Hornish takes dominant win

[Raven]

Not the best of races the IRL will produce this year I'm sure, but well done to Sam Hornish Jr none the less.

[ghinzani]

was he lap ahead at one point? I was trying to find a web radio station that carried it to no avail... looks like someone can match Penske then!

[macdaddy]

Yessir. He was a lap ahead of the field and it looked like he was gonna stay that way till the end. Track went yellow and the Penske boys stayed out while everybody else pitted. I didn't like that very much, but one of these days I'll learn to not second-guess The Captain. Turned out to be brilliant as a later yellow put both Marlboro cars back onto the lead lap to at least have a shot at the win. But it wasn't to be. Hornish was on rails.

Pretty good racing after a few of the rookies were weeded out early. So many early yellows... I don't need to make THAT many beer runs! First IRL race I've watched in a few years, other than Al Jr's debut, and I was impressed. (Especially by this Hornish guy). But what I wonder is why, whenver an engine let go, it seemed like the cars were unable to pull off of the track anywhere other than pit-in. Who was it with the car fire? Seemed like he had to drive on forever before he could find a fire station. And a point I'd like to make about Homestead is that the infield on the backstretch is grass. Have the track owners forgotten #99?

Ganassi got one-off sponsorship from Miami Heat basketball. Does this mean that he is eligible for the package that the league is offering to full-time entries?

Good performances put in by a number of drivers, such as Ayrton Dare. And I was glad to see somebody able to race the red-and-whites. I'm eating crow after predicting a different finish to all of my friends. Of course, I'd have been happier to see Hornish finish in third, 1/10000sec behind the red-and-whites, but at least it proves to me that the competition level may be abit higher than I had expected. And that is good.

[Speedworx]

Its good that Penske will not dominate this year.

[enemy-ace]

That was my first IRL race, other than the Indy 500, and I can't say it kept me on the edge of my seat.I actually took a shower midway through the race. Considering it's a spec series, I expected closer competition throughout the field. I'll give it another shot however, but so far it's no great shakes.

[marcus]

yeah wasnt the most exciting race and in fact i dont think ive ever seen an exciting race at Miami in either series , but what a race by hornish and it looks like he will be the class of the field this year.

here is the final results list.

1 4 Hornish Jr, Sam
2 6 de Ferran, Gil
3 3 Castroneves, Helio
4 9 Ward, Jeff
5 11 Salazar, Eliseo
6 52 Scheckter, Tomas
7 21 Giaffone, Felipe
8 44 Barron, Alex
9 99 Lazzaro, Anthony
10 14 Dare, Airton
11 18 Carlson, Tyce
12 24 Buhl, Robbie
13 31 Mack, George
14 10 McGehee, Robby
15 34 Redon, Laurent
16 98 Boat, Billy
17 37 de Vries, John
18 2 Lazier, Jaques
19 7 Unser Jr, Al
20 8 Sharp, Scott
21 81 Roe, Billy
22 91 Lazier, Buddy
23 20 Noda, Hideki
24 55 Treadway, Rick
25 51 Cheever Jr, Eddie

[gomick]

sam certainly is the real deal - good luck to him......good to see penske up there - which i suppose was expected.

[Dr. Austin]

I don't think the Homestead race was a fair represention of the IRL. There was a 30mph crosswind blowing across the backstreach. There is just no way to have close racing in those conditions. The wind was so bad in Sebring that I was afraid they would cancel the IRL race. Miami is not that far away, so the conditions couldn't have been much better there.

Still, we saw outside passing and some two abreast action. When they get in better conditions, the racing will be better.

It was still a decent race, but nothing like what I've come to expect from the IRL. If this is the worst race we have this year, it will be a good year.

[marcus]

yep , couldnt agree more with the good doctor.

all classes of racing have some lets say "less exciting" races , and this was only round one , but the main thing to come out of the weekend is that Hornish is definately a class driver and I think he is gonna take some beating this year.

[R]

Watching the IRL for the first time last Sunday, I will say I think it was an OK way to spend an hour on a Sunday evening. Granted, it wasn't the most exciting race I've ever seen, but I'll certainly keep following Eurosport's coverage. Hornish was dominant and impressive. He looks like a true champ.