Alex Wins !!!

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Lynx Grad Barron Wins Fastest Race in IRL History

Lynx Racing graduate Alex Barron overcame a spin to win the 2003 Firestone IRL 400 at Michigan International Speedway, posting the highest average winning speed in any IRL event at 180.917.

Sam Hornish, running the new Chevy Gen IV motor developed by Cosworth was a factor all day long, taking the lead on lap 1, staying in the lead group all day, and finishing second. In a battle that featured more drafting that any NASCAR race ever held at Michigan, the lead was traded between Barron, Hornish, Kanaan, Scheckter, among others during the race.

On lap 164 Alex Barron made slight contact with Tomas Scheckter, sending him into a half-spin into turn 4. Fortunately, he kept it off of the wall, away from traffic, and with the engine still running he calmly went to the pits for new tires and a splash of fuel.
In the ensuing pit stops the only lead pack driver to put on new tires was Barron, and in fact that might have sealed the victory for him. With the green flag waving at lap 169 he was able to draft up to the lead by lap 173, passing Hornish with whom he would duel for the rest of the race. The last 25 laps were marked with some of the best side-by-side racing ever staged, with eight official lead changes, and ended with Barron staging a last-lap sling shot to win the race by only 12 thousandths of a second.

"Today the car was so good, we were just in a zone, really," said Barron.  "You know, we were just really fast, just looking forward, trying to pick up spots on the track. Seems like we ran side by side with Sam for about 4000 laps. We just had a solid car. We just did everything we could to try to get it running the last lap. We were fortunate enough that it worked out."

For further information on Lynx Racing, please visit the team's web site at www.lynxracing.com, or telephone team P.R. Manager Peter Frey at (818) 906-6997. The Toyota Atlantic series has a web site at www.toyotaatlantic.com.