IndyCar Series drivers will find the 1.96-mile, 14-turn Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit is distinctively different from the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course -- last weekend's venue du jour.
Airport runways and taxiways to rolling terrain.
Left- and right-hand 90-degree corners to sweeping turns.
Concrete and tire barriers to sand runoffs.
Majority of racing surface is 75-feet wide to about 50 feet.
Both are physically and strategically challenging in their own right, which contributes to the depth and breadth of the IndyCar Series schedule. This week, it's the inaugural Rexall Edmonton Indy in provincial capital - a venue that transitions from Champ Car to Indy Racing League stewardship.
Eight IndyCar Series drivers entered in the 95-lap race July 26 (5 p.m. ET; ESPN and indycar.com) have competed on the circuit in the event's three years, (as ChampCar Series drivers) which leads to whether they'll enjoy a decided advantage.
When racing at a new track, Dan Wheldon ensures that he studies the in-car camera footage from other drivers that have driven on the track and have been competitive. He prefers to look at the most recent footage to gauge his approach at the venue. He also looks at the telemetry that the TCGR team is able to provide. Finally he'll take advantage of the track walk around the airport circuit with his engineers when he arrives in Edmonton this weekend.
Wheldon will make his first trip to Edmonton. He anticipates, "it seems to flow like Cleveland with a surface that may be like Nashville."
Dan Wheldon was caught up in a lap 41 incident to finish 17th in round 12 of the IRL IndyCar Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The race began under wet conditions and finished just under the two hour time limit for the event.
The turning point of the race for Wheldon came on lap 41 when contact between Justin Wilson and Mario Dominguez started a pileup that left Wheldon stopped and stalled in the grass. Wheldon’s team would make a total of six stops on the day, keeping him in the championship hunt by making up four positions (21st to 17th) after the incident.
"A tough day for the Target team today." Wheldon said. "We were obviously on another strategy and we were doing alright and minding our own business. On the restart, Wilson and Dominguez got together and I got hit from behind. There was really nowhere to go so it’s unfortunate. We came into the pits a few more times to top off and make sure we could run the remaining laps and get the most points available to us."
Scott Dixon maintained his IndyCar Series championship lead with a 58 point advantage (455 to 397) over Helio Castroneves, with Wheldon now a single marker back of Tony Kanaan in fourth with 364 points. Up next for the Target team is the Rexall Edmonton Indy at Edmonton City Centre Airport on Saturday, July 26th (5:00 p.m. EDT, ESPN).
Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon was in second position on Sunday and eyeing Darren Manning for the lead with 10 laps to go when the Kiwi spun warming up his tires and collected Ryan Briscoe. That ended Dixon's hopes of extending his streak of three straight wins at Watkins Glen. However, by finishing with an 11th place result, Dixon extended his IndyCar Series championship lead from 43 to 48 over Helio Castroneves.
Castroneves started a career-low 26th in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen because of a steering malfunction that prevented him from completing a qualification lap in the No. 3 Team Penske car. His weekend didn't improve much. The championship contender came home 16th.
Dan Wheldon was sideswiped on the opening lap, forced into the grass and then onto pit lane with right rear suspension damage. The No.10 team worked to get Wheldon’s car back on track to pick up as many points as possible before finishing 24th. Wheldon is now 59 points back in third.
Up next is Nashville Superspeedway Saturday, July 12th (8:00 p.m. EDT, ESPN) where Dixon is the defending winner of the event.
Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s (TCGR) Scott Dixon started from pole, led 58 of 228 laps and claimed his third win of the season at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night. The race ended under caution after Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact while battling behind Dixon for second place with five laps remaining. Dixon was a contender from the drop of the green flag in the No.9 Target car, running in the top-three for the majority of the event. Flawless pit work again was the theme for the Target team as Dixon was able to stay out front and survive eight caution periods for 52 laps. The turning point of the race came when he passed Andretti on lap 222 – just before Andretti and Hunter-Reay tangled and brought the race to its conclusion under the yellow flag.
Results from Texas
1. Scott Dixon, No.9 Target Honda Dallara 2. Helio Castroneves, No.3 Honda Dallara 3. Ryan Briscoe, No.6 Honda Dallara 4. Dan Wheldon, No.10 Target Honda Dallara
Terry Blount of ESPN thinks...the IndyCar Series needs to take a hint from NASCAR on this one and think about a green-white-checkered overtime finish.
"I was thinking about that," said Helio Castroneves, who finished second. "I definitely had the car to make something happen. But we can't compare ourselves to what NASCAR does. It would be a mess."
If ever a driver was due for luck, it was Ryan Briscoe. Over the last two weeks, he hasn't hesitated cashing in. After an early season of bad breaks, culminating at the Indianapolis 500 with his now infamous contact with Danica Patrick while exiting the pits (which knocked them both out of the race), Briscoe was in desperate need of something positive to happen. His racing fate changed June 1 at The Milwaukee Mile when he won his first-ever IndyCar Series race. Briscoe finishes third in Fort Worth.
Dixon's teammate Dan Wheldon rebounded from a practice accident in the No.10 Polaroid car, made up seven positions on a sore ankle and finished fourth. Wheldon’s weekend started with a practice crash on Friday which sent him into the turn four wall and eliminated the No.10 team’s primary car. The team rallied to prepare the backup car for qualifying and Wheldon came from the infield care center to qualify the car 11th. Wheldon had moved up to fourth by just lap 11 but had to restart near the rear of the field after Briscoe stopped in his pit stall under yellow. Briscoe would serve a penalty for the incident and Wheldon managed to rebound up through the field to finish fourth.
As the 2008 season wears on, Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team just keep getting better. Sitting in the middle of a series of good runs over the last few weeks, the GEICO team looked to improve upon past finishes and chase their first win of the season as they descended upon Nashville Superspeedway. A steamy, hot Tennessee afternoon was the setting for the Federated Auto Parts 300. As temperatures hovered around the 100-degree mark and the afternoon sun beat down on pit road, Mike Wallace and the GEICO Racing team prepared to get busy with recording yet another top finish. Early in the race Wallace and the Gecko arrived in the Top 5 where they rested before finding themselves in the lead.
The GEICO pit crew would provide superior support during pit stops and assist in keeping the #7 GEICO Camry up front. Wallace recorded his best finish in two years, winding up 6th in Music City. The finish was his 5th Top 10 of the 2008 season.
“We had a great weekend and the results show the progress that we’re making as a race team,” Wallace said. “Everyone’s real positive and we’re all working hard and it’s showing each week. 4th and 5th in practice, qualified 9th and finished 6th. It’s a nice weekend for GEICO, Sport Clips and Smith Transport. It’s also a nice weekend for the Germain Racing team because we’re all seeing the hard work payoff. Bruce Cook (crew chief) and the guys are doing a great job and I feel confident that we’ll be back up front in Kentucky next week.”
This week, the Germain Racing team heads to Sparta, Kentucky, which is located just south of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mike Wallace and the GEICO team are coming off of two consecutive Top 10’s and they hope to add a win to their resume when they arrive in the Bluegrass State.
The Meijer 300 is on Saturday, June 14th, and it will be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 8:00 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.
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