2010 Firestone Indy Lights Thread

All about the IRL Indy Pro Series and the Atlantic Championship

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Miller To Race at Infineon w/BHA

Post by mlittle » Thu Aug 19, 2010 11:08 am

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Joel Miller will contest his second career Firestone Indy Lights race this weekend driving for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Carneros 100 at Infineon Raceway. Miller will drive the No. 28 Bryan Herta Autosport car with sponsorship from Doug Mockett & Company, Lamborghini Travels, Blanco Basura Clothing, Valli Construction and Paradise Landscape.

“We are excited to welcome Joel to the team this weekend,” said team co-owner Bryan Herta. “Joel has worked hard and creatively to put together the budget to compete at Sonoma and we want to provide him with the best opportunity to showcase his talents as he focuses on a full Indy Lights campaign next year.

“At the same time, we are working hard to raise the necessary budget to put Stefan back in the car for as many of the remaining races as possible. He will be at Sonoma to support the team and also fulfill his Pace Car Team obligations. Stefan has done a great job this year on the road and street circuits and also in his oval debut. Our goal is to help him achieve his first Indy Lights win and we want to get him back in the car as soon as possible.”

Miller, 22, of Hesperia, Calif., made his Indy Lights debut at Long Beach earlier this season finishing 11th for Andersen Racing in a solid performance after losing second gear in the race.

A mechanical engineering student at the University of California, Riverside and sales representative for Sparco USA, Miller began his racing career in the karting ranks. Among his credits are the 2006 Stars of Karting national title in the ICA division, the 2007 Skip Barber National Championship and runner-up in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship in his rookie season. He was also a Team USA Scholarship recipient contesting the 2007 Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy Series in England.

Miller helped to raise the funding for this weekend race through the Joel Miller Indy Racing Experience, an event held this past Sunday in Santa Cruz which featured a celebrity poker tournament, raffle, exotic car display, live music and a pro skate demonstration. Proceeds also benefited the Wings for Life charity. Organized by Monarchy Media Management, guests included “Dancing With the Stars” Karina Smirnoff, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and former New York Giants defensive back Reggie Stephens and motocross champion Josh Van Den Heuvel.

“I have known Bryan since I was seven years old in go karts and I am happy to come full circle and finally be able to drive a car for him. I have run at Sonoma in various formulas and I am very familiar with the track. This is a local race for me and I am really looking forward to the weekend because I know the place and I also know that I will have a good car under me. My goal is a full season in Indy Lights next year. I did Long Beach for the experience and now this weekend at Sonoma. Everything we are doing is for next year. Hopefully, we can keep the sponsors we have on the car for this coming weekend involved for a full-time effort and, hopefully, with Bryan’s team.”

Miller will fill in for Stefan Wilson who campaigned the No. 28 car for the first nine races this season while Wilson and BHA work to secure the funding to return Wilson to the cockpit for the remaining races on the schedule. “Obviously, I am disappointed to not be driving this weekend but that is the economics of racing sometimes,” said Wilson. “I will be there to support Joel as much as I can and help him to get up to speed as quickly as possible. Bryan has worked hard to try to raise the necessary funding to keep me in the car this weekend but time was not on our side. We will keep working and, hopefully, I can be back to finish out the season.”
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Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 22, 2010 6:20 am

Sonoma Practice Session 1 Top-5
1} Charlie Kimball, Andretti Autosport.......................1:23.868 sec
2} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing..................1:23.919 sec
3} J.K. Vernay, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts.,.......................1:24.161 sec
4} Dan Clarke, Walker Racing...................................1:24.391 sec
5} Sebastien Saavedra, Bryan Herta Autosport........1:24.439 sec

Sonoma Practice Session 2 Top-5
1} Charlie Kimball, Andretti Autosport......................1:23.512 sec
2} Dan Clarke, Walker Racing..................................1:23.665 sec
3} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing.................1:23.987 sec
4} J.K. Vernay, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts.,.......................1:24.022 sec
5} Sebastien Saavedra, Bryan Herta Autosport........1:24.189 sec
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Vernay On Pole for Sunday's Carneros 100

Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 22, 2010 11:53 am

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SONOMA, Calif. – J.K. Vernay has proven all season he’s a quick study. The Firestone Indy Lights rookie driver for Sam Schmidt Motorsports entered the weekend at Infineon Raceway with two Sunoco Pole Awards to his credit, and had started on the front row in five of the six road/street course races.

