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.
Justin Wilson takes first Indy Car Series win in Detroit.
August 31, 2008
Helio Castroneves surely had another fence-climbing celebration running through his mind as he raced toward victory Sunday at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.
Then came a caution flag that cut his lead over rookie Justin Wilson to less than a second.
With Wilson breathing down his neck, Castroneves moved his race car into Wilson’s path three times on lap 72, forcing IndyCar Series officials to make the rare and controversial decision to compel Castroneves to allow Wilson to speed ahead of him into first place.
Wilson held the lead the rest of the way, taking his first-ever IndyCar Series victory and sending Castroneves into a tizzy.
“I’m very surprised — very much surprised about this call,” he fumed.
Wilson had an altogether different take on the decision to penalize the flamboyant Brazilian.
“In my mind, it was so clear and so obvious that something had to be done,” he said.
Castroneves led for the majority of the road race on the Belle Isle course, holding the top spot for 53 of the 87 laps.
Series points leader Scott Dixon finished fifth. That result, coupled with Castroneves’ strong showing, means the IndyCar championship will be decided at next weekend’s final points race at the Chicagoland track.
The odds of winning the series title still favor Dixon, who entered the Detroit race 43 points ahead of Castroneves. Dixon needs to finish eighth or better next week to win his second title and first since his rookie year of 2003.
Dixon’s lead now stands at 30 points.
Wilson, an Englishman who started in the race’s fourth position and drives the No. 02 car for actor Paul Newman and his Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team, had six top-10 finishes entering Sunday’s race, including a season-best third-place run at Edmonton.
He started the day in 16th place in the series standings.
Newman/Haas/Lanigan’s other victory of the season came with Graham Rahal in April in St. Petersburg, Fla.
“This is the most important win of my career,” Wilson said. “It’s been a long, difficult year. A lot of things have happened. A lot of things are going on, but we managed to pull through. This one means a lot, and this one is also for you, Paul.”
Castroneves dominated much of race and looked as if he was headed to another win after finishing first in California last weekend, but IndyCar officials ordered Wilson’s car to the lead after the blocking call was made by Brian Barnhart, IndyCar Series president of competition and operations.
“We did what we did because it was a pretty easy call,” Barnhart said. “He had a tremendous run out of Turn 12, and Helio crossed over almost the entire width of the track to impede the progress of the car behind him.”
The explanation did little to change the mind of Castroneves, who questioned whether Barnhart’s decision was personal and why no warning was given first.
When his crew relayed the decision to him over the radio, Castroneves asked whether anything could be done, and he was told the decision would not be changed.
“It was just an unusual call,” he said.
Wilson relayed a different message to his crew when Castroneves kept getting in his way.
“It was pretty severe,” Wilson said of the series of blocking maneuvers. “I was upset and even complained on the radio.”
The scheduled 90-lap race ended after 87 laps when the race hit the 2-hour time limit.
Tony Kanaan, last year’s winner at Detroit, finished third. Oriol Servia was fourth.
Dixon, the fastest qualifier, and second place-starter Castroneves remained in first and second place for the first 18 laps, then Dixon pitted on No. 19, allowing Castroneves to take the lead position.
Dixon never regained the lead.
“That was pretty much the race,” Dixon said.
On the 17th lap, Dan Wheldon made contact with rookie driver Jaime Camara. Wheldon spun into a tire barrier, but was able to restart.
Wheldon also had trouble with about 20 laps to go when he missed a turn and slowly ran into the barrier. He finished 20th and yielded third place in the series standings to Kanaan.
Castroneves didn’t initially pit until lap No. 32, but only briefly and didn’t lose the top spot.
Danica Patrick and Vitor Meira slapped tires a third of the way through the race, forcing Patrick’s car to stall and Meira’s No. 4 to head off the course. Meira, who started the race in 14th place, had to do the equivalent of a three-point turn before heading to pit road.
Patrick ended up 16th after starting 10th.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Danica Patrick looks for strong run at Detroit Indy Grand Prix.
August 29, 2008
Danica Patrick would be ecstatic with another strong run at Detroit Indy Grand Prix.
