2006 IRL Rd. 10--ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt 225

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After facing the rough and bumpy concrete of Nashville Superspeedway, the teams of the IndyCar Series head to one of America's historic racetracks, the billiards-smooth concrete of the Milwaukee Mile. But don't let that fool you into believing its' easy; the Mile's deceptively smooth surface has a tendency to reach out and bite unsuspecting drivers, especially if the track exhibits a one-groove mentality as opposed to two-grooves. To win here is to add your name to an illustrious roster of winners in years past, and with the championship fight as tight as it is, drivers will be looking for every point possible.

Here is the event schedule for the weekend.........(note, all times are U.S. CDT, -1 hr. U.S. EDT, -5 hrs GMT)

Practice Session #1}11 am, 21 July 2006
Practice Session #2}3 pm, 21 July 2006
Practice Session #3}10:30 am, 22 July 2006
Qualifying Session}12:15 pm, 22 July 2006
Final Practice Session}5 pm, 22 July 2006
ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt 225, 12:45 pm, 23 July 2006*

*-live television broadcast on ESPN; Spanish-language broadcast on ESPN Deportes. Radio broadcasts on XM Satellite Radio, Ch. 145; the IMS Radio Network(domestic AM radio and webcast through indycar. com); radio and TV simulcast on the United States Armed Forces Network

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~~18 drivers ran a total of 965 laps w/out incident; Marlboro-Team Penske's Helio Castroneves ran the most laps, at 69
~~AGR drivers Dario Franchitti(#27 Canadian Club/Klein Tools D/H) and Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 D/H) were the fastest in the session
~~for the first time in a long while, all three Rahal-Letterman Racing drivers finished the session in the top-10; Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer D/H) was 7th fastest; Buddy Rice(#15 Argent/Pioneer D/H) was right behind in 8th, and rookie Jeff Simmons(#17 Ethanol D/H) was 10th-fastest

Top-5 from the first session..............
1--D. Franchitti, 169.409 mph(21.569 sec)
2--T. Kanaan, 168.834 mph(21.643 sec)
3--B. Herta, 168.580 mph(21.672 sec)
4--H. Castroneves, 168.504 mph(21.685 sec)
5--V. Meira, 167.985 mph(21.753 sec)

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~~18 drivers completed 920 laps w/1 incident; Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Ryan Briscoe(#5 RollCoater/ESCORT Laser Warning) crashed in turn 3; completing the most laps this session was Rahal-Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick, with 72 laps total
~~rookie Marco Andretti(#26 NYSE Group D/H) was the fastest in the session, at 169.293 mph(21.584 sec)
~~7 teams had at least one driver in the top-10 following session #2; the biggest surprise came from A.J. Foyt Racing's Jeff Bucknum(#14 ABC Supply Co. D/H), who posted the 5th-fastest time in the session

Top-5 from session #2.................
1--(R)M. Andretti, 169.293 mph(21.584 sec)
2--V. Meira, 169.061 mph(21.614 sec)
3--T. Scheckter, 167.921 mph(21.760 sec)
4--B. Herta, 167.829 mph(21.772 sec)
5--J. Bucknum, 167.285 mph(21.843 sec)

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Here are the combined practice times from today's two practice sessions.........

1}Dario Franchitti, Andretti-Green Racing......................21.569 sec/169.409 mph(session 1; 113 total laps)
2}(R)Marco Andretti, Andretti-Green Racing...................21.584 sec/169.293 mph(session 2; 137 total laps)
3}Vitor Meira, Panther Racing.......................................21.614 sec/169.061 mph(session 2; 100 total laps)
4}Tony Kanaan, Andretti-Green Racing.........................21.643 sec/168.834 mph(session 1; 103 total laps)
5}Bryan Herta, Andretti-Green Racing...........................21.675 sec/168.580 mph(session 1; 94 total laps)
6}Helio Castroneves, Marlboro-Team Penske.................21.685 sec/168.504 mph(session 1; 125 total laps)
7}Tomas Scheckter, Vision Racing.................................21.760 sec/167.921 mph(session 2; 100 total laps)
8}Jeff Bucknum, A.J. Foyt Racing..................................21.843 sec/167.285 mph(session 2; 118 total laps)
9}Dan Wheldon, Target/Ganassi Racing.........................21.858 sec/167.171 mph(session 2; 115 total laps)
10}Scott Dixon, Target/Ganassi Racing..........................21.895 sec/166.888 mph(session 2; 111 total laps)
11]Danica Patrick, Rahal-Letterman Racing.....................21.912 sec/166.755 mph(session 1; 126 total laps)
12}Buddy Rice, Rahal-Letterman Racing.........................21.922 sec/166.679 mph(session 1; 127 total laps)
13}Scott Sharp, Aguri-Fernandez Racing.........................21.951 sec/166.461 mph(session 2; 93 total laps)
14}Kosuke Matsurra, Aguri-Fernandez Racing..................21.989 sec/166.171 mph(session 2; 84 total laps)
15}(R)Jeff Simmons, Rahal-Letterman Racing..................21.995 sec/166.129 mph(session 2; 107 total laps)
16}Ed Carpenter, Vision Racing......................................22.186 sec/164.701 mph(session 1; 81 total laps)
17}Sam Hornish, Jr., Marlboro-Team Penske....................22.190 sec/164.667 mph(session 2; 120 total laps)
18}Ryan Briscoe, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.....................23.040 sec/158.597 mph(session 1; 31 total laps)

