News On F1 Forums - Talk Formula 1

After two rounds on the streets of St. Pete and at Monaco West(a/k/a Long Beach), the stars of the IndyCar Series travel to the first oval event of the year, the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway. This race will, in a sense, set the tone for the teams going into the month of May as it is the final pre-Indy 500 event on the calendar; anyone who gets "the big mo" leaving Kansas might just do well come Memorial Day Sunday.


Past Pole/Race Winners......................
~~2001: Scott Sharp/Eddie Cheever
~~2002: Tomas Scheckter/Airton Dare
~~2003: Scott Dixon/Bryan Herta
~~2004: Buddy Rice/Buddy Rice
~~2005: Danica Patrick/Tony Kanaan
~~2006: Dan Wheldon/Sam Hornish, Jr.
~~2007: Tony Kanaan/Dan Wheldon
~~2008: Scott Dixon/Dan Wheldon


Weekend Schedule...................
~~Practice Session #1, 10-10:30am, 25 April 2009*
~~Practice Session #2, 10:30-11:30am, 25 April 2009
~~Qualifying, 2-3pm, 25 April 2009
~~Practice Session #3, 10-11am, 26 April 2009
~~RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300, 3pm, 26 April 2009
*--practice for rookie entrants and drivers outside the top-10 in points

Broadcast Partners......................
~~domestic television, VERSUS
~~domestic radio, IMS Radio Network(also available via. the internet at Indycar.com
~~satellite radio, Sirius XM Radio Chs. 144[SportsNation] and 145[IndyCar Racing]
~~international simulcast available via. both ESPN International and the United States Armed Forces Network

RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 Entry List


(R)Raphael Matos, #2 United States Air Force
Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske
Dan Wheldon, #4 National Guard
Mario Moraes, #5 KV Racing/Votorantim
Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske
Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola
Scott Dixon, #9 Target
Dario Franchitti, #10 Nicorette
Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11
E.J. Viso, #13 PDVSA
Vitor Meira, #14 ABC Supply Co.
Justin Wilson, #18 Z-Line Designs
Ed Carpenter, #20 Menards
Ryan Hunter-Reay, #21 IZOD/WilliamRast
Milka Duno, #23 CITGO
(R)Mike Conway, #24 Dad's Root Beer
Marco Andretti, #26 Venom Energy Drink
Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream
Sarah Fisher, #67 Dollar General
(R)Stanton Barrett, #98 Team 3G/CURB
Graham Rahal, #02 McDonald's
(R)Robert Doornbos, #06 NHLR/Artic Ice

Going into last weekend's Long Beach Grand Prix IndyCar race, few would have picked Danica Patrick to star on Sunday, thanks to a frustrating qualifying session that left the Andretti-Green driver in 22nd place.

A clean opening stint kept Patrick free of the crashes and carnage unfolding in front of the Ohio-native, and with a combination of well-timed pit stops and a focused, determined effort behind the wheel, Danica moved to the lead pack towards the end of the race.

A string of fast laps kept pressure on the drivers in front of Patrick's Motorola-sponsored Dallara Honda, securing 4th place at the checkered flag, just one second behind AGR teammate Tony Kanaan.

So how did SpeedTV.com readers respond..........by giving her 36% of the vote. Dario Franchitti came second in the SPEEDtv.com poll at 29%, followed by Will Power at 26%, Tony Kanaan at 5% and Dan Wheldon at 3%.When informed that she had won the award, she replied...........

I’m really proud of the Motorola crew for helping me get the top-five in Long Beach. It was a rough weekend for sure, but we worked really hard and the hard work showed off at the end. We were able to gain 18 spots throughout the race, which is pretty amazing. I want to thank all the fans at SPEEDtv.com for taking the time to vote – hope to be able to give you all a great show in Kansas this weekend.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- It's like packing for a trip, though forgetting her toothbrush wouldn't be as stressful to Sarah Fisher as leaving an extra set of shocks for the No. 67 Dollar General car at the shop.

