Power grabs sixth pole of the season at Edmonton
EDMONTON, Alberta (Saturday, July 24, 2010) – Will Power earned his sixth PEAK Performance Pole Award of the season (the fifth on road/street courses), slipping past Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves by 0.0765 of a second in the Firestone Fast Six session on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport course, for the Honda Indy Edmonton.
Scott Dixon, the 2008 race winner, in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car had a best lap of 1:01.2395 in the Firestone Fast Six and will start next to teammate Dario Franchitti (1:01.2481) on Row 2. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe (1:01.3799) and E.J. Viso, making his first appearance in the Firestone Fast Six this season in the No. 8 PDVSA KV Racing Technology car (1:01.6122), will be on the third row.
Rookie Simona de Silvestro will start a season-high seventh in the No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing car, and Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay also will be on Row 4 in the No. 37 IZOD entry.
Also on July 24, James Hinchcliffe earned the pole for the Edmonton 100, edging championship points leader J.K. Vernay late in the qualifying session.
Hinchcliffe, the driver of the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 6.2159 seconds. It’s the fourth time this season that Hinchcliffe will start on the pole and fifth time on the front row.
Martin Plowman (1:06.2707) in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport will join teammate Charlie Kimball (1:06.3802), driving the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen entry, on Row 2.
Note: Official starting lineup for Honda Indy Edmonton is attached as EXCEL file and Adobe PDF file.
EDMONTON, Alberta – Qualifying Saturday for the Honda Indy Edmonton IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.973-mile(s) Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, time and speed in parentheses:
1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 1:00.7126 (116.991)
2. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 1:00.7891 (116.843)
3. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.2395 (115.984)
4. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.2481 (115.968)
5. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.3799 (115.719)
6. (8) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.6122 (115.282)
7. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5438 (115.410)
8. (37) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5596 (115.381)
9. (22) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5887 (115.326)
10. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.7015 (115.116)
11. (06) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1935 (114.205)
12. (24) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.8751 (112.967)
13. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.9181 (114.713)
14. (32) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1324 (114.317)
15. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.3264 (113.961)
16. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1465 (114.291)
17. (34) Mario Romancini, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.4191 (113.792)
18. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.2203 (114.156)
19. (77) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5240 (113.601)
20. (36) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5193 (113.610)
21. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5795 (113.500)
22. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.7397 (113.211)
23. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.7511 (113.190)
24. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, No Time (No Speed)
25. (18) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, No Time (No Speed)
DAY 2 NOTEBOOK:
The chief mechanics for Team Penske’s No. 3 and No. 6 cars are not in Edmonton this weekend due to injuries sustained away from the track.
Sean Hanrahan, chief mechanic for No. 3 Helio Castroneves is not at Edmonton after surgery for a hernia this week. Rick Rinaman, who served as chief mechanic on the car prior to this season, is filling in as chief mechanic and as outside front tire changer on the car. Hanrahan is expected to return to chief mechanic duties at Mid Ohio.
Matt Jonsson, chief mechanic for No. 6 Ryan Briscoe, remains out of action with a broken right ankle. Jonsson, who served as chief mechanic at Toronto, is not in Edmonton. John Stanchina, who was the outside front tire changer on the car last week in Toronto, will return as chief mechanic and outside front tire changer on the car Jonsson is expected to return to chief mechanic duties at Mid Ohio.
***
Firestone Indy Lights driver James Hinchcliffe is doing double duty this weekend. The Canadian is serving as a driver analyst for the Honda Indy Edmonton public address system during IZOD IndyCar Series practice and qualifying.
“I’ve done some television and radio work in the past and was the color analyst at the Indianapolis 500 this year for the IMS Radio Network,” he said. “I’m happy to lend my expertise to the event when I can. Obviously, driving the TMR car takes priority.
***
IZOD IndyCar Series entrant FAZZT Race Team and Canadian driver Alex Tagliani are lending their support to Montreal-based non-governmental organization ONE DROP. The ONE DROP logo has been on display on the No.77 FAZZT Bowers & Wilkins Hot Wheels at the Honda Indy Toronto (July 17-19) and Honda Indy Edmonton (July 23-25)
Established in October of 2007, ONE DROP—an initiative of Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil®—fights poverty through its projects aimed at supporting access to water in developing countries and raising each and every one’s awareness of water-related issues worldwide.
ANDRÉ AZZI (FAZZT Race Team owner): “As CEO of Fazzt Race Team, I am so proud to be associated with ONE DROP. It’s sad to know that in 2010, people around the world still lack access to safe water. Our hope is to help raise awareness and get race fans in both Canada and the United States, as well as our international followers, to support water for all.”
ALEX TAGLIANI (driver, FAZZT Race Team): “Our goal is to use our team, the sport we love and our visibility amongst IndyCar fans to help bring attention to this vital issue and make the world just a little bit better for everyone. We’re blessed to be able to go racing or enjoy it as a fan, but it’s also nice to have the opportunity to do something important for others as well. We hope to an impact even just by educating people and letting them know about what ONE DROP is all about.”
LILI-ANNA PEREŠA, executive director, ONE DROP): “We very much appreciate the support of the FAZZT Race Team in spreading our message and supporting safe water for all. Water and poverty are closely linked. When populations have easy access to water, they have more time to devote to activities that enable them to improve their living conditions. Health, equality between men and women, a decent income and food security all depend on having access to water.”
***
John Cummiskey, team manager of de Ferran Dragon Racing, is wearing the CF-18 Hornet patch presented to him by Capt. Brian Bews during last year’s Edmonton race weekend.
Capt. Bews ejected from his CF-18 Hornet as the plane plunged toward the ground during a practice session July 23 for the Alberta International Air Show in Lethbridge. Capt. Bews remained in a Saskatchewan hospital July 24, listed in stable condition. The Defense Department is investigating the crash.
Capt. Bews was among the guests of de Ferran Dragon Racing at the City Centre Airport in 2009.
PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING NOTES:
· Will Power won the pole for the Honda Indy Edmonton, his sixth pole of the season. He also won the pole at Edmonton in 2009.
· This is Power’s fourth consecutive front row start.
· Helio Castroneves will start second. Castroneves has started no worse than third in three starts at Edmonton.
· Scott Dixon will start third, his 43rd consecutive top-10 start, further extending the series record.
· Dario Franchitti will start fourth, his seventh consecutive top-five start of the season.
· Ryan Briscoe will start fifth, his sixth top-five start of the season.
· E.J. Viso will start sixth, his best start of the season. His previous best start in 2010 was ninth at St. Petersburg. This is the first time that Viso has qualified for the Firestone Fast Six in 2010.
· Simona De Silvestro will start seventh, her best start of the season. De Silvestro missed the Firestone Fast Six by .146 of a second. Her previous best start was 11th at Sao Paulo.
· Raphael Matos will start 8th, his best starting position of the season. His previous best was 11th at both Watkins Glen and Toronto.
· Tomas Scheckter will start 12th, his best qualifying effort of the 2012 season.
PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske): “It’s awesome to get the Verizon car on the pole again. All the points count and I know here it’s important to be at the front because it is tough to pass. If all the strategy goes well, like it did last year, it makes it easier to win. It’s a long day tomorrow. We have a good starting spot and we have to keep going to win this championship.” (What makes you so good at this track?): “We’ve all work really hard. Obviously, last year the cats were really good. But this year, I had trouble trying to beat my teammate. It’s good to see two Team Penske cars on the front row.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske): “We had a very good lap out there and I just made a little mistake and this place is about not making mistakes. Will is making us better – me, Ryan and the team. He’s pushing hard and I’m pushing hard, too. It’s a shame we couldn’t make it, but we’re getting closer. We can win the race from (second).”
