2008 IRL Rd. 17--PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300

[mlittle]

One race......300 miles.......in a season which has seen mergification of open-wheel racing, some interesting first-time winners, great racing as always and visits to some pretty exciting venues, the stars of the IndyCar Series now travel to the last points-paying spot on the calendar, Chicagoland Speedway, where a champion for 2008 will be crowned. The track, 1.5 miles of Illinois blacktop set amidst the region known for the Blues Brothers, has seen its' share of championship fights; remember 2007? Who'd thought Scott Dixon would run of fuel on the last corner........of the last lap!!!...........and hand Dario Franchitti the title? Remember 2006? The racing was so close, Dan Wheldon and Sam Hornish, Jr. left w/the same exact points total[Silent Sam won on the first tie-breaker, 4 wins to Wheldon's 2 wins].


Event schedule..................
note......times US CDT, -1 hr. US EDT/-5 hrs. GMT
~~Practice Session #1, 9:15-11am, 6 Sept. 2008
~~Practice Session #2, 12:30-1:30pm, 6 Sept. 2008
~~PEAK Motor Oil Qualifying, 3:15pm, 6 Sept. 2008
~~Race, 2:30pm, 7 Sept. 2008

[GhoGho]

Have to go with Scott, after helios blocking moves of the weekend!

[mlittle]

Have to go with Scott, after helios blocking moves of the weekend!

I haven't decided who I think gonna' win, but......I'm still surprised the Iron Hand of Justice(a/k/a Brian Barnhart) was so quick to call a penalty on Helio's block-party special; then again, it was blatant, so I think BB made the right call.........

[mlittle]

After a somewhat.........what's the polite word, abysmal?.....NASCAR foray, 2007 Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti is back in the IndyCar Series as Target/Ganassi Racing has signed him to race in the #10 Target Dallara/Honda, replacing 2005 Indy 500/IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon for the season finale at Chicagoland.


On the one hand, I for one am glad to see the Scotsman back in the IndyCar Series.....on the other hand, his return means that Dapper Dan got shoved to the side, which I'm betting doesn't sit too with him.....

[mlittle]

After a somewhat.........what's the polite word, abysmal?.....NASCAR foray, 2007 Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti is back in the IndyCar Series as Target/Ganassi Racing has signed him to race in the #10 Target Dallara/Honda, replacing 2005 Indy 500/IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon for the season finale at Chicagoland.


On the one hand, I for one am glad to see the Scotsman back in the IndyCar Series.....on the other hand, his return means that Dapper Dan got shoved to the side, which I'm betting doesn't sit too with him.....

After rereading all the press releases concerning where Dario and Danny Boy are headed in 2009, clarification on the above.................
~~Franchitti will be replacing Wheldon, beginning with the season opener in 2009
~~Wheldon will finish out the season with Target/Ganassi Racing at Chicagoland
~~Wheldon, however, won't be unemployed long; he is replacing Vitor Meira over at Panther Racing, beginning with the non-points race in October at Surfers Paradise(where that leaves Meira is anybody's guess...... )

[mlittle]

PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 Entry List..................


A.J. Foyt, IV, #2 Vision Wellness
Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske
Vitor Meira, #4 National Guard/Delphi
Oriol Servia, #5 CDW
Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske
Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola
(R)Will Power, #8 Aussie Vineyards
Scott Dixon, #9 Target
Dan Wheldon, #10 Target
Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11
Tomas Scheckter, #12 Symantec 360
Darren Manning, #14 ABC Supply Co.
Buddy Rice, #15 Dad's Root Beer
Ryan Hunter-Reay, #17 Ethanol
Bruno Junquiera, #18 Z-Line Designs
(R)Mario Moraes, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ
Ed Carpenter, #20 Menards/DirecTV
Milka Duno, #23 CITGO
Marty Roth, #25 Men's Warehouse
Marco Andretti, #26 Meijer/Blockbuster
(R)Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream
(R)Ernesto[E.J.] Viso, #33 PDVSA
(R)Jaime Camara, #34 Sangari
Alex Tagliani, #36 Ubisoft/Sennheiser
(R)Franck Perera, #41 ABC Supply Co.
Sarah Fisher, #67 Dollar General
(R)Justin Wilson, #02 McDonald's
(R)Graham Rahal, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps

[Southernman]

I voted for Scott Dixon. Pit tactics can't be bad for three races in a row can it.

[mlittle]

~~Event: PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300, final round of the 2008 IRL IndyCar Series season
~~Where: Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill.
~~When: 3:30pm, 7 Sept. 2008
~~Television: 3:30pm, ABC Sports

--each team will receive 10 sets of Firestone Firehawk racing slicks; in addition, the tires for both Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves will have white sidewalls to designate them as still being in the championship points fight
--the tire compounds to be used this weekend were previously used at Texas, Homestead and Kentucky; the tires also have updated sidewalls based on information gleaned during the race weekend at Kentucky

~~Al Speyer, Executive Director, Bridgestone Motorsports:

Once again, we are poised to witness a riveting championship chase culminate at Chicagoland Speedway, where we have seen some truly outstanding battles play out over the years. This has been an extraordinary, historic season with a record numbers of winners, both veterans and up-and-coming racers. As the final act of this championship contest unfolds at Chicagoland Speedway, Firestone Racing is confident that the Firestone Firehawks that we have brought to the track will allow the drivers to focus on the task at hand.

