Wolfe Wins First at Bloomington
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[/media-credit]Bloomington Indiana is the home of the biggest name in Winged Sprint Car history. That name is Kinser. Steve Kinser to be exact. There would be 3 Kinser’s in the field tonight. But the victory would go to a first time winner. It seems hard to believe that Lucas Wolfe had never won a feature before. But it was true until tonight.
The evening was hot and humid as is typical in the midwest in August. The 1/4 mile dirt track at Bloomington Indiana was still wet from a brief rain shower but it didn’t discourage the fans from flocking to the home track of 20 time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser. The 22 drivers who also gathered at the track were geared up and ready to go. The semi-banked, quarter-mile oval track record of 9.672 seconds was established by Jason Meyers on Aug. 5, 2011. That track record would remain intact after qualifying was complete. Quick Time would be set by Donny Schatz with a time of 10.798 seconds or 81.98 mph. Lucas Wolfe, Jason Sides, Sammy Swindell, and Craig Dollansky would round out the top 5.
The heat races would be uneventful, with the small narrow track keeping passing to a minimum. The first heat race would see Greg Wilson fend off a hard charging Cody Darrah and Steve Kinser to take home the win and secure a spot in the dash. Also securing a spot in the dash would be Sammy Swindell and Donny Schatz with their times.
The second heat race would see Logan Schuchart hold off a hard charging Kraig Kinser in front of Kraig’s home town crowd. Finishing third was Craig Dollansky. Also transferring out of the 2nd heat to the dash based on his time was Lucas Wolfe.
The third heat was won by Joey Saldana by a straight away over fellow Outlaw Kerry Madsen. Also transferring to the Dash based on time was Jason Sides.
With the dash field set the inversion of a 6 was drawn putting quick time setter Donny Schatz back to 6th and Cody Darrah to the pole next to team mate Joey Saldana. Saldana would take the lead on the first lap and never look back. The real battle would be between Darrah and Sides for 2nd and Sammy Swindell and Donny Schatz for 4th. Saldana would lead Darrah and Sides across the line with Sammy Swindell holding on to 4th ahead of Donny Schatz.
With the A Main Line up set it was time to get down to business. The track reworked the surface to try to widen the groove out for the Outlaws. It wouldn’t take long for it to become obvious that it worked well. At the drop of the Green Joey Saldana took the lead and at times stretched it as far as 2 seconds over team mate Cody Darrah. Saldana would hold on the lead through lap 18 when Lucas Wolfe would make a slide move to the inside out of turn 4 to take the lead. Donny Schatz would challenge over and over for the second spot but Saldana would hold on to finish second with Schatz coming home in 3rd. Jason Sides and Cody Darrah would battle all the way to the line for the 4th spot with Sides holding off last years Rookie of the year Darrah. The victory would be the very first World of Outlaws feature win for Lucas Wolfe. It was a popular win with the crowd and with his competitors. A very quiet and calm Wolfe contained his excitement and paid tribute to his crew and his father in victory lane. Wolfe would also be the Hard Charger of the race gaining six positions from 7th.
Other notable performances on the race track included that of Steve Kinser. Kinser who tangled with Kody Kinser (distant relation) on the opening lap and got over on his side in the infield and started the race from the last spot charged through the field to finish 10th. Sammy Swindell would cut a tire at lap 38 and would make the tire change with no work time on the clock and make it back out on to the track as the last car on the lead lap. He would finish 13th on the lead lap.
It’s hard to believe that Lucas Wolfe had never won a feature with the Outlaws before tonight. His skills certainly would deny that. But if you ask anyone who follows the world of winged sprint car racing about Bloomington Indiana you will find an almost reverent tone. It is the home of champions. It is the home of extreme talents on the dirt. It is the home of the King. It is the home of Karl and Sheldon Kinser. It is the home Kraig Kinser and in that little town in Indiana it is a given that if your name is Kinser you are probably a front runner in the world of dirt. Tonight was no different really, Bloomington held magic in her hand and she gifted it to a young man who was more than deserving and very long over due.
