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(10-15-04)
With the Series Championship
decided, look for the Chevy and Toyota teams of the IndyCar
series to try to salvage some respect with good result this
weekend, but it won't be easy. The Toyota teams have some
new-found speed, and the Chevy's are trying to at least keep
pace with them. Unfortunately, most of the gains from both
manufacturers haven't narrowed the gap much, and the teams have
had to resort to risky aero-trims that have caused several
single-car crashes. TMS is IndyCars "2nd home," but
this will be the series last two-event season, it will be
interesting to see the fan reaction, because TMS has an IRL fan
following seen nowhere other than the Indiana area.
It will also be
interesting to see what kind of speed-gain we will see from the
June event. Last year, as T&H learned IndyCar engines, and
Chevy hooked up with Cosworth, there was a big bump in speed
from the post-Indy event to the Fall Finale. The pole speed for
the 2003 June event was 219.3, while Gil de Ferran put the MTP
Dallara Toyota on the pole last fall at 222.834, more than 3.5
mph faster. This year the pole speed in June was 209.609, and I
expect that if the series mandated aero package is the same, we
will see an even larger bump in speed this weekend. We will soon
find out, the first practice session is less than an hour away. Please
note that due to work-related issues, I was unable to travel to
either Fontana or TMS as I would have liked to do. I will offer
commentary on practice and "Q" runs using all the
available information in the public domain, and often post it
faster than you can find elsewhere.
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(7:30 EDT)
Helio Castroneves has won his 4th pole in a row, posting an
astounding 216 mph last warm-up lap! With two cars in the field
above 215, the engine manufacturers have improved 6 mph with
these engines since first running them at Indy this year. Here
are the "Q" run results.
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Pos
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Driver
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Best
Time
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Best
Speed
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1
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Helio Castroneves (3)
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24.2504
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215.996
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2
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Tomas Scheckter (4)
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24.2690
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215.831
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3
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Sam Hornish Jr. (6)
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24.3518
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215.097
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4
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Vitor Meira (17)
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24.4405
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214.316
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5
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Buddy Rice (15)
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24.4545
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214.194
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6
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Scott Dixon (1)
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24.4819
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213.954
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7
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Bryan Herta (7)
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24.5139
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213.675
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8
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Dan Wheldon (26)
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24.5452
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213.402
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9
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Dario Franchitti (27)
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24.5663
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213.219
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10
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Tony Kanaan (11)
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24.5794
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213.105
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11
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Alex Barron (51)
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24.5850
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213.057
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12
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Adrian Fernandez (5)
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24.5963
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212.959
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13
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Townsend Bell (2)
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24.5986
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212.939
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14
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A.J. Foyt IV (14)
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24.6083
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212.855
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15
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Kosuke Matsuura (55)
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24.6247
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212.713
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16
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Scott Sharp (8)
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24.6427
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212.558
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17
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Mark Taylor (13)
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24.6699
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212.324
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18
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Tomas Enge (20)
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24.7900
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211.295
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19
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Tora Takagi (12)
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24.7913
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211.284
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20
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Ed Carpenter (52)
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24.8421
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210.852
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21
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Felipe Giaffone (24)
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25.0258
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209.304
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(6:10 EDT) It
now appears that Mike King was optimistic about when
"Q" runs might start, but at least he is on the air.
MIPS practice is under way and won't be finished until
20-minutes past the hour.
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(6:10 EDT) Here
is the "Q" order for this afternoon. There appears to
be a delay due to CTS Qualifying.
As
the drivers finish their runs I will add commentary. As I said
earlier, I suspect a sandbag effort by the Honda's, and
"tow" results from the rest of the field.
