Round 16--Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix

[mlittle]

With all four major awards now decided(overall series champion, rookie winner, constructors title and manufactuer title), the IndyCar Series now moves to one of the most historic road courses in the United States, Watkins Glen International Raceway, for the inaugural Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix, the third non-oval on the IRL schedule. The track, recently renovated in the off-season, is the longest on the circuit, at 3.4-miles and is very different from the tight confines of Infineon Raceway. You could say, in a sense, that this track is an American cousin of Spa-Francorchamps in that it a fast, demanding circuit where one can race and pass on. Here's a brief description of what the drivers will face....

As you cross the start/finish line, you're heading downhill towards the first turn, which is a sharp-right hander now opposed by a tarmac runoff area which should give drivers a chance at not being knocked out on the first lap. Once you make the turn, the drivers head down a quick straight before tackling the esses, a set of three, fast turns(right, left, right), where the guardrails are right on the track-edge. Following the esses is the first long back-straight ended with the "inner loop", a quick chicane before the Carousel, which then sends them down into the "Boot" section of the track. Once into the Boot, the drivers will first head downhill, then uphill as they exit out onto the second back-straight, about 2/5ths of the way down the straight(as opposed to the NASCAR Nextel Cup race, where those drivers, after leaving the Carousel, go right onto this straight). At the end of this straight, there's a quick left, a short chute, followed by a slight uphill right, then you crest the turn and begin heading down the front-stretch to begin another lap.

Here's the weekend schedule for Round 16.....

Practice Session #1--10 am to 12 pm EDT, 23 Sept.
Practice Session #2--1:50 to 3 pm EDT, 23 Sept.
Practice Session #3--10:20 to 11:30 am EDT, 24 Sept.
Qualifying Session--1 to 2:40 pm EDT, 24 Sept.(Firestone Shootout occurs about 10-15 mins. following session)
Final Practice--9:30 to 10 am EDT, 25 Sept.
Watkins Glen Indy GP--3:30 pm EDT, 25 Sept.(green flag to fall around 3:45 pm EDT)

As always, I'll have the storylines up later in the week, followed by qual. and race summaries, plus observations/commentaries as needed.

[mlittle]

Here are the mid-week storylines rambling aroung the Glen for Sunday's race....

1}Bucknum back for Foyt Racing. As at Infineon, A.J. Foyt Racing has decided to sit regular driver A.J. Foyt, IV, and bring in road-course specialist Jeff Bucknum for the race. It'll be a tougher test for him, as he doesn't have as much track time here than in Sonoma. However, he did turn in a 10th-place finish there, so it makes sense to have him sub for the IVth.

2}Another chapter of family history? In the Glen's history, the name Scheckter can be found; back in the 1970's, Jody Scheckter, 1979 F1 WDC(and father to current IRL driver Tomas Scheckter) raced here, finishing 9th in his debut back in 1972. Hopefully, Tomas' debut at the Glen will see him finishing a bit higher. Then again, Tomas' isn't facing guys like Reutimann, Stewart, Fittipaldi(Wilson and Emerson), but that doesn't mean the ones he's facing now(Wheldon, Kanaan, Castroneves, Patrick, etc.) aren't slouches either. Speaking of Kanaan...

3}Kanaan to test with BAR Sept. 29. After a few months of waiting, next week the 2004 IRL champion will test a BAR 007 for the BAR-Honda team at the Jerez circuit in Spain. Best wishes to him when he has his test; these days, you never know when you might get your shot at F1.

[mlittle]

When Marlboro-Team Penske's Helio Castroneves was told about fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi winning at the Glen in the 1970 USGP, he shrugged and said, "I hope it's good karma." It could be, for Helio topped the combined practice charts following today's 2 sessions, meaning that when qualifying is held Saturday at 1:00 PM, he can choose to be the first OR the last to make his one-lap run. Chances are, he'll go out last.

Both sessions are markedly different, as drivers went out on wets' for the first session, which saw cars throwing up "huge" rooster tails of water in their wake, and saw first-session times range from 1:52 to 1:57 in range.

