Again this week I will be "writing" the Delphi Indy 300 from Ovalicious Race Central @ home, using any and all information available in the public domain. I offer commentary and opinions and post the news as fast as I get and decipher it. Other than simply watching T&S, it is the quickest way to see what is happening and what it might all mean.

(8-9-04) On Friday IndyCar returns to The Chicagoland Speedway with three races left in the season and the points race as well. Tony Kanaan has a sizable lead in the IndyCar points (72 points), understandable since Tony has finished every lap in every race this season! With the Honda engine being so reliable, it is hard to comprehend how Tony can be caught by either Dan Wheldon or Buddy Rice, his closest competition. We have seen some gains in Toyota horsepower, but with the past two events at the hard-to-handle tracks at PPIR and Nazareth, it is hard to gauge whether recent Toyota gains are as a result of more horsepower or were setup related. Lately the Dallara Honda combination has easily dominated the G Force Hondas of Rahal Letterman Racing and SAF, and the biggest question in my mind is how that fact relates to the high-speed tracks like Chicagoland. More later...

(9-10-04) Speed rating the 'cutters.

Everyone calls the typical 1.5-mile tri-oval a "cookie cutter" track, but in fact none of them are cast from the same mould, usually having varying degrees of banking. As the IndyCars prepare to take to the track this morning, it is a good time to look at the top IndyCar speeds at the four 'cutters that host the IndyCar series. Keep in mind that IndyCar "manages" the speeds desired at all tracks other than Indy by mandating wing angles and wicker bill size. As one would expect, Texas Motor Speedway, with the most banking is the fastest.

TMS, 24 degrees of banking, 225.979 mph, 1998

Chicagoland Speedway, 18 degrees, 223.159 mph, 2003

Kentucky Speedway, 14 degrees, 221.390 mph, 2002

Kansas Speedway, 18 degrees, 218.547 mph, 2002

Note that Kentucky Speedway has less banking than Kansas Speedway, but the top lap speed is faster. This can be attributed to the heat in Kansas when the event is held. This year it was cooler at Kansas Speedway and the 3.0 liter engine speed was around 5-mph slower than the 3.5 results; usually we have seen a speed gap of between 8-11 mph.    

(3:55 PM EDT) As the session is about to end, Dan Wheldon and Vitor Meira have taken over the top of the chart, Wheldon the only one above 216 as I begin to look smarter than the guy I see in the mirror in the morning when I shave. The session has ended with Dan Wheldon setting the pace. With Tony Kanaan only 10th fastest, I will stand by my conviction that there are games being played this afternoon. The fastest posted speed by a Chevy powered car is the 14th quickest speed of Alex Barron at 213.536. My most recent rolling dyno numbers don't suggest that Toyota is that much better than the Chevy, my guess is that they are at about the same horsepower number, and Honda is nearly matching them gain for gain. With Honda being closer to being maxed out, their gains would be smaller and harder to achieve.

Here are the final 2nd practice results from IndyCar T&S. Watch for the link to Saturday's P&Q Running Recap in the morning.

Pos

 

 Driver

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Time

Best Speed

1

 

 Dan Wheldon (26)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.2788

216.466

2

 

 Vitor Meira (17)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.3508

215.851

3

 

 Bryan Herta (7)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.3608

215.766

4

 

 Buddy Rice (15)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.3724

215.667

5

 

 Sam Hornish Jr. (6)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.3879

215.536

6

 

 Dario Franchitti (27)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.3923

215.498

7

 

 Scott Dixon (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.4119

215.332

8

 

 Adrian Fernandez (5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.5007

214.582

9

 

 Helio Castroneves (3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.5312

214.326

10

 

 Tony Kanaan (11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.5323

214.317

11

 

 Scott Sharp (8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.5936

213.803

12

 

 A.J. Foyt IV (14)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.6135

213.637

13

 

 Darren Manning (10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.6177

213.602

14

 

 Alex Barron (51)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.6256

213.536

15

 

 Kosuke Matsuura (55)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.6313

213.489

16

 

 Felipe Giaffone (24)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.6648

213.210

17

 

 Tora Takagi (12)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.6840

213.051

18

 

 Ed Carpenter (52)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.6873

213.024

19

 

 Tomas Scheckter (4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.7087

212.846

20

 

 Mark Taylor (13)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.7517

212.491

21

 

 Jaques Lazier (20)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.7875

212.196

22

 

 Townsend Bell (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.8279

211.864

(2:50 PM EDT) With 5 minutes left in practice, Sam Hornish Jr. let some of the sand out of his bag, to be almost immediately eclipsed by Bryan Herta, my nomination to get the Honda engine of choice this weekend if Vitor Meira doesn't. Herta, Hornish Jr., Buddy Rice and now Scott Dixon are above 215. I sure wish I was there, this looks like a heck of an afternoon, with the IndyCars doing what they do best, go fast.

(4:45 PM EDT) Well it took a little longer to get back than I thought, and when I returned I had a house full of "company. Buddy Rice is currently at the top of the charts at 214.673, as I suspect no one is showing what speed they have. Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti are also above 214. The penalty to Dario is not as harsh as that of the one to Hornish because AGR has three cars worth of input and information while MTP only has one. At this time the fastest Toyota powered cars remain those of Sharp and Foyt IV, a fact that causes me to suspect a major sandbag effort by the Toyota teams. I also suspect that if MTP and TCGR aren't showing anything, either is AGR. That also gives me a hint that my expected 216-217 mph pole might be spot on as well. I expect a Milwaukee-like "Q" session tomorrow, where most of the cars exceeded their practice results by more than 2-mph. 

(3:40 PM EDT) The cars are back on the track and Scott Sharp is the surprise speed leader. I have to run an errand that will take 20 minutes and I will return.

(1:30 EDT) The first practice sessions has ended with little in the way of surprises, here are the results as posted by IndyCar T&S.

Pos

 

 Driver

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Time

Best Speed

1

 

 Dan Wheldon (26)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.4289

215.188

2

 

 Tony Kanaan (11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.4660

214.875

3

 

 Tomas Scheckter (4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

25.5743

213.965

4

 

 Buddy Rice (15)