62 replies to this topic

[Bumper]

With the Indy 500 only a week behind, the teams move on to the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile, the famous oval that goes back a long time. Not my favourite oval to be honest as it's a 1-miler but there you go. IndyCar clearly wanted to keep the momentum going for this race, offering two tickets for the price of one if you enter a certain coupon code.

Current standings as follows after Indy:

1. Scott Dixon 191
2. Helio Castroneves 176
3. Dan Wheldon 153
4. Tony Kanaan 139
5. Marco Andretti 130
6. Danica Patrick 122
7. Ed Carpenter 120
8. Will Power 114
9.Hideki Mutoh 113
10. Oriol Servia 112

The weekend schedule makes you dizzy to look at, with a full Indy Lights and IndyCar practice, qualifying and race schedule all crammed into the Sat and Sun, with Fri only used for rookie practice that has been given as an extra session to let the rookies familiarise themselves with this track.

First IndyCar practice today at 9.30am, qualifying at 3.45pm and the race tomorrow Sun at 3pm. All times local.

TV coverage: Sun 1 June ABC from 4pm ET (race 3pm local time). Sky Sports UK: delayed at 10.30pm, after the live Nascar race.

John Andretti has been kept on by Roth Racing for another two races after his impressive showing at Indy last week, with Jay Howard sitting on the sidelines in the meantime.

So......Scott Dixon is on a roll but this 1-miler always throws up interesting results. It's flat oval and Hideki Mutoh, one of the rookies, says it feels more like a road course than an oval because of the low banking. It will be good to see what the ex-CCers can do here. Who will come out on top?

[pingu666]

racing there is sometimes great, and sometimes crap isnt it?

[potmotr]

The ex-CCers were certainly quick in first practice.
But they were allowed an extra early session of practice before the full field went out.
Big Dix looks strong as ever.



Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 21.9381 65
2. Will Power KV 22.0587 0.1206 71
3. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 22.0765 0.1384 80
4. Helio Castroneves Penske 22.0946 0.1565 78
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi 22.1009 0.1628 69
6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 22.1169 0.1788 81
7. Ryan Briscoe Penske 22.1682 0.2301 87
8. EJ Viso HVM 22.2215 0.2834 68
9. Vitor Meira Panther 22.2559 0.3178 77
10. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest 22.2854 0.3473 71
11. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 22.3014 0.3633 74
12. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 22.3382 0.4001 57
13. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 22.3467 0.4086 68
14. Oriol Servia KV 22.4669 0.5288 63
15. Darren Manning Foyt 22.4977 0.5596 63
16. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 22.5482 0.6101 74
17. Ed Carpenter Vision 22.6934 0.7553 93
18. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 22.7305 0.7924 80
19. AJ Foyt IV Vision 22.7715 0.8334 77
20. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 22.8105 0.8724 55
21. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 23.0836 1.1455 55
22. Townsend Bell Dreyer & Reinbold 23.2367 1.2986 54
23. Jaime Camara Conquest 23.2680 1.3299 80
24. John Andretti Roth 23.3718 1.4337 37
25. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 23.4602 1.5221 70
26. Mario Dominguez Pacific Coast 23.4813 1.5432 61
27. Marty Roth Roth 23.8792 1.9411 87

[MattPete]

Qualifying Results

1 Marco
2 Graham
3 Dixon
4 Will Power
5 Helio
6 Kanaan
7 Wheldon
8 Bernoldi
9 Oriol
10 Viso
11 Briscoe
12 Hunter-Reay
13 Danica
14 Mutoh
15 Bruno
16 John Andretti
17 Ed Carpenter
18 AJ Foyt IV
19 Buddy Rice
20 Darren Manning
21 Townsend Bell
22 Justin Wilson
23 Mario Moraes
24 Jaime CAmara
25 Mario Dominguez
26 Vitor Meira

[Bumper]

Well done to Graham Rahal and Will Power, qualifying 2nd and 4th respectively

With a field of 26 cars this weekend, compared to 18 cars last year, the track's pitlane boxes have been modified to accommodate them all this weekend.

Several drivers have expressed their concern about the increased possibility of accidents with such a large field on such a small track.

