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(05/22/08 1:23am)
INDIANAPOLIS – For some drivers, winning the Indianapolis 500 would make their career. Tony Kanaan isn’t looking for any such validation.\nGood thing, too.\nThe good-natured Brazilian has done everything except win the biggest event in American open-wheel racing.\nKanaan’s sixth-place start in Sunday’s 92nd edition of the Indy 500 will be his worst in seven races, while his finishes have included a second (in 2004), a third, a fifth and an eighth. He is the only driver who has led in each of the last six 500s.\nThat record has made Kanaan a perennial favorite to win at Indy. And he easily could have two or three victories if not for circumstances and mistakes.\nLast year, he had the strongest car in the race, leading half the rain-shortened 166-lap event. But Kanaan spun out to avoid a crashed car in front of him and wound up 12th when rain cut short any hope of a comeback just 10 laps later.\nThat was just the latest disappointment for Kanaan, who seems able to win anywhere but Indianapolis.\nThough he may not get attention like two-time Indy winner and childhood friend Helio Castroneves or fan favorite Danica Patrick, Kanaan has proven time and again he is one of the best drivers in the IRL IndyCar Series. He won the championship in 2005 and has won at least one race each of the past five seasons.\nBut don’t expect Kanaan to complain about anything as minor as having bad luck at Indy.\nAfter losing his father at a young age and spending much of his youth in poverty, Kanaan now lives in a mansion in Key Biscayne, Fla., with wife Daniele and 8-month-old son Leonardo, his pride and joy.\n“The way I got brought up, with all my difficulties, I learned how to accept facts and understand what you can and what you cannot do,” Kanaan said. “I’m not saying I’m satisfied with what I have all the time, but I think I came a long ways.\n“I achieved, I conquered; I won a championship, which I believe is far more difficult than winning one race.”\nAnd, while Kanaan acknowledges that Indy is “THE race,” he is prepared to walk away eventually without a win here, if it comes to that.\n“As long as I understand the situation I was in and understand, inside myself, that I did everything I could – I didn’t let myself down – I’m at peace with myself,” Kanaan said. “Do I want to win the 500? As bad as anybody else.\n“If I retire one day without winning the 500, I’m not going to be frustrated. It’s going to be something that was a goal that maybe, for some reason, I did not achieve. But I think we all, as human beings, have many goals that we don’t achieve. That’s why you make a priority list.
(05/12/08 12:50am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Strategy was almost as important as speed Saturday as Scott Dixon won the pole for the Indianapolis 500 with a big gamble by his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team.\nDixon and teammate Dan Wheldon, who took the second spot, both took advantage of Indy’s unique qualifying format, which allows each entry up to three tries on each of the four days of time trials.\nDixon, who has three pole positions in five tries in the IRL IndyCar Series this season, got the biggest benefit of the team strategy, canceling out a four-lap average of 225.178 mph earlier in the day and making it pay off with four laps at 226.366 that held up for Ganassi’s third Indy pole.\n“I was part of that decision, so it wasn’t really a surprise,” Dixon said. “We had been out testing, so we were confident we could go much faster. The tough part came later in the day, knowing whether or not we should do a third attempt (if we got knocked off the pole).\n“One thing that was great out there, even on an average lap for us, we still had the field covered as a team. That just goes to show how strong we are this year.”\nThe New Zealander’s pole run came with just over two hours left in the session and only moments after Ryan Briscoe, the first driver to qualify Saturday, made his own gamble in an effort to give team owner Roger Penske a record 15th Indy pole. The team withdrew his earlier speed of 224.833 and Briscoe, who wound up third, put his Team Penske entry on top briefly with a run of 226.080.\nWheldon’s earlier speed of 225.840, which had held the pole briefly, was then withdrawn by his team with about 20 minutes left. The Englishman, the 2005 Indy winner, responded with a run that came up just short of his teammate at 226.110.\n“The fact of the matter is, when your cars are good and your drivers are good, it’s easy to make those calls that people say take courage,” said Ganassi, who has won the 500 with Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989 and Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000. “We’ve been playing poker here for a lot of years. Sometimes you’re holding all the aces and sometimes you’re bluffing. Just so happens that today we had a good hand.”\nTeam manager Mike Hull added, “We had a clear plan. We knew that one attempt wasn’t going to get it done. ... Truly, Chip Ganassi Racing came here to be aggressive.”\nPenske’s other driver, Helio Castroneves, a two-time Indy winner and two-time pole-winner here, had his car pulled out of the qualifying line by his team earlier in the day because of gusty winds. When the two-time Indy winner finally made his only attempt, he also came up short at 225.733, good for fourth on the busy afternoon.\n“Those (Ganassi) guys had strong cars in qualifying,” Castroneves said. “They did good. We need to work a little bit better for the race and, hopefully, we’ll be a little bit of ahead of them.”
(01/17/08 5:00am)
Two words that regularly promise some hope for filmgoers are "Focus Features." \nThanks to Focus, cinematic treasures such as "Lost in Translation," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and most recently "Atonement." have been given to the masses. \nBased on Ian McEwan's novel, "Atonement" follows the story of Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), a young aspiring writer who falsely accuses her housekeeper's son Robbie (James McAvoy) of raping her older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and has to deal with the ramifications of her accusation. \nThree actresses stand in as Briony, with the plot spanning several decades. With her wide, staring eyes and flitting glances, Saoirse Ronan conveys 13-year-old Briony's complicated feelings and motivations. Romola Garai's work studying Ronan's mannerisms pays off, keeping a smooth, convincing transition to 18-year-old Briony. Vanessa Redgrave puts the exclamation point at the end of the film, stepping in as 77-year-old Briony atoning for the consequences that unfold in the film.\nThe score complements both Briony's writing aspirations and agitation, incorporating pulsing typewriter sounds that heightens Briony's dilemma.\nThe movie's love story focuses on Robbie and Cecilia. A brush of their hands and the occasional quiver of Knightley's lips offer chemistry between the two that leaves you with a sense of frustration and loss after Robbie is separated from his lover.\nFilmed in several English locations, the scenes set in a barn loft or on a war-torn beach immerse the viewer in the war environment. Clothing like Cecilia's flower-sequenced blouse, Briony's nurse bonnet and the 1930s-era bathing suits also bring the era to life.\nA compelling cinematic interpretation, "Atonement" is a heartbreaking love story that will make you cry for all the right reasons.
