The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of the most prestigious events in all of North American open wheel racing. Having hosted Formula 1, CART, and Champ Cars in the past, it is now under its second year of IZOD IndyCar Series sanctioning. Last year's running was won by Dario Franchitti, for his victory after a year in stock car racing.
Franchitti will have some work to do to repeat, however, as he starts a dismal 12th, nearly a second off the pole pace.
Instead, the front of the pack will look much like it did in the first two races of the season, with Will Power leading Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson to the green flag. All three competed at Long Beach in Champ Car's history, and Power won the final Champ Car-sanctioned event in 2008.
Power's Team Penske looks to continue its three race winning streak regardless of who takes the checkers, however, as teammates Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe qualified fourth and fifth, respectively. Castroneves won last weekend at Barber, while Briscoe challenged for the win at Brazil.
Andretti Autosport also has a formidable trio of cars in the top 10, with Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan in sixth, and Marco Andretti ninth. Andretti cars have led laps in each of the first three races this season, with Andretti having paced the field in the past two. The offseason restructuring has paid early dividends, as three of the team's cars are now in the top 10 and are steadily moving up.
In Firestone Indy Lights, James Hinchcliffe earned his second pole in three races, beating J.K. Vernay, who has been the class of the field in the season's first two races. Vernay's best lap was quicker than Hinchcliffe's, but due to a caution on the track that lap was disallowed.
Showing posts with label J.K. Vernay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J.K. Vernay. Show all posts
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
IndyCar Race Preview: Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Round three of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season takes us to the beautiful Barber Motorsports Park, site of IndyCar preseason testing and the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The series hasn't actually raced here before, so all we have to go off of in picking the race is those preseason testing results, momentum from the season's first two races, and this weekend's practice and qualifying charts.
They all scream one name: Will Power.
The Aussie has paced the field all year, with no sign of stopping now. Power has a chance to become the first driver to win the first three races of an open-wheel season under Indy Racing League sanctioning if he can win from the pole at Barber. The last time anybody achieved such a feat in another series came in 2006, when Sebastien Bourdais did it in Champ Car.
But despite our throwing our hands up in the air and conceding the win to Power before the race even starts, plenty of other drivers and teams in the field will have a say in the finish. In Firestone Fast Six qualifying, five teams were represented (Team Penske being the only one with two cars in the top six). Among the biggest surprises was Mike Conway, one of last year's backmarkers, who earned his first career front row start. He was among the top five in every qualifying session in which he took part, and had the fifth fastest time in warm up.
Another driver looking to surprise will be Takuma Sato, starting sixth. Sato was generally fast during preseason testing, and kept his car towards the front of the pack in qualifying. Sato was second in his group in the first session and fifth in the second session.
There are five rookies in the field, with Sato the highest-qualifying of them all. The lowest will be Bertrand Baguette, starting last due to his time being the slowest in his initial qualifying group. Baguette, however, contributes to one of the tightest IndyCar fields in years, as his lap is only about 1.3 seconds off of Conway's lap in P2. (Power, of course, is half a second faster than everybody.)
In Firestone Indy Lights, don't be surprised if J.K. Vernay wins his second consecutive race in two career starts. Vernay, who won in his debut two weeks ago at St. Petersburg, scored the pole position at Barber as well.
They all scream one name: Will Power.
The Aussie has paced the field all year, with no sign of stopping now. Power has a chance to become the first driver to win the first three races of an open-wheel season under Indy Racing League sanctioning if he can win from the pole at Barber. The last time anybody achieved such a feat in another series came in 2006, when Sebastien Bourdais did it in Champ Car.
But despite our throwing our hands up in the air and conceding the win to Power before the race even starts, plenty of other drivers and teams in the field will have a say in the finish. In Firestone Fast Six qualifying, five teams were represented (Team Penske being the only one with two cars in the top six). Among the biggest surprises was Mike Conway, one of last year's backmarkers, who earned his first career front row start. He was among the top five in every qualifying session in which he took part, and had the fifth fastest time in warm up.
Another driver looking to surprise will be Takuma Sato, starting sixth. Sato was generally fast during preseason testing, and kept his car towards the front of the pack in qualifying. Sato was second in his group in the first session and fifth in the second session.
There are five rookies in the field, with Sato the highest-qualifying of them all. The lowest will be Bertrand Baguette, starting last due to his time being the slowest in his initial qualifying group. Baguette, however, contributes to one of the tightest IndyCar fields in years, as his lap is only about 1.3 seconds off of Conway's lap in P2. (Power, of course, is half a second faster than everybody.)
In Firestone Indy Lights, don't be surprised if J.K. Vernay wins his second consecutive race in two career starts. Vernay, who won in his debut two weeks ago at St. Petersburg, scored the pole position at Barber as well.
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