Penske’s Ryan Briscoe wins Indy 300 from Surfers Paradise.
October 26, 2008
Ryan Briscoe won the Indy 300 on Sunday, taking the lead when fellow Australian Will Power crashed out on the 17th lap.
Team Penske’s Briscoe became the first Australian driver to win the 60-lap race on the 2.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit. He beat Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon of New Zealand by 0.5019 seconds.
American Ryan Hunter-Reay was third. Alex Tagliani, the Canadian attempting to cement a place with Conquest Racing after two races with the team, was fourth, followed by Oriol Servia.
“It was definitely special to win here,” Briscoe said. “I was getting pressured there at the end with Scott and low fuel. I really feel bad for Will Power. He had a real fast car.”
It was the third year in a row that Team Australia’s Power, who is from the nearby Queensland state city of Toowoomba, won the pole but failed to finish the race. He clipped the wall, damaging his suspension, then hit the next concrete barrier and was out of the race.
Only three pole sitters have won in the 18-year history of the Australian race — Nigel Mansell in 1993, Jimmy Vasser in 1996 and Dario Franchitti in 1999.
Briscoe, who celebrated by doing a series of doughnuts on the track during the warmdown lap, saw his near two-second lead over Dixon slip to as low as 0.7 seconds with a few laps left as he attempted to conserve fuel.
It was a long time between wins for Team Penske in Australia. The last team driver to win at Surfers Paradise was Emerson Fittipaldi in 1992.
It was Briscoe’s third win of the year. He won on an oval at Milwaukee and on the Mid-Ohio road course.
Power took a 2.9-second lead over Dixon and Briscoe after the first lap, but Briscoe, who started in the second row, chipped away at the lead until a yellow flag on the seventh lap bunched the field.
Briscoe continued to narrow the gap after the green flag came back out before Power hit the wall on Turn 6 on the oceanside backstretch.
While Power heavily criticized Sebastien Bourdais for taking him out of the race in 2006, and he made contact last year with Katherine Legge, this year he had only himself to blame, with no other car causing the accident.
With his suspension gone, he hit the next wall and then drove the damaged car to the back of a tire barrier, where it stayed until the race ended.
“It’s a big disappointment, the worst mistake of my career,” said Power, who appeared to be close to tears in the pits.
“It’s motorsports, but I just can’t win at this place. I had such a quick car this weekend … it was just a bad display.”
Dixon thought he had a chance to catch Briscoe over the final 10 laps.
“The traffic at the end made it exciting,” said Dixon. “We were quicker in different spots. If he had made a mistake, we could have got him.”
Third-place finisher Hunter-Reay, who won here in 2003, has never been out of the top five at Surfers Paradise.
“It was a long day with those curbs,” said the American driver. “Unfortunately, I got held up by Tagliani for a good while … but the guys did a great job in the pits to get us by him.”
Danica Patrick stalled after trying to avoid an accident, and looked extremely agitated while gesturing to nearby track officials in the jump truck to get her engine started.
Patrick, who had a tough time qualifying and started at the back of the grid Sunday, finished 18th.
Despite some predictions of a major accident on the first-turn chicane involving the field of 24 — the largest here since 2001 — there was only a minor skirmish between Mario Moraes and fellow Brazilian Vitor Meira.
This Surfers Paradise race was the first under the Indy Racing League banner, and was a non-points event. The IRL and Champ Car World Series, which formerly staged the Surfers Paradise event, unified in February.
“It means almost a million points to me, to win my home race,” Briscoe said.
Due to a scheduling conflict, the race is not on the IRL schedule for 2009, although talks are continuing in an effort to have it reinstated.
“I hope we’re back here next year,” Briscoe said.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Will Powers grabs pole for Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise.
October 25, 2008
Will Power won his third straight Indy 300 pole position Saturday, overtaking Scott Dixon with seconds left in qualifying.
The Team Australia driver had a time of 1 minute, 34.9451 on his final lap on the 2.8-mile, 14-turn circuit. Dixon, the Indy 500 winner, had his fastest time on the previous lap, but Power was 0.82 seconds quicker to take the pole for Sunday’s race.
Only three pole-sitters have won the Australian race — Nigel Mansell in 1993, Jimmy Vasser in 1996 and Dario Franchitti in 1999.
“We’ve been really fast all week,” said Power, who led both practice sessions Friday. “I just hope we can hold it all together tomorrow.”
Australian Ryan Briscoe was third, followed by Franchitti, who is making his return to open-wheel racing from an aborted stint in NASCAR.
American Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2003 winner, was fifth-fastest and will start alongside two-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.
The 18th version of the race Sunday also is the first under the Indy Racing League banner, and is a non-points event. The IRL and Champ Car World Series, which formerly staged the Surfers Paradise event, unified in February.
Under the IRL qualifying format, the 24 cars were divided into two groups in sessions lasting 20 minutes each. The top six of each of those groups advanced to a second round of qualifying of 15 minutes, and the top six from that group went into a final 10-minute session to determine the pole winner.
The first group that included Danica Patrick had light rain falling when the session started. Patrick’s bad run in her Australian debut continued when she crashed into the wall on her first lap after managing only a best time of 20th place in any of the practice sessions.
Patrick, the first woman to win a major open-wheel event, finished with no time and will start from the back of the grid Sunday.
Hunter-Reay was the best in the drizzle in the opening qualifying group but 19 seconds slower than the top practice time set earlier in the day on a dry track.
“It was pretty messy out there,” said Briscoe, who just sneaked into the second round of qualifying by finishing sixth in the first group.
The rain eased slightly for the second group but the wet track left cars slipping and sliding all over the track and the yellow caution flag came out three times during the session. Power, on his last lap, finished with the fastest time in the second group, 1.45 seconds quicker than Hunter-Reay.
With more showers approaching the track, officials started the next session, with the 12 fastest cars, early and the track dried for most of the session. Dixon led the group of the final six qualifiers, followed by Castroneves, Franchitti, Briscoe, Power and Hunter-Reay.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise might be last race in Australia.
October 24, 2008
With the biggest field in seven years — 24 cars — and five former champions either driving or back as team owners, organizers of Sunday’s Indy 300 are hoping they haven’t saved their best for last.
With the Surfers Paradise race missing from the 2009 Indy Racing League schedule, there’s a possibility that the race, first held in 1991 and one of the most well-attended and popular on the old CART and then Champ Car series, might not be held again.
The IRL and local organizers are meeting this week to discuss the future of the race, and a decision is expected in about two weeks.
Scheduling in the regular late October race is the stumbling block — the mostly U.S.-based IRL wants its season finished before the start of the National Football League season, and Gold Coast organizers don’t want the race moved up because it will clash with Australia’s national football finals.
Regardless, Sunday’s race should go out with a bang — and maybe a few other mishaps along the way as the expanded field due to the IRL-Champ merger tries to find room on the tight 14-turn, 2.795-mile temporary beachside street course that winds its way around high-rise hotels and resort apartments.
The biggest test will come on the first turn — a tricky chicane that has been the scene of numerous accidents in the 17-year history of the race which, not surprisingly, has produced only one repeat winner — Sebastien Bourdais in 2005 and 2007.
“Coming down the front straight is where we reach the fastest speed, about 185 mph,” said Canadian Alex Tagliani, who has two third-place finishes in Australia in eight appearances on the course.
“Then we must brake hard for the first chicane in order to slow down to 90 mph. We have to be aggressive over the curbs and then reaccelerate … ”
The entry list includes three former Surfers Paradise champions — Dario Franchitti (1999), Bruno Lunqueira (2004) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (2003). Former drivers Michael Andretti (the 1994 winner) and Jimmy Vasser (1996) return as team owners.
Andretti and Bobby Rahal will watch their sons, Marco and Graham, respectively, from pit lane in Sunday’s race. A.J. Foyt IV, the grandson of four-time Indy 500 winner and son of 1992 Gold Coast race entrant and current IRL team owner, A.J. Foyt, will also be making his Australian debut.
The five former Indy 500 winners include reigning winner and IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, who was born in nearby Brisbane but was raised a New Zealander.
Danica Patrick, who became the first woman to win a major open-wheel event in Japan in April, is making her first trip to Australia.
“I’ve heard about this race for a number of years, and I’m looking forward to finally driving in it,” Patrick said Thursday at a drivers’ breakfast.
Franchitti will make his first start with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Vitor Meira will debut with A.J. Foyt Racing, Dan Wheldon moves to Panther Racing and Tagliani will attempt to cement a spot with Conquest Racing after driving for the team in the final two events of 2008.
Whether any of those drivers are back next year depends on continuing negotiations led by Indy 300 chairman Terry Mackenroth and Terry Angstadt, the IRL’s commercial division president.
Organizers want a five-year contract to continue running the event and the Queensland state government, which backs the race with about $8 million of funding each year, would prefer that the date stay in late October.
