The music has faded. The money handed out and with it the official end of the Indy Racing League's 2002 campaign. Time then, to award the season long Four Stars.

Sam Hornish Jr.
When Roger Penske announced his intentions to switch from CART to the IRL last winter, pundits predicted the Captain would sweep in and dominate the all-oval open wheel series.

These pundits forgot to tell Hornish and his Panther Racing pack.

Penske's tandem of Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran presented a formidable challenge for the IRL's regulars. They had the talent and the Penske pocketbook.

Hornish had the experience in the IRL.

	Hornish Jr.

The 22-year-old Hornish used the same approach that earned him the 2001 crown (before Penske) to become the league's first repeat titlist. In 15 races, Hornish snared two poles, won a season-high five races, led 12 events, scored 12 top-10 finishes and was running at the end of all but one race.

It might seem that Hornish has accomplished everything in Indy Cars. The same pundits who predicted a Penske sweep now predict Hornish will bolt to NASCAR.

Don't bet on it.

"You've got to decide in your heart whether you want to be a stock-car driver for the rest of your life or whether you want to be an Indy-car driver for the rest of your life," was Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s advice to Hornish when they discussed a possible switch to stock cars.

"That's not a too tough decision for me to make," Hornish said. "When it comes down to it, if I could do whatever it took to win one of two races, whether it be the Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500, I'd definitely choose the Indianapolis 500."

Alex Barron

	Barron

When Larry Blair declared his intentions to tackle the IRL this season, he promised his team would do more than log a season of development. Blair used the same organizational prowess that made him a Silicon Valley marketing wiz with his team.

He named Tom Gloy team president, John Dick engineer, Gary Neal crew chief and Bob Sprow general manager. It was the team Alex Barron -- long thought to be one of the more underrated drivers in either CART or the IRL -- needed to win.

Barron's victory at Nashville didn't cap the season. Instead, it started the team out on a second-half run that saw them as players in almost every remaining race. A ninth in Kentucky, a third at Gateway and a fifth in the Chevy 500 at Texas signaled that Barron and Blair will be factors in 2003.

"Larry put this team together late but worked hard on assembling the right key personnel," Barron said. "We are very satisfied with our results. Chevrolet picked up the pace when they came on board in the middle of the season. We have good pit stops, and we work great together. I can't say enough about our engineer, John Dick. He gives me an incredible car every weekend. Tom Gloy calls a great race. We have the power.

"It would be a nice feeling going into next season to have some testing under our belts, to have a head start on this and have the same team and package behind us."

Felipe Giaffone

	Giaffone

Conventional wisdom dictates that a good rookie season is often followed up by a sophomore slump.

"You know, after Indianapolis," Felipe Giaffone said, "where I really felt that I had the car to win the race, I said, 'This is going to be it, I think I'm winning this race.' When the race was over, I said, 'Oh, man, even if I win a race, the next one, I'm not going to be happy because I'm so mad, you know.'"

Giaffone was a factor right from the beginning of the year. Together with Mo Nunn Racing, the affable Brazilian put together 12 top-10s and eight top-5s, including a win at Kentucky.

Indy Racing League
From top to bottom, the IRL turned the corner this season and established itself as the leader in open wheel racing.

Facts don't lie. Stats tell the story.