Home-track win puts Lazier back in IRL race

John Mossman

Thursday, June 21, 2001 | 8:24 a.m.

FOUNTAIN, Colo. - By finally getting a victory on his home track, Buddy Lazier took a big step toward contending for the Indy Racing League title.

The series champion considers the Indianapolis 500 the most important race in the world, with the annual IRL event at Pikes Peak International Raceway a close second.

The native of Vail always expected to win here. He won at Indianapolis in 1996, but a victory at Pikes Peak had eluded him until Sunday.

The low point came in 2000, when Lazier blew an engine on the backstretch of the first lap and finished last. That result dropped a dejected Lazier to second place in the standings behind Eddie Cheever Jr., although Lazier would rally late in the season to claim the title.

Returning to the one-mile oval last week for the Radisson 200, Lazier was decidedly low key.

"I learned to not have high expectations here in my backyard," he said. "Whatever happens, happens."

What happened on his sixth try was a jubilant breakthrough.

Driving a car that ran increasingly better as the race progressed, Lazier stalked points leader Sam Hornish Jr. before finally overtaking him on lap 157, on a restart after a caution flag.

Lazier cruised to a winning margin of 10.1 seconds, averaging a track-record 142.987 mph to take the $131,300 top prize.

"Huge, huge," Lazier said when asked about beating the home-track jinx. "This is really sweet. Winning at home, there's nothing like it. I wanted to win so bad in front of my hometown friends and family."

The victory thrusts Lazier solidly into contention in the points race.

"This is what we needed," he said. "The momentum is picking up. We've dug ourselves out of a hole.

"We've had a lot of problems this year, but my guys never say die. There's still a long season ahead of us."

Hornish leads the standings with 229 points. Eliseo Salazar is second with 173, and Scott Sharp has 171. Lazier, who added 50 points to his total, has 167.

Sunday's win was the fifth in Lazier's career. It also was his fifth top-10 finish at Pikes Peak with the lone exception being last year.

Perseverance paid off for Lazier, who trailed Hornish by as much as 14 seconds in the race.

Hornish led from lap 5 through 156, and at one point had lapped all but four cars in a field of 20. For nearly 100 laps, he led Lazier by more than a half-lap.

But three caution flags bunched the field, the final one giving Lazier the chance he needed.

"There is a bit of irony in that last caution," Lazier said.

His brother, Jaques, blew an engine on lap 147, spraying fluid and triggering the yellow flag.

"I don't know that I needed that caution to win the race," Lazier said. "I think I had a chance without it, but it certainly didn't hurt."

It also didn't hurt that Hornish, who had seemed uncatchable, got a set of tires that made his car handle poorly. In fact, on lap 162, Hornish almost lost control in turn 2, nearly hitting the wall and losing time in trying to catch Lazier.

"We just kept digging and digging," Lazier said. "We were both on the edge, and obviously my car was a little better at the end."

Lazier led the final 44 laps - the first he has led all season.

In winning the 2000 series title, Lazier led in six of nine races for 242 laps. He won two races and finished second three times.

Besides getting a momentum boost in the points race, Lazier gained new insight into racing at Pikes Peak.

"When we first came here, I wanted it so bad," he said. "I so overdrove the car, you couldn't believe it. Last year, we had a failure on the very first lap. I came in thinking I had the home advantage and, boom, we were out.

"We managed our car better this time."