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Sunday, June 17 Ray has forgettable Sunday Associated Press FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Pikes Peak International Raceway has been Greg Ray's private paradise for the past few years. Ray, who vacations with his family in the area prior to each race, has won four straight poles and two races on this track. Ray Sunday was a different story. Despite starting on the pole, Ray led just the first four laps before being overtaken by Sam Hornish Jr. He quickly slipped down the leaderboard with a loose car that ran consistently 20 mph slower than the leaders. "It was just one of those bad days," Ray said. "The car was just diabolical out there. It was loose from the get-go. In traffic it was hard to stay out of everybody's way. We tried everything -- springs, bars, weight jackers, wing. We were seven or eight laps down." Clearance denied Japan's Shigeaki Hattori, who crashed twice on Saturday, was not given medical clearance to drive in Sunday's race. Hattori crashed one car during practice, then brushed the wall again with his second car during qualifying. He posted a speed of 173.169 mph on his first qualifying lap, good for the inside position in the fourth row, before his mishap on the second qualifying lap. After the second crash, Hattori was taken to Penrose Hospital in nearby Colorado Springs for evaluation. He was released Saturday night, but medical officials refused to clear him Sunday morning. "Shigeaki was not cleared to drive for precautionary reasons," said Dr. Henry Bock, director of medical services for the IRL. "His body went through two crashes (Saturday), and we don't want to risk putting it through another accident (Sunday)." The team did not put a replacement driver in the car. Faulty practice Airton Dare was the only starter who did not complete a lap during the final practice session Sunday morning prior to the race. His team discovered the fuel pump was leaking when they started the car in the garage area. They replaced the pump and hurriedly brought the car to pit lane. Dare completed less than one lap before the checkered flag was waved, ending practice. In the race, Dare finished fifth. Loose nut Billy Boat stopped on the track just after exiting the pits during practice when his left rear wheel nut worked loose and came off the car. The tire did not come off, however. "Luckily, we were able to get the car stopped when I felt the wheel was loose," Boat said. "There was no damage to the wheel or the hub." Boat finished a respectable fourth in the race, 19.7 seconds out. Pit stops Winner Buddy Lazier posted his fifth top-10 finish at Pikes Peak. Lazier's 26th-place finish at Pikes Peak last year, a result of engine failure, was the only time he finished out of the top 10. Lazier earned $131,300 for the victory. Felipe Giaffone is the only driver to have finished in the top 10 in all six IRL races this season. Injuries in last week's race at Texas ended Davey Hamilton's distinction of having competed in every IRL race. Lazier and Eddie Cheever Jr. now have tied Hamilton for most career starts at 48. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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