After starting 11th at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park, Patrick worked her way up to fifth late in the race when the cars running second, third and fourth were involved in an incident with two laps to go. Patrick sped past the wreckage and held on for a second-place finish behind Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Patrick, fifth-fastest in practice Friday with a lap at 100 mph. “I’m very fortunate that I didn’t get caught up in it. It was great to stand next to Tony Kanaan on the podium, first and second. Hopefully we can do something similar again.”
Despite winning her first IndyCar race earlier in the season at Twin Ring Motegi, nothing has come easy this year for Patrick. She has finished in the top 10 in nine of 15 races this year, but only three times in the top five, including a fifth-place showing Sunday in Sonoma, Calif.
“It’s been a year of ups and downs, and drama,” Patrick said. “It’s either been something on the track drawing attention or something off the track. It’s just been like that this year.
“(Winning) hasn’t lessened the pressure to win again. We’re shooting for No. 1 every week. It’s the other drivers who are making it hard on me. The competition is very deep out there, especially on the road courses. It’s tough every single weekend.”
The success has been accompanied by some distractions. The most notable one occurred during practice for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio when Patrick marched over to driver Milka Duno’s pit box to complain to her and Dreyer & Reinbold crew members that Duno was too slow on the course and blocking faster drivers. Duno responded by twice snapping a white towel at Patrick before eventually yelling at her to leave.
Still, Patrick has been able to continue to focus on her driving. She’s sixth in the driver standings, 45 points behind fifth-place Ryan Briscoe.
“Every year at the end you think if it wouldn’t have been for that one thing,” Patrick said. “That’s just the way it goes. But you can’t control it. Everybody has their bad races. Everybody has their throwaways. That’s what makes a season.
“Obviously Scott Dixon is kicking everybody’s butt and doing a good job this year.”
Patrick admitted that a repeat of her last performance at Detroit is going to be difficult on the 14-turn, 2.07-mile circuit.
“Passing is very difficult here,” she said. “It’s difficult to pass on any road course, really, but here it’s not like you drop a wheel off in the gravel and keep going or get pushed wide. You hit a wall.
“There’s just nowhere to go. I did a couple of them last year, but they weren’t pretty. A lot of crashes end up happening when you try. The only other spot you can make up spots outside of actually passing would be through strategy, through fuel saving, through pit stops. I think a lot of us tend to rely on strategy for the cleanest passing.”
Plus, Patrick noted that this year’s race field was expanded from 17 to 26 with IndyCar’s merger with the Champ Car series.
“We’ve got 10 or 11 new entries and that definitely gets into the mix. It fogs it up,” she said. “Last year there were a lot of top fives and running up front a lot. This year it’s just not been quite the same. There’s just too many drivers out there.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Castroneves keeps 2008 IRL title hopes alive with win at Sonoma.
August 25, 2008
For Helio Castroneves, his first win in 30 races was a matter of faith.
Known as Spider Man for his fence-climbing celebrations, Castroneves acknowledged that he checked out the best place to make his climb just in case he won Sunday’s Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway.
“I did, actually,” Castroneves said. “There were photographers there and I told them exactly where I was going to go. I said, `Right there. Make sure you wait for me there.’ It’s just a positive attitude.”
The victory did more than break a winless string stretching back to the St. Petersburg race on April 1, 2007. It also put Castroneves squarely back into a championship duel with IndyCar Series leader Scott Dixon that looked like a lost cause before Sunday.
Dixon suffered through one of his worst days of the season, finishing 12th, and saw his lead shrink from a seemingly comfortable 78 points to 43 heading into next week’s race at Detroit’s Belle Isle, the penultimate race of the season.
Castroneves and teammate Ryan Briscoe started 1-2 and finished the same way, completing an amazing weekend after losing their primary cars in a transporter fire on Wednesday and racing here in hastily prepared backup cars.
Castroneves, frustrated until now by seven runner-up finishes this season, was almost delirious with joy as he crossed the finish line, screaming and hollering, “Bring it home, baby.”
Living up to his prerace promise to those photographers, the Brazilian scrambled out of his No. 3 Dallara Honda at the finish line and ran to the short fence behind the pits. He quickly climbed it and found himself surrounded by admiring fans.
