Backstretch Motorsports

Briscoe fails to finish, Franchitti goes back to points lead

Scott Dixon, who started next to pole sitter Dario Franchitti, won the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway by 0.3109 of a second over his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate.

The victory - his third of the season and second at Richmond - was the 19th of Dixon’s career to tie Hornish for the most in IndyCar Series history. Dixon, driving the No. 9 entry, matched the record in his 104th race - one less than Hornish, who totaled 116 starts. [read more...]

WEST ALLIS, WIS. (Saturday, May 30, 2009) - Team Penske drivers will start at opposite ends of the grid for the May 31 ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile. Defending race winner Ryan Briscoe will start first after winning his fifth career IndyCar Series pole, while Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will start 20th after crashing during PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying.

Briscoe recorded a four-lap qualifying average of 1 minute, 26.7966 seconds, 168.394 mph to earn his first pole since the 2008 season finale at Chicagoland Speedway. Graham Rahal will start second at Milwaukee for the second consecutive season after a qualifying effort of 168.117 mph.
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Demonstrating once again that the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is a critical rung on the ladder that drivers must climb on their way from karting to the pinnacle of open-wheel racing – the Indy 500 – this year’s starting field includes a trio of top contenders, including Graham Rahal (4th), Marco Andretti (8th) and Raphael Matos (12th), the fastest rookie in the Indy 500.

Remarkably, all three were competitors in the Star Mazda Championship during the 2005 season. And they’re part of the closest qualifying field in Indy 500 history; Helio Castroneves won the pole with a 4-lap average speed of 224.864 mph and Ryan Hunter-Reay’s speed of 220.597 mph earned him the 33rd-spot in the field. From the fastest to the slowest, the field is separated by just 4.267 mph and 3.0967 seconds. [read more...]

INDIANAPOLIS (May 9, 2009) — Helio Castroneves will start his ninth Indianapolis 500 from a familiar spot.

The Brazilian, who celebrates his 34th birthday on May 10, scored his third Indianapolis 500 pole position and Roger Penske’s record 15th pole position with a four-lap average speed of 224.864 mph (2 minutes, 40.0967 seconds cumulative time) on the 2.5-mile oval. It was the Brazilian’s 27th career IndyCar Series pole and his first of the season.

Teammate Ryan Briscoe made a late attempt to unseat Castroneves in the six-hour session, withdrawing his second-best qualifying time, but came up short (224.083). He’ll be in the middle of Row 1, with 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti (224.010) on the outside in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car. [read more...]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Saturday, April 25, 2009) - Graham Rahal won his second career pole position and his first on an oval, edging teammate Robert Doornbos by three-tenths of a second as Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing swept the front row for the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway.

Earlier this month, Rahal became the youngest pole winner in major open-wheel racing history at the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, Fla. Two races later, the 20-year-old is on the pole for the first time on an oval. He qualified second at Milwaukee last year. [read more...]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (Saturday, April 4, 2009) - If Graham Rahal could race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., every weekend, who knows how many records he could set. Last year, he became the youngest race winner in major open-wheel history when he took the checkered flag in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Saturday he became the youngest pole winner in series history when he survived the IndyCar Series’ three-round, knockout qualification format to win his first career pole in his return to the circuit.

He lapped the 14-turn, 1.8-mile course in 1 minute, 2.4110 seconds, 103.828 mph [read more...]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Friday, April 3, 2009) - Defending race winner Graham Rahal topped the time chart on the first day of practice for the 2009 IndyCar Series season opener. Rahal, 20, who became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing history when he won the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg a year ago, seems ready to defend his title. He lapped the 14-turn, 1.8-mile circuit in 1 minute, 3.4078 seconds, 102.196 mph in the No. 02 McDonald’s Racing entry to set the pace for the 22-car field.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Justin Wilson, who led 18 laps in last year’s race, was second with a lap at 1:03.5881, 101.906 mph. Dario Franchitti with Target Chip Ganassi Racing was third, E.J. Viso with HVM Racing was fourth and Tony Kanaan with Andretti Green Racing was fifth. [read more...]

Today’s IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines

1. Tale of the tape: IndyCar Series and Major League Baseball share Opening Day
2. Faces in new places
3. Drivers eager to start season at St. Petersburg
4. Firestone Indy Lights debuts new qualifying format at St. Petersburg
5. Gregory & Appel Insurance sponsors Securing Tomorrow Award
6. Carpenter, Conway keeping tabs on NCAA tourney [read more...]

Terry Angstadt, Eric Bachelart and Graham Rahal were guests on yesterday’s Indy Racing League teleconference, discussing the one-year anniversary of unification

About Unification: The IndyCar Series and Champ Car World Series signed an agreement Feb. 22, 2008 to unify North American open-wheel racing under the IndyCar Series banner. Five days later, team, driver and league representatives formally announced the agreement at a press conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway in conjunction with the first Open Test of the season.

The 2008 season saw increased competition on the track as well as increased awareness away from the track. Angstadt, Bachelart and Rahal anticipate an even better season in 2009.

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Three races remain in championship battle

With three races remaining in 2008, Scott Dixon holds a 78-point lead over Helio Castroneves. Dan Wheldon is 138 points back, and Tony Kanaan trails by 147. Dixon has a record-tying six wins this season, while Castroneves has seven second-place finishes. Can Dixon extend his lead or will his competitors close the gap?

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