By the second session, they were out on intermediates/drys' as the track saw sun and a light wind dry off the soaked track. Speeds went up and times...well, they fell like a rock. Spiderman set P1 with a 1:32.826 secs. time, with 2-5 being Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, and Dario Franchitti. Current GP2 racer Giorgio Pantano was 6th, in his second run for Target/Ganassi Racing. Ironically, several drivers who were at the top of the first session, among them, Sam Hornish, Jr., Scott Sharp, Danica Patrick and Tomas Enge, saw their times place them 11th, 13th, 18th and 20th respectively. (Ironically, all four of their 1st-session times would've put each of them P1 in session #1).

One more practice session awaits the teams tomorrow morning, and then the single-lap qualifying session begins, with each driver getting one flying lap to set their time for the grid. Following qualifying, the top 6(P6-P1) will go back out for the 10-minute Firestone Shootout, to determine the first three rows. Observations to follow qualifying on Saturday.....

[mlittle]

In all three of the IRL's non-oval races, only two have been found themselves in the Firestone Shootout in all three races--Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves. This round, it was Spiderman who took P1 on the grid for the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix, with a time of 1:30.669 secs.(133.806 mph) following the 10-min. shootout. He'll be joined on the front row by GP2 regular Giorgio Pantano, who's subbing for Jaques Lazier for Target/Ganassi Racing with a time of 1:30.690 secs.(133.774 mph). Here are the first three rows for tomorrow's race:

Row 1:#3 Helio Castroneves
#10 Giorgio Pantano
Row 2:#83 Patrick Carpentier
#9 Scott Dixon
Row 3:#11 Tony Kanaan
#27 Dario Franchitti

While both Target/Ganassi and Andretti-Green Racing were at the top of the charts, both Panther Racing and Rahal-Letterman Racing had "either/or" sessions. While neither Tomas Scheckter(10th), Tomas Enge(12th) or Danica Patrick(16th) had great flying laps, the unlucky award goes to Patrick's two stablemates, Buddy Rice(8th) and Vitor Meira(7th) who both had great laps but got pushed out from the shootout as each of the cars after them qualified.

As for the race itself....the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix is scheduled for 3:30 PM on ABC Sports(green flag around 3:45 PM) with radio/webcast coverage on the IMS Radio Network and on XM Satellite Radio. Observations to follow later in the evening....

[Julian Mayo]

I wouldn't mind a bet on Scotty Dixon, with the right odds.

[mlittle]

So many things, so little time...Where do I start?

1}What were you doing there? Friday, rather than being in Watkins Glen, Honda Performance Division's(HPD) director, Robert Clarke, was seen talking to several ChampCar World Series officials, notably Ford Racing's Dan Davis, series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven, NHR co-owner Carl Haas and CCWS VP of Race Control Tony Cotman in Las Vegas. Obstentibly, he said he was visiting "old friends", but....why? From the way the rumor mills are spinning, Honda, which wants/craves competition, may not like the prospect of being the sole engine supplier come 2007. Stay tuned.

2}A good session for TGR. For a team that seemingly has nothing but bad luck, Target/Ganassi Racing had a good qual. session, putting the cars of Giorgio Pantano and Scott Dixon in the top 6 for the shootout, eventually slotting 2nd and 4th on the grid. Hopefully, both of them will make it to the end and fight for the win.

3}The awards are all settled. For once, no one will have to worry about whether Wheldon will win the series title, or whether Patrick can hold off Briscoe for top rookie honors, and so on. All the top awards are settled for 2005, so all I would say to the drivers is, enjoy tomorrow's race. I mean, think about it, open-wheel racing returns to the Glen. What a feeling!

For once, good luck to everyone, and may there be a successful, action-filled fight at the Glen!

[mlittle]

Forty races ago, Scott Dixon won a rain-soaked, wire-to-wire victory at the bullring known as Richmond. Today, he ended his drought with a win at the inaugural Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix in the Finger Lakes region of New York. But it would take a lot of grit, effort and some degree of luck.

