August 26, 2009
Dario Franchitti. Scoring a flag-to-flag win in the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway, Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda-Powered Dallara) tightened-up the fight for the IndyCar Series championship, while Ryan Briscoe's (No. 6 Team Penske D/H/F) second-place run actually gave him the lead by 4 points, the 13th time the championship points lead has changed in the 14 races this season. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F) who chased the set-up all weekend and started an uncharacteristic 10th clawed his way back to his starting position only to be punted-off by Marco Andretti on the beginning of the white-flag lap. Dixon's 13th-pace finish moved him to third in the championship standings, 20 points behind Briscoe. Andretti was penalized for avoidable contact with Dixon on the final lap and was placed back in 14th place. "It was a good weekend for Target Chip Ganassi Racing," Franchitti said. "The Target cars were pretty good. On the red Firestone tires they were very good. Qualifying up front allowed us to control the pace of the race and go just as fast as we used to go and that really helped us." Rookie Mike Conway (No. 24 Tran Systems/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) finished a career-best third place. Next up is the the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Aug. 29. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 9 p.m. (EDT) by VERSUS. A one-hour qualifying show will be telecast by VERSUS at 6 p.m. on Aug. 28. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com.
(Chris Jones/IRL)
Dario Franchitti (shown here in practice) had things go his way at Sears Point (Infineon) last weekend.
(Ron McQueeney/IRL)
Ryan Briscoe finished second last weekend taking over the IndyCar points lead.
(Ron McQueeney/IRL)
Mike Conway had this to say after his strong third-place finish: "Yeah, it was good. In the beginning, we got hit from behind and I got a puncture in my rear tire. I thought my race was finished. I just kept pushing all the way and just kept moving forward, and I kept setting quick times. Towards the end, I knew I might be able to get past the guys in front. The Tran Systems car was really good today. If we had a few more laps, it would have been interesting to see if I could get past those guys."
(Chris Jones/IRL)
A nasty crash in practice on Saturday for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma injured Nelson Phillipe (above) and Penske Racing's Will Power. Phillipe was stalled sideways over a blind rise when Power unavoidably slammed into him. Power suffered compression fractures to two lumbar vertebrae and a concussion in the crash, and he remained at Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital as of Aug. 24. A discharge date had not been finalized. Nelson Philippe, who suffered an open fracture of the left foot, a hairline fracture of his right fibula and a concussion in the incident was to be released from Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital either late in the day Aug. 24 or Aug. 25. The final decision is based on the travel plans of his immediate family.
(Ron McQueeney/IRL)
J.R. Hildebrand (No. 26 ARPRO) dominated the Firestone Indy Lights Carneros 100 at Infineon Raceway. Hildebrand can win the Firestone Firehawk Cup and the Firestone Indy Lights driver championship with a finish of 13th or better at Chicagoland Speedway on Aug. 29. It was Hildebrand's fourth win of the season and the fifth of his Firestone Indy Lights career. He has won at Long Beach, Watkins Glen, Edmonton and now Infineon so far this season. Felipe Guimaraes (No. 29 Bryan Herta Autosport) finished second, his career-best finish in Firestone Indy Lights, and James Davison (No. 21 People*s Liberation/Vision Racing) finished third, his second-straight podium finish. Next up for Firestone Indy Lights is the Chicagoland 100 on Aug. 29 at Chicagoland Speedway. The race will be telecast by VERSUS at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Aug. 31. VERSUS's coverage of the Carneros 100 will be telecast at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Aug. 24.
(ALMS)
Audi will return to the American Le Mans Series in September and square-off against the factory Peugeot 908s in hopes of retaining its title at the 12th annual Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6 at Road Atlanta. Audi Sport Team Joest confirmed Tuesday the entry of two Audi R15 TDI factory prototypes for the cornerstone event of the American Le Mans Series, a race the famed German marque has never lost since its inaugural appearance in 2000. Allan McNish and Dindo Capello, winners at Road Atlanta each of the last three years, will drive one diesel-powered prototype. Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr, last year’s American Le Mans Series LMP1 champions, will drive a second. Mike Rockenfeller will be a reserve driver for the team. The annual 1,000-mile, 10-hour endurance classic is set for September 23-26 at the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Ga. It should be a titanic battle.
(SCCA Formula Enterprises cars at Road America - Photo: Mark Weber/SCCA)
Every race from the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® will be broadcast live on the Internet this September from Road America. Beginning Friday, Sept. 25 at 8:00 a.m. (CDT, GMT -6), all 24 races crowning the best amateur racing drivers in America will be broadcast with flag-to-flag coverage of the 14-turn, four-mile Road America circuit, featuring expert commentary and post-race interviews. Each of the three race days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) will feature eight Championship races from the 46th annual Runoffs, which culminates the 70-race SCCA Club Racing National Racing Season. Speedcast Productions will exclusively carry the live action during race days through SpeedcastTV.com, as well as on-demand versions of each of the 24 races with additional content after the event has concluded. Cool.
SCOTT DIXON:
On his season, so far: "It's been definitely an up and down season. Considering the bad races we've had on the No. 9 car side, it's almost shocking that we're only 20 points out of the lead and were leading going into last weekend at Sonoma. It's been good on some parts. The team has won over half the races - 8 out of 14 which is respectable - but no one has had much a runaway. I'm excited to head into the homestretch, especially since they are at three mile-and-halfs I've done well at. Last year, I won one of them (Homestead) and finished second at the other two. Hopefully we can finish up strong and at the end one of the Target cars will have the championship."
On returning to Chicagoland Speedway: "Considering we've led a lot of laps here and done well here, we've never actually conquered it. Last year, I think we thought we had won the race for about 30 seconds, before they went back and reviewed it and Helio (Castroneves) had actually won. It's been good and bad for me. Obviously last year sealing the championship and then the bad year in 2007, running out of fuel on the last corner and losing the championship. I'm definitely looking forward to the race. The Target cars have been strong here before. My teammate (Dario Franchitti) has won here before. Dan (Wheldon) did a few years back. Hopefully we can gain valuable points."
DANICA PATRICK:
On returning to Chicagoland Speedway: "It's always close racing here in Chicago. You can always race side-by -side. It's one of the few we have left that it truly three-wide all the time, so it makes it really challenging. It's all about momentum and keeping you foot in it. We're going to be focusing on making a good car so we can have that in the race situation."
Is there pressure racing close to friends and family so close to home: "It doesn't matter what race we go to any more, there's always some friends or family coming. We try to disperse them throughout the season. We actually discourage them from coming to the closer races because there are so many more than normal. There's nobody that puts more pressure on myself. I am really my worse critic. No one can make me try harder than me."
About prediction for the championship: "It's really tough. These guys have been dueling it out since the beginning of the season. Scott had the tough start to the season with a couple of tough results at St. Pete and Homestead. Dario has been consistent and good as normal and Ryan (Briscoe) has been Mr. Consistency with his second place finishes. It's really tough to say. Scott has a good shot and I know what Dario is capable of and Ryan is a little bit more of a long shot as he has less experience, but he can pull it out too. He can be really fast sometimes. I think it's a little bit more difficult to be outright faster than anybody on the mile and a halfs we have left, but gosh I don't know. Dario is such a good friend. I have to go with Dario. I think he's so happy this year and he's happy to be back and he's having a good time. I guess I'll put my money on Dario."
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