June 23, 2010
(©2010, Nigel Kinrade, USA Autostock)
Kasey Kahne (above) was the fastest qualifier in his No. 9 Budweiser Ford for last Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sears Point (Infineon Raceway), but he would finish fourth behind winner Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet), Robbie Gordon (Toyota) and Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet). The big news was Johnson's first win on a road course in 17 starts (and his 51st win for Hendrick Motorsports), but the even bigger news was Marcos Ambrose - who dominated the event - but who would miss out on his first Sprint Cup win because of a gaffe during a late-race caution period. Ambrose was shutting off power to his engine to save fuel but when his engine wouldn't re-fire and he lost momentum, he got passed by race traffic and ended-up getting dropped from first to seventh by officials who ruled that he failed to maintain the pace. To make matters worse, the likelihood of Johnson catching Ambrose was slim, so the situation was devastating to the Australian driver. "I feel really disappointed," Ambrose said afterwards. "I might not like the call, but it is what it is. I should have had the motor cranked up, and it never would have been an issue." Ambrose would end-up finishing sixth behind Jeff Gordon.
(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Andretti Autosport Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone) won a IZOD IndyCar Series race for the first time in two years, capturing the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at the Iowa Speedway last Sunday. Kanaan, who started 15th, passed Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske D/H/F) with 10 laps to go on the .875-mile oval track. E.J. Viso (No. 8 PDVSA-Jet Aviation-KV Racing Technology D/H/F) finished an IZOD IndyCar Series-high third and Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske D/H/F) was fourth. Will Power (No 12 Verizon Team Penske D/H/F), the pole sitter, finished fifth to go back in front in the series championship points lead. It was Kanaan's first win of the season and 14th of his IndyCar career. "I have to thank my team and the entire 7-Eleven crew," Kannan said afterwards. "They did a great job. I had a great car. I have to thank my teammates. Marco (Andretti) and Ryan (Hunter-Reay) came over after qualifying. I was very disappointed. I made a mistake during qualifying and I was pretty down. They talked to me for 45 minutes and cheered me up. Marco gave me a little bit of his setup and Ryan actually helped me with the setup, putting it together for today. It was a great job as a team and it feels good." Next up for the series is the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen on Sunday, July 4th. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 3:30 p.m. (ET) by ABC and live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211. The race also will be carried on www.indycar.com.
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Helio and Tony ham it up in Victory Lane.
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
E.J. Viso had his best run as an IndyCar driver in Iowa.
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Sebastian Saavedra (No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport) won the AvoidTheStork.com 100 Firestone Indy Lights event on the 0.894-mile Iowa Speedway Saturday night. Martin Plowman (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing) was second, and J.K. Vernay (No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports) was third. Saavedra averaged 133.614 mph. Next up is the Corning 100 on July 4 at Watkins Glen.
(Sunday Group Management)
Jason von Kluge (No. 19 von Kluge JVK Motorsports Green Filter USA/Steeda/Varsity Ford Mustang) of Ann Arbor, Mich., won his fourth Ford Mustang Challenge race of the season after leading every lap from the pole at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday. Tony Buffomante (No. 34 Capaldi Racing Mustang) was a close second, and Ben Crosland (No.25 RP Motorsports Interbank FX Mustang) finished third. Next up for the Ford Mustang Challenge is the second double-header weekend of the year at the New Jersey Motorsports Park on July 17-18. Follow all the action and get updates on results and points at mustangchallenge.com.
(Shaun Lumley/SCCA
After dealing with an unscheduled pit stop that moved him as low as 11th place under caution, Brad Rampelberg (No. 4 AMG/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes Mazda MX-5 ), of San Jose, Calif., charged through the field to take the checkered flag during the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup race at Road America. Ara Malkhassian (No. 11 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions), of Houston, Texas, and Nick Evans (No. 28 Team MER/Mazda/Sparco MX-5), of Powell, Ohio, finished second and third, respectively. The win moves Rampelberg back into the MX-5 Cup Championship lead with 209 points - tied with Justin Piscitell - and ten points ahead of Michael Cooper. Evans is 15 points back in fourth. Next up for the series is the New Jersey Motorsports Park this coming weekend.
