With no F1 for so long that is exciting news. I just checked Foxtel and it is on 5:30 am. I may wake up an hour early and watch it!!
Round 12--Amber Alert Portal Indy 300
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mlittle
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You won't regret it. Granted, it's not Texas or Indy, but Kentucky's a heck of a racetrack and it should be a heck of a race.
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The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....
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mlittle
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Sharp wins in bluegrass country
41 races ago, Fernandez Racing's Scott Sharp(then w/Kelley Racing) won at the Twin Ring Motegi back in April 2003. Mr. Sharp, welcome back to victory lane as the Connecticut native held off both Vitor Meira and Dan Wheldon to win the Amber Alert Portal Indy 300 today in Kentucky.
At the drop of the green flag, polesitter Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda) led the field to the stripes, but it would be the only time she would do so, as Andretti-Green Racing's Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 Dallara/Honda) charged his to the lead, followed by Dan Wheldon(#26 Jim Beam/Klein Tools Dallara/Honda), Patrick, Sam Hornish, Jr.(#6 Marlboro/Team Penske Dallara/Toyota) and Vitor Meira(#17 Johns Manville/Menards Panoz/Honda). For the 70 or so laps, the lead was fought between Kanaan and Wheldon, w/Wheldon having the clear advantage. Then the caution came out for an accident involving Ed Carpenter(#20 Vision Racing Dallara/Toyota) and problems began to arise for the front-runners. Patrick was the first, as a stalled pitstop plus gearbox troubles knocked her out of contention; she would nurse the car home to 16th...however, there was one small glimmer of success, as she would set the fast lap of the race w/a time of 24.566 secs.(216.882 mph). Then reigning series champion Kanaan would falter, retiring on lap 99 w/mechanical woes.
As the second half of the race began, the running order was Wheldon, Meira, Castroneves, Sharp and Franchitti. Wheldon continued to lead until lap 107, when Meira would take the lead for several laps until Wheldon retook the lead and held on for some time. Then Sharp came to the fore, executing a slick-pass under the Brit on lap 134. Despite a few more cautions, it was a three-car battle as Sharp, Meira and Wheldon would duel for the lead, the two young guns vs. the able veteran. The victory was decided on lap 169, during the last round of pitstops. Sharp, having a little more fuel than Wheldon, short-filled to gain position, making a 7.1-sec. stop to Wheldon's 9.4 sec. stop, and that was all the vet needed, as Sharp would hang on for dear life as both Wheldon and Meira tried but failed to wrest the lead and the win from him. When Sharp crossed the line for the checkers, you could literally feel the relief wash over Sharp as he erased a lot of doubts as to whether he still had "it". Today, he proved he still had "it".
However, Wheldon was the winner strategically, as he would expand his lead over Sam Hornish, Jr. to 90 pts., w/Kanaan now 95 pts. back. Dario Franchitti, whose day ended w/a wheel-bearing failure, sits in 4th, now 110 markers back. But Sharp was the biggest mover, jumping up to 5th, only 129 pts. behind the Brit.
In the battle for the Bombardier Rookie-of-the-Year Award, both Ryan Briscoe and a recovered Tomas Enge gained ground on rookie points leader Danica Patrick, as she now leads the rookie standings w/235 pts.(12th overall). Briscoe now sits in 15th overall, 39 pts. back, while Enge, who missed the past few races due to injuries suffered at Nashville, now sits in 21st overall, 81 markers back of Patrick.
The series now moves to the 1-mile Pikes Peak Inernational Raceway, just outside of Colorado Springs, Col. in the southern Rocky Mountains for the Honda Indy 225, Sunday, Aug. 21st. I'll have a mid-week preview, plus qual. and race summaries, and commentaries/observations where needed.
