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

[mlittle]

At tracks such as Richmond, Milwaukee, and later on, Pikes Peak, the horsepower takes a distinct back seat to two things:1-handling(especially important on a "flat-banked" oval such as the Mile), and 2-having great(sub 9-sec.) pitstops during the race. For some reason, Milwaukee seems to have a tendency to lose the second, outer groove every so often, and if your running a high-line there, your car better be handling well, or it becomes a long day. The better you can start at a track like Milwaukee, the better you'll do come raceday, period.

If anything, julian, the friday charts all show something I pointed out in the mid-week previews....it appears that all the top teams, Penske, AGR, Rahal-Letterman and Panther, have indeed brought their "A" games to the track this week. Question is, which teams will keep up the pace? Saturday's practice sessions and qualifying session should answer the question.

[mlittle]

For the second time this year, Marlboro-Team Penske will start P1 and P2 on the grid for Sunday's ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. And, just like at Richmond last month, Sam Hornish, Jr. will start on the pole, his third of the year, w/a time of 21.457 secs.(170.296 mph). His teammate, Helio Castroneves, who won at Richmond last month from P2, qualified w/a time of 21.467 secs.(170.219 mph). Starting in row 2 for the race are Panther Racing's Tomas Scheckter(21.621 secs./169.000 mph) and the current series points leader, Andretti-Green's Dan Wheldon(21.679 secs./168.553 secs.). They'll have some familiar company in row 3, as Scheckter's teammate, Buddy Lazier, starts 5th w/a time of 21.684 secs.(168.514 mph) and the current rookie points leader, Rahal-Letterman's Danica Patrick, will start 6th w/a time of 21.837 secs.(167.328 mph.)

Meanwhile, the slow free fall of Target/Ganassi Racing continues. First, series rookie Ryan Briscoe crashed during Saturday's morning practice session; although he was cleared to race for Sunday, the team has decided to hold him until next week's race at Michigan. His teammates, Darren Manning and Scott Dixon, had abysmal qualification runs of their own. Manning waived off his run after nearly wrecking in the same part of the circuit Briscoe crashed in, and Dixon will start 18th on the grid.

Qualification news and notes.....
1}Best career start for Yasu. With his 10th-place start, Dreyer & Reinbold's Roger Yasukawa will have his best career start(equaling the 10th at Homestead).

2}Deja vu for Penske? Last month, Marlboro-Team Penske started 1-2 at Richmond and Castroneves won. With a win tomorrow, Penske will have his 6th win as a car owner at the Mile. Penske standout Rick Mears won three times here(1978, 1988 and 1989), Bobby Unser in 1980 and Al Unser, Jr. in 1994. Hornish's pole was the team's eighth at the Mile in Indy-style racing since the team's founding in the 1970's, the most of any team ever to compete there.

3}And you thought Wheldon was running away w/the points title? With her fellow rookie competitors Ryan Briscoe and Tomas Enge out for Sunday's race, Rahal-Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick might have a bigger lead in the rookie points table than Wheldon could have in the overall standings. If the rookie battle becomes moot pretty soon, that could take some pressure off of Patrick, which might help her capture that first victory of the year.

As for the race.....the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 will be on ESPN at 2:30 PM EDT(18:30 UTC) and can be heard on the IMS Radio Network webcast(check prior postings for the available links) and on XM Satellite Radio(w/in the continental USA).

[Julian Mayo]

It is an interesting point you raise with Danica. I think there must be a lot of pressure to, not just win Rookie O. T. Y., but to absolutely wipe the others if she is to be regarded as having the same promise as Legge. Mind you I think this is a tad unfair, as it is one thing to cut and thrust in her formula, compared to the serious risk of injury in Danica's. Just to withstand the G Forces alone single out Danica, with her slight frame, as someone pretty damn special IMHO. Gee, wouldn't it be nice to see them in a side by side comparison. Somebody should arrange a "best of ", say 3 runs each in both cars...there you go Mfer,....a golden opportunity for you to make a squillion dollars, I will take my usual 18% and a bottle of Wild Turkey.