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Qualifying results: 1) Donny Schatz 10.798. 2) Lucas Wolfe 3) Jason Sides 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Craig Dollansky 6) Joey Saldana 7) Cody Darrah 8) Kraig Kinser 9) Kody Kinser 10) Greg Wilson 11) Logan Schuchart 12) Kerry Madsen 13) Steve Kinser 14) Bill Rose 15) James McFadden 16) Chad Kemenah 17) Danny Smith 18) Paul May 19) Ty Deckard 20) Wes McIntyre 21) Brad Greer 22) A.J. Martin.
First Heat Race Results: 1) Greg Wilson 2) Cody Darrah 3) Steve Kinser 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Donny Schatz 6) A.J. Martin 7) Ty Deckard 8) Chad Kemenah
Second Heat Race Results: 1) Logan Schuchart 2) Kraig Kinser 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Danny Smith 5) Lucas Wolfe 6) Bill Rose 7) Wes McIntyre
Third Heat Race Results: 1) Joey Saldana 2) Kerry Madsen 3) Kody Kinser 4) James McFadden 5) Paul May 6) Jason Sides 7) Brad Greer
Dash Results: Inversion was a 6. 1) Joey Saldana 2) Cody Darrah 3) Jason Sides 4) Sammy Swindell 5) Donny Schatz 6) Greg Wilson 7) Lucas Wolfe 8) Kraig Kinser 9) Logan Schuchart 10) Kerry Madsen
A Main Results: 1) Lucas Wolfe 2) Joey Saldana 3) Donny Schatz 4) Jason Sides 5) Cody Darrah 6) Greg Wilson 7) Kraig Kinser 8) Logan Schuchart 9) Craig Dollansky 10) Steve Kinser 11) James McFadden 12) Danny Smith 13) Sammy Swindell 14) Kerry Madsen 15) Bill Rose 16) Brad Greer 17) Paul May 18) Chad Kemenah 19) Kody Kinser 20) Wes McIntyre 21) Ty Deckard 22) A.J. Martin.
Hard Charger of the Race was Lucas Wolfe.
World of Outlaws Points
| Pos. | Driver | Total | Diff | Wins | Top 5’s | Top 10’s | QT |
| 1 | Craig Dollansky | 6338 | 0 | 6 | 23 | 34 | 8 |
| 2 | Steve Kinser | 6321 | -17 | 3 | 21 | 35 | 0 |
| 3 | Donny Schatz | 6299 | -39 | 4 | 18 | 37 | 1 |
| 4 | Sammy Swindell | 6280 | -58 | 8 | 19 | 31 | 7 |
| 5 | Joey Saldana | 6276 | -62 | 5 | 17 | 33 | 6 |
| 6 | Kraig Kinser | 6195 | -143 | 4 | 17 | 33 | 5 |
| 7 | Cody Darrah | 5911 | -427 | 1 | 14 | 23 | 2 |
| 8 | Kerry Madsen | 5855 | -483 | 3 | 8 | 23 | 1 |
| 9 | Chad Kemenah | 5799 | -539 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 2 |
| 10 | Lucas Wolfe | 5550 | -788 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 1 |
| 11 | Bill Rose | 5040 | -1298 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 12 | Jason Sides | 4151 | -2187 | 0 | 12 | 19 | 0 |
| 13 | Daryn Pittman | 2462 | -3876 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 1 |
| 14 | Danny Lasoski | 2356 | -3982 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| 15 | David Gravel | 2310 | -4028 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| 16 | Tim Kaeding | 2301 | -4037 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| 17 | Paul McMahan | 2221 | -4117 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Jac Haudenschild | 2054 | -4284 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | Austen Wheatley | 1818 | -4520 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Brad Sweet | 1779 | -4559 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
Jeff Gordon’s Charitable Work Scores Heisman Humanitarian Honor
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[/media-credit]Jeff Gordon, four-time champion driver on the NASCAR track, received one of the highest honors, the Heisman Humanitarian Honor, for his philanthropic works off the track.
The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet was accompanied by Heisman Trophy Trustee Jim Corcoran and Heisman Trophy winners George Rogers and Tim Brown for the announcement of the award at Pocono Raceway.
Gordon is the seventh recipient of this prestigious award and he will actually receive the award at the 78th Annual Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner on Monday, December 10th at the New York Marriott Marquis.
“This year, the Heisman Memorial Trust is delighted to add one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history as the seventh name on the list,” Jim Corcoran, Heisman Trophy Trustee said. “The Trust decision to honor Jeff was very easy.”