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing): “We just missed it a little bit. Ultimately, it wasn’t a bad (Firestone) Fast Six for us.”
E.J. VISO (No. 8 PDVSA-Jet Aviation-KV Racing Technology): “It was a good run today and a good qualifying effort against very tough guys. We put in so much effort to go up against the Penske and Ganassi drivers that we didn’t have a set of stickers that we could use in the last run. We needed another two or three tenths from a set of stickers and we could have qualified in P4. We’re happy. It’s a tough race and a long race and we have the resources to finish up with those guys.”
TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 Lotus – KV Racing Technology): “The first group was the toughest group today. I didn’t get a good feeling during the first run with the primary tires. However, when we went to the alternate tire, the car was getting better and it looked like it was all coming together. Unfortunately the times were so close that we missed the top-12 by just a tenth. I tried everything we had but we just couldn’t find the grip so I’m very disappointed we didn’t make it through to Q2 today.”
MARIO MORAES (No. 32 KV Racing Technology): “Unfortunately, my KV Racing car had some understeer in qualifying. We couldn’t put a lap together to reach the Top 12. We just missed at the end of session. Overall, our balance in the car is pretty good for the race. I hope to get a good start and move up in the race.”
PAUL TRACY (No. 15 Make-A-Wish KV Racing Technology): “We were put in the hardest group possible today. There were three Penskes, a Ganassi car, Wilson and others. That group was just stacked with a lot of fast guys. It’s a shame because we just didn’t have enough to transfer to the second round. We missed by a little today. It’s tough to start 15th on Sunday. I really wanted to start further up in the grid for the Make A Wish, Honda Canada and Motegi Wheels people. We had been a top-seven car all weekend leading into qualifying. I’m disappointed for everyone. We’ll have to drive through the field again in the race.”
DAN WHELDON (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing): “A lot of the things we’ve learned from the Soldiers in the National Guard are really helpful on a day like today – it’s their ‘never give up’ and ‘never say die’ attitude that gets them through tough situations and that’s what everybody on the National Guard Panther Racing team is going to strive for as we look forward to tomorrow’s race. We’ve learned some key things in the last two days here in Edmonton and myself and everybody on this team are going to work hard tonight and tomorrow in the warm-up to improve the No. 4 car so that we’re a factor in the race. We’ve overcome some challenges in each of the past two IZOD IndyCar Series races and the fans that will be here tomorrow and the ones watching on TV are going to see the same effort during the race tomorrow.”
MARIO ROMANCINI (No. 34 Conquest Racing): “After the morning practice, we got a pretty good balance and I was happy with the car. But in qualifying when we tried the red tires, the balance changed a lot, and the car was very lose and we missed quite a lot of time because of that. It wasn’t so bad for us as P17 is the best position start so far in the season, so we can’t complain a lot, but based on what happened this morning, we were expecting to be a bit better, but the race is going to be long tomorrow, and I think we will have a solid race car.”
BERTRAND BAGUETTE (No. 36 Conquest Racing/RACB): “The qualification session was a little bit better for us. On the first set of tires it wasn’t so good, but then we did some few good modifications for the second set. Unfortunately, I hit the wall on my second lap and I damaged the left corner of my car; and after that it was harder for sure. I still did my best driving the car, but without that damage it would be a lot quicker. We are P20, the race is long and quite physical so everything is possible”.
HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 06 Formula Dream/Panasonic): “We improved a lot overnight; it was a significant improvement. Then we had a good practice session and ended fourth fastest and I was quite happy, balance-wise so we kept the same balance in qualifying but the temperature went a lot warmer and the balance changed. We tried many things during the qualifying session to try to find a better balance but we just didn’t find it in the limited time. It was good to get back in Round 2 after not making it the past two events. It was good news for me and I was trying to get into the next round for the top-six but it was difficult because the balance changed a lot. In Toronto we found a good race setup and although it’s not the same layout here at all but I think we can apply it here. It’s going to be a tough race. My arms are already banged up a little.”
DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy.com): “Coming off of a strong weekend in Toronto, we were hoping to keep the momentum going into Edmonton for the GoDaddy.com car. I was in a really tough qualifying group, and I didn’t have the speed to make it into the top six today. The first couple laps of tomorrow’s race will be very important, and hopefully we’ll come out with some clean laps.”
TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven): “It was a tough day for Team 7-Eleven and for the whole team. Sometimes when you’re struggling as a team, you try to do too much when you get in the car, and that’s what happened. I’m driving the car, so I’m the only one to blame. You try to set the world on fire because you trust in yourself and have a lot of confidence that you can make a difference. Sometimes you go over the limit.”
RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 37 Team IZOD): “We definitely recovered a little bit since yesterday, but we’re still struggling with something. We’re not satisfied with our qualifying effort overall as a team. But, I know the IZOD guys will give me a great race car. I always know when I wake up in the morning on race day that I’ve got a shot to put that thing in the top five. We’ll do our best at getting a good race car under us tomorrow, but eighth today was like a home run.”
RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 HP de Ferran Dragon Racing): It was a good qualifying session today. It was great to advance to the second round. We made some improvements to the car between the first and second rounds. We’re missing a little bit, but we are close on the set-up and we keep getting closer. This is a physically demanding track and that will make for a long race, but I have been training really hard and I feel really fit. So I’m hoping that will help me in the race tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): “We really needed to take advantage of the Firestone reds today and unfortunately we just weren’t able to find the grip we needed. Track position is crucial at a place like this so it’s frustrating for the Venom car to start where we are. We’ll do what we can to make the best out of the race tomorrow.”
ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins/Hot Wheels): “It wasn’t so much that the group one draw was so competitive it’s that we just weren’t competitive like we should be. It’s no secret that we’ve been struggling to find a set up all weekend. We’re a bit lost at the moment with a car that has a lot of understeer, is very nervous with some push. I just feels really unstable and just doesn’t have any bit even with the Firestone red tires on. The way the car feels on the track, I would have been very surprised if we had made it out of our group to battle for the Firestone Fast 6. We’re not going to give up. The Fazzt guys will keep working to find something to make the no.77 Bower & Wilkins Hot Wheels car better and we’ll also try to be creative with our strategy for the race. Until that checkered flag drops we’re going to fight.”
JUSTIN WILSON (No. 22 Team Z-Line Designs/DRR): “The Z-Line Designs car was quick and I would have thought I was running P2 if the crew hadn’t told me my lap times and position. I lost a bit of rear grip on my final two laps and unfortunately we missed the Firestone Fast Six by a couple of tenths. I think we have a good race car and will go over the data tonight and work out a game plan for the race. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully we can pick up positions throughout the race.”
TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 24 MonaVie/DRR): “Today was a lot better. Considering the fact that I have only been on road courses for only about four or five days this year, we definitely are getting better and developing the car and getting the time that we need. We didn’t want to do any more so after we made the top-12 we saved two sets of the Firestone Firehawk Alternate (red sidewall) tires. I’m really pleased with the MonaVie car and it really seems to suit the Firestone Firehawk “red” tires, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske): “It’s really exciting as usual. This track, it’s exciting. It’s really fast and bumpy, but you can really attack the bumps and push the car hard. It’s a lot of fun out there. My car wasn’t really to my liking. We made probably too many changes going into qualifying just trying to find an extra couple of 10ths and sort of went backwards a bit. It was a little disappointing for me. I thought we would have a shot at pole today, but we didn’t have the speed. It was good to get in the Fast Six. It was tough to get through Q1. It was just really good. I mean, no yellow flags at all, so the whole field was very consistent on such a challenging track. But fifth is good. I started on the front row the last two years and it didn’t work out for me, so maybe starting fifth will help.”
