Sharp, Hornish ready for IROC road race

[Schwartz Fan]

Sharp, Hornish ready for IROC road race

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
By indycar.com staff

Earlier this year, IndyCar Series drivers Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon claimed a victory on the 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway in the Rolex 24.

On June 29, Scott Sharp and Sam Hornish Jr., will try to extend the streak.

The IndyCar Series drivers return to Daytona International Speedway this week for the third race of the Crown Royal International Race of Champions, but even though the race (10 p.m. ET, Speed Channel) may be on turf that Scott Sharp is a little more familiar with, the 1996 IndyCar Series co-champion believes the race won’t be a road-racer runaway.

“One of the IROC guys made the comment to me while we were testing there last week that one of the things that’s changed in the 14 years since they’ve run on road courses is that the NASCAR guys have gotten so much better on the road courses,” Sharp said. “I think with their familiarity of their cars, it’s still an advantage for them, especially since they got to shake some rust off by racing at Infineon over the weekend.”

The 20-lap, 71.2-mile contest will be the first road-course event in 14 years for the series that matches a dozen diverse champions in equally prepared cars. Sharp and Hornish spent time testing at Daytona prior to the June 24 IndyCar Series event at Richmond International Raceway to familiarize themselves with the cars and the track.

“I can tell you the IROC cars are really much better than I ever expected on the road course here,” Sharp said. “The cars are very drivable, and you can really run a variety of lines and try different styles, so you don’t have to drive them only one way to do well.

“I think there may be more of a chance for a non-NASCAR driver. Me, (Max) Angelelli and (Max) Papis were all running good times during the test and going to be able to be more comfortable in the car, compared to how we are on ovals.”

Hornish, who won the Indianapolis 500 in May, experienced a stock car on a road course for the first time during the test. It left him confident he can race up front.

“I’ve never driven in this style of car on a road course, and I can tell you, the guys that are going to do well are the guys that keep the car on the racetrack,” he said. “The cars are a lot of fun to drive, it’s just going to be a matter of getting a little better with each lap. I want to go to victory lane in an IROC car, and I can’t think of a better place to do it than right here at Daytona.”

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