Round 9==Firestone Indy 200 Thread

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Who will win the Firestone Indy 200?

Poll ended at Mon Jul 18, 2005 10:47 am

Tomas Scheckter
0
No votes
Danica Patrick
1
100%
Dan Wheldon
0
No votes
Buddy Lazier
0
No votes
Tony Kanaan
0
No votes
Tony Kanaan
0
No votes
none of the above
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 1

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Round 9==Firestone Indy 200 Thread

Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 16, 2005 10:47 am

Rain prevented qualifying from being held, so the qualifying grid will be set from the combined practice times of the first 2 sessions prior to the aborted qual. runs. With a speed of 203.117 mph(23.041 secs), Tomas Scheckter(#4 Pennzoil Platinum Dallara-Chevy) will sit on the pole for Saturday night's race, while series rookie Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer Panoz-Honda) will sit in second on the grid, w/a speed of 203.088(23.044 secs.). It was only fitting, since both led each practice session(Scheckter in session 1, Patrick in session 2) and were consistently fast in each session. The surprise, however, was the 3rd starting spot for 2000 IndyCar Series champion Buddy Lazier(#95 Pennzoil Panther Dallara-Chevy) while Andretti-Green Racing's Dario Franchitti(#27 ArcaEx Dallara-Honda) will start 4th.

Here are some Friday quotes from the front-runners:

Tomas Scheckter(#4 Pennzoil Platinum D/C)--"It's very satisfying. It's a tough track to get a pole. We were (quickest) in the first session, and we were pretty quick in the second session as well. We felt we had a pretty good chance if we qualified. Knowing how difficult it is, it's good to walk away with the pole."

Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer P/H):"I thought we would come in here with a good car. Buddy and Vitor were very fast here last year, and the team put together a good car. I felt good five laps after I got out here and made improvements here and there. I think now sitting P2, I (would've) liked to qualify, because I think we have a fast car that can sit on pole. Nevertheless, you never know what can happen in qualifying, (so) front row is always good. I'll take it and focus on the race."

Buddy Lazier(#95 Pennzoil Panther D/C)--"It feels really good. Just the pace surprised me a little. These cars are so good on this racetrack, and the track is in really good shape. For me, it's just trying to get into the rhythm of a short event. Obviously, you have little time to prepare for the race. (Panther Racing's) given me a great race car, and we're progressing every time I go out. I just have to keep my pace going to stay on top of it."

The race itself will be on Saturday, July 16th at 7:00 PM EDT(23:00 UTC 16 July). I'll post a summary of the race plus commentaries following the race.
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Observations--Nashville

Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 16, 2005 4:30 pm

At least the rains at Nashville today brought some good things to the observation post.....

#1---Back at Texas, Panther Racing had announced that 1996 Indy 500 champion(and 2000 IndyCar series winner) Buddy Lazier, who drove a third Panther Racing Dallara-Chevy at the Brickyard(where he finished 5th) would be driving at both Nashville and Michigan. Well, add 2 more venues to that list:Kentucky and Chicagoland. Team officials also noted that there could be sponsorship for at least one of the two road-course events this year. Considering the pressure Panther's under to give the departing Chevy IRL program a good send-off, Lazier's just the driver they need. He's won here before(2001) and can give extensive veteran advice and knowledge to both Scheckter and series rookie Tomas Enge.

#2---It appears Toyota's woes are back, at least this weekend. While Honda has 6 of the top 10 spots on the grid(w/Chevy at P1 and P3), the best practice speeds TRD could muster were 9th and 10th(w/Target-Ganassi Racing's Darren Manning and Ryan Briscoe). Their third teammate, 2003 series champion Scott Dixon, will start 12th. Even more surprising was the off-performances of Marlboro-Team Penske's two racers, 2-time series champion Sam Hornish, Jr.(13th) and Helio Castroneves(15th). Why is Penske's two placings surprising? It's no secret that, of the Toyota-powered cars, Penske's should be the best(unlike TGR, Red Bull/Cheever, Vision and Foyt Racing, who lease TRD engines, Penske builds his own engines w/TRD assistance) and usually are at the front of the charts. This time, the cancelled qual. session caught them by surprise; however, they're usually right at the front come racetime, and should contend for the win.

#3---In a recent commentary, I noted that Honda was planning to begin running in the American LeMans Series, w/either Andretti-Green Racing or Rahal-Letterman Racing leading the charge in that series' LMP-2 class agst. an expected Penske-led Porsche contingent. It appears, according to multiple news sources, that RLR and not AGR will get the lead role. This isn't a surprise--back in 1987, Bobby Rahal won at the 12 Hrs. of Sebring and has made it clear he'd like to restart an LMP-class program for HPD(Honda's Indy engine program). Two questions to this:1}When would such a program begin?, and 2}Who would drive for them? All I can say is, stay tuned.
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Franchitti Wins "Hometown" Race

Post by mlittle » Sun Jul 17, 2005 12:52 pm

Although three of the Andretti-Green Racing cars failed to finish the race tonight, it was the fourth, the #27 ArcaEx Dallara-Honda, piloted by Nashville's 'adopted' son, Scotsman Dario Franchitti, who saw the checkers first at the Firestone Indy 200 in Nashville.

At the drop of the green flag, polesitter Tomas Scheckter(#4 Pennzoil Platinum Dallara-Chevy) took the lead, followed the cars of Danica Patrick, Buddy Lazier, Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti. After three laps, Scheckter lost the lead to AGR's Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 Dallara/Honda) who began reeling off torrid laps, challenging the field to chase him down. on lap 27, the first caution came out as Scheckter's teammate, rookie Tomas Enge(#2 Rockstar Energy Drink Dallara-Chevy) slammed hard into the turn one wall; he was okay but was taken to the infield care center complaining of lower back pain and was later taken to Methodist Hospital in Nashville for an MRI.

