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(10-18-04) There are times
where fining a driver isn't enough, when you do something that might
have helped you win a race and
take away any chance anyone else might have, fines are a slap on
the wrist only. Because there was so little time left in the
Chevy 500 Sunday, I have my doubts anyone could have passed
Helio anyway, but we will never know that now, and Helio gets
the win!
Here is the long-promised
and very late detailed race review, including a last look at
Helio's early departure from the field on the last
restart.
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The Pre-race show... Much was
said about the remarkable record and accomplishment of Tony
Kanaan in running every lap this season, an unheard of feat in
auto racing. Even without doing the math, when you consider that
probably 75% of those laps were run at speeds above 200-mph;
wheel-to-wheel with the resulting contact opportunities, it is
that much more amazing.
The Kanaan segment was
followed by shots of Kenny Brack visiting the staff at Parkland
Hospital, and those that played a big part in saving his life a
year ago. At the time, I am sure none of them saw the crash
footage that we did on TV, if they had they would have
understood why Kenny was so terribly injured. Most of us, having
seen what horrendous crashes are capable of doing to drivers,
never expected Kenny to survive. Well survive he did, and it was
a very heart-warming sight to see him walk around that hospital.
He was called a traitor, got
hate mail and was vilified in his own country for abandoning the
CCWS, yet had one of his best seasons ever this year, winning
when few thought he could, Adrian Fernandez is a multi-race
winner in IndyCars this year, and it is highly unlikely that he
would have the same success if he remained in the CCWS series.
Like Bobby Rahal, Fernandez had to make a difficult choice at
start of the season, leaving a series that they have been
involved with for years, and both of them were well-rewarded for
their courage.
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(The Start) It was my
contention that the 4-pole in a row record tying effort Helio
Castroneves was due to aero-risks, and when in race trim, Helio
could lead but couldn't win, so what do I know? Win he did, but
how he did it taints the win a bit, but I'm sure that he will
pay the fine with a smile on his face. MTP did a
"bookend" to the season, wining the first and last
race in a season that was all-Honda other than those two wins.
Because Tomas Scheckter was
penalized for a "Q" run technical infraction, he and
teammate T. Bell were sent to the back of the pack, and Tomas
would start a charge to the front that was briefly curtailed
when Ed Carpenter made wall contact on lap 4. Ed was out of the
car unaided as the replay showed him pushing up into the
backstretch wall after Felipe Giaffone cut across the nose on
the RBTC Dallara and took the air of the wing.
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(Lap 17) Tomas Scheckter
brushed the wall on his way to the front. Tomas was up to 13th
at the time. Scheckter, either very brave or very foolish, took
a lap off to check the car and then continued his progress to
the front. By lap 35 Scheckter was up to 4th, running 3-wide
when needed. Sam Hornish Jr. virtually owns TMS, but in the
first segment of the race was will in to run in lockstep with
Helio and keep Kanaan and Scheckter at bay.
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(Lap 42) Buddy Rice into the
pits with battery/electrical trouble, rice would be done for the
day. On lap 49 Scheckter would momentarily pass Vitor Meira for
3rd. During the in-car shots Scheckter's offending rear wing
could be seen, the upper element in unpainted carbon fiber after
Panther Racing had to buy new ones for both the #4 and #2 cars
after they failed post-"Q" inspection. Panther Racing
was riotously indignant
after having both cars moved to the rear of the field, but if
both of those wings hadn't been tampered with, they wouldn't
have had to replace them, looks to me like they were fairly
caught, and it isn't as if they didn't
have advance notice, readers of the O/IRR Forum did as well. One
of the members pointed out that Bob Varsha mentioned ''an
American open wheel series looking into rules violations
regarding wings," on SPEED'S F1 coverage. Another member
then replied that "Panther
has had some repeated issues in tech with wings,"
and this was days before the cars arrived at TMS. Perhaps
Panther racing should sign up for the O/IRR forum, and if you
haven't, you should as well. Remember that the O/IRR Forum is a
"PRIVATE" Forum, D&G free, and visited often by
race-knowledgeable contributors with the latest news and
observations.
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(Lap 55) Scheckter darts left
on the backstretch and headed for pit road, previous position advancements
for naught. Tomas made a normal stop and one lap later Helio was
pit-bound as well.
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(Lap 65) After all cars had
pitted, including those off-cycle after early yellow flag stops,
it was Dan Wheldon in front of the Penske cars, but not for long
as the Penske duo would drive around him in confirmation of new
found Toyota horsepower. Scheckter would show in 5th. While
there may be a horsepower gain, it doesn't manifest itself in
the G Force of Scott Dixon, so there has to be some aero issues
as well.
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(Lap 92-94) Helio Castroneves
and Adrian Fernandez swapped the lead back and forth, after
Adrian drove outside of both Penske cars. Adrian may have got
the lead, but he couldn't hold it. Side-by-side and 3-wide is
what IndyCars do best at TMS, and clearly the fans there love
it.
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(Caution, Lap 106) Fluid from
the Scheckter Chevy engine, this special engine gave up, but it
is encouraging to see some speed from the Chevy's. perfect
timing, the entire field was ready to pit.
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(Restart, Lap)
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Let's all hope
that we see the usual excitement of a TMS event without the
carnage that we have seen too often. My pick for the win is
Vitor Meira, but I also expect AGR to give Bryan Herta all the
support he needs to capture the win and become the 4th member of
the team to win this season. I will join you for the start and
first 40-minutes or so and review the race later in the week!
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I can't think
of a better way to start the excitement than a feature on Kenny
Brack, after viewing his crash last year you just knew hw
couldn't survive, but survive he did, by the Grace of God,
because there is nothing other than the driver capsule that can
be credited in saving him but help from Above.
Here we go,
great start... Well, that didn't take long, Carpenter in the
wall, but OK... Carpenter's results throughout the season makes
it harder for "Spriget" and MIPS drivers to hook up in
the series. From the sound of Cheever's comments, it appears Ed
will not return... Carpenter "credits" Giaffone with
some help, if that is the case, it isn't the first time he
"helped" someone...
Well, that is a
wrap for me for now, I will recap the race ASAP, and fill
everyone in on our plans for O/IRR for the off-season and the
upcoming tests.
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