|
|
|
|
|
|
The start, Dan Wheldon tries to
check out as Hornish and Castroneves are slow to speed. We have a patented
charge to the front from a poor starting position by Tony Kanaan, going
from 13th to 5 in 5 laps...
|
|
***
|
|
20 laps into the race, not only does
the Panther/Meira car have blank sidepods, but "Vision" is back
on the sidepod of the Scheckter car. I wonder what happened to the much heralded
sponsorship "that would allow Vision two run a 3rd car in selected
races?" Hornish didn't take long to get past Wheldon, and once that
was accomplished , he opened up a 1.2 second lead over both TCGR cars.
This is the run to a first pit stop that will answer tire where issues
mentioned yesterday. Look for first pit stops between laps 50-55.
Carpenter to the pits with engine issues on lap 33.
|
|
***
|
|
Lap 38, we have a spin with rear
contact by points leader Helio Castroneves. Helio got the "death
wiggle," lost the back end and backed into the SAFER fairly hard.
They expect a wing only change... Wheldon gets a front wing
adjustment on his pit stop... Scott Dixon won the race off of pit road
over Hornish... Just before the contact, Helio was making a run at Dixon
for 4th.... During the first attempted wing change, Helio tried to pull
out before work was finished and hit two crewmembers, left without the
wing and returned to rush it on.... There is some question as to whether
MTP got all the bolts in on the wing change... Dario Franchitti thought he
had been passed under yellow by Hornish, he incorrectly re-passed and
suffered the indignity of a penalty drive through as well, and is two laps
down. If it isn't hot enough, I expect Dario is pretty "steamed"
as well... Shortly after the restart Hornish got back around Dixon... Sam
looks to be as unbeatable as he was at Richmond... As for Helio, he is
still on the leader lap and running at race-pace, so "wing-only"
worked.
|
|
***
|
|
Caution for debris and
"marbles," lap 90, the sweeper is out. At this rate they
aren't going to ever have to worry about tire wear, running less than 50
laps between stops. Helio was held in the pits while IndyCar officials
checked that the rear wing was installed correctly, and it was. The
Giaffone car is done for the day, running a best race lap of only 201 mph.
With Foyt recovering and perhaps away from the track for several races, AJ
will have to get someone to do a better job of setting up the car. The
race was restarted at the half-way point. There was some amazing 4-wide
back-in-the-pack action on the restart.
|
|
***
|
|
Lap 120, the show at this point of
the race is the battle between Tony Kanaan and Kosuke Matsuura for 4th,
with Vitor Meira in their mirror's in 6th, waiting for a mistake. Kanaan
is glued to the bottom of the track, and neither Matsuura or Meira have
enough engine to drive around TK. Meira finally got under Matsuura for the
pass into 5th.
|
|
***
|
|
Lap 140, we have just seen two
examples of why the all-equal "power" of the Honda is hurting
side-by-side running and the ability to complete a drive-around pass.
Earlier in the week Jack Arute was quoted as saying "Firestone had
stopped trying for tire improvements and are just providing 'hard' tires
the way Goodyear does in NASCAR." We just saw Vitor Meira try the
outside pass on Tony Kanaan and not make the trip, and then Dan Wheldon
failed to drive around Hornish as well...
Hornish to the pits under green at lap
149 for the final round of pit stops. Wheldon remained out, ran a couple
of laps with a light fuel load and tried to get in and out of the pits and
cycle-out faster than Hornish. Wheldon made the perfect stop and the
top-of-the-screen crawl shows it worked. After the stops Helio Castroneves
got into position to challenge Kanaan, and it's working, as Helio passes
Kanaan. These cars are the toughest Indy type racers I've ever seen, Helio
hit the SAFER hard, but the SAFER has to get some credit as well, given a
concrete wall, and Castroneves would have been done for the day.
|
|
***
|
|
Lap 168 caution, Scott Sharp got
the same kind of "death wiggle" Helio did, but wasn't so fortunate,
when he smashed into the SAFER he knocked the wing off and both rear tires
askew and the left front as well, an expensive crash The ensuing caution
wiped out Wheldon's comfortable lead over Hornish.
|
|
***
|
|
The restart, Wheldon got enough of a
start to protect his lead, but before things got sorted out there was yet
another "death wiggle" crash this time it was Buddy Rice,
at about the same place on the track. While the guys in the booth are
blaming the wind, my TiVo view showed the left side tires in one of those
"seam's" they were talking about Saturday. Just before the
restart Castroneves pitted for fresh tires for the run to the checkered.
|
|
***
|
|
The restart with 17 laps to go would decide
the race winner, Hornish was beside Wheldon and past him by the end of the
backstretch, and the race was essentially over at that point. Wheldon made
a two lap side-by-side run on Hornish that would give him the lead at the
line once or twice, but I think Dan made his move two laps earlier than he
should have and heated up his tires too much. He faded back and never got
back outside Sam again. Tony Kanaan made the move of the race on the
restart, going three-wide on the outside of a pack of 4 cars and into 4th
and then moving to the inside of Scott Dixon on momentum alone. It would
be all for show though, as eventually Vitor Meira and Dixon would run him
down after being held up by one-lap-down and 9th place Marco Andretti.