Still, given the opportunity to familiarize himself with the physically demanding 2.303-mile, 12-turn course ahead of practice, Vernay enrolled in a one-day Jim Russell Racing School course earlier this week. “It was a great experience,” Vernay said of the school, which complemented two brief practice sessions before the 45-minute qualifying.

He passed with flying colors. Vernay had a quick lap of 1 minute, 23.5582 seconds (99.222 mph) in the No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car in earning the pole for the 40-lap race Aug. 22. In his previous pole starts, Vernay led all the way to Victory Circle.

“It was really tight again with James," Vernay said. "We are always fighting for half a tenth (of a second). That was a great battle. I have to thank the team. The car was great again. I am really happy. After the disappointing weekend at Mid-Ohio (started seventh, finished eighth), I wanted to be quick here. It’s fantastic. Now tomorrow we have to stay focused to the race. The goal is to win the championship and we have to finish well to do that.”

Charlie Kimball, driving the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen entry for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport, jumped to second (1:23.5977; 99.175 mph) on his final lap. "It's a lot of fun driving here when the car's good," said Kimball, who will make his third front-row start. "We'll get a good start tomorrow and have a shot at the win."

James Hinchcliffe (1:23.6732) in the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car will start third and Gustavo Yacaman recorded his best qualifying effort of the season (fourth at 1:23.7108) in the No. 10 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing car.
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Vernay Continues Dominant Form in Sonoma...........

Post by mlittle » Mon Aug 23, 2010 7:36 am

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----SONOMA, Calif. -- The battle between pole sitter J.K. Vernay and Charlie Kimball on the 2.303-mile Infineon Raceway course was reminiscent of their competition in early April at Barber Motorsports Park. While pressed throughout the second half of the 40-lap race, Vernay wound up on the top step of the podium both times. His 3.4245-second victory in the Carneros 100 made Kimball a four-time runner-up this season.

All of Vernay’s victories have come on road/street circuits in building a 71-point championship lead over James Hinchcliffe. The final three races are on 1.5-mile ovals. “It was just a great weekend, and after a tough weekend at Mid-Ohio (started seventh; finished eighth) I wanted to win here,” said Vernay, whose family from France was watching him compete in North America for the first time. “It’s great, but (the championship) is not finished.”

Hinchcliffe, driving the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, finished third and Gustavo Yacaman was fourth in the No. 10 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing car. “It's a great result being home in California,” said Kimball, who posted his eighth top-five finish of the season to move into third in the standings. “I have a lot of friends and family here, a lot of supporters. Good to give them a result today.”

Kimball, who started third, overtook Hinchcliffe on Lap 16 in the chicane (Turn 10) and closed to 0.6275 of a second of Vernay on Lap 24. But Vernay began putting distance between himself and Kimball over the final 10 laps.

“I had a chance with (the Jim Russell Racing School) to learn the track last week,” said Vernay, who was competing on the natural-terrain course for the first time. “That is really important because I knew the track when I arrived. I'm just really happy the Lucas Oil car was great. I hope now to win a race on the ovals. That's the new goal, I have to say.”

Pippa Mann produced a Firestone Indy Lights-best fifth place in the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. “I’ve had a lot of bad luck with Indy then the broken hand," said Mann, who missed the Mid-Ohio round with the broken left hand suffered at Edmonton. "This is the potential we thought we had with our best finish so far. I flat spotted the tires early on, but the Firestone Firehawks hung on. My hand was beaten up, so we sat out most of the morning’s practice. The crew has been working really hard, so it was good to be able to give them a good finish.”