At the drop of the green flag, polesitter Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda) led the field to the stripes, but it would be the only time she would do so, as Andretti-Green Racing's Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 Dallara/Honda) charged his to the lead, followed by Dan Wheldon(#26 Jim Beam/Klein Tools Dallara/Honda), Patrick, Sam Hornish, Jr.(#6 Marlboro/Team Penske Dallara/Toyota) and Vitor Meira(#17 Johns Manville/Menards Panoz/Honda). For the 70 or so laps, the lead was fought between Kanaan and Wheldon, w/Wheldon having the clear advantage. Then the caution came out for an accident involving Ed Carpenter(#20 Vision Racing Dallara/Toyota) and problems began to arise for the front-runners. Patrick was the first, as a stalled pitstop plus gearbox troubles knocked her out of contention; she would nurse the car home to 16th...however, there was one small glimmer of success, as she would set the fast lap of the race w/a time of 24.566 secs.(216.882 mph). Then reigning series champion Kanaan would falter, retiring on lap 99 w/mechanical woes.
As the second half of the race began, the running order was Wheldon, Meira, Castroneves, Sharp and Franchitti. Wheldon continued to lead until lap 107, when Meira would take the lead for several laps until Wheldon retook the lead and held on for some time. Then Sharp came to the fore, executing a slick-pass under the Brit on lap 134. Despite a few more cautions, it was a three-car battle as Sharp, Meira and Wheldon would duel for the lead, the two young guns vs. the able veteran. The victory was decided on lap 169, during the last round of pitstops. Sharp, having a little more fuel than Wheldon, short-filled to gain position, making a 7.1-sec. stop to Wheldon's 9.4 sec. stop, and that was all the vet needed, as Sharp would hang on for dear life as both Wheldon and Meira tried but failed to wrest the lead and the win from him. When Sharp crossed the line for the checkers, you could literally feel the relief wash over Sharp as he erased a lot of doubts as to whether he still had "it". Today, he proved he still had "it".
However, Wheldon was the winner strategically, as he would expand his lead over Sam Hornish, Jr. to 90 pts., w/Kanaan now 95 pts. back. Dario Franchitti, whose day ended w/a wheel-bearing failure, sits in 4th, now 110 markers back. But Sharp was the biggest mover, jumping up to 5th, only 129 pts. behind the Brit.
In the battle for the Bombardier Rookie-of-the-Year Award, both Ryan Briscoe and a recovered Tomas Enge gained ground on rookie points leader Danica Patrick, as she now leads the rookie standings w/235 pts.(12th overall). Briscoe now sits in 15th overall, 39 pts. back, while Enge, who missed the past few races due to injuries suffered at Nashville, now sits in 21st overall, 81 markers back of Patrick.
The series now moves to the 1-mile Pikes Peak Inernational Raceway, just outside of Colorado Springs, Col. in the southern Rocky Mountains for the Honda Indy 225, Sunday, Aug. 21st. I'll have a mid-week preview, plus qual. and race summaries, and commentaries/observations where needed.
Last edited by mlittle on Mon Aug 15, 2005 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance.
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....
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mlittle
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Sunday's bluegrass notes....
Here's some observations on Sunday's action at Kentucky....
1}Start penciling his name on the trophy... Unless there's a total collapse on Dan Wheldon's part, it should be safe to assume that he will be the 2005 Indy Racing League champion, which will give Andretti-Green Racing its' second-straight series title. Wheldon will, if he runs the table the rest of the year, become the first British to win a North American open-wheel title since Nigel Mansell won the CART series title in 1993. It would only be fitting, in a way....Wheldon cut his racing teeth in North America in both Indy Lights and Toyota Atlantic before heading to the IRL.
2}He still has it in him. After a near-diasterous 2004 campaign with Kelley Racing, it was widely assumed that Scott Sharp, one of the last "old-school" IndyCar competitors, would hang up the racing suit. With today's win, that thought should be banished. Fernandez Racing gave him a sweet ride for the year, his sponsor, Delphi, never lost faith in him, and Sharp redeemed their faith with today's win. Personally, I thought it was a helluva victory, one he definitely deserved.
