The iconic garage sign at the Texas Motor Speedway. The Indy Racing League is at the Speedway for the sixth round of the 2009 IndyCar Series championship. Image Credit: Vision RacingBombardier Learjet 550k - Play By Play Via Tweet By Tweet
Here in longhorn country down near Fort Worth, Texas, the sixth race of the first fully unified open wheel racing season of the IndyCar Series is ramping up to be a good one. The top four drivers at this point in the 2009 season are the same four drivers that swept the first two rows in qualifying. Franchitti, Briscoe, Dixon and Castroneves all posted speed averages in the 214-mph bracket.
Ryan Briscoe will start alongside Franchitti in the Bombardier Learjet 550k after a four-lap average of 214.413 mph.
Points leader and defending race winner Scott Dixon (214.296) and Helio Castroneves (214.228) will be on Row 2. Then Andretti Green Racing's Danica Patrick will start fifth (213.929) and share Row 3 with Transition Player KV Racing Technology's Mario Moraes (213.717).
Overhead shot of Ed Carpenter in the cockpit of his Vision Racing Dallara at Texas Motor Speedway. Image Credit: Vision RacingThe IRL Set-Up: Franchitti earns Texas pole For Race #6 - http://tinyurl.com/lazche #irl #ics #indycar
How the field qualified (** denotes Transition Player - we are down to six)
Pos Driver Team Speed
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 214.513mph
2. Ryan Briscoe Penske 214.413mph
3. Scott Dixon Ganassi 214.296mph
4. Helio Castroneves Penske 214.228mph
5. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 213.929mph
6. Mario Moraes KV 213.717mph**
7. Dan Wheldon Panther 213.596mph
8. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 213.540mph
9. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan 213.479mph**
10. Ed Carpenter Vision 213.435mph
11. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 213.327mph
12. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 213.178mph**
13. Alex Tagliani Conquest 213.173mph**
14. Sarah Fisher Fisher 212.554mph
15. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon 212.137mph
16. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 212.108mph
17. Justin Wilson Coyne 212.021mph**
18. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold 211.741mph
19. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 211.686mph
20. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 211.601mph
21. EJ Viso HVM 211.553mph**
22. AJ Foyt IV Foyt 211.454mph
23. Ryan Hunter-Reay Vision 210.532mph
24. Jaques Lazier 3G 209.329mph
The race will be televised on VERSUS from The Texas Motor Speedway - Saturday at 9PM ET: "America’s Original Nighttime IndyCar Race” showcases Indy cars jetting three-wide around the track in excess of 220 miles per hour and routinely setting up for a dramatic finish. With last-lap drama and exciting finishes, you never know what’s going to happen.
(race description HT: VERSUS)
Pre-race activities featured Shaq in a photo session taken in the Vision Racing garage with Miss Wheelchair 2009, Michelle Colvard. Image Credit: Vision RacingSadly, teams have fielded only six drivers from the CART/ChampCar Transition group and consequently this may be the poorest showing since the merge happened back at the beginning of the 2008 season. Paul Tracy and AJ Foyt have agreed to part company for this home race for the ABC Supply/AJ Foyt team but the seperation is amicable with Paul Tracy saying that he would drive for AJ anytime and anywhere ... he would even be available to do testing if that were AJ's wish.
Image Credit: Vision RacingSo let the race begin ...
16AndGeorgetownJust got back from the driving range. Great way to kill a couple hours before the race.
PlanetIrlNever realized how big Shaq really was. How is he going to fit in that pace car??!!
MyNameIsIRLMy family is discussing tonight's "first out". P1 says "Mario Jonas", P2 says "Mike Con-wreck". Tough crowd here.
SpeedFreaksGreat show - thanks much for your tweets - now let's have a damn good #IndyCar race!!
Dan Weldon, Panther Racing and Ed Carpenter, Vision Racing warming up at speed at the Texas Motor Speedway. Image Credit: Vision RacingPlanetIrl"they call is the Texas Taj Mahal." .....They do?
AGRfan26If Mario Jonas [Moraes] is the first out, lets hope Dan & MA get around him 1st. After practice Thurs, I'm not holding my breath
pressdogall i want is timing and scoring on indycar.com. is that too much to ask?
