Round 10==ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225

[mlittle]

Round 10 of the 2005 IndyCar Series season takes us to Beertown USA(a/k/a Milwaukee) to the historic Milwaukee Mile(offically known as The Milwaukee Mile @ The Wisconsin State Fairgrounds--West Allis, Wisc) for the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225, a 1-mile, billiards-smooth concrete oval which is totally different than Nashville in that, while shorter, will also test the drivers' ability to handle the road-course like turns(recently paved w/asphalt). With the second half of the season upon us, here are some of the mid-week storylines that are at the fore.

1--Which teams will bring their "A" game to the Mile? For years, the rival CCWS came here the Saturday after Indy and usually the best teams did well. Most of the IRL's top teams(Penske, Rahal-Letterman, Andretti-Green) came here then, and the present is no exception. Last year, the IRL debuted here, and AGR's Dario Franchitti won, besting Rahal-Letterman's Buddy Rice and Marlboro-Team Penske's Sam Hornish, Jr.
Expect the racing to be fast, close and definitely amplified, as the points chase comes into focus.

2--Can Wheldon hold on to his points lead? Short answer...yes. However, he'll need to avoid DNF's this year; his three last year kept him from challenging teammate Tony Kanaan for the championship. The odds, however, aren't promising...only three series champions(Buddy Lazier-2000, Sam Hornish, Jr.-2001 and Tony Kanaan-2004) won after leading at halfway. This race will shine a lot of needed light on the points table.

3--Who will step in for Tomas Enge? With two broken vertebrae, Enge will miss the next two races, this one and Michigan. Panther Racing's expected to put veteran Buddy Lazier in the seat for this race, then in the #95 Pennzoil Panther for Michigan.

4--Finally, a track she's familiar with. For all the open-wheel experience that series rookie Danica Patrick has, one fact remains certain: prior to this year, her sole oval experience was...two Atlantics races at the Milwaukee Mile. Even though an IndyCar has 400+ extra hp than the smaller Atlantics, her finishes here in 03-04(6th and 4th) put her in the darkhorse category for a win here. Considering everything that's happened this year, anything is possible.

Qualifying for the race is at 1:45 PM EDT(17:45 UTC) Saturday, July 23, and be heard on the IMS Radio Network(the link will be listed below) and on XM Satellite Radio. The race itself will be on Sunday, July 24th at 2:30 PM EDT(18:30 UTC 24 July) on ESPN, with webcast on the IMS Radio Network and XM Satellite Radio. As always, I'll provide a summary of qualifying, a race summary, plus commentaries where needed.

[mlittle]

Here is the link if anybody wants to hear the webcast of the race.

www.indycar.com/multimedia/radio.php

Once there, scroll down until you see the event ABC Supply A.J. Foyt 225 from Milwaukee. Go over to the right until you get to the column listed as Webcast. Click the 'link' button and it should come up(probably as Windows Media Player). Once up, sit back and enjoy what is arguably the closest open-wheel racing in the world.

[Julian Mayo]

Here is the link if anybody wants to hear the webcast of the race.

www.indycar.com/multimedia/radio.php

Once there, scroll down until you see the event ABC Supply A.J. Foyt 225 from Milwaukee. Go over to the right until you get to the column listed as Webcast. Click the 'link' button and it should come up(probably as Windows Media Player). Once up, sit back and enjoy what is arguably the closest open-wheel racing in the world.

any idea what time that will be "australian eastern standard time" ?

[mlittle]

Unless I'm mistaken, if it's 12:00 PM EDT Tuesday here in the eastern United States(for example), y'all are 14 hrs. ahead of us, so it would be 2:00 PM AEST Wednesday in Sydney/Melbourne, 1:30 PM ACST in Darwin and 12:00 PM AWST in Perth. Let me know if I got the times correct, okay.

[Julian Mayo]

Unless I'm mistaken, if it's 12:00 PM EDT Tuesday here in the eastern United States(for example), y'all are 14 hrs. ahead of us, so it would be 2:00 PM AEST Wednesday in Sydney/Melbourne, 1:30 PM ACST in Darwin and 12:00 PM AWST in Perth. Let me know if I got the times correct, okay.

Sounds good, so if I want to listen to the race, while giving money away playing Texas holdem, on the Dallas Table, what day n time should that be? (I can add the 14 hrs on )

[mlittle]

Unless I'm mistaken, the race is scheduled for Sunday, July 24 at 2:30 PM EDT(that's 14:30 EDT on 24-hr time, or 18:30 UTC). That means that the race would be on in Australia at the following times...

Sydney--4:30 AM Monday, 25 July
Darwin--4:00 AM Monday, 25 July
Perth--2:30 AM Monday, 25 July

Let me know if the times are correct.

[Julian Mayo]

they sound right, and -no-I won't be listening, unless its one of "those" nights.

[mlittle]

They do have the races archived, so you can listen to them whenever you feel like it.