Also, some interesting stuff in the press conference with Danica Patrick and Scott Dixon, talking about last week's Danica/Ryan incident, winning Indy and running at Milwaukee Mile:

http://www.indycar.c...?story_id=11584

[qwazy]

Haha, I always love how blas'e drivers can be about certain facts, like car count.

They probably want you to believe that they're totally focused on them and their team - and their team only - but I'd bet Dixon knows the exact car count, at every race. ;]

"27... or 30 cars, whatever," yeah right, Scott.

You see in F1, too, where sometimes they'll make it seem like they don't know exactly how many races are on the calender or something like that. They know!... I hope.

[pingu666]

hmm, looks like its motogp, maybe world superbikes/TT then nascar if i can find a stream, then indycar from the website hopefully...

[Dmitriy_Guller]

At tracks like Milwaukee, more cars should lead to better racing. At these short tracks, lapping the cars presents constant passing opportunities.

[Bumper]

After yesterday's accident, Marty Roth has now withdrawn his #25 car for today's race as the car could not be repaired in time.

Marco Andretti still wearing his ridiculous Indiana Jones outfit for this race. Thought it was a one-off sponsorship thing for Indy but apparently it carries through this weekend.

So Marco on pole and Graham 2nd. The last time an Andretti and a Rahal started 1-2 was at New Hampshire in 1992 when Bobby Rahal won the pole and Michael Andretti started second. Rahal won the race.

[McGuire]

Originally posted by pingu666
racing there is sometimes great, and sometimes crap isnt it?

Perhaps. On the flat miles there is always the chance that one or two cars will really hit the setup and run away with the race. Personally, I find it thrilling when that happens (knowing how hard that is to do) but I realize the average fan just checking in with his remote may find it totally boring.

I think Milwaukee is one of those tracks that television does not do justice. Due to the facility's layout they tend to employ high camera locations (like up on top of the box) which kill the apparent speed and do not show what overtaking is really like there. In person the race is an incredible sight -- the proverbial fighter planes in a gymnasium tableau. If you think Bristol is exciting, you should see Milwaukee with OW cars. IMO, every OW fan needs to see Milwaukee in person at least once. It is the last true old-fashioned fairgrounds track on the schedule. The place is actually older than Indy.

[MattPete]

The placed looks packed on TV. I remember watching Milwaukee a few years ago and seeing lots of fans disguised as aluminum seats.

To me, Milwaukee is one of the greatest tracks in the world, along with Spa, Suzuka, and Road America.

[Bumper]

Crikey, Dixon is running away with this race, lapping 3-5 secs faster than the rest.

Graham hanging in there.

Hard to believe Helio has had a winless streak of 20 races as of last race.

[McGuire]

Originally posted by MattPete
The placed looks packed on TV. I remember watching Milwaukee a few years ago and seeing lots of fans disguised as aluminum seats.

To me, Milwaukee is one of the greatest tracks in the world, along with Spa, Suzuka, and Road America.

Sometimes it's hard to tell from television, but it looks like the best crowd in years. I haven't seen it like that since the '90s.

[CWeil]

Originally posted by Bumper
Crikey, Dixon is running away with this race, lapping 3-5 secs faster than the rest.

What race are you watching? He's max a tenth or two faster for the last about 20 laps.

A 3 second difference in laptime is just over 20mph average difference!

[Bumper]

Guess you tuned in late then.

[MattPete]

Graham into the wall. Tried to pass someone (Manning?) on the outside and got onto the marbles.

[MattPete]

Is it ABC or my set-top box? During the interviews, the sound is off by at least by two seconds -- holy lip-sync problems, Batman!

[Lada Lover]

That's the second time ryan could have given Danica the finger.

[Lada Lover]

Originally posted by MattPete
Is it ABC or my set-top box? During the interviews, the sound is off by at least by two seconds -- holy lip-sync problems, Batman!

It's ABC.

[Lada Lover]

Marco almost got decapitated.

[MattPete]

Marco spins with 3 laps to go, handing the race to Briscoe. That's too bad, as I was really hoping to see if Dixon could have taken Briscoe in the closing laps.

[Lada Lover]

Yup. It taints the win a little bit.