(08/22/07 2:51am)
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Kurt Busch is staying out of trouble these days, no longer making waves as a NASCAR bad boy.\nAfter Busch won for the second time in three races, prevailing in a rare Tuesday NASCAR event after two days of rain postponements at Michigan International Speedway, he gave most of the credit for the change of attitude to team owner Roger Penske.\n“Working under Roger, finding his ways and how to deal with people, whether it’s internally or with our sponsors, it really gave me a better perspective what this racing thing is all about,” said Busch, who joined Penske Racing in 2005, replacing longtime star Rusty Wallace in the team’s No. 2 Dodge.\n“Maybe before I pushed too hard thinking that maybe I could predict or control the outcome of races and not use the team atmosphere,” Busch said. “I’m happy flying under the radar and I’m happy delivering wins for our sponsors and, right now, the most important thing is getting into the Chase (for the Nextel Cup championship).”\nWinning the 3M Performance 400, Busch took a big step toward that goal.\nThe 2004 Cup champion solidified his berth in the 12-man lineup for the upcoming Chase, holding off Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps for the 17th win of his career.\nNASCAR’s top circuit had never run on a Tuesday after a weather postponement during the modern era, which began in 1973.\nThe race was originally scheduled to be run Sunday, but two days of rain kept the cars off the track. Other than a 32-minute fog delay Tuesday after the first 10 laps, the race was run without any more weather problems.\nA spin by Greg Biffle with just two laps remaining sent the race into overtime. But Busch easily pulled away from Truex’s DEI Chevrolet when the green flag waved for a two-lap sprint on lap 202.\nBusch, who didn’t take his first lead until lap 101 and wound up leading four times for 92 laps, beat Truex to the finish by 0.495 seconds – about eight car lengths on the high-banked, 2-mile oval.\nThere were two cautions in the last 13 laps and Busch stayed on track with worn tires while some of the cars chasing him pitted for fresh rubber. But he made two perfect restarts.\n“It was tough,” Busch said. “You know, I’ve got to thank the fans who stuck it out on a Tuesday to see a green-white-checker (finish). We put it on for them here at the end, all the restarts, all of the guys on different strategy, it really was a tough, hard-fought win.”\nReigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished third, followed by Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Dave Blaney and Carl Edwards, who won here in June.\nWith just three races remaining until the start of the 10-race stock car playoff, Busch remains 12th in the standings, 33 points behind Truex. Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped past Ryan Newman into 13th, but a slow pit stop late in the race cost him and he finished 12th.\n“This was a great win,” said Busch, who broke a 51-race winless string two weeks ago at Pocono. “It just backs up what we did at Pocono.”\nHis late-season charge into the Chase has coincided with the arrival of crew chief Pat Tryson, who took over the job in June after being fired as Greg Biffle’s crew chief by Busch’s former employer, Jack Roush.\nAt that point, Busch was 15th in the standings and didn’t look like a likely candidate to make the Chase.\n“When we started eight races or so ago (the plan) was to get 20 points on everybody around us each week, behind us, in front of us,” Tryson said. “I think that’s how we’ve still got to look at it because it’s easy to lose 90 points in a single day.”\nBusch said he’s just following a game plan that works.\n“It’s just the same plan we’ve had for the last five or six weeks, which is just gain points and don’t lose track of the big picture, which is just get in the Chase.”\nSeries leader Jeff Gordon, who started from the pole, was in the top five most of the day before some late problems relegated him to a 27th-place finish.\nGordon’s crew had to make a quick repair on a loose flap along the edge of the No. 24’s rear window during a late pit stop, costing the four-time Cup champion several positions. He then had a near-collision with Matt Kenseth and spun into the infield, falling out of the lead lap after getting stuck in the grass left soft and muddy by the heavy rains of the past two days.\n“Matt was a little impatient with me, but we may have had a tire going down,” Gordon said.\nEarnhardt, desperately trying to make his way into the Chase lineup, was also a top-10 car most of the day, but he slid through his pits on a late stop and also fell out of contention.\n“I made a mistake on that pit stop late in the race and that probably cost us about five spots,” said Earnhardt, who had to start from the rear of the 43-car field after his team changed the transmission on his No. 8 Chevy.\nTruex, Earnhardt’s teammate who also ran second here in June, was a bit frustrated finishing behind Busch, the driver closest to him in the battle for the Chase.\n“I wanted it so bad I could taste it back there behind Kurt,” Truex said. “I felt like last time we probably had the car to beat. This time we didn’t. This time we had good strategy and a good car there at the end.”