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM): “Starting seventh with some of the big guys in front of us is something pretty special. We put two sets of reds (Firestone alternate tires) on in the first session. I think if we would have had a fresh set of reds in the second session we would have been a bit quicker. But the whole team at HVM can be really happy. They’ve worked really hard all weekend, and now we just have to try to move forward and I think it could be a good race for us. If we can duplicate what we did in Toronto — moving forward in the race — I think with this starting position it’s going to be good.”
VITOR MEIRA (No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing): “It’s not a weekend we were expecting to be honest. We came out of Toronto with a decent result, it wasn’t an optimum weekend there, but we learned a bunch of things. We unloaded here and it wasn’t good, we have been chasing a moving target here. We don’t know where to pinpoint where the problem is. We’re trying things, very aggressive things. We’re going through every piece of information, but so far, we have not figured out what we can improve. We’re talking about a second here, so it’s not a small detail. Maybe it’s a lot of small things or one big thing but we’ll keep our heads down and keep working. We have one practice left to get it right.”
SUNOCO POLE QUALIFYING NOTES
· This is James Hinchcliffe’s fourth pole of 2010. He was previously on pole at St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Watkins Glen.
· J.K. Vernay will start on the front row for the fifth time in eight races
SUNOCO POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 2 Xtreme Coil Drilling- TMR, SUNOCO Pole Award winner): “It never hurts to start up front, but it was a little bit too close there. As I said to my engineer Lee Dykstra, it’s a little bit of payback for Toronto, where we sort of sat up at the top and then J.K. (Vernay) pulled it out on us at the end. But credit to him, he’s been super quick all weekend. He’s such a tough competitor. A huge thanks to Team Moore. This is sort of (team co-owner) Tom Wood’s hometown here so to get a pole at the home race is great.”
MARTIN PLOWMAN, (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing, qualified third): “That was a really tough qualifying session. The times were extremely close. At one point, I was two-thousandths from pole. I put in another quick lap, but we ran out of time. The top three were separated by less than half a tenth. When it’s that close, it’s just about who gets it that day. I think I got the best out of the car today. I know we have a really strong race car, so it’s going to be a great race tomorrow.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 26 Levemir FlexPen, qualified fourth): “That was a great effort by everyone. Qualifying is really close. We didn’t quite have that last couple of tenths to put it on pole. I know the #26 Levemir® car will be quick on lap 50 tomorrow, when it really matters. I think we should be ready to go have a good race tomorrow.”
SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE (All time local):
9:20 – 9:40 a.m.
Firestone Indy Lights warmup
10- 10:30 a.m.
IZOD IndyCar Series warmup
12:30 p.m.
Firestone Indy Lights Edmonton 100 pre-race
1 p.m.
Firestone Indy Lights Edmonton 100 (50 laps
3 p.m.
IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Indy Edmonton pre-race
4 p.m.
Honda Indy Edmonton (95 laps), VERSUS (Live)
IRL places Duno on probation for not meeting minimal performance standards
EDMONTON, Alberta (July 24, 2010) – The Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the IZOD IndyCar Series, has placed driver Milka Duno on probation through Dec. 31, 2010 for not consistently meeting minimal performance standards.
Duno’s probation requires immediate and substantial improvement to her driving during the remaining events on the 2010 schedule.
Substantial improvement is defined as consistently meeting the performance standards set by the league on a particular circuit. On road and street courses this is measured in terms of time (107 percent of lead car), and on ovals it is measured in terms of speed (10 mph of the lead car). In addition to time and speed, other requirements include car control/placement and interaction with other cars on track.
If the improvements are not met, the league may impose other penalties at its discretion.
Pursuant to Rule 9.3 (C): The Senior Official may place a member on probation. Probation is a state of limitation upon a Member’s privileges usually following an act or omission occurring before or during membership with which calls into question the Member’s willingness or ability to abide by standards required for membership. The purpose of probation is to establish a process to allow a Member to prove, by the Member’s conduct, that the standards of membership are understood and will be honored at all times. During probation, a member is under heightened scrutiny and a Member can be required to abide by specific standards of conduct which are more stringent than those which are otherwise applicable. If a Member violates probation, the Member is subject to a more severe penalty. The duration and condition of the probation are within the discretion of the Officials.
Duno will have the opportunity to contest the penalty, pursuant to the IZOD IndyCar Series rule book.
Notebook: Kahne staying out of 2011 discussions
INDIANAPOLIS—Kasey Kahne wants no part of discussions about his future.
Kahne’s former team owner, Ray Evernham, stirred the pot Friday by suggesting that Mark Martin will step aside at Hendrick Motorsports to make room for Kahne, who is the heir apparent to the No. 5 Chevrolet that Martin currently drives.
“In my opinion, listening to everything that’s going on, I think you’ll see Mark at some point realize that Rick Hendrick’s been very good to him, and they’ve had good success together, and probably the best thing for Hendrick Motorsports is for Mark to make room for Kasey Kahne to come over there,” Evernham, an ESPN analyst, said Friday during a press conference promoting ESPN’s coverage of the final 17 Sprint Cup races.
Martin reacted angrily when reporters questioned him Friday about the substance of Evernham’s remarks. Martin said he felt disrespected and insisted he will drive the No. 5 in 2011.
Kahne said Saturday he had no knowledge of the origin of his former boss’ opinion—and didn’t want to.
“I don’t really care what Ray says,” Kahne said. “I don’t really care what anybody says. (Owner) Rick (Hendrick) told me to stay out of it, and he’ll take care of it, and that’s what I’m doing. Still doing the same thing I was prior to the off week.
“He (Evernham) may know what he’s talking about. He may not. I haven’t talked to Ray. I haven’t talked to Ray in a while. So I don’t know. I just kind of do my thing, and then he does his.”
GORDON HAS SUBS LINED UP
Jimmie Johnson made it through his recent baby watch without having to use standby driver Aric Almirola. But Almirola is back in the mix as a possible replacement for Jeff Gordon, whose wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, is expecting in early August.
Almirola will be ready at Pocono next weekend, should Gordon get the call. And road-course ace Scott Pruett will standing by at Watkins Glen in two weeks if the baby hasn’t arrived by then.
VILLENEUVE MAKES THE SHOW
Jacques Villeneuve hasn’t competed in a Cup race since 2007, but the former Indianapolis 500 winner and Formula One champion found enough speed—barely—to qualify for Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
“We found the missing speed,” said Villeneuve, who is driving Braun Racing’s No. 32 Toyota. “The car was a little nervous, but it was quick enough to get in the show.”
Villeneuve will start 43rd, the final spot. In contrast, one of the other two drivers with a chance to add a Brickyard trophy to an Indy 500 win—Juan Pablo Montoya—starts from the pole. Sam Hornish Jr., who won the 2006 Indianapolis 500, qualified 25th.
Montoya wins pole, Chevys dominate qualifying
View the Brickyard 400 Starting Lineup
After leading both Sprint Cup Series practice sessions Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Juan Pablo Montoya was again the fastest, this time capturing the pole for Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
Montoya edged second place qualifier Jimmie Johnson by 0.037-seconds to grab his 4th career pole, and first pole at Indy.
“It was a good lap,” Montoya said. “I think in (Turn) 2, I got a little bit tight and I had to brake a little bit coming off, but I don’t think it was a major deal. I don’t think I made up any time, but I don’t think I really lost much of a lap time there. Everywhere else was pretty good. I thought it was a good lap. The car has been pretty good. You know, we came here and tested and when we got off the truck, it was good; put it in the truck, it was good; brought it here, was good. So just got to make sure, you know, like Chip says, do everything right tomorrow and see what happens.”
