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(10-3-04) I will
write this as a work in progress, and "save" the
content as I go. Helio Castroneves put the MTP Dallara Toyota on
the pole for the "company" race, but the question is
whether he can run at the front and win as well. Helio was
the pole sitter at the Chicagoland event and once they took the
"loose" out of the car, he couldn't keep up with the
Honda's. With the Honda horsepower, those teams can crank in the
wings and the engine just hauls the freight. As an indication of
how loose they have to make the Toyota powered cars, Darren
Manning crashed on his 2nd "Q" lap yesterday
afternoon, and Manning will not be able to start this afternoon,
due to a concussion. According to IndyCar.com, teammate Scott
Dixon confirmed Manning's assessment that the car was very loose
and got caught up in the high winds often seen in the dessert of
"The Inland Empire." I think we will see the same
results from the Toyota's today as we saw at Chicagoland, it
will be very difficult to keep up with the Honda's since they
put the race setup on the cars. That contention is supported by
the final practice results, where Helio and Sam Hornish Jr. were
only 9th and 10th on the chart. AJ Foyt IV was the fast Toyota,
a couple of spots above the MTP cars, but "the old
man" probaply isn't as cautious on the setup as Roger
Penske, but he should be, looking back at little Foyt's
Chicagoland crash.
Yesterday
on the radio feed of "Q" runs, Mike King quoted Chevy
officials as saying that all Chevy teams have an updated version
of the "Chord" engine at Fontana, if that is the case,
it appears to be too little, too late, as the Chevy P&Q
results were dismal at best overall.
Looking
at the Honda's, AGR struggled for two days, and it wasn't until
the final practice that they made their presents known. Looking
at the two-day results, it appears that in the heat and wind of
Fontana, the G Force is a better package. I like that
combination, and I think this the perfect situation for either
Vitor Meira or Kosuke Matsuura to get their first win. Many of
you know that I suspect Honda is selectively placing the
strongest engines where they would do the most good, that was my
contention in correctly picking Adrian Fernandez for his first
series win, I'll go with Meira to win today!
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