(06/06/07 11:59pm)
When Danica Patrick gets fire in her eyes, look out.\nLast Sunday at the Milwaukee Mile, she had run-ins with Dan Wheldon both on the track and off.\nThe Indy Racing League called the on-track incident in which the two bumped wheels, sending Patrick on a wild ride through the grass, “nothing more than a racing incident,” and handed out no penalties.\nIn the heated aftermath, Patrick said she thought she had made the pass, while Wheldon said he was still in front and had the right of way.\nPatrick, the third-year IndyCar Series driver, and Wheldon, the 2005 Indy 500 winner and series champion, had another very public meeting after the race.\nShe caught up to Wheldon on pit road and, in front of a roaring crowd that appeared heavily in her corner, grabbed the Englishman around the waist, did most of the talking and, when she didn’t get the answer she desirsed from him, gave Wheldon a light push and walked away.\nAfterward, Wheldon suggested Patrick is feeling the pressure of not having won yet and warned, “She’s messing with the wrong person if she wants to get feisty. I’m a lot tougher than she is on track.”\nIt’s true that Patrick, the woman who inspired a national “Danica-Mania” by becoming the first female to lead the Indy 500 and then setting a record for her gender by finishing in the race, has yet to win a race.\nSome are already trying to equate the attractive Patrick, who made waves several years ago by posing for a men’s magazine in a scanty outfit, with tennis player Anna Kournikova, who gained notoriety for her good looks and marketability but never won a major event.\nBut Patrick is showing on the track she’s far more than just another pretty face.\nTwo weeks ago, in her third Indy 500, she finished eighth. But, before the race was cut short by rain and her shot at a victory ended by a fuel strategy that left her in the wrong place at the wrong time, Patrick was running competitively with the big boys.\n“I thought she was very impressive,” said Andretti Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti, who won at Indy. “She had a fast race car and she was sticking her nose in there and racing with everyone.\n“There’s no question in my mind that she can do the job. It’s just a question of everything coming together for her.”\nAt Milwaukee, Patrick had a bad day in qualifying and started 17th in an 18-car field. But she was battling Wheldon and Franchitti for fourth on the 88th of 225 laps when she and Wheldon collided.\nPatrick made a great save, reminiscent of the one Tony Kanaan, another AGR teammate, made at Indy. After she lost a lap while her team replaced a broken suspension piece, Patrick got back on the lead lap and finished eighth.\nPatrick, who joined AGR this year after two seasons with Rahal Letterman Racing, noted that circumstances often dictate how well a driver does.\n“In the first year, I had a fast car but I didn’t have a ton of experience and I wasn’t that good in traffic,” she said. “Then, in the second year, I had a car that was slow and I had more experience and I was driving smart, but, realistically, I had no chance of winning, really.\n“And, this year, I’m with a new team and I only had two test days before the year started. An engineer can’t read my mind and translate that into a perfect efficient chance every time. So this stuff just takes time and certain things just have to be right.\n“I think the fact that I almost won my first couple of races in IndyCar says a lot about circumstances,” Patrick said. “Why could that happen? I had a fast car. Things are falling into place now. It’s just a matter of getting it done.”
(03/19/07 4:00am)
HAMPTON, Ga. – Jimmie Johnson already has his eye on the big prize.\nThe reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion passed Tony Stewart three laps from the end Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway and went on to win his second straight race.\n“We’re thinking championship already,” said Johnson, only four races into the 36-race season. “That’s really the mode anymore. You have to think about points and being in the top 12 all the time.”\nJohnson had the car to beat Sunday, leading 132 of the first 238 laps. But the only laps he led the rest of the way in the 325-lap event on Atlanta’s 1.5-mile oval were the last three.\nThe 25th victory of his Cup career moved Johnson within 28 points of current series leader Mark Martin, who plans on skipping next week’s race at Bristol and the race the following week at Martinsville.\nThat would leave Johnson just 20 points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon and 17 behind Jeff Burton going into Bristol, the fifth of the 26 races that will determine the 12 drivers in the Chase for the championship.\n“Right now, it’s easy to feel good about things and there no doubt that the championship is what’s on our minds,” Johnson said. “When you come into the sport, you focus on victories and top 10 and now the Chase is a big mark for the teams to make.\n“But, after you win a championship, I think it changes you a little bit and that’s what you really focus on and what you want to do again and again. Since we came into ‘07, the team meetings and discussions, everything is about trying to win another championship. Right now things are going good and we’re doing the right things, but it’s way too early to get too excited.”\nJohnson, who overcame a penalty in the pits at Las Vegas to beat Gordon the previous week, had some problems with tire wear late in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.\nStewart, a two-time Cup champion, appeared on the way to his first victory of the year after coming off pit lane ahead of Matt Kenseth and third-place Johnson after the final stops by the leaders during a caution flag on lap 311.\nAfter the green flag waved with 11 laps to go, Johnson took just three laps to get past Kenseth, then took off after Stewart in the duel of Chevrolets.\nJohnson pulled side-by-side with Stewart just past the finish line on lap 322. Johnson then got his nose out ahead and, as the two cars drove through turn two, Stewart scraped the wall.\nJohnson easily led lap 323 and continued to pull away from Stewart, going on to win by about half the front straightaway. He credited crew chief Chad Knaus for making some key adjustments on the last pit stop.\n“At the end, when it came time to race for checkered, Chad made some great adjustments to help me on the short run,” Johnson said. “That’s the one thing I was lacking compared to the 20 (Stewart). At the beginning of a run he had a little more grip and could drive a little harder.\n“At the end, I can’t say that I’ve driven a race car that hard before. It really was challenging internally in my own head to drive that hard to chase Tony down and get by him. That was just a great, great race.”\nStewart, who overcame a long pit stop in the early going when one of his crewmen dropped a lugnut, led 121 laps and was happy with second place. But he wasn’t particularly happy with Johnson.\n“I wish he had at least given us room to race for it,” Stewart said. “But we gained some points today and that’s what this team needed.”\nJohnson apologized, saying he wished he had given Stewart more room.\n“Tony had a good run on the inside coming off the corner and when I heard he was coming it was just too late for me to adjust,” the winner said. “I certainly squeezed him into the wall and didn’t leave him a lot of room, but it wasn’t intentional.”\nKenseth wound up third, followed by Jeff Burton and heralded rookie Juan Pablo Montoya, who barely held off Clint Bowyer to record his first top 10 and by far his best finish in five Cup starts.\n“I’m getting the handle of it,” said Montoya, who also won a Busch Series race on a road course in Mexico City several weeks ago and got as high as third in Sunday’s race before slipping a bit at the end.\nMartin, who finished 10th, remained in the lead by eight points over Gordon, who overcame a tire problem and a lost lap to finish 12th. Burton remained third, 11 points behind, and Johnson stayed in fourth, moving to 28 points back.\nBut longtime NASCAR star Martin switched teams this year in order to cut back to a partial Cup schedule and has said he will sit out the next two races, despite leading the points.\n“Somebody told me I was still leading the points,” the 48-year-old Martin said, grinning. “I don’t really know, but that will be gone after next week. At least we can say we were leading when we took a break.”\nThe Bristol race next Sunday will also be the debut of NASCAR’s new Car of Tomorrow, which could throw a wild card into the mix, depending on which teams figure out of the all-new, bigger and boxier car first.
