"We ran 500 miles on seven cylinders. So, we ran the whole race dead in the water." Lazier said "Our motor was junk. We were going down the straightaway 201 (mph), 202 (mph), when we normally are running 220 (mph). We just felt like we threw our race away. It was just a miserable day."

Key Stat: Lazier's four wins in 2001 doubled his IRL career total, pushing him over the $6 million mark in IRL career earnings.

2002 Outlook
What needs to be done: The team must guard against becoming an R&D platform. Hemelgarn Racing's use of Speedway engines to prepare its Chevy powerplants means it will enjoy many of the latest tweaks. Speedway is Chevy's main engine assembler/developer, so while all the advances made by Speedway will eventually be available to others, some will surely get used in Speedway engines before pipeline introduction.

Prediction: Despite the arrival of Team Penske, an informal polling of IRL drivers revealed the majority see Lazier as their most formidable opponent. Lazier's style gets the most out of the equipment he is given. The stability of this team means excellent communication. Lazier knows he is one of the sport's top dogs after years of questioning his validity. Armed with that psychological edge, this team will battle for IRL supremacy.