Chevrolets claimed nine of the top-ten positions in the qualifying session. The Ford of Greg Biffle broke Chevy’s hold on the top-nine positions late in the session by qualifying seventh.
Johnson, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman joined Polesitter Montoya as the top-five qualifiers in Saturday’s Brickyard 400 qualifying.
Clint Bowyer, Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-ten fastest drivers in qualifying.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 17th after his other three teammates at Hendrick Motorsports qualified in the top-eight Saturday.
Joey Logano qualified 34th, but had to start at the rear of the field anyway after he blew an engine in Friday’s second Cup Series practice session.
Four drivers failed to qualify for the race on Saturday, those drivers being David Gilliland, Casey Mears, David Stremme and J.J. Yeley.
With questions of future, Martin feels “disrespected” by media
For the umpteenth time, Mark Martin fielded questions from the media about his plans of the future. And for the umpteenth time, he gave the same answer.
It all started with Ray Evernham, who during an ESPN media conference Friday morning at Indianapolis said he thought that Martin would eventually step out of the No. 5 Chevrolet to make room for Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports.
“At some point Mark will realize Rick Hendrick has been very good to him, and … the best thing for Hendrick Motorsports is for Mark to make room for Kasey to come over there,” Evernham said. “I think Mark eventually will do that. There’s lots of balls in the air. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next three to four weeks that Mark Martin says, ‘Rick Hendrick has been good to me, but the best thing I can do for him is to make room for Kasey Kahne.’”
Martin says again, however, that he will be driving in the No. 5 next year.
“I made myself perfectly clear last weekend, or over the last several weeks,” Martin said. “There is no inclination of any change. But I will tell you this — there is no road map for me and my future. So don’t even start to think about criticizing what I do in 2012 or beyond, because I don’t know.”
Frustrated by the media’s constant hounding of the same question week after week, Martin said he feels disrespected by the media.
“That’s what I’ve said all along and I felt very disrespected when the media doesn’t accept that,” Martin said. “What that means is that you made me look like I am about to get fired. That’s very disrespectful, guys. That’s what you all are doing.
“It’s very disrespectful and I deserve better than that from you guys. I’ve always been as straight as I can be and any little bit of waffling that I have done in my whole career was based on being asked questions before I was ready to answer them. I should be able to do the things that I want to do. I went to a limited schedule because I wanted to. I came back full time because I wanted to drive the 5 car. I never said I was going to retire. I said I wasn’t going to run full schedule anymore and I changed my mind. I’m going to have a hard time telling you guys what I’m going to do in 2012 and beyond because you pick at that like I’m indecisive.
“I’m at the point in my career where I get to do whatever in the heck I want to do. Rick Hendrick and Alan Gustafson (crew chief) indicated to me that they wanted me to drive their car as long as I would drive it. After thinking about it, I told them I would drive it through 2011 and that would be long enough commitment for me and then I would do something else. They wanted me to go further than that and I wouldn’t do it because it’s too far out. I don’t have a road map and I don’t want to change my mind. I just want to do what I said I was going to do.
“That’s what we’re going to do, that’s what they want, that’s what I want and I don’t know why everybody makes such a big deal out of all this. Understand that it will all be put to rest whenever they announce what Kasey (Kahne) is going to do and I understand that, but you should be focusing on that. What is Kasey going to do? Because I have told you what I’m going to do.”
Martin’s No. 5 team has struggled this year, compared to last year when they were fighting for a championship until the last race of the season. Now, however, Martin sits outside of the chase and is winless thus far in 2010.
Hornaday Jr. ends 22-race winless streak
CLERMONT, Ind.—The back-to-basics approach seems to work for Ron Hornaday Jr. and the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team.
Hornaday Jr. snapped a 22-race winless streak in the truck series Friday night, winning the AAA Insurance 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
Watched by team owner Kevin Harvick, Hornaday led 129 laps and beat runner-up Kyle Busch by 2.095 seconds for his first victory since Aug. 1 of last year at Nashville Superspeedway.
Hornaday credited crew chief Ernie Cope—who rejoined the truck team while maintaining his crew chief job with the KHI Nationwide Series group—with helping turn things around.
“We couldn’t do it without Ernie Cope and all these guys on this Chevrolet,” Hornaday said. “They worked their guts out, changing the truck after last weekend. It’s just a great day. Hopefully it keeps a little bit quiet. It took Ernie to come over here and settle everybody down. The guys were getting a little anxious. We know we’ve got a winning team. We just had to prove it to them.”
What did Cope do for Hornaday?
“We just kind of went back to what we call our basic package,” Cope said. “We’ve had people come in and try to do their own thing. I know everyone wants to make an identity for themselves, but it wasn’t working. We had to make changes. We just went back to basics here with Ron and let him drive the truck, don’t try to do nothing trick. We just went to basics and let him do his job. You’re going to win a lot of races when you do that with Ron Hornaday.”
Hornaday chipped in, too, trying to change his luck to get back to the winner’s circle.
“I changed my tennis shoes, changed all my luck stuff,” Hornaday said. “I just (went) back to my basic (of) come to the racetrack and try to kick butt, and it seems to be working.”
The victory was Hornaday’s fourth at ORP in 11 starts at the 0.686-mile short track. He led 67 laps in winning the race here in 2009 and has won three of the last four at the facility.
The key moment of the race came on Lap 153, when Hornaday squirted past Busch and polesitter Timothy Peters for the lead in Turns 3 and 4. Busch was trying to pass Peters on the high side but was blocked by Peters, opening the door for Hornaday.
“That’s one the things you’ve got to remember about this place,” Busch said. “You can dive-bomb the bottom really fast and pull a slide job on somebody, and he did it so well that I was still stuck behind the 17, so I couldn’t even turn back underneath him and do it back to (Hornaday) in the next corner.”
Said Hornaday, “Timothy was kind of backing up the corners, so once I got under Kyle, I kind of pinned him back there. We never touched or anything, but that’s what you’ve got to do here at ORP.”
Busch finished second after practicing his Sprint Cup car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Matt Crafton was third, with Johnny Sauter fourth and James Buescher fifth.
Austin Dillon was sixth, with Todd Bodine seventh, Brad Sweet eighth, David Starr ninth and Peters 10th.
Bodine’s series points lead grew to 177 over Aric Almirola, who finished 31st after being involved in a Lap 96 accident with Narain Karthikeyan and Mario Gosselin.
Ganassi looking for third prestigious trophy
INDIANAPOLIS—Back in May, team owner Chip Ganassi had two of racing’s most prestigious trophies side by side—the Harley J. Earl Trophy for Jamie McMurray’s Daytona 500 win in February and the Borg-Warner Trophy for Dario Franchitti’s victory in the Indianapolis 500.
Ganassi would like to add a third piece of hardware to the collection. Though the trophy that goes to Sunday’s Brickyard 400 winner doesn’t have the history—or even a specific name—of the other two, the Brickyard 400 is arguably NASCAR’s second most prestigious race behind only Daytona.
The chances of Ganassi completing the unprecedented triple aren’t that remote. McMurray and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya both have the speed to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as they showed Friday by topping the speed charts in the second practice session for Sunday’s race.
Chip Ganassi would love to add a Brickyard 400 trophy to the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 trophies his drivers won earlier this year. (Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Montoya ran 179.756 mph in qualifying trim. McMurray was a fraction behind at 179.526 mph.
