Hornish bullish in his outlook

Whether on the pole or in the wall, the driver remains obsessed with adding the title of Indy 500 champion to his racing resume.

By JOHN SCHWARB
Published May 26, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS - One lap told the story of Sam Hornish Jr. at Indianapolis, past and present.

Last week, a day after securing the pole for Sunday's 90th Indianapolis 500 with a dominating 228.985 mph speed, the Team Penske driver was back on the track working his backup Dallara-Honda. As had been the case every day of the month but one, he was again the fastest man in town, turning a lap at 226.256 mph.

The car returned to the garage hanging from a tow truck.

Seconds after completing that hot lap, Hornish slowed in traffic, got on the gas again and lost control, spinning and hitting the outside wall at the exit of Turn 1. Granted, it was the backup car, not the one he qualified, in an incident unlikely to have any lingering effect on this weekend's proceedings.

But when it comes to Hornish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a car wrecked into the wall is an all-too-common sight.

In six previous Indy 500s, Hornish has yet to finish higher than 14th or complete all 200 laps. In four of the races he has made some sort of contact with an outside wall, in three of those years the incidents ended his day. Last year he was running sixth on Lap 147 when he hit the wall after taking a high line to challenge St. Petersburg resident Sebastien Bourdais. He couldn't continue and finished 23rd after qualifying second and leading a race-high 77 laps.

"I'd like to skip about six years walking out of here feeling like I couldn't drive the race car," Hornish said.

It's a baffling history given Hornish's prowess everywhere else. He's the IndyCar series leader in wins (14) and laps led, and its only back-to-back champion, in 2001 and 2002 with Panther Racing. His talent led to a job with racing giant Penske in 2004, and he turned down offers along the way to move to NASCAR.

He can't even think about other opportunities until filling this gaping hole in his racing resume.

"It's the last thing I have to do - I have to do - in my (open-wheel) racing career," Hornish said. "I probably think of this race six out of seven days of the week, regardless of what time of the year it is; how do I win it, how do I put myself in position to be able to win."

Hornish may never be in a better prerace position. Underpowered Toyota engines hampered Penske the past two years, but this year the team acquired the same Hondas with which drivers such as St. Petersburg's Dan Wheldon had dominated the circuit. Combine that with the aerodynamic improvements Penske had made to keep up in the Toyota years, and Penske has clearly been the team to beat so far this year between Hornish and series points leader Helio Castroneves (who qualified second for the 500 in 228.008 mph, nearly 1 mph behind his teammate).

With Indianapolis being a multiweek event with several days of practice and qualifying, the field has had plenty of time to look at Hornish's name atop the speed charts and, this week, atop the starting grid.

"It's got to feel good when you're at Indy. I know it feels good when you're like: "Hey, I'm fast. I can be fast at will,"' said second-year starter Danica Patrick, last year's single-lap speed leader leading up to race day.

"I don't doubt that they're going to be super-fast in the race."

Except speed alone doesn't earn the winner's milk at Indianapolis.

"This year he said he came back thinking: "How do I finish the race? If I finish the last lap, more than likely I'll be in the hunt,' which is the way he should approach it," said four-time Indy winner Rick Mears, a former Team Penske driver and now a fixture in its garage.

Hornish certainly came in thinking. But do the wheels in his head turn too much over Indy?

"There is a saying that when you look too hard for something, you're never going to get it," said Castroneves, whose 500 legacy is secure with two wins. "Sam's a very fine driver; he knows what he's doing.

"It's tough for me to tell him what he's doing. He'll figure it out one way or another."

There's only one way for Hornish left. He's had plenty of the others at Indianapolis.

[Last modified May 26, 2006, 23:17:47]