 44 United States Alex Barron Blair Racing 198 +2 Laps 7 18
13 91 United States Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Racing 198 +2 Laps 15 17
14 98 United States Billy Boat Curb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports 198 +2 Laps 19 16
15 12 Brazil Raul Boesel Bradley Motorsports 197 +3 Laps 18 15
16 55T Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Treadway Racing 197 +3 Laps 20 14
17 41 United States Greg Ray A. J. Foyt Enterprises 196 +4 Laps 23 13
18 2 United States Mark Dismore Team Menard 194 +6 Laps 5 12
19 11 Chile Eliseo Salazar A. J. Foyt Enterprises 192 +8 Laps 9 11
20 31 United States George Mack (R) 310 Racing 183 +17 Laps 24 10
21 37 United States Scott Harrington Brayton Racing 171 +29 Laps 25 9
22 51 United States Eddie Cheever Team Cheever 165 Contact 3 8
23 14 Brazil Airton Daré A. J. Foyt Enterprises 127 Mechanical 13 7
24 24 United States Robbie Buhl Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 95 Engine 11 6
25 9 United States Jeff Ward Chip Ganassi Racing 91 Contact 22 5
Source:[3]
  1. ^ Includes two bonus points for pole position and leading the most laps.

Race Statistics

  • Lead changes: 25 among 9 drivers

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.

References

  1. "2002 IRL at Michigan". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  2. "IRL: Michigan starting lineup". motorsport.com. July 27, 2002. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  3. "2002 Michigan Indy 400 results". racing-reference.info. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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