RIR Logo on trackside wall. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
The Fine Nine Gets A Taste Of Richmond Short Track
The rookie run of the Fine Nine continued its ninth start at qualifications in fairly good style. The short track yielded a few surprises along the way and a blend of drivers started to make a showing that even surprised some of the established teams.
Bruno Junqueira in an unhappy moment befor qualifications. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
First off, Bruno Junqueira, read the riot act to his Dale Coyne team after not being able to compete last week in Iowa. His car crashed in Iowa and the team worried whither they would have it ready for Richmond or not. When they hit the track in Virginia, the rebuilt Z-Line sponsored car ran well and was able to qualify in the top ten at position 9.
In a special Rookie practice held on Thursday, the current leader in the Rookie Of The Year point chase, Heideki Mutoh from the established team, Andretti Green Racing, elected NOT to participate. This didn’t bother his qualification though as he was able to clock in at position seven.
The biggest surprise was delivered by the driver from Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing who won the second race of the season by qualifying in position 3, right behind Andretti Green Teammates Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti.
Tony and Marco discuss events of the day at Richmond. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
This Excerpted from Indycar.com -
Family Matters By Dave Lewandowski - indycar.com
RICHMOND, Va. - Tony Kanaan, the senior member of the Andretti Green Racing quartet, called a family meeting before the race earlier this week at Iowa Speedway. He wanted to clear the air, get everyone on the same page and communicate like the "old days."
Aside from his mistake late in the 250-lap race after leading 71 laps, which resulted in a Turn 1 single-car crash, the team scored its best cumulative result in quite a while (rookie Hideki Mutoh was second, Marco Andretti third and Danica Patrick sixth).
Tony Kanaan on the button at Richmond International Raceway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
Five days later, the vibe continued at another short track - the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway. Kanaan posted a four-lap cumulative time of 1 minute, 04.333 seconds (167.876 mph average) in garnering the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by Advance Auto Parts - his first on an oval since last August (1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway). Andretti will start next to the No. 11 7-Eleven car in the 300-lap SunTrust Indy Challenge.
Peak Pole award winner Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green 7-11 Team. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
They are separated by three 10-thousanths of a second -- less time than it takes to snap your fingers or blink. Don't blink on race day, whether you're watching from the grandstands or on ESPN, or you might miss just about anything. Andretti posted a four-lap average of 167.795 mph (1:04.3642) in the No. 26 Blockbuster car.
It's the seventh time AGR cars have started 1-2 and the 36th overall in IndyCar Series history.
Graham Rahal will start third (1:04.5740; 167.250) and IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon fourth (1:04.6242; 167.120). Buddy Rice recorded his first top five and top 10 starting position of the season (1:04.7467; 166.804) in the No. 15 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car and will share Row 3 with Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon (1:04.7606; 166.768), the winner at Iowa Speedway. ---- Vision Racing's A.J. Foyt IV, who posted his first top five of the season at Iowa, will start eighth in the No. 2 Lilly Diabetes car (166.126) and Bruno Junqueira grabbed his best starting spot (ninth; 166.032) in the No. 18 Z-Line Designs car for Dale Coyne Racing. He'll share Row 5 with Oriol Servia (165.815) in the No. 5 KV Racing Technology car.
John Andretti continued to post positive results for Roth Racing and will start 12th (165.275) - next to Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe (165.643) on Row 6. Helio Castroneves' streak of 11 top-10 starts came to an end. Castroneves, a two-time pole sitter at Richmond and second in the standings, will start 18th in the No. 3 Team Penske car.
"Qualifying certainly is an experience," said Andretti, who has made more than 20 stock car starts at Richmond but none in the IndyCar Series. "I like the four-lap average thing. You've got to make it happen four times; you can't hold your breath for one lap and make it in. Richmond International Raceway doesn't even look the same when you're going around in an IndyCar instead of a stock car. We'll see how we race."
