JOLIET, Ill., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- If the Indy Racing League ever produces a closer finish than Sunday's win by Sam Hornish Jr. in the Delphi Indy 300, it may become impossible to determine a victor.
In a side-by-side duel involving 11 cars over the final 32 laps, Hornish nosed his car past Al Unser Jr. by 0.0024 seconds in the closest finish in Indy car history. Unser also finished second in the previous closest race, losing to Jeff Ward by .0111 seconds in June at Texas Motor Speedway.
In a sport where horsepower wins, the victory margin was about the length of a horse's nose.
It was Hornish's fourth win this season, the seventh of his IRL career, and enabled him to go from eight points out of first place in the standings to 12 ahead of Helio Castroneves heading to next week's Chevy 500 in Texas.
With speeds exceeding 220 miles an hour, the blink of an eye would have missed the winning margin.
"I was pretty sure when we crossed the line I had beaten him, I just didn't know if I could do it or not," Hornish said. "I knew at the line I had gotten him because I could see his wing behind mine. These races keep getting closer and closer. We'll never be able to tell the difference.
"Al and I had talked before the race and figured if we got down towards the end or any point of the race, we would try to break away from everybody, drive nose to tail and drive away. But neither one of us wanted to follow at the end, so we went side-by-side. It turned out that was the best way to go about it. Nobody could get a run on us. Even though it was slower, it was the best strategy to use."
Unser has been on the losing end of three of the closest races in Indy car history. He also was beaten by Scott Pruett by .056 seconds in the 1995 Marlboro 500 CART race at Michigan Speedway.
On Sunday, he was tantalized once again.
"They all hurt," said Unser, who won the tightest Indianapolis 500 ever in 1992 when he beat Scott Goodyear by .043 seconds. "Anytime you run second, you're the first one to lose. And quite frankly, that (stinks)."
After reflecting on the race, however, Unser knew he had competed in something special.
"It was one of the most exciting races I've ever been in in my life -- the most exciting," he said. "We just came up short again. I honestly thought that we won the race. I thought I had him. It was that close. I thought I had it timed right and I honestly thought we had a nose on him."
Only a freeze frame photo confirmed Unser again had come up just short.
Hornish led nine times for 102 laps and collected $126,600. The average speed was 146.319 miles per hour in a race slowed for 57 laps by five caution flags. There were 18 lead changes among five drivers.
Buddy Lazier was third, followed by Castroneves and Eddie Cheever.
The racing was so intense, the top 10 cars were separated by just .9387 seconds.
Gil de Ferran, who trailed Castroneves by one point in the IRL standings heading into the race, was involved in a crash that sent him to the hospital with a concussion. De Ferran was racing behind Tony Renna, whose engine sputtered for just a moment, causing him to slow on lap 52.
Rather than run into Renna's back, de Ferran went high and lost control of his car, slamming hard into the outside wall in turn 2.
The Marlboro Team Penske driver was knocked unconscious and his car traveled the length of the backstretch with the throttle wide open. Safety workers had to kill the engine before extricating de Ferran.
The Brazilian regained consciousness and was taken by helicopter to St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, Ill., where he was described as awake and alert.
De Ferran must be examined by IRL director of medical affairs Dr. Henry Bock before he can be cleared to compete in next week's season finale.
