2002 Michigan Indy 400

January 2025 42 03 58.68 N 84 14 29.18 W type:landmark title United States Michigan Indy 400 Michigan International Speedway track map.png July 28 2002 2002 Michigan Indy 400 11 15 Indy Racing League Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States Permanent racing facility 2.000 3.219 200 400.000 643.800 South Africa Tomas Scheckter Team Cheever 32.4518 South Africa Tomas Scheckter Team Cheever 32.5672 unknown South Africa Tomas Scheckter Team Cheever USA Buddy Rice Team Cheever Brazil Felipe Giaffone Mo Nunn Racing The 2002 Michigan Indy 400 was the eleventh round of the 2002 Indy Racing League season. The race was held on July 28, 2002, at the 2.00 mi Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. In what many consider to be one of the greatest finishes in IndyCar history, rookie Tomas Scheckter scored his first win in open-wheel competition after charging to the front in a race that saw an astonishing number of passes and lead changes in the closing laps of the race, including the first time a woman has ever led an IndyCar race on merit (Sarah Fisher). Team Cheever teammate Buddy Rice finished in second place in his IndyCar debut while team owner/driver Eddie Cheever crashed during the race. It would be the team's only win of the season and their last in open-wheel racing. The circumstances surrounding the first-ever IRL-sanctioned race at Michigan made for a dramatic and electric atmosphere: Scheckter, despite his quickness during the season, was more known for his recklessness, frequently crashed and cost Team Cheever several potential wins.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBx1GjP8CKA 2002 IRL at Michigan YouTube 2017-10-07 Eddie Cheever was grooming Buddy Rice to take over Scheckter's seat in the #52, but due to contractual obligations he could not release Scheckter until the next race at Kentucky Speedway. Nevertheless, Cheever gave Rice the preferred equipment, spare parts, and pit crew for the race. Scheckter, now on a personal vendetta, dominated the race from pole position, led the most laps, but almost gave up the win after a poor late-race pit stop, falling back to 12th place, the last car on the lead lap. From there, he ferociously battled his way back to the front in an amazing display of raw speed and talent. Despite the win, Scheckter was still let go from Team Cheever after Kentucky. The prevalence of drafting allowed for the field to race in tight side-by-side packs, not unusual for NASCAR events but very unusual for open-wheel races. Drivers would often swap positions each lap in order to take advantage of the draft and gain ground on the next competitor. This became especially important during the last twenty-five lap sprint to the finish when multiple drivers jockeyed for position. Qualifying July 27, 2002 - Qualifying Speeds Rank Driver Time Leader Speed (mph) Team1South Africa Tomas Scheckter (R)32.4518—221.868Team Cheever2USA Buddy Rice (R)32.4571 +0.005221.831Team Cheever3USA Eddie Cheever32.6785 +0.227220.328Team Cheever4USA Sam Hornish Jr.32.7898 +0.338219.580Panther Racing5USA Mark Dismore32.8325 +0.381219.295Team Menard6Brazil Helio Castroneves32.8631 +0.411219.091Team Penske7USA Alex Barron32.9317 +0.480218.634Blair Racing8USA Sarah Fisher32.9341 +0.482218.618Dreyer & Reinbold Racing9Chile Eliseo Salazar32.9366 +0.485218.602A. J. Foyt Enterprises10USA Tony Renna (R)32.9428 +0.491218.561Kelley Racing11USA Robbie Buhl32.9849 +0.533 218.282 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing12Brazil Felipe Giaffone 32.9891 +0.537 218.254 Mo Nunn Racing13Brazil Airton Daré33.0377 +0.586 217.933A. J. Foyt Enterprises14France Laurent Redon (R) 33.0435 +0.592 217.895 Conquest Racing15USA Buddy Lazier33.0929 +0.641 217.569 Hemelgarn Racing16USA Scott Sharp 33.0942 +0.642 217.561 Kelley Racing17Brazil Gil de Ferran 33.1146 +0.663 217.427 Team Penske18Brazil Raul Boesel 33.1181 +0.666 217.404 Bradley Motorsports19USA