It will be interesting to see how Helio does. Hasn't been in a car for a while. Not much practice. Just walked on a potential 6-10 years. 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach :: Qualifying Print Results Pos Driver Name Best Time Best Speed Best Lap Total Laps 1 Will Power (12) 1:09.7107 101.631 4 7 2 Dario Franchitti (10) 1:09.8675 101.403 5 8 3 Raphael Matos (2) 1:10.2043 100.917 5 5 4 E.J. Viso (13) 1:10.2232 100.890 6 7 5 Justin Wilson (18) 1:10.2680 100.825 8 8 6 Scott Dixon (9) 1:10.4038 100.631 3 7 7 Graham Rahal (02) 1:10.0283 101.171 6 8 8 Helio Castroneves (3) 1:10.1139 101.047 9 9 9 Alex Tagliani (34) 1:10.1278 101.027 8 9 10 Ryan Briscoe (6) 1:10.2126 100.905 3 8 11 Tony Kanaan (11) 1:10.3032 100.775 9 10 12 Ryan Hunter-Reay (21) 1:10.4339 100.588 4 9 13 Mario Moraes (5) 1:10.8459 100.003 11 12 14 Dan Wheldon (4) 1:10.5503 100.422 9 11 15 Robert Doornbos (06) 1:10.9577 99.845 6 6 16 Mike Conway (24) 1:10.6059 100.343 6 9 17 Hideki Mutoh (27) 1:11.1177 99.621 11 11 18 Darren Manning (23) 1:11.2411 99.448 9 9 19 Marco Andretti (26) 1:11.2307 99.463 10 11 20 Vitor Meira (14) 1:11.4487 99.159 8 10 21 Stanton Barrett (98) 1:14.4863 95.115 6 8 22 Danica Patrick (7) 1:11.6660 98.859 7 9 23 Ed Carpenter (20) 1:11.9069 98.527 10 12
well, Helio's qualifying session didn't work out too well. good run for Power. hope he finds a good full-time ride.
I agree with this - he's been quite good and it's a shame that he only has the 500 left to drive - I would hope for him he is able to find a drive for the season, hope his wins the race tomorrow! Carol
I like the top 10, just a few of the mega teams that seemed to control the IRL. New faces at the front are good, IRL is set to grow quickly in popularity, and if Audi, or Alfa, start supplying engines, the IRL may be the replacement for F1 in the USA.
Dario Franchitti returned to the top of the IndyCar podium in Long Beach on Sunday, beating Will Power to victory just three races into his series comeback. The 2007 champion has rejoined the IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing this year after an unsuccessful NASCAR foray in 2008. Having qualified on the front row in Long Beach yesterday, Franchitti used sharp strategy to get ahead of poleman Power (Penske) and then controlled the second half of the race, moving into the points lead in the process. Power held the lead at the green flag, as Raphael Matos (Luczo Dragon) and Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing) muscled past Franchitti into Turn 1. But Franchitti did not stay down in fourth for long - passing Wilson on lap four and repeating the move on Matos 10 laps later. Ganassi then made what proved to be the winning strategy call, bringing Franchitti straight in for his first stop when Mike Conway nosed his Dreyer & Reinbold car into the Turn 1 wall. That incident did not actually cause a yellow, but Power - whose radio had broken - appeared to believe that it would do and slowed, allowing Matos and Wilson to pass him. Power then accelerated again, and in the confusion in his wake Scott Dixon tangled with EJ Viso, sending the HVM car into the escape road with broken suspension and finally bringing out the caution. Alternative strategies meant that it would be lap 32 before the full field had pitted, and Franchitti was able to cycle back through to the front of the pack, ahead of Danica Patrick, who had also benefited from pitting slightly earlier. Franchitti maintained a 3s lead over Patrick through the next stint as the Andretti Green driver showed much better pace than in practice and successfully held off Power and Helio Castroneves, fresh from being acquitted in his tax evasion trial. Another piece of exemplary pit timing then allowed Franchitti, Power, Tony Kanaan, Patrick and Dan Wheldon to make their final stops just before Conway made his second trip into the barriers of the day and brought out another yellow. That ensured that those five drivers headed the field when everyone else had to come in during the subsequent caution. Dixon and Ryan Briscoe emerged as the best of those who pitted under yellow, running sixth and seventh until Briscoe contrived to run into Dixon during a late safety car period. Dixon was spun and lost a lap, while Briscoe sustained nose damage and was given a 30s stop and go penalty. As Franchitti quickly managed to open up a 3-5s lead after every yellow, Power had to turn his attention to resisting Kanaan for third - the Andretti Green driver having vaulted up the order thanks to a long first stint and pitting before the crucial late yellow. Patrick took fourth from 22nd on the grid, with Panther driver Wheldon resisting Marco Andretti to take fifth. Castroneves claimed seventh on his comeback after his tax evasion trial, ahead of Matos, who was delayed by an additional pitstop, Robert Doornbos (Newman/Haas/Lanigan) and Alex Tagliani (Conquest). Doornbos's team-mate Graham Rahal missed out on a top six finish when he was waved out prematurely at his final pitstop, breaking his fuel hose and bowling over a crew member, who was uninjured. Justin Wilson was unable to repeat his superb St Petersburg performance after dropping back into the midfield following his first stop. He then got caught up in a concertina effect at the the hairpin that ended with Wilson, Mario Moraes, Hideki Mutoh, Vitor Meira and Darren Manning entangled. Pos Driver Team Gap 1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 2. Will Power Penske + 3.3182s 3. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green + 4.0537s 4. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 5.0742s 5. Dan Wheldon Panther + 6.5655s 6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 7.5900s 7. Helio Castroneves Penske + 8.6332s 8. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon + 9.4835s 9. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 9.9583s 10. Alex Tagliani Conquest + 13.6185s 11. Ryan Hunter-Reay Vision + 15.2097s 12. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 15.8507s 13. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 1m05.1013s 14. Vitor Meira Foyt + 1 lap 15. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 1 lap 16. Darren Manning Dreyer & Reinbold + 1 lap 17. Stanton Barrett 3G + 1 lap 18. Ed Carpenter Vision + 3 laps
great win for Dario! nice recovery for AGR after a dismal qualifying session. nice to see Helio back, even if it wasn't the finish he was looking for. beats the alternative not that it really matters, but what happened to Milka Duno at NHL? Did Uncle Hugo's check bounce? Danica hog-tied her and locked her in the transporter?
Newest print issue of Britain's Autosport magazine has an IRL analysis. They suggest Milka is just one big mistake and should take a hike. Maybe the people at NHL read the article and realize she is not the image they want.