[CWeil]

Sure, but Dixon hadn't been putting huge pressure on him before that. It's hard to say, but it looked like Briscoe would've held him off, as for the laps prior to that and prior to his pitstop, Dixon's car had been falling off bit by bit. A shame, because he was dominating, but Briscoe did well to be there when it counted!

After the last 3-4 years of being punted around between Europe/US, Briscoe deserves a bit of luck.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

Marco ruined the end of the race. With such heavy traffic, nothing is guaranteed. You don't need much pressure to slip up and lose a position or worse.

[red stick]

Congrats to Briscoe, who really needed a solid drive. A win is all the better. He certainly looked relieved more than anything in winner's circle.

Dixon still seems the class of this field, week in and week out.

Kanaan disappeared for most of the race and still managed a third. Patrick, for the second weekend in a row, was nowhere, and seemed particularly lost on the restarts.

Will Power looked good, and unlike Rahal, has quickly figured out where you can't go on an oval. Though I suspect Rahal won't make the same mistake three times.

Looking forward to Texas!

[red stick]

I thought the ABC coverage was particularly bad today. Everytime Ryan and Danica were near each other I didn't need a flashback to last week. And will someone tell these people going "side-by side" for commercial breaks during cautions means NOTHING.

[whitewaterMkII]

Originally posted by red stick
I thought the ABC coverage was particularly bad today.

I can't remember when ABC had a good race broadcast.
On top of that, I have FOX doing the Canadian F1 next week here in Cali instead of SPEED.

[red stick]

At least the Fox run in NASCAR is over for the year. I've had about all the Waltrip, McReynolds, and Gopher I can stand. And I miss Benny Parsons.

[whitewaterMkII]

Originally posted by red stick
And I miss Benny Parsons.

I'm pretty sure everyone misses Benny. Class guy. I miss him and Ned Jarrett.

[qwazy]

Originally posted by red stick
Congrats to Briscoe, who really needed a solid drive. A win is all the better. He certainly looked relieved more than anything in winner's circle.

Dixon still seems the class of this field, week in and week out.

Kanaan disappeared for most of the race and still managed a third. Patrick, for the second weekend in a row, was nowhere, and seemed particularly lost on the restarts.

Will Power looked good, and unlike Rahal, has quickly figured out where you can't go on an oval. Though I suspect Rahal won't make the same mistake three times.

Looking forward to Texas!

I'm sad we didn't get the team radio transmission of her claiming to have bad understeer like every other race.

[Flat Black]

Briscoe surprised me. Sure didn't expect him to snag a win this early. Didn't take him 50 starts like Danica, that's for sure.

PS--I was pleased to see Vince Welch in the Winner's Circle rather than Jack Arute. Welch has a bit of professionalism while Arute is an abrasive drama queen. Here's hoping it's a demotion for Arute and that it sticks.

[Amazin]

Vitor Meira was driving a fine race, too bad he was in that Marco Andretti x Ed Carpenter's crash. For those who haven't seen the race, Meira went airborne when he hit Marco's car, a very dangerous crash, and luckly for him, he left the car unharmed.

And he had a bad crash on the qualifying day, started last this race, drove a solid race and was 8th (I think) when Andretti and Carpenter collided.

All Marco's fault, by the way, and he did the same as last week at Indy.

[OfficeLinebacker]

I might be moving to Milwaukee. I'll see what the sitch is for this race. More interested in Elkhart Lake, tho. That's a race that needs to get on the major OW sched, stat.

[Flat Black]

Marco is still wildly incosistent. Of course, he's still very young, but you do wonder when he's going to snap out of it.

[ColdHeart]

He won't. Nice kid but no feel for the car at all. Drives like he's operating a video game, all eyes to hand. No feel.

[Ross Stonefeld]

He seems a bit highly strung. Him and Danica, and a rookie must be driving Kanaan up the wall.

[littlewoodenboy]

the standard of driving in american open-wheel is lower than at any time i have ever seen.

[Flat Black]

That will change if the popularity of IRL and NASCAR equalizes or comes close to it. Right now most of the money and fame go to NASCAR drivers and that's where most of the "local" talent goes, too. But I think the tide is ever so slowly turning...

[red stick]

Originally posted by Ross Stonefeld
He seems a bit highly strung. Him and Danica, and a rookie must be driving Kanaan up the wall.

