Friday, August 2, 2002
Brickyard 400 information is available on the World Wide
Web this week on the official Indianapolis Motor Speedway site,
http://www.brickyard400.com and the official NASCAR site,
http://www.nascar.com. Included in the information will be practice summaries
and performance histories, qualifying results, Daily Trackside Reports, driver
quotes, race lineups and results.
IROC at Indy information is available on the World Wide
Web this week on the official Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brickyard 400 event
site, http://www.brickyard400.com and the official True Value IROC site,
http://www.irocracing.com.
***
Rain moved through the Indianapolis area this morning,
stopping at approximately 9 a.m. Track crews immediately began drying the
2.5-mile oval.
***
IROC AT INDY NOTES:
·NASCAR Winston Cup veteran Ken Schrader will substitute
for World of Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski this weekend. Lasoski was injured
in a World of Outlaws race July 28 in Mechanicsburg, Pa.. Schrader will start from
the pole in the Aqua car.
·Only 11 cars will start the event. Al Unser Jr. will
miss this race as he entered a treatment center July 18 for treatment of an
alcohol-abuse problem.
·Every driver in the starting field Saturday is
mathematically eligible to win the True Value IROC season championship except
for Ken Schrader, substituting for the injured Danny Lasoski, who was
eliminated from title contention last month at the third event in the series at
Chicagoland Speedway. NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick leads the series standings
with 44 points. Al Unser Jr., who is not competing in this race, is second at
39, with NASCAR driver Tony Stewart third at 38. Dale Jarrett is 11th
with 23 points, the final driver eligible for the title.
·Indy Racing League star Helio Castroneves will try to
stay unbeaten in his career at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the IROC
at Indy race. Castroneves won the 2001 and 2002 Indianapolis 500-Mile Races in
his first two starts at IMS. He will start third in the Cream car in this race.
***
IROC AT INDY PRE-EVENT QUOTES:
TONY STEWART: "Any time you can win a championship, it's big. But
the IROC championship … to compete against so many different drivers from so
many different disciplines and to beat them in a series where the cars are so
evenly matched, that's big. It really is about driving the cars, and whoever
does the best job driving their car is going to win the championship. If you
can beat those guys on talent and not because you've got a better race car,
that's a great honor. It would rank right up there with the rest of the
championships I've won, that's for sure."
would mean a lot to me. The coolest thing is that you are able to compete and
then beat all of the guys from different racing series. Being that this is my
first year, I didn't expect to be in contention going into the final race. When
you start in the back in these cars, it's mentally hard to get up front. The
first few laps are important because that's when most of the passes take
place."
contention for the IROC championship. I am thankful for Chicago. It was a sweet
victory, and it helped me in the points. If the race went perfect for me here,
I would have a chance at the championship, and that makes it exciting, and it
also makes me pay close attention in practice. I've been following IROC since I
was 7 years old. It is so exciting to be part of the series and to be
successful makes it more special. When I say we (IRL drivers) are at a
disadvantage, it's because we run cars half the weight. Maybe we're trying not
to set ourselves up for failure. When you have a race like Chicago that went so
well for the IRL guys, it gave us a big lift. That was fun."
I like it here. It's totally different way of a learning process. It's
definitely a hard time with the hot weather. It's cooler in May, and the little
things might be little, but it makes a lot of difference. When you strap into
an IROC car, even though I have three races here in my background, I'm still
learning. Indianapolis is certainly a challenging circuit. Don't count with my
two-time winner here - don't count with that at all, it doesn't mean anything
with these (IROC) cars. It's going to be tough, and I need more time on the
track. It's great to run some laps and have guys around who understand."