(06/26/06 2:43am)
The Indy Racing League and Champ Car have taken important steps toward unifying the two open-wheel series of American racing.\nChamp Car World Series boss Kevin Kalkhoven told The Associated Press on Sunday there is no written agreement, although the two sides have reached an understanding. He said there are many issues to resolve, but he is "very optimistic" the deal can be completed.\nThe Indianapolis Star on Sunday said the parties have an "ownership sharing agreement," although Kalkhoven characterized developments to the AP as "more a progress report than anything else."\nIRL founder and chief executive Tony George told the Star: "We've agreed conceptually (to share ownership). Now we have to agree on how we would go about resolving differences that might come up."\nKalkhoven agreed that finding a way to settle disagreements is critical.\nHe said one possibility discussed is choosing a person to arbitrate these differences or be the deciding vote. Among the names reportedly brought up are Roger Penske, and IRL team owner and one of the founders of Champ Car's predecessor, CART; and longtime CART star Mario Andretti.\n"Obviously, we need some kind of tiebreaker," Kalkhoven said. "We've had suggestions on both sides, but nothing has been resolved at this point."\nKalkhoven also said he supports an idea put forward by IRL president Brian Barnhardt suggesting that the IRL and Champ Car could run separate races at the same venue once or twice next season.\nKalkhoven, a Champ Car team owner and co-owner of the series that was racing in Cleveland on Sunday, remains "very optimistic that we can get this done."\n"What it means, though, is we have a lot of agreements on a lot of issues and there are still a lot of issues to resolve," Kalkhoven added.\nAmong the things yet to be decided: Which races survive a merger? What chassis and engine combination a unified series would run? Who would run day-to-day operations.\n"The good news is that Tony and I talking," Kalkhoven said. "And, as I've said from the start, doing it right is more important than just getting it done."\nAlso, Kalkhoven and Champ Car president Steve Johnson have said the 2007 schedule will leave free time in May for any Champ Car teams or drivers to compete in the IRL's Indianapolis 500.\nThe IRL began competition in 1996, starting a damaging split in the open-wheel world that cut into an already diminished fan base and sinking TV ratings, as well as scaring away big-money sponsors. Both sides have struggled since, with CART eventually sinking into bankruptcy and being resurrected in 2004 as Champ Car.\nThere have been several previous attempts by representatives of both sides to negotiate some kind of peace or merger, but none has succeeded. The latest talks began in December when Kalkhoven and George had a chance meeting and began developing a friendship and dialogue.\n"We have had some face-to-face meetings but, mostly, we stay in contact by telephone and e-mail and we continue to have a very good relationship," Kalkhoven said.
(05/22/06 1:25am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Sam Hornish Jr. came up a bit short on his prediction but not his speed.\nThe fastest driver at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for most of the month did not disappoint Saturday, driving away with the pole position for the May 28 Indianapolis 500.\nAfter running a lap at 229.996 mph in the morning warmup -- by far the fastest lap since practice began nearly two weeks ago -- Hornish came back less than two hours later and proved it was no fluke with two more laps over 229 on the way to a four-lap qualifying average of 228.985.\n"This car is about as perfect as I've ever had," Hornish said. "I was really about 99 percent happy with it."\nHornish, who has failed to finish the big race in each of his six previous starts, said he told his Marlboro Team Penske crew on Thursday night he would qualify at 229.\n"I made myself look bad to them because I didn't quite get there," he said, grinning.\nIt didn't matter. None of the other 31 drivers who qualified Saturday could come close to knocking Hornish off the top spot for the May 28 race. His big day gave team owner Roger Penske his 13th Indy pole, matching the record number of wins for the elite team.\nHornish, a two-time IRL IndyCar Series champion, would like nothing better than to join the nine drivers who have won here for Penske and finally end his own Indy jinx that has seen him crash three times and fail to finish more than 196 of the 200 race laps.\n"It's a long race next Sunday and I want to make it through that. I want to make sure I make the full 500 miles," he said. "You know, it's not the guy who's the fastest here that wins this race; it's the one who makes the fewest mistakes."\nDefending Indy champion Dan Wheldon, the only driver able to beat Hornish for a day's fast lap this month, couldn't come close to Hornish's Saturday effort.\nWheldon posted a solid run with four consistent laps over 227, but his average of 227.338 was far short of what he'd hoped for, placing him tentatively on the outside of the front row of three.\nWith each car allowed up to three attempts a day, Wheldon considered withdrawing his qualifying run and giving last year's IRL champion another shot at Hornish late in the day. But, after some afternoon practice, Wheldon decided against it.\n"Maybe we'd have had something for (Helio) Castroneves, but Hornish has been pretty quick all month," Wheldon said. "We've just been a couple of steps behind that Penske team since we got here."\nTwo-time Indy winner Castroneves was the only driver able to even approach teammate Hornish's performance. The Brazilian started with a lap of 227.741 before ticking off three straight trips around the 2.5-mile oval above 228 for an average of 228.008.\nThat run placed him in the middle of the front row, but it was still nearly a full mile an hour slower than Hornish.\n"I think that's as fast as we can be and Sam's been consistently strong for the whole month of May," Castroneves said, shrugging. "We're very happy."\nCastroneves, who made a second try on pole day last year and fell from fourth to fifth in the lineup, was right when he said none of the other top drivers were likely to try to re-qualify in an effort to move up.\n"We can't be too greedy here because this place can give you a big surprise that you don't want to have," he said.\nScott Dixon, Wheldon's Target Chip Ganassi teammate, was fourth fastest at 226.921, followed by Tony Kanaan, last year's pole-winner, at 226.776 and 2005 race runner-up Vitor Meira at 226.156.