“I’m blessed that I’ve got people that like some of these tracks, I can tell you,” Ganassi said. “All these drivers like particular kinds of tracks—there are so few that are good at all of them—and fortunately, at these ones that have the big races, our drivers seem to step up to the plate, and they seem to like those places.”
No driver has ever won both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. Montoya, who triumphed in the 2000 Indy 500, came close last year when he ran away from the rest of the field in the NASCAR race. A pit-road speeding penalty, however, quashed an exceptional run.
“With last year’s performance that Juan had—and Jamie likes the place—we’re looking forward to it this weekend,” Ganassi said.
Not that Ganassi feels the vaunted Brickyard owes him a win.
“I wouldn’t say it owes me one,” he said. “The minute you start thinking racing owes you something, I think you’re in trouble. But I think our cars are good there, and the drivers like the place, so we’re just going to go in and approach it like we do every other race. It’s still going to take however many pits stops and passing and qualifying and all the normal things you do at every race.
“I’m certainly not looking forward to it because I feel like it owes me something. I’m not looking at that at all. But the fact that Indianapolis is where it all started for racing and where it started for me, it would certainly be great to win and have a little extra satisfaction.”
Even without a victory Sunday, Ganassi can’t be dissatisfied with the season so far. One of the most special moments didn’t occur on the racetrack at all, but when McMurray flew surreptitiously to Indianapolis to celebrate the Indy 500 win with his owner the day after the race.
“That was the surprise of my season so far,” Ganassi said. “Winning the race at Indy and then blasting down to Charlotte to see him (McMurray) finish second (in the Coca-Cola 600), to witness that, and then we flew all night to get back to Indy for the pictures in the morning. So there I am at 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning, after being up till 2 or 3 or something the night before.
“To have him pop his head around the corner, I’ll tell you what, that was a pretty neat surprise that all these people had planned that I didn’t know anything about. It was pretty special to have those two trophies next to each other and the two guys there who earned those trophies next to each other.”
Ganassi, of course, hopes there’s another special moment in store on Sunday.
Edwards will not appeal penalty
Carl Edwards announced during his weekly driver media availability session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that neither he nor Roush Fenway Racing will appeal the penalties handed down by NASCAR this week in response to his on track retaliation against Brad Keselowsk from Gateway last weekend.
“I talked to Jack (Roush) and Geoff Smith and I don’t plan on appealing it,” Edwards said. “I think it’s fair in that respect. I sincerely apologize to those guys that were caught up in that wreck. I would rather finish second in a good race than have to win a race the way I won the race. Now, I’m not gonna finish second in a race the way that one was going, but I respect NASCAR’s decision.”
“I don’t think there’s one championship-level driver, one winning driver, that can go along in their career and let someone forcefully take wins away from them.”
— Carl Edwards
Team owner Jack Roush said in a statement released by the team Friday afternoon that he stands by his driver.
“We have been and remain supportive of Carl and his reaction to what happened between him and Brad on the final lap at Gateway,” Roush said. “Carl felt he did what was appropriate at the time, but upon reflection he understands why NASCAR felt they needed to step in and temper the situation with he and Brad.
“He accepts the penalty and has asked that we not take any action to appeal the sanctions. It is our hope that he and Brad will continue to battle each week – hopefully within the boundaries that NASCAR deems acceptable – just as they have for wins and the championship.”
Last weekend’s race at Gateway was the second time that Edwards has intentionally wrecked Keselowski on the race track.
At Gateway, Edwards wrecked Keselowski in response to contact between the two last weekend while they were racing for the win in turns 1 and 2 on the final lap. The contact from Keselowski was unintentional, according to the driver, but Edwards’s reaction was not. As the two headed toward the checkered flag, Edwards went to Keselowski’s outside, clipped the right rear corner of his bumper and turned him into the outside wall.
Keselowski would eventually be T-boned as he slid down to the inside wall of the frontstretch before his destroyed car spun across the start finish line. He was later checked and released from the infield care center.
For the incident, NASCAR issued a 60 driver point penalty against Edwards, which is the approximate amount of points Edwards gained from the crash. They also placed both Edwards and Keselowski on probation through the end of the year.
Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards leave the NASCAR hauler after discussing their Atlanta incident at Bristol in March. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)
The other accident happened in the Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta earlier this year, when Edwards wrecked Keselowski in the front-straightaway, sending Keselowski into the air. Edwards and Keselowski both drew only a three-race probation from NASCAR for this incident.
Edwards, however, said he would do the same thing if the two were in a similar situation this weekend and beyond.
“Both of us are on probation,” Edwards said. “Let me put it this way, I don’t think there’s one championship-level driver, one winning driver, that can go along in their career and let someone forcefully take wins away from them. I don’t think that’s built into any of us. We’ll see what the future holds. I’ll tell you, I race hard and I’m not gonna let somebody take advantage of me, that’s for sure. I’ve proven that, and I’ve been consistent about it, and I’ve been honest about it, too, which, I don’t think has helped me any, but I’ve been honest about it.”
Although, there isn’t anything personal between the two, at least from Edwards’ perspective.
“There’s nothing personal between Brad and I – from my side there’s not,” Edwards said. “I have a lot of respect for him and what he does on the race track, but the problem is that he can’t just run into me to get an advantage, especially for wins. That’s happened way too much between us. The part I’m real happy with on these penalties, I can accept my penalty, but I’m happy that NASCAR recognized that Brad needed to be penalized too – that my race car could have been the one turned around, run into by people behind me, all in pursuit of a win. I think it’s important that NASCAR recognized that.”
Keselowski happy with penalties
After being crashed by Carl Edwards, intentionally, for the second time last weekend at Gateway International Raceway in the Nationwide Series, Brad Keselowski said that he was happy with the penalties handed down by NASCAR, including his year-long probation.
“There is no fair penalty,” Keselowski said. “The only thing that makes things fair is to go back in time and reverse it. I’m happy that NASCAR reacted because I think it was crucial for the sport. Intentional wrecking is a big gap from ‘boys have at it.’ It means something different to everyone. When it was originally said in January, we were all wondering how far that went and everybody has a different interpretation to it.”
The Penske Racing driver said he is actually relieved that NASCAR placed him on probation, as he didn’t want to retaliate against Edwards anyway.
“To me, basically what that says is NASCAR doesn’t want me to go out there and intentionally retaliate against Carl, which is great,” Keselowski said. “I didn’t want to. I’m actually glad that they took that away. Now I don’t have to worry about that. … It’s almost a relief so I can kind of move on.
“It makes me ready to go out there and go racing and not have to worry about it.”
Several drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and even Denny Hamlin — who intentionally wrecked Keselowski at Homestead-Miami in the Nationwide Series last year — supported Keselowski and thought Edwards crossed a line.
“I’ve been surprised by a lot of people’s reactions, most of them to the positive side,” Keselowski said. “I thought it was pretty cool. It’s funny as a group, … we all have a way of rallying for what we all feel is best for the sport at key, pivotal times.
“Intentionally wrecking is not good for the sport, so it’s good to see that some people will step up for it whether there is any preconceived prejudice against those involved.”
Edwards wrecked Keselowski in response to contact between the two last weekend while they were racing for the win in turns 1 and 2 on the final lap. The contact from Keselowski was unintentional, according to the driver, but Edwards’s reaction was not. As the two headed toward the checkered flag, Edwards went to Keselowski’s outside, clipped the right rear corner of his bumper and turned him into the outside wall.
Keselowski would eventually be T-boned as he slid down to the inside wall of the frontstretch before his destroyed car spun across the start finish line. He was later checked and released from the infield care center.
The other accident happened in the Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta earlier this year, when Edwards wrecked Keselowski in the front-straightaway, sending Keselowski into the air.