***
Preliminary press conference schedule, all in the
Trackside Conference Room unless otherwise noted:
FRIDAY:
11:30 a.m. - Winston Welcome Luncheon, Plaza Chalet #3A
12:30 p.m. - Sterling Marlin Q&A, Fourth Floor,
WorldComplex
1 p.m. - Joe Gibbs Racing press conference
SATURDAY:
9 a.m. - Petty Enterprises press conference
Following qualifying - NASCAR Winston Cup qualified
drivers press conferences
Following race - IROC at Indy top three, True Value IROC
season champion
SUNDAY:
10 a.m. - Pontiac Q&A with actor Vin Diesel
Following race - Brickyard 400 second- and third-place
finisher and highest-finishing rookie
Following race - Brickyard 400 winner
***
The Indianapolis Motor
Speedway has chosen Sirius Satellite Radio, the country's premier satellite
radio broadcaster, and H.H. Gregg, the Midwest's leading home appliance and
consumer electronics retailer, to play host to qualifying day during the
Brickyard 400 NASCAR Winston Cup weekend.
H.H. Gregg/Sirius Qualifying Day is scheduled
for Saturday, Aug. 3.
Chevrolet's Monte Carlo brand will lead the field
for the ninth annual Brickyard 400 on Sunday.
The 2002 edition of the race marks the sixth
consecutive year the Monte Carlo has paced the NASCAR Winston Cup Series' finest
to the green flag at Indy.
Kurt
Ritter, general manager of General Motors' largest marketing division, will be
behind the wheel of the Monte Carlo Pace Car as it leads the field to a 1:30
p.m. (EST) start.
KURT RITTER: "The
opportunity to lead the pack to the start is, for me, a true honor. However, I
know I'll feel the pride of everyone associated with Chevrolet … our engineers,
our dealers and our customers, as if they will be riding along with me. Chevy's
captured over 500 wins in NASCAR's modern era, and Monte Carlo is, without
question, the most successful nameplate in NASCAR Winston Cup history. As a
recognized leader on the track, it makes perfect sense for us to expand our
motorsports heritage by putting it out in front of the pack as a Pace Car."
***
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points leader Mike Bliss won
the J.D. Byrider 100 USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series race Thursday night
at Indianapolis Raceway Park, which started IRP's Kroger SpeedFest.
Russ Gamester finished second, with NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series title contender Jason Leffler third.
NASCAR Winston Cup Series star Tony Stewart finished 10th.
Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series standouts Ed Carpenter and Aaron Fike finished
12th and 21st, respectively.
***
MORE IROC AT INDY NOTES:
·Al Unser Jr. was the last open-wheel driver to win the
True Value IROC season championship, in 1988. All four open-wheel drivers in
IROC at Indy on Saturday, IRL standouts Helio Castroneves, Sam Hornish Jr.,
Buddy Lazier and Scott Sharp, are eligible to win the title.
·IROC points leader Kevin Harvick will start 11th
and last in the field Saturday, but that might be a help, not a hindrance, if
the history of True Value IROC races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is any
indication. The winner of three of the first four IROC races at IMS has come
from the 11th starting spot - Mark Martin in 1998 and 2000 and Bobby
Labonte in 2001. Martin won from the 10th spot in 1999.
FIRST IROC
PRACTICE:
At
11 a.m., the ambient temperature was 74 degrees with west winds at 15 mph and a
relative humidity of 76 percent. Skies were cloudy.
11 a.m. - GREEN.
11:45 a.m. - YELLOW. End of practice.
***
Four of the 11 IROC competitors turned laps during the
first IROC at Indy practice session this morning: Helio Castroneves, Bobby
Labonte, Ken Schrader and Jack Sprague. Also turning laps were True Value IROC
test drivers Dave Marcis and Jim Sauter.
FIRST IROC PRACTICE QUOTES:
pretty excited about it. We think we have a good chance at it. We're seven
points out of first. We got a few laps in this morning because we wouldn't have
had any other time to." (About the open-wheel drivers): "They've done a really
good job. Some of the guys are new this year, but they're all really talented.
They're all really fast, so it's pretty cool."
KEN SCHRADER: (How do IROC cars feel at this
track?): "They feel real good. We just went out and ran a full race to see what
they'll do. It's just a unique track for the stock cars. The cars get tighter
at the end of a run, but they feel good." (About new surface): "The track was
already so smooth; it already was our smoothest track. So we couldn't tell that
much difference." (Inverted start hurt or help since you're up front): "We're
starting 12th, filling in for Dude (Danny Lasoski). If you've got to
start here, the pole ain't bad."