Earlier this week, she remained at the Indianapolis facility late into the evening "getting some setup stuff done" before the excursion to Kansas Speedway to kick off her team's 2009 program in the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 on April 26. It's part of the territory - much more expansive than when she broke into the IndyCar Series a decade ago at Texas Motor Speedway with Team Pelfry - that keeps the second-year team owner busy.

~~~Sarah Fisher, Driver/Owner, Sarah Fisher Racing

I think a lot of people think I just sit around all day and do nothing, but my schedule is completely full," said Fisher, who will make her 71st IndyCar Series start this weekend. "It's just a balance of what is the most important thing that you have to get done that day and then taking that hour, hour and a half to work out and keep yourself in shape because that will mentally prepare you for all the rest of the stuff. Whether it's business stuff that you have to handle or a personal appearance that a driver would normally do, I do all those things. (April 21) it was helping get the bus ready and making sure that everybody in the shop has something to eat that day. There's so much more to running a business than I ever knew existed. So looking forward to this weekend, and knowing that I'll be in that race car, that's probably my most relaxing time as an athlete. I really enjoy working with Tom Brown, our engineer, and of course my husband Andy, who runs our team. It's just the most rewarding time, and I can't wait.

Fisher competed in three oval races in 2008, but didn't have the advantage of running at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway leading into the Indianapolis 500. She did study video of the race and has competed at the track four times (high finish of 11th).

I think you've got to have a car that goes everywhere," she said of the 1.5-mile multi-groove racetrack. "I studied quite a bit the 2008 race, and (Scott) Dixon just could go anywhere he wanted. Granted, he was able to do that all year long, but just having a good basic strategy and trying to be up front all day but making sure that that car can go anywhere on that racetrack.

Fisher will receive an extra 30 minutes of practice (dedicated for drivers outside the top 10 in points), and the weekend will help the crew sort out items such as pit stops in preparation for Indy.

We've worked so hard in the off-season that I really think we are going to surprise some people," she said. "Last year, our season started at Indy and we didn't have the funding up front we needed to put a thorough car together. This year is very different, as the Dollar General car will roll off the truck and will be ready to go. We can build a rhythm leading into the Indy 500 this time. We won't have to shoulder all the troubles we had last year. All my guys, myself and my engineer will get to shake everything down at Kansas and head into Indy after, hopefully, putting a solid run on the books.

Milka Duno begins a limited IndyCar Series season with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing this weekend in the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway.

Duno will drive the No. 23 entry with primary sponsorship from CITGO.

"We are very excited to have Milka back with our team," team co-owner Dennis Reinbold said. "We had significant momentum last year and we want to pick up where we left off and continue to get results."

Duno made her IndyCar Series debut in 2007 at Kansas Speedway.

"I'm really happy to be racing and to be back at Kansas," she said. "The fans are very supportive. I'm also very happy to be coming back to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing as they did a great job last year. Finally, I must thank CITGO for their fantastic support. I really appreciate the opportunity to be back and will work hard to get some great results."

The native of Caracas, Venezuela, finished second in the Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year standings and earned a career-best 11th place at Texas Motor Speedway in '07. Duno had a season-best 14th place at Chicagoland Speedway, leading five laps, in 2008.

Off the track, Duno is a spokesperson in charity activities and encouraging youth to complete their education through her program the "Milka Way."

Kansas Saturday Practice
1. 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 25.814 211.980
2. 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 25.872 0.058 0.058 211.502
3. 26 Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing 25.873 0.001 0.059 211.497
4. 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 25.874 0.001 0.060 211.484
5. 7 Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing 25.883 0.009 0.069 211.415
6. 11 Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing 25.920 0.037 0.106 211.110
7. 4 Dan Wheldon Panther Racing 25.935 0.015 0.121 210.990
8. 27 Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing 25.957 0.022 0.143 210.807
9. 67 Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing 25.965 0.008 0.151 210.748
10. 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 25.965 0.000 0.151 210.743