Ryan Hunter-Reay, who topped the combined practice chart (166.664; 16.2003) in the No. 17 Ethanol car for Rahal Letterman Racing, will start 25th after not making a qualifying attempt because of an issue related to the electrical loom to the gearbox. Enrique Bernoldi, whose No. 36 Sangari Conquest Racing car sustained damage in a morning practice crash, went through a systems check and will start 26th Reference Here>>
Oriol Servia of KV Racing Technology and Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing confer with IRL official before qualifications begin. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
How The Fine Nine Fared:
SP Car Driver Hometown Car Name Entrant Time Speed
3 06 R Graham Rahal Columbus, Ohio Hole in the Wall Camps Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:04.5740 167.250
9 18 Bruno Junqueira Belo Horizonte, Brazil Z-Line Designs Dale Coyne Racing 1:05.0477 166.032
10 5 Oriol Servia Pals, Spain KV Racing Technology KV Racing Technology 1:05.1330 165.815
16 8 R Will Power Toowoomba, Australia Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia KV Racing Technology 1:05.7251 164.321
19 33 R E.J. Viso Caracas, Venezuela PDVSA HVM Racing HVM Racing 1:06.1887 163.170
20 19 R Mario Moraes Sao Paulo, Brazil Sonny's Bar-B-Q Dale Coyne Racing 1:06.4344 162.566
23 02 R Justin Wilson Sheffield, England McDonald's Racing Team Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:07.6470 159.652
24 34 R Jaime Camara Goiania, Brazil Sangari Conquest Racing 1:07.9741 158.884
26 36 R Enrique Bernoldi Curitiva, Brazil Sangari Conquest Racing Conquest Racing no time no speed Reference Full Grid Here
The famed "Yard Of Bricks" at the Start/Finish line of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Image Credit: cowgirlsdave.com
A Live Blogging Effort Observing The Progress Of
The Teams That Are Transitioning Into The IRL
INDY 500: The Line Of The “Fine Nine”
American Open Wheel racing has always captivated the interest of motorsports enthusiasts throughout the world and this weekend hosts a race that has been held for 92 years in the state of Indiana.
Each year, on the final weekend of May, powerful cars, without fenders, with their wheels sticking out to defend the four corners of the space they occupy, speeding around a large rectangle for 500 miles (200 laps), yellow flag sessions during the race bunch up the field of 33 cars, pit stops throughout for tires and fuel can lead to an advantage or setback given a smooth result or a malfunctioning airwrench, 400,000 spectators line the pavement strip where the cars can fan out three to four cars wide, where, at the end of the race, the winner is treated to a swig from a quart of milk to become one of the names in the world of automobile racing few will forget (more recognizable than annual series champions) … this is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the race that defines American motorsports, The INDY 500.
This year is the first year since the formation of CART back in 1979 American open wheel racing is unified under one annual competitive series of races that, in the end crowns a champion – one champion, one series, and this one race. At the heart of this series of races is the fourth race of the 18 that will be held here in 2008.
Nine drivers of the field of 33 cars in the race are from the former CART/ChampCar World Series and through unification, these nine drivers represent an infusion of new talent to this fabled racing competition. Racing with equipment the teams of the nine drivers received in the merger agreement, some with parts that needed to be upgraded to 2008 specifications, equipment that is new to the learning curve of the chassis engineers and specialists on each team that helped to qualify these nine drivers to a new track beginning on the fifth row.
At the wave of the checkered flag, after two warm-up laps performed by the 33 rows of three cars side-by-side, that starts the 92nd INDY 500, the “Fine Nine” are placed in the field in the following order.
POS./Car # Driver (Speed), Team, Sponsor
Row 5 13/06 Graham Rahal (222.531), NHL, No Sponsor 15/18 Bruno Junqueira (222.330), DCR, Z-Line
Row 6 16/02 Justin Wilson (222.267), NHL, Mc Donald’s
Row 8 23/ 8 Will Power (221.136), KVRT, Aussie Vineyards
Row 9 25/ 5 Oriol Servia (220.767), KVRT, Visit Mexico City/Plantronics 26/33 EJ Viso (220.356), HVM, PDVSA
Row 10 28/19 Mario Moraes (219.716), DCR, Sonny’s BBQ 29/36 Enrique Bernoldi (219.422), CR, No Sponsor 30/34 Jaime Camara (219.345), CR, No Sponsor
Julianne Hough sings the National Anthem at 9:55 AM PDT and four jets fly-over the yard of bricks. It’s time for the drivers to get into the cars and show a moment of silence for those who have died so that we may remain free on this Memorial Day (TAPS).