Juan Pablo Garcia, competing in his second race with Michael Crawford Motorsports, advanced six positions to finish sixth (Michael Crawford Motorsports’ highest road/street course finish), and Adrian Campos Jr. recorded his third consecutive top-10 finish of seventh in the No. 22 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car. Joel Miller, making his second Firestone Indy Lights start, was ninth in the No. 28 Bryan Herta Autosport car and Giancarlo Vilarinho moved up five spots to finish 10th in the No. 4 Andersen Racing Allied car.

Martin Plowman, who won for the first time Aug. 8 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, had streaks of 19 consecutive races running at the finish and 14 top-10 finishes end. Contact with the No. 49 car driven Philip Major on Lap 7 in Turn 2 knocked out the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport.


Top-10 from Sonoma wine country................
1} J.K. Vernay, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts., 40 laps
2} Charlie Kimball, Andretti Autosport, -3.425 sec
3} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing, -10.559 sec
4} Gustavo Yacaman, Cape Mtrspts., -15.272 sec
5} Pippa Mann, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts., -23.260 sec
6} Juan Pablo Garcia, M.Crawford Mtrspts., -24.844 sec
7} Adrian Campos, Jr., Team Moore Racing, -26.099 sec
8} David Martinez, Genoa Racing, -29.602 sec
9} Joel Miller, Bryan Herta Autosport, -34.968 sec
10} Giancarlo Vilarinho, RLR-Andersen Racing, -36.928 sec
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Post by mlittle » Mon Aug 23, 2010 7:43 am

Current Firestone Indy Lights Top-10 Standings
1st} J.K. Vernay, 412 pts(5 wins)
2nd} James Hinchcliffe, 341 pts(2 wins)
3rd} Charlie Kimball, 327 pts
4th} Martin Plowman, 320 pts(1 win)
5th} Sebastien Saavedra, 284 pts(1 win)
6th} Dan Clarke, 241 pts
t-7th}[7]Stefan Wilson, 234 pts
t-7th}[8]Gustavo Yacaman, 234 pts
9th} Philip Major, 223 pts
10th} Adrian Campos, Jr., 219 pts
---Additional Wins: Wade Cunningham(1 win)
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Battistini, PBIR Return to FIL at Chicagoland

Post by mlittle » Thu Aug 26, 2010 4:44 pm

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After a sitting out most of the summer, Team PBIR will return to Firestone Indy Lights at Chicagoland Speedway with a proven race winner behind the wheel. Englishman Dillon Battistini will drive the team’s No. 35 Team PBIR entry in the Chicagoland 100. The effort will be run in conjunction with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

"Obviously, I'm excited to have Dillon's experience in our garage this weekend and thank Sam Schmidt for his support,” said Ron Dixon, president of Palm Beach Indy Racing. “Dillon's a proven winner, if it weren't for the economy he'd be in the thick of things in IndyCar this year, so it's great for us to be able to have him at Chicago."

Battistini hasn’t raced anything since finished 15th at Kansas Speedway in April 2009. He said he’s ready to get back on track. “You wouldn’t believe how much I am looking forward to racing this weekend,” the 32-year-old native of Ewell, England said. “I don’t recall ever being so excited about being back in a race car. It’s been a long time. I haven’t even been on a race track since my last race in 2009. It’s a good feeling. Hopefully, we can go out and get a good result.”

Battistini finished sixth in Firestone Indy Lights points in 2008 after scoring a series best four wins (all on ovals) with Panther Racing. He compared his situation this year to that in 2008 when he won in his series debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway despite having never raced on an oval.

“When you haven’t driven for a long time, it may take a minute to get used to the speeds,” Battistini said. “It shouldn’t take that long to get back into it. I’ll have my engineer that I worked with in 2008 (Don Bricker) and I’m trusting the car will be very good.”