RacingNationInteresting, good thing that Honda engine in Kanaan's car blew up enough so they could call it a 'fire.' #indy car
Driver intros in the grandstands! That is EJ Viso through the fence. Image Credit: HVM RacingVisionRacingDrivers being introduced. Sun going down. Air temp cooling to acceptable human living conditions. Fun getting set to start at Texas.
SpeedFreaksdog barking incessantly at Foyt hauler - will someone take care of him please!
PlanetIrl@SpeedFreaks You're in Texas. There is a 12 gauge within 100 feet at all times!
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MyNameIsIRLArute in the stands. Arute in the Sky Lair. Arute on the truck. Ye gods, have they cloned the man?
20:32:55 GMT-0500 Drivers to your cars.
PlanetIrlNostrabeekhuis strikes again.
MyNameIsIRLIf those extra wickers allow for all the Texas passing, then why don't they put those on at every track? Or would that make too much sense?
pressdogLoins: girded.
RacingNationHey RHR, is 'everything gonna be alright' ??? OK, enough of the mesothelioma, Izod and Ultimate Fighting, lets go IndyCar racing! #indycar
20:39:11 GMT-0500 One minute to the command.
chunter16@pressdog Notice how they also avoided talking about when CART had a driver's strike at this very track because of drivers blacking out
Marco26WebNice one Shaq. Engines on!!
kvracingMoraes is in the car and command for Drivers Start Your Engine has been given.
20:41:40 GMT-0500 All cars have been fired.
20:44:38 GMT-0500 Green flag next time by.
GREEN GREEN GREEN - We are racin' folks!
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AGRfan26Look at how far back Marco is from Mario !
VisionRacingWoah!! That was ****ing close!!
TheEDJE20:47:01 GMT-0500 Lap 2: Milka Duno, Graham Rahal and EJ Viso were involved in the incident.
FuriousWedgelooks like Viso collected too, odd that Rahal was wiggling so bad almost for multiple laps
Two Transition Players out on LAP 2 - EJ Viso of HVM Racing and Graham Rahal of Newman/Haas/Lanigan racing. That leaves four!
TheEDJECommentary says that the first few laps the drivers have to contend with Truck Tire Rubber - Okie-Dokie! #irl #ics #indycar
VisionRacingNo.21 coming in to top of on fuel when pits open. Anyone see the replay on that. Ryan narrowly missed that accident. Drove through sparks.
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20:56:11 GMT-0500 Lap 9: One lap until back to green.
kvracingBack to Green Flag racing, Moraes 5th
20:57:41 GMT-0500 Lap 11: Ryan Briscoe is challenging for the lead on the outside.
IndyCarNationLap 15: #6 Briscoe leads #10 Franchitti by .1424 of a second.
Marco26WebLike Marco tweeted a few days ago. "Sweep the high side!!!"
kvracingMoraes is 7th, 19 laps completed, settling into single file round gtrack
IndyCarPRLap 20: #6 Briscoe leads #10 Franchitti by .2021 of a second.
21:03:53 GMT-0500 Lap 26: Danica loses some momentum out of Turn 4 and Marco makes his move.
VisionRacingEd will have some wing taken out on his first stop. He's mentioned (understatement alert) having issues with understeer over the radio.
CrashGladysHangin out with @SpeeedFreeek & @curtcavin - good times at TMS... #INDYCAR
IndyCarPRLap 30: #6 Briscoe leads #10 Franchitti by .2995 of a second.
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chunter16Just added myself to the http://wefollow.com twitter directory under: #musician #motorsports #football
kvracingWhen Moraes pits will be front wing adjustment and some tire pressure alterations being made now on the new set. Currently 8th after 37laps
TheEDJE21:10:24 GMT-0500 Lap 42: Mike Conway is off the pace - in the pits. #irl #ics #indycar
FuriousWedgesay that again Bob; Scheckter is up to 18th after starting 12th!? sure thats not backwards?
FuriousWedgeRace Control says "the right rear of Dan Wheldon may be glowing red" may be?
21:13:44 GMT-0500 Lap 50: The front of the field comes up to lap AJ Foyt IV.
