FRANCHITTI WINS
PEAK ANTIFREEZE
& MOTOR OIL INDY 300 on a Beautiful Night
of Racing at the Chicagoland Speedway. by Ed Vincent
It was a
great nice to be at the track with lots of fast cars and a
crowd of anxious viewers in the stands. This may be the last race
here for sometime in the future since there will be conflicts next
year with the new Nascar races coming to the track.
There were some issues with too many cars abreast in the turns,
some drivers noted that four cars across is just nuts. Fortunately
there were no serious accidents with the situation, just slower times.
Next
Year there will be no Indy racing at
Chicagoland Speedway, due to
conflicts in
schedules--NASCAR will shine
though.
NASCAR Trucks take to the Track for Practice
Busch holds off
Bodine for 20th Truck victory Busch scores
fourth consecutive NASCAR
national series victory By Sporting News
Wire Service August 30, 2010 09:54 AM EDT
JOLIET, Ill. -- What
can slow Kyle Busch? Perhaps only
the checkered flag.
Busch won his second
consecutive Truck Series race and
his fourth national NASCAR race in a row by dominating
the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 on Friday night at Chicagoland
Speedway.
Busch swept all
three NASCAR national series races at
Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend and continued
his winning ways at Chicagoland. He led three times
for 121 laps for his fourth Truck Series win in nine starts
in 2010 and becomes the fifth driver in Truck Series history
to score 20 victories.
"It's great to win
in your own equipment," Busch said.
"It makes you feel a little bit better, with the hard work
and blood, sweat and tears with all your guys and how
much dedication they have for myself and this race team."
Busch has 17 wins
this year across the Cup (three wins),
Nationwide (10) and Truck series.
Series points leader
Todd Bodine finished second .186
seconds back, with Ron Hornaday third, Johnny Sauter
fourth and rookie Justin Lofton fifth. Aric Almirola,
Matt Crafton, Rick Crawford, Austin Dillon and
David Starr completed the top 10.
The only drama for
Busch came on pit road during two
separate caution flags. On Lap 81, Busch's gasman had
trouble with the second gas can, and Busch lost four
spots for the restart. But he charged to the lead on Lap 98
after another caution slowed the race.
Busch didn't let his
emotions take over and drive like a
madman after the slow stop. Instead, he took a calculated
approach.
"I was just kind of
playing it out, 'Alright, who's starting
in front of me, where are they starting?' " Busch said.
"I started on the inside, so I wanted to make sure I didn't
get sucked around or somebody in front of me didn't spin
or get loose. You're always worried about guys getting loose
and then bottling up and getting hit from behind. There's
always something that could happen."
On Lap 126, Busch
changed four tires on his No. 18
Toyota, with several other drivers taking two. Busch
restarted sixth but passed three cars on the first green-flag
lap and got the lead on Lap 131.
"I was like,
'Hopefully, track position isn't that big a deal
and tires will prevail for us,' " Busch said. "And they did."
Busch also survived
a late-race thrust from Bodine, who
made an inside move on Busch with six laps to go but
slipped and lost ground. Busch then held off Bodine on a
green-white-checkered finish after Timothy Peters blew an
engine. The race went four laps beyond the scheduled 150
on the 1.5-mile track.
"Right there at that
run, we were really good," Bodine said.
"They adjusted tires and got it really good. One time I got
up to the outside of Kyle and he pinched us up in the wall,
and then I got under him going into [Turn] 3 and got loose.
That's just a function of the way the aero package is.
"Second stinks, but
we'll take it. Another good points night,
another good run. Shows how solid this team is every week
and what kind of trucks they bring to the race track."
Bodine extended his
points lead to 236 on Almirola with
eight races remaining. He said he hopes this race proves
he's not "points racing."
"I actually had a
guy outside say to me, 'It didn't look like
you were points racing when you stuck it on the outside of Kyle,'
" Bodine said. "And we're not. We're here to win."