“Like the Heisman Trophy itself, Jeff Gordon has created a legacy of excellence both on the field of competition and for the greater good of society.”
Corcoran said that Gordon was honored specifically for his work with helping children with serious illnesses, through the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation and through his launch of a comprehensive cancer care center in Rwanda.
“This Humanitarian award is something I’m very proud of,” Jeff Gordon said. “This is truly an honor.”
Gordon was also pleased to be in the company of the other Heisman Trophy winners, although he did joke at the beginning of the press conference that he was the smallest person on the dais.
The four-time champ also acknowledged the interesting connection being made through the award between NASCAR and other sports.
“Having these two former Heisman Trophy winners here is a real privilege because we’ve never had two Heisman Trophy winners here at Pocono in the media center,” Gordon said. “I think a lot of you probably were questioning Heisman and NASCAR, where is the tie?”
“But the award is given to all walks of life and sport,” Gordon continued. “To be a part of this list is something that I never expected and something that I’m very honored by.”
Gordon joins other Heisman Humanitarian winners, including two Olympians, three NFL players, and an All-Star center from the NHL. Joey Check, an Olympian and philanthropist, was the inaugural winner in 2006, recognized for donation of his gold medal bonus to the Right to Play Organization to help children in need.
Other winners include George Martin, NY Giants defensive end, who helped those impacted by the 9/11 tragedy; Pat LaFontaine, an NHL great who founded an organization building interactive children’s playrooms; Mia Hamm, world-famous soccer player for her work with the Foundation that bears her name dedicated to helping those with aplastic anemia; William Dunn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers star who founded Homes for the Holidays; and Marty Lyons, another NFL great, who became a surrogate father to a critically ill child.
“This is a big day for me and I really look forward to December,” Gordon said. “You always want your efforts to be recognized and today this is a very, very proud moment.”
“It doesn’t get any better than being recognized by excellence, which is what the Heisman is all about.”
Gordon acknowledged that NASCAR as a sport has enabled him to be so involved philanthropically. In fact, given his sponsor, the AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger, he is even more involved in charitable works on and off the track.
“I feel so privileged to be a part of this sport,” Gordon said. “I think of NASCAR and what it’s given to me.”
“It’s given me so many opportunities but it’s also given me a great platform and way to give back,” Gordon continued. “I see such a giving community and environment.”
“Everybody really wants to help and that’s what drove me to start my own foundation,” Gordon said. “And it continues to drive me in ways that I never expected.”
“My own sponsor, the first ever cause-driven sponsorship, just continues the work,” Gordon said. “This award just solidifies all the efforts that makes my work what it is and takes us to places we never thought we would go to help so many children and to find those treatments and cures.”
Gordon’s teammate and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson expressed his pride in Gordon’s accomplishments as well during his media appearance at Pocono.
“I am happy to hear that and think he is extremely deserving,” Johnson said. “Fundraising and charitable work is only as good as the name behind it and the name that’s behind it; and that’s Jeff.”
“I’m very proud of him,” Johnson said. “That’s an amazing honor.”
Basking in the glow of his teammate’s praise as well as his new award, Gordon turned a bit more philosophical. He admitted that what drives him now is the success and the wins that he is seeing off the track through his charitable work world-wide.
“Today we’re seeing a lot more success and what we can call winning because the cure rates have gone high,” Gordon said. “But at the same time, long term effects are still in place and you still see kids suffering and dying.”
“Then you go abroad and see what’s happening there,” Gordon continued. “I know what a difference we can make there because kids are dying of things that are curable.”
“Life is a journey and racing has been a big part of my journey,” Gordon said. “I’ve been able to experience winning more than I ever thought.”
“I was thinking how hard we have worked to try to win and put so much effort into it,” Gordon continued. “Yet ten or fifteen years, what it is all going to mean?”
“Those trophies are nice but they tarnish,” Gordon said. “But when you save a child’s life and you have something as meaningful as this, those are things that stick with you for a lifetime.”
Sam Hornish Jr. In Demand With Pocono and Iowa Double
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[/media-credit]While Sam Hornish, Jr. may be thrilled with the opportunity presented to him to drive the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, he is also pleased with his new status. He is now officially in demand in multiple NASCAR series.