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Let's see.........T-K's giving jacfan flying lessons in the plider, Julian's lost somewhere around the Miller Brewing facility, and I'm at the fairgrounds; what could be better? Here's the friday observations..............

1}He's not just a race car driver......he's also a brewmeister......for Rahal-Letterman Racing's Jeff Simmons, it's been an interesting few days before the event weekend. Take Thursday, for instance, where he got a behind-the-scenes look at how Miller Brewing creates its' various beers and lagers, then got to help in the brewing of what Miller calls its' "IRL Lager", which it plans to sell at the Fairgrounds(which is where the Milwaukee Mile is located) during the weekend.

2}Finally, some new faces at the front!! After seeing the all-too-familiar red/white of either Penske or Ganassi at the front, it was, IMHO, very refreshing to see Andretti-Green Racing at the front after Friday's practice sessions; if there's ever been a better shot by anyone to break the Penske/Ganassi stranglehold on the series this year, its' this weekend. AGR's done pretty well here, especially so for the team's resident Scotsman, Dario Franchitti, who has one win and a second in his two IRL visits to the Mile(by contrast, his best finish in 6 CART races at the Mile was 4th, back in 2000.). It will be interesting to see if he can indeed steal one from the frontrunners Sunday.

3}Silly season.....here, already? If the past two weeks are any indication......as the kid said in the Poltergeist movies, "They're here......." So I got to thinking, who's possibly going where. While I'm not certain as of yet, this much is certain; rather than wait until late Sept. to open a 2006-2007 silly season thread, chances are good there'll be such a thread following Milwaukee.

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For the third time this year, it's an all-Penske front row, with Helio Castroneves to pace the field at the beginning of Sunday's ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt 225; he set a lap of 21.185 sec.(172.477 mph). Right behind Spiderman is his teammate, current points leader Sam Hornish, Jr. There were two surprises of note..........on the one hand, their nearest rivals, Target/Ganassi Racing, were nowhere to be seen in qualifying; Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon will start 10th and 11th respectively. On the other hand, two of Andretti-Green Racing's foursome, veteran Tony Kanaan and rookie Marco Andretti, will start on row 2 behind the Penske duo(4th and 3rd starting spots).

Here is the starting grid for Sunday's race......(note: all cars D/H)

1}Helio Castroneves, #3 Marlboro-Team Penske..................21.185 sec
2}Sam Hornish, Jr., #6 Marlboro-Team Penske.....................21.197 sec

3}(R)Marco Andretti, #26 NYSE Group.................................21.273 sec
4}Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11..........................................21.284 sec

5}Vitor Meira, #5 Revive USA/EcoNova................................21.393 sec
6}(R)Jeff Simmons, #17 Ethanol..........................................21.420 sec

7}Ed Carpenter, #20 Rock & Republic..................................21.463 sec
8}Tomas Scheckter, #2 Rock & Republic..............................21.490 sec

9}Bryan Herta, #7 XM Satellite Radio...................................21.495 sec
10}Scott Dixon, #9 Target...................................................21.496 sec

11}Dan Wheldon, #10 Fuji Film............................................21.500 sec
12}Dario Franchitti, #27 Canadian Club/Klein Tools...............21.530 sec

13}Buddy Rice, #15 Argent/Norwalk.....................................21.569 sec
14}Danica Patrick, #16 Argent/Pioneer.................................21.583 sec

15}Kosuke Matsurra, #55 Panasonic/ARTA............................21.622 sec
16}Jeff Bucknum, #14 ABC Supply Co..................................21.672 sec

17}Scott Sharp, #8 Delphi...................................................21.803 sec
18}Ryan Briscoe, #5 RollCoater/ESCORT Laser Warning.........22.115 sec

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For the first nine races of the 2006 season, the winner was either from Marlboro-Team Penske or from Target/Ganassi Racing............that streak ended today, as Andretti-Green Racing finally notched their first win of the year, courtesy of 2004 series champion Tony Kanaan.