HELIO CASTRONEVES: (About driving IROC cars at
Indy): "It's definitely a new learning curve. There is nothing like what I'm
used to. If I was in my IRL car, I would have a lot of front wing right now.
But there's nothing we can do about that because these cars don't have wings.
They have fenders and a roof on top. It's fun. It's good to learn in a
different way. Different machines, you know. I just have to get better and
better." (About inverted starting order): "That's something for them they have
to be aware of. The cars might not be fast in the beginning to save tires. I do
believe in the end of it, you can make a pass if someone destroys their front
tires. I'm not an expert here. I'm probably going to be one of those guys who
destroy their front tires and in the end be at the back of the pack. It's
tough, it's different, but it's fun."
JACK SPRAGUE: "I think this is going to be a very
colorful race. The car I was running in was very tight. But I haven't really
been on this track since I tested here five years ago. So the main thing for me
was to get laps. I think this will be great racing that will be dominated by
drafting. If you're car is tight, you're going to be in a lot of trouble."
DAVE
MARCIS (IROC test driver): "Well, we have worked hard all week on the cars, and of course you
know our goal is to have the cars so they don't get too tight by the end of the
race. Everyone has to understand that, you know, we have 33 gallons of fuel,
and when you burn that off, the rear percentage, you know, starts going away
and the front percentage increases dramatically with 33 gallons of fuel so then
the cars tend to get too tight at the end of the race. That's what we have been
working on all weekend, trying not (to) have that happen, and hopefully we have
got that accomplished."
***
SECOND IROC
PRACTICE:
At
12:45 p.m., the ambient temperature was 85 degrees with southwest winds at 7
mph and a relative humidity of 63 percent. Skies were cloudy.
12:45 p.m. - GREEN.
1:50 p.m. - YELLOW. End of practice.
***
Six of the 11 IROC competitors turned laps during the
second IROC at Indy practice session this afternoon: Helio Castroneves, Sam
Hornish Jr., Bobby Labonte, Buddy Lazier, Ken Schrader and Jack Sprague. Also
turning laps were True Value IROC test drivers Dave Marcis, Jim Sauter and Dick
Trickle.
***
SECOND IROC
PRACTICE QUOTES:
in the points, I guess. I'm very capable of doing it if I get a good race.
Right now I'm sixth (in points), so I'd like to move up and get a top-four or
top-three finish."
different than driving an Indy car. We know the track really well in an Indy
car, but it's a totally different line in a stock car. In a way, it's almost a
negative knowing the track the way we do in an Indy car because you tend to
fall into what works in an Indy car and go to an Indy-car line rather than what
works well for a stock car. I think it makes a big difference whether you start
at the front or back of the field. On any flat track, in any kind of race car,
being up front pays big dividends because you have clean air. Nevertheless,
we've seen people win IROC races from the back of the field. Mark Martin was
notorious for winning a race from the back of the field. So it is possible, but
it's going to be a big challenge working your way through the field."
***
Coors Brewing
Company has extended its contract as primary sponsor of the No. 40 Dodge
Intrepid R/T owned by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and driven by
NASCAR Winston Cup points leader Sterling Marlin.
***
NASCAR Winston Cup
Series points leader Sterling Marlin met with the media this afternoon for a
question-and-answer session.
STERLING MARLIN:
sunk in yet?): "Well, it gets better every week. So, you know, hopefully we can
keep it going. Like I said, if we have to test every week to get better to find
stuff out with what works with the car, then we are going to do it, and it's
just credit to all the guys that really worked hard, and we built a couple new
cars, so we should be in good shape." (Does experience count more at Indy than
any other track?): "No. I guess we have been racing here, what, nine years? So,
a lot of these guys have been around it. The rookies … they seem to run good
everywhere they go, so, you know, you at least hope to qualify good here
because track position is so important." (About track position): "Maybe if you
have qualified bad or something, it's something you have to work your way
through. It's, like I said, it is so hard to pass here, and you make some good
pit stops - no tires, two tires, gas only, whatever." (About diamond-grinding
of track): "I tell you, I was really impressed with it. The track has really
had a lot of grip when we came and tested, and I was watching Indy (500) stuff,
and the track looks funny. It looks like its wet all the time. It used to when
you would get out of the groove here it was really slick where everybody ran
at. The track has really got a lot of grip to it." (About Ganassi possibly
expanding to three teams): "Well, I think if you look at Hendrick's, they were
successful with three teams for a long time, and I think it just gives you more
resources, more testing time, and it costs quite a bit of money to start a
team, and two teams and three teams, it might just help pay for itself. So if
they do that, then I think it would just help the race team." (About car choice
for this race): "We brought the same car we had last week, and what usually
works at Pocono kind of works here, so we got the same car we won Darlington
with, won Vegas with, and had it last week and bring the best piece here, so
hopefully it will be good enough." (About toughest competition): "I don't know,
just got all of them. Mark (Martin) has been there a lot for the championship
run, and I think he has finished second two or three times. He's in the hunt.