Hornish, Jr. is attempting the double, running both the Nationwide race at Iowa Speedway and the Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
“It’s kind of a lot on my plate this weekend,” Hornish said. “I’ll close my eyes and sleep for a little bit on the airplane to try to catch up.”
Hornish advised that after he finishes up in the Cup car, he will head to Iowa to practice in the Nationwide car. He estimates giving up about thirty minutes of track time on both ends of the racing spectrum.
“It’s just a little bit too far to be able to make all the practice sessions on both sides,” Hornish said. “We think we’ve got a good plan as far as what we’re going to do and try to get as much time as we can in both places.”
“I’ll sleep here, qualify the Cup car tomorrow, then we’ll go back over there, qualify, do the driver’s meeting, race and come back here,” Hornish said. “It seems like a lot but last year when Brad (Keselowski) was hurt, I actually did the same trip without getting to drive the Cup car so this is an added bonus.”
The double duty may be tricky for the driver, but it is also a challenge for the crew chiefs and teams as well.
“Fortunately, it’s something we have done before,” Travis Geisler, Director of Competition for Penske Racing, said. “We’re really fortunate to have a lot of really great people around us to help ad support and make this doable and to make it very smooth.”
“Obviously, they’ll be a lot of little things along the way, but we’re down to figuring out what kind of food we need to have where for him and just trying to make it as comfortable as possible,” Geisler continued. “Sam is going to be in a heck of a lot of race cars in a lot of different places in a short amount of time.”
“I’m excited about it,” Geisler said. “I think it is a unique challenge.”
One of the other major challenges that Hornish and company may have to face is the unpredictable weather in both Long Pond, PA and Newton, IA. Although just really hot at Iowa Speedway, there are some threats of thunderstorms at Pocono in the forecast.
“We’ve got contingency plans for contingency plans,” Geisler said with a smile. “Obviously you try to think of all those scenarios, of everything that can go wrong, everything that can happen.”
“There are a few that can make it really, really difficult that we’ll have to deal with,” Geisler continued. “You know everybody is trying to be as prepared as possible.”
“We’re hoping for the best,” Geisler said. “Otherwise it will be a forest fire and we’ll try to put it out.”
Pocono Raceway has a special place in Hornish’s heart, with his most successful runs being at the ‘Tricky Triangle’. Hornish finished fourth in 2009, his best career Cup finish in 113 series starts.
“We’ve led laps and had some of our strongest runs at Pocono,” Hornish said. “We finished fourth in 2009, but really had our best shot at winning there in the races during the 2010 season.”
“We led pretty late in both of those races and if luck had been on our side, we could have won.”
Hornish is also looking forward to the Nationwide race in Iowa, driving the No. 12 WURTH Dodge Challenger. He will be making his 20th start of the season and his third Nationwide start at Iowa Speedway.
Hornish’s best finish came in May of this year, where he finished 12th. After 19 races, Hornish and his Nationwide team are fourth in the championship point standings.
“Our WURTTH Dodge team is in a very good place heading into Iowa,” Hornish said. “We have been consistently improving our performance throughout the year.”
“We have qualified well in the past at Iowa – we just haven’t put it all together and this weekend we are poised to do just that,” Hornish continued. “We feel like we’ve built some strong momentum and we are looking forward to finishing this one on top.”
Whether by plane, helicopter, car or golf cart, Sam Hornish Jr. is most thrilled just to be given the opportunity to race in both major series in the sport.
“I feel like we’ve got some really good opportunities here and just trying to maintain everything and not get stressed out about it,” Hornish said. “I plan to just enjoy it.”
“Something good happened to me at the end of last season,” Hornish continued. “We got the opportunity to go full-time Nationwide racing and you know, we’re doing pretty good over there.”
“Now we’ve got the opportunity to go Cup racing too,” Hornish said. “So just trying to take both things and run with it and enjoy it as best I can.”
“It’s a good feeling to be in a little bit of demand.”
NASCAR Athletes In An Olympic State of Mind
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[/media-credit]While NASCAR’s elite get set to race in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, many of them are keeping one eye across the pond in London for the Olympic games.
“I love the Olympics, all the aspects of it,” Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford, said. “It is so fun to watch.”
“From the swimming to the gymnastics, all of that,” Biffle continued. “I haven’t seen much more than that right now but I really enjoy that and it is a lot of fun to watch.”
