Hornish takes pole on dark day at Homestead.

Sam Hornish Jr may have got his Indy Racing League title defence off to a flying start with a blistering qualifying lap that earned him his first pukka IRL Pole Position but the mood at the Homestead-Miami Speedway was anything but joyous.

Pennzoil Panther Racing driver Sam Hornish earned the pole for Saturday's 20th Anniversary Grand Prix of Miami on a dark day at the Homestead-Miami Speedway with a record speed of 202.884 mph. He will share the front row with Marlboro Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves (202.414 mph).

Sam Hornish Jr may have got his Indy Racing League title defence off to a flying start with a blistering qualifying lap that earned him his first pukka IRL Pole Position but the mood at the Homestead-Miami Speedway was anything but joyous.

Pennzoil Panther Racing driver Sam Hornish earned the pole for Saturday's 20th Anniversary Grand Prix of Miami on a dark day at the Homestead-Miami Speedway with a record speed of 202.884 mph. He will share the front row with Marlboro Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves (202.414 mph).

MBNA Pole qualifying for the opening round of the 2002 Indy Racing League Championship was delayed by nearly three hours due to a crash that killed Grand-Am driver Jeff Clinton.

"Everything went pretty much as we expected," said the 22-year-old Hornish Jr. "We put a fresh set of Firestones on, went out and had really good grip. Andy Brown, our engineer, did such a good job setting up the car; we were able to get the pole on our second out lap. The car handled great and the tires did an awesome job; we'll just have to wait and see what we'll have to do tomorrow."

This marks the fourth time Hornish will start from the pole on Firestone Firehawks. Others were Phoenix (March 18, 2001), Miami (April 8, 2001) and Texas (Oct. 6, 2001). However on all three previous occasions the starting grid was decided upon Championship points after qualifying was rained off. Friday's session marks the first time the Panther Racing driver has earned a bona-fide MBNA Pole Award.

However the mood at the Florida oval was darkened by the death of Grand-Am driver Clinton who died when his Archangel Motorsports Lola-Nissan flipped into a gravel trap entering the first turn of the Homestead-Miami road course the series will use for the Nextel 250 on Saturday afternoon following the IRL race.

"The Firestone Racing program extends its sympathy to the family and friends of Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series driver Jeff Clinton, who was fatally injured in a practice session today at Homestead-Miami Speedway," commented Al Speyer, Executive Director of Firestone/Bridgestone Motorsports. "Although we did not have the privilege of working with Jeff or his team, we extend our condolences to those most affected by this tragic accident."

Read More