Back Home Again In Indianana, as sung by Jim Nabors – “Oh how I long for my Indiana home”.
Mari Hulman George, “Ladies and Gentelman, Start, Your, Engines!”
Good luck to Helio Castroneves on his attempt to win the INDY 500 three times; Is this the race that Danica Patrick breaks through and has a woman win the 500 mile race … or will it be Sarah Fischer, or Milka Duno?
Orrrrr, will it be one of eleven rookies with the overwhelming number of them coming from the ranks of the former ChampCar World Series?
The Perfect Storm … And there’re off at a few ticks after 10:12 AM PDT – “Green, Green, Green”
Clear!, still clear! – off to a great and clean start.
YELLOW Flag flies for debris on the racing line on the track – LAP 8.
Bruno Junqueira’s Dale Coyne Racing Dallara looses a mirror at speed and he will have to come in and have it replaced. He had moved up in the order before the incident to Position # 13 and was the lead driver in the “Fine Nine” at the time of the incident.
Sarah Fischer spins while on scrubbing off her tires in the corner while waiting for the field to go back to Green on LAP 13.
LAP 18 re-start and Buddy Rice followed by Justin Wilson of NHL take the Checkered Flag.
LAP 20 sees Dan Weldon taking over the overall lead with Justin Wilson passing Buddy Rice for 3rd.
At 25 laps the Fine Nine are struggling to maintain pace … after Wilson at Position #3 we see the next Fine Nine driver at Position #20 being EJ Viso, #23 Will Power, #23 Mario Moraes, #24Rahal, #26Bernoldi, #27 Camara, and 17 laps down after having the mirror replaced, #33 Junqueira.
Pit Stops and Buddy Rice gains a position on Justin Wilson.
YELLOW Flag – Graham Rahal of Newman/Haas/Lanigan hits the wall on LAP 37 while avoiding a car driven by Alex Lloyd that had slowed down to enter the pits.
One Fine Nine driver OUT and one down 17 laps with Bruno Junqueira.
Buddy Rice and Justin Wilson stay out while the rest of the field comes into the pits for tires and fuel. Danica Patrick has a long time in the pits.
FIRE in AJ Foyt IV’s car while in the pits on LAP 39 … the second fuel incident for Foyt IV in the past full week.
After all of the incidents, the shuffle has the “Fine Nine” in NO fine positions at all … its dismal.
The highest position any T-Team driver occupies at the restart on LAP 46 is Will Power of KV Racing Technology at Position #16.
Positions Of The Fine Nine After 50 Laps
POS./Car# Driver, Team, Sponsor
16/ 5 Oriol Servia, KVRT, Visit Mexico City/Plantronics 17/33 EJ Viso, HVM, PDVSA 18/ 8 Will Power, KVRT, Aussie Vineyards 24/02 Justin Wilson, NHL, Mc Donald’s 28/19 Mario Moraes, DCR, Sonny’s BBQ 29/36 Enrique Bernoldi, CR, No Sponsor 30/34 Jaime Camara, CR, No Sponsor 32/18 Bruno Junqueira, DCR, Z-Line OUT/06 Graham Rahal, NHL, No Sponsor
LAP 60 – Marty Roth hits the wall in his Lids sponsored car in a similar accident that befell Graham Rahal. Car slowing into the pits and catching the trailing car off guard and by the time the driver reacts, he is in the marbles and into the wall.
Helio Castroneves hits some of the debris and crunches a front wing.
Everybody into the pits. Servia climbs up to #14, followed by Viso #16, Wilson #17, Power #18, Camara #24, Moraes #25, Bernoldi #26, Junqueira #31
LAP 73 – Green Flag
Crash and YELLOW Flag for Jamie Camara on LAP 81 as Jamie gets too high into turn one, hits the wall and slides the length of the short chute and smashes into the wall at turn two before sliding to a stop. OUT, Jaime Camara Conquest Racing, No Sponsor.
