2009 IRL Rd. 17--Firestone Indy 300

[mlittle]

16 races spanning North America and Japan and the IndyCar Series now concludes its' 2009 campaign back in the Sunshine State.......this time at Homestead. Three drivers: Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe, all have a shot at taking series honors for 2009....................

~~Can the Kiwi capture a second straight championship and add to his already impressive Indycar credentials?
~~Can the Scotsman return to championship glory after a year off in the land of the tin-tops?
~~Can the Aussie bring the Captain another open-wheel title to add to the ones' Penske Racing has?

All season long, Target/Ganassi Racing and Team Penske have dominated Victory Lane and the top of the points table.........Saturday brings them one more chance to take a race win and possibly a championship to go with it!


~~Past Winners at Homestead.............
--Jimmy Vasser(1996)
--Michael Andretti(1997-1998)
--Greg Moore(1999)
--Max Papis(2000)
--Sam Hornish, Jr.(2001-2002 & 2004)
--Scott Dixon(2003, 2008)
--Dan Wheldon(2005-2007)
note..........in 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 & 2008 the winner of the race went on to win the series championship

[mlittle]

Firestone Indy 300 Entry List....................


(R)Raphael Matos, #2 United States Air Force
Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske
Dan Wheldon, #4 National Guard
Mario Moraes, #5 Azul Tequila/KVRT/Votorantim
Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske
Danica Patrick, #7 Boost Mobile
Scott Dixon, #9 Target
Dario Franchitti, #10 Target
Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11
E.J. Viso, #13 PDVSA
Ryan Hunter-Reay, #14 ABC Supply Co.
Justin Wilson, #18 Z-Line Designs
Ed Carpenter, #20 Menards
Milka Duno, #23 CITGO
(R)Mike Conway, #24 RollCoater/DRR
Marco Andretti, #26 Venom Energy
Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream
(R)Robert Doornbos, #33 HVM/Muermans/Trust
Tomas Scheckter, #43 MonaVie Energy
Sarah Fisher, #67 Dollar General
Jaques Lazier, #98 CURB Records
Graham Rahal, #02 McDonald's
Alex Lloyd, #04 HER Energy

[mlittle]

The IndyCar championship comes down to Saturday’s finale at Homestead-Miami and that’s probably fitting since the series’ calling card has always been the 1.5-mile ovals. It’s a three driver, two team battle royale for the title and, while we know either a Target/Ganassi or Team Penske driver will likely be standing in victory lane, we don’t know which one.

Scott Dixon, who owns a five-point lead over teammate Dario Franchitti and is eight in front of Ryan Briscoe, would seem to have a slight advantage. In the five 1.5-mile shows this season, Dixon has led 367 laps and come away with a pair of wins at Kansas and Japan. His average start on these ovals is third and his average finish is 2.8. And the two-time IndyCar champion is the only one of this trio with a W at this track – last year and in 2003.

“It’s kinda surprising we’re still in this deal because we got off to a rough start and we really haven’t had much of a flow,” said Dixon, whose five wins in 2009 are the most and one away from tying his record (set last year and also held by Dan Wheldon in 2005). We’ve been up and down and it’s been a strange year. Team Penske seemed to have us covered on the mile and a half earlier but we’ve been getting stronger and stronger.”

Franchitti, who looked like his old self straight away following one year in NASCAR, is use to the pressure of a championship being decided in the last race. The 36-year-old Scotsman lost the 1999 CART title to Juan Montoya on a tie-breaker and captured the 2007 IRL crown on the final lap of the season.

“It definitely prepares you for what to expect and how to handle things,” said Franchitti, with four wins in ’09 for Chip Ganassi. “It helps you improve your race craft and, hopefully, it makes you a little smarter. This thing has been going back and forth between the three of us and I expect Saturday to be a very close race, as usual.”

Briscoe, whose unforced error of hitting the pit wall at Japan knocked him out of the pound seat and points lead, has nonetheless been formidable on the 1.5s with wins at Kentucky and Chicago and a second at Texas. He’s led 285 laps with an average start of 3.4 and a finish of 5.2.

“I think I’ve improved on these type of tracks and obviously I’ve had a lot of help from Roger (Penske), Tim (Cindric) and Rick (Mears),” said the 29-year-old Aussie who survived a scary flip at Chicago in 2005 while driving for Ganassi as a rookie. We’ve had great runs at all of them so I feel really good about closing out the season at Homestead.”

Other than Justin Wilson’s triumph at Watkins Glen for Dale Coyne, nobody else has won a race in 2009 as Ganassi (nine wins total) and Penske (six wins) continue their dominance. Along with Andretti-Green, who had a pair of Ws in 2008 before pitching a shutout this season, the winning streak on ovals for The Big 3 stands at 46 in a row – 14 straight for Ganassi and Pesnke.