[mlittle]

Chicagoland Practice Session #1 top-5..........................
1} Scott Dixon, Target/Ganassi Racing, 25.083 sec/218.153 mph
2} Ryan Briscoe, Team Penske, 25.250 sec/216.575 mph
3} Helio Castroneves, Team Penske, 25.255 sec/216.668 mph
4} Marco Andretti, Andretti-Green Racing, 25.259 sec/216.639 mph
5} Vitor Meira, Panther Racing, 25.260 sec/216.630 mph

Chicagoland Practice Session #2 top-5...........................
1} Scott Dixon, Target/Ganassi Racing, 25.110 sec/217.919 mph
2} Ryan Briscoe, Team Penske, 25.235 sec/216.845 mph
3} Tony Kanaan, Andretti-Green Racing, 25.313 sec/216.170 mph
4} Danica Patrick, Andretti-Green Racing, 25.315 sec/216.154 mph
5} Helio Castroneves, Team Penske, 25.381 sec/215.596 mph

[mlittle]

PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 Starting Grid...............


1} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske, 215.818 mph
2} Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 215.553 mph

3} Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola, 215.548 mph
4} Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11, 215.368 mph

5} Marco Andretti, #26 Meijer/Blockbuster, 215.064 mph
6} Dan Wheldon, #10 Target, 214.967 mph

7} Tomas Scheckter, #12 Symantec 360, 214.855 mph
8} Vitor Meira, #4 National Guard/Delphi, 214.796 mph

9} Marty Roth, #25 Men's Warehouse, 214.794 mph
10}(R)Will Power, #8 Aussie Vineyards, 214.583 mph

11}(R)Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream, 214.444 mph
12} Oriol Servia, #5 CDW, 214.441 mph

13} Ed Carpenter, #20 Menards/DirecTV, 213.790 mph
14}(R)Graham Rahal, #06 Hole in the Wall Camps, 213.523 mph

15} A.J. Foyt, IV, #2 Vision Wellness, 213.485 mph
16} Ryan Hunter-Reay, #17 Ethanol, 213.430 mph

17}(R)Jaime Camara, #34 Sangari, 213.417 mph
18} Sarah Fisher, #67 Dollar General, 213.389 mph

19} Alex Tagliani, #36 Ubisoft/Sennheiser, 212.943 mph
20} Milka Duno, #23 CITGO, 212.857 mph

21}(R)Justin Wilson, #02 McDonald's, 212.753 mph
22} Buddy Rice, #15 Dad's Root Beer, 212.682 mph

23} Darren Manning, #14 ABC Supply Co., 212.406 mph
24}(R)Franck Perera, #41 ABC Supply Co., 212.126 mph

25} Bruno Junquiera, #18 Z-Line Designs, 212.040 mph
26}(R)E.J. Viso, #33 PDVSA, 211.996 mph

27}(R)Mario Moraes, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ, 211.451 mph
28} Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske, no posted time**

**--IndyCar Series officials stripped the #3 of its' qualifying speed following qualifying for running below the white line during Castroneves' qualifying run

[Southernman]

What a great bonus for Dixon to see his main rival starting at the back of the grid.

[mlittle]

What a great bonus for Dixon to see his main rival starting at the back of the grid.

Watching qualifying this afternoon, I kept wondering, (a)what the h--- was Castroneves doing going below the white line, and (b)would Brian Barnhart[a/k/a the Iron Hand of Justice..... ] actually have the stones to penalize him.

Although I'm glad to see the IHJ actually enforcing the rules, I just wish he was more consistent on his calls during the year.

[Southernman]

What a great bonus for Dixon to see his main rival starting at the back of the grid.

Watching qualifying this afternoon, I kept wondering, (a)what the h--- was Castroneves doing going below the white line, and (b)would Brian Barnhart[a/k/a the Iron Hand of Justice..... ] actually have the stones to penalize him.

Although I'm glad to see the IHJ actually enforcing the rules, I just wish he was more consistent on his calls during the year.

We don't get to watch the qualifying in NZ so I can't really comment on if penalty was deserved or not.

[mlittle]

What a great bonus for Dixon to see his main rival starting at the back of the grid.

Watching qualifying this afternoon, I kept wondering, (a)what the h--- was Castroneves doing going below the white line, and (b)would Brian Barnhart[a/k/a the Iron Hand of Justice..... ] actually have the stones to penalize him.

Although I'm glad to see the IHJ actually enforcing the rules, I just wish he was more consistent on his calls during the year.

We don't get to watch the qualifying in NZ so I can't really comment on if penalty was deserved or not.

Prior to qualifying, BB told all the drivers not to go below the white line at the bottom of the oval during their respective 4-lap runs; twice during his run, Castroneves had all four wheels below the white line......

There's a perverse irony in BB calling him on what happened; the running joke in the IndyCar Series is that Race Control has had a tendency to "look the other way" in regards to actions by either certain drivers or certain teams over the past few years; as much as Team Penske b------ and moaned about Castroneves losing his qual. time, I suspect the howls of protest would've stronger from the Chipster had they not called it.

[mlittle]

In the closest finish in IndyCar Series history, Helio Castroneves beat rival Scott Dixon by 10/10,000th's of a second........however, while Spiderman can bask in the glory of a race win, the Kiwi can bask in the glory of winning his 2nd IndyCar Series title.


Congratulations to Scott Dixon on winning the 2008 IndyCar Series Championship!!!!