HOMESTEAD, Fla., March 2 (UPI) -- Sam Hornish Jr., the 2001 Indy Racing League champion, outraced the field Saturday to win the season-opening Grand Prix of Miami at the Homestead-Miami Speedway from the pole.
Hornish led the IRL standings from start to finish last season.
Brazilian teammates Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves of Brazil finished second and third, respectively. Both are newcomers to the series. De Ferran is a two-time CART champion, while Castroneves won last year's Indianapolis 500 on this circuit.
Hornish, who at one point during the race was some two laps in front of the field. No driver came close to challenging for the lead.
Jeff Ward finished a lap down in fourth, followed by Eliseo Salazar of Chile. Hornish took the checkered flag under caution after Airton Dare hit the wall in the final laps.
Rookie Tomas Scheckter of South Africa was sixth, two laps behind, but may hear from team owner and teammate Eddie Cheever, who was brushed by the first-year driver on the second lap. Cheever, who visibly upset at his early exit, ended up in the wall and out of the race before it even got going.