Pits open and Danica Patrick picks up two more spots to position #9.
Re-Start GREEN Flag on LAP 92 and EJ Viso climbs to #11, with Servia, Wilson, and Power at #15, #16, #18 respectively.
Tony Kanaan splits the Target Chip Ganassi Team cars driven by Scott Dixon and Dan Weldon then passes Weldon for the lead on LAP 96.
Marty Reid, the announcer suggests that approaching the half-way point is beginning to see a page turn as it relates to tactics.
Andretti Green Racing team members are making a move as Marco Andretti climbs into the top five at 100 laps.
Positions Of The Fine Nine After 100 Laps
POS./Car# Driver, Team, Sponsor
13/33 EJ Viso (220.356), HVM, PDVSA 14/ 5 Oriol Servia (220.767), KVRT, Visit Mexico City/Plantronics 16/02 Justin Wilson (222.267), NHL, Mc Donald’s 20/ 8 Will Power (221.136), KVRT, Aussie Vineyards 25/36 Enrique Bernoldi (219.422), CR, No Sponsor 26/19 Mario Moraes (219.716), DCR, Sonny’s BBQ 29/18 Bruno Junqueira (222.330), DCR, Z-Line OUT/34 Jaime Camara (219.345), CR, No Sponsor OUT/06 Graham Rahal (222.531), NHL, No Sponsor
YELLOW Flag on LAP 105 - Tont Kanaan, and Sara Fischer collect each other after Marco Andretti cuts into Tony’s line in the corner forcing TK into the marbles and the wall. Team owner and Tony Kanaan are not very happy.
Everyone pits on LAP 107 – Servia passes Viso in the pits to take position #11 before the restart.
LAP 112 - Something breaks on Jeff Simmons AJ Foyt Racing, ABC car and has him first hit the outside wall then the inside wall on the front straightaway.
GREEN Flag Restart LAP 117 – Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti, Dan Weldon, Tomas Schecter, and Ed Carpenter in the lead.
The next two laps sees a mix of aggressive driving by all cars in the top 15. Danica Patrick warned about blocking Helio Castroneves.
Marco Andretti passes for the lead with 79 laps to go.
LAP 128 has Ryan Hunter-Reay pass Dan Weldon for position #6. Biggest mover up the field is Oriol Servia up to position #10.
Justin Wilson into the wall with 67 laps to go … there will be no finish or win for the Newman/Haas/Lanigan team for the 92nd running of the INDY 500.
Pit Stops for all. Ed Carpenter suffers gearbox problem in the pits and looses a lot of time and is the last car on the lead lap - 23. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne Racing does not pit and assumes the lead of the race … mark a moral victory to the T-Team Fine Nine proud! Helio Castroneves moves up three spots to #7.
61 LAPS to go and Scott Dixon moves from third to first with Mario Moraes is a sitting duck. Moraes just misses the wall in the short chute between turns one and two.
Mario Moraes is loose, slow and needs to pit – DUAH!
Yellow Flag LAP 148 – Alex Lloyd crashes while holding position 17 from turn 4 into the entrance of the pit lane, taking out the speed radar sensors that help race management regulate the speed in pit lane.
Positions After 150 Laps
POS./Car# Driver, Team, Sponsor
09/ 5 Oriol Servia, KVRT, Visit Mexico City/Plantronics 15/ 8 Will Power, KVRT, Aussie Vineyards 18/36 Enrique Bernoldi, CR, No Sponsor 23/19 Mario Moraes, DCR, Sonny’s BBQ 24/33 EJ Viso, HVM, PDVSA 26/18 Bruno Junqueira, DCR, Z-Line OUT/02 Justin Wilson, NHL, Mc Donald’s OUT/34 Jaime Camara, CR, No Sponsor OUT/06 Graham Rahal, NHL, No Sponsor
Pit Lane open on LAP 154 – Dan Weldon has trouble in the pits and gets bumped to the back of the field. Tomas Scheckter climbs out of his car … his race is over due to a broken half-shaft .
