By Amy Konrath
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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
Learn more at www.indyfamilyfoundation.com.
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Today is Raphael Matos’ 29th birthday. His team presented him with a cake after the drivers meeting.
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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! y(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.”
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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):
1. (2) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (7) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (5) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (9) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (13) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
6. (4) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (23) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (15) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (24) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (6) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
11. (1) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
12. (20) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
13. (8) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
14. (12) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
15. (25) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
16. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
17. (21) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
18. (28) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
19. (26) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
20. (11) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 179, Handling
21. (14) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 162, Running
22. (29) Jay Howard, Dallara-Honda, 161, Mechanical
23. (27) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 150, Mechanical
24. (22) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 88, Mechanical
25. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 85, Contact
26. (10) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 80, Contact 27. (16) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 80, Contact 28. (17) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 4, Contact 29. (18) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 4, Contact
Race Statistics
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.
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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):
1. (13) James Hinchcliffe, 67, Running
2. (2) Pippa Mann, 67, Running
3. (4) Philip Major, 67, Running
4. (5) J.K. Vernay, 67, Running
5. (11) Dan Clarke, 67, Running
6. (10) Stefan Wilson, 67, Running
7. (14) Arie Luyendyk Jr., 67, Running
8. (12) Adrian Campos Jr., 67, Running
9. (9) Dillon Battistini, 67, Running
10. (15) Rodrigo Barbosa, 67, Running
11. (3) Sebastian Saavedra, 64, Running
12. (8) Brandon Wagner, 64, Running
13. (1) Martin Plowman, 58, Contact
14. (6) Charlie Kimball, 5, Contact
15. (7) Gustavo Yacaman, 5, Contact
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.