Official Discussion Thread: Rounds 6 & 7 - Indianapolis

Allan Craighead

Morning race fans,

EFormulaCarNews.com is here live at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were we will have full coverage of the second doubleheader on the 2007 calendar.

All eyes will be on Sam Schmidt Motorsports pilot Alex Lloyd, who has won all five race thus far. that being more than a few drivers are more than capable of breaking his win streak on the road course here at IMS.

We will posting news and notes here on the forums and full reports on the frontpage of the website. If you have any questions or comments about the IPS or the race weekend, this is the place to post them. Be sure to visit often.

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 6:12 am Post subject:

Hi everyone,

The IPS cars are just about to roll on-course for the morning practice session, as the first cars on-track. Before the cars roll out, figured I'd pass on a couple quick notes.

- The majority of the teams traveled to Mid-Ohio earlier in the week to work on their road course setups.
- Following the race on the oval at Milwaukee it takes approximately 10 hours to switch from the oval package to the road course setup. This involves, wings, shocks, gearbox and some suspension changes.
- Both Brian Stewart Racing drivers (Jaeger and Wilson) crashed in the test due to stuck throttles.
- Richard Antinucci, in a Cheever Racing car, also damaged his car and reportedly slightly injured his hand.
- Wade Cunningham unofficial tooped the charts in the test.
- Reigning series champion Jay Howard has been seen walking the paddock ahead of the race weekend, supposedly looking for a ride.
- Making their IPS debuts this weekend are former Formula FBMW USA driver Doug Boyer (Michael Crawford Motorsports) and Star Mazda Championship front-runner Daniel Herrington (Speedworks).
- Recently crowned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Phil geibler returns to the series driving for Playa Del Racing.

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 6:50 am Post subject:

Hi all,

The checkered flag has just waved on the lone practice session for the IPS pilots. Topping the charts with a fast lap right at the end of the session was rookie Hideki Mutoh in his Super Aguri Panther Racing car. Richard Antinucci, who is only contesting the road courses with Cheever Racing and current points leader Alex Lloyd completed the top-three in the session.

The Indy Pro Series drivers will be back on-course at 3:50 p.m. (ET), contesting the lone qualifying session of the weekend. The leaders are already below the previous lap record set by Marco Andretti in 2005. Here are the times from the session.

1. Hideki Mutoh 1:25.665
2. Richard Antinucci 1:25.717
3. Alex Lloyd 1:26.172
4. Bobby Wilson 1:26.178
5. Wade Cunningham 1:26.210
6. Stephen Simpson 1:26.263
7. Robbie Pecorari 1:26.357
8. Phil Giebler 1:26.433
9. Jamie Camara 1:26.645
10. Jonathan Klein 1:26.787
11. Chris Festa 1:26.788
12. Daniel Herrington 1:26.876
13. Logan Gomez 1:27.203
14. Andrew Prendeville 1:27.294
15. Sean Guthrie 1:27.464
16. Ryan Justice 1:27.631
17. Doug Boyer 1:27.764
18. Joey Scarallo 1:28.117
19. Micky Gilbert 1:28.507
20. Brad Jaeger 1:28.769
21. Ken Losch 1:29.083
22. Mike Potekhen 1:29.446
23. Marc Williams 1:30.805
24. Tom Wieringa 1:31.030
25. Jon Brownson 1:31.626

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
eKartingNews.ca Managing Editor
eSportsRacer.com Managing Editor
(226) 808-9472 Cell
acraighead@howdenmediagroup.com

Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:09 pm Post subject:

Afternoon everyone,

The Indy Pro Series cars have formed up on the false grid for the lone qualifying session of the weekend. Ahead of the cars rolling on-course, I figured I'd pass on a few notes.

