Two Guys Sports
Bruce BostwickThe IndyCar ABC Supply Co. inc. AJ Foyt 225 (6-1-08)
June 1st 2008 07:51
Danica Patrick is focused on winning in Milwaukee.
Now that the spectacle that is the Indy 500 is over most people will forget about the IndyCar Series. They do race more than once a year in case you didn’t know. Helio Castroneves has to keep himself busy somehow, and the Dancing With The Stars – All-Star season isn’t in the making quite yet. So, instead he will be driving his <car sponsor team here> in races at places you might be familiar with. Places like, Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Watkins Glen, Chicagoland Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway now owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. who own many tracks.
This week the drivers roll into The Milwaukee Mile for the ABC Supply Co. inc. AJ Foyt 225. As its name states this track is a one mile long oval with 2.5 degree banking in the straightaways, and 9.25 degree banking in the turns. The mile is actually the oldest continually operating motor speedway in the world. Racing started here way back in 1903, which pre-dates even the Indy 500 by eight years. Everyone from AJ Foyt to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. have won races at “America’s Legendary Oval”. Besides IndyCar, The Mile hosts events in the Nascar Nationwide Series, and Craftsman Truck Series.
This weekend is all about the IndyCars though, a weekend that wraps up with the AJ Foyt 225 Sunday at 3PM EDT. The race can be seen on ABC.
If you thought last week’s Indy 500 had a lot of cautions and laps under the yellow flag, just wait until Sunday afternoon. Most think that the 26 cars that are starting are too many on this flat track. I have to agree with them, but it will only be a problem in the early stages of the race. Yes, I am saying right from the start there will be caution after caution for all of the crashes that will happen. By the halfway point there might be less than half the field still making circuits around The Mile. This could make the race exciting, as long as the half that stays out of trouble includes some of the names we want to see running.
In a flashback to nearly two decades ago, the front row at the start of this race will be Andretti – Rahal. The younger namesakes whose teams are owned by their dads, Marco and Graham that is, not Michael and Bobby. Graham Rahal had taken the pole halfway through qualifying and stayed there till Andretti, who rolled off 25th to qualify, knocked him to the outside pole by under half a mile per hour average speed.
The rest of the front of the starting grid was filled by Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon in third, a driver that has to have one of the best names in sports, Will Power in fourth, Helio Castroneves who sat on the pole here last year in fifth, and the winner at The Milwaukee Mile for two years running, Tony Kanaan in sixth.
Other starting spots of note, Danica Patrick will be rolling off from the 13th spot on the grid. Directly in front of her will be Ryan Briscoe, the driver of the car that hit her in the pits last week at Indy and knocked her out of the race. I read an article that says she has moved past the incident, but she never did make it to his pits last week. Will she try to accidentally bump him or take him out? We’ll just have to wait and see, but watch close because if she does I am sure she will disguise it as best she can to avoid penalties.
My predictions:
Many caution flags, let’s say 13 yellows, and throw in one red flag.
Laps under caution: more than half of them
Winner: Helio Castroneves edges out Tony Kanaan in the final laps. Danica fades shortly before then to finish in third.
| Starting Grid - ABC Supply AJ Foyt 225 | |||
| POS | DRIVER | CAR | SPEED |
| 1 | Marco Andretti | 26 | 168.079 mph |
| 2 | Graham Rahal | 6 | 167.654 mph |
| 3 | Scott Dixon | 9 | 167.637 mph |
| 4 | Will Power | 8 | 167.265 mph |
| 5 | Helio Castroneves | 3 | 166.667 mph |
| 6 | Tony Kanaan | 11 | 166.473 mph |
| 7 | Dan Wheldon | 10 | 166.195 mph |
| 8 | Enrique Bernoldi | 36 | 165.216 mph |
| 9 | Oriol Servia | 5 | 165.190 mph |
| 10 | E.J. Viso | 33 | 164.843 mph |
| 11 | Ryan Briscoe | 6 | 164.106 mph |
| 12 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 17 | 164.066 mph |
| 13 | Danica Patrick | 7 | 163.702 mph |
| 14 | Hideki Mutoh | 27 | 163.368 mph |
| 15 | Bruno Junqueira | 18 | 163.123 mph |
| 16 | John Andretti | 24 | 162.449 mph |
| 17 | Ed Carpenter | 20 | 162.139 mph |
| 18 | A.J. Foyt IV | 2 | 162.049 mph |
| 19 | Buddy Rice | 15 | 161.903 mph |
| 20 | Darren Manning | 14 | 160.787 mph |
| 21 | Townsend Bell | 23 | 160.311 mph |
| 22 | Justin Wilson | 2 | 159.927 mph |
| 23 | Mario Moraes | 19 | 155.511 mph |
| 24 | Jaime Camara | 34 | 154.613 mph |
| 25 | Mario Dominguez | 96 | 150.071 mph |
| 26 | Vitor Meira | 4 | N/A |
| 57 |
| Vote |
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