Castroneves then jumped back down to the track and sprinted back to his team, joining them in a group hug.
“They kept telling me, `Push, push, push.’ And I was pushing to the limit,” Castroneves said. “There was nothing left out there.
“That was fun, a lot of fun. Oh my God, this is awesome. We’ve been close so often. We never lost faith. This is great for Detroit.”
Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske and the man who manages the races for Castroneves, said, “We would not have won this race if Helio hadn’t driven the wheels off it when he needed to. … We will keep going and see where we end up at the end of the year.
“I think our approach next weekend is the same: We go for broke. That’s the only thing that is going to get us where we need to be.”
As happy as Castroneves and his team were, Dixon was just as frustrated.
“It was definitely a bad day. We lost a ton of points,” the New Zealander said. “This is a race that’s very tough. Unfortunately, we got the bad end of the stick. I guess we just need to shrug it off and come back strong next week.”
Team owner Chip Ganassi said Dixon is still the favorite to add another title to the one he won in 2003.
“I think if Helio wins the next two (races), we just have to place fourth, so we should be able to do that,” Ganassi said. “We just have to stay behind him. We’re OK. We have a long way to go yet.”
Castroneves, who started from the pole Sunday, won this one, his 13th career victory, with a perfect pit strategy and a very strong car.
He gave up the lead on his first stop on lap 17 of the 80-lap event and regained the top spot when the last of the leaders, rookie E.J. Viso, finally pitted on lap 36. By the time Castroneves pitted again on lap 44, he had built a lead of more than 16.5 seconds over Briscoe.
That put the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner right where he wanted to be. After he made the last of his three fuel stops on lap 57, all Castroneves had to do was wait for the drivers ahead of him to make their last stops.
He took over the lead for good on lap 59 when Viso pitted and easily led the rest of the way on the 2.245-mile, 12-turn road course, beating Briscoe to the finish line by 5.29 seconds — about 30 car-lengths.
Tony Kanaan and Den Wheldon, both eliminated from championship contention on Sunday, finished third and fourth, followed by Danica Patrick and Viso.
When Dixon made his second of three stops, also on lap 44, he was third, just behind Briscoe. But Dixon came out of that stop deep in the pack and was never in contention again.
“I’m not upset with anybody, particularly. We just did absolutely nothing right,” said Dixon, who has a record-tying six wins this season and had only two finishes worse than fourth until Sunday. “Everything we did was wrong.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Scott Dixon can wrap up second IndyCar series title in Sonoma.
August 24, 2008
Scott Dixon would like to get it over with this weekend.
The New Zealander heads into Sunday’s Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway with a chance to wrap up his second IndyCar Series championship.
After losing the title to Dario Franchitti last year when he ran out of fuel on the last lap of the last race, taking the championship with two races to go would be a good feeling for Dixon and his Chip Ganassi Racing team.
To get it done on Sonoma’s 2.245-mile, 12-turn road circuit, Dixon will have to come out of Sunday’s race at least 106 points ahead of second-place Helio Castroneves, third-place Dan Wheldon, his teammate, and Tony Kanaan — the remaining contenders.
Former series champions Wheldon, 138 points behind, and Kanaan, 147 in back of Dixon, would need a win and a miracle — or at least an early crash or engine failure by the leader — to stay in contention beyond Sunday. But, even if Dixon adds to his record-tying six victories this season, Castroneves can stay at least in the background of the title picture by finishing eighth or better.
Considering that the Brazilian has 12 finishes of fifth or better — including seven seconds — in 14 starts this season, that’s likely to be the case.
“It can definitely go down to the last race, it’s quite possible,” Dixon said Saturday. “We’re happy with the lead that we have.”
And Dixon has studied the possibilities. He knows that, if he can just add eight points to his lead over Castroneves on Sunday, it will be little more than a formality in the last two races at Detroit’s Belle Isle and Chicagoland Speedway.
“We’d have to turn out for the last two races, but that’s about it,” Dixon said. “So, if we can do that, that would be amazing.
“But those guys have already proven they’re very fast here, so that’s going to be very tough to do,” he added.