\nThe third row included Kosuke Matsuura at 225.503, Scott Sharp at 225.321 and 19-year-old rookie Marco Andretti, grandson of 1969 winner Mario Andretti, at 224.918.\nDanica Patrick, last year's rookie sensation and the only woman in the field, remained far off her 2005 pace but was still content after posting her four best laps of the month on the way to an average of 224.674 and the inside of the fourth row.\n"Those were probably the easiest four laps I've run this month," Patrick said. "That's the way it is when your car is comfortable."\nBuddy Rice, Patrick's Rahal Letterman Racing teammate and the 2004 Indy winner, qualified at 224.393 after missing last year's race because of an injury from a crash during first-week practice. \nBuddy Lazier, the 1996 Indy winner, qualified at 220.922.\nThree big-name drivers making comebacks also were among the early qualifiers.\nMichael Andretti, Marco's father, retired following the 2003 Indy 500 to concentrate on being a team owner. He decided to come back to race at Indy with his son and qualified easily at 224.508.\nEddie Cheever, the 1998 Indy winner and making his first Indy start since 2002, posted a 222.028 and two-time winner Al Unser Jr., who spent last year in retirement, qualified for his 18th Indy start at 219.388.\nJeff Simmons, another Rahal Letterman driver, crashed twice this month, including a wreck Friday that demolished his primary car. But he made it into the tentative field in his backup at 220.347.\nWith all the top teams well prepared after an extra week of practice, car after car took to the 2.5-mile oval without a break from the moment qualifying began at noon. By the time Dario Franchitti had an engine problem and became the first driver to abort a qualifying run, 2 hours and 20 minutes later, all but four spots in the 33-car starting field had been filled.\nEach car is allowed up to three qualifying attempts, and Franchitti came back late in the afternoon and qualified at 223.345, good for the middle of the sixth row.\nRookie Townsend Bell was the second qualifier of the day at 223.659 but chose to give up that speed and the 16th spot in the lineup to try again during the final hour. He did improve to 224.374, but that only moved the Indy newcomer up one position.\nP.J. Jones and Arie Luyendyk Jr., sons of former Indy winners, were the final two qualifiers of the day -- and the slowest. Luyendyk, whose father won here twice, qualified at 216.342 and Jones, son of 1963 winner Parnelli Jones, made it in at 215.816.\nOnce the field is full, nonqualified drivers can bump the slowest cars in the field by posting a faster four-lap average, but the only drivers who appeared ready to make attempts were Marty Roth and rookie Thiago Medeiros, who crashed on Friday and is waiting to see if his team can find a backup car.
(05/15/06 12:22am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Frustration is mounting at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.\nDrivers and fans will have to wait another week for qualifying.\nRain, which has cut short or canceled every practice session since the track opened for Indy 500 practice last Tuesday, held off just long enough Sunday to give everyone a little taste of what they're missing.\nDefending Indy champion Dan Wheldon and Sam Hornish Jr. both managed to post speeds above 228 mph -- the fastest so far this month -- during a brief practice session that was supposed to be only a warmup for the start of qualifications for the May 28 race.\nTwo-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves, Hornish's teammate, and Scott Dixon, Wheldon's teammate, added laps over 227 as 24 drivers took advantage of the short dry spell and nearly perfect track conditions -- overcast skies, no wind and temperatures in the low 50s -- to get in some practice laps in anticipation of qualifying.\nBut then the rain returned, wiping out time trials for the second straight day and prompting track officials to reschedule qualifying to next Saturday and Sunday, which were supposed to be the last of four days of time trials.\nBrian Barnhart, president of the Indy Racing League, said officials had considered trying to qualify at least part of the 33-car field on Monday or Tuesday, with no on-track activity scheduled for those days. But Barnhart said that with more rain in the forecast, many fans unable to return because of work and other obligations and many of the IRL's volunteer officials and track workers in the same boat, it was decided to continue with the original schedule.\nThat includes practice Wednesday through Friday.\nAll of the top teams ran the first week with hopes of qualifying on the opening weekend and spending a couple of days this week setting up their cars for the race. Several of the other teams, with smaller budgets and less equipment, will begin their preparations Wednesday. That's likely to make for a crowded track.\n"It puts a little burden on (the teams) now because they have to kind of mix and balance full-tank runs and race preparation with qualifying preparation because you will be jockeying for all 33 spots," Barnhart said. "They'll have to keep an eye on the weather forecast, too. It just adds another dimension to it that will just make it more challenging for them."\nThe last time the first two days of qualifying were washed out was in 1983 and all 33 spots in the field were filled on the following Saturday. The field was also filled on one day in 1999, when there was only one weekend of qualifying on the schedule.\nHornish had been the fastest driver each day since practice began, topping out at 226.789 mph as part of a four-lap simulated qualifying run on Thursday, the last time the drivers had been on track until Sunday.\nBut Wheldon jumped to the top with a lap of 228.663 in Sunday's short session. Hornish stayed close behind at 228.220, followed by his Marlboro Team Penske teammate Castroneves at 227.888 and Wheldon's Target Chip Ganassi teammate Dixon at 227.274.\nAndretti Green Racing teammates Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan, last year's pole-winner, were next at 226.960 and 226.389.\nThe restless drivers went out as soon as they could Sunday and Franchitti said the speeds weren't indicative of the real strength of the drivers because there was so much traffic on the 2.5-mile oval.\n"I was trying to get a clear lap," he said. "We just need one clear lap to know exactly where we are. But I'm a lot happier than I was a few days ago.