Nashville Firestone Indy 200 Notebook..By Connie Felix
Buddy Rice and Team Will Visit White House
Rahal Team on Front Row at Nashville
Kanaan Wins Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville
The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season continues with the Firestone Indy 200 at 7 p.m. (EDT) on July 17 at Nashville Superspeedway. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN and the IMS Radio Network. The Menards Infiniti Pro Series Cleanevent 100 will take place at 4:30 p.m. (EDT) on July 17. The race will be broadcast by ESPN2 at noon on July 18.
Kanaan Wins Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville
Andretti Green Racing driver Tony Kanaan passed teammate Dan Wheldon for the lead on a Lap 181 restart and held off Sam
Hornish Jr.'s pass attempt on the final lap to win the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on July 17.
It was the third victory of the season for Kanaan, the IRL IndyCar® Series points leader who started fifth in this race.
Hornish Jr. was second and his Marlboro Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves finished third.
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Buddy Rice On Nashville Pole
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Buddy Rice Edges Out Teammate For Nashville Pole
Buddy Rice was cool and collected before the qualifying session for the Firestone Indy 200 on Friday but his demeanor changes once he's behind the wheel of his Panoz G Force-Honda. The mild mannered competitor, winner of this year's Indy 500, turns into a tiger once the green flag drops.
With a speed of 201.231 mph, the Rahal-Letterman driver, Rice edged out teammate Vitor Meira by only .264 mph, or 0.0051 seconds on the 1.33 mile concrete track. It was the second straight pole for Rice, his last coming at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago.
Bryan Herta will start third on Saturday evening's grid followed by Dan Wheldon, Darren Manning, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Sam Hornish Jr. and Tomas Scheckter to round out the top-ten.
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Thiago Medeiros On Infiniti Pro Nashville Pole
Qualifying Friday for the Cleanevent 100 IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series event on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway:
Thiago Medeiros took a large step July 16 in securing his IRL-record fourth consecutive victory.
Medeiros won the pole for the July 17 Cleanevent 100 with a fast lap of 182.386 mph on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway. He is attempting to break the record of three victories in a row, set by Mark Taylor in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ in 2003 and Kenny Brack in the IRL IndyCar® Series in 1998.
In Medeiros’ three victories -- Phoenix 100 on March 20, the Futaba Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 22 and the Aventis Racing for Kids 100 at Kansas Speedway on July 3 – he started on the pole each time.
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Indy Racing League Visits Music City
Several IndyCar Series drivers will make appearances in Middle Tennessee in support of the July 17 Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver Felipe Giaffone and team co-owner Robbie Buhl will visit T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital in Chattanooga July 15 as part of the Racing for Kids program.
Giaffone and Buhl visit hospitalized children in each Indy Racing League market as part of Buhl's role as national spokesperson for the organization. That same day, several IndyCar Series drivers, including series points leader Tony Kanaan and Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice, will visit Bridgestone/Firestone's national headquarters in Nashville for the company's annual Firestone Fun Day.
Drivers will sign autographs and meet Firestone employees at the cookout, which raises funds for Habitat for Humanity.
IndyCar Series and Menards Infiniti Pro Series drivers also will sign autographs at Nashville Superspeedway's FanWalk July 16. The popular event begins at 8 p.m.
Some IRL IndyCar Series statistics for trivia buffs
Crowded field
Though there were eight caution periods in last year's Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, 11 cars were on the lead lap at the finish.
Gil de Ferran won the race under caution, with pole sitter Scott Dixon second.
Making his move
The race at Nashville began a string of runner-up finishes for Dixon. He had five second-place finishes in the final eight races on his way to the IndyCar Series championship. His other three finishes were fifth the next week at Michigan International Speedway, 15th at Gateway when he had a gearbox problem and 16th at Nazareth (in garage).
In all, Dixon had three victories and 11 top-10 finishes in 2003.
Firestone Indy 200 Fast Facts
WHAT: Firestone Indy 200, eighth race in 16-race 2004 IRL IndyCar® Series season
WHERE: Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., 1.33-mile concrete oval
WHEN: 7 p.m. (EDT), Saturday, July 17
DISTANCE: 200 laps/266 miles
POSTED AWARDS: More than $1 million
CARS: Dallara and Panoz G Force chassis; Chevy Indy V8, Honda H14R Indy V-8 and Toyota Indy V8 engines; Firestone tires
PREVIOUS RACE WINNERS: 2003 - Gil de Ferran; 2002 - Alex Barron; 2001 - Buddy Lazier
2003 SERIES CHAMPION: Scott Dixon
TV: Race: ESPN (live), 7 p.m. (EDT), July 17
RADIO: Race: IMS Radio Network, 6:30 p.m. (EDT), June 26. Area affiliate: WKOM-FM 101.7, Columbia, Tenn. Live coverage of MBNA Pole Qualifying (4:30 p.m. EDT) and the race also will be available at www.indyracing.com/indycar.
