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(10-16-04)
The IndyCars are on the track for the final practice session,
and for the moment Mark Taylor is at the top of the chart. The
field is under caution now due to a cut tire on the Scott Sharp
car.
Back
under green with little time left in the session, it is still
Taylor at the top of the chart, followed by Matsuura and
Castroneves. Helio is running as well as can be expected, I
think his four-race-in-a-row string is mostly because of how
well de runs with a very aero-free car. In races he is ok as
long as the other drivers let him lead, and he might even be
able to hold them off if he is able to run fast enough to be
hard to catch and get underneath, but if it comes down to the
finish and he has to come from behind and is contested, he can't
run in the traffic.
The
session is now over, and in the closing minutes Dan Wheldon
managed to better Taylor's speed and "win" the final
practice, here are the results as posted in the IndyCar T&S
"results only" format, it sure looks like a Honda kind
of event to me, but with Helio on the pole, he will try to check
out, it is his only chance to win. To do that MTP will be under
pressure to be very sharp and quick on pit road, and that leads
to the kind of trouble we have seen all season.
|
|
Pos
|
|
Driver
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best
Time
|
Best
Speed
|
|
1
|
|
Dan Wheldon (26)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.4258
|
214.445
|
|
2
|
|
Mark Taylor (13)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.4765
|
214.001
|
|
3
|
|
Kosuke Matsuura (55)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.4994
|
213.801
|
|
4
|
|
Helio Castroneves (3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5106
|
213.703
|
|
5
|
|
Vitor Meira (17)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5322
|
213.515
|
|
6
|
|
Bryan Herta (7)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5685
|
213.200
|
|
7
|
|
Adrian Fernandez (5)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5690
|
213.195
|
|
8
|
|
Tony Kanaan (11)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.6012
|
212.916
|
|
9
|
|
Scott Dixon (1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.6328
|
212.643
|
|
10
|
|
Dario Franchitti (27)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.6722
|
212.304
|
|
11
|
|
Scott Sharp (8)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.6747
|
212.282
|
|
12
|
|
Townsend Bell (2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.6758
|
212.273
|
|
13
|
|
Alex Barron (51)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.6859
|
212.186
|
|
14
|
|
Tomas Scheckter (4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.7004
|
212.061
|
|
15
|
|
Buddy Rice (15)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.7638
|
211.518
|
|
16
|
|
Sam Hornish Jr. (6)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.7702
|
211.464
|
|
17
|
|
Tora Takagi (12)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.7841
|
211.345
|
|
18
|
|
Felipe Giaffone (24)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.7969
|
211.236
|
|
19
|
|
Tomas Enge (20)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.8355
|
210.908
|
|
20
|
|
Ed Carpenter (52)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.8395
|
210.874
|
|
|
|
Here is a copy of the statement
from Panther Racing as posted on the IndyCar site,
“Panther Racing qualified for
the Chevy 500 in race cars that had passed technical inspection
on two occasions Friday -- prior to the first practice and again
as the car was rolled onto the qualifying grid. Unfortunately,
the same cars that passed the previous technical inspections did
not pass the post-qualification technical inspection.
“We are disappointed in the result, but we are fully
supportive of the IndyCar technical inspection staff, rules and
rulings. It is Panther Racing’s belief that aggressive
technical inspections and rules help keep the playing field even
for all teams. We are confident that the rules are and will
continue to be enforced equally across all teams.
“Panther Racing is committed to winning races in the IndyCar
Series and it is our desire to do so with cars that fit within
every rule and regulation of the IndyCar Series.”
|
|
|
(10-16-04)
Apparently due to several crashes, the CTS race has taken a very
long time to complete, and while it is over now, that has also
caused a delay in the start of the MIPS event as well. Because I
have an early work schedule today; I think the best course of
action is to return after the practice session and post the results.
Later I will work on a race preview based on how the last
session turned out.
|
|
 |
|
(10-16-04)
Before we get to the Panther situation, lets take at the
Saturday Morning practice results. Other than enhancing the
Saturday show and giving the series some additional exposure to
those attracted to the NASCAR CTS event, it is hard to
understand why, after the field is set for Sunday's Chevy 500,
the teams would need two practice sessions to get ready to race?
The downside of un-needed practice sessions and running is that
sometimes drivers get in trouble and make wall contact, this
happened to Dario Franchitti this morning. For whatever reason
they decided to have two sessions, here are the results from the
morning session as posted on the "results only" page
of IndyCar T&S!
|
|
Pos
|
|
Driver
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best
Time
|
Best
Speed
|
|
1
|
|
Dan
Wheldon (26)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.2706
|
215.817
|
|
2
|
|
Helio
Castroneves (3)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.4007
|
214.666
|
|
3
|
|
Vitor
Meira (17)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5041
|
213.760
|
|
4
|
|
Tomas
Scheckter (4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5230
|
213.595
|
|
5
|
|
Sam
Hornish Jr. (6)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5250
|
213.578
|
|
6
|
|
Buddy
Rice (15)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24.5323
|
213.514
|
|
7
|
| |