Meira's run to 3rd was amazing, also getting under Dixon on the restart
and setting sail for Marco. It took Vitor ten laps to clear Marco, first
trying inside only to have to back out of it as the car tried to push up
into the Andretti car. Before lap 5 ended Vitor was outside and around
Marco and heading for Kanaan, who may have used up what was left of his
car on the restart. Vitor and Dixon would pass Kanaan, but we wouldn't get
to see it, we would be treated to the two laps of side-by-side between
Wheldon on the outside and Hornish on the inside. For a while it looked
like a photo finish opportunity, but Dan fell back and couldn't make
another run. Hornish won his 2nd race in a row, and 3rd of four, including
the most important of all, The Indy 500... Here's the final IndyCar
T&S chart, that will also serve as an unofficial order of finish as
well.
|
|
Pos
|
Driver
|
|
Best Time
|
Best Speed
|
|
1
|
Sam Hornish Jr (6)
|
|
26.0240
|
210.267
|
|
2
|
Dan Wheldon (10)
|
|
25.9960
|
210.494
|
|
3
|
Vitor Meira (4)
|
|
26.1876
|
208.954
|
|
4
|
Scott Dixon (9)
|
|
26.0163
|
210.330
|
|
5
|
Tony Kanaan (11)
|
|
26.1315
|
209.402
|
|
6
|
Helio Castroneves (3)
|
|
25.9847
|
210.585
|
|
7
|
Tomas Scheckter (2)
|
|
26.1453
|
209.292
|
|
8
|
Kosuke Matsuura (55)
|
|
26.1011
|
209.646
|
|
9
|
Marco Andretti (26)
|
|
26.1910
|
208.927
|
|
10
|
Jeff Simmons (17)
|
|
26.2047
|
208.818
|
|
11
|
Danica Patrick (16)
|
|
26.2756
|
208.254
|
|
12
|
Dario Franchitti (27)
|
|
26.2765
|
208.247
|
|
13
|
Bryan Herta (7)
|
|
26.2393
|
208.542
|
|
14
|
Eddie Cheever Jr (51)
|
|
26.5288
|
206.266
|
|
15
|
Buddy Lazier (5)
|
|
26.4995
|
206.494
|
|
16
|
Ed Carpenter (20)
|
|
26.2920
|
208.124
|
|
17
|
Buddy Rice (15)
|
|
26.2537
|
208.428
|
|
18
|
Scott Sharp (8)
|
|
26.2396
|
208.540
|
|
19
|
Felipe Giaffone (14)
|
|
27.1701
|
201.398
|
|
|
|
Buddy Rice is first to 40 laps as well, with
the apparent goal to run close to 50. The session ended with Rice at 48
laps or 72 miles with only a brief stop during the early caution. Helio
Castroneves was the final speed-leader on this IndyCar T&S chart, with
Scott Dixon catching a late flyer to move to 3rd. The first 6 drivers on
the chart were near the top of the page all day yesterday, but Dario
Franchitti appears to have either found some speed or caught a good tow.
Scheckter ran well also. There is nothing left now but to run the race
beginning at 1:15 p. m., EDT, and hope someone has something for the
dominate MTP and TCGR teams.
|
|
Pos
|
Driver
|
|
Best Time
|
Best Speed
|
|
|
|
Last Lap
|
|
1
|
Helio Castroneves (3)
|
|
25.7892
|
212.182
|
|
|
|
37
|
|
2
|
Sam Hornish Jr (6)
|
|
25.8372
|
211.788
|
|
|
|
25
|
|
3
|
Scott Dixon (9)
|
|
25.8741
|
211.486
|
|
|
|
37
|
|
4
|
Kosuke Matsuura (55)
|
|
25.8753
|
211.476
|
|
|
|
29
|
|
5
|
Dan Wheldon (10)
|
|
25.8781
|
211.453
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
6
|
Vitor Meira (4)
|
|
25.9713
|
210.694
|
|
|
|
46
|
|
7
|
Dario Franchitti (27)
|
|
26.0017
|
210.448
|
|
|
|
39
|
|
8
|
Tomas Scheckter (2)
|
|
26.0117
|
210.367
|
|
|
|
40
|
|
9
|
Scott Sharp (8)
|
|
26.0316
|
210.206
|
|
|
|
36
|
|
10
|
Tony Kanaan (11)
|
|
26.0355
|
210.175
|
|
|
|
38
|
|
11
|
Buddy Rice (15)
|
|
26.0677
|
209.915
|
|
|
|
48
|
|
12
|
Marco Andretti (26)
|
|
26.0750
|
209.856
|
|
|
|
41
|
|
13
|
Ed Carpenter (20)
|
|
26.0840
|
209.784
|
|
|
|
45
|
|
14
|
Jeff Simmons (17)
|
|
26.1394
|
209.339
|
|
|
|
38
|
|
15
|
Danica Patrick (16)
|
|
26.1666
|
209.122
|
|
|
|
32
|
|
16
|
Buddy Lazier (5)
|
|
26.1995
|
208.859
|
|
|
|
30
|
|
17
|
Eddie Cheever Jr (51)
|
|
26.2144
|
208.740
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
18
|
Bryan Herta (7)
|
|
26.2310
|
208.608
|
|
|
|
28
|
|
19
|
Felipe Giaffone (14)
|
|
26.6348
|
205.446
|
|
|
|
32
|
|
|
(9:30 EDT) the pace has been frantic,
with several drivers taking turns topping the chart, including Hornish,
Castroneves and Matsuura , three drivers who will not tick the direct
route to 70-something miles, as they have pitted for adjustments. The
first to 30 laps though is Buddy Rice, as now Wheldon, Dixon and Sharp
have peeled off into the pits as well. To make that plan work you need a
"happy" setup, because if something doesn't feel right in a 30
minute session you have to sort it out right away.
|
|
***
|
|
(7-2-0-06, 9:15 a. m. EDT) The final
practice session has just begun, and I expect to see several teams try for
a full tank runs. However we have an early "track inspection"
caution, but it looked like that the plan was for just about everyone to
just go out and run until it was time to stop for fuel. Let's look at some
early speeds on this IndyCar T&S chart. There were some reports during
practice yesterday of heavy tire wear due to some "seams" in the
pavement, which was also upsetting the cars as they crossed them as well.
|
|
| |