“We will be holding a number of meetings over the weekend. If an agreement can be reached, a binding contract will be signed within 14 days of the event,” Mackenroth said Thursday.
Angstadt, who arrived just several hours earlier from the IRL’s head office in Indianapolis, said three scheduling options were being discussed in an effort to keep the race in Australia.
“We want to make something work,” Angstadt said.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Indy Racing League gains momentum after exciting 2008 season.
October 15, 2008
The deal that brought together America’s two open-wheel series under the IRL Series banner made a difference — in a good way.
Statistics released this week by the IRL show gains were made with the merger of IndyCar and the Champ Car World Series and not just on the track.
• At-track merchandise sales were up 25 percent compared to 2007, according to Main Gate, the league’s merchandising agent.
• Average viewership was 1.55 million, up from 1.4 million in 2007.
“It was better than expected,” said Terry Angstadt, president of the IRL’s commercial division, in a telephone interview. “I really felt like we would have certain levels of increases and success.
“I always qualify things, though. I think we know where we are. I’m not suggesting everything’s perfect by any stretch of the imagination. In terms of attendance, TV ratings and merchandise sales, all kind of our key metrics, I was more pleased that things were better than I anticipated.”
The on-track competition was better, too.
After each series struggled for years to get 18 cars on the grid, this year’s IndyCar Series averaged 26 cars at each race.
“I think the biggest positive, and the one that’s most visible to fans, is car count,” Angstadt said. “That is what I think is where we heard the biggest reaction. And it drives across a number of things for business when you have more cars out there, you have more drivers, you have higher attendance, you have more sponsors, you have more people following your races.”
A record-tying nine drivers won races, including 19-year-old Graham Rahal and his Newman/Haas/Lanigan teammate Justin Wilson. And 13 drivers recorded top-three podium finishes as Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon edged out Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves for the championship.
The teams that made the move from Champ Car to IndyCar began the season way behind the holdover teams, forced to build and race unfamiliar cars at new venues.
“I think they really exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Angstadt said. “I think next year it will be a notch up.”
Another area for improvement will be finding a title sponsor for the IndyCar Series.
Angstadt said the IRL is close to signing a “very big company” to be the series’ presenting sponsor.
“We’re just pleased with the progress we’ve made, but we still recognize we’ve certainly got a lot of hard work to do,” he said. “I think, in another year or two of the unified series, we’ll be even more proud of where we are.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Helio Castroneves’ bail is modified so he can race outside U.S.
October 10, 2008
A Miami judge has agreed to modify bail conditions on tax charges so Helio Castroneves can race later this month in Australia.
The Brazilian race car driver and 2007 Dancing With The Stars champ had been barred from leaving the United States. A judge granted Castroneves’ request Friday to travel to Brisbane, Australia so he can drive in the Oct. 26 race. Prosecutors may still appeal that order.
Castroneves was indicted last week on federal conspiracy and tax evasion charges and is free on $10 million bail. Prosecutors say Castroneves used offshore accounts to hide millions of dollars in income from the Internal Revenue Service.
Castroneves insists he is innocent and that he relied on advice from tax experts for his financial dealings.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Castroneves helps Penske win American Le Mans after court appearance.
October 6, 2008
Helio Castroneves was back behind the wheel Saturday, a day after the two-time Indy 500 winner entered a plea of not guilty on tax evasion charges.
Out on $10 million bail after he was indicted on charges of conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion for purportedly failing to report to the IRS about $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004, the Dancing with the Stars champion was in suburban Atlanta for the American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
Not only was he back on track, but he was back in the winner’s circle, as well.
Castroneves and teammate Ryan Briscoe outpaced the rest of the cars to finish first in the Le Mans Prototype 2 Class.
“It has been a difficult two days, but to finish first, it turned out to be a good day,” Castroneves said. “It was a great day, and we’re going to continue to move forward.”
Terms of Castroneves’ release allowed him race at Petit Le Mans, and other races in the United States but not abroad, meaning he will likely miss a race later this month in Australia, said his attorney, Mark Seiden.
“Having Helio here today was important, especially in the situation he’s in,” team owner Roger Penske said.
“He was focused all day, and that’s what’s important to us.”
Briscoe started the 10-hour, 1,000-mile race, but the native of Sao Paulo, Brazil took the driver’s seat during the third-hour at 2:19 p.m.
At the time, the duo’s No. 5 Porshe RS Spyder was the overall leader, and led the Le Mans Prototype 2 Class.