The next race weekend at Bristol, NASCAR brought both drivers into the NASCAR hauler before the start of the Sprint Cup Series weekend at the short track to try and clear up the feud between the two.
Obviously, that didn’t work, says Keselowski who says he won’t be trying to talk to Edwards.
“Obviously, whatever talk we had at Bristol was not necessarily productive,” Keselowski said. “I don’t see why that would be any different. … I’d be naive to think that I understood everything or anything that he feels or thinks because I’m still trying to figure out how I feel or think about it.”
Reutimann announces new deal with MWR; Aaron’s to sponsor
David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip Racing announced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that the driver has re-signed with MWR and will continue racing the No. 00 Aaron’s Toyota again next year. The deal is a multi-year agreement.
Aaron’s has signed on to sponsor 30 races each season for the next two years and will also pick up the remaining six unsponsored races for Reutimann this season, bringing his car to a fully funded status.
“Increasing our involvement in the NACSAR Sprint Cup Series and extending our partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing and David Reutimann through 2012 is a testament to how successful this relationship has been for Aaron’s,” Ken Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Aaron’s, Inc., said. “Much of Aaron’s growth and success is a direct result of our partnership with MWR and we are thrilled to continue that for two more seasons. We have built a rich history with Michael Waltrip and this organization over the last 11 years and I could not imagine Aaron’s partnering with anyone else in this sport. We look forward to being a part of their continued success.”
The deal was done before Reutimann’s second career Sprint Cup Series victory at Chicagoland Speedway earlier this year.
“I’m glad both Michael Waltrip Racing and Aaron’s want to keep me around,” Reutimann said. “I’ve been asked about my contract for the last month and we’ve had a handshake agreement, but now it’s done and I’m glad I can finally talk about it. I’m thrilled. This is where I want to be – at Michael Waltrip Racing driving the No. 00 with Aaron’s on the hood. Aaron’s has been a great partner and I consider myself a lucky dog every time I get behind the wheel of the Aaron’s Dream Machine.
“Michael and Darrell Waltrip have given me just about every chance I have ever had in NASCAR since 2004 and I don’t want to go anywhere else. Good things are happening here and I plan to be a part of it.”
Team owner Michael Waltrip says there was no doubt that keeping Reutimann around was necessary for the organization.
“We never wavered on wanting to extend David and neither did Aaron’s,” Waltrip said. “David and Aaron’s are like family to me. They’ve both been a large part of Michael Waltrip Racing since the very beginning and have stuck with us through thick and thin. In the beginning we all took a chance on each other. You might say it was a high-risk, high reward proposition for everyone involved, but we all believed in each other and we are now starting to see those rewards a little more each day.”
MWR races two-full time cars, driven by Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr. The organization also has a partnership with JTG-Daugherty Racing, who fields the No. 47 Toyota driven by Marcos Ambrose.
Reutimann has two career victories — the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 in 2009 and the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicago this year — as well as nine top-five and 18 top-ten finishes.
Dale Sr.`s grandson putting the ‘earn’ in Earnhardt
Bobby Dale has a heart for racing.
He also has the genes for it. Bobby, who is 22 years old, lives in Rockingham, N.C., in the shadow of a speedway that once hosted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends, and where large crowds still show up for ARCA and street stock races and driving schools.
Like so many other aspiring race car drivers, he spends his days working at a “normal” job — he is a cook at the local KFC — and his weekends at the track.
The name at the top of his Facebook page simply says Bobby Dale, but there is more to this young man than initially meets the eye. Take one look at his photo and you’ll see it for yourself; the family resemblance is unmistakable. You realize that Bobby’s surname is missing from Facebook.
Bobby is an Earnhardt.
The oldest son of Kerry, and Dale Earnhardt’s first grandchild, Bobby Dale Earnhardt grew up between Mooresville and Kannapolis, N.C., deep in the heart of racing country.
From fifth through eighth grade he, along with his brother and step-sister, were home-schooled, and the family hit the road with dad while he competed in the NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series. Bobby raced go-karts for a while, and did pretty well, although he says he didn’t exactly burn up the track. All in all, it was a normal childhood, in racing family terms.
Bobby isn’t a guy who is prone to a lot of chitchat — a familiar Earnhardt trait — but equally typical of the family is that animated sparkle in his voice when the talk turns to racing.
He says racing has been on his mind all his life — how could it not be? — but his real involvement started when his younger brother Jeffrey began traveling up to Virginia to compete on the dirt tracks. Bobby was right there, behind the scenes and under the hood, helping with the car.
When Jeffrey — who has raced in the Nationwide Series and most recently finished 30th in the CampingWorld 200.com NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway on July 17 — moved up to the Late Model Series, big brother Bobby decided it was time to get behind the wheel.
He raced at the New River Valley Speedway (now Motor Mile Speedway) in Radford, Va., in the UCAR Series. UCAR is best known as a starting platform for drivers looking to jump from go-karts into full-sized cars, or for people who have never raced to get their start. Bobby describes it as “old school, run-what-you-brought” racing.
These days, he races the No. 3 lawn mower at the Ellerbe Lions Club track, one-tenth of a mile of banked dirt in Ellerbe, N.C.
Yes, you did read ‘lawn mower’ correctly, but set the notion of 15 or 20 John Deeres tooling around the yard aside; these mowers are souped up and ready to race. Bobby’s has been cut and lowered. His team — Forever 3 Racing, owned by Earl Chapel — built its own spindles and has basically created something he describes as similar to a go-kart inside a mower body. These lawn mower engines can run at speeds of about 80 mph.
Bobby’s description of lawn mower competition sounds eerily familiar to anyone who has ever talked with a race car driver. “You have to get the feel of the track. You have to judge how deep you drive into the corners, know when to get in and when not to,” he says. “A lot of times, you have to know how to drive by the seat of your pants.”
Bobby spent a number of years working for his uncle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., first on his farm and then in the shop, where he was a tire specialist, a mechanic and the catch can guy on the Hooters Pro Cup car Dale Jr. owned.
He doesn’t try to hide the fact that he is an Earnhardt; far from it. The name is his family legacy, and he is proud of it. So the obvious question must be asked: Why wouldn’t you just go and ask your uncle, who owns teams on several levels of racing and is the most popular driver in NASCAR, to help you out?
For starters, he feels it isn’t fair play. “Say I walk into a shop with another guy, who has a different last name. Most people are going to talk to me first. I hate to say it, but it does give me some opportunities,” he says. “I want to work my way up, just like everybody else. I want to prove you can do it without having people hand everything to you, by actually working for it.”
Bobby says that’s the way his grandfather went about the business of racing in the early days of his career. “He worked his way up, from working on his dad’s car when he was a kid, to working on his own car when he raced on the dirt tracks. From what I’ve heard, he didn’t just come out of the gate being great, being the best. He had to work hard, and build that name up.”
A tinkerer by nature, Bobby is the guy friends and family members call when they’re having trouble with their computers, scanners and other electronic gadgetry. He likes working under the hood of a car and getting his hands dirty, helping to set up the car for competition. He wants the opportunity to do that on a car with his name on it. That is his goal.
“I’m trying to find the right people, the right team; I want to do it on my own talent,” he says. “I want people to come out and see me race and say, ‘He’s good; we want to talk to him.’
“I want to earn it.”
People do come out to watch him race. The lawn mower races, which will resume in August after the track is re-graded, draw big crowds, and fans often track Bobby down at KFC, asking for his autograph.
The desire is there, and the work ethic, and the lineage. But what about the talent? Does Bobby Dale Earnhardt have what it takes to be a successful race car driver?