Ed Carpenter damn near ended their stronghold at Kentucky this year and Graham Rahal and Mario Moraes have been in the hunt for a win late in the past couple oval races. But, until proven otherwise, the three-man donnybrook for the title also figures to be the storyline at Homestead, along with Helio Castroneves trying to win for the third time in ’09 and help his teammate.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a crazy race,” mused Dixon. “And it’s probably going to come down to the last lap.” One has to ask..........was he referring to the race, the championship.......or both.

[mlittle]

Homestead Practice Sesson 1 Times.........................


1. 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 25.197 212.170
2. 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 25.219 0.022 0.022 211.982
3. 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 25.227 0.008 0.030 211.918
4. 5 Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology 25.325 0.098 0.128 211.100
5. 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 25.353 0.028 0.156 210.865
6. 02 Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 25.366 0.013 0.169 210.750
7. 20 Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 25.370 0.004 0.173 210.723
8. 04 Alex Lloyd Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 25.377 0.007 0.180 210.664
9. 67 Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing 25.430 0.053 0.233 210.227
10. 2 Raphael Matos* Luczo Dragon Racing 25.450 0.020 0.253 210.063
11. 7 Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing 25.470 0.020 0.273 209.894
12. 27 Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing 25.486 0.016 0.289 209.765
13. 11 Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing 25.511 0.025 0.314 209.557
14. 43 Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.513 0.002 0.316 209.543
15. 26 Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing 25.523 0.010 0.326 209.456
16. 4 Dan Wheldon Panther Racing 25.552 0.029 0.355 209.224
17. 23 Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.576 0.024 0.379 209.025
18. 18 Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing 25.593 0.017 0.396 208.884
19. 14 Ryan Hunter-Reay AJ Foyt Enterprises 25.646 0.053 0.449 208.454
20. 13 EJ Viso HVM Racing 25.646 0.000 0.449 208.449
21. 24 Mike Conway* Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.851 0.205 0.654 206.804
22. 33 Robert Doornbos* HVM Racing 25.982 0.131 0.785 205.760
* Series rookie

[mlittle]

Homestead Practice Session 2 Times........................


1. 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 25.110 212.906
2. 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 25.143 0.033 0.033 212.621
3. 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 25.283 0.140 0.173 211.444
4. 02 Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 25.365 0.082 0.255 210.765
5. 04 Alex Lloyd Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 25.402 0.037 0.292 210.454
6. 5 Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology 25.434 0.032 0.324 210.193
7. 2 Raphael Matos* Luczo Dragon Racing 25.445 0.011 0.335 210.101
8. 7 Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing 25.445 0.000 0.335 210.099
9. 20 Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 25.446 0.001 0.336 210.094
10. 43 Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.451 0.005 0.341 210.049
11. 11 Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing 25.461 0.010 0.351 209.969
12. 27 Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing 25.509 0.048 0.399 209.574
13. 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 25.544 0.035 0.434 209.283
14. 23 Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.581 0.037 0.471 208.981
15. 26 Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing 25.585 0.004 0.475 208.946
16. 14 Ryan Hunter-Reay AJ Foyt Enterprises 25.669 0.084 0.559 208.264
17. 13 EJ Viso HVM Racing 25.709 0.040 0.599 207.946
18. 4 Dan Wheldon Panther Racing 25.769 0.060 0.659 207.458
19. 24 Mike Conway* Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 25.816 0.047 0.706 207.079
20. 18 Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing 25.834 0.018 0.724 206.940
21. 67 Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing 26.046 0.212 0.936 205.252
22. 98 Jaques Lazier CURB/Agajanian/Team 3G 26.058 0.012 0.948 205.161
23. 33 Robert Doornbos* HVM Racing 26.061 0.003 0.951 205.132
* Series rookie

[mlittle]

Franchitti earns the one bonus pt. for winning the pole for Saturday's Firestone Indy 300.............can he translate it into a second series title?


The IndyCar Series championship contenders will begin their shootout within close proximity in the Firestone Indy 300. Can't get closer than 1-2-3. Dario Franchitti earned his fifth PEAK Performance Pole Award of the season - the third on an oval - with a four-lap average speed of 212.696 mph (1 minute, 40.5378 seconds cumulative) on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway. With a bonus point for the pole, he'll start the 200-lap race four points behind front-running Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon.

Dixon, who posted an average speed of 212.160 mph, will start from the front row for the fourth time this season (his 12th top five in 17 races). And Ryan Briscoe, only eight points out of the top spot, will start third (212.137 mph) in the No. 6 Team Penske car. Fifty points are awarded to the winner, with a 10-point gap to second and 15 to third. Two bonus points are available to the driver who leads the most laps.