SCHEDULE: (all times local; subject to change)
FRIDAY, JULY 16
7 a.m. - Garage opens
10 a.m. - IndyCar Series practice (two groups/45 minutes each)
12:45 p.m. - IndyCar Series practice (two groups/45 minutes each)
3:45 p.m. - IndyCar Series MBNA Pole Qualifying
7 p.m. - IndyCar Series warmup (all cars/30 minutes)
SATURDAY, JULY 17
1 p.m. - Garage opens
6 p.m. - Firestone Indy 200 (200 laps/266 miles), ESPN & IMS Radio Network (live)
2004 INDYCAR SERIES STATISTICS
Driver Points
1. Tony Kanaan 275
2. Dan Wheldon 247
3. Buddy Rice 225
4. Helio Castroneves 207
5. Bryan Herta 165
Entrant Points
1. Andretti Green Racing #11 275
2. Andretti Green Racing #26 247
3. Rahal Letterman Racing #15 225
4. Marlboro Team Penske #3 207
5. Andretti Green Racing #7 165
Manufacturers' Points Engine
1. Honda 67
2. Toyota 50
3. Chevrolet 37
Chassis
1. Dallara 64
2. Panoz G Force 55
Money Leaders
1. Buddy Rice $2,139,040
2. Tony Kanaan $1,202,990
3. Dan Wheldon $1,060,490
4. Helio Castroneves $742,690
5. Bryan Herta $653,340
Wins
1. Tony Kanaan 2
Dan Wheldon 2
Buddy Rice 2
2. Sam Hornish Jr. 1
MBNA Poles
1. Buddy Rice 3
2. Dan Wheldon 2
3. Helio Castroneves 1
Dario Franchitti 1
Laps Led
1. Tony Kanaan 439
2. Dan Wheldon 296
3. Buddy Rice 230
4. Helio Castroneves 130
5. Dario Franchitti 108
Menards Infiniti Pro Series Cleanevent 100
The Menards Infiniti Pro Series Cleanevent 100 will take place at 4:30 p.m (EDT) July 17 at Nashville Superspeedway. The race will be broadcast at Noon (EDT) July 18 by ESPN2. The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season continues with the Firestone Indy 200 at 7 p.m. (EDT) July 17 at Nashville Superspeedway. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN and the IMS Radio Network.
Thiago Medeiros Wants Fourth Consecutive Win
Thiago Medeiros would establish an Indy Racing League record if he wins his fourth consecutive race July 17 in the Menards Infiniti Pro SeriesT Cleanevent 100 at Nashville Superspeedway. Medeiros, who will turn 22 on July 24, won the Phoenix 100 on March 20, the Futaba Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 22 and the Aventis Racing for Kids 100 at Kansas Speedway on July 3. The back-to-back-to-back wins match the record IRL streaks of Mark Taylor, who accomplished the feat in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series in 2003, and Kenny Brack, who won three in a row in the IndyCar Series® in 1998.
"The Sam Schmidt Motorsports team has done a great job all season," Medeiros said. "I'm really looking forward to Nashville. I feel very confident after being the quickest in a test at Nashville, and also having run well at Kansas." Several drivers will be looking to put an end to Medeiros' streak, including Luyendyk, Al Unser, Paul Dana, Leonardo Maia and Jesse Mason. Luyendyk, 22, finished seventh at Kansas after top-three finishes in the previous two races. Unser, 21, made his debut in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series with a third-place finish at Kansas.
Unser, Fonferko Team At Nashville
Al Unser, son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr., will return to the Menards Infiniti Pro Series for the Cleanevent 100 July 17 at Nashville Superspeedway. Unser debuted in the series with a third-place finish at Kansas Speedway on July 3. He will drive the No. 2 Western Union Speed Team Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone for Keith Duesenberg Racing. "I'm excited I'm going to Nashville," Unser said. "We tested there earlier this year. Now that I have one race under my belt, I'm learning how some of the others race and drive. It's nice to know what they're going to do when you're along side of them. Hopefully, we'll have a good setup on the car, do well in the race and put up another podium finish." Ross Fonferko will be driving the No. 22 car for Keith Duesenberg Racing. Fonferko competed in two Menards Infiniti Pro Series races last year, with a third-place finish in his debut at Nashville Superspeedway. It marks the first time Keith Duesenberg Racing has fielded two cars. Jeff Simmons competed in all
12 events for the team last year, while Phil Giebler and Unser have split seat time in one car this season.
McGehee Joins IMS Radio Network Booth
IndyCar Series driver Robby McGehee will join host Mike King and Dave Wilson in the IMS Radio Network booth for the broadcast of the Firestone Indy 200 broadcast July 17 from Nashville Superspeedway. McGehee most recently competed in the 88th Indianapolis 500, where he finished 22nd driving for PDM Racing. Jaques Lazier had been the guest analyst until he secured a one-race deal with Patrick Racing to drive the No. 20 entry at Nashville Superspeedway.
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