At one point, Castroneves was as far back as fifth place, and after driving for a little over two hours, he gave the reins back to Briscoe. Briscoe vaulted up the standings, going head to head with Romain Dumas for the lead in the LMP2 Class.
Castroneves didn’t think that his legal woes were a distraction, if anything, racing helped him forget about everything.
“When you’re out in the car you’re the only one,” he said. “That was perfect for me. … The fans kept me going. They gave me an immense amount of support. I was very touched.”
As for the impending legal battle, Castroneves said he’ll fight it like it’s his job.
“This problem is like a race,” he said. “And we’re going to win.”
Also facing charges are Katiucia Castroneves, the driver’s sister and business manager, and attorney Alan R. Miller of Birmingham, Mich. They did not enter pleas Friday but were ordered released on bail of $2 million and $250,000, respectively.
Castroneves, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, finished second this year in the IndyCar Series points standings. He and partner Julianne Hough won the 2007 Dancing With The Stars reality show competition on ABC.
Miller’s attorney, Michael Tein, sharply criticized federal prosecutors for bringing the case. Tein contended that Castroneves’ fame was the main reason the three were charged with crimes.
The indictment charges that Castroneves illegally concealed income from Penske Racing Inc. and the Brazilian firm Coimex International S.A. Neither company is charged with any wrongdoing.
In Penske’s case, prosecutors say Castroneves was to be paid $5 million in exchange for rights to use his name, likeness and image. The money was initially supposed to go to a Panamanian shell corporation, but then was diverted to a Dutch entity called Fintage Licensing.
Fintage was set up as a “deferred royalty plan” in which U.S. tax payments can be delayed, which is legal only if Castroneves had no relationship or control over it. Prosecutors say he did have control and that false statements were made to Penske about the relationship.
Coimex paid Castroneves $600,000 between 1999 through 2001 for sponsorship contracts, but he paid taxes only on about $50,000, prosecutors said.
Katiucia Castroneves transferred some of the hidden money to a Swiss bank account she controlled with her brother, court documents show.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Helio Castroneves pleads not guilty to tax evasion charges.
October 4, 2008
Two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves pleaded not guilty Friday to federal tax evasion charges and declared outside the courtroom that he would treat the case like a race against the Internal Revenue Service.
“I’m a race car driver,” Castroneves said. “This is a very difficult situation. I’ll be strong and I’ll win this race.”
The 33-year-old Brazilian spoke after his release on $10 million bail following a court appearance in which he was shackled in handcuffs and leg chains and was visibly weeping into a wad of white tissue. Outside, Castroneves acknowledged he was overwhelmed by the weight of the moment.
“It’s been a long day. It’s been an emotional day, obviously,” he said. “I am not guilty.”
With that, Castroneves hopped into a waiting car and headed for a flight to Atlanta to participate in this weekend’s Petit Le Mans race. Terms of Castroneves’ release allow him to travel for work in the United States but not abroad, meaning he will likely miss a race later this month in Australia, said his attorney, Mark Seiden.
A grand jury on Thursday indicted Castroneves on charges of conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion for purportedly failing to report to the IRS about $5.5 million in income between 1999 and 2004, according to court documents. Each count carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.
Also facing charges are Katiucia Castroneves, the driver’s sister and business manager, and attorney Alan R. Miller of Birmingham, Michigan. They did not enter pleas Friday but were ordered released on bail of $2 million and $250,000, respectively.
Another Castroneves attorney, David Garvin, said he was disappointed that the tax dispute could not be resolved without criminal charges.
“Helio has always done the appropriate thing and hired accountants and attorneys he relied upon,” Garvin said. “We are of the strong belief that he did not do anything wrong. We’re looking forward to going to court.”
Castroneves, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has won the Indianapolis 500 twice and finished second this year in the IndyCar Series points standings. He and partner Julianne Hough won the 2007 Dancing With The Stars reality TV show competition.
Miller’s attorney, Michael Tein, sharply criticized federal prosecutors for bringing the case. Tein contended that Castroneves’ fame was the main reason the three were charged with crimes.
“This case is the height of overreaching,” Tein said.
The indictment charges that Castroneves illegally concealed income from Penske Racing Inc. and the Brazilian firm Coimex International S.A. Neither company is charged with any wrongdoing.
In Penske’s case, prosecutors say Castroneves was to be paid $5 million in exchange for rights to use his name, likeness and image. The money was initially supposed to go to a Panamanian shell corporation, but then was diverted to a Dutch entity called Fintage Licensing.
