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Final IRL race will decide the title

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By TIM McDONOUGH

mcdonough@crescent-news.com

With just one race remaining on the 2007 IndyCar Series schedule, the season championship remains firmly up for grabs. On Sunday when the green flag flies at Chicagoland Speedway, Dario Franchitti of Andretti Green Racing and Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing will have just three points separating them from a title.

Lurking just 39 points back is Franchitti's teammate Tony Kanaan, who would be more than happy to swoop in and win the title if either Franchitti or Dixon slips. While the focus of Sunday's Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean will be on that trio, don't forget the X-factor that is Sam Hornish Jr. of Team Penske.

Hornish enters Sunday's race fifth in the points and mathematically eliminated from title contention, but his past success at the 1.5-mile oval that is Chicagoland Speedway can not be ignored. Hornish has won twice there and has a career-worst finish of sixth in six career races.

While Hornish will be the first to tell you that it has been a season of adversity, he is very much looking forward to going back to Chicago where success has been plentiful in his career.

"For whatever reason I've always had good runs at Chicagoland, so why wouldn't I be excited to go back there?" asked Hornish. "We're going there looking to win, like we do at every race, and it would be a great way to finish a tough season with a victory."

How good has Hornish been at Chicagoland?

In 2001 Hornish clinched his first IRL crown with a second-place finish, while in 2006 his third-place finish was good enough to earn him his third IndyCar Series crown. While those finishes meant championships, it was in 2002 and in 2003 when he really left his mark on the track in the greater-Chicago area.

On his way to his second series title in 2002, Hornish captured the closest finish in IRL history when he beat Al Unser Jr. to the finish line by just .0024 of a second. Just one year later, Hornish took the checkered flag by .0100 of a second at Chicagoland ahead of Dixon and Bryan Herta in the closest 1-2-3 finish in series history.

Certainly moments the only three-time IRL champion won't ever forget.

"It would mean a lot to win there again," said Hornish. "A win would be my 20th in Indy cars and it would mean another great finish there. A win would also get me pumped up for the off-season and it would feel good going into next year.

"The thing I like about Chicagoland is that it's a wide track that's very smooth and that makes it fun to race," added Hornish. "I clinched a championship there in 2001 and celebrated, and I clinched a championship there last year and celebrated. Those are memories I won't ever forget and those are reasons why it's been a great place for me personally."

While Hornish knows he won't be fighting for another title on Sunday, that doesn't mean he's not going to race for a win just because those other drivers will be battling it out for this year's crown.

"I've been involved in fighting for the championship in the past and I know that nobody raced me any less hard," said Hornish. "I'm not about to do anything to jeopardize anybody's championship hopes, but I'm not going to get out of the way either, I'm going there to win a race like I do at every track we go to."

While Sunday will be the conclusion to this year's IRL campaign, Hornish is far from hanging up his helmet for the year. It was just recently announced that he will try to qualify for his first-ever NASCAR Nextel Cup race on Sunday, Sept. 16 at Loudonville, N.H., the first race in The Chase for the Cup.

That will mark what Hornish hopes will be the first of at least five Nextel Cup races, all in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, to finish off the year.

"We still have to qualify for those races in order for me to run in them, but I'm really looking forward to it," said Hornish, who recently tested in a Cup car at both Nashville and Memphis. "The good thing about this whole deal is that (teammates) Kurt (Busch) and Ryan (Newman) will be there running as well and if I need any help I know I can count on those guys.

"Right now, our whole schedule to end the year is subject to change and we're not sure if we're going to do all the Busch races as well or not," added Hornish. "It just means a lot to me to have the opportunity to do this and I feel good that Roger (Penske) is giving me this chance. There's still no timetable as to when I know exactly what I'm going to be doing next year, but like I said before it's great to have options."

Another big change for Hornish is the announcement that he and his wife Crystal are expecting their first child in February.

"Personally it's something that both Crystal and I are very excited about and of course we both hope that her pregnancy and the birth go very well," concluded Hornish. "Professionally, Crystal and I look forward to taking our baby with us to races and to being the best parents we can be. It's good to know though that if for any reason we would need to have the baby stay home, we have two sets of grandparents close by who would be more than happy to help."

Practice for the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean begins on Saturday at 9:15 a.m., with a second round beginning at noon. AAMCO Transmissions Pole Qualifying will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday with Sunday's race scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.