Castroneves, despite losing his primary car in a transporter fire earlier this week, kept up the pressure Saturday, winning his third pole of the season and the 26th of his career as he and Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe, also driving a backup, swept the front row in qualifying.
“What a great comeback for Team Penske,” Castroneves said. “Those guys on our team did a great job. If you close your eyes, you can’t tell the difference (from the primary car).”
Will Power was third, followed by Kanaan, Dixon and Oriol Servia. Wheldon will start 14th.
Although he isn’t haunted by last year’s hard-to-take finish, Dixon said the memory does make him aware of the bad things that can happen if you let other drivers stay too close.
“It does worry you because it kind of drags out a bit,” he said. “It’s so easy these days to have a mechanical failure on a car that’s performing so highly, be it the engine, the gearbox or even something else.”
That’s exactly what happened to Dixon earlier this season at St. Petersburg, where a mechanical problem relegated him to a season-worse 22nd-place finish.
“It’s far from done,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of hard work to do yet.”
Castroneves isn’t ready to concede anything to Dixon.
Asked if he can still win his first IndyCar title, without hesitation the Brazilian replied: “Absolutely!
“If there’s a chance, we’re not going to give up,” he added. “We’re trying to make the gap in the championship closer. But tomorrow’s going to be tough. The times are ridiculous, just so close. It’s going to be very hard to pass.”
Besides staying alive in the championship, Castroneves would love to get his first victory of the season.
“Fortunately, we’ve been quick in Sonoma in each visit, but we haven’t been able to bring home a win,” he said. “We’ve finished in the top-five the past two years, and I really want to take it to the next level this season in order to keep the Championship battle going.
“We’re not out of it, but we’re going to need a strong run to be able to stay in the fight.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Castroneves needs a miracle to win 2008 IRL Championship.
August 23, 2008
Helio Castroneves knows how to win.
Two of his 12 career victories have come in the Indianapolis 500, and just about everyone — including a lot of people who wouldn’t know an IndyCar from a pickup truck — is aware that Castroneves won the 2007 Dancing with the Stars competition.
But, somehow, a series championship has eluded the personable Brazilian.
Now, heading into Sunday’s IndyCar Series race at Infineon Raceway — despite being second in the points with three races remaining — Castroneves’ chances of winning the big trophy in 2008 have to be considered a long shot.
This has probably been the most frustrating season since Castroneves became a full-time driver in the old CART series in 1998. While Scott Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar champion, has won six races and done just about everything right, Castroneves has chalked up seven runner-up finishes without a victory and trails by 78 points.
If Dixon wins Sunday and Castroneves finishes ninth or worse, the championship battle will be over.
But Castroneves isn’t conceding anything.
“We have a lot of points (left) in the game,” Castroneves said Friday. “We know what we need to do. I think they have more to lose than us. … We’re going to be fighting.
“If there is one point (between us), even (if) at sometimes (it) looks impossible — and right now it’s not even close — we’re going to have the faith. We’re going to continue working.”
Fate tossed another hurdle in his path Wednesday when one of the Team Penske trucks — the one carrying the primary cars for Castroneves and teammate Ryan Briscoe — caught fire on a highway somewhere in the wilds of Wyoming. The cars were damaged by water and smoke, and quite a bit of equipment was too badly damaged to use.
Still, driving a backup car that was quickly put into racing shape, Castroneves was second in the opening practice Friday and led in the second session.
“I told the guy my setup was on fire,” Castroneves said, laughing. “Joking aside, the good news is nobody got hurt and things can definitely be replaced.
“We’re trying to put that behind,” he added. “But, when you go back to the truck, it’s hard to forget. A lot of our tools that we would be able to use here are gone. The good news is Team Penske is always prepared. We already had a truck that came from Charlotte, stuff that we’ll be able to use now.”
Dixon, who lost the title to Dario Franchitti last year when he ran out of fuel on the last lap of the final race, won’t take anything for granted.
“A lot can (still) be lost or gained,” the New Zealander said. “You just have to keep focused on what you’re trying. That’s the biggest thing for us, making sure that we make as many points as we can at any opportunity. At least then you know you’ve done your best, even if somebody takes you out of it.”