Fintage was set up as a “deferred royalty plan” in which U.S. tax payments can be delayed, which is only legal if Castroneves had no relationship or control over it. Prosecutors say he did have control and that false statements were made to Penske about the relationship.
Coimex paid Castroneves $600,000 between 1999 through 2001 for sponsorship contracts, but he only paid taxes on about $50,000, prosecutors said.
Katuicia Castroneves transferred some of the hidden money to a Swiss bank account she controlled with her brother, court documents show.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Castroneves wins in Chicago but Dixon wins 2008 IRL title.
September 7, 2008
Helio Castroneves won the race in the second closest finish in the history of the IndyCar Series, but it wasn’t enough to stop Scott Dixon from taking his second championship.
Castroneves came from last place Sunday to win the PEAK Indy 300, but Dixon, who knew coming in he only had to finish eighth or better to win the title, took the lead with a perfect pit stop late in the race and nearly held off Castroneves for the victory, crossing the finish line inches behind the winner.
It was sweet redemption for Dixon, who lost both the race and the championship to Dario Franchitti last year at Chicagoland Speedway when he ran out of fuel two turns from the finish.
Dixon became the fourth straight Indianapolis 500 winner to go on to earn the series championship, following Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish Jr. and Franchitti.
The champion gave Target Chip Ganassi Racing its sixth open-wheel title, including four in the now-defunct CART/Champ Car series. Ganassi’s team of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas also wrapped up the Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series championship a week ago.
Dixon added the title to the one he won in 2003, his first year in IndyCar, by racing all season with consistency. He finished with a record-tying six victories and 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts.
Things looked bright for Dixon and particularly bleak for Castroneves on Saturday when the Brazilian qualified fourth, but was penalized to the rear of the 28-car field for driving under the white out-of-bounds line at the bottom of the banked 1.5-mile oval on each of his four laps.
But the determined Castroneves, trailing Dixon by 30 points and knowing he had to win or finish second and lead the most laps to have any shot at his first series title, gave himself a chance by charging from the green flag.
His No. 3 Team Penske Dallara sliced through traffic, moving quickly into contention. Castroneves got to 10th on lap 20, passed Dixon for third on lap 66 and took the lead by beating teammate Ryan Briscoe out of the pits during a caution flag stop on lap 78.
Meanwhile, Dixon, who had a seemingly unbeatable 78-point lead with just three races to go, came into the last points race of the season knowing he was vulnerable again, thanks to a late-season charge by Castroneves, who finished with two victories and eight second-place finishes.
The 28-year-old New Zealander started next to pole-winner Briscoe but fell as far back as 11th in the middle of the race and never led until 15 laps from the end after he came out of the pits about three feet ahead of Castroneves after their final stops.
From that point to the end, it was a two-man race, with Castroneves chasing Dixon. He finally got alongside Dixon on lasp 199 and each got a nose ahead several times until Castroneves somehow managed to lead at the finish line. It took a photo finish camera to make the determination.
Castroneves did lead a race-high 80 laps, earning the 3-point bonus, but Dixon wound up 17 points ahead in the title chase.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Briscoe wins pole for IRL’s last event of 2008 at Chicagoland.
September 6, 2008
Things just got a lot tougher for Helio Castroneves in his quest to overtake Scott Dixon for the IndyCar Series championship.
Castroneves, who has been trying hard to get into Dixon’s head as he chases the New Zealander in their title duel, was penalized after Saturday’s qualifying for driving under the white out-of-bounds line at the bottom of the banked Chicagoland Speedway oval.
“He didn’t just do it once,” IndyCar spokesman John Griffin said. “He did it numerous times.”
That negated a solid fourth-place qualifying effort for Castroneves, whose Team Penske teammate, Ryan Briscoe, knocked Dixon off the pole and into second place in the 28-car field.
Now, Castroneves has a much more difficult task in his effort to overcome a 30-point Dixon lead in Sunday’s PEAK Indy 300 race, the last points-paying event of the season. The penalty doesn’t change the fact that Castroneves needs to win or finish second to keep his hopes alive, while Dixon can wrap up his second title — and first since 2003 — by finishing eighth or better.
All the Brazilian can do now is try to get to the front and hope that Dixon has one of his rare off days.
In the first 16 races this season, Dixon has a record-tying six victories and 13 finishes of fifth or better. But he does have three finishes of 11th or worse, too.
