Indy
Racing League
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SHARP SEIZES
OPPORTUNITY TO WIN INDY JAPAN 300
Scott Sharp,
driver of the #8 Delphi/Kelley Racing car, gives a thumbs up and celebrates
after winning the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series Indy Japan 300 held
at Twin Ring Motegi. This photo was taken April 13, 2003 by Roger Bedwell.
© 2003, Indianapolis Motor Speedway - All rights reserved.
MOTEGI, Japan,
Sunday, April 13, 2003 - Scott Sharp wasn't the fastest driver on the
track, but he was in the right place at the right time to win the Indy
Japan 300 on April 13 and continue his streak as the most consistent winner
in IRL IndyCarTM Series history.
1996 series
co-champion Sharp won the first overseas Indy Racing League event in the
No. 8 Delphi Dallara/Toyota/Firestone as the race ended under caution.
1999 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1998 series champion Kenny Brack finished
second in the No. 15 Pioneer/Miller Lite Dallara/Honda/Firestone, with
2001 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Felipe Giaffone third in the No. 21
Hollywood Mo Nunn Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone.
With the
victory, Sharp extended his Indy Racing League record streak of winning
at least one race in seven consecutive IRL IndyCarTM Series seasons. It
was his eighth career IRL victory, tying Sam Hornish Jr. and Buddy Lazier
for the all-time series lead.
Sharp also
took the series points lead with the victory after entering the race in
sixth place. He averaged 129.090 mph and earned $148,400 for the win.
"We
improved the car's balance throughout the day, and we were really fast
when it mattered," Sharp said. "There was a lot of stuff that
happened right in front of me, but the man above was looking out for me.
"I knew
we had to get to the finish. In a lot of these races, the competition
is so close. We're running just inches apart at times, but you have to
get to the end to have a chance to make a run for the win."
Sharp took
the lead on Lap 178 when pole sitter Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan collided
and crashed in Turn 3 while dueling for the lead. It was the last of 13
lead changes among six drivers in the race.
That incident
came just 10 laps after Tomas Scheckter - who led Laps 124-159 - crashed
in Turn 4 in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Toyota/Firestone
while attempting to make a high pass of Kanaan's No. 11 Team 7-Eleven
Dallara/Honda/Firestone for the lead.
Brack looked
ready to make a late charge toward Sharp, but an accident between Shinji
Nakano and Jaques Lazier on Lap 194 of the 200-lap race caused the race
to finish under the caution flag, delivering the victory to Sharp.
"The
car was really, really good, but we picked up a puncture, and we had to
fight our way back through the line and everything," Brack said.
"Second is better than third. We ran out of laps in the end. I think
we could have won had we had 10 more green laps because we were clearly
fastest, but we had another yellow.
"But
we're happy. It was a great comeback for us. It's our third race in a
new formula. It says a lot about the team and the engineers and everyone
on the crew to make a car that good."
Sharp led
three times during the event for 26 laps. He led Lap 103 and Laps 162-163
during pit stop sequences before taking the lead for good after Kanaan
and Dixon wrecked with 23 laps to go.
Kanaan, Dixon
and Scheckter controlled the race before the incident-filled final 40
laps. They combined to lead 140 of the first 160 laps and were the only
drivers to turn a 200-mph lap during the race. Kanaan led 70 laps, more
than any other driver.
But the race
doesn't always go the swiftest. Especially on the tricky 1.5-mile Motegi
oval on a day that threw a curve ball at drivers and teams.
The first
two days of this event took place under cloudy skies and cool temperatures.
But a bright sun this morning heated a track washed clean by all-night
rains, raising the track temperature to 120 degrees at the start. It was
much warmer than the track temperatures either of the first two days of
the race.
Those condition
changes could have contributed to a rough first 45 laps in which two-time
Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, Sarah Fisher, Shigeaki Hattori,
Roger Yasukawa and Scott Mayer were involved in accidents.
But the field
settled into a groove for the next 120 laps before dramatic, race-changing
incidents started sprouting at the front of the field over the last 35
laps.
Kanaan was
the only driver involved in any of the incidents to require further medical
attention. He was awake and alert when transported by air to Dokkyo University
School of Medicine Hospital in Tochigi, Japan, for X-rays of his right
leg and left arm.
The next
IRL IndyCar Series race is the 87th Indianapolis 500 on May 25. Practice
for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" starts Sunday, May 4
at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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