Asked about Castroneves, Dixon, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, said, “He’s very competitive, and Penske is a team that has won many races, a lot of championships, a lot of (Indy) 500s. So they’ve definitely got the equipment and the drivers to do it.”
“Look at Helio. He’s come second seven times this year, so easily he could have won some races. He’s on top of his game.”
Now he needs a little good luck, with the races on the road circuits and Detroit’s Belle Isle coming up before the final points race of the year on the oval at Chicagoland Speedway.
“The good news is that I’m very comfortable with the road courses,” Castroneves said. “The bad news is he is also very comfortable with the road courses. It’s going to be a neck and neck.
“In his situation, Scott doesn’t have to do much. I think (to) just follow would be the best thing he can do because, if he makes a mistake or something like that, it would count more than the gain. I’m not counting on his mistake and I’m not wishing his mistake, but we’re just going to focus on our work.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Dixon moves closer to 2008 Indy Car series title with Kentucky win.
August 10, 2008
Scott Dixon is having one of those near-perfect seasons, and it’s more than a little frustrating for the guy trying to chase him down.
Dixon came from behind Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway, passing Helio Castroneves coming off the final turn on the 1.5-mile oval to win the Meijer Indy 300. It was the second win in a row and the sixth victory of the season for Dixon, tying the record of Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dan Wheldon as he races toward what would be his second IndyCar Series championship.
Series runner-up Castroneves, still trying for his first victory of the season and his first series title as he chases Dixon, tried to get this one with fuel strategy.
It looked as if Castroneves had it when he took the lead with six laps to go when Dixon, who had dominated most of the 200-lap race, was forced to make a fuel stop.
Dixon came out just over six seconds behind the Brazilian, but steadily cut into the margin. He started the final lap just six-tenths of a second behind and finally passed Castroneves as the leader slowed coming off the fourth turn, out of fuel.
Castroneves then coasted slowly across the finish line, barely holding off Marco Andretti.
“I knew he was a little bit slow and I could see us catching him, and to get him on the last corner was pretty fantastic,” Dixon said. “I said that view was pretty sweet.
“I think this is the view Dario had on the last lap in Chicago last year,” added Dixon, referring to Dario Franchitti passing him on the last lap to win both the race and the championship last year in the season-finale.
It was the seventh second-place finish of the season for the frustrated Castroneves.
“Going into turn three I was like finally, I’m going to win a race,” Castroneves said. “In turn four I was just trying to finish. I saw a bunch of cars pass me and I’m like ‘I can’t believe it.”‘
Still able to smile, he added, “I tried everything. Second seems to be my place. What can I say? Every time he wins I finish second and, unfortunately, every time I finish second, he finishes first. We’ve got to change that.”
Tim Cindric, the president of Penske Racing, who calls the races for Castroneves, brought his driver in to top off the fuel tank on lap 143, meaning Castroneves had to go the final 64 laps on a tank of fuel — about 12 laps further than the average.
As Dixon chased down the leader, Cindric could be heard on the radio exhorting Castroneves: “You got to go! You got to go! He’s coming!”
He did his best until the ethanol ran out.
Castroneves was philosophical.
“It was the opportunity to play strategy and I give the total credit to Tim Cindric,” he said. “It was his call. It almost worked.”
Dixon also earned the three-point bonus for leading a race-high 151 laps and extended his series lead over runner-up Castroneves by 13 points to an almost insurmountable 78 with three races remaining.
“Scott is having a fantastic year,” said Castroneves, who has finished in the top five in all but two of the 14 races this season. “This is one of the first races where we didn’t have the car, but we took chances.”
The finish was almost as frustrating for Andretti, also winless this season. The son of Andretti Green Racing co-owner Michael Andretti lost his shot at his second career victory and first since August 2006 when he had to make his final pit stop on lap 189.
“We have got to start capitalizing on these cars that can win these races,” said Andretti, who led 38 laps. “Dixon had a bit of speed on us, but I think we had a better car in traffic. It was between him and I to win this race, and I think it is just unfortunate.”