IndyCarNationLap 50: #6 Briscoe leads #10 Franchitti by 1.0710 seconds. Note: If we fall behind on the Tweetcast, it's because we're also doing the DTR.
MyNameIsIRL50 laps in and all I can think is where did the three-wide racing at Texas go?
21:16:00 GMT-0500 Lap 55: Danica Patrick is into the pits.
LAP 55 - Green Flag pitstops for most of the field!
kvracingJust pitted, tires, fuel and one turn in on left front wing. Great stop by KVRT crew
chunter16@VisionRacing good stop for ed
21:19:11 GMT-0500 Lap 61: Briscoe gets caught in traffic allowing Franchitti to catch up.
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21:21:31 GMT-0500 Lap 67: Ryan Briscoe is working his way through traffic. Leads Franchitti by about one second.
AGRfan26MA up to 5th ! Keep picking them off Marco !
21:25:17 GMT-0500 Lap 76: The lead of Briscoe nears 2 seconds.
MyNameIsIRLAh - we're all conserving fuel tonight. That'll suck the life out of three-wide. I'll refrain from my "rip the fuel mapping knob off" rant.
SarahFisher67Electronics issue; Sarah could not downshift. Fell wayy back- Klint
IndyCarNationLap 85: #6 Briscoe leads #9 Dixon by 5.0978 seconds.
IndyCarPRAnd for those in the media center at Texas...the NAAAAAACHO BAR is open
VisionRacingVision cars are half way through this stint. Possibility of making it to the finish on two more stops.
PlanetIrlNo more fuel mapping, put push-to-pass on the cars, and option tires on ovals. NOW!!
SarahFisher67Trying 2 get our rhythm back...will need some pit and fuel strategy to make this one work now- Klint
IndyCarPRLap 90: #6 Briscoe leads #9 Dixon by 6.5550 seconds.
chunter16@PlanetIrl Don't know about push-to-pass, but option tires? Hmm...
VisionRacingLap 100 complete. Ed is P12. Ryan is p17 and battling handling of car. Leaders are Briscoe Dixon Castroneves.
kvracingMario just requested half a turn out of front wing when he comes in
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21:36:06 GMT-0500 Lap 102: Ryan Briscoe is working on lapping Tony Kanaan who is in P8.
Pitstops from the field - Green Flag still flys!!!
21:39:32 GMT-0500 Lap 110: Scott Dixon is the first lead car into the pits.
kvracingPitted P9, changed tires, added fuel and took 1/2 turn of front wing out of left side and rejoined race in 11th, but some cars still to pit
21:41:03 GMT-0500 Lap 113: Ryan Briscoe should inherit the lead again as Helio pits.
AGRfan26WAY TO GO MA ! I need to put my daughter to bed, but can't pull myself away. priorities you know...
Team Penske is running P1 and P2 - Briscoe and Castroneves. Franchitti runs third.
MyNameIsIRLPenske, Penske, Ganassi, Ganassi...it's like a cure for insomnia.
VisionRacingAnother round of green flag pitstops complete. Leader have cycled through. P1 Briscoe Dixon Franchitti. Ed P13. Ryan P17. Passed halfway.
TheEDJE@MyNameIsIRLPenske, Penske, Ganassi, Ganassi...it's like a cure for insomnia. - Line of the night #irl #ics #indycar
PlanetIrl@chunter16 P2P was great on road courses. At least try it on ovals. Option tires should be at every track
16AndGeorgetownAnybody here what Jon said about the fuel sensor not allowing the car 2 pull out?That's an idea I sent to Trackside w/Cavin&Kevin last week
PlanetIrl@16AndGeorgetown Lol, they steal from you. I (along with Nascar. of course) invented the SAFER barrier.
IndyCarNationLap 130: : #6 Briscoe leads #3 Castroneves by 8.6586 seconds.
TheEDJENew Chant - Penske Ganassi Penske Ganassi
TheEDJENew Chant - Penske Ganassi Andretti Penske Ganassi - Helio Castroneves is getting passed.
PlanetIrl@chunter16 Safety is for sissy sports. Like bowling and cricket.
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MyNameIsIRLMarco has charged up to 2nd, telling everyone else where they can stick their fuel mappings.
