Lazier has almost everything

Dick Brinster

Thursday, Aug. 23, 2001 | 2:42 a.m.

Buddy Lazier has seen the checkered flag more times than any driver in IRL history and is having the best year of his career.

So, the 33-year-old racer from Colorado has to be ecstatic, right?

Wrong.

"There's one record I really want," Lazier said. "I want to be the first driver to win two straight Indy Racing League titles."

Well, with twice as many wins as anybody else this season and a propensity for adapting quickly to new tracks - like those where two of the final three races will be contested - that should be no problem, right?

Wrong again.

Lazier isn't even the points leader, and it might take a sweep to ensure that he wins.

How could that be?

As good as Lazier has been, Sam Hornish Jr. has been better, and leads him by 25 points.

"I'm doing all I can," said Lazier, who has won four of the last five races. "But the way Sam's running that might not be enough."

Hornish, the 22-year-old star of the future, has won twice this season. Perhaps belying his youth, Hornish is leading because he's been the most consistent driver in the series.

He has finished all 10 races, completed all but seven laps this season and has been in the top three seven times. His finish of 14th at Indianapolis is his only one outside the top 10.

"When they don't win, they score a lot of points," Lazier said.

Like Lazier, Hornish isn't completely satisfied.

"Every time we go out, we go out to win," he said. "I want to run up front and win all the time, but the points are piling up."

Hornish, without a hint of cockiness, predicted before the season that he'd be a major player in the championship race despite being only a second-year driver. Lazier isn't surprised it worked out that way.

"Sam's a great young driver, and they've got a great team," he said. "But I'm blessed, too, and this is going to be an exciting finish."

Lazier doesn't think he has an advantage just because he's more experienced. He points to Hornish's victories in the first two races this season as proof the youngster isn't awed by his surroundings.

"Maybe that will actually help him," Lazier said. "What might help me is that I've won twice on the new tracks."

His victories in Richmond, Va., and Gladeville, Tenn., have enabled Lazier set a record of four this season and eight overall in the 6-year-old circuit. The IRL races Saturday night in Madison, Ill., and Sept. 2 in Joliet, Ill. - both new venues - before wrapping up the season Sept. 16 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hornish is aware of Lazier's strength on new tracks but thinks fate might play a bigger role in the outcome of the championship battle.

"There's always luck involved no matter how well you're running," he said. "You can have a flawless car and flawless crew work, but the driver can make a mistake.

"Or everything can be going well and something happens that's beyond your control. This is all about fitting all the pieces together."

They certainly have fallen in place for Lazier, who two months ago considered himself only a long shot to repeat as champion. Since then, he has four wins and six straight top-five finishes.

Still, his only guarantee of a title is a sweep. But Lazier is thinking only of the next race, hoping he can beat Hornish one more time.

"If we don't win the championship, I'm going to be disappointed," he said. "But even if we don't, I'll be able to look back and say we certainly had a great season."