[JayVee]

Couple of questions,

- Is A.J. Foyt a sponsor of this race ? Isn't that a team in the race as well ? If so isn't there a conflict of interest ?

- Can you explain why is there so much more injuries in Indy and Champ compared to Formula 1 ? It sounds like the safety in those series is like what F1 used to be 20 years ago ?
What are they doing about it ? Can't they look at what F1 is doing and learn from that ? I realise it is not as easy but something must be done. It is painful to read about all those drivers with broken bones or even worse!

The Milwaukee Indy 225 is live on ESPN on FoxTel at 4:30 AM Sydney time Live!
(for those who want to wake up that early!!)

[mlittle]

Interesting point, julian. From my own perspective, the pressure to win it seems began after her performances at Motegi and Indy--no one thought she'd do as well there as she did, especially at Indianapolis. The comparisons to Legge are based essentially on the fact that, until this year, Danica's performance in her 2 yrs. of Atlantics was the gold standard; it would be interesting to see both of them in the same racing series; maybe it'll happen sometime soon. The only difference btwn. Katherine winning and Danica winning is that, when Danica wins her first race, it probably will trump Katherine's Atlantics wins for the talent level in the IndyCar series is deeper than in Atlantics(but those Atlantics racers aren't slouches...just ask Legge about having to hold off Zwolsman at Edmonton).

[mlittle]

2-part posting, JayVee....

1--The reason Foyt's name is mentioned in the name of the race is that he's a legend in Indy-style racing. A 4-time champion of the Indianapolis 500, he had one heck of a career, and this, I'm assuming, was a way to honor him. I wouldn't worry about a conflict of interest; some of the races are being sponsored by Argent Mortgage and I don't think anyone's asked Rahal to remove the Argent colors from Rice and Patrick's cars.

2--The injuries are a problem, JV, and even with all the safety features introduced in the past decade(head/neck restraints, SAFER barriers, cars that "distingrate" when they crash into barriers) there are still injuries, primarily when they(IRL/CCWS) run on the ovals. The safety personnel in both series are some of the best in the world and they do yeoman's work every race to take care of the drivers after any accident. It's ironic, though, that even w/all the safety innovations and improvements, there have only been, to my knowledge, three fatalities in the past 10 yrs(Scott Brayton at Indy[prior to the 500], Jeff Krosnoff at Toronto, and Greg Moore at Fontana). Running on ovals can be a dangerous gamble, but the racers are smart enough to know when to fight for position and when not to. You're right, though, reading about some of the injuries suffered this year can be painful(especially Junquiera's at Indy).

[mlittle]

Now I know why this race is run on the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds.....

1}Not another wrecked Ganassi car. For the second year in a row, one of Target/Ganassi Racing's drivers "kissed the concrete" at the mile, and like last year, they won't be running on Sunday. Last year, it was 2003 series champion Scott Dixon, this year it was series rookie Ryan Briscoe. And to think, back in 2003, this team could do nothing wrong...now, they're lucky if just one of their three drivers make it to the end of the race.

2}Panther Racing announced that that they had indeed been in talks w/Champ Car officials concerning which series they'll run in next year. Considering that neither their primary sponsor(Pennzoil) nor engine builder(Chevy-Cosworth) are slated to return next year, it makes sense. On the other hand, the last thing the IRL needs is for a veteran team like Panther(around since 1997) to bolt for the CCWS, as MiJack-Conquest did in 2003. This is definitely one storyline that will be followed as the year unfolds.

3}Patrick's top qualifier at RLR. For the sixth time this year, series rookie Danica Patrick beat both her teammates Buddy Rice and Vitor Meira on the grid, qualifying 6th to Meira's 11th and Rice's 15th. This isn't a surprise--its' the fifth race in the past six(beginning at Indy) where Patrick's led Rahal-Letterman to the green. The question seems to be: What kind of race will we see, one where her car is seemingly on rails(as at Motegi and Indy) or one where the car handles like a wounded duck(as at Kansas)?

