JOLIET, Ill. – Team owner Roger Penske kept Sam Hornish Jr. abreast of his championship position throughout the 200 laps of the fast and furious PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean.
There wasn't a need to take chances in the final 10 laps of the race punctuated by 20 lead changes. Running third behind Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon would clinch his third IndyCar Series title.
So, after overtaking Dixon for second for a lap, Hornish gave up aspirations of his fifth race victory to secure the championship. It might have been his best move of the season (well, maybe the frontstretch pass of Marco Andretti to win the 90th Indianapolis 500 was better).
Wheldon picked up three bonus points for leading the most laps (166) and won his second race of the season. That tied Hornish with 475 points, but it wasn't enough.
Race victories – four to two in Hornish's favor – were the deciding factor. Wheldon won the first and final events on the 14-race schedule (this one at Chicagoland Speedway by 0.1897 of a second over Dixon). Hornish, a two-time winner on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland oval, won at Indianapolis, back to back at Richmond and Kansas, and at Kentucky.
With an IndyCar Series championship hat pulled snuggly over his brow, Hornish accepted the $1 million bonus check from Indy Racing League president and COO Brian Barnhart on a specially constructed stage in the grandstand. Hundreds of handshakes and verbal "congratulations" quickly followed.
'It's just really been an unbelievable year for us,' said Hornish, physically and emotionally spent. 'We came into this season and we've had some ups and downs. Obviously, the highlight of the year was winning the Indianapolis 500. That's the highlight of my career. It really catapulted us back into the points championship, the hunt. Then we just kind of continued on from there.
'We had some problems here and there, but kind of kept our composure about ourselves. Things worked out well.
As far as today goes, we just went out there, tried to be as smart as we possibly could, stay with the leaders, and make sure that we didn't make any mistakes. The pit crew gave me awesome stops, just the way they had all season long. I tried to be smart out there and not get involved in any situations. The two Ganassi cars were hitting each other. I didn't think I needed to stick my nose in there. I didn't want to be part of an accident.
'The way it turned out, we did everything we needed to do to win the championship. I can't think of how next year could be any better, but hopefully it is.'
Patience was preached by team owner Roger Penske throughout the season. It went a long way in deciding the first series championship for the 14-time Indianapolis 500 winner
'It was one we didn't have and when you don't have something, you really want it,' Penske said.
'I'd have to say that we were disappointed the last two years. Certainly with a level playing field, with all of us with similar equipment, engines, it turned out to be a great season. I think his perseverance, using his head at Indy this year, we were able to get the right strategy to win it. It was an unbelievable race.
'Today probably was a little more problematic because we had two drivers within one point of each other (Hornish trailed Helio Castroneves by one point entering the race). We really, as you saw at the end, had to run third in order to win the championship. With two of our guys fighting each other, you never really know what can happen. We had two races -- one being the race for the race -- the other one for the championship.
'It was a great day. I take my hat off to Sam for being patient out there.'
Wheldon said the day before he wanted to lead the most laps and win the race, with the points race shaking out among the positions of the other contenders. He needed Hornish to finish one spot lower.
'All credit goes to Roger Penske's organization and to Sam Hornish,' said Wheldon, the 2005 series champion. 'We've had a somewhat difficult year. This is perhaps a bittersweet end. It was a lot of hard work for Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the boys at Honda. You could see that there was nothing but equality with the engines. This is Target's 50th win with Chip and we are happy for that. I was very determined to win.'