Battistini, who has been working toward a full IZOD IndyCar Series program, is hopeful his appearance in the Chicagoland 100 will be a platform for next year. "It seems as if I've done nothing but workout and go to meetings for months now,” Battistini said. “I think it'll be a nice mental break to get in a car this weekend ... then hopefully more."
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Kimball Paces Friday Indy Lights Practice

Post by mlittle » Sat Aug 28, 2010 10:36 am

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---JOLIET, Ill. – Charlie Kimball has a best finish of second on an oval this season. He has three opportunities to improve that position, starting with the Chicagoland 100 on Aug. 28.

Kimball, driving the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport, topped the initial practice session for the 67-lap race on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval with a lap of 191.323 mph (28.6008 seconds). Teammate Martin Plowman in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car was second (190.153; 28.7768).

A second 45-minute practice precedes qualifying (2 p.m. ET; watch it live on www.indycar.com). The green flag flies for the race at 5:15 p.m. (ET).

Kimball advanced one position to finish runner-up to Wade Cunningham in the Firestone Freedom 100 at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 28. He’s posted four other second-place finishes – all on road/street courses – with his other oval finish of 13th at Iowa Speedway in June.

“It’s another great way to start a weekend," said Kimball, who advanced four positions to finish seventh in the race last year. "We were quickest in the first practice at Sonoma and now we’re fast here at Chicagoland. The No. 26 Levemir FlexPen car is fast. In the pack, out front and by myself, I felt comfortable. I was telling my engineer that we have some things to work on for tomorrow, but we’ve got a really good place to start from.”

Plowman started and finished second on the .875-mile Iowa Speedway, and was fifth at Indianapolis. He is feeling the effects of a stomach virus and recorded only 16 laps. "The car felt great," he said. "I kept one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on my stomach. I spent the last few days in bed and finally pulled myself out about 20 minutes before the session began and got out there. Obviously, the car was good. I’ll go to bed early tonight and go to the medical center now to see if there’s anything they can do to speed my recovery up."

Sebastian Saavedra, driving the No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport car, was third (189.817 mph) was third and James Hinchcliffe (189.692) was fourth in the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car. Adrian Campos Jr. (189.531) was fifth in the No. 22 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car. Firestone Indy Lights championship points leader J.K. Vernay was ninth (189.016) in the No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Aug 28, 2010 10:39 am

Chicago Friday Practice Top-5
1} Charlie Kimball, Andretti Autosport......................28.601 sec
2} Martin Plowman, Andretti Autosport...................28.777 sec
3} Sebastien Saavedra, Bryan Herta Autosport.......28.828 sec
4} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing..................28.847 sec
5} Adrian Campos, Jr., Team Moore Racing...............28.871 sec
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Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:48 am

Chicago Saturday Practice Top-5
1st} Martin Plowman, Andretti Autosport..........................28.593 sec
2nd} Adrian Campos Jr., Team Moore Racing....................28.726 sec
3rd} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing.......................28.812 sec
4th} Sebastien Saavedra, Bryan Herta Autosport............28.855 sec
5th} Stefan Wilson, Bryan Herta Autosport......................28.871 sec
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Plowman Snags Pole at Chicagoland

Post by mlittle » Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:51 am

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JOLIET, Ill. – If Martin Plowman wasn’t recovered from a stomach virus, at least earning the Sunoco Pole Award will temporarily make him feel better. Plowman, driving the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Austosport, recorded his first career Firestone Indy Lights oval pole start with a two-lap average of 189.503 (57.7510 seconds) on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway.

"I still don’t feel great, but this pole will go a long way to putting the smile back on my face," he said. "Coming into this weekend, I told Stu (Kenworthy), my engineer, ‘You are going to have to give me an awesome car because I don’t want to do much work this weekend,’ and he did.”

Plowman started from the pole for the first time three weeks ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and translated it into his first victory. Of course, he’s hopeful of a repeat performance in the 67-lap Chicagoland 100 (watch it live on www.indycar.com at 5:15 p.m. ET). “This place produces a real tough racing – two-wide and three-deep for 60 laps," Plowman said. "I think we’ll be strong and be smart and lead at the end.”

