June 11, 2008
Scott Dixon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone) won the Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway last Saturday night, his first win at that track, third win this season and 13th of his IndyCar career. The race finished under caution after the cars driven by Marco Andretti (No. 26 Blockbuster D/H/F) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Ethanol D/H/F) made contact while battling for second place with five laps remaining. Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske D/H/F) finished second (his eighth consecutive top-five finish this season) and his Team Penske teammate, Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske D/H/F), was third. Dan Wheldon (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F), who started 11th in his backup car, finished fourth and Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven D/H/F) improved eight positions to finish fifth. "I can't believe it," Dixon said. "It's great for the team and great for Target. We just want to win this championship. I'm sorry to see it end under caution, but it's a great way to get some points for this championship. Dan (Wheldon) did a great job coming from the back, and I saw him looming there for a little while. I don't know what to say. We finally won at Texas, and I'm pretty happy about that." Dixon leads Castroneves by 35 points (284-249) after the race. Next up for the IndyCar Series is the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on June 22 at Iowa Speedway. The race will be telecast in High Definition at 1 p.m. (EDT) by ABC.
(Steve Snoddy/IRL)
Scott Dixon captured his third win of the IRL season at Texas Motor Speedway last Saturday night.
(Photo©SCCA/Mark Weber)
Randy Pobst (No. 1 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3), of Gainesville, Ga., won the SCCA SPEED GT Round Four race at Watkins Glen International from the pole last Sunday. It was his second victory of the season. Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 Remington Shaving Cadillac CTS-V), of Boca Raton, Fla., and Michael Galati (No. 23 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3), of Olmsted, Ohio, completed the top three. After Pobst pulled out a two-second lead over Tommy Archer’s No. 13 Foametix/Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper, Archer began to whittle away at the gap. By lap 10 of the 22-lap, 74.8-mile event, Archer was on the bumper of Pobst’s Porsche. The two ran nose to tail for the next eight laps, before Archer headed for pit lane with an engine problem. Pobst cruised from there to win by 5.584 seconds, averaging a series course record 103.866 mph. Pobst regained the SCCA SPEED GT Drivers’ Championship point lead with 427, followed by Pilgrim with 398. Brandon Davis is next (347), followed by Galati (324) and James Sofronas (284). Porsche also took the lead in the SCCA SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER, 29 to Cadillac’s 24. Ford dropped to third, with 21 points, followed by Dodge, with 13 and Chevrolet, with 4. This race will be broadcast Wednesday, June 18 at 1 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED. The series next travels to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 18-20.
Michael Galati (No. 95 Mazda North America/Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6), of Olmsted, Ohio, took his first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win of the season at Watkins Glen International last Sunday. Peter Cunningham (No. 42 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX), of Milwaukee, Wis., and Pierre Kleinubing (No. 43 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX ), of Coconut Creek, Fla., completed the podium for the Round Six race, part of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen weekend. The race was a caution-fest and certainly not a memorable one for fans as many on-track incidents destroyed the pace of the event, including one which took out the entire BimmerWorld team. The 55.4-mile, 54 minute and 4.619-second race finally ended under caution. Acura now leads Mazda in the SCCA SPEED Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship presented by RACER Magazine by 10 points. This race will air on SPEED, Wednesday, June 18, at noon (EDT). Next up for the series is Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 17 – 20.
"Old School" F1 race fans. The Toyota Race of Legends will again be featured at the Monterey Historics, August 15-17 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Derek Bell returns to defend last year's inaugural win against Eddie Cheever, Johnny Herbert, Jean-Pierre Jarier, 1980 World Champion Alan Jones, Danny Sullivan, Patrick Tambay and John Watson. Alain de Cadenet of SPEED TV (and a former 24 Hours of Le Mans driver) will provide fans and television viewers with a driver's-eye race commentary from inside the cockpit. The tenth and final car will be driven by a charity auction winner held among Monterey Historics race participants. The drivers will race in identical race-prepared Scion tC sport coupes with supercharged 2.4-liter, 215-horsepower engines. The winning driver gets a $25,000 check that will be donated to the winner's selected charity.Tony Stewart. The rumors are swirling, and we have two of three sources weighing-in (and confirming) what's really happening with the Tony Stewart deal that has him leaving Joe Gibbs Racing and heading back to the Chevrolet fold for the 2009 season. We will hold this information until we have a third source, because it's that huge. Suffice to say that Tony will be in a Chevrolet next season, but how it happens is the real interesting part of the story. Stay tuned.Robert Kubica, BMW. Robert Kubica scored his first Formula 1 win (also the first by a Pole in Grand Prix history) at the Canadian Grand Prix last Sunday. It was also BMW Sauber's first Formula 1 victory and most significantly, BMW's first Grand Prix win as a manufacturer. It was a historic day all around for the Swiss-German team, which also delivered its first-ever 1-2 finish with Nick Heidfeld taking the second spot. Congrats to Mario Theissen and the entire BMW Sauber team.
(Regis Lefebure/ALMS)
Patrick Long turned in a blistering lap of 3:58.152 (128.016 mph) in the IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to capture the GT2 pole for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Long - the only American Porsche factory driver - is looking to repeat his GT2 class win at Le Mans with co-drivers Richard Lietz and Raymond Narac. Wolf Henzler was second in GT2 with a time of 3:59.072 (127.523 mph) in the Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche that he's sharing with co-drivers Alex Davison and Horst Felbermayr.
Jan Magnussen set the pace in Thursday night's final qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Pratt & Miller-prepared No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6R. Magnussen turned a lap of 3:47.669, the quickest in the GT1 division, while Oliver Gavin qualified the No. 64 Compuware Corvette C6R third at 3:48.539. Magnussen and Gavin both turned their fast times on their first flying laps at the start of the night qualifying session at 9:45 p.m. Magnussen's pole-winning time was 4.461 seconds faster than the C6R's qualifying pace in 2007. Last year the top Corvette qualified at 3:52.130, putting it third in the GT1 field. "Winning the pole at Le Mans is historic, but at some point in time it was also inevitable," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "It's a testament to the team's perseverance, dedication to the mission, flawless preparation, and most of all, to GM management's belief in the value of this program. That commitment has allowed Corvette Racing to compete here at Le Mans for nine consecutive years, and that continuity is what produces success. The Corvettes' improvement in performance is attributable not only to the guys who work on the cars, but also the engineers who develop the chassis and aerodynamics, our partners at Michelin, and Katech, which has been our partner on engine development since the program's inception. Everybody knew they had to put their shoulder to the wheel this year. We weren't happy with the outcome last year, and I think tonight we showed just how unhappy we were."
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IRL. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League are donating the $100,000 purse from the 2008 McDonald’s Pit Stop Challenge, canceled May 23 due to rain, to Belle Isle Park and Hole in the Wall Camps. Belle Isle Park, located in Detroit, and Hole in the Wall Camps each will receive $50,000. Belle Isle was identified as a beneficiary of the donation as Roger Penske helped bring Grand Prix auto racing back to Detroit in 2007 with an IndyCar Series race on the Belle Isle street circuit, and he remains dedicated to the preservation of the public island park located on the Detroit River. The 2008 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will be held Aug. 29-31. Founded by Paul Newman, the legendary award-winning actor, the family of Hole in the Wall Camps are places where children living with serious illnesses and life-threatening conditions can rediscover the joys of childhood. Campers who have been isolated by their treatments or too sick to participate in ordinary childhood activities have the opportunity to engage in all sorts of fun at camp. The camps provide children from throughout the U.S. and around the world with endless days filled with laughter, cheering and singing.