After a long caution, the green came back out and Kanaan soon retook the lead, only to lose it on the first round of pitstops, as teammate Bryan Herta(#7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara-Honda) took the point, taking an early gamble on fuel, the first of several to do so. Herta would later retire w/a wheel bearing failure on lap 75. Meanwhile, Kanaan retook the lead and blistered fast lap after fast lap, leading through halfway, until lap 115. Following a caution for debris, Kaanan hit a piece of debris, breaking the suspension linkage and collecting Target/Ganassi Racing's Darren Manning as the two slid into the wall btwn. turns 1 & 2. Then the fuel strategy game began, as most of the field went to pitlane for fuel and tires. However, in a gamble that nearly paid off, rookie points leader Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer Panoz-Honda) stayed out on track, gaining need track position and soon grabbed the lead around lap 123 and leading until passed by Franchitti on lap 132.

Meanwhile, the pace continued until lap 160, as polesitter Scheckter retired w/an engine failuire, drawing out the caution. All the cars went in, except for the two Red Bull/Cheever cars of Patrick Carpentier and 2002 race winner Alex Barron. As Patrick before them, they were gambling on cautions to "push" them to the end. It nearly paid off for them; unfortunately, it took a caution for a crash involving Barron and Patrick's teammate, Vitor Meira(#17 Johns Manville/Menards Panoz-Honda) to do so. Now the suspense began to build, for the last time a Cheever entry won an IndyCar Series race was at Michigan in 2002, w/Scheckter. After a lengthy caution, the race resumed for the last time w/around 10 laps or so. It only took Franchitti 2 laps to pass Carpentier and then his car took off, never seriously challenged.

Finishing second was the #6 Marlboro Team-Penske Dallara-Toyota of Sam Hornish, Jr. w/Carpentier getting his second podium of the year in third. Scott Sharp(#9 Delphi/Fernandez Panoz-Honda) finished 4th, followed by Castroneves, Dixon, Patrick, Briscoe, Lazier and Ed Carpenter(#20 Vision Racing Dallara-Toyota) rounding out the top 10. Only thirteen cars made it to the end in an attrition-filled race, but in the end it was Franchitti who got the custom Gibson guitar given to the race-winner.

Meanwhile, Dan Wheldon held on his points lead w/a 67-pt. lead over reigning champion Tony Kanaan. Franchitti's win vaulted him into third, just 5 pts. back of Kanaan. Castroneves and Hornish follow along in 4th and 5th place.

In the Bombardier Rookie of the Year Standings, Rahal-Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick stands in the lead(11th overall) w/197 pts. Target/Ganassi's Ryan Briscoe, who finished just behind Patrick in 8th, lost ground, remaining in 2nd(17th overall), 50 markers back. Panther Racing's Tomas Enge stands 3rd(21st overall) 66 pts. behind Patrick.

The series moves on to America' olderst-continously used racetrack, the historic Milwaukee Mile, for Round 10--The ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225, Sunday July 24th at 2:30 EDT(16:30 UTC 24 July)
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Post by Graham Ross » Sun Jul 17, 2005 1:08 pm

Interesting that Briscoe who has done some F1 testing is behind Patrick! From your observations mlittle how do the two compare ? Is Briscoe having car troubles or is he just lacking pace ?

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Post by mlittle » Sun Jul 17, 2005 1:45 pm

I don't believe its' either car troubles or lacking in pace that are Briscoe's problems, graham. Honestly, I think its' the way they(Ryan and Danica) approach each race. Briscoe, being an ex-F1 tester, seems to take his car to the ragged edge every race(and sometimes over, "kissing" the occasional tirewall, concrete wall, etc.) Danica's the same way with one exception; she seems to know, w/each successive race, how to "throttle back" a little and let the race come to her; that's why she's placing better than Briscoe. He's got to learn when to go flat-out and when to sort of hang back and let things develop; that's especially vital in a primarily-oval based series, where all-out speed sometimes isn't enough.
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Commentary on Round 9--Nashville

Post by mlittle » Sun Jul 17, 2005 2:56 pm

There are a few good things, but one scary crash leads the commentary...

#1--Update on Tomas Enge. It appears that the driver of the #2 Rockstar Energy Drink Dallara-Chevy will be out a for a bunch of races. Preliminary tests at a Nashville-area hospital show the Czech-born racer suffered breaks of the T-12 and L-1(lower back) vertebrae in his crash early in Saturday night's race(similar to injuries suffered by Bruno Junquiera at this year's Indy 500). Chances are, someone'll have to setp in for the remainder of the year. Enge's also likely out of any ALMS events as well(he currently drives for Aston-Martin's GT-1 team when the IndyCar Series has an off weekend.

#2--Wheldon's charge continues....Although Wheldon finished 21st w/a suspension failure, his lead is still near 70 pts. thanks to the crash involving teammate Tony Kanaan, who finished 19th. Howver, Dario Franchitti's win propelled him up to 3rd overall, and the Scotsman showed tonight he intends to challenge the Englishman Wheldon for the title.

#3--Another top-10 finish for Patrick. They say improvements come in stops and spurts, and apparently Danica got the message. After a 15th at Homestead, a 15th at Phoenix and a 12th at St. Pete, she reeled off 4th's at Motegi and Indy, then had a 13th at Texas. Since then, she's had 3-straight top-10 finishes(10th-Richmond, 9th-Kansas and 7th-Nashville). At this rate, there should be a win there somewhere. Ironically, of the three drivers in the Rahal-Letterman Racing stable, Patrick has the best starting and finishing avgs. of the three(Patrick, Meira and Rice). If she can just get the finishes to be as good as her starts, we'll see her in Victory Lane this year.
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