The victory was
Toyota's 75th in the Truck Series since 2004,
when it entered NASCAR competition. FRANCHITTI WINS
PEAK ANTIFREEZE
& MOTOR OIL INDY 300; HINCHCLIFFE
WINS THRILLER
JOLIET, Ill. -
(Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010) - Dario Franchitti used
a clever bit of strategy to
win the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor
Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland
Speedway
and close the gap on
IZOD IndyCar Series championship
points
leader Will Power.
Franchitti picked up
the lead out of the final pit stop on Lap 173 -- relying on a double
stint of the Firestone Firehawks (62 laps) - and held off Dan
Wheldon by 0.0423 of a second for his third win of the season.
Power's No. 12
Verizon Team Penske crew had a fueling equipment issue on
the same pit stop and he had to duck onto pit lane with five
laps left for a splash. He was running fourth at the time but
finished a season-low 16th.
Franchitti
closed to 23 points of Power with three oval races left.
Marco
Andretti led an Andretti Autosport trio in the top five with a season-best-tying
third place. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan
followed. Helio Castroneves finished sixth and
Justin Wilson advanced 16 positions to finish seventh.
Franchitti
posted his 26th Indy car racing victory, tying
Rodger Ward for 11th on the all-time list (USAC, CART,
Indy Racing league sanction). Johnny Rutherford (27) is next. Also on Aug. 28,
James Hinchcliffe held off Pippa Mann by
0.0159 of a second - the third-closest margin of victory in
Firestone Indy Lights history - to win the Chicagoland 100. Mann, who led her
first laps of the season in the No. 11
Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, recorded a career-best finish
and led three Sam Schmidt Motorsports drivers across the line.
Philip Major also posted a career best to finish third and
series championship points leader J.R. Vernay was fourth. Hinchcliffe, who
started 13th, was driving the high line and
caught Mann on Lap 66 following a Lap 63 restart. It was
his third victory of the season (first on an oval).
DAY 2
NOTEBOOK:
Davey Hamilton has
driven hundreds of laps on the 1.5-mile
Chicagoland Speedway oval - just not in an IZOD IndyCar
Series car in competition.
Among the many hats the veteran wears is driver of the
Indy Racing Experience two-seater, giving the thrill of a
lifetime to unsuspecting patrons. An annual IZOD IndyCar
Series event at the racetrack was added in 2001 (months after
it opener) - a year after Hamilton suffered multiple injuries
in a race in Texas.
He qualified 28th in the No. 21 HP de Ferran Dragon
Racing car and will race for the first time on a 1.5-mile
oval since that 2001 incident. "When I went out for my
first lap I ran right into a pack of 10 cars so that was
a little intense," said Hamilton, who last competed in
the series in the Indianapolis 500 on May 30. "It didn't
give me much time to get up to speed."
***
Dario Franchitti's No. 10 car is featuring a Breathe Right
Advanced Nasal Strips livery this weekend, including
a Breathe Right nasal strip on the nose. He wears the
breathing aids while on the track. Speaking of different
liveries, the green and yellow No. 5 Lotus entry for KV
Racing Technology driven by Takuma Sato has a
message on the sidepods: 16:45 -- Sept. 30, 2010.
It represents the unveiling of the next Lotus passenger
car line set for 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 30 at the Paris Auto Show.
***
Patricia Cox of Melbourne, Fla., was the winner of
"The Fastest Seat in Sports" sweepstakes via
www.shophonda.com for the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor
Oil Indy 300. She'll be in the back seat of the IZOD-
branded Indy Racing Experience two-seater driven by
Mario Andretti to lead the field to the green flag.
She and a guest also received the full treatment --
all-expenses-paid trip, hotel, meals ... even $1,000
in IZOD clothing.
"I am in shock still that I actually won something
like this," she said. "I have actually always wanted
to go to a race, but never had a chance. This
trip has given me the chance to do just that. I do
not have a favorite driver, but who hasn't heard
of Mario Andretti? This is a trip of a lifetime,
between going to Chicago, the hotel, food and
attending a cool race I could not imagine anything
else but exciting."
Enter for a chance to win the prize for the Homestead-
Miami Speedway season finale on Oct. 2 at
www.shophonda.com.
CHICAGOLAND 100 POST-RACE NOTES: Today's win is
James Hinchcliffe's first at Chicagoland and
third of the season. He won earlier this year at Long Beach
and Edmonton. It is his first win on an oval in Firestone Indy
Lights. The margin of
victory of today's race was .0159 of a second.
It's the third-closest finish in Firestone Indy Light history.
Three of the four closest races in Firestone Indy Lights history
have come at Chicagoland Speedway.
Pippa Mann
finished second, a career best finish in Firestone
Indy Lights. Her previous best finish was fifth at Infineon two
weeks ago.
Philip Major
finish third, a career best finish in
Firestone Indy Lights. His previous best finish
was sixth in 2009 (Indianapolis, Iowa, Watkins Glen). CHICAGOLAND 100
POST-RACE QUOTES:
JAMES
HINCHCLIFFE (No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling,
winner Chicagoland 100): "It was tough, I wasn't sure I would
have enough. Pippa (Mann) was super strong. At the drop
of the green, we had to make up from 13th to first. I sort
of went for it with two laps to go and I thought I may have
gone a lap too early but I had a really good run off of Turn 2.
I was able to get alongside Pippa and side-draft her a bit.
She pushed me kind of high and that may have hurt her
momentum a bit. Then the same thing off of Turn 4, and
we were able to use the angle to run down to the start/finish
line. That's Chicagoland racing.
PIPPA MANN
(No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsport, finished
second): "Hinch and I did some side-by-side racing today
and he had an awesome car. When he was right behind
me on the last restart, I thought this is the last person I
want to see in my mirrors and I mean that in the most
complementary way. I had something for everyone out
there today but the guy that crossed the line first. My team
did an amazing job but at the end of the day, the better guy
won the race.
PHILIP MAJOR
(No. 49 Sam Schmidt Motorsports,
finished third): "Oh man, this is probably one of the
craziest tracks I have ever raced at. It's my first time here.
I don't remember a lap where we weren't side-by-side
and almost banging wheels. It was crazy. In the end,
you just have to feel out your car and make adjustments,
put yourself in the right place and try to finish at the
podium in the end. J.K. VERNAY (No. 7
Lucas/CJ/Sam Schmidt
Motorsports, finished fourth): "I'm really disappointed
because we had a chance to win. The last two laps
were really odd. I have nothing to say really about this
race. The car was great. The team did a great job.
The strategy was not good, that's all." ***
Mike Kelly, executive
vice president of marketing of
Philips-Van Heusen presented a $150,000 check to the
Indy Family Foundation (the Benevolent Fund of
Motorsports), which was raised from the inaugural
IZOD IndyCar Series Celebrity Invitational Golf
Tournament in May at the Brickyard Crossing Golf
Course in Indianapolis.
Heather Carpenter (president), Tammy Kiefer
(vice president) and Melinda Hull (secretary) accepted
the check on behalf of the Indy Family Foundation.
"As the title sponsor of the IZOD IndyCar Series,
it was important to us to find a way to give back
to the IndyCar community," Kelly said. "When
we learned about the Indy Family Foundation's
Benevolent Fund for Motorsports, we thought it
was the perfect beneficiary for our tournament.
We are thrilled to be able to contribute to their
cause and want to thank all of our celebrities,
Hall of Famers and other sponsors for stepping
up and participating." As part of IZOD's ongoing
"Race to the Party" campaign, it played host to
celebrities and Pro Football Hall of Famers at the
first-ever event. Other sponsors included the Indy
Racing League, ESPN, VERSUS, GoDaddy.com,
Firestone, William Rast, Comfort Revolution,
Lotus Cars, Image First, Vitaquest, Aqua Hydrate
and GCA.
The Benevolent Fund of Motorsports, which began
in 1996, offers financial aid to members of the Indy
car racing community and their families in times of
need. The Benevolent Fund of Motor sports is
operated solely by volunteers who delegate all
money raised to the fund except for a small portion
for administrative fees that allow the fund to stay
in operation. In 2007, the Indy Family Foundation,
Inc. was formed, allowing individuals to volunteer
as "friends of the foundation" and participate in
the social and developmental activities of the fund.
"Thanks to the generosity of IZOD, we'll able to
continue to assist those members of the motorsports
community who need our help," Carpenter said.
"As a volunteer-based foundation, we depend on
contributions like these to enable us to continue our
work and we are extremely grateful to IZOD for
selecting us to be the recipient of the proceeds from
their Celebrity Golf Tournament."
***
Today is Raphael Matos' 29th birthday.
His team presented him with a cake
after the drivers meeting.
*** PEAK
ANTIFREEZE & MOTOR OIL
INDY 300 POST-RACE NOTES:
Dario
Franchitti won the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil
Indy 300, his third win of the 2010 season (Indianapolis,
Mid-Ohio). Franchitti previously won at Chicagoland at
2007.
This is
Franchitti's 26th win in IndyCar history (CART,
IZOD IndyCar Series), tying him with Rodger Ward for
11th on the all-time win list.
Dan Wheldon
finished second, tying his season-best finish.
Wheldon finished second at Indianapolis earlier this year. Marco Andretti
finished third, tying his season-best finish.
Andretti finished third at Indianapolis and Texas earlier this
year.
Ryan
Hunter-Reay finished fourth, his best finish this
season on an oval. The
margin of victory was .0423, the
sixth closest IZOD IndyCar Series finish at Chicagoland
Speedway. PEAK ANTIFREEZE & MOTOR OIL
INDY 300 POST-RACE QUOTES: DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10
Breathe Right, winner PEAK
Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300): "It's good to have
Floyd (Ganassi) back at the track. He hasn't been here for
a while but as usual, he brought us luck tonight. We were
struggling tonight with the Breathe Right car really in traffic
as we got a little further back there. A lot of crazy stuff
going on. I was just more comfortable up high. That last
stop was the key to this race. Chris Simmons, turns out he
was the one that made the call. We had a lot of faith in
the Firestone tires. He said leave the tires on and got us
out front. Dan Wheldon, he was just pushing me all the
time, just helping me. I was giving him room at the
bottom. We were working together very, very well there.
So between him and Scott Dixon pushing me around all
night. This Team Target is amazing." DAN WHELDON (No. 4 National
Guard Panther Racing,
finished second): "Great job by everyone at National
Guard Panther Racing. We continue to work very,
very hard. To be honest at the end, the reason I
worked so hard with Dario (Franchitti) and just tried
to stay with him was because he was so clean and
professional. He is a true gentleman out there and a
great driver. I have to take away with the guys on
our team. They did an excellent job and it was a
strong performance. I have to thank my team and the
fans who were definitely on their feet at the end of the
night. It was an exciting race as it should be. RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 37
Ethanol USA/Team
IZOD, finished fourth): "I'm happy with a top-four,
but I'm upset with the way some guys drove. It was crazy
out there. When you put 15 fast cars in a group that you
could throw a king-sized blanket over, you're going to
have people who are pissed off. You can't do everything
right."
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team
Venom Energy,
finished third): "It's good to taste (success) again. It's
been tough on the road courses lately so I'm happy to
finish on the podium. We lost a couple spots in pit
stops, so we have to really analyze what happened.
It was costly." HELIO CASTRONEVES
(No. 3 Team Penske, finished
sixth): "The Team Penske car was good early in the
race. I was able to run strong towards the front of the
field. During our first stop we had an issue fueling and
that put us back in the field. My car was not as good
in traffic as it was toward the front of the field and,
honestly, it was a little unnerving back there. The cars
at the back of the field were moving around quite a bit
and it was difficult to find racing room. We will be
back at it again next week at Kentucky and hopefully
we'll have a better result there." VITOR MEIRA (No. 14
ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt Racing,
finished ninth): "It was a very interesting race. We knew
it would be but it was really crazy! Getting two front
wings, getting lapped, my team did good job getting
the lap back. We needed this after 4 tough races. This
was very tough. I'm glad we did it here in chicago
close to abc supply hq.they support us so well! (you ever
think race was gone?) I thought after the 2nd wing
replacement our race waas gone but we didn't give up,
never give up, never." GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 02
NHR/Quick Trim, finished
10th): "The Quick Trim car felt pretty good; I definitely
felt we had a car that, overall, could compete for the
top-three. But then when we got out to the front of
our pack I just couldn't keep the position; people were
just driving around me and taking off. Clearly I wanted
a better finish than we had. We should have been able
to get a top-three, top-five. It just wasn't in the cards." RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6
Team Penske, finished 11th):
"That was a wild night. The Team Penske car was great
running out front and I was able to run fast on my
own. After that last stop, we lost a little track position.
I tried everything that I could, but my car was just not
as good in traffic." HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 06
Formula Dream/Panasonic,
finished 13th): "We made a big change overnight so at
the start of the race I was conservative to see how it
would react. Then we had a problem in the pits but
sometimes human error is a part of racing. We hung
in there and finished the race. Our position was okay,
not great, but we are very pleased with the progress we
made. We made very good progress in this race that
will help us in Kentucky and if we can continue
progressing in Kentucky we can carry good momentum
for Japan." WILL POWER (No. 12
Verizon Team Penske,
finished 16th): "That was a really intense race and
man, I had a lot of fun out there in the Verizon
car. Unfortunately, we had a problem with our fuel
late in the race and we had to come back in and
lost position. That was just a mistake that we couldn't
afford. This obviously makes things tougher for the
championship, but we're still in front and we proved
how competitive we can be on the ovals. We'll move
on and we will work harder next week at Kentucky."
ALEX TAGLIANI:
(No. 77 FAZZT Race Team, finished
25th): "I am extremely proud of the team. We've had a
good car this year on the oval and we were able to get it
to the front again with the set up changes that we made
for the race. We drove from 20th all the way to the
front when we had a little issue with the fuel and went
a lap down. We got the lap back and I don't think it
was a problem at that point because we moved so
quickly to the front I knew we could do it again.
On the restart I got hit from behind and turned
around and that was the end of our race. It's really
unfortunate for the whole team; the Bowers and
Wilkins/TorcUP car was great. I think we had the
car to beat tonight."
DANICA
PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy.com,
finished 14th): "I'm really disappointed with the race
result. The GoDaddy car was handling well all night,
I just didn't have enough speed to stay with the lead
pack. It's tough to end the event like this because we
were really competitive and I thought we'd have more
out there tonight." TONY KANAAN (No. 11
Team 7-Eleven/Planters,
finished fifth): "It was a great team effort for us
tonight, but it was a crazy race. It's great for the
fans, but it's hard to enjoy it as a driver. For most
of the night, you're in survival mode. Everybody
is going to get mad at each other at one point or
another in a race like this because there is nowhere
to hide. People were doing crazy things out there
and it's a bit upsetting." ED CARPENTER (No. 20
Panther/Vision/Fuzzy's
Vodka, finished 20th): "I just had a really good
car that was a lot like Indianapolis and Kentucky
last year. It was handling so well that I could put
it anywhere. I seemed to be really good on the
bottom where a lot of guys were pushing up. I
could go high or low and was able to work my
way to the front pretty quickly early in the race.