Castroneves was not available to comment on the penalty and, after dashing to the IRL hauler, team president Tim Cindric quickly returned and said, “They (the IRL) didn’t want to talk about it. We have to start from the back.”
The way Castroneves ran his four-lap qualifying run surprised Dixon, who commented on it before the penalty was announced.
“We’re told even before we go out in qualifying just keep it above the white line,” Dixon said. “In the drivers meeting, the same thing. He was clearly below it. They never say what the penalty is for it, but it doesn’t really matter, to be honest.”
Castroneves also was penalized last week at Detroit, where he was ordered to let eventual race-winner Justin Wilson past after the Brazilian was called for blocking. That cost Castroneves, who went on to finish second, 10 very important points.
This latest turn of events probably negated the effectiveness, if any, of Castroneves’ efforts to do a psyche job on Dixon.
Over the past few weeks, each time Castroneves saw Dixon, he would walk up with a big smile, poke him in the shoulder and say, “You feeling the pressure, buddy?”
And the fun-loving Brazilian wasn’t letting up a bit as the last points race of the season approached.
Friday night, the two title contenders were asked to each say a few words at a tribute to a friend. As they walked together toward the stage, Castroneves sped up to get ahead of Dixon and then reached out a leg in a mock effort to trip his competitor. On stage, Castroneves took the microphone, leaned toward Dixon and said … you guessed it … “Are you feeling the pressure, buddy?”
“I’m doing my best to get into his head,” Castroneves said Friday. “I’ve got to do everything I can because he is the one with the lead. What I can count on is what I can control. My team is going to do everything we can to win the race and the championship.”
Despite the head games, that was going to be difficult, even before he penalty.
But Castroneves said he wasn’t really feeling any pressure — at least nothing like he felt when he was in the finals of last year’s “Dancing With The Stars,” TV show, which he won.
“Here, I know what I’m doing and what I need to do,” he said grinning. “On the show, I didn’t know anything, and that was a lot of pressure. This is fun.”
Dixon looked relaxed and confident Saturday as he led both practice sessions and wound up second on the 28-car grid. Danica Patrick will start third and Castroneves’ penalty moved Tony Kanaan to fourth.
The points leader said he is just looking forward to getting things settled.
“I guess I’m anxious,” Dixon said. “I want to get in the car and get in the race. One way or another, man, I want it over and done with. It’s been a long year. It’s been a very successful year and to top it off with a championship would be fantastic, but only time will tell.”
All Dixon has to do to give Chip Ganassi Racing another open-wheel title is put together the kind of race he has been running almost all season. But there is still the specter of last year’s Chicagoland race.
Chasing down Dario Franchitti for the title, Dixon lost both the race and the championship when he ran out of fuel two turns from the end of the race.
While some believe that finish could haunt Dixon, Franchitti figures it just gives the New Zealander a little more incentive, as it has all of this season.
Franchitti, whose attempt to move to NASCAR this season ended with the news he will come back to IndyCar as Dixon’s teammate in 2009, visited Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday and gave Dixon a vote of confidence in the championship battle.
“I said to TK (former teammate Tony Kanaan) early this year, ‘Sorry, man. I got Scott mad last year and he came back fighting strong.’ He was a hell of a driver last year and I think he’s an even better driver this year,” Franchitti said. “And I think the team have done a better job for him, too.
“He’s making less mistakes and he’s improved in certain areas where he wasn’t very strong before, and he’s a hell of an opponent. As a teammate, I’m going to find out some of his secrets.”
Still, Franchitti noted that the title is hardly a done deal for Dixon.
“We did show last year, didn’t we, that it’s not all over until that last lap is done,” said Franchitti, who drove for Andretti Green Racing in 2007. “And Helio doesn’t give up either.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Franchitti leaves NASCAR to return to IRL’s Ganassi Racing.
September 2, 2008
Dario Franchitti will return to IndyCar in 2009 as the replacement driver for Dan Wheldon at Chip Ganassi Racing.
Franchitti, the 2007 IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, left open wheel at the end of last season to move into NASCAR driving for Ganassi. But his Sprint Cup team never found sponsorship, and Ganassi shut down the No. 40 car in July.
Franchitti has been lingering in NASCAR since, and Ganassi has entered him in a handful of second-tier Nationwide Series races. He had said at the time his team closed that returning to IndyCar was not an option, but apparently changed his mind when Ganassi decided not to re-sign Wheldon.
Hookscenter.com wire report.