[mlittle]

According to IRL chief medical officer Dr. Henry Bock, Tomas Enge(#2 Rockstar Energy Drink Dallara-Chevy) is resting comfortably back at his home in Indianapolis follwing injuries to his lower back following a hard crash at last Saturday's Firestone Indy 200 in Nashville, Tenn. Bock stated in a IRL press release that "Enge's drving status will be re-evaluated (within) the next three weeks." Panther Racing, meanwhile, has not announced whether veteran racer Buddy Lazier will step in for Enge at Milwaukee this weekend, so this should be an interesting storyline for Sunday.

[Julian Mayo]

No one rests comfortably with a back injury, unless they are so full of painkiller, they are drooling.

[mlittle]

You should ask Bruno Junquiera that; he suffered the same type of injury Enge has. Worse, it wasn't until the ChampCar race in Toronto that anybody found out he had also broken an ankle in the crash at Indy as well. I suspect he's taken a good amt. of painkiller to help in his recovery, but the best guess is that Junky(Bruno's nickname) ain't racing til' early next year, at best.

[mlittle]

Panther Racing announced today at Milwaukee that veteran racer Buddy Lazier will indeed step in for the injured Tomas Enge in the #2 Rockstar Energy Drink Dallara-Chevy for Sunday's ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. Lazier said at the press conference, "My number one concern is for the health of my teammate, Tomas Enge. I don't like that (I'll) be competing in this race because he is injured, but I'm thankful again to Panther Racing, Rockstar Energy Drink and Chevrolet for giving me another opportunity. We'll do our best in Milwaukee." For Lazier, it will mark six starts for the season w/the team. His first for them was at Indy, followed by last Saturday's in Nashville, plus this weekend, followed by Michigan, Kentucky, and Chicagoland. Enge is to be re-evaluated in about 3 weeks as to his driving status following what the team describes as "compression fractures" of the T-12 and L-1 vertebrae he suffered in his crash at Nashville.

[mlittle]

1}1,697 laps....the number of laps completed by Red Bull/Cheever's Patrick Carpentier(out of a possible 1,750 laps). Second on the chart...Rahal-Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick, with 1,694 laps.

2}Only one driver has started in all nine IndyCar Series races w/a start of 10th or better...Andretti-Green Racing's Dario Franchitti

3}Three drivers have led in 7 of the 9 races this season....Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, and Tony Kanaan.

4}Three drivers have finished 8 of the 9 races this season....Patrick Carpentier, Danica Patrick, and Dan Wheldon.

[mlittle]

With over 2,000 laps run by the 22 IndyCar Series competitors in Friday's two practice sessions, Marlboro-Team Penske's Helio Castroneves set the fastest speed in the 2 sessions, a 166.293 mph(21.973 secs.). Series points leader Dan Wheldon set P2 w/a speed of 165.805 mph(22.065 secs.) while the bow-tie brigade(Chevy) is represented w/Panther Racing's Tomas Scheckter, setting P3 at 165.390 mph.(22.093 secs.).

Here is a list of the top 10, w/a couple of other notables:

1}Helio Castroneves D/T 166.293 mph/21,973 secs
2}Dan Wheldon D/H 165.605 mph/22.065 secs.
3}Tomas Scheckter D/C 165.390 mph/22.093 secs.
4}Dario Franchitti D/H 165.372 mph/22.096 secs.
5}Sam Hornish, Jr. D/T 164.035 mph/22.276 secs.
6}Danica Patrick(R) P/H 163.385 mph/22.364 secs.
7}Tony Kanaan D/H 163.223 mph/22.369 secs.
8}Darren Manning P/T 163.020 mph/22.414 secs.
9}Vitor Meira P/H 162.895 mph/22.432 secs.
10}Bryan Herta D/H 162.427 mph/22.493 secs.
13}Ryan Briscoe(R) P/T 161.980 mph/22.558 secs.
15}Buddy Lazier D/C 161.692 mph/22.599 secs.
16}Buddy Rice P/H 161.914 mph/22.704 secs.
20}Scott Dixon P/T 159.494 mph/22.910 secs.

Observations from Friday practice....

1]Shades of Richmond....Of the top 10 in friday's practice, both Penske cars are listed, as well as one of Target/Ganassi's. If this weekend holds as the weekend at Richmond did, then expect Toyota to come out fighting.

2]Life under the big top. Unlike the other 16 venues, there's no permanent garage at the Mile, meaning that all 11 series teams essentially pitch one big tent over their haulers...sorta like the old days. Then again, the racetrack is on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds, so it makes sense....sorta.

As before, I'll have a qual. summary Saturday evening, w/a race summary plus commentaries/observations following Sunday's race.

[Julian Mayo]

Mfer, if some one is, say 1 sec. off thefastest time, and running, say, 2-3 mph slower, how critical is that in a race like this?