- Cheever Racing features a crew that has never worked on an IPS car prior to this year. Following the recent test at Mid-Ohio, both the team and Antinucci are confident they are on the right track.
- Surprisingly AFS Racing, which has raced in the series the past few years and is running Cunningham and Camara, only features a few crew members who have worked on the IPS cars.
- Antinucci did indeed hurt his hand in testing, sustaining a cut which required stiches.
- Immediately following the morning practice session, a number of teams switched to longer gears, the rsult of higher speeds due to the new aero package being used this year.
- Heading into qualifying a number engineers and drivers were unsure about the grip level on the track, given Formula one had been out twice and the track temperature had risen dramatically.

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
eKartingNews.ca Managing Editor
eSportsRacer.com Managing Editor
(226) 808-9472 Cell
acraighead@howdenmediagroup.com

Jonathan Scarallo · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:28 pm Post subject:

Is there not going to be any live timing and scoring due to the IRL not racing there this weekend. I have been trying to get it to work but no luck yet.

David Cole · Site Admin Joined: 18 Jul 2001 Posts: 67

Same here, inside source told me FIA will not allow the live timing to hook up to their scoring system?

frustrated and waiting to see where everyone qualifies.
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Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:38 pm Post subject:

Hi all,

The checkered has just waved to end IPS qualifying at Indy. Capturing the pole position with a new lap record was Hideki Mutoh. Starting alongside the Japanese rookie driver in Saturday's race will be Alex Lloyd. Below are the provisional top-10. A full report with times will be posted on the front page of the website shortly.

Mutoh 1:25.281
Lloyd 1:25.552
Antinucci 1:25.985
Wilson 1:26.026
Camara 1:26.096
Simpson 1:26.106
Klein 1:26.148
Cunningham 1:26.198
Justice 1:26.350
Herrington 1:26.457

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
eKartingNews.ca Managing Editor
eSportsRacer.com Managing Editor
(226) 808-9472 Cell
acraighead@howdenmediagroup.com

Allan Craighead · Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:02 pm Post subject:

Hi all,

The opening race of the IPS doubleheader at Indy has just concluded and we have a new winner in the series. Leading flag-to-flag, Hideki Mutoh scored his first career win over Alex Lloyd and Jamie Camara. Below are the provisional top-10. A full will be on the front page of the website shortly.

1. Hideki Mutoh
2. Alex Lloyd
3. Jamie Camara
4. Wade Cunningham
5. Stephen Simpson
6. Richard Antinucci
7. Bobby Wilson
8. Ryan Justice
9. Logan Gomez
10. Mike Potekhen

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
eKartingNews.ca Managing Editor
eSportsRacer.com Managing Editor
(226) 808-9472 Cell
acraighead@howdenmediagroup.com

Allan Craighead · Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:19 am Post subject:

Morning everyone,

Following a quick night or preparation after race one, Round Seven at indy has just completed. Taking the win in the second race of the doubleheader was Bobby Wilson. Below are the provisional top-five. A full report will be online shortly.

1. Bobby Wilson
2. Alex Lloyd
3. Hideki Mutoh
4. Ryan Justice
5. Jamie Camara

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
eKartingNews.ca Managing Editor
eSportsRacer.com Managing Editor
(226) 808-9472 Cell
acraighead@howdenmediagroup.com

Jackson Wright · Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 3

Thanks for the awesome update coverage, Al. I was only able to make it to Indy for Friday and found your site on the weekend, after picking up a copy of the Formula Car Magazine. You guys had stuff up faster than the IPS crew, which is cool.

I was pretty impressed with Lloyd during my trip on Friday. I met him briefly and he seems really put together, the whole package. I also introduced myself to Bobby Wilson, Andrew Prendeville and Robbie Pecorari. Great young guys would could easily be the future of American motorsports. All we need is to have the IRL actually promote some of the guys from their 'feeder' series into the big show. It's only the 'Road to Indy' if the IRL opens the front gate. So far, Jay Howard and Wade Cunningham, the last two IPS champs, are still waiting. That's a flaw in the system.

Thanks again for the coverage, I'll be tuning in for Iowa.

Jackson Wright