3}The rookie battle continues....Give Ryan Briscoe this; he ain't gonna rollover the last third of the season. After watching Rahal-Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick stretch out the rookie pts. lead, Briscoe kept a steady hand and pulled to within 39 pts. of the Illinois native, with 2 cons. top-10 finishes. With Wheldon all but wrapping up the series title, the last major battle for any of the series awards is this one. Dallara clinched the chassis award at Nashville, Honda will likely clinch the engine award, and Wheldon has the series drivers award in reach. But the Bombardier Rookie-of-the-Year Award, for once, is the major fight left. Five races left...this should be a very interesting fight. Just like in professional boxing, sometimes the undercard fights are a lot better than the main ticket.
1}Start penciling his name on the trophy... Unless there's a total collapse on Dan Wheldon's part, it should be safe to assume that he will be the 2005 Indy Racing League champion, which will give Andretti-Green Racing its' second-straight series title. Wheldon will, if he runs the table the rest of the year, become the first British to win a North American open-wheel title since Nigel Mansell won the CART series title in 1993. It would only be fitting, in a way....Wheldon cut his racing teeth in North America in both Indy Lights and Toyota Atlantic before heading to the IRL.
2}He still has it in him. After a near-diasterous 2004 campaign with Kelley Racing, it was widely assumed that Scott Sharp, one of the last "old-school" IndyCar competitors, would hang up the racing suit. With today's win, that thought should be banished. Fernandez Racing gave him a sweet ride for the year, his sponsor, Delphi, never lost faith in him, and Sharp redeemed their faith with today's win. Personally, I thought it was a helluva victory, one he definitely deserved.
3}The rookie battle continues....Give Ryan Briscoe this; he ain't gonna rollover the last third of the season. After watching Rahal-Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick stretch out the rookie pts. lead, Briscoe kept a steady hand and pulled to within 39 pts. of the Illinois native, with 2 cons. top-10 finishes. With Wheldon all but wrapping up the series title, the last major battle for any of the series awards is this one. Dallara clinched the chassis award at Nashville, Honda will likely clinch the engine award, and Wheldon has the series drivers award in reach. But the Bombardier Rookie-of-the-Year Award, for once, is the major fight left. Five races left...this should be a very interesting fight. Just like in professional boxing, sometimes the undercard fights are a lot better than the main ticket.
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance.
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....
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mlittle
- Forum Hall of Fame
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Top 10 and Rookie IndyCar Standings
Here are the updated standings for the top-10 and rookie standings following Kentucky.
1}Dan Wheldon 455 pts.
2}Sam Hornish, Jr. 365 pts.
3}Tony Kanaan 360 pts.
4}Dario Frnachitti 345 pts.
5}Scott Sharp 326 pts.
6}Helio Castroneves 316 pts.
7}Bryan Herta 303 pts.
8}Vitor Meira 297 pts.
9}Tomas Scheckter 287 pts.
10}Patrick Carpentier 267 pts.
R-1)Danica Patrick 235 pts.(12th overall)
R-2)Ryan Briscoe 196 pts.(t-14th overall)
R-3)Tomas Enge 150 pts.(21st overall)
1}Dan Wheldon 455 pts.
2}Sam Hornish, Jr. 365 pts.
3}Tony Kanaan 360 pts.
4}Dario Frnachitti 345 pts.
5}Scott Sharp 326 pts.
6}Helio Castroneves 316 pts.
7}Bryan Herta 303 pts.
8}Vitor Meira 297 pts.
9}Tomas Scheckter 287 pts.
10}Patrick Carpentier 267 pts.
R-1)Danica Patrick 235 pts.(12th overall)
R-2)Ryan Briscoe 196 pts.(t-14th overall)
R-3)Tomas Enge 150 pts.(21st overall)
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance.
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere....