The Indy Racing League

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, if there's never been a NASCAR thread until now, let me start an IRL thread. Let me see if I can get an IRL following here. I may not cover every race and offer previews, but I want to offer this for fans of the series. Because if there's a V8 Supercar thread, an ALMS thread (that is one of my own, but long defunct after a heated argument), and even a NASCAR thread, let me see how this deal goes.

My storylines for 2006:

* IRL with Honda Engines and Methanol (or Ethanol?) Fuel - How Will it Change Things in the IRL?
Honda's been the best brand in the IRL, leaving Toyota and Chevy/Cosworth scratching their heads. Now, the whole series is all Honda power. Speed Channel columist and non-F1 open-wheel commentator Robin Miller says that Penske could be the team to beat since the series is all-Honda. A funny note about this all-Honda deal is that a Honda winner is guaranteed for the race in Motegi, Honda's home track where back in 2004 or 2005, a Honda-powered car won for the first time.

* Can Dan Wheldon Potentially Win His Second-Straight Championship?
Dan Wheldon won last year's Indy 500, not to mention the championship. He's pretty good. A lot of the other teams will be scratching their heads in finding out how to stop him.

* Will Danica Patrick Score Win #1? If So, Where?
You knew it was going to come to this. People think Danica has been what the IRL is about, yet it's okay to have Dale Earnhardt Jr. prostitute his face and charisma everywhere he goes. Danica Patrick is the first lady of the IRL since Sarah Fisher a couple of years ago. She became the Rookie of the Year, but not to mention her success at Indy and the fact she tied her highest finish of 4th. She finished most of her races and knows how to get the job done, despite no trophies. But is her time to shine this year? Can she win on a Superspeedway? How about a Speedway? What about road racing? Or... can she exact her revenge from last year and win the Memorial Day classic at the Indy 500? This 24-year old (happy 24th, Mrs. D. Patrick!) is ready for action and can feel the winning energy in her blood. Can she cash in with a win?

* A New Andretti is Ready to Roll!
How will Marco Andretti fare in the IRL? The 19-year old is looking to carry on the Andretti namesake with winning performance. More than just a magic name, he can bring the pain. But talk is cheap. Can his actions speak louder than words? We shall see.

* Andretti-Green vs. Letterman-Rahal vs. Penske Racing vs. Chip Ganassi Racing - the IRL's Final Four
Who is going to win this battle among the IRL's four best teams? There are talented competitors for all four teams, so which will win it all in this Fatal Four-Way?


Even though oval racing is monotonous, I've grown a strange liking to the IRL for close finishes and fierce competition. No fender-banging here, because a slight mistake could cost you dearly. The competition is hot and with everyone running Honda power, those unaccustomed to Honda power will have to adapt.

So, let's get it on! Reply away.

 

[ND4SPD]

Well just to bring some news in here, this morning at 10:02 am while testing for the indy 500. Driver Paul Dana was killed after he struck a car driven by Ed Carpenter crashed and slid down onto the track in front of Dana at full speed. Dana's driver compartment was crushed and both driver's were airlifted to hospital where Dana was pronounced dead on arrival, Carpenter is said to be in stable condition.

 

[m.piedgros]

To lighten the mood a lil, yee Dan Wheldon can "potentially(?)" win his second championship. LOL Just making fun of the wording. But seriously, he's got the equipment to do so.

m.piedgros

 

[Lee]

* A New Andretti is Ready to Roll!
How will Marco Andretti fare in the IRL? The 19-year old is looking to carry on the Andretti namesake with winning performance. More than just a magic name, he can bring the pain. But talk is cheap. Can his actions speak louder than words? We shall see.

He done well* at the start of Homestead.

*Note, sarcasm...

 

[VNAF Ace]

Hey... What do you guys think of the re-unification talks between the IRL and CCWS?

 

[Kylehnat]

* A New Andretti is Ready to Roll!
How will Marco Andretti fare in the IRL? The 19-year old is looking to carry on the Andretti namesake with winning performance. More than just a magic name, he can bring the pain. But talk is cheap. Can his actions speak louder than words? We shall see.

Marco Andretti is going to flop. He has a bad, arrogant attitude. I've seen him race a few times on TV and once in person. I was not impressed. At the Star Mazda race in Portland last year, I watched him throw his race away on the first lap making a stupid overtaking maneuver. He was then later involved in a couple other avoidable incidents, and ended up finishing somewhere near the back.

 

[JohnBM01]

NOTE: I would like to send my condolences and prayers to Paul Dana. He had three starts in the series. He had a scary crash which killed the 30-year old. My thoughts and prayers go out to Paul Dana, his family, his friends, and all who loved and cared for him.

- The 2006 Indy Car Racing Championship -
ROUND 1: Miami-Dale Homestead - Homestead, FL

The racing season began with sadness as under the South Florida sunshine, a cloudy day transpired when Paul Dana smacked the Turn 2 wall. That wasn't frightening enough as Ed Carpenter Jr. couldn't brake or avoid P. Dana as he hit P. Dana VERY hard. Two hours later, the IRL's Brian Barnhart pronounced P. Dana was dead. This was a completely sad affair, but the show still went on regardless. Rahal-Letterman teammates #15 Buddy Rice and #16 Danica Patrick withdrew their entries after this sad and unfortunate death. So it looks like the Rahal-Letterman campaign will have to wait until next weekend. The defending champion, Dan Wheldon, is looking to remain on the top of the food chain. It's only until someone decides to take it to Wheldon and Ganassi Racing.

The call was led by Marty Reid, Rusty Wallace, and Scott Goodyear. The host for this is one of my three favorite college sports commentators- Brent Musberger (the other two are Brad Nessler and Keith Jackson by the way).

As the race progressed, Marco Andretti suffered a pass-thru penalty for passing before the official start.
Tony Kannan was trying to pit but spun out heading onto pit road. He would break the tie rods on his left front. And anytime you break the tie rods on a formula-type race car = game over. P.J. Cresson was looking for a three-point bomb to pace up the field, but I'm sure even the Denver Nugget, Carmelo Anthony (co-owner with Hemmelgarn Racing) saw his driver get rejected a chance to bang in the win. But at the end, it was another exhibit at how exciting the IRL can be with a side-by-side battle between Sam Hornish Jr. and Dan Wheldon. Dan Wheldon is already on his way to potentially adding more heavy hardware to his trophy case. It was the ninth-close

--- RESULTS: TOYOTA INDY 300 ( Source: http://www.indyracing.com ) ---

01 - Winner: #10 Dan Wheldon, Dallara Automobil
02 - #03 Helio Castro-Neves, Dallara Automobil
03 - #06 Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara Automobil
04 - #27 Dario Franchitti, Dallara Automobil
05 - #09 Scott Dixon, Dallara Automobil
06 - #55 Kosuke Matsurra, Panoz G-Force (-2 laps down)
07 - #08 Scott Sharp, Panoz G-Force (-2 laps down)
08 - #14 Felipe Giaffone, Dallara Automobil (-2 laps down)
09 - #02 Tomas Scheckter, Dallara Automobil (-3 laps down)
10 - Eddie Cheever Jr., #Dallara Automobil (-4 laps down)

More results: http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/races/1/results;_ylt=Av6BJEL2BJkUwgFy1ALtydrRv7YF

The next race will stay in the Sunshine State as the series goes to St. Petersburg for some street-course racing. After withdrawing from the race as a result of Paul Dana's death, Rahal-Letterman will stage their campaign for 2006. Danica Patrick hopes to get in win #1. Buddy Rice will look to deliver his own sugar-sweet performance. I tried to get the scores as best as I could. I couldn't find a good-enough site, so I looked to Yahoo! Sports, which is where I got the standings from.

Well, that is all. St. Petersburg is next. Set me straight on anything I may have messed up on. You have 24/7 privlegdes to set me straight on anything in this thread or any post of mine to set me straight if I screwed something up.

 

[RACECAR]

Hey... What do you guys think of the re-unification talks between the IRL and CCWS?

well, it will be fabulous to see them merge. actually Dan wildon said that he would love for it to happen. as for my opinion, look at both of them, honda is the only engine manufacterer now and Panoz is the only Chassis manufacterer with something new. some excitment is needed.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well, the next round of the series is still in Florida, but to St. Petersburg. I actually think the course looks pretty nice. I like tropical settings, especially within urban areas. This is a pretty nice track from what I've seen. If it's hot down in Florida, I can imagine the action getting just as hot. It should be a great race even as Rahal-Letterman racing will actually stage their 2006 compaign after the loss of Paul Dana. If I recall correctly, Rahal-Letterman won't have a driver available until the round at Motegi, Japan.

On top of that, it seems that Ed Carpenter suffered a bruised lung after his horrific and wicked wham into Paul Dana at Homestead. So in E. Carpenter's place, "Super Sub" Roberto Moreno will take his place at St. Petersburg.

It's still interesting that the IRL chose their first race on a street course. This is hitting the ground running to me. The IRL will go at it this weekend at St. Petersburg. I think it will be on ESPN at 3PM EDT (since Daylight Savings Time is this weekend).

 

[JohnBM01]

It's been told that Infiniti Pro Series veteran Jeff Simmons will be the season-long replacement to the late Paul Dana. He will be the entry to Rahal-Letterman Racing, which will stage their official campaign this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg. (Source: ESPNEWS)

This is a 14-race season, so Rahal-Letterman is already behind by virtue of withdrawing their entries at the Homestead event. They have catching up to do, though the season is VERY young. Meanwhile, Ganassi Racing's new boy, Dan Wheldon, already took it to the other bigtime teams, including Andretti-Green Racing. He's a great competitor, so he'll likely be the favorite for many of this season's races and even the Indy 500. I'm pretty sure there won't be any "wringers" in the IRL for this road racing event compared to NASCAR. Well, enjoy your weekend.

 

[JohnBM01]

Round 2 of 14 - The 2006 Indy Racing Leauge Championship: St. Petersburg, FL, USA

Last week was supposed to be a week of celebration. It was supposed to be a celebration of a new season as everyone is undefeated again. But it wasn't. Paul Dana was killed in a horrific crash during practice for Round 1 at Homestead. With his death, Rahal-Letterman teammates Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice withdrew their entries. The show went on in his honor, and Dan Wheldon won at Homestead. He didn't celebrate too much as he devoted his win to the memory of Paul Dana. What a stand up guy D. Wheldon is. Now the Ganassi Racing driver will try to keep things moving as we stay in Florida. This time, it's St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg, FL can be thought of as an East Coast Long Beach. The only difference is that it doesn't have the prestige and glamour of Long Beach. This course is a combination of an airport runway and the streets of St. Petersburg themselves. I actually love tropical settings. Here, we're talking about tropical settings and a pretty nice city. Lovely, isn't it? While you NASCAR fans are enjoying Martinsville, the IRL is challenging a street course with a little of everything- quick chicanes, wide roads, narrow roads, and some decisive corners. Street courses can be beautiful to gaze around, but you have to diffrentiate between the nice city scenery and that pretty white wall which shows the barriers around the course. Dario Franchitti of Edinburg, Scotland is the polesitter for this event, but will be challenge Dan Wheldon? Here are the results.