As the race begin, polesitter Helio Castroneves(#3 Marlboro/Team Penske Dallara/Toyota) led the field down the frontstraight into turn 1, as several cars used the tarmac runoff to stay on course. The first caution(local) occurred on lap 5, when the #4 Pennzoil Panther D/C of Tomas Schekcter slid into the tirewalls going through turn 8 as a result of a left-front susp. failure. Several drivers, among them Buddy Rice(#15 Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda), Bryan Herta(#7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda), Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda) and series champion Dan Wheldon(#26 Jim Beam/Klein Tools Dallara/Honda), decided to play fuel strategy, pitting early in hopes of catching the field off-sequence. By lap 8, Spiderman continued his lead, this time being challenged by Wheldon's teammate, Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 Dallara/Honda). By lap 20, Kanaan and Dixon caught the Brazilian, passing him and then exchanging the lead for a lap or two. On lap 28, the seeming bad-luck that Rahal-Letterman Racing has had this year bit all three of them, in three different ways.

First up, the rookie. While going through the Carousel(turn 5), Danica had a "Sato" moment.(In case you're wondering what I'm referring, remember when BAR-Honda's Takuma Sato stalled his car on-track some time ago?). Same thing for Patrick; as she was adjusting the brake bias in the car, she accidently tripped the engine kill switch, stalling the car. After losing a lap, she got the car refired, thanks to a tow-start from the Delphi Safety Team. Then the Invisble Man(Meira) saw his day slowly unravel as electrical gremlins felled his ride. Finally, the team's #1, Buddy Rice, saw a linkage failure send his #15 into the inner pit-wall after a routine stop. It just wasn't their day...

On lap 31, it became official--Dan Wheldon became the 2005 IndyCar Series champion, as they unfurled the championship banner over the #26 paddock. It also became official for Danica Patrick, as she became the first woman to win rookie honors in series history, as they unfurled a similar banner over over the #16 paddock. Meanwhile, there was still half-a-race left to run.

The race lead continued to be held by the Kiwi, as Dixon held off Spiderman for several laps until the final round of stops. This hands the lead off to Helio's teammate, Sam Hornish, Jr.(#6 Marlboro/Team Penske Dallara/Toyota), who led for three laps before he came in for fuel and tires. With the pitstops' cycling through, the top 5 on lap 50:1--Dixon, 2--Kanaan, 3--Franchitti, 4--Carpentier, and 5--Pantano.

Six laps from the end, a full-course yellow comes out, as the #51 Red Bull D/T of Alex Barron stalls after spinning in turn 8; 2 laps later, Dixon takes the green and checks out from the field. A last-lap caution seals the win for him as the cars of Castroneves and Tomas Enge lock wheels and slam into the guardrails entering the bus-stop chicane. For a team that was in a free-fall of sorts, Dixon's win was very sweet for them, indeed.

Notes of Interest:
1}For Target/Ganassi Racing, Dixon's win was the team's sixth victory in IRL competition; the first since Dixon's win in Richmond in June 2003.
2}Honda now has 11 wins this year, Toyota has 4 wins and Chevrolet has 1 win, with Fontana left on the '06 calender.
3}Although she wound up finishing in 16th, Danica Patrick becomes the first person to win both the Indy 500 rookie award and the IndyCar Series rookie award in the 10-yr. history of the IRL. She also became the second Rahal-Letterman driver to win rookie honors; Kenny Brack did so in 2000, winning the CART rookie award for the team that year.

DRIVER QUOTES FROM THE TOP-3....

Scott Dixon(#9 Target P/T):"This is such a great relief for the team. The crew did a great job all day, and (they) really deserve it. I love this track; it is a lot of fun. We ran strong all day long, and this is a great feeling."

Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 D/H):"I think it's pretty good consistancy being in the top-2 at all three road-courses. We'd love to win this race. I couldn't, but I'm happy for Dan. He did it. We ran strong all day, and now we're in a fight for second."