\n"I think my team has worked really, really hard on this car for these four (qualifying) laps. It doesn't really matter in the big picture, because I think you can win this race from the last row. But we'd certainly like to get up at the front and stay there."\nRahal Letterman Racing's driving trio of Danica Patrick, 2004 race winner Buddy Rice and newcomer Jeff Simmons were bunched well down the speed chart, with Patrick, last year's fourth-place qualifier and finisher, best at 222.720.\nAsked about waiting to qualify until next weekend, the only woman entered here said, "It could be better or worse. All we know is we need more track time and we're looking forward to it."\nStill, for many drivers and teams, the delay in qualifying simply is frustrating.\n"For a driver, you get focused and do some decent times and then get rained out. To me, it's more frustrating sitting out there," said Tomas Scheckter, who was 10th on Sunday at 225.091.\nTownsend Bell, Scheckter's rookie teammate on the Vision Racing team, had a different viewpoint.\n"It's been a good month," said Bell, who got up to 224.779. "Kind of a series of starts and stops, I suppose. But, to me, Indianapolis and this race is all about drama and tension and unpredictability, which is kind of cool. It just adds to the flavor"
(05/23/05 6:51pm)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack got his comeback off the ground in a big way Saturday, qualifying for the May 29 race with a faster speed than pole-sitter Tony Kanaan.\nWhen the 39-year-old Swede stepped out of his car following a four-lap, 10-mile qualifying effort of 227.598 mph, defending 500 winner Buddy Rice -- the man he replaced in the cockpit of the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Racing entry -- was waiting there to give Brack a big hug.\nBut Brack, coming back from serious injuries in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in October 2003, will have to settle for starting 23rd in the 33-car field for the Memorial Day weekend race after missing the opening day of qualifications last week.\n"I don't think the starting position will make a difference," Brack said. "I think having a good race car is what matters. I am just relieved we're in the field and I'm also glad for the team. They have had a real tough month, but they gave me the chance to shine a little bit."\nIt will be his first Indy Racing League start since the devastating crash in which he broke both ankles, a thigh, his back and ribs. One of the ankles was crushed, and Brack spent three months in hospitals recovering and rehabilitating.\nHis performance Saturday was the culmination of all the hours of physical therapy and training he has put in over the past 18 months.\nAbout his qualifying effort, which included the fastest lap of the month at 227.940, he said: "It wasn't perfect, but it was plenty good enough."\nKanaan led 22 qualifiers last Sunday with a speed of 227.566, locking up the top starting spot for the 500-mile race. Brack didn't even arrive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until Tuesday, called by team co-owner Bobby Rahal to replace the injured Rice -- ironically, the driver who replaced him last year.\nRice, who started from the pole last year, was expected to be a strong contender for both the pole and the race win again this year before he crashed during practice on May 10.\nDespite spending one night in the hospital with a concussion and a back injury, Rice was expected to be back in his Honda-powered Panoz this week, ready to join teammates Danica Patrick and Vitor Meira in the race.\nInstead, doctors discovered a partially torn spinal ligament in his neck, forcing Rahal Letterman to find a replacement.\nBrack got the call.\n"I was surprised, although I have worked my way to be back for an opportunity like this since I had my accident," he said. "I have done a lot of rehab and a lot of hard work to be able to get into one of these cars. I didn't have any opportunities (earlier) in the month."\nRice watched his replacement's qualifying effort with team officials from pit lane.\n"It's great for Kenny," Rice said. "He's done the job before, but to come in on short notice and do this, it's awesome."\nBrack won the 1998 IRL championship and the 1999 Indy 500 while driving for A.J. Foyt.\nFoyt, who struggled to get his son Larry and grandson A.J. IV qualified Saturday, was smiling after watching Brack's qualifying effort.\n"I'm real proud of the boy," Foyt said. "He's just an awesome driver. To come back the way he did, it's great. He was hurt pretty bad."\nThe crash in the 2003 IRL season finale nearly ended Brack's racing \ncareer.\nOnce he got back on his feet, Brack stayed close to the team owned by Rahal and television talk show host David Letterman, working with the other drivers and staying active. He tested an IndyCar in June at Richmond but, despite being fast, Brack decided he wasn't physically ready to return to the IRL.\nWhen Rahal called on Monday night, though, he was ready.\nHe passed his Speedway physical Tuesday and took just five laps Wednesday, under observation by IRL officials, to get up to 220 mph. In practice later that day, Brack reached 225. Thursday's practice was rained out, but Brack, a five-time Indy starter, spent most of the day Friday on track, turning 139 laps and getting more and more comfortable with the car and the familiar 2 1/2-mile oval.\nStill, Saturday's speed was something of a surprise to Brack.\n"We've been working the race setup and didn't know what it would do in qualifying," Brack said. "The team showed a lot of faith in me and I'm glad I could do this."\nTen more drivers posted qualifying speeds Saturday, leaving one spot open for Sunday's final day of time trials.\nRyan Briscoe came back from a crash during a qualifying attempt last week to post a four-lap average of 224.080. He was followed by Patrick Carpentier at 222.803, Ed Carpenter at 221.439, Jaques Lazier at 221.228, A.J. Foyt IV at 220.442, Marty Roth at 219.497, Larry Foyt at 219.396, Jeff Ward at 218.714 and Jimmy Kite, filling in for injured rookie Paul Dana, at 218.565.\nArie Luyendyk Jr., who passed his rookie test Saturday before brushing the wall with his right rear tire, remained as the only driver assigned to a car going into Sunday.\nAlthough there is no certainty the field will be filled, there remains the slim possibility of the slowest qualifiers being bumped from the lineup Sunday if any deals for new car-driver combinations can be made in time.\nThe last time fewer than 33 cars started at Indy was in 1947, when 30 took the green flag.