The crew did a great job preparing the car but
we lost spots on pit stops but got the No.20 Fuzzy
Vodka car back up to the front each time. We
saved fuel, got really good mileage and lead
some laps. It was a lot of fun but then really
disappointing. It's pretty frustrating that the
two times we've run this no.20 Fuzzy's Vodka
car, I feel like we should have finished on a
podium. We had a fuel issue again. A different
problem but the same result. I have to thank
the Panther Racing team. They did a great job
giving me a super fast car. I'm really happy for
Dan Wheldon and his Panther crew and their
great second place result. They were just as fast
and we can take solace in the fact we too could
have been up there battling for the win with him.
We said coming in here that we were going to
have a chance to win and we did. If we can go
without having a fuel issue again, I'm pretty sure
we can finish on the podium. I'm feeling very
confident for Kentucky and Homestead. We're
not points racing. We're racing for a win." DAVEY HAMILTON (No.
21 HP de Ferran Dragon
Racing, finished 18th): "For being out of the car
for nine years on a mile and a half oval, I feel
pretty good. I really felt competitive in the group
for awhile. Unfortunately, we struggled quite a bit
yesterday, and we didn't have the gearing tonight
to compete with the main pack. But all things
considered, the HP car was good. I felt more
confident and comfortable as the race went on
and could make choices on the track in traffic.
I don't know the guys well enough so at times
when I wanted to use the top line it got taken
away and I had to stay low. That cost me a couple
spots, but by the end I was using the top line and
felt really competitive."
*** The 2010 IZOD
IndyCar Series season continues
Sept. 4 with the Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky
Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High
Definition at 8 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will
air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145
and Sirius channel 212. The race also will be carried
on www.indycar.com. The 2010 Firestone Indy Lights
season continues with the Drive Smart. Buckle Up
Kentucky 100 on Sept. 4 at Kentucky Speedway.
IZOD IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze
& Motor Oil Indy 300 JOLIET, Ill. -
Results Saturday of the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy
300 IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.52 mile
Chicagoland Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in
parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and
reason out (if any):
Winner's average speed: 169.161
Time of Race: 01:47:49.5783
Margin of victory: .0423 of a second
Cautions: 3 for 28
Lead changes: 25
Lap Leaders:
Briscoe 1-28, Andretti 29, Briscoe 30-32,
Andretti 33, Briscoe 34-50,
Andretti 51, Briscoe 52-54, Wheldon 55,
Carpenter 56-57, Tagliani 58, Lloyd 59-61,
Meira 62-63, Briscoe 64-80, Fisher 81-90,
Briscoe 91-135, Power 136, Carpenter 137,
Wheldon 138, Meira 139-142, Wheldon 143-149,
Hunter-Reay 150-151, Wheldon 152-155, Power 156,
Wheldon 157, Power 158, Franchitti 173 - 200
Point Standings: Power 528, Franchitti 505, Dixon 443,
Briscoe 406, Castroneves 398, Hunter-Reay 392,
Kanaan 360, Andretti 319, Wilson 316, Wheldon 309.
oo
Firestone
Indy Lights Chicagoland
100 JOLIET, Ill. -
Results Saturday of the Chicagoland 100 Firestone Indy
Lights Series event on the 1.52 mile Chicagoland
Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in
parentheses, driver, laps completed and
reason out (if any):
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 42:30.9080
Winners average speed: 143.723
Margin of victory: .0159 of a second
Cautions: 4 cautions for 17 laps
Lead changes: 4 among three drivers
Lap Leaders: Plowman 1-29, Mann 30-59, Hinchcliffe 60,
Mann 61-65, Hinchcliffe 66-67
Point Standings: Vernay 444, Hinchcliffe 391, Kimball 343,
Plowman 338, Saavedra 303, Clarke 271, Wilson 262,
Major 258, Yacaman 249, Campos 243.