“I honestly think if I had a chance to run, and got with the right team, I’d be good,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of people tell me I’ve got the talent. They’ve told me I have determination like my grandfather, that I drive like him.
“It makes me feel really good when people tell me that. It gives me the inspiration to keep going, and not give up. I intend to make him proud of me.”
Bayne might lack recognition but not drive
Lost in the final-lap dustup between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski in last week’s Nationwide Series race at Gateway was a career-best third-place finish by Trevor Bayne.
That finish, coupled with some recent good runs and a solid performance last year at O’Reilly Raceway Park, gives Bayne some momentum and confidence heading into Saturday’s Kroger 200 at the 0.686-mile short track in Indianapolis.
Being overshadowed by the Edwards-Keselowski battle was fine with Bayne—his focus is running up front rather than getting recognition.
“It doesn’t bother me at all, man,” said Bayne, 19. “The biggest thing is we’ve got momentum. Third-place finishes are great, but I’m looking forward to those wins that we’ve got coming ahead, hopefully. … The momentum that we build off of that is the most important thing—and just showing we can do it.”
Bayne, in his second season, has two top fives and four top 10s in 19 starts. He’s 11th in the standings. He had no top fives and two top 10s in 15 races last year.
“We’ve made progress all year long, and now we’ve got a top-five, a top-three, we’ve been fast every weekend, and now we’re learning how to put a whole race together.”
Bayne and his No. 99 team hope to do that at ORP, a track where he won the pole and finished seventh last year—in his seventh race in the series. And with that brings “real confidence,” he said, not the kind of brashness he had when he started in Nationwide.
The confidence he has is now based on the belief he knows a lot more about what he’s doing in races, he said.
“That has to do with the competition,” Bayne said. “When I was racing Camping World East and Hooters Pro Cup, if you had a fast car at the beginning of the race, you could leave it there and be the fastest at the end of the race as well. People didn’t make that huge step of progress like they do in the Nationwide Series throughout the race.
“These Cup guys, they don’t get complacent with how their car is. Brad Keselowski, I’m sure the whole time he was leading (at Gateway), he was probably complaining about something and getting it better.
“You know that these guys are going to get better, and that’s what I had to learn, is how to make these cars better by the end of the race. And I’m still learning that.”
Fast facts
What: Kroger 200
Where: O’Reilly Raceway Park; Indianapolis
When: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: .686-mile oval
Race distance: 200 laps/137.2 miles
Qualifying: Saturday, 5:10 p.m. ET
2009 winner: Carl Edwards
2009 polesitter: Trevor Bayne
Points leaders: 1. Brad Keselowski, 3,042; 2. Carl Edwards, 2,814; 3. Justin Allgaier, 2,545; 4. Kyle Busch, 2,486; 5. Kevin Harvick, 2,434; 6. Paul Menard, 2,367; 7. Steve Wallace, 2,204; 8. Brendan Gaughan, 2,127; 9. Joey Logano, 2,108; 10. Jason Leffler, 2,088.
Top 5 and 5 to watch: Indianapolis
Here’s a look at the top five drivers in the Sprint Cup Series standings and five drivers to watch in Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All statistical references are for Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis unless otherwise indicated. Driver rating is based on the past 5 races at the track.
1. Kevin Harvick, 91.9 driver rating. Harvick has a win and six top 10s in nine starts. There are seven races before the Chase field is set. To Harvick, that’s seven opportunities for victories. If he is in the hunt for a win, he’ll go for it. Otherwise, he’ll preserve his top spot as insurance, should qualifying be rained out before the Chase begins and the starting field—and pit stalls—be awarded on points.
2. Jeff Gordon, 96.2. Gordon is solidly in the Chase. Passing Harvick means little. But Gordon is winless, so it’s about wins. Like Harvick, he knows what to do when he doesn’t have the car for a win. In fact, Gordon has finished in the top five in each of the past five races. Gordon has the track record for wins (four), top fives (nine) and top 10s (13).
3. Jimmie Johnson, 104.9. Johnson’s three wins at the Brickyard have come in the past four years. By contrast, in Johnson’s past six starts, the three races he didn’t win, he didn’t finish. All because of crashes.
4. Denny Hamlin, 93.3. After winning back-to-back races at Pocono and Michigan, Hamlin cooled, finishing outside the top 10 three straight weeks until finishing eighth at Chicagoland. He finished 34th last year after finishing third in 2008. Gibbs cars haven’t been running well of late. It will be interesting to see how they do with two weeks of preparation.
5. Kurt Busch, 66.4. Busch’s three top 10s came when he was racing for Jack Roush, the last coming in 2004. He hasn’t distinguished himself at the Brickyard, leading three laps in nine starts. His average start is 20.7; his average finish 19.0.
5 to watch
10. Carl Edwards, 87.4. Where to begin with Edwards? He has been rebuked by NASCAR, and a number of high-profile current and former drivers have said he crossed the line in retaliating against Brad Keselowski. With but a 75-point lead over 13th place, Edwards has little room for error—which means one timely payback from Keselowski can knock Edwards out of the top 12. Oh … and Keselowski might feel he owes Edwards two shots (don’t forget Atlanta).
11. Greg Biffle, 90.7. Biffle is 21 points ahead of 13th place Dale Earnhardt Jr. In the last race, at Chicagoland two weeks ago, Biffle’s new Ford FR9 engine expired and he finished 35th. That is major cause for concern in the Roush camp. On the brighter side, two of Biffle’s three top 10s at Indy came in the past two years—fourth last year and eighth in 2008.
12. Clint Bowyer, 83.4. Bowyer is points racing, and he excels at getting solid finishes. He has finished in the top 15 in 79 of his 127 starts since the start of the 2007 season (60 top 10s). He is 15 points ahead of Earnhardt and simply needs to finish as far ahead of Earnhardt as possible. He is 37 ahead of Mark Martin and 96 up on 15th-place David Reutimann. Bowyer has a 13.5 average finish in four starts at Indy.
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 75.1. Earnhardt does not have a good record at the Brickyard: Two top 10s, three DNFs and a 21.7 average finish in 10 starts. Even more discouraging for Junior Nation is that the three DNFs have been in the past five years, including last year for engine failure. There is no margin for that kind of error on the 88 team.
14. Mark Martin, 104.8. Martin is struggling. He hasn’t had a top 10 since the Coca-Cola 600 in May, and that is his only top 10 in the past 10 races. A poor showing Sunday would be heartbreaking for the No. 5 team. Martin won the pole last year and finished second for his fourth top 10 in five races, and the non-top 10 was 11th in 2008.
Gordon looking to break winless streak at Indy
Former Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon is looking to finally break his winless streak, which has accumulated to 48 races as the series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The “speedway” is like a home away from home for Gordon, who is the only NASCAR driver to have claimed four wins at the historic 2.5-mile racetrack. The first of those four victories came in the inaugural Sprint Cup Series event at the track in 1994.
While Gordon’s hometown is Vallejo, Calif., he spent many years living and growing up in Indiana and says his win in the inaugural race is among his highest accomplishments.
“Living in Indiana, racing around Indiana, Indianapolis Raceway Park, the fairgrounds, Bloomington, all over the place, it was every short-track, open-wheel, (NASCAR) Sprint Cup driver’s dream to race at Indianapolis one day,” Gordon said. “To be able to do that in the very first ever NASCAR stock-car race there in 1994, win it, then go on to win it three more times is some-thing that I probably put up as the highest accomplishments of my career.”
- Jeff Gordon has four victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and if he kisses the bricks Sunday, it’ll be after his first victory in 2010. (Sherryl Creekmore/NASCAR)
Gordon currently sits second in points, trailing points leader Kevin Harvick by 103 points as the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the final race to qualify for the top-12 sits seven weeks away.