Pippa Mann snared her second front-row start of the season with a two-lap average of 189.444 mph in the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. Sebastian Saavedra, the final qualifier of 15, moved to third with a qualifying effort of 188.977 mph in the No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport car. Philip Major posted his best qualifying session of the season and will start fourth in the No. 49 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car.

The third car from the Sam Schmidt stable, the No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ entry driven by J.K. Vernay, will start fifth (188.577). It’s the third time this season that the series championship points leader hasn’t started on the first two rows. Charlie Kimball (188.486), driving the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport, will join Vernay on Row 3.
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Hinchcliffe Wins at Chicagoland

Post by mlittle » Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:33 am

(from SA, 28 August 2010)
JOLIET, Ill. – Dan Clarke crossed the finish line two-tenths of a second after Chicagoland 100 winner James Hinchcliffe. He placed fifth. Hinchcliffe, driving the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, held off Pippa Mann by 0.0159 of a second – the third-closest margin of victory in Firestone Indy Lights history – on the 67th and final lap on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval.

Mann, who led her first laps of the season (a field-high 35) in the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, recorded a career best and led three Sam Schmidt Motorsports drivers across the line. Philip Major also posted a career best and series championship points leader J.R. Vernay was fourth.

Hinchcliffe, who started 13th because of a reported fuel pump issue, was driving the high line and caught Mann on Lap 66 following a Lap 63 restart. It was his third victory of the season (first on an oval). “I wasn’t sure I would have enough,” said Hinchcliffe, who closed the gap on Vernay to 53 points with two races left. “Pippa was super strong. At the drop of the green, we had to make up from 13th to first. I sort of went for it with two laps to go and I thought I may have gone a lap too early but I had a really good run off of Turn 2. I was able to get alongside Pippa and side-draft her a bit. She pushed me kind of high and that may have hurt her momentum a bit. Then the same thing off of Turn 4 and we were able to use the angle to run down to the start/finish line. That’s Chicagoland racing.”

Mann, who started on the front row, battled pole sitter Martin Plowman for the lead through the first half of the race. On Lap 30, the front wing of her car cut the right-rear tire of Plowman’s No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport, creating a caution period. He returned to the race, but couldn’t regain the lap. Meanwhile, Mann assumed the point and was able to hold off charges by Vernay and Hinchcliffe over the next 30 laps.

After the final yellow flag – for Plowman’s car stalled on the Turn 1 apron on Lap 61 – Mann led Hinchcliffe by 0.0815 on Lap 65 after the restart. “Hinch and I did some side-by-side racing today and he had an awesome car,” she said. “When he was right behind me on the last restart, I thought this is the last person I want to see in my mirrors and I mean that in the most complimentary way. I had something for everyone out there today but the guy that crossed the line first. My team did an amazing job, but at the end of the day the better guy won the race. I thought I was heartbroken after Indy (when she started from the pole but finished 16th). I'm kind of a little bit heartbroken now. I think I'll wake up and be proud of this run tomorrow maybe.”

Stefan Wilson advanced four positions in the No. 28 Bryan Herta Autosport car to post his fourth consecutive top-10 finish and Arie Luyendyk Jr. followed in seventh in the No. 24 Alliance Motorsports car. Adrian Campos Jr. was eighth in the No. 22 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling entry and Dillon Battistini, making his first start of the season, finished ninth in the No. 35 Cicero’s/Steven Bales Enterprises car for Team PBIR.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:38 am

Current Firestone Indy Lights Top-10 Driver Standings
1} J.K. Vernay, 444 pts(5 wins)
2} James Hinchcliffe, 391 pts(3 wins)
3} Charlie Kimball, 343 pts
4} Martin Plowman, 338 pts(1 win)
5} Sebastien Saavedra, 303 pts(1 win)
6} Dan Clarke, 271 pts
7} Stefan Wilson, 262 pts
8} Philip Major, 258 pts
9} Gustavo Yacaman, 249 pts
10} Adrian Campos, Jr., 243 pts
---Additional Wins: Wade Cunningham(1 win)
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Post by mlittle » Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:54 pm