(05/19/05 12:21am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Former Indy winner Kenny Brack is coming back to the Brickyard, summoned to replace the injured driver who once filled in for him: defending champion Buddy Rice.\nBrack, the 1999 Indy 500 winner, will return to Indy more than a year after a horrible crash at Texas Motor Speedway knocked him out of the IRL.\nBobby Rahal, co-owner of the Letterman Rahal Racing team, made the announcement Wednesday at a news conference. Rahal said he called Brack Monday night to see if his former driver was interested in taking Rice's place in the No. 15 Honda-powered Panoz racer for the rest of the month.\n"He not only drives fast, Kenny is always methodical in everything he does," Rahal said. "That's why I know he's ready to do this when he says he is."\nBrack passed his Indianapolis Motor Speedway physical Tuesday night and was set to make his first practice laps Wednesday on the 2 1-2-mile oval. Qualifications for the May 29 race resume Saturday.\n"Even though I haven't driven for a year, it feels like I never left because I've stayed around the team the whole time and I feel very comfortable," the Swedish driver said.\nRice -- who began last season as Rahal Letterman's little-known replacement for Brack before taking the pole and checkered flag at Indy -- was declared out of the 500 Tuesday when doctors said a back injury sustained in a crash was worse than first diagnosed.\nRice also sustained a concussion when his car spun and smashed backward into a wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice last Wednesday.\nBrack has tested an IndyCar, but has not raced in the IRL since breaking both ankles, a thigh, his back and ribs in a terrifying wreck during the season-ending race in Texas in October 2003.\nOne of those ankles was crushed in the crash, and the 39-year-old Swede spent the next three months in hospitals.\nOnce he was back home, Brack set a goal of getting back to racing by last year's Indy 500. It didn't happen.\nIn June, Brack thought he was ready until a test in Richmond, Va., for Rahal's team didn't go as well as expected. He was fast but unprepared for the physical struggle he faced.\n"I could drive the car just fine, but I felt I was really not fit enough to drive one of these cars in a race," Brack said at the time.\nThe 1998 IRL champion did return to racing last September in Sweden. Driving a Porsche in the Carrera Cup series, he finished fifth in two races. He has also tested touring cars in Australia since recovering from his injuries.\nNow, he said he is ready to get back on track at Indy.\n"Now, 1 1-2 years after the accident, I'm back to the same physical condition as before the crash," he said Wednesday. "I've been pounding myself in the gym and, even though I feel very bad for Buddy, I feel very comfortable coming into this situation."\nRice's condition will be reassessed in about three weeks, said Dr. Henry Bock, medical director for the IndyCar Series and the track. Bock said he told Rahal Letterman on Tuesday that Rice will not get clearance in time to qualify.\nBock said further evaluation revealed a partially torn ligament in Rice's neck, an area essential to maintaining alignment of the spine. Doctors have recommended rest and rehabilitation.\n"Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed that I won't be able to defend my Indy 500 championship," Rice said in a statement issued by the team.\n"Physically I feel fine, but I have to trust the speedway and IRL medical team because they are looking out for my safety. I am optimistic that I will be cleared for Texas (June 11) and will be able to get back in the car. I plan to stay here in Indy and help our team in any way I can."\nThe 29-year-old Rice was expected to be a strong contender for the IndyCar Series championship this year, but got off to a slow start and is 11th in the standings following a season-best third-place finish last month in Japan.\nRahal said the team's first concern is Rice's complete recovery.\n"This has been a difficult obstacle for Buddy, but we have been assured by Dr. Bock that, in this case, that the time off will be the solution," said Rahal, who won the Indy 500 in 1986. "Our intent is to move forward."\nRice will spend the next two weeks on the sidelines, helping prepare teammates Danica Patrick -- a rookie and the only woman in the race -- Vitor Meira and Brack. Patrick and Meira have already qualified.\n22 drivers made the 33-car field Sunday, with more qualifying scheduled Saturday and next Sunday.
(05/27/04 1:36am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The sight was enough to make Indy 500 regulars gape in wonderment.\nThere, climbing the fence alongside 2002 race winner Helio Castroneves, was team owner Roger Penske. The distinguished billionaire entrepreneur was calm amid the chaotic postrace scene, every gleaming white hair in place, his Marlboro Team Penske shirt still crisply starched despite a long, hot afternoon in the pits.\nEven when his team wins at Indy, which it has done a record 13 times, Penske usually keeps his celebrations private. This time, though, he was keeping a promise.\nWhen Castroneves won the race for Penske in 2001, he celebrated by climbing the fence, a la Spiderman, while his boss watched calmly from the pits.\n"I told Roger, `If I win again next year, you have to climb the fence with me.' He said he would," Castroneves said.\nPenske is a man of his word -- even if it makes him uncomfortable.\nLast May, Gil de Ferran made it three in a row for Penske, who remained in the pits this time, quietly shaking hands and accepting congratulations as runner-up Castroneves dragged de Ferran to the fence for yet another climbing celebration.\nNow, Penske is going for an unprecedented four in a row, with Castroneves and two-time IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr., who replaced the now-retired de Ferran. The late Lou Moore, second to Penske with five Indy victories, is the only other team owner to have won three straight (1947-49).\n"This is all business here," Penske said. "I told the team when we got here this month; we come here with a job to get done.\n"When the team prepares for this race, we say if you're here and not focused, you're kind of cutting off your paycheck by not staying in the game for the whole month."\nNobody should be surprised if a Penske drivers wins again on Sunday.\nCastroneves, starting eighth in the 33-car field, and Hornish, starting 11th, are both among the favorites going into the 88th edition of the 500.\nTheir Toyota engines have not shown the power generated so far this month by the Honda competitors but, for the well-financed and highly organized Penske team, the drive for perfection runs deep, especially at Indy.\n"There are different phases of that preparation," said team president Tim Cindric. "You're thinking about it really from the time you leave at the end of the previous (race) because you're really starting to work on what didn't we do right and what do we need to focus on next year."\nRick Mears won four times for Penske before going to work for the team as a special consultant and driver coach. He said the secret to the team's success is Penske himself.\n"It's like every other thing he does," Mears said. "He's always four miles down the road. Roger stays on top of everything. He's always up. He doesn't get complacent, plus he's always thinking."\nThere is no doubt how the 67-year-old Penske feels about the Brickyard, or how much it hurt him when his drivers failed to qualify in 1995 and the team missed the races from 1996 through 2000 because of the political schism between the IRL, which runs Indy, and CART.\n"It's the greatest race in the world," Penske said. "Basically, I love coming here."\nThat love has been building for a long time. Penske got his first look at the speedway in 1951, when he came here with his father to watch the race as a 14-year-old.\n"I never thought I'd be competing here," Penske said. "But I was impressed by everything -- the speed, the crowd, the noise"
