Compiled by Ron Felix ~ Connie Felix
2006 Nashville Firestone Indy 200 Notebook
Firestone Indy 200 Entry List
Firestone Indy 200 Practice 1
Firestone Indy 200 Practice 2
Firestone Indy 200 Practice 3
Firestone Indy 200 Starting Line Up
Track-Broadcast Information
Firestone Indy 200, race 9 of 14-race 2006 IRL IndyCar® Series season
WHERE: Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., 1.33-mile concrete oval
WHEN: 8 p.m. (EDT), Saturday, July 15
DISTANCE: 200 laps/266 miles
TRACK 1.33-mile concrete oval
Frontstretch: 2,494 feet banked at 9 degrees
Backstretch: 2,203 feet banked at 6 degrees
Turns: 1,220 feet banked at 14 degrees
Width: 55 feet (minimum)
POSTED AWARDS: More than $1 million
CARS: Dallara and Panoz chassis; Honda Indy V-8; Firestone tires
PREVIOUS RACE WINNERS: Dario Franchitti (2005), Tony Kanaan (2004), Gil de Ferran (2003), Alex Barron (2002), Buddy Lazier (2001).
2005 SERIES CHAMPION: Tony Kanaan
TV: Race: Race: ESPN (live), 8 p.m. (EDT), July 15
TV Talent: Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Rusty Wallace (announcers); Jack Arute, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch (pit reporters)
Qualifying: IMS Radio Network, live web-cast 4:45 p.m. (EDT) July 14
Pre-race: IMS Radio Network (live), 8:30 p.m. (EDT), July 15
Area affiliates: WHIN-AM 1010, Gallatin, Tenn.
Talent: Mike King (host); Davey Hamilton (analyst); Dave Wilson (color commentary); Mark Jaynes (turns); Kevin Lee and Patrick Stephan (pit reporters); Kevin Olson (special assignments)
Live coverage of Marlboro Pole Qualifying (4:45 p.m. EDT, July 14) and the race also will be available at www.indycar.com. The race broadcast is also available on XM Satellite Radio channel 152 “Extreme XM.”
The schedule of events for July 14-15
Friday, July 14
8 a.m. IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series garages open
9:30-10 a.m. Indy Pro Series practice
10:15-11:45 a.m. IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
Noon.-12:45 p.m. Indy Pro Series practice
1-2:30 p.m. IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
2:45 p.m. Indy Pro Series SWE Race Car Parts Pole Qualifying
4 p.m. IndyCar Series MBNA Pole Qualifying
5:45-6:15 p.m. Final Indy Pro Series practice
6:15 p.m. Autograph session
8 p.m. Final IndyCar Series practice
Saturday, July 15
2 p.m. IndyCar Series garage opens
4 p.m. Sunbelt Rentals 100 (77 laps/100 miles)
(ESPN2, 2 p.m. EDT, July 20; taped)
5:30 p.m. Carolina Rain pre-race concert
7:15 p.m. Grid IndyCar Series cars
8 p.m. Firestone Indy 200 (200 laps/266 miles)
ESPN2 & IMS Radio Network (live)
Schedule Subject To Change
Seventh Time Out, Howard Wins Nashville
Jay Howard * Photo Chris Jones
|
Jay Howard’s victory in the Sunbelt Rentals 100 at Nashville Superspeedway was a relief, and gave the native of Basildon, England, breathing room in the Indy Pro Series standings. But the hand-painted trophy Howard received for his first victory in the series might come at a price: guitar lessons.
Howard, who started on the front row, passed pole sitter Wade Cunningham on a Lap 49 restart and went on to a 2.3705-second victory over Jaime Camara in the 77-lap race. Camara’s Andretti Green Racing teammate, Jonathan Klein, was third and Tom Wood slipped past Cunningham on the final turn to claim fourth.
Howard, driver of the No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, was the third Sam Schmidt Motorsports winner in a row at Nashville. Howard, the sixth winner in seven races this season, entered with a 12-point lead over Bobby Wilson and heads to The Milwaukee Mile (July 22) with a 36-point cushion. Wilson, who started ninth, finished seventh in the No. 24 Kenn Hardley Racing car.