Kentucky Practice Session 1 Top-5
1} Charlie Kimball, Andretti Autosport......................27.977 sec
2} Martin Plowman, Andretti Autosport....................27.987 sec
3} Pippa Mann, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts.,.....................28.033 sec
4} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing.................28.041 sec
5} J.K. Vernay, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts.,......................28.086 sec

Kentucky Practice Session 2 Top-5
1} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing...................28.025 sec
2} Pippa Mann, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts.,.......................28.062 sec
3} Philip Major, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts.,.......................28.069 sec
4} Gustavo Yacaman, Cap Mtrspts.,...........................28.094 sec
5} Martin Plowman, Andretti Autosport......................28.107 sec
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Mann On Point at Kentucky

Post by mlittle » Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:56 pm

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SPARTA, Ky. -- Pippa Mann's positive run on ovals continued in Sunoco Pole Qualifying for the Drive Smart. Buckle Up Kentucky 100 at Kentucky Speedway as the Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver earned her second pole start of the season.

Mann recorded a two-lap average of 190.474 mph (55.9447 seconds) on the 1.5-mile oval to vault Martin Plowman (190.309 mph) and become the third female to start on the pole at Kentucky Speedway (Sarah Fisher in 2002 and Danica Patrick in 2005 in the IZOD IndyCar Series).

Mann finished a career-best second Aug. 28 in the Chicagoland 100 on that 1.5-mile oval. She also started from the pole this season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Firestone Freedom 100. “Last week was a really good week for us," she said. "We came here hoping for something similar. I’m really, really pleased to get the pole. We didn’t seem to think that we were that quick, but we’ve been on the front row for three out of the four oval races this year and every time we thought we were a top-five car so maybe there’s something to it.

"Today, I really have to thank my teammates. They let me know what their cars were doing and I was able to use my in-car tools so huge thank you goes out to not only my guys by J.K. Vernay and Philip Major for letting me know what was going on out there.”

Plowman started from the pole at Chicagoland in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport and led the first 29 laps before contact between his right-rear tire and Mann's front wing put him out of contention.

“We just missed out on the pole, but it was still a great effort for the No. 27 crew," Plowman said. "We have been on the front row for three out of the last four races. We have had two poles and a second, so we seem to be hitting our stride. Starting on the pole doesn’t mean a lot for the race because things can happen so quickly. We are starting on the front row here so hopefully we can have a good, clean race tomorrow.”

Teammate Charlie Kimball (190.257), driving the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen entry, will join Vernay (189.914), the Firestone Indy Lights championship points leader, on the second row. Walker Racing's Dan Clarke (190.128) and James Hinchcliffe of Team Moore Racing (189.914), the closest pursuer of Vernay for the title, will start on Row 3.
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Wire-to-wire for Mann in the Bluegrass State..........

Post by mlittle » Mon Sep 06, 2010 3:53 pm

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---SPARTA, Ky. – Pippa Mann did everything right to win her first Firestone Indy Lights race. J.K. Vernay did just about everything right during the season – and just enough in the Drive Smart. Buckle Up Kentucky 100 – to virtually wrap up the series championship. Mann, the pole sitter, jumped to a large lead after a Lap 5 restart and cruised to the victory on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway. She’s the second female (Ana Beatriz at Nashville and Iowa) to win in Firestone Indy Lights.

“This weekend, we started out right and got it in qualifying and took it in the race,” said Mann, whose previous high finish was second a week earlier at Chicagoland Speedway. “I said my game plan was to run away and hide, but realistically I didn’t think it would happen. I am so pleased and my team gave me an awesome car. I was praying that a caution didn’t come out because if a caution didn’t come out we had a really good chance of winning. I was praying that no one got into it behind me.”

James Hinchcliffe, driving the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, finished 6.8372 seconds back and Vernay was third in the No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. He takes a 48-point lead over Hinchcliffe into the season finale Oct. 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and only needs to take the green flag to clinch the title.