Conor Daly. A young racer who has future "star" written all over him, Conor Daly dominated the 100-lap Pizza Ranch 100 at Iowa Speedway Saturday night leading every lap for his fourth consecutive win of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Daly also set the fast lap of the race of 22.095 seconds. Daly now leads the driver's championship by 45 points.
(Regis Lefebure/SCI)
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out the riveting images - and commentary - from the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sports Car Insider here. Spectacular stuff. - PMD
NASCAR. Yes, the Nationwide race at Road America was a tremendous success - as we stated in this week's "Fumes" - but NASCAR has a long way to go before they understand how to run a race at Road America. NASCAR's traditional "M.O." is to throw a full-course caution at the mere whiff of trouble, but when you do that on a 4.048-mile natural-terrain road circuit like Road America you waste a lot of time, and you ruin the flow of the race. Granted, the delay due to the stupendous mash-up in Turn 6 couldn't have been avoided but the rest of the race was shaky, as NASCAR Race Control struggled mightily to figure things out. We trust next year's race will be run much better.
The Trans-Am Series. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Is there anything more pathetic than the current iteration of the once historically significant and highly-regarded Trans-Am Series? The SCCA's obsession with keeping this series going just so they can blather on about having the "longest running road racing series" (or whatever they call it) isn't doing any favors for anybody - not for the competitors, the fans or the glorious memories of when the series was great - which was a long, long time ago. There is just too much competition, especially with the ALMS GT2 class being as hot as it is right now. Memo to the SCCA: Mothball the Trans-Am. It's best to put it to sleep so as not to sully the memory of one of the greatest road racing series this country has ever seen. And unless you can convince at least four - count em', at least four - manufacturers to make a three-year commitment to resurrect the series, then let it rest in peace. - PMD
(Ecurie Ford France)
Well, you don't see this every day. Ecurie Ford France, one of the partners of the popular Le Mans Classic event, which takes place between July 9th and 11th, has prepared a collection of just five Focus RS cars in unique color schemes, each paying tribute to the Ford cars that made 'blue oval' history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Each of the five Focus RS Le Mans Classic vehicles will be finished in the racing colors of one of the famous Ford racing cars that made history at the French endurance classic. During the event itself they will even carry the race number of the cars to which they’re paying tribute, including the Black with silver stripes livery of the Ford Mk II which was victorious in 1966; the Red with white stripes of the Gurney/Foyt Mark IV winner from 1967; the White with a thin blue center stripe with red border, the colors of the Ford Mk IIB entered by Ford France in 1967; the Two-tone Gulf Blue and Orange honoring the GT40s which dominated Le Mans in 1968 and 1969; and finally the Two-tone White and Blue which represents the livery of the Capri RS 2600 which took the Touring category in 1972. Once the fifth Le Mans Classic event is over, these five unique Focus RS Le Mans Classic vehicles will be put up for sale, and will be offered with exclusive accessories. Fitted with either RS (1) or RS Technology (2) packs, they will be supplied with a Le Mans Classic watch - a 3-dial automatic chronograph with large date display and sapphire background of which only 600 are to be produced.
(Rhys Millen Racing)
Rhys Millen will compete in the 88th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) on Sunday in Colorado. His goal is to break the elusive 10-minute mark and set a new overall course record at PPIHC, the most prestigious hill climb event in the world. Millen will race his specially constructed Red Bull Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Genesis PM580 Unlimited Class car up the mountain on a set of street legal Toyo-brand tires. The all-wheel-drive machine has a tubular chassis, a one-off carbon fiber body, and features a stroked and turbocharged 4.1-liter Hyundai Lambda V6 engine designed to power it from the 9,390-foot elevation start - over a grueling 156-turn course - to the 14,110-foot summit.
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