By G. Venkat Ganeshan

Three Ps -- Patience, perseverance and power -- are required to conquer any super speedway. And Michigan is no different.

Chevy-powered (or is it Chevy-underpowered?)current Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr. might not have had the sheer grunt, but having struggled with Chevy, it has taught him the importance of being patient and he continues to persevere with Chevrolet in search of a race victory.

The Japanese contingent -- Toyota and Honda -- have made it a clean sweep, leaving the Bow Tie Brigade in a fix.

The Chevy teams have been hit by a lack of power and are simply staring down the barrel. It isn't surprising to note that Chevrolet hasn't powered any car to victory lane so far.

Despite the tales of doom and gloom, Hornish has managed to generate a semblance of a fight against his chums in Toyota and Honda on more than one occasion.

He is currently eighth in the standings and has three top-six finishes to boot. Hornish saved grace at Nashville when he led for the first time, albeit for a couple of laps.

Yet, Hornish hasn't lost his competitive instincts.

His potential was there for all to see in the handling tracks such as Richmond and Pikes Peak, where horsepower isn't the name of the game.

When perceived wisdom suggested a single line groove for the cars to adhere to, Hornish blitzed past his rivals consistently on the outside groove and registered his best finish so far at Richmond by bringing home the Yellow No. 4 Dallara to fourth.

Chevrolet was badly in need of help, a divine intervention one might call it -- and it came from an unexpected quarter. Chevy sought the help of Cosworth engineering, the racing division owned by Ford which powers cars on the rival CART circuit, to bridge the deficiency.

Cosworth had a 2.65-liter normally aspirated IRL-spec engine ready as part of a contingency plan just in case CART decided to go the IRL way. Since that wasn't the case to be, Chevy utilized the opportunity. It was a major coup considering the fact that Chevrolet and Ford are bitter rivals on and off the track.

The alliance is akin to San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds being coached by Hall of Famer Babe Ruth. The Gen IV Chevy Indy V8, as it is being called, will make its debut at the back of the Pennzoil Panther machine driven by Hornish.

"I look to lap the field, but I don't know if that's going to happen," Hornish said. "I'm looking for a really realistic top three and hopefully a win."

Hornish gets the pride of place based on his superior points standings compared to his fellow Chevy brethren and the next Chevy driver -- Redbull Cheever Racing's Buddy Rice -- who would get to test the new variant at St. Louis. It will also be supplied to all Chevy teams at Kentucky Aug. 17.

Hornish had extensive tests with the new variant and has acclimated well.

"The first time we ran it was before Richmond (June 28)," Hornish said. "I was like 'Let's put it in now,' because it was that much better. In my opinion, even if something were to happen,it's better to have it while running in the front. But that's not the best way to look at it."

Unlike NASCAR, where rules are often dabbled and tinkered with in order to help struggling outfits, IndyCar racing has a set of rules laid out at the beginning of the season. However, keeping in mind the overall competition and the health of the IRL per se, Brian Barnhart, IRL's vice-president of racing operations, has reached out to the Chevy teams.

"We are facing unprecedented circumstances as well. Toyota and Honda have joined the series and raised the bar of competition, and it was clear all year long that GM has faced a points deficiency," Barnhart told the Associated Press on the eve of the Nashville race.

With rumors afloat of Hornish becoming increasingly impatient and a possible move to NASCAR, IRL had to act fast in order to prevent its one of most glittering starts to make the switch. After all, the series had lost Tony Stewart to the stock car community.

Despite the tumultuous season, Hornish hasn't jumped on the bandwagon to criticize Chevrolet. In fact, he went on to say that he is very proud of driving for Chevrolet.

"They didn't take the easy way out," he said.

Michigan's high-banked D-shaped oval would prove a stern test to Hornish and Gen IV Chevy Indy V8 and both Hornish's and Chevy's futures hang on their performance Sunday.