In 16 Sprint Cup Series starts at Indianapolis, Gordon has nine top-five and 13 top-ten finishes, holding an average finish of 8.6.
According to NASCAR’s loop data reports, Gordon is the best closer in the last five races at IMS, which means he has gained more positions in the last ten-percent of the race than drivers with more than five starts. Gordon is also fifth in the field in the driving rating category, with a 96.2 average rating over the last five races at the track.
Gordon is looking to keep his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson from capturing his third straight victory at IMS, and from earning his fourth career victory at the track, which would move the two into a tie for most Cup Series wins at Indy, with four each.
“Everybody goes all out for this event,” Gordon said. “I believe this DuPont team has a great package for this event. We’ve been working really, really hard on every aspect to find speed. “We’ve got some things up our sleeve for Indy.”
Despite going winless thus far in 2010, Gordon has scored more top-five finishes than any other driver, currently with ten. Gordon finished ninth in his event last year.
Notebook:
— Juan Pablo Montoya and wife Connie welcomed the birth of their third child this weekend. Their second girl, Manuela Montoya Freydell, was born on July 19 and joins their other two children, Sebastian, age five and sister Paulina, age three. Montoya’s spokesperson said mother and baby are doing well.
Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya shake hands prior to the Auto Club 500 earlier this year. If either of them win this weekend, their team owner Chip Gannasi will make another appearance in the record books. (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
— Chip Ganassi could become the first team owner to perform a triple crown by winning the Daytona 500, Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 all in the same year. Ganassi owns two cars entered in the field this weekend. The No. 1 car driven by Jamie McMurray (who won the Daytona 500) and the No. 42 car, driven by Juan Pablo Montoya.
— Jacques Villeneuve will attempt to qualify for the Brickyard 400 with Braun Racing’s No. 32 Toyota. Villeneuve is a winner of the 1995 Indianapolis 500 in the IndyCar Series.
— Bobby Labonte is making his 600th consecutive Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Indianapolis. Labonte also announced this week that he will be returning to TRG Motorsports for four Cup Series races — Pocono, Michigan, Atlanta and Texas. All four races will be sponsored by TaxSlayer.com. Labonte will drive the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet this weekend.
Quotes:
— Dale Earnhardt Jr: “When somebody asks me what it would feel like to win here, I think about the open-wheel history of this track, and I think about drivers like (Mario) Andretti and (A.J.) Foyt and the guys even before them. I think about the history of this track and how it’s survived the war and closed down and opened back up and everything that it’s been through. When they first brought stock cars here to practice, it was a realization for a lot of people, including myself, being an aspiring driver at the time, that I may have a chance one day to race at Indianapolis that I otherwise didn’t think that I would have unless I was to go in the open-wheel series.”
— Denny Hamlin: “There is so much history here and I think every driver wants to win here and be a part of that history. I had the chance to visit the museum here a few years ago and to see all of the race-winning cars and the people who made racing here what it is today was really cool. This track has seen it all. Indy is a lot like Daytona because winning means so much at those places that it almost lives outside of the schedule and points, and thinking about the Chase. I know I how I felt winning at Richmond, and I know from talking to Tony (Stewart) and Mike (Ford) what Indy means to them. This is definitely one I want to win for this team.”
— Joey Logano: “Indy is a tough place to pass, that I remember well. We started dead last in 2009 because we changed engines in The Home Depot Toyota and it was not easy to move through the field. I finished 12th, but did all my passing on the restarts and luckily had a good enough car to do that. I don’t know what the spoiler is going to do to the cars this year, but I am sure qualifying is going to be really important again. We need to get some momentum going, and I think we have some solid tracks for the team coming up starting with Indy. I know we finished 12th last year, but I felt like our car was better than that.”
The Race: Brickyard 400
The Place: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile rectangle)
The Date: Sunday, July 25
The Time: 1 p.m. (ET)
Race Distance: 160 laps/400 miles
TV: ESPN, Noon (ET)
Radio: IMS & Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.
2009 Polesitter: Mark Martin
2009 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Schedule Prior To Race Day: Friday—Practice, 2-3 p.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday — Qualifying, 10:10 a.m.; Practice, 2-3 p.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Carmichael showing sizable gains in 2nd year in trucks
Ricky Carmichael endured significant growing pains last season as a rookie in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Carmichael, a 15-time American Motorcyclist Association champion nicknamed GOAT or “Greatest Of All Time,” admittedly still doesn’t have this whole truckin’ thing completely figured out. Slowly but surely, however, his growing pains are being replaced by steady gains.
A look at Carmichael’s 2010 results vs. 2009 is enough proof he’s moving in the right direction. His season has included more top 10s (four) and top fives (one) in 11 races than he recorded in 18 starts last year.
Being in the seat full time for Turner Motorsports this season after a partial schedule with Kevin Harvick Inc. last year has been instrumental to Carmichael’s success.
“It’s been very crucial and very beneficial to be in the seat every single weekend,” said Carmichael, 30, who had two top 10s as a rookie. “For the guys who aren’t racing when the trucks aren’t racing, they’re not getting in extra seat time on me that I’m already lacking. So it definitely is a big help—there’s no doubt—and it just gets me more and more experience and gets me more and more comfortable.”
Despite competing for an organization in its first full season, Carmichael isn’t surprised by his 2010 results—which include a career-best fourth-place finish at Dover in May. Carmichael enters Friday’s AAA Insurance 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis 11th in the standings after a crash last weekend at Gateway ruined a promising run.
“I knew we were going to be pretty good just with my whole program, and I knew the team that we had, so I expected to do better just with the experience alone that I had, and I’m a little more familiar with it,” said Carmichael, who debuted with Turner last November at Phoenix. “And I knew that our equipment would be really good, so I expected to do what we’re doing. I expected to be in the top 10 and at the best, inside the top five, and we’re right there.
“I’m not surprised at all. I wanted to be where we’re at in this day in the game.”
With his illustrious motorcycling career that also included 150 AMA Pro Racing wins and a victory in the prestigious Motocross of Nations, Carmichael certainly isn’t used to struggling in racing.
Based on the first 11 races of 2010, it appears his biggest struggles may be behind him in the truck series.
“I’ll never be happy until I’m winning, but it definitely has, I think, validated in some people’s mind that I can do this and that we can make it happen,” Carmichael said. “I didn’t quit motocross just to drive NASCAR. All this came at a perfect time. I was at the end of my road in motocross and I was retiring (in 2007) and at the same time got a chance to try stock-car racing. So it’s all unfolded, and if I made it, I made it. If not, there was nothing gained, nothing lost. So for me this is all a plus.
“I think this year I’ve showed everybody that I can make this happen, and I think that I’ll get better and better with seat time. And that’s what the results are showing—that the more that I’m in the seat behind the wheel, the better my results get and the more comfortable I get.”
Fast facts
What: AAA Insurance 200
Where: O’Reilly Raceway Park; Indianapolis
When: Friday, 8 p.m. ET
TV: Speed, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/SIRIUS Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: .686-mile oval
Race distance: 200 laps/137.2 miles
Qualifying: Friday, 5:10 p.m. ET
2009 winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.
2009 polesitter: Colin Braun
Points leaders: 1. Todd Bodine, 1,759; 2. Aric Almirola, 1,614; 3. Johnny Sauter, 1,519; 4. Timothy Peters, 1,510; 5. Mike Skinner, 1,456; 6. Ron Hornaday Jr., 1,454; 7. Austin Dillon, 1,434; 8. Matt Crafton, 1,418; 9. David Starr, 1,390; 10. Jason White, 1,369.
