There are only four races remaining on the 2004 Indy Racing League schedule and Sam Hornish Jr. is fifth in the standings, 77 points behind leader Tony Kanaan.

But, following last Sunday's ridiculously easy win at Kentucky, the two-time IRL champion is suddenly in everyone's thought process.

"We're not mathematically out of it and it's a big monster to tackle," admitted Hornish. "We've got to win three of the last four races to have any chance and maybe all four.

"But, if anybody's got a shot at it, we do."

A statement not likely to be challenged by any of his competition after what they saw last weekend.

Starting on the pole position, Hornish led 181 of 200 laps, would have lapped the entire field if not for the race's only caution, and set an IRL record of 197-plus mph in earning his record ninth IRL triumph.

"I don't know what to say. It was very humbling, very hard to take," said Helio Castroneves, who finished sixth but is second, only eight points out of first place heading to Nazareth Speedway (Pa.) this weekend.

"We all know Sam is very good and we've got to concentrate on getting our momentum back because he's going to be tough the rest of the year."

The 24-year-old star struggled with a horsepower deficiency all season until Chevrolet changed to a new Cosworth engine last month and he nearly won Michigan in its debut before sealing the deal with Chevy's Gen 4 motor at Kentucky.

	Suddenly, everyone is once again gunning for Sam Hornish Jr.

"Not only does it give us more horsepower, it's got better torque and makes better fuel mileage," said Hornish, who became the ninth different winner in 12 IRL races this season. "When it makes more power and uses less fuel, that's great.

"But I think all three engines are pretty equal right now. We didn't ask for 60 more horsepower than Honda or Toyota, we just wanted to be equal."

The fast, tight one-mile oval here and newfound torque would seem to be perfect for Hornish, who's Panther Racing Dallara has been the best handling car all year.

"We've got a new car with last year's setup and even though we didn't test at Nazareth it's a three-day show so that will help us," said Hornish.

"We've always had fast cars there, we just haven't had finishes but it's a little short track, which I like."

The home of the Andretti family has also been memorable for several drivers. Gil de Ferran ran out of fuel on the last lap while leading a year ago allowing Scott Sharp to grab the win, and Scott Dixon scored his first CART win here as a rookie in 2001.

"We tested at Nazareth last week and came away with a good baseline setup. The test was very beneficial because we needed to do our homework. We had a solid race there last year, but since we have new equipment this season, we're working from a clean sheet of paper," said de Ferran, now fourth in the standings, 13 points out of the lead.

"It's important to stay in contention from here on out because the championship race is so tight."

	“	We all know Sam is very good and we've got to concentrate on getting our momentum back because he's going to be tough the rest of the year. ”
		— Helio Castroneves

Dixon, whose second place at Kentucky moved him into third in points (12 points behind Kanaan), likes everything about Nazareth.

"You always remember the big wins in your career, and Nazareth was one of those." said the 22-year-old Kiwi who has three wins in his initial IRL season and has led the most laps (625) of competition. "It's an oval that's almost like a road course with all of the braking and shifting that you do, and I think that will play into my strengths this weekend.

"We're right there in the points race, but I think that we'll need a couple of wins in the last four races to have a shot at it."

Kanaan knows he's got to step things up.

"We had a very good car in Phoenix earlier this year and won that race, so I think you'll see us right up front at Nazareth. We weren't very happy with the way things went in Kentucky.

"We're glad that we extended our lead in the championship, but we were not happy about the kind of race that we had, but that is just going to make us work harder."

Robin Miller covers open wheel racing for ESPN and ESPN.com