“This is by far the most competitive championship I’ve raced in,” said Howard, who last year won the U.S. Formula Ford Zetec Championship and Rookie of the Year honors. And about that trophy? “I’m going to give it a go,” he said. “I’m sure my neighbors won’t be happy, but I’ll just get some music lessons.”
Cunningham led the initial 48 laps and his No. 1 Brian Stewart Racing car appeared strong enough to post the second victory of the season. But after the No. 33 Fast Track To Indy car driven by rookie Geoff Dodge made moderate contact with the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier, Howard took and inside-outside route past Cunningham entering Turn 1 on the restart. “When I was running out front it was perfect,” Cunningham said. “I definitely felt like I had the fastest car. I was comfortably the quickest on the green flag laps. I couldn’t get good restarts. It was frustrating because I knew it was coming on a restart.”
Howard also knew he had a strong car, and carried the momentum to the checkered flag. “Words can’t really describe it,” said Howard, who gave Sam Schmidt Motorsports its 12th Indy Pro Series victory. “I’ve won a lot of races and a lot of championships. This definitely beats all of them. I can't thank the guys enough. They've given me the best car I could ever wish for. I gave them a result they all deserved. “Everyone's worked hard all year. For sure, we expected the results to come prior to this. Long overdue, but at least I've got the win. A little weight off my shoulders, to say the least. I'm sure we're going to go on and have a good second of half of the season.”
Camara, the 2005 race winner, posted his best finish of the season for new sponsor Neo Quimica. After Cunningham’s car faded, Camara remained in the hunt. With 20 laps remaining, he trailed Howard by only 0.5756 of a second. “I had a pretty good race car on the start of the race,” he said. “I was saving my tires until the second yellow flag because I think I could be really close to the leader at the end of the race and I would have a chance to pass him. But after the second yellow flag, the front of the car was worse and I couldn't do the line I was doing. I had to lift a lot more to pass through (Turns) one and two. I was losing a lot of time and Jay could open a gap on me and I couldn't get it back. But I had a pretty good race car until that time of the race, until the second yellow flag. Just need to do some more work on our car and make things better.”
Klein, an 18-year-old rookie in the series who advanced three positions, recorded his third consecutive top-five finish. He’s been in the top 10 in starts (high of second) in all seven races and in the top 10 in finishes in all but the opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway (15th). “I just pedaled it around for the whole race, concentrated on saving tires, not making mistakes,” said Klein, who battled oversteer throughout the race. “It paid off in the end. I was able to hold off Wade. He didn’t have the speed to pass us. Good result for the team.”
It also was good for Wood, who recorded his seventh top five in 17 Indy Pro Series starts. “At the beginning of the race, I didn’t have a lot of car,” said Wood, driving the No. 42 Kenn Hardley Racing car. “At the end the race, I had a lot of car. I might have had something for Klein, but not enough for the leaders.”
Dan Wheldon On Nashville Pole
2005 IndyCar® Series champion Dan Wheldon claimed the Marlboro Pole Award for the July 15 Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Wheldon posted a lap of 23.0210 seconds, 203.293 mph, in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda-powered Dallara. Wheldon's time was slightly faster than Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr., who recorded a lap of 23.1269, 202.362 mph, in his No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Honda-powered Dallara. Scott Dixon recovered from a gearbox issue during his warmup lap to post the third-quickest lap at 23.1461, 202.194 mph in his No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda-powered Dallara. Helio Castroneves (201.995 mph) and defending race winner Dario Franchitti (201.628 mph) were fourth and fifth, respectively in their Honda-powered Dallaras.
For Starting Lineup...