11. 14 Vitor Meira AJ Foyt Enterprises 25.966 0.001 0.152 210.734
12. 06 Robert Doornbos* Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 26.034 0.068 0.220 210.187
13. 02 Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 26.040 0.006 0.226 210.142
14. 20 Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 26.065 0.025 0.251 209.938
15. 5 Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology 26.072 0.007 0.258 209.877
16. 2 Raphael Matos* Luczo Dragon Racing 26.117 0.045 0.303 209.522
17. 24 Mike Conway* Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 26.166 0.049 0.352 209.127
18. 23 Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 26.240 0.074 0.426 208.536
19. 18 Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing 26.246 0.006 0.432 208.489
20. 13 EJ Viso HVM Racing 26.296 0.050 0.482 208.092
21. 98 Stanton Barrett* CURB/Agajanian/Team 3G 26.422 0.126 0.608 207.096
22. 21 Ryan Hunter-Reay Vision Racing 26.559 0.137 0.745 206.030
L-R: position, car #, driver, team, time, gap/gap to 1st, speed(mph)
*--denotes 2009 series rookie

Graham Rahal and Robert Doornbos comprising the front row of an IndyCar street circuit or a road course it wouldn't be that surprising......but, to have the Newman/Haas/Lanigan teammates sitting 1-2 on the mile-and-a-half oval of Kansas Speedway is a bit shocking, to say the least. The reason this is such a startling starting lineup has nothing to do with the two talented drivers but it has everything to do with their team and circumstances.

A year ago, after Champ Car folded and five of its teams joined Tony George's series, the Indy Racing League cars and ovals were quite a learning experience -- even for a winning operation like NHL. Justin Wilson and Rahal struggled with qualifying and it was pretty much a question of trying to learn the cars and tracks on the fly.

While the young duo of Rahal and teammate Robert "Bobby D" Doornbos will occupy the front row, three of their competitors will be heading to the rear for various infractions. Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves qualified second and third, respectively, but had their runs disallowed by chief steward Brian Barnhart because they drove under the while line. Franchitti, winner of Long Beach, now starts 20th and Castroneves 21st. It's the same infraction Castroneves incurred in 2008 at Chicago, when he started last and won. E.J. Viso's car flunked post-qualifying tech inspection and he was moved from 18th to 22nd.


RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 Starting Grid.............
1} Graham Rahal, #02 McDonald's, 211.311 mph
2}(R)Robert Doornbos, #06 NHLR/Muermans, 210.665 mph

3} Danica Patrick, #7 Motorola, 210.470 mph
4} Scott Dixon, #9 Target, 210.368 mph

5} Marco Andretti, #26 Venom Energy Drink, 210.220 mph
6} Mario Moraes, #6 KV Racing/Votorantim, 210.197 mph

7} Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske, 210.098 mph
8} Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11, 210.082 mph

9} Dan Wheldon, #4 National Guard, 209.144 mph
10} Ed Carpenter, #20 Menards, 208.956 mph

11} Sarah Fisher, #67 Dollar General, 208.543 mph
12} Milka Duno, #23 CITGO, 208.537 mph

13} Hideki Mutoh, #27 Formula Dream, 208.506 mph
14} Vitor Meira, #14 ABC Supply Co., 208.461 mph

15}(R)Raphael Matos, #2 United States Air Force, 208.382 mph
16}(R)Mike Conway, #24 Dad's Root Beer, 208.145 mph

17} Justin Wilson, #18 Z-Line Designs, 207.791 mph
18}(R)Stanton Barrett, #98 Team 3G/CURB, 205.820 mph

19} Ryan Hunter-Reay, #21 IZOD/WilliamRast, 205.670 mph
20} Dario Franchitti, #10 Nicorette, no posted time*

21} Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske, no posted time*
22} E.J. Viso, #13 PDVSA, no posted time**
*--both Franchitti and Castroneves drove below the white line during their respective qualifying attempts
**--car failed post-qualifying tech inspection

Pre-race festivities continuing; about 20-25 to the command to start engines

~~~Storylines in Kansas................
---Can Wheldon make it 3 in a row at Kansas?
---How long will it take Franchitti and Castroneves to get up to the front?
---Will the weather play a role in today's race?

Speaking of weather, winds are blowing from the south at 23-26mph......how does affect the cars and drivers? With the orientation of the track, it means that going through turns 1-2, you get a tailwind; the car will seem freer and drivers might end having to shift gears to keep off the rev limiter. Going through 3-4, the effect is a wind broadside agst. the cars; as we saw in the Indy Lights race this morning, a couple of cars got loose big-time and there were multiple accidents in turns 3-4, most wind-related

Command to start engines has been given; awaiting car rollout from pitlane

Cars will receive 2 pace laps; green flag to be waved third time around

With weather conditions at present, every team will be keeping an eye on the track and an eye on the weather radar, watching to see what weather arrives

Air temp., 77 degress(F)
Track temps, 87 degrees(F)
Winds, 24mph S

Cars forming up to take the green...............

GREEN FLAG! GREEN FLAG!
We are racing in Kansas!