And, you know, Jeff (Gordon) has won four championships. All of these guys are
better. They've been there, they're right in the middle of it, and you just got
to come in week in and week out and have the best game and see what happens."
***
FIRST BRICKYARD 400
PRACTICE:
Event-record lap: 49.704 seconds, 181.072 mph, Brett
Bodine, Aug. 4, 2000
Fastest speed during July testing: 181.956, Matt Kenseth,
July 16
At
2 p.m., the ambient temperature was 86 degrees with calm winds and a relative
humidity of 65 percent. Skies were mostly sunny.
2:03 p.m. - GREEN. #6 Mark Martin first on track,
followed by #48 Jimmie Johnson and #5 Terry Labonte.
2:20 p.m. -- #30 Green slows on track, smoking trailing
from car. Crew reports no problem.
2:22 p.m. - RED. #55 Hamilton slows with apparent
cut right-front tire. #12 Newman fastest at 180.422.
2:29 p.m. - GREEN.
2:33 p.m. - RED. Debris. #37 Cope slows on track,
smoke trailing from car. Crew reports punctured water tank.
2:37 p.m. - GREEN.
3:15 p.m. - Track temperature was 116 degrees, according
to Evernham Motorsports crew member on pit lane.
3:30 p.m. - Track temperature was 119 degrees, according
to Roush Racing crew member on pit lane.
3:38 p.m. -- #97 Busch fastest at 181.734.
3:41 p.m. -- #40 Marlin second fastest at 180.992.
3:53 p.m. -- #8 Earnhardt third fastest at 180.759.
3:56 p.m. -- #9 Elliott second fastest at 181.613.
3:59 p.m. - RED. End of practice.
***
Top
Five Speeds of Winston Cup Practice:
|
1. |
#97 Kurt Busch |
181.734 mph |
|
2. |
#9 Bill Elliott |
181.613 |
|
3. |
#40 Sterling Marlin |
180.992 |
|
4. |
#8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
180.759 |
|
5. |
#6 Mark Martin |
180.578 |
***
THIRD IROC
PRACTICE:
At
4:15 p.m., the ambient temperature was 86 degrees with calm winds and a
relative humidity of 65 percent. Skies were partly cloudy.
4:15 p.m. - GREEN.
4:45 p.m. - YELLOW. End of practice.
***
Four of the 11 IROC competitors turned laps during the
third IROC at Indy practice session this afternoon: Helio Castroneves, Dale
Jarrett, Buddy Lazier and Sterling Marlin. True Value IROC test driver Dick
Trickle also turned laps.
***
Five IROC rookies
have won the season championship: Mark Donohue (1974), Harry Gant (1985), Al
Unser Jr. (1986), Geoffrey Bodine (1987) and Ricky Rudd (1992). Four IROC
rookies are in contention for the 2002 True Value IROC championship: Kevin
Harvick, first in the standings; Sam Hornish Jr., sixth; Jack Sprague, tied for
eighth; and Helio Castroneves, 10th.
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE:
|
10:05 a.m. |
NASCAR Winston Cup qualifying |
|
1 p.m. |
IROC at Indy race (40 laps, 100 |
|
2-2:45 p.m. |
NASCAR Winston Cup practice |
|
3:45-4:30 p.m. |
NASCAR Winston Cup final |
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