(Speed News Now)
One Of The Coolest Prizes In Sports
Marlboro Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. have three Indianapolis 500 wins between them, but each driver has a prize they covet almost as much as the "Baby Borg" trophy given to the winning driver. Neither driver has won the hand-painted custom guitar given to the race winner at Nashville Superspeedway, but both have their eyes on the unique prize entering the Firestone Indy 200 on July 15. "The Borg Warner (Trophy) is obviously the one that everyone wants to win - because it comes with the honor of winning the Indy 500," Hornish Jr. said. "But the trophy you get for winning in Nashville is also one of those that is so unique, that I'd love to win it. The paint scheme is intricate and it's a guitar so there's no other trophy like it. It would make for an interesting conversation piece in my trophy case that people would definitely always ask me about." The guitar, which was recognized by Sports Illustrated last year as one of the 10-coolest prizes in sports, is made by Nashville-based Gibson Guitars and hand-painted by noted motorsports artist Sam Bass. "I think that every driver would like to add the Nashville guitar to their trophy collection - myself included," Castroneves said. "It's one of the most unique trophies in all of racing. I don't know how to play, but I tried singing while in Nashville once, and I learned that I have absolutely no future in music. So while it would be great to win a guitar, I think I'd just keep it in my trophy case and stick to racing."
Mark Scranton Earned Right To Wave Green Flag
Race fan Mark Scranton of Decatur, Ill., will wave the green flag as honorary starter of the Firestone Indy 200. Scranton made the highest bid ($2,225) on an eBay auction held by Firestone for the opportunity. Firestone will donate Scranton's winning bid to the United Way of Metro Nashville. . Sam Hornish Jr. is ranked No. 3 in this week's Speed Channel Driver Rankings. Hornish is the top-ranked North American driver in the poll which includes NASCAR Nextel Cup, Formula One, Champ Car World Series and Indy Racing League competitors. . Dario Franchitti will make an appearance at Nashville-based Mayer Electric on behalf of Klein Tools before joining other IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series drivers at Firestone's Americas Support Center during the annual employee day on July 13. Firestone employees and their families will have the chance to chat with the drivers and get autographs amid the other food and fun planned for the day.
Franchitti Calls Nashville Home
Though a native of Scotland, Dario Franchitti has made a home in Tennessee. Away from the track, Franchitti shares a house with his wife in the Middle Tennessee countryside. "It reminds me of Scotland, only warmer," Franchitti said. "It's 60s to 70s on a good day in Scotland, but it's much warmer than that in Tennessee. I certainly love the area that we live in." The defending winner of the Firestone Indy 200 makes his home about 55 miles from Nashville Superspeedway, making this weekend's IndyCar Series stop in Nashville a virtual home game. "Without a race in Scotland, this is definitely my home track," Franchitti said. "Before that, we ran at Rockingham, England in CART. I always felt at home in the Canadian and Australian races. I had a real connection with the fans at those races. I feel that in Nashville, too." But despite his close proximity to the track, Franchitti says logistics force him to stay at the track rather than take the short 15-minute helicopter commute to the track. "I actually stay at the track because I don't want to gamble with the weather. If the weather is not very good, I would look pretty stupid so I stay at the track. It's 15 minutes by helicopter so it's a very short trip. If you are driving it from our home to the track it's about 55 miles."
Speedway Born In 2001
Ground was broken on Nashville Superspeedway in August 1999, and the facility includes 3,000 acres of which 1,200 have been developed. The track, owned by Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc., is one of three concrete ovals in the United States, the others being Dover Downs and Bristol Motor Speedway. The facility has 50,000 seats (25,000 permanent, 25,000 temporary) and 24 luxury suites. Ken Schrader won an ARCA event on April 13, 2001, the first race at the new facility.
Indy-Style Racing In Nashville
Middle Tennessee has hosted top-level auto racing since 1958, but open-wheel racing only has taken place there since July 2001.
NASCAR stock car races were held at Nashville Speedway USA from 1958-1984. The track’s weekly racing series helped launch the careers of Darrell Waltrip, Sterling Marlin and Bobby Hamilton.
In 2001, racing moved 30 miles east of Nashville to Nashville Superspeedway, which played host to its first IRL IndyCar Series event that July. Since then, five drivers have claimed the hand-painted Gibson guitar given to the race winner.
The 1.33-mile tri-oval is the only concrete track on the IndyCar Series schedule. The pavement, which consists of 7,500 cubic yards of concrete, was placed full-width for the entire length of the track by a concrete paving machine that was specially constructed for the project.