Billy Boat 33.1408 +0.689 217.255 Curb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports20Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 33.1763 +0.724 217.022 Treadway Racing21USA Richie Hearn 33.1785 +0.727 217.008 Sam Schmidt Motorsports22USA Jeff Ward 33.3209 +0.869 216.081 Chip Ganassi Racing23USA Greg Ray 33.5079 +1.056 214.875 A. J. Foyt Enterprises24USA George Mack (R)33.5806 +1.129 214.410 310 Racing25USA Scott Harrington 33.8255 +1.374 212.857 Brayton RacingSource:IRL: Michigan starting lineup July 27, 2002 motorsport.com October 6, 2017 https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-michigan-starting-line-up/?s=1 October 7, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171007070209/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-michigan-starting-line-up/?s=1 dead Race Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/retired Grid Points152South Africa Tomas Scheckter (R)Team Cheever2002:14:031521 1253USA Buddy Rice (R)Team Cheever200 +1.704 secs240321Brazil Felipe GiaffoneMo Nunn Racing200Running123547USA Tony Renna (R)Kelley Racing200Running103256Brazil Gil de FerranTeam Penske200Running173063Brazil Helio CastronevesTeam Penske200Running62874USA Sam Hornish Jr.Panther Racing200Running426823USA Sarah FisherDreyer & Reinbold Racing200Running82498USA Scott SharpKelley Racing200Running16221020USA Richie HearnSam Schmidt Motorsports200Running21201134France Laurent Redon (R)Conquest Racing200Running14191244USA Alex BarronBlair Racing198 +2 Laps7181391USA Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing198 +2 Laps15171498USA Billy BoatCurb/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports198 +2 Laps19161512Brazil Raul BoeselBradley Motorsports197 +3 Laps18151655Netherlands Arie LuyendykTreadway Racing197 +3 Laps20141741USA Greg RayA. J. Foyt Enterprises196 +4 Laps2313182USA Mark DismoreTeam Menard194 +6 Laps5121911Chile Eliseo SalazarA. J. Foyt Enterprises192 +8 Laps9112031USA George Mack (R)310 Racing183 +17 Laps24102137USA Scott HarringtonBrayton Racing171 +29 Laps2592251USA Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever165Contact382314Brazil Airton DaréA. J. Foyt Enterprises127Mechanical1372424USA Robbie BuhlDreyer & Reinbold Racing95Engine116259USA Jeff WardChip Ganassi Racing91Contact225Source:2002 Michigan Indy 400 results racing-reference.info October 6, 2017 http://racing-reference.info/race/2002_Michigan_Indy_400/O 1 Includes two bonus points for pole position and leading the most laps. Race Statistics Lead changes: 25 among 9 drivers Lap Leaders Laps Leader1-36 Tomas Scheckter37-38 Buddy Rice39-41 Helio Castroneves42-44 Tony Renna45-69 Tomas Scheckter70 Felipe Giaffone71-80 Tomas Scheckter81-87 Felipe Giaffone88-92 Scott Sharp93-97 Gil de Ferran98-122 Tomas Scheckter123-129 Buddy Rice130-134 Felipe Giaffone135-139 Sam Hornish Jr.140-141 Gil de Ferran142-143 Helio Castroneves144-162 Tomas Scheckter163-168 Buddy Rice169-173 Sam Hornish Jr.174-178 Gil de Ferran179-184 Felipe Giafffone185 Sarah Fisher186 Felipe Giaffone187-189 Sarah Fisher190-193 Felipe Giaffone194-200 Tomas Scheckter Leader Laps Tomas Scheckter 122 Felipe Giaffone 24 Buddy Rice 15 Gil de Ferran 12 Sam Hornish Jr. 10 Helio Castroneves 5 Scott Sharp 5 Sarah Fisher 4 Tony Renna 3 Cautions: 5 for 25 laps Laps Reason46-50Debris57-58Debris95-101Ward crash147-149Debris166-173Cheever crash Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Rank +/– Driver Points 1 10px Brazil Gil de Ferran 377 2 10px Brazil Helio Castroneves 365 3 10px USA Sam Hornish Jr. 3594 10px Brazil Felipe Giaffone 330 5 10px USA Alex Barron 261 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings. External links Full race available on IndyCar's official YouTube page. References Michigan Indy 400 2002 2002 Firestone Indy 200 2002 Belterra Casino Indy 300 2001 Harrah's 500 2003 Firestone Indy 400 Category:2002 in IndyCar Category:Michigan Indy 400 Category:2002 in sports in Michigan