HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It took a couple of late yellow flags to make it respectable, but that still couldn't mask the facts: this was a flag-to-flag butt-kicking that was never in doubt.

In this year's first round of Indy Racing League pride vs. Championship Auto Racing Teams' polish, the IRL's Sam Hornish Jr. scored a convincing knockout of Marlboro Team Penske's Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves.

	Sam Hornish Jr., right, celebrates after his dominating win in the IRL's season opener in Homestead, Fla.

Hornish, the defending IRL champion, started on the pole in the Pennzoil Dallara/Chevy, led 166 of 200 laps and lapped the entire field before settling for a 4.7-second victory over de Ferran, the 2000 and 2001 CART champion and Castroneves, last year's Indianapolis 500 winner, who finished third.

It was only the first of 15 races on the all-oval series, but it carried some added significance because Team Penske, the yardstick of open-wheel racing the past 30 years, left CART to become a full-time IRL competitor in 2002.

And the IRL is still smarting from last May's massacre at Indy, where Castroneves and de Ferran led a CART sweep of the first five places.

"It was a great feeling because there was so much hype built up on whether or not the IRL guys would be able to compete," said Hornish, whose only error of 2001 came at Indy in an early spin that deprived him of any chance at contesting for the win.

"We just wanted to go out there and send a message, that we did our homework over the winter and we're prepared to defend our championship."

Unlike 2001, when Penske warmed up for Indy by running his IRL cars at Phoenix only, de Ferran and Castroneves have tested all winter in their Dallara/Chevys. Neither expected to win every race this season, but neither expected to get smoked like they did Saturday.

"We didn't have anything for him (Hornish) today and he was simply untouchable," said de Ferran, the 34-year-old veteran who started sixth but drove his usual heady pace to claim second on the 1½-mile oval.

"That kid is very good, very calm and he's got a lot of potential. What am I saying? He's damn good right now."

Castroneves, the only driver to pass Hornish all afternoon, paid tribute to the 21-year-old American.

"I thought on Friday that Sam might have us covered," said the 26-year-old Brazilian, who drafted past Hornish on lap 28 only to be re-passed the next time around. "During practice I tried to follow his line (through the corners) but I couldn't and he was able to run there today.

"I managed to pass him once but my car was a nightmare in Turns 3 and 4 and I couldn't stay ahead of him very long. He did a good job and so did his team."

Andy Brown, the veteran engineer for Pennzoil Panther Racing who spent several years in Formula One and CART, could only shake his head afterwards.

"We tested good here and we knew we had a good car but never in my wildest dreams did I think Sam would dominate like that," Brown said. "Our biggest problem all day was trying to slow him down. He was running three mph faster than anybody else and we kept trying to get him to slow down and take his time.

"But he hates following people."

By lap 136, Hornish had lapped everyone and only two caution flags enabled Team Penske took get back on the lead lap.

"The fastest laps he ran all day were the last 40 or 50 and he was running 194 mph and pulling away," said Panther Racing general manager John Barnes, who hired Hornish in 2001 following an impressive test at Kentucky Speedway.

"I knew what Sam wanted to do today and I think he accomplished that."

Hornish, who was coming up CART's ladder system and showing speed in Toyota Atlantic before joining a low-budget IRL team in 2000, is as quiet as he is quick. He's also humble, polite and appreciative of the opportunity he's received.

"This team and Andy do such an awesome job," he said. "All I have to do is drive and keep it between the walls. They give me cars that not only finish, but that are fast.

"I still wouldn't have expected that today we would have won as well as we did. It would have been nice to finish a lap ahead of everyone but we're not going to be greedy."

Team Penske knew going in that the IRL championship would likely run through Hornish and Panther Racing. And, Saturday, he ran over them.