Ganassi's Team Wins First Rolex
The team of Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Casey Mears survived the Rolex 24 to give car owner Chip Ganassi a victory in America's most prestigious sports car endurance event. Reigning Indy Racing League champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Wheldon, former IRL champ Dixon and NASCAR star Mears drove together for the first time and put together a solid effort on the way to victory Sunday.
Avoiding major trouble was the key in this grueling twice-around-the-clock battle that saw seven different leaders, all of them among the 31 Daytona Prototypes that started at the front of the 66-car field at 12:10 p.m. Saturday. The winning Lexus Riley covered 734 laps and 2,613.04 miles on Daytona International Speedway's 3.56-mile, 14-turn road circuit. That was good for a one-lap victory over the Lexus Riley of Champ Car teammates A.J. Allmendinger and Justin Wilson and Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson.
Dixon was in the winning car at the end. He was hit by race officials with a drive-through penalty for making unnecessary contact with the third-place car on a pass shortly after his last pit stop. The 45 mph trip through the pits with 18 minutes to go did allow Allmendinger to cut one lap off the lead, but it was still not close at the end.(ESPN)
Wilson-Allmendinger On Rolex Podium
Six of the men that were on the grid for the 2005 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford finale were on hand on Daytona International Speedway, and while the list featured drivers with deep and diverse road-racing resumes, it was a pair of relative newcomers that helped carry the Champ Car banner to the Rolex podium.
RuSPORT drivers Justin Wilson and A.J. Allmendinger helped spark the Michael Shank Racing team to a second-place overall finish in the weekend, scoring a runner-up spot along with co-drivers Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson. The event was Allmendinger’s first-ever foray into endurance racing and the first for Wilson in the United States. The team finished second to the Target Chip Ganassi machine that featured former Champ Car drivers Scott Dixon and Casey Mears along with Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon.
The team showed notice early that it would be a force as Wilson took the #60 car to the front, wresting the lead from Rocketsports Racing’s Michael McDowell on Lap 93 and holding it for the next 12 laps. Wilson then yielded to Allmendinger, who built a 14-second lead over his stint before an electrical problem found during his driver change cost the team three spots. Undaunted, the team soldiered on as darkness fell on Daytona, running in the top three for the majority of the evening before a damaged toe link dropped the team two laps off the pace.
“The team did a great job, we had a good, strong car all night and I have to thank the team for that,” said Wilson. “It was pretty hairy a couple of times out there, especially when we had the toe link problem, but the guys did a great job getting the car fixed and keeping us in contention.
Stolen IndyCar Showcar Recovered
A trailer and IndyCar Series showcar stolen from Sinden Racing Services' shop on Jan. 21 were recovered in Indianapolis on Jan. 25. The showcar, a retired race car owned by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, and trailer, owned by Sinden Racing, were not damaged by the thieves. Police believe that thieves targeted the new unmarked trailer, unaware of its valuable cargo. The car is utilized for sponsorship appearances across the country, and primarily is used each weekend to visit children's hospitals wherever the Indy Racing League competes.
"On behalf of the team, we'd like to extend our thanks to the Marion County Sheriff's department for their quick recovery efforts," said team owner Dennis Reinbold. "We'd also like to thank Scott Jasek at Sinden and the local media for their great job in getting the story out and alerting the public." Co-owner Robbie Buhl, former driver of the stolen car, was ecstatic with the return of the vehicle. Buhl is the national spokesperson for the "Racing for Kids" charity, and has accompanied the car visiting thousands of young hospital patients. "To the thieves: Thanks-you did the right thing," Buhl said. "You've made a lot of sick kids very happy by returning their race car. Our mission with Racing for Kids can continue to do good things and brighten their days at children's hospitals across the country."
Andretti Takes Phoenix Refresher
Michael Andretti, who will race in the 90th Indianapolis 500 in May, will test an Andretti Green Racing Honda-powered Dallara at Phoenix International Raceway on Jan. 26 as part of an IRL refresher test. Andretti, who made four starts in the 2003 season before retiring to focus on team ownership, last drove an IndyCar Series machine at the 2003 Indianapolis 500. "I'm excited for sure," Andretti said. "It'll be interesting to see how long it takes to get up to speed. Three years is a long time, but we'll find out. Marco is starting to go pretty quick now. I'm starting to get a little nervous that he's going to be quicker than me. That's not good. I just want to get comfortable again and hopefully get on pace. That's all I want to do is be on pace and get my feel back."
Matsuura Enjoying Chassis Switch
The Phoenix test marked the first use of Super Aguri Fernandez Racing's Dallara chassis.
The team will field a Dallara for 2004 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Kosuke Matsuura during the 2006 season, while sister team Delphi Fernandez Racing will continue to field a Panoz chassis for 1996 IndyCar Series co-champion Scott Sharp. "Last year was a tough season for us," Matsuura said. "We needed to do something to make a change. "This is the first run with the new chassis, but it seems to be good. We have to work with the car to find the ideal mechanical grip and mechanical balance, but so far we're doing very good."
Cheever To Field Pro Series Team
Cheever Racing announced that Atlanta native Chris Festa will drive for the team in its inaugural season in the Indy Racing League Indy Pro SeriesT. Festa, 20, finished sixth in his rookie season in the Indy Pro Series in 2005, driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. He recorded six top-five finishes, including a third-place finish in the Liberty Challenge on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the United States Grand Prix weekend. He had a season-best second-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway. Cheever Racing will enter its 10th season of competition in the Indy Racing League in 2006, but it's first fielding a team in the league's top development series.
"The Indy Pro Series, now well established in its fifth season, offers Cheever Racing an opportunity to take a young gun like Chris and build him up with the final expectation of racing at the Indianapolis 500," said owner Eddie Cheever Jr., who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1998 and competed in Formula One for 12 years. "Our entire group is looking forward to working with Chris on this objective." The team will field the No. 51 Formtek/CareCentric Cheever Racing entry with Festa behind the wheel. "I'm really excited," said Festa, who is studying marketing at Florida State University. "I have great respect for Eddie as a driver and owner. I have met the team of engineers and mechanics I will be working with, and together I believe we will be a serious contender in the Pro Series-and that this will be a bridge to the IndyCar Series and even some Grand-Am races."
Scheckter Tests For Vision Racing
IRL IndyCar® Series veteran Tomas Scheckter shared Vision Racing's Honda-powered Dallara with Ed Carpenter during the second day of the IndyCar Series' two-day test at Phoenix International Raceway Jan. 25. Scheckter, who claimed his second IndyCar Series win last season at Texas Motor Speedway, recorded 71 laps with a best lap of 175.277 mph, while Carpenter turned 56 laps with a top lap of 175.073 mph. "It's only a half a day test, and obviously the team is limited with tires," Scheckter said. "We just want to run some laps and see how it goes." Though the team has not announced plans to field a second car in the IndyCar Series, Scheckter said he was hopeful the test would lead to more with Vision Racing.
"I've talked to (engineer) David (Cripps) and (team manager) Larry (Curry) and obviously (team co-owner) Tony (George) about adding me to the team," he said. "They want to add a second car, and they want to go about it the right way. They want to win races, so hopefully we can work something out." Scheckter, the son of former Formula One champion Jody Scheckter, added he targeted a ride with Vision because of his desire to stay in the IndyCar Series. "This is where I want to be," he said. "It's a great racing series, and I've put four years of my career into this. I want to see the series succeed, and I want to do a good job for whoever I'm driving for."
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