Not just highly strung; don't forget the son of the boss angle. After the incident at Indy, who does TK complain to? Just as Dario found out last year, I suspect TK's finding blood thicker than friendship. So he's in the middle of a rookie, media darling, scion triangle.

[John B]

As the unified series progresses I wonder when the pendulum will swing the other way and some of the open wheel guard who switched to NASCAR will be returning. It can't help to see their old rides winning or contending while they struggle for 30th

[Ross Stonefeld]

If you just wanted to win races you'd never leave the junior ranks.

[red stick]

Originally posted by Ross Stonefeld
If you just wanted to win races you'd never leave the junior ranks.

That seems a bit harsh.

It's not inconceivable that some who opted for NASCAR may return to Indycar. I wouldn't expect the older drivers to do so--Franchitti has nothing left to prove and Carpentier seems reasonably comfortable over there, but Allmendinger and Hornish are young, struggling, and were STARS in open wheel. 36 weeks a year of mediocrity, even well-compensated mediocrity, has to wear on the soul after awhile.

If nothing else reunification seems to have slowed the breathless "which driver's going to NASCAR next" media meme. Don't hear much about Wheldon, or even Danica, moving any time soon. Maybe Hornish going from a being a winner and champion, both at Panther and Penske, to being a backmarker has opened some eyes.

[Bumper]

Originally posted by red stick
I wouldn't expect the older drivers to do so--Franchitti has nothing left to prove and Carpentier seems reasonably comfortable over there, but Allmendinger and Hornish are young, struggling, and were STARS in open wheel. 36 weeks a year of mediocrity, even well-compensated mediocrity, has to wear on the soul after awhile.

If nothing else reunification seems to have slowed the breathless "which driver's going to NASCAR next" media meme. Don't hear much about Wheldon, or even Danica, moving any time soon. Maybe Hornish going from a being a winner and champion, both at Panther and Penske, to being a backmarker has opened some eyes.

I guess Montoya's surprise relative 'success' and smooth adaptation in Nascar tempted a few drivers who otherwise would have hung around IRL for a few more years to move across, perhaps taking Montoya's hard work a little bit too granted as he made it seem so easy when it really wasn't and cost a lot of sweat and tears behind the scenes.

Dario and Sam won't be back in IndyCar, they've been there, done that, won the title, have nothing left to prove or any challenge to chase.

Allmendinger IMO was FAR too rushed to grab the Nascar $$$, although maybe you can't blame him, given the choice he had at the time of, on the one side a dying Champ Car with his only real competition Justin Wilson, and on the other side an all-oval and equally dying IRL.

Would love to see AJ back in IndyCar. It kills me to see him currently struggle so much with so much talent to offer.

[red stick]

I largely agree about Allmendinger but hope you're wrong about Hornish. He always described Mears as one of his heroes, and Rick wasn't happy with just one 500 win.

[Flat Black]

My gut tells me that Dario would have given his left ball to be on the grid for this year's Indy 500. Not being allowed to defend his championship for the greatest race on earth must have been a gut shot. And Dixon's 2.98 million dollar purse was not bad either.

[whitewaterMkII]

Originally posted by John B
As the unified series progresses I wonder when the pendulum will swing the other way and some of the open wheel guard who switched to NASCAR will be returning. It can't help to see their old rides winning or contending while they struggle for 30th

Already happened.
John Andretti.

[Ross Stonefeld]

John didn't have a NASCAR ride though.

I could understand Dario/AJ/Sam wanting to come back since part of why they left was because it was looking so dire in OW. I dont think they'd have jumped if we had one series 18 months ago.

That said Sam and AJ in particular are now settling in nicely. Dario's having such a rough time you could see him going back.

[David M. Kane]

Attendance was 28,000 a 30% increase over last year. In it's heyday they drew 40,000.

[ColdHeart]

I don't believe that's true. This was the largest crowd since the new grandstands were built in 2003. The old stands were much smaller and didn't hold 40K.

[Bumper]

It certainly looked packed to me, but then again it's hard to gauge from a tv picture. If the 28,000 is true then that's nothing to shout about. But honestly we shouldn't expect to much - yet - from this year.