IndyCar Series Facts
Five Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the Firestone Indy 200: Eddie Cheever Jr. (1998), Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2006).
Five IRL IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the Firestone Indy 200: Scott Sharp (1996 co-champion), Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, 2002), Scott Dixon (2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).
Drivers entered in the Firestone Indy 200 have combined for 70 IndyCar Series victories, 66 IndyCar Series pole positions and 872 IndyCar Series starts.
The Firestone Indy 200 is the only event in the series that takes place on a track with a concrete surface and the only track with a 1.33-mile distance. The event is the third and final night race of the season. Other events in 2006 that have taken place at night include the June 10 event at Texas Motor Speedway won by Helio Castroneves and the June 24 event at Richmond International Raceway won by Sam Hornish Jr.
The Firestone Indy 200 will be the 129th IRL IndyCar Series event since the series’ inaugural race in 1996. In the 128 previous events, 25,575 laps of competition have been completed.
In eight races thus far in 2006, there have been four winners. Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves are the only multiple winners, having won at Indianapolis, Richmond and Kansas and St. Petersburg, Motegi and Texas, respectively. Other winners in 2006: Dan Wheldon at Homestead-Miami and Scott Dixon at Watkins Glen. In those eight races, 14 drivers have finished in the top five in at least one event.
Who Has The Edge
Three-in-a-row for Hornish?: Sam Hornish Jr. enters the Firestone Indy 200 riding the momentum of back-to-back wins at Richmond and Kansas. Though Hornish has run well at Nashville Superspeedway, he’s never claimed the hand-painted Gibson guitar given to the race winner. Will Hornish, who also won back-to-back events in 2001 and 2003 with Panther Racing, match the IndyCar Series record of three-straight wins and finally win the one trophy he’d like to have?
AGR still hunting for first victory of 2006: Andretti Green Racing, which won 21 of 49 events over the last three seasons, has yet to win an event this season. The team, though, has dominated at Nashville Superspeedway and returns to the 1.33-mile concrete oval with the last two race winners, Tony Kanaan and Middle Tennessee resident Dario Franchitti, top rookie Marco Andretti and proven race winner Bryan Herta.
Milestones
Sam Hornish Jr. earned his 17th IndyCar Series victory at Kansas, extending his IndyCar Series-record for all-time victories.
Sam Hornish Jr. won back-to-back events (Richmond and Kansas) for the third time in his IndyCar Series career. Hornish, who last won back-to-back events in 2003, will attempt to match Kenny Brack (1998) and Dan Wheldon (2005) as the only drivers to win three-straight races.
Sam Hornish Jr. became the first IndyCar Series driver to surpass $11 million in career earnings with his victory at Indianapolis earlier this season. He needs $346,445 in earnings to surpass $12 million in his IndyCar Series career.
Marlboro Team Penske won its 21st race in the IndyCar Series, tying Andretti Green Racing for most victories by a team.
Marlboro Team Penske can break its tie with Team Menard for most pole positions by a team if either Sam Hornish Jr. or Helio Castroneves win the Marlboro Pole Award at Nashville. Castroneves can break a tie with Greg Ray for most poles in a career (13) if he wins the pole at Nashville.
Scott Sharp needs one win to earn his 10th IndyCar Series victory and to tie Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon for second place on the IndyCar Series all-time wins list. Sharp will attempt to extend his series record for consecutive starts to 115 straight races.
Marco Andretti would be the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event should he win at Nashville. Scott Dixon was 20 years, 9 months and 14 days when he won a Champ Car event at Nazareth in 2001. Sam Hornish Jr. (21 years, 259 days) was the youngest winner of an IndyCar Series event when he won at Phoenix in 2001. Andretti will be 19 years, 4 months and 2 days old on race day.
Vitor Meira has gone 53 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.
Firestone Will Be Grand Marshal
Andrew Firestone, great-grandson of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. founder and most recently star of ABC-TV's reality show "The Bachelor”, will serve as Grand Marshal.
|