FuriousWedgeMarco's on the serious move as the cars go through their stints, but 10 seconds is entirely too much to make up without some kind of help
kvracing10 laps till next pit, fuel, tires. Currently P10
TheEDJEYELLOW Flag - Debris on the track - Brisco's 10 second cushion is GONE! #irl #ics #indycar
16AndGeorgetownWhere's the debris???
21:58:25 GMT-0500 Lap 152: All of the lead cars are pitting.
Close quarters - Briscoe has to swing around a tire on Pit Out - Kanaan Short fills and gets out first and is waived around ... gets lap back.
VisionRacingRyan is frustrated with handling of car. They are going to give him some more wing.
pressdogtotal N-word move. Show me the debris.
PlanetIrl@16AndGeorgetown Does it matter? This was a Dale Jr. yellow.
IndyCarPRLap 152: Leaders on pit road. #6 Briscoe wins race off of pit road, but #11 Kanaan gets his lap back by beating #11 off of pit road.
TheEDJELAP 157 - Rafael Matos comes in for a splash - the only car to top off! #irl #ics #indycar
22:06:01 GMT-0500 Lap 159: Ryan Briscoe gets a great restart.
Marco26Web"Now the gloves are comin' off"
22:06:57 GMT-0500 Lap 161: Helio Castroneves is by AJ Foyt IV and sets his sights on Briscoe.
22:08:46 GMT-0500 Lap 166: Helio Castroneves has caught Ryan Briscoe to battle for the lead.
IndyCarPRLap 159: GREEN. #6 Briscoe leads field into Turn 1. Lap 165: #6 Briscoe leads #3 Castroneves by .1761 of a second.
VisionRacing10 laps to pit for Ed then he'll be good to the end. Ed having some issues with a lapped car.
chunter16According to TV, Wheldon added too much wing
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22:11:55 GMT-0500 Lap 172: YELLOW Flag for contact in Turn 2 by AJ Foyt IV. His car has stopped on the inside of the backstretch.
MyNameIsIRLIs it Foyt? Like the wreck on lap two, it's not a very camera-friendly incident.
FuriousWedgeLooks like Quattro's into the wall; and interesting fuel strategy games likely out the window after we get 10+ laps of caution
indy44Marco the force is with you close your eyes and use the force
22:19:05 GMT-0500 Lap 179: Alex Tagliani, Raphael Matos and Sarah Fisher are waved around.
PlanetIrl@pressdog I'd be willing to do anything to have passing. Put restrictor plates on them!
Mario Moraes talks over the race with the engineer trackside. Image Credit: KV Racing TechnologyGREEN GREEN GREEN
kvracingGreen Flag racing, P11. 50 laps to go.
22:22:17 GMT-0500 Lap 182: Briscoe gets a good run out of Turn 4.
chunter16Danica tries the high groove...
VisionRacingEd is in P9 and good for fuel until the end. Radios that the high line is terrible.
22:24:22 GMT-0500 Lap 187: Danica gets a run out of Turn 2 on Wheldon, but can't get by.
MyNameIsIRLWell it only took 185 laps but we've finally got 8 cars running within a second of each other. Hope you're still awake.
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Marco26WebAn Andretti Green charge brewing from 5th/6th/7th as TP and DP join Marco.
Top four Penske and Ganassi separated by only 1/2 second!
chunter16AGR showing good teamwork and drafting
PlanetIrl@16AndGeorgetown That was a great race. I was in 4 and you could see how much he was backing off.
IndyCarPRLap 200: #3 Castroneves leads #6 Briscoe by .2358 of a second.
22:30:09 GMT-0500 Lap 201: The top four are now pulling away from the field.
VisionRacingEd reporting understeer in traffic now so he can't keep his foot on it.
MyNameIsIRL"Danica needs to get up there and get on the gearbox of Dario Franchitti." Pretty sure that's on her to-do list, Robbie.
chunter16@VisionRacing No handle in clean air + no handle in traffic = no handle
VisionRacing20 laps to go. Final sprint for checkered.
kvracing20 laps to go at Texas. Moraes is 11th and doing a great job. He has 2nd fastest speed this race - 213.865mph
22:32:57 GMT-0500 Lap 207: Marco Andretti takes Dan Wheldon on the outside.