[mlittle]

The race ended about 25-30 minutes ago; this is a brief update on the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225(more detailed summary to come later today).

1}Marlboro-Team Penske's Sam Hornish, Jr. dominated today, leading 119 of the 225 laps, winning by .0384 secs. over Andretti-Green Racing's Dario Franchitti and Panther Racing's Tomas Scheckter. AGR racers Tony Kanaan and series pts. leader Dan Wheldon were 4th and 5th. Hornish now has 14 IndyCar Series wins, the most among active and former series competitors.

2}There's still a rookie points battle, as both Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick crashed into the outside wall this weekend. Briscoe's on Saturday cost him a shot at the race today; Patrick's on lap 125 ended her day and resulted in a 19th place finish. The good news...both are expected to race at Michigan next week, as neither was hurt in their respective crashes. The bad news....Patrick and Briscoe remain 11th and 17th overall, still 50 pts. between them.

3}Wheldon's points lead increased...a little. Although Hornish won the race, the Englishman still leads in the points by 68 over both Hornish and Franchitti, while reigning series champion Tony Kanaan fell to 4th(71 markers back) and Hornish's teammate Helio Castroneves is in 5th, 104 pts. back. In essence, the points battle is a four-horse race now, and Wheldon has the inside track going to Michigan.

As stated above, this is a brief update; a more detailed summary will follow w/commentaries as well.

[mlittle]

With the temperatures in the mid-90s(Fahrenheit) and track temps over 120-degrees F, the race began as polesitter Sam Hornish, Jr.(#6 Marlboro-Team Penske Dallara/Toyota) set a fast, blistering pace, leading over the front-runners from a half-sec. to over a second. The pace would be slowed as a caution would be thrown on lap 58 for debris; the leaders went into the pits for fuel and tires. Hornish would win the race off pitroad, followed by Andretti-Green's Dan Wheldon(#26 Jim Beam/Klein Tools Dallara/Honda), then Castroneves, Franchitti and Scheckter. When the green came out, Hornish and Wheldon fought for the lead until lap 112, when the Emberton, England native passed Hornish to take the lead. Using lapmarkers to stretch out his lead, Wheldon soon led by over 4 seconds. It wouldn't last, though.

On lap 126, series rookie Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda) spun into the turn 2 wall, nearly collecting Tomas Scheckter(#4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevy) in the process. Patrick was checked at the infield care center and was cleared to race at Michigan next week. Meanwhile, the leaders took to the pits, most getting fuel and tires, while a few got some minor wing adjustments and extra tire pressure. As everyone sped down pitroad, Scheckter's teammate, Buddy Lazier(#2 Rockstar Energy Drink D/C), subbing for the injured Tomas Enge, collided w/Ed Carpenter(#20 Vision Racing Dallara/Toyota), knocking Lazier out w/suspension damage.

After debris from Patrick's accident was cleared, the field reformed for the green flag on lap 140, and Wheldon took off like a rocket, leading Castroneves and the other front-runners, until a third caution came out as Patrick's teammate, Buddy Rice(#15 Argent/Pioneer P/H) spins into the turn 2 wall very near to where Patrick crashed, on lap 168. A new leader took the front, as AGR's Dario Franchitti(#27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda) took the point, followed by teammate Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 D/H), then Wheldon, Hornish and Scheckter. On lap 187, caution yet again, as Hornish's teammate Castroneves spins into the wall, bringing out another caution. Now, the fight got interesting.

As the green flag flew on lap 195, Franchitti and Hornish duel, lap-by-lap until lap 211 when Hornish does a high-side pass on Dario, only to lose the lead 2 laps later as Franchitti retook the lead. A few laps later, Hornish used the low groove to retake the lead and held off the hard-charging Franchtti for his 14th career IRL victory, winning by 0.384 secs. over the Scotsman. The win marked Penske's 6th victory as Hornish joined former Penske standouts Rick Mears, Bobby Unser and Al Unser, Jr. as drivers w/wins at the Mile. Meanwhile, Dan Wheldon continues to lead in the points, leading over Sam Hornish, Jr. and Dario Franchitti by 68 pts, while 2004 series champion Tony Kanaan now stands in 4th, 71 pts. back, w/Castroneves now 103 pts. back.