It was Hinchcliffe’s seven podium of the season (he’s finished out of the top 10 once this year), but the fine season hasn’t been enough to overtake Vernay’s 10 top-five finishes that include five victories. “I have never seen a 1.5-mile oval play out like that in Firestone Indy Lights,” said Hinchcliffe, who led Mann across the finish line at Chicagoland by 0.0159 of a second. “It just shows how we mix it up because at Chicago we had the third-closest finish and this was probably the biggest winning margin in history of 1.5-mile ovals.

“I am a little bit disappointed that we didn’t get the chance to go up and fight against Pippa because we set the car up to be good in traffic. When we were running in clean air we weren’t quite slippery enough. We have to be happy with the points today and look ahead.”

Vernay, a rookie in the series from France, matched his season high of third (Iowa) and will seek to complement his road/street course victories with one on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval on Oct. 2.

“I took a good start after I was able to overtake Martin Plowman,” said Vernay, who started fourth. “If I would have caught him sooner, it would have been a different story. The car was great for me, but at the end we experienced some understeer. I wanted to keep my place and finish behind James Hinchcliffe to keep the championship. It was a great race and I am really happy. I want to congratulate Pippa for doing a great job and Sam Schmidt Motorsports.”

Adrian Campos Jr. tied his season high of fourth in the No. 22 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, and Gustavo Yacaman advanced eight positions to finish fifth in the No. 10 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing car. AFS Racing Andretti Autosport teammates Charlie Kimball and Martin Plowman followed.

“Today was one of those days,” said Plowman, who started on the front row for the fourth time this season. “We had a great car yesterday but conditions are changing all the time. Our car was just a bit off today. We were struggling from the get-go. It's obviously disappointing; it's not what we expected or wanted. But we'll come back stronger and come out with a good result in Homestead.”

Brandon Wagner, competing in his fourth race with Davey Hamilton Racing, tied his season best of eighth. Arie Luyendyk Jr. finished ninth in the No. 24 Alliance Motorsports car and Dan Clarke posted his eighth top 10 in the No. 40 Wasteco Deans Knight Special for Walker Racing.

The race was red flagged on Lap 3 because of a Turn 4 crash involving the cars driven by Stefan Wilson, Philip Major and Daniel Herrington. All three were checked and released from the infield care center.

Herrington was filling in behind the wheel of the No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport car for Sebastian Saavedra, who qualified 12th but informed team owner Bryan Herta after the final practice of his intent not to compete.

“I was just trying to get off to a conservative start since I haven’t been in the car all year,” said Herrington, who has been the spotter this season for the No. 34 Conquest Racing car driven by Bertrand Baguette. “I was looking to run well and get a few laps under our belt. Unfortunately, we started in the back and sometimes everything just happens in front of you.

“The car spun in front of us and we didn’t have anywhere to go, and I kind of collected him. I don’t know what to say. Bryan really put a lot of faith in me to jump back in the car and I’m just sorry to let him down like that.”

Saavedra, who started third and finished 11th in the Chicagoland 100 a week earlier, entered the weekend fifth in the Firestone Indy Lights standings. He has seven top-10 finishes and one pole start in 11 races in the No. 29 car. He also competed in the Indianapolis 500 in a Bryan Herta Autosport entry. Wilson also was driving a Bryan Herta Autosport car.


Top-10 from the Bluegrass State...................
1} Pippa Mann, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts., 67 laps
2} James Hinchcliffe, Team Moore Racing, -6.837 sec
3} J.K. Vernay, Sam Schmidt Mtrspts., -9.714 sec
4} Adrian Campos, Jr., Team Moore Racing, -9.792 sec
5} Gustavo Yacaman, Cape Mtrspts., -13.924 sec
6} Charlie Kimball, Andretti Autosport, -13.973 sec
7} Martin Plowman, Andretti Autosport, -14.453 sec
8} Brandon Wagner, Hamilton Racing, -23.522 sec
9} Arie Luyendyk, Jr., Alliance Mtrspts., -24.488 sec
10} Dan Clarke, Walker Racing, -1 lap
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