IndyCarNationLap 210: #3 Castroneves leads #6 Briscoe by .2782 of a second.
VisionRacingIf you have young children or are easily offended, don't listen to Ed on the radio right now. Doornbos pushed Ed below the white line.
MyNameIsIRLWow, nice blocking, err, defending on Marco there Mrs Hospenthal.
22:36:30 GMT-0500 Lap 216: Danica came down on Marco causing him to lose momentum.
VisionRacing10 laps to go. Ed is p9. Ryan is p16.
kvracing8 laps to go and Moraes back into top-10, he is 10th
22:37:39 GMT-0500 Lap 219: The top two have a gap of over 1 second on P3.
FuriousWedgewoohoo, they're gonna let us concentrate on 2 Penske cars running single file!
AGRfan26Way to put Danica in her place MA ! She deserved that one !
VisionRacing5 laps left in race.
22:39:59 GMT-0500 Lap 225: Ryan Briscoe is running out of time to get around Helio.
VisionRacingForgot to mention. Castroneves leads Briscoe Dixon Franchitti Andretti.
22:40:58 GMT-0500 Helio Castroneves wins the Bombardier Learjet 550!
MyNameIsIRLEddie Gossage won't stop Helio from climbing his fence.
FuriousWedgeWho would have thought Texas would give us the most boring race of the year
AGRfan26@Marco26Web If DP hadn't blocked him I think he could have picked off Dixon.
pressdogHelio should go hug Barnhart, unless someone can show me the debris. Lame lame lame.
RacingNationOne has wonder if they didn't have that last yellow, what would had Marco had done? He kept on getting faster on those long runs. #indycar
the500Helio Castroneves wins for the third time at Texas. Ryan Briscoe 2nd and Scott Dixon 3rd. #IndyCar
PlanetIrlWell kiddies, I'm quite tired (surprising?). So I'll see you Monday for my race review. Lise will have a log of her experience up soon too.
AGRfan26Thank you Indycar for cutting the stream before talking to Helio...
FuriousWedgeBriscoe dominates 2 weeks in a row and finishes 2nd twice; can't imagine he's too happy especially with todays loss caused by phantom yellow
pressdogI'm done. Going to bed. Viewing soooo not enhanced.
chunter16(Midnight EST)
kvracingRace finished. Moraes finished 10th, his fifth career top-10 finish
chunter16RT @indycarnation: [the pagoda speaks] 10:52 - “Good evening, gentlemen. I am Roger Penske. ... Bow down, motherf–kers.” http://ow.ly/cGx3
RacingNationRyan Briscoe quote of the race "Hard to pass" that was the prevailing theme. Frustrating. #helio
FuriousWedgeDixon: "cars are too similar now, we need to open up the rules"
Marco26WebMarco: "Once the race got up and going the Venom Energy car was stronger on longer stints. The toughest person to pass was my teammate..."
chunter16Will Power's name dropped - Will needs a car.
FuriousWedgeCurious thought, is the sudden change in lack of Oval action for IndyCar proportional to the sudden mandatory wheelbase length?
TheEDJE@FuriousWedge - A 22" standard does equalize things a little bit - they needed this rule LAST YEAR! #irl #ics #indycar
16AndGeorgetownI gota say, I'm with @DanicaPatrick on this one. They were racing for position, She's higher in points and Marco was the one trying to pass
chunter16@TheEDJE @FuriousWedge that will change when the chassis spec changes... 2010 or 2011?
TheEDJE@chunter16 - New car might have the WB distance go away - It was needed for old IRL on what Dixon said #irl #ics #indycar
chunter16@TheEDJE I think some aero grip is supposed to go away too. Huge I think because it's been a while since I read anything on it
VisionRacingCheckered flag. Castroneves climbs the fence. P9 for Ed. Ryan brings it home an ill handling car in one piece for P16
SpeedJournal(Indy)6/06 :: Texas shootout- http://tinyurl.com/qogv3o #autoracing
the500FROM THE STAR: Castroneves wins for third time at Texas http://tinyurl.com/r5ad23
... notes from The EDJE
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