With clear skies and, unlike last year, comfortable track conditions, the field took the green and proceeded to stampede through to turn 1, as polesitter Helio Castroneves(#3 Marlboro-Team Penske D/H) led early, with Tony Kanaan(#11 Team 7-11 D/H) in hot pursuit, having climbed from 4th to 2nd on the start. Several times Kanaan tried to take the lead from Castroneves, but Helio held him off until lap 32, when Kanaan slipped under Castroneves in turn 1 and held the low line, getting in front of Castroneves. Several laps later, Kaanan's AGR teammate, rookie Marco Andretti(#26 NYSE Group D/H) did the same thing to Castroneves, getting by in 1 to take 2nd. By then, Kaanan had proceeded to take about a 3-5 sec. lead on Marco, who kept pace with TK over the next 30 or so laps.

Around lap 70, the first round of pit stops began, with most teams changing fuel and tires; several also made front-wing adjustments. Through the first round of stops, Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter(#2 Rock & Republic D/H) and Rahal-Letterman Racing's Jeff Simmons(#17 Ethanol D/H) would hold the lead for one lap apiece before pitting; eventually, the lead went back to Kanaan, who continued to pace the field, even through the first caution of the race on lap 96(for debris...... what debris!). Several teams, however, opted to make another pitstop to top off their fuel, deciding to play fuel strategy as the way to possibly capturing a win.

When the green flew again on lap 107, Kanaan led, only to lose the lead to another AGR teammate, Dario Franchitti(#27 Canadian Club/Klein Tools D/H) in turn 3 one lap later; Franchitti head onto the lead until lap 130, which included a caution for an on-track incident involving Castroneves and Ed Carpenter(#20 Rock & Republic D/H) which took both drivers out of the race.......and Spiderman was not happy; the normally happy and jovial Castroneves jumped out of his car visibly angry, pointing his fist up the pitlane towards the #20(IMHO, the incident was Special Ed's fault; he was a lap down on the leaders and should've let Helio by....... ) and angrily walking back to the paddock so fast, he nearly knocked ESPN pit reporter Jamie Little over as he walked by.

Meanwhile, there was a race to run, and some new characters had made their way to the front; besides Franchitti, who took the lead from Kanaan, Castroneves' Penske teammate, Sam Hornish, Jr.(#6 Marlboro-Team Penske D/H), had made it to front, along with Simmons' RLR teammate, Danica Patrick(#16 Argent/Pioneer D/H), Scheckter, and Panther Racing's Vitor Meira(#4 Revive USA/EcoNova D/H). Meira didn't stay at the front long, though........remember Patrick's crash at the Mile last year? On lap 137, Meira was trying to pass her when his car snapped around and smacked the outside wall, bringing out the second caution of the day. As the track was being cleaned, the second round of stops occurred, this time putting Andretti back on the point. When the green flew once again, the rookie held off his teammate Kanaan for several laps; however, Kanaan got a heck of a run on Marco entering turn 3, using the draft to pass him and retake the point. For about the next 50 laps, the pair, joined occasionally by Patrick, Scheckter and Hornish, Jr., took turns trying to pass Kanaan, all to no avail.

A final caution on lap 200 set up an interesting finish; several drivers, including Patrick, Scheckter, Franchitti and Hornish all came in for new tires, while Kanaan and Andretti stayed out. For the rookie Andretti, it didn't play out in the end, as he fell several spots at the end. For Kanaan, though, it didn't matter what his opponents did, as he held off several charges from both Hornish and Scheckter to notch his first win since Infineon in 2005. Meanwhile, Hornish would finish 2nd, holding onto the points lead, while Scheckter would give Vision Racing its' first-ever top-5 finish with a third-place finish. Here are the top-10 from Milwaukee.........

1st}#11 Tony Kanaan.....................................225 laps
2nd}#6 Sam Hornish, Jr..................................-1.827 sec
3rd}#2 Tomas Scheckter................................-2.011 sec
4th}#16 Danica Patrick...................................-8.471 sec
5th}(R)#26 Marco Andretti..............................-10.261 sec
6th}#27 Dario Franchitti.................................-11.237 sec
7th}#7 Bryan Herta........................................-14.120 sec
8th}#10 Dan Wheldon.....................................-1 lap
9th}(R)#17 Jeff Simmons................................-2 laps
10th}#9 Scott Dixon.......................................-2 laps