(08/04/03 1:34am)
INDIANAPOLIS - The biggest problem Kevin Harvick had all day at the Brickyard 400 was when his right rear tire blew and the fender flew off while he spun victory doughnuts.\nThe big celebration was well-deserved. Harvick turned a tight race into a runaway Sunday, pulling away in the last 10 laps for the biggest win of his budding NASCAR career.\n"I don't even know if I can explain it. It's so awesome," Harvick said after climbing from his car in Victory Lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.\nHe took over at the end of the 160-lap race.\nHarvick was second, battling Jamie McMurray for the lead and trying to hold off Winston Cup points leader Matt Kenseth and Robby Gordon on a frantic restart with 16 laps remaining, when a multicar crash broke out behind the leaders.\nThe green flag came back out on lap 151, and Harvick got a great jump. He was 10 car-lengths ahead of second-place Gordon at the end of that lap and just kept racing away.\nHarvick wound up 2.754 seconds -- about 20 car-lengths -- ahead of runner-up Kenseth, who grabbed second place on lap 157, passing McMurray as Gordon faded.\nHarvick, who averaged 134.554 mph, became the first driver in the 10-year history of the Brickyard race to win from the pole. He didn't dominate, though, leading only 33 laps, while Tony Stewart was out front for a race-high 60.\nIt was Harvick's fourth career victory and first in just over a year.\nAfter winning, he paid tribute to Dale Earnhardt Sr., the driver he replaced after the seven-time Winston Cup champion and former Brickyard winner was killed in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500.\nHarvick gave some of the credit for Sunday's win to teammate Gordon.\n"Robby did all he could to hold those guys back there, and this one is much his as it is ours," Harvick said.\nReferring to the June race in Sonoma, Calif, in which Gordon angered Harvick by passing him under caution as the teammates battled for the lead, Harvick said, "I guess I can't be mad at Robby any more. Maybe we're even now."\nMcMurray wound up third, followed by three-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon, defending champion Bill Elliott, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch.\nKenseth came into the race with a solid 232-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the season standings. The runner-up finish for Kenseth, combined with a 14th-place finish by Earnhardt, turned that margin into 286 points.\n"I was too far behind," Kenseth said. "We had a good strategy. I should have blocked a little more, but it was a great job by my guys, a great run, and we were close."\nUntil a pair of caution flags came out in the final 21 laps, it appeared the race would be the fifth in a row determined by fuel strategy.\nAbout half the drivers on the lead lap had made final stops for two tires and a splash of gas when debris on the track brought out a caution on lap 140. The rest of the leaders then made their stops, and the field was well scrambled when the green flag came back out for lap 145.\nBut Stewart, one of the drivers to pit before the caution on lap 140, made another stop for left-side tires during the final caution and never recovered, finishing 12th.\nThere was a frightening moment on pit lane on lap 37 when Dale Jarrett spun as he drove off the track and tried to slow in a hurry. Jarrett's Ford clipped a crew member, John Bryan, then hit the pit wall and wound up facing backward. Bryan's helmet was broken, but he was able to walk away, complaining of a sore shoulder and pain in his pelvis. He was taken to the hospital.\nBryan also was hit on pit road in November 2001, during a race at Homestead, Fla. He came away from that accident with a concussion and a minor knee injury.\nJarrett, a two-time Brickyard winner, wound up 39th Sunday, 18 laps behind the winner.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Arie Luyendyk led a surprising speed show Sunday that filled a record-setting field for the Indianapolis 500 before rain cut short the last day of qualifying.\nDespite occasional showers that eventually ended the session 65 minutes early, the track conditions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were the best since practice resumed Wednesday.\nLuyendyk, a two-time Indy winner, took advantage to post a four-lap average of 228.848 mph, the fastest of the day.\n"The conditions were perfect, and the car handled well," an obviously relieved Luyendyk said after taking the 24th spot in the 33-car field for the May 26 race.\nIn all, 11 cars completed 10-mile qualifying runs Sunday, with unusual circumstances making Billy Roe the first driver ever bumped from the Indy field twice in the same car.\nWith 32 of the 33 starting positions filled, the rookie gambled on the possibility that rain would wash out the rest of the day and get him into the race with a slow four-lap run of 212.283.\nIt didn't work, as fellow first-year Indy driver George Mack, only the second black competitor to race at Indy, bumped Roe out of the lineup with a 227.150.\nMinutes later, Roe found himself back in the field after Michael Andretti, one of 24 drivers who qualified on May 11, the first of three scheduled days of time trials, decided his first-day speed of 226.780 was in jeopardy of being bumped.\n"Guys we didn't expect to go quicker than our car were out there going a lot faster because the conditions were so good," said Andretti, the son of 1969 Indy winner Mario Andretti. "We knew we had a pretty fast car, so we thought we had better go out and do it now."\nAndretti did, withdrawing his primary car and momentarily putting Roe back into the field before racing his backup Dallara around the 2-mile oval at 228.713 and sending Roe to the sidelines again.\nThe rest of the bump day drama was played out with everyone eyeing the sky and waiting to see if the rain that began pelting down moments later would end in time for more qualifying attempts.\nIt didn't, leaving Jimmy Kite waiting in line for a qualifying opportunity that never came.\nBilly Boat was the main beneficiary of the early closing. His 226.589 from the opening day of qualifying was the slowest in the field, the third straight year that Boat has barely survived Indy Bump Day to start from the last of 11 three-car rows.\nAs qualifying finally began at 1:08 p.m., the air was calm, the skies overcast and the temperatures had warmed to the upper 50s.\nThe handful of big name drivers who had been struggling to find enough speed to qualify, rushed to take advantage, grabbing solid starting positions near the back of the field.\nCART stars and Team Kool Green teammates Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy qualified at 228.177 and 228.006, respectively, while A.J. Foyt Racing teammates Airton Dare and Greg Ray posted runs of 227.760 and 227.155.\n"We've had a big struggle the last few weeks, but we finally got the car right," Tracy said. "We had a lot to learn, with new cars, new engines."\nOther solid qualifying runs turned in Sunday included Alex Barron at 228.580, Shigeaki Hattori at 228.192 and Mark Dismore at 227.096. Franchitti, Barron and Hattori are all Indy rookies and Dismore came back from a crash in the first week of practice that left him with a concussion.