THE LINE
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 02:20PM May 6, 2009
(Chris Jones/IRL)
The Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program took place Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Four rookies passed the ROP as preparations began in earnest for the 2009 Indianapolis 500. The track was open for six rookies to participate in ROP, while three veterans completed "refresher" laps. Mike Conway, Robert Doornbos, Raphael Matos and Alex Tagliani completed all four phases of ROP, having to demonstrate consistent driving through four speed ranges beginning at 200 mph and increasing in 5 mph increments. Paul Tracy, a veteran of five Indianapolis 500s who made his last start in 2002, turned the fastest lap of the day at 40.3426 seconds, 223.089 mph around the historic 2.5-mile oval. Thirteen-time starter Scott Sharp had the second-fastest lap at 221.878 mph. Nelson Philippe completed the first three phases of ROP, while Stanton Barrett completed two. An additional ROP session is scheduled for Wednesday (May 6) from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. before the track opens for all drivers.
Practice Speeds, Tuesday, May 5:
1. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 223.089
2. (16) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Honda, 221.878
3. (06) Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 221.735
4. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 218.613
5. (34) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 218.333
6. (24) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 217.063
7. (00) Nelson Phillippe, Dallara-Honda, 214.786
8. (99) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 213.032
9. (98) Stanton Barrett, Dallara-Honda, 207.522
Wednesday update:
Nelson Philippe became the fifth rookie to pass the Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program, completing the final phase of the four-step process in the first 35 minutes of practice before rains washed out the rest of the session. Philippe completed 18 laps with a best lap of 41.3436 seconds, 217.688 mph on the 2.5-mile oval. With the final scheduled ROP session cut short, Thursday's schedule has been expanded to begin at 9:30 a.m. instead of noon. Stanton Barrett, the final rookie with two more phases of ROP to pass, will have one hour of track time before the track opens for all cars at 10:30 a.m.
(Jim Haines/IRL)
Alex Tagliani steps into his No. 34 Conquest Racing entry sponsored by the King Tut exhibit on Tuesday. Tagliani, 36, from Lachenaie, Quebec, will attempt to qualify for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Sunday, May 24. Tagliani has made four starts in IndyCar Series points events, including at St. Petersburg and Long Beach this year. He earned his first Champ Car World Series victory in 2004 at Road America and finished in the top 10 in series points every year from 2002-07.
(Chris Jones/IRL)
Mike Conway prepares for his ROP laps on Tuesday, May 5.
(Chris Jones/IRL)
Sebastian Saavedra (No. 27 AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing) topped the Firestone Indy Lights Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Twenty-one drivers had five hours to prepare for the Firestone Freedom 100, which will be run May 22. Saavedra, who won the April 26 race at Kansas Speedway, turned a best lap of 47.0520 seconds, 191.278 mph. 2006 race winner Wade Cunningham (No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports) was second at 190.969 mph, and Martin Plowman (No. 15 Panther Racing) was third.
(Photo by Mark Weber/SCCA)
Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60), of Boca Raton, Fla., led from the pole and captured his eighth-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship win Saturday at New Jersey Motorsport Park’s Thunderbolt Raceway averaging 83.835 mph for the 30-lap, 67.5-mile race. Randy Pobst (No. 1 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60), of Gainesville, Ga., completed a K-Pax Racing Volvo sweep finishing 0.433-seconds behind, with Brandon Davis (No. 10 Applied Computer Solutions/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra), of Huntington Beach, Calif., finishing third. Pilgrim also earned the Débaufré Fast Lap of the Race, turning a 1:24.944 (95.357 mph) on lap two. The win was the second for Volvo in World Challenge competition, and the first since 2004. Davis takes over the point lead going into Round Four, with 300, followed by James Sofronas (294), Tony Rivera (279), Pilgrim (274) and Eric Curran (222). Porsche leads the Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER with 21, followed by Ford (15), Volvo (12), Chevrolet (12) and Dodge (five). This race will be broadcast June 16 at 2 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED. Next up for the series is Mosport International Raceway, May 16-17.
(Photo by Mark Weber/SCCA, taken during qualifying)
Jason Saini (No. 74 MAZDASPEED/Stoptech/Racinghart MAZDA6), of Fort Worth, Texas, captured his second-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Thunderbolt Raceway. Peter Cunningham (No. 1 Acura/RealTime/Red Line Oil Acura TSX), of Milwaukee, Wis., was second followed by Andrew Aquilante (No. 35 Phoenix Performance Inc. Subaru WRX), of Phoenixville, Pa., who came home in third. Saini had a 2.967-second lead at the checkered flag and averaged 87.269 mph in the 27-lap, 60.75-mile race that went caution free. Saini now leads the World Challenge Touring Car points chase, with 224. Kleinubing is second, with 195, followed by Thomas (192), Cunningham (172) and Foss (161). Acura leads the Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER, with 16, followed by Mazda, with 14 and BMW, with 9. Today’s race will air Friday, May 22 at 2 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED. Rounds Three and Four of the Championship will take place at Mosport, May 16-17.
(Krohn Racing)
Krohn Racing captured their first victory in the Proto-Auto Lola Ford last Sunday at the Verizon Wireless 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, in Millville, New Jersey. Round 3 on the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series schedule was pelted with heavy rain which led to treacherous conditions from start to finish. The No. 76 Krohn Racing Ford Lola of Nic Jönsson (above, left) and Ricardo Zonta (above, right) dominated the race on the soaked 2.25 mile, 14-turn road course. Jönsson, originally from Sweden and now living in Buford, Georgia, took the lead on lap 14 until lap 35 when he turned the car over to Zonta. Coming out of the pits in sixth, Zonta of Curicuba, Brazil, took his time to climb to catch the leaders, finally grabbing the top spot on lap 58. He finished with struggling field to win with a 44.752 seconds margin of victory in the 87 lap race.
(Photo by Alison Merion)
Marc Miller (No. 28 Team MER/MOCA/RaceForAutism MX-5), of Holland, Mich., won Round One of the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup in his series debut last weekend. The race was part of the Classic Motorsports Magazine Walter Mitty Challenge at Road Atlanta. Miller's teammate, Mark Jenkins (No. 25 Team MER/JBR/Traxxas/BFG/Simpson MX-5), of Fairview, Texas, finished second, followed by Justin Piscitell (No. 89 ALARA Racing/DAMG Racing MX-5), of Patterson, N.Y. Jenkins also set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:42.517 (89.195 mph). This race will begin airing on syndicated cable networks May 25. Coming up? Round Two at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif, May 15 - 17.
See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and auto industry PR veteran Jason Vines this Thursday evening, May 7, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv. By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to the Autoline After Hours podcasts, click on the following links:
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