GREEN flag on LAP 159 – Vitor Miera Panther Racing Delphi/National Guard takes the lead.
LAP 166 sees Vitor Miera leading, Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi, Helio Castroneves Team Penske, Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing, and Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman Racing in the top five.
YELLOW Flag, Eighth caution of the race. LAP 167 has Milka Duno spinning through the short chute and into the grass out of turn 4.
Final pitstops has contact between Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick knocking out both cars. Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing slides into Danica as he comes out of the pits.
LAP 174 has Scott Dixon takes the Checkered Flag and the traffic into turn 1 is like driving in downtown Boston at rush hour except that instead an inch a minute drag race in your rental car against a taxi cab, these guys are running at INDY speed. On the backstretch Dan Weldon gets into the grass on a little off-roading excursion and solders on at speed.
LAP 181 – Everyone is good on fuel … this is a sprint to the finish.
Scott Dixon looks to be in charge with Vitor Miera, Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti, and Ed Carpenter in tow. The top five positions are within about one second of each other.
Ten laps to go and Marco Andretti is on the march and moves to third place. Marco has the fastest car in on the track with eight laps to go.
Marco can see the race leader and he is “flat-footing” it all the way. With five laps to go Marco is only two car lengths away … Vitor begins to pull away from Marco and is close enough to get a tow from Dixon.
Three laps to go and Dixon begins to pull away and begins to encounter traffic … and clears.
Two turns to go and there is nothing but track – Dixon brings it home to win the 92nd INDY 500 and the 2.5 Million Dollar purse. The 19th driver to win from the pole position.
Congratulations to Vitor Miera and Marco Andretti for their podium finishes.
Final Finishing Positions for the T-Team Fine Nine After 200 Laps
POS./Car# Driver (Speed), Team, Sponsor
11/ 5 Oriol Servia, KV Racing Technology, Visit Mexico City/Plantronics 13/ 8 Will Power, KV Racing Technology, Aussie Vineyards 15/36 Enrique Bernoldi, Conquest Racing, No Sponsor 18/19 Mario Moraes, Dale Coyne Racing, Sonny’s BBQ 20/18 Bruno Junqueira, Dale Coyne Racing, Z-Line 26/33 EJ Viso, HVM Racing, PDVSA 27/02 Justin Wilson, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, Mc Donald’s 31/34 Jaime Camara, Conquest Racing, No Sponsor 33/06 Graham Rahal, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, No Sponsor
A one-time race for the ages, a first for unification in the modern era after only 29 years.
The Indianapolis 500 Victory earned Kiwi Scott Dixon a record $2,988,065 from a record purse of $14,406,580. This result should give a new meaning to the phrase – “The Thunder From Down Under!”
Dixon became the first native of New Zealand to win theIndianapolis 500. After starting from the pole position, he led seven times for a race-high 115 laps and beat Panther Racing's Vitor Meira to the finish line by 1.7498 seconds. The race featured 18 lead changes among nine drivers.
The previous record winner's purse was $1,761,740 awarded to Buddy Rice in 2004, while the 2007 Indianapolis 500 field was awarded the previous record race purse, $10,668,815. The event purse is comprised of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League awards, including the new IndyCar TEAM (Team Enhancement and Allocation Matrix) program, sponsor awards and other designated awards.
Meira's efforts in the No. 4 Delphi National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone earned $1,273,215, the first time anyone other than the Indianapolis winner has won more than $1 million, far exceeding the previous second-place record payout of $739,665 for Helio Castroneves in 2003.
RIR Logo on trackside wall. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
Bruno Junqueira in an unhappy moment befor qualifications. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
Tony and Marco discuss events of the day at Richmond. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
Tony Kanaan on the button at Richmond International Raceway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
Peak Pole award winner Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green 7-11 Team. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
Oriol Servia of KV Racing Technology and Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing confer with IRL official before qualifications begin. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)