Dario Franchitti was on pole for this race, but it wasn't until about 20 to 25 percent race distance whereas Dario would be out of the race. When talking to the reporters, Dario wasn't very happy to put it modestly.
Lap 34 in the pits, and Roberto Moreno had some internal problems. The end result- this boy's done. * Rookie-sensation-turned-sophomore Danica Patrick started in 14th position and worked her way to about 12th. I normally thought Danica Patrick's road racing experience would help her here on this road course, having done Toyota Atlanics and that Formula Ford go-round in Europe. The 24-year old newlywed born from Beloit, Wisconsin is ready to give some Midwest love to Florida. * Lap 53 happens as rookie #91 P.J. Chesson spun out the Car-Melo car owned by Hemmelgarn Racing. It is the first full-course caution. This World of Outlaws star has three Infiniti Pro Series wins prior to competing in his very first road race. There didn't look to be any damage, but the New Jersey native raced on, but done later. * During the caution, Dan Wheldon was hit from behind by Sam Hornish Jr., spun out, and stalled the engine. Then, out of the race. No two-straight wins for Wheldon. Better luck in Japan. * Lap 61 and we're back to racing. Danica Patrick didn't pit, so she's in P3. It probably lit your eyes to see her in the Top three as ESPN went side-by-side. On top of that, Marco Andretti's day is done as the 19-year old failed to record a finish again. * It's lap 71 as Danica Patrick made her pit stop. Now she has to make a move as her teammate Buddy Rice led her out of the pits. * Helio Castroneves is the leader with 25% of the race left, 75 laps of 100. It is Helio Castroneves, Kiwi Scott Dixon, and Brazilian Tony Kannan the Top Three. * Scott Dixon and Tomas Scheckter haven't stopped yet inside of 10 laps to go. * Scott Dixon led with about a 15-second margin until he hit the pits. * With three laps to go, Tomas Scheckter crashed his Vision Racing entry, seemingly by Buddy Rice. Buddy Rice took some damage to his right rear. It looked like Buddy Rice tagged Scheckter unintentionally. This is Rice's 13th DNF in 51 races. * In the end, Helio Castroneves took the win under caution. He picked up his first IRL road course win after going 0 for 3 last season. He ties Buddy Lazier for all-time IRL wins with his eighth of his career.

FINAL RESULTS - TOP TEN:
01 - #03 Helio Castroneves (Honda GP of St. Petersburg Winner)
02 - #9 Scott Dixon
03 - #11Tony Kannan
04 - #07 Bryan Herta
05 - #04 Vitor Miera
06 - #16 Danica Patrick
07 - #55 Kosuke Matsuura
08 - #06 Sam Hornish Jr.
09 - #14 Felipe Giafofone
10 - #08 Scott Sharp


Well, my congratultions to Helio Castroneves as he shown Tony Stewart who's the REAL master of fence climbing is. Just like climbing a fence, Helio climbed up the ladder to success. The opening campaign for Rahal-Letterman ended with Vitor Meira leading Danica Patrick. V. Meira gets himself a Top 5 as Danica Patrick gets 6th. I'm sure she'll take this as I believe it's her best road course finish. This will end Round 2 as we look to the next round. Round 3 of the championship takes place in perhaps my favorite country- Japan. The championship will head overseas to a track you Gran Turismo fans are probably accustomed to, the Twin Ring Motegi Superspeedway (it would be interesting if they had a two-race deal where they do the oval one weekend, then the full road course the weekend after. Just a thought). It's the home Honda built, so you can be sure a Honda team will win. Question is, who will win in the series' only overseas race? That race will be on ESPN on April 22nd on Saturday 12:00 Noon EDT. So if it's on at 11AM CDT and there's about a 15-hour difference (14 hour difference with Daylight Savings Time) between Japan and Houston, it would be 2 or 3 AM in Japan. So this will likely be a time-delay deal. After Japan, it will be what is the greatest spectacle in [American] racing (no disrespect to the race)- the Memorial Day classic, the Indianapolis 500.

 

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, this is my IRL report for the next round of the championship at Twin Ring Motegi. I wasn't able to get this in quicker because of GTPlanet's unavailability. It's nice to see GTPlanet operating at full song yet again.

The 2006 Indy Car Championship
Round 3: Twin Ring Motegi (Super Speedway) - Motegi (or Tochigi-Shi?), Japan

INTRODUCTION:

One of my favorite countries in the world is Japan. Why Japan? Well, here are some reasons. There's nothing like watching Sakura trees blossom in the land of the Rising Sun. Sure, you can see them in Washington D.C. around the White House, but what about where they are REALLY from? Sakura trees are so lovely. There are also some lovely natural features around the country and on its many islands. There's Mt. Fuji, which is to Japan as the Statue of Liberty is to America. I like sushi as well. I have no real favorites, but my sushi experience began with a yummy California Roll. I am sometimes curious about what is in some rolls of sushi. I've tried several other types of sushi with favorites and not-so favorites. Let's not forget Japan's oh-so-cute girls... but that's another story. The IRL Championship is ready to take on the track you may have raced before in Gran Turismo 4. In this event, this is where Danica Patrick tied her best finish of 4th. Can Danica do 1, 2, or even 3 positions better? She starts 14th. You can imagine that Kosuke Matsurra and any other Japanese nationals would be favorites here on Honda's home race course. This course is about 65 miles north of a city I'd love to visit one day- Tokyo, Japan. We got 20 cars on track for this event, so let's go racing!