Meanwhile, in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings, Rahal-Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick still leads w/209 pts.(11th overall), while Target/Ganassi Racing's Ryan Briscoe sits 50 markers back, w/159 pts(17th overall). With the injured Tomas Enge unable to compete, it has essentially become a 2-horse battle for rookie honors.

Next up:Round 11--the Firestone Indy 400, from the Irish Hills of central Michigan, the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. Racetime is set for 3:00 PM(19:00 UTC July 31st) on ABC Sports, w/radio and webcast on the IMS Radio Network and also XM Satellite Radio.

[mlittle]

Here's some evening commentaries and post-race driver quotes(top 3 finishers).

1}Milwaukee, once again, showed why it's the king of the short ovals. The track once again had 2 grooves to race in, especially late in the race, and it also showed the perils of losing traction in the turns and "kissing the concrete". Just ask Rahal-Letterman drivers Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice; both spun and hit the wall in about the same spot. One difference though, today...Rice, the veteran, was, like the other Panoz drivers, a mere backmarker. Patrick, until her crash on lap 126, was the only Panoz racer fightin' for the lead during the lead, passing vets Scott Sharp and Buddy Lazier w/high-line passes each. Barring the crash, she could've had a top-5 finish or better.

2}How hot was it today? Track officials said it was the hottest Indy-style race ever run, w/air temps around the mid-90s, humidity around 50%+ and track temps btwn. 120-130 degrees F. Add all the rubber the cars lay down during the race, plus a little fluid here and there, along w/a billiards-smooth track, and you get one very slippery track. Besides Patrick and Rice, Castroneves(w/help from Hornish, unfortunately), Franchitti and Scheckter all had problems in turns 1-2. Don't forget the USAC Silver Crown and Sprint races held there this weekend, too; their Goodyear tires laid a lot of dissimilar rubber on the track, giving the IndyCar drivers(all on Firestones') fits on raceday.

3}The tradition continues. Of all the tracks that have held Indy-style events, only Milwaukee can claim to hold both series. The Mile's an old-school track where its' not the car that matters, its' which drivers can grab the "beast" by the scruff of the neck and tame it, and at least for one day, Sam Hornish, Jr. did just that. Heck, there's not even a SAFER barrier on the outside wall, so when Briscoe, Patrick and Rice "kissed the concrete", that wasn't a soft wall, that was the actual hard concrete they felt. Fortunately, none of them was injured, and all three were cleared to race at Michigan next week.

DRIVER QUOTES......

Sam Hornish, Jr(#6 Marlboro-Team Penske D/T): "It was a heck of a race out there today for (Team Penske). This team put a good car underneath me today; I battled a lot today. I really wanted to win after what happened with Helio. I don't ever want that to happen. I feel real bad for (Helio). It's close racing, and you can't take that back. You've got to go out there and try and win it, and I was really pushing hard to win. It was a tough race for us, but I'm happy."

Dario Franchitti(#27 ArcaEx D/H): "We were definitely beaten by the better car this weekend. Sam Hornish, the guys in the Penske crew, were just quicker than us. I think Kyle Moyer(Franchitti's race engineer) made a very good call(on fuel), but we just didn't have enough. We tried our best. The ArcaEx crew, their pitstops were just great all day. (We just) didn't have enough fuel at the end."

Tomas Scheckter(#4 Pennzoil Panther D/C): "We had a good car in the end. From where we went in the beginning, I had to save the car 10, 20 times. These guys just worked on the car with the pressures and the wing. in the end, I had the best car out there; I could get people high and low. Another 10 laps and I think this race (would've been) ours. I finished in the top three, and I'm happy with that."