With a daylong threat of rain at Richmond International Raceway, most IndyCar Series teams opted to work on race setups for the SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM. source: Dave Lewandowski / indycar.com The precipitation blew into town just as qualifications for the AAMCO Transmissions Pole Award were scheduled on the 0.75-mile oval. So, for the second consecutive year, qualifying was scrubbed. The forecast for race time (7:45 p.m. ET) is 80 degrees with a 10 percent chance of precipitation. The grid was set on entrant points, which rewarded Andretti Green Racing's Dario Franchitti for his consistency through eight races. The IndyCar Series points leader will be joined on the front row by teammate Tony Kanaan, who was quickest in the combined morning/afternoon practice sessions (a dizzying 15.6093 seconds; 172.974 mph). "We've been working pretty hard on the setup together and I think we have a good history on short tracks," said Kanaan, who won at The Milwaukee Mile earlier this month. "Our starting positions will really help us and that's a big thing here, although you can go backwards pretty fast. After a tough weekend in Iowa, I'm looking forward to having solid results so we can carry momentum to the next few races." Kanaan and Franchitti have won the two short track races this season, and stacked up are three consecutive weekends of racing on two road courses and Nashville's 1.33-mile oval. "The qualifying car is so different from the race car," said Franchitti, who won five days earlier on the 0.894-mile Iowa Speedway oval and was sixth-quick on the combined practice sheet (171.382 mph). "We probably had a top-six car for qualifying, but think we have a much better race car." Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon will share Row 2, while Team Penske's Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves will be on the third row. Hornish is the defending race winner, and Castroneves won here in 2005. Rahal Letterman Racing's Scott Sharp and Andretti Green Racing's Danica Patrick will be on Row 4. Patrick (171.230 mph) was seventh overall in practice and Sharp (170.872) eighth. The Richmond bullring features a similar banking to Iowa Speedway (14 degrees through the turns), but where Iowa seemed to have drivers constantly turning, the Richmond track features a frontstretch that runs for almost a quarter-mile. It's both physically demanding and turbulent for the car.
Recent Articles
|
Racing Multimedia
Recommendations |