Dario Franchitti(#27 ArcaEx D/H):"It's great winning the championship with Dan. We didn't have the car for the conditions. We were fighting understeer in the hot, so we did stuff to change it (and) we (ended up) having oversteer in the car. I had a great time out there I must admit; I pushed hard all day. We just didn't have it."

Observations and championship quotes to follow later this evening....

[mlittle]

Before the observations, here are some quotes from the championship press conference....

Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer P/H):"It is a big honor to be both Indy 500 and IRL IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year. Not many drivers have been able to accomplish that feat. That is the goal for every rookie driver, so it is a great feeling to reach that goal. Now my next goal is to win a race. We've won three poles this year, and that is pretty good for a rookie. To win a race is what every driver strives for in racing. I'm no different, so we are learning and I felt that I was getting better on my racing skills at Chicagoland, last race. Now, we go to California, and I feel good going to that kind of track. Today wasn't a good day for me as we didn't make the top 10. I clipped the ignition switch when I (was) reaching for the brake bias knob; that shut down the engine. Overall, the car wasn't as good as we wanted today. (I'm) still a rookie until the last race of the season, (and) I want to put the Argent/Pioneer car in the winner's circle. Maybe at California? We'll work hard to be strong at that final race of the year."

Dan Wheldon(#26 Jim Beam/Klein Tools D/H):"Now that it's over, it's such a relief. This is a great feeling; you never know what's going to happen in life, so just getting here was never a done deal. It was nice to make it official after the race, but I'm not the kind of guy who is going to come to a track and take it easy. I was racing to win. I feel bad about taking the championship from Tony(Kanaan), but it's certainly nice to keep the championship in the team."

Michael Andretti(co-owner, Andretti-Green Racing):"The goal for this team is to continue to win the way it already has. It's not going to be easy, but it's what we need to do. Every year, it's tough. This year's been special, because we've met every goal, and we'll make goals for next year. Our challenge is to keep this team together. Not just the four drivers, but everyone in the team. We're getting close to doing that for next year. Continuity is what did it for us this year. We've hardly lost any people, and that's been great for us. Everybody really gets along at Andretti Green. It's not just talk. It's real."

Now, the observations from the Glen.....

1}It wasn't that bad a day for them, wasn't it? Granted, the three drivers for Rahal-Letterman Racing didn't have the best of days, but there were two bright spots. One was Patrick's rookie award, and the other was seeing co-owner Bobby Rahal win the Vintage USGP race held prior to the Watkins Glen IGP. He won the 10-lap feature driving the same Brabham BT-44 that Carlos Reutimann drove in Formula 1. Once again, he won, while the Chipster finished in 5th.

2}Like a kid in a candyshop. Of all the drivers who raced at the Glen today, none was happier(literally) than Spiderman himself, Helio Castroneves, who gushed about how great the track was. I'll bet when he and Enge crashed on the last lap...was he still gushin' about the Glen?

3}400 miles to go. 16 races now gone, over 4400 miles run, and the series now travels to Fontana to conclude its' 10th season of close-quarter racing. All I can say is...sit back, relax, and enjoy the final 400 miles of the season. It's well worth it.

[mlittle]

NOTE==(xs)-series champion, (xr)-rookie champion

1}(xs)Dan Wheldon 600 pts.
2}Tony Kanaan 502 pts.
3}Sam Hornish, Jr. 482 pts.
4}Dario Franchitti 448 pts.
5}Helio Castroneves 418 pts.
6}Scott Sharp 412 pts.
7}Vitor Meira 387 pts.
8}Bryan Herta 378 pts.
9}(tie)Patrick Carpentier 361 pts.
Tomas Scheckter 361 pts.
11}(tie)Alex Barron 313 pts.
(xr)Danica Patrick 313 pts.
13}Kosuke Matsuura 308 pts.
14}Scott Dixon 301 pts.
15}Buddy Rice 277 pts.
16}Tomas Enge 237 pts.
17}(tie)Roger Yasukawa 232 pts.
Ryan Briscoe 232 pts.
Ed Carpenter 232 pts.
20}A.J. Foyt, IV 219 pts.