Dixon and Franchitti have swept the front row three times this season - also at Richmond (with Franchitti on the pole) and Kentucky (with Dixon on the pole). At Kentucky, it was Briscoe who started third and won the race. Initially, Briscoe won't receive much assistance from teammate Helio Castroneves, who will start 11th (210.658). Castroneves, who was fifth overall on the speed chart after two practice sessions, was involved in a single-car incident late in the afternoon session.

Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter, the last of 23 qualifiers, posted an average speed of 211.769 mph and will join Briscoe on Row 2. It was by far the team's best starting position of the season (previous best 10th at Kansas and Texas). "I'm really happy with that qualifying effort," said Carpenter, driving the No. 20 Menard's entry, who finished second to Briscoe at Kentucky. "I felt like we were definitely going to be in the top 10 but we were flirting with a top five in practice. It's going to be an interesting race because everyone seems to be struggling in traffic on a challenging track. We thought it would be a little easier with all the aero changes than what it has been, but at the same time it is kind of fun to come to a track where you really have to nail the set-up to have a good car. Carpenter added, "I think a lot of people are hoping to see the three championship contenders duking it out three-wide in the end, but I don't think that will be the case. The best car is going to win and truthfully I think we have a good shot at it."

Alex Lloyd, who is making his debut with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, will start fifth (211.702) in the No. 40202 HER Energy car(a/k/a the #04). Teammate Graham Rahal also will be on Row 3 as he recorded an average of 211.653 mph in the No. 02 McDonald's car. "Everybody at HER Energy and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing is very excited about our starting position," said Lloyd, who tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway last week. "I was fortunate enough to win here (in Firestone Indy Lights). Racing here in an IndyCar is different than in an Indy Lights car but at the same time it's nice to have some experience at the track and have that feeling. It's great to be back competing in the IndyCar Series. We want to go out there and be able to mix it up. There are some things I need to learn but at the same time I think we can run at the front. Having only done the race at Indianapolis, it feels like a very quick weekend."

[mlittle]

The IRL's first caution-free oval race produced both a trip to Victory Lane and a second series title for the Scotsman


Dario Franchitti not only won the Firestone Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway but he took the IndyCar Series championship for the second time in three years. The winner and other 22 drivers put on a dazzling display of speed and safe driving with nary a caution flag, marking the first caution-free race in IndyCar Series history. The average speed of 201.420 miles per hour was the second fastest in the IndyCar Series record books.

Franchitti and teammate Scott Dixon opened the race with a torrid dual before the winner dropped back, leaving Dixon and title contender Ryan Briscoe to battle for the lead. The two of them proceeded to dominate a majority of the 200-lap race, leading 173 laps with the victor heading 25 rounds. Trailing Dixon and Briscoe in the waning laps, Franchitti took advantage of their need for fuel and grabbed the lead and the victory, holding a 4.477 second advantage over Briscoe and Dixon when the checkered flag dropped.

Dario Franchitti, 2009 IndyCar Series Champion,

"I can't believe it; I can't believe it. What a year this has been. I am so lucky to be with this team. These guys just want to win and win. My car wasn't good at the beginning, and we just kept trying to make it better. Once the car got better and the track cooled off, we were already in a fuel conservation mode, which worked out for us. We (Dixon and I) split the strategy, and it was a great team effort.

Franchitti drove the Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry and for the championship team, it won the IndyCar Series championship for the third time -- 2003, 2008 and 2009 and claimed its 34th series victory, tying Andretti Green Racing for second place on the all-time victory list. CGR also won for the 10th time in 2009, and the 10th win came on the 10th day of the 10th month of the year. Franchitti dedicated his championship to his late friend Greg Moore. "I thought (about) Greg on the cool-down lap, and this one is for him."

Briscoe, who led 103 laps, had put on a spirited race with Dixon and Franchitti and was in the lead when he pitted for fuel on lap 194. Discussing the conclusion, he said, "It is pretty frustrating as this was one of the best races I've ever had. I hate it that the race turned into a fuel conservation race." Dixon, who had been focusing on the championship, persevered to take third place. "The fastest cars don't always win a race," he said. "I had a great race with Ryan Briscoe, and I thought the race was going to come down to the two of us. And at one point, we almost lapped Dario (Franchitti), but he came back to win it."

Fourth went to Tony Kanaan with Helio Castroneves third, and they completed 199 laps.

"It was a long race," Kanaan said. "It looks like those three guys ahead of me were in another league. I think it was an A-league and a B-league, but we tried." Said Castroneves, "Our Penske boys and Ryan (Briscoe) did everything they could do to bring this championship home. It is a shame. Next year is going to be different."

Sixth through eighth and with 198 laps completed was Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes and Alex Lloyd. Tomas Scheckter and Justin Wilson rounded out the top-10 finishers, three laps behind the winner.

The race's only incident occurred on the 152nd lap when Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick made contact on pit road, forcing the latter into a half-spin.