Vitor Meira, in the hunt throughout the race, finished fourth, followed by Wheldon, Ed Carpenter, Ryan Briscoe and defending race winner Tony Kanaan. Danica Patrick, who had to start last after crashing in practice and missing Friday’s qualifying, finished 11th, a lap off the pace.
Dixon now has five of his six wins and 10 top-five finishes in 10 oval races this season.
Starting from the pole for the sixth time in 2008, he looked unbeatable early in the race. But both Meira, still looking for his first IndyCar victory in his 90th career start, and Andretti were able to stay with him. Each was able to pass Dixon for the lead at times, but the eventual winner was able to keep his near-perfect season going.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Tony Kanaan signs extension thru 2013 with Andretti Green.
August 9, 2008
Andretti Green Racing, a team that appeared to be in disarray two weeks ago, was on the same page Friday at Kentucky Speedway.
Answering persistent rumors that Tony Kanaan, its “franchise player,” would sign with another team for 2009, AGR announced the 33-year-old Brazilian has signed a five-year contract extension through 2013.
“It has been an eventful week, with a lot of rumors and a lot of things that people come up with and I have no idea where it’s coming from,” said Kanaan, the only remaining driver from AGR’s entry into the IndyCar Series in 2003. “This defines where we are at and I am really excited about the opportunity that these guys gave me six years ago.”
Michael Andretti, co-owner of AGR along with Kevin Savoree and Kim Green, said the rumors that Kanaan would leave to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing or some other IndyCar team had gotten out of hand and were starting to interrupt the normal flow of the team.
“It got ridiculous. Some of the guys were asking, ‘Is Tony leaving? What’s going on?’” Andretti said. “We felt like we had a deal a long time ago with Tony with a handshake. … The test was just trying to get it on paper. Tony is what we consider a franchise player and one of the foundations of the team. He’s part of the family.”
Savoree agreed, noting he and Kanaan also have talked about his future beyond driving.
“Tony gave us our first pole, our first win and our first championship, and that’s the kind of relationship that we’ve had,” he said. “You know, like so many families, once in a while, we have our squabbles … Sometimes, they get pretty loud. But I promise you, that guy sitting up here, there’s nobody more motivated in the sport.”
Danica Patrick and rookie Hideki Mutoh already were under contract for 2009 and the signing of Kanaan means Marco Andretti, Michael’s son, is the only AGR driver not locked up for next season.
“There’s still a few things to iron out, but he’s going to be here next year,” the elder Andretti said. “Now, we can concentrate on finishing out this season strong and getting ready for next year.”
So far, 2008 has been a disappointing season for AGR, although Kanaan goes into Saturday night’s Meijer Indy 300 fourth in the standings, 118 points behind series leader Scott Dixon.
Patrick, who got her first victory earlier this year in Japan, is sixth in the standings, just ahead of Mutoh, a leading candidate for rookie of the year. Marco Andretti is a disappointing 10th.
“We thought we should have at least three of the four as championship contenders,” Green said. “We’ve been very competitive at almost every racetrack, and that’s probably the most frustrating thing. We’ve been in the position to win quite a few races but, either an incident on the racetrack has taken us out, or driver error or, in fairness, some bad strategy on our part.”
There also have been rumblings of dissension in the once close-knit AGR ranks on and off throughout the season, and it appeared to come to a head two weeks ago at Edmonton.
It appeared Patrick and Andretti held up a faster Kanaan, who had started last because of an engine change and was making a charge toward the front. Then Andretti locked up his brakes and knocked Patrick’s car into the wall.
An obviously angry Michael Andretti called the team together for a postrace meeting that lasted about one hour and included a lecture on working together from the former driving star.
“I had a little meeting with them after the last race and I think we all are pretty much on the same page,” Andretti said Friday.
Asked if Kanaan is the team’s No. 1 driver, Andretti said: “There is no No. 1 driver. … What has made this team work, I think, is that there isn’t that, it’s the four working together. Have we had that all year this year? No. Has there had to be some reminders? Yes.
“But I would say most of the races we have worked together and those were where we had our best races. That’s constantly a challenge obviously. You have four (drivers) that want to win. Sometimes you’ve got to remind them that if they all work together, that all four can get better.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.