Teammate Matt Kenseth concurs with the Biff’s take on the Olympic festivities. But in the case of the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion, the family is watching just a bit more than he has been.
“I have been watching a little bit,” Kenseth said. “My wife has been watching a lot.”
“I am not really into the swimming and some of the gymnastics and all that stuff,” Kenseth continued. “Probably the running and the beach volleyball is pretty fun to watch.”
“I got to meet Kerri Walsh a few years ago at the Super Bowl, so we were watching her play the other night,” Kenseth said. “Some of that stuff is fun to watch.”
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, enjoys the Olympics, however, seems a bit puzzled by some of it.
“I was watching the other morning and I didn’t know trampolines were,” Harvick said. “I didn’t know that was an Olympic sport.”
“Whatever the case, it gets the whole world together to see who is the best at each individual sport.” Harvick continued. “It is fun to watch on root on your country.”
Carl Edwards has been watching, however, he recognizes that in spite of his intensive training, he most likely never could compete in the games.
“I have been watching the Olympics and thought ‘I could do that’ for like one second,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “The closest thing I have done is the Race of Champions.”
“I don’t know if the world is ready for a bunch of race car drivers in the Olympics,” Edwards continued. “I don’t know if Bob Costas could explain some of the things we would do or say.”
Edwards does, however, have a somewhat personal connection to the games. His trainer Dean Golich is at the Olympics, having trained several members of team USA.
“My trainer from Carmichael Training Systems is at the Olympics with some athletes he trains,” Edwards said. “To have everything culminate from four years of work to one floor exercise or one time trial on a bike or a 100 meter race in a pool, I can’t imagine the amount of pressure that would be.”
“We get to do this 38 times a year and it is still a lot of pressure,” Edwards continued. “That would be very difficult.”
“I have a lot of respect for those athletes.”
So as the best of the NASCAR drivers have been watching from across the pond, is there one Olympic game in which they would fancy themselves competing?
“I don’t know what I would be good at,” Biffle said. “I’ll have to think about that one.”
“Probably none of them because I am not talented enough to keep up in any of them,” Kenseth said. “If I was an Olympic athlete I would still like to do this, but I would be doing something else.”
“I think the best I can do is watch.”
“I don’t even know them all,” Harvick said of the various Olympic venues. “I was reading there were 300 and some medals that they hand out during the Olympic games.”
“Obviously, if I didn’t know trampolining was a sport, I would have to do a little research and find out which one I think I might be capable of,” Harvick continued. “I think I’m too old to do pretty much anything in the Olympics it seems anyway.”
“I can tell you what sports that it wouldn’t be,” Edwards said. “I need a race car out there to jump off to do any gymnastics.”
“It is amazing.”
As the Olympics continue from across the globe, the best of the drivers in stock car racing will be competing at Pocono Raceway, better known as the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ And, just like their team USA counterparts, every one of them will be dreaming of their own ‘gold medal’ come Sunday in Victory Lane.
Joey Logano looks for Pocono sweep to make his way into the Chase
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[/media-credit]Back in June, it was Joey Logano finding victory lane at Pocono Raceway. Now as the series returns to the tricky triangle for its second visit of the season, Logano is in need of another win as he currently sits 17th in points with only the one victory on the season. Currently, he sits fourth in the wild-card standings.
With six races leading up to the Chase for the Sprint Cup, a win would certainly put Logano in prime position to make the playoffs.
With the situation that Logano is in, he is now placed in a “nothing to lose” scenario where wins are all that matter.
“We ere definitely at that point that we have to win another race to get in the race,” he says. “So that’s definitely – you know, we don’t have as much to lose at this point, so just go for it.”
In theory, that’d say that the No. 20 Home Depot team would be trying harder to win a race, however Logano says they don’t do anything different as they go out trying to win every weekend.
“We can’t do any more or less for any other race,” he says. “We just do what we do every week and try to win. We go into Pocono with a lot of confidence after winning there earlier this year with a strong car that’s fast in practice, qualified on the pole and won the race. When you have a car like that, if we are bringing back the same one, I guess we’ll be going in with a lot of confidence to the weekend.”
Beyond looking for the win, Logano will be looking for his third straight Pocono pole in qualifying. Logano says he has had some fast cars there and qualifying is important at Pocono, though it’s about having the right mind-set to be able to do it.