THE QUALIFICATION ORDER FOR THE CHEVY 500 AT TMS
Mark Taylor… Mark first out, and ran a 212, 3-mph faster then
the pole speed in June. Tony Kanaan… TK ups the pace to a 213.105, not good enough IMO to
stick it on the pole. Kosuke Matsuura…Kosuke gets the best of
Taylor @ 212.713, but I doubt it will be a top-ten run. Scott
Sharp… 212.5 in what is probably the last "Q" run
Kelley Racing ever makes. Ed Carpenter… A 210.8 should give
Tora Takagi a number to shoot at to avoid starting last. Scott
Dixon… Dixon with problems, never up to speed. If they sort
out the problems, Dixon will get one lap I think. Tomas
Scheckter… Tomas to the pole for now, a 215.831, I doubt
anyone else will have enough to best that, I expected a 214, but
nothing that close to a 216. AJ Foyt IV… Little Foyt with a
decent effort, 3rd so far. Sam Hornish Jr… Sam to 2nd, and
also above 215, with a 215.097! Adrian Fernandez…
212.959, edging Foyt. Dario Franchitti… Dario to 3rd, if AGR
is to get the job done, look for Wheldon going out last.
Townsend Bell… T Bell joins the log jam a tick over or under
213. Felipe Giaffone… Giaffone a 208.9, that's terrible. Vitor
Meira… Vitor to 3rd, a 214! Buddy Rice… Buddy just a tad
slower than Meira, , but still a 214! Bryan Herta… Herta into
5th, edging teammate Franchitti. Alex Barron… Barron at 213,
far better than Carpenter and besting Bell for 2nd Chevy. Tomas
Enge joins two others with Chevy engines at the bottom of the
chart, Enge ahead of Carpenter and Giaffone, but no one else…
Tora Takagi… For once in a long time, Tora won't start Sunday.
Helio Castroneves… Well, if anyone is going to beat Scheckter,
Helio has the best chance, and after warming up at 216, loses
some time but posts a 215.996! Helio is on track to win the 4th
pole in a row. Dan Wheldon… Honda's last and perhaps best
chance, will it be enough? Nope, the first lap is usually the
best, and Wheldon is 7th, just behind teammate Herta. Scott
Dixon, out again for one lap. Dixon makes the most of his one
lap and puts the G Force Toyota in 6th.
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(4:00 EDT)
Tomas Scheckter's quick time in the first grouping of the first
practice session with Chevy horsepower held up under a charge by
Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon with Toyota power and 4 Honda
cars to "win" the first practice. Scheckter and
Panther Racing have had little to cheer about all season, so I
expect that there was a collective sigh of relief when the time
and speed stuck. The surprise is that Honda cars were 3rd best,
but I expect that with limited practice, those teams were
working on race setups. Castroneves has been able to qualify on
top at the last two events, and he even looked like a winner at
Fontana, but until someone actually beads a Honda powered car in
a race, I will remain skeptical.
"Q" runs start in a little over an hour, I'll be here
listening to Mike King on the radio and ready to comment. Here
are the results from the first practice session, as posted on
the "Results Only page of IndyCar T&S.
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Pos
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Driver
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Best
Time
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Best
Speed
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1
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Tomas Scheckter (4)
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24.3801
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214.847
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2
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Helio Castroneves (3)
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24.4400
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214.321
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3
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Scott Dixon (1)
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24.4446
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214.280
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4
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Bryan Herta (7)
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24.4797
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213.973
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5
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Vitor Meira (17)
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24.5239
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213.588
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6
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Kosuke Matsuura (55)
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24.5314
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213.522
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7
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Buddy Rice (15)
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24.5316
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213.521
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8
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Dan Wheldon (26)
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24.5487
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213.372
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9
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Townsend Bell (2)
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24.5514
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213.348
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10
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Sam Hornish Jr. (6)
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24.5644
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213.235
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11
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Mark Taylor (13)
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24.5849
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213.058
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12
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Dario Franchitti (27)
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24.6025
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212.905
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13
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Alex Barron (51)
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24.6436
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212.550
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14
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Adrian Fernandez (5)
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24.6862
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212.183
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15
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Tony Kanaan (11)
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