Qualifying for the race was washed out from rain. The race coverage was tape-delayed on ESPN, so the first bit of coverage I've seen was Helio Castroneves lead (I think) all 16 laps. Czech racer Tomas Enge and Australian Ed Carpenter took some heavy damage. E. Carpenter was told to have practiced racing an Australian V8 Supercar before heading to Japan to race this event. Carpenter's day is done as is Enge's day. Helio's led 32 laps as Danica made it up to the Top 10. Tenth to be exact. H. Castroneves, D. Wheldon, D. Franchitti, and T. Kannnan, was the Top 4 after the first caution. The green flag was out for maybe two seconds when Jeff Simmons of Rahal-Letterman Racing went upside down and ?. ???????? have both had a wild crash, thus making two caution periods. Scott Sharp spun to begin that whole thing. There was possibly oil at the end of Turn 4 to cause all of this. It was lap 43 of 200. It was back to green on Lap 52(?). Penske and gannasi still went at it! Franchitti is a Top 5 boy now as Buddy Rice is 7th. And what overrated? And what overhyped? Danica's looking to do one better as she was into 9th Place. Now make that eighth. So Row 4 is all Rahal-Letterman. It's lap 93 as some Green Flag pits were made. Tomas Scheckter of South Africa was the halfway leader in Nihon. Dan Wheldon cracked the 200 mph mark around the course. Dixon wanted the win and got it... but it was coming back. Danica, meanwhile, went one lap down even as she went 49 laps on fuel. D. Wheldon did about 50, and he's on the lead lap. Dario Franchitti had the onboard view as his left front tagged one of his pit members as the stop took place. He was one of the frontrunners as he made the goof-up. Scott Dixon did the pit stop right, except for that stalling he did in the pits. Felipe Giaffone was 13th as he spun and hit the wall out of Turn 4 some time later. Danica Patrick is now in seventh as it was H. Castroneves, D. Wheldon, and S. Hornish Jr. the Top 3.

I wasn't able to see the rest of the race because I had to go out with my parents. It ended up being a WONDERFUL day for one Helio Castroneves as he won it all.

FINAL RESULTS:
01 - #03 Helio Castroneves (or is it Helio Castro-Neves?) - Dallara
02 - #10 Dan Wheldon - Dallara
03 - #11 Tony Kanaan- Dallara
04 - #06 Sam Hornish Jr. - Dallara
05 - #15 Buddy Rice - Panoz
06 - #07 Bryan Herta - Dallara
07 - #55 Kosuke Matsuura - Dallara
08 - #16 Danica Patrick - Panoz
09 - #09 Scott Dixon - Dallara
10 - #04 Vitor Meira - Panoz

What's the next race? Why, it's the INDIANAPOLIS 500!!! You know the deal. Thirty-three entrants from drivers the world over all competiting on the greatest oval in America in a race that slightly triumphs over the Daytona 500 for the Memorial Day classic. It's also where some NASCAR racers try to do the Indy-Charlotte double. Whether or not you want to discuss this year's race in this thread or in a seperate thread is your call. I wanted this to be an official IRL thread, but also a general thread about the IRL itself. Regardless, the signature race for the IRL will be May 28th. I would reserve this thread to talk about Indy action from practice sessions to the big race.

A quick comment I'd make is that the Motegi Super Speedway event is a nice deal. I think it would be nice if the Motegi weekend was a two-race, two weekend deal. Maybe the oval can be raced one day, then the cars try out the road course of Twin Ring Motegi, which is one of the few "rovals" to not physically use the oval itself. But, that's just me. Care to comment on this race? You have the green light. Go.

 

[RACECAR]

Motegi( or tochigi-shi) its Motegi (Moteegee). Lets not forget Japan's oh-so-cute girls I most certainly agree:tup: I can't wait for the indy 500. we were so close to witnessing history last year so we just might see it happen this year.