“You’ve got to have the right mind-set when you go into practice and when you’re going to put your fast lap and when you’re going to go into qualifying,” he says. “Obviously when you go out there and qualify, it’s a little bit trickier place to qualify, because you have one more turn to either get it right or screw up real fast.
He says it’s tricky to lay down that quick lap and understands why the track is called the tricky triangle.
Before on the old Pocono surface, it was Logano’s teammate Denny Hamlin that was dominant as he had four wins, eight top fives and nine top 10s in 13 starts. Though on the new surface, it was Logano taking the field by storm with the win, marking his first ever top 10 at Pocono.
Having a teammate that was good on the old surface was good as Logano said that Hamlin has helped both him and their teammate Kyle Busch.
“He’s got us around there a few times, and teaching us quite a few things, and I think JGR as a company has been really strong over the years at Pocono, too. I think the drivers know what they are looking for and the teams are able to give us what we need.”
Whether Logano performs or not could decide a lot of factors going forward as this is contract year and the young driver has yet to announce that he has resigned or anything.
“You need to do what you do best, and all of that other stuff is going to come along with it eventually,” Logano says. “I’ll focus on the racing part and during the week, see where the best opportunity is going to be for me and go with that.”
ESPN has posted that their sources have said that Matt Kenseth is set to replace Logano in 2013 after announcing that he has left Roush-Fenway Racing. The same article states that JGR president J.D. Gibbs says that they’d like to have four teams for 2013, though it depends if sponsorship can be found for Logano.
“We’ve talked a number of different potentials, but obviously we’d like him to be in Cup full-time,” Gibbs told ESPN.
If it can’t be found, they are also looking at other schedule options to see if they would work.
For now though, the focus is on this weekend and getting in the chase and Logano is going to do everything he can possibly do as a driver to help his team.
“I think this year, I have a lot more confidence in myself and my abilities in what we are doing out there,” he adds.
Power sets quick pace in Mid-Ohio practice one
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[/media-credit]The IZOD IndyCar Series took to the track at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the first time this season in its first of two practice sessions in preparation for the Hondy Indy 200.
The session proved eventful with three short red flag periods and numerous drivers posting times that held them atop the leaderboard throughout the session. The first practice session showed a tightly knit field of drivers, with the 25 car field being separated by only 2.1 seconds.
Josef Newgarden found speed early in the session and posted a 1:08.486, which was good to keep him at the top of the charts for the opening 30 minutes of practice.
After about 40 minutes into the session the red flag came out for a Alex Tagliani going off the course at turn 9. Just 10 minutes later, James Hinchcliffe ventured off the track in turn 10 to bring out another short red flag period. Tagliani was later able to return to the track and post a 1:07.346, a time that was good enough to put him in eighth position. Hinchcliffe will look to find more speed in the second practice session tomorrow morning, posting a 1:07.676, only good enough for 17th.
Takuma Sato was able to head in the right direction with his set up on the #5 Rahal/Letterman entry. Sato led most of the middle portion of the 90 minute session, with a best time of 1:08.233.
With 30 minutes remaining and the session at the beginning of its final stages, Will Power jumped to the top of the leader board with a 1:07.297. As the session drew to a close, the time Power posted remained the fastest of the day until the final minute of the session, when Power bested his own time and improved to a 1:06.863.
Following behind Power was Chip Ganassi’s #9 entry of Scott Dixon, who drove his Target Honda to a 1:07.021. Just two tenths of a second behind Power was Marco Andretti, who posted a 1:07.064, a time good enough for third position. Rounding out the top 5 were Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal who set marks of 1:07.106 and 1:07.108, respectively.
Finishing the session in 23rd position was Giorgio Pantano, who is replacing the injured Charlie Kimball this weekend. Pantano, who hasn’t been in an IndyCar yet this season, completed the most laps of any driver in the session and generated a best time of 1:08.075.
Like most tracks this season, the DW12 chassis is proving it has a strong pace. Pole speed last year for the Honda Indy 200 was 119.405 mph. Power’s best lap of the opening session was 121.574 mph. Look for some fast qualifying and race speeds throughout the rest of the weekend.
The drivers will be on track next for the second practice session, 8 – 9 am on August 4th. Later that day, at 11:00 am, qualifying will take place. The green flag for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be at 1:00 pm on August 5th.
