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30 Jul 2004, 15:20 (Ref:1052065) | #1 | ||
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Michigan 400 -- Practice, Quals, & Race Thread
They have already run in the first practice session this morning...
The session times will tell us a few things, but not the full story: Tomas Scheckter & Townsend Bell were among the top times (1 & 3), and Scheckter topped the chart. Scheckter was just a hair over 214 mph. He ran 33 laps in the session... Of note was that the fast Honda teams were within the 212-213 range, but didn't come out until the last half of the session, and I believe that Meira turned the most laps with 20 circuits... Rice was in the mid-high 212s, but only turned 3 laps.... Kanaan was 2nd quick, an eyelash ahead of Bell in the mid-213s Two notes: 1. Chevy may have made a move up the competitive ladder, based on what occurred this morning, with Panther leading the way.....Barron was 6th 2. But I doubt that the Honda teams have shown what they really have got....from the laps they ran, they seemed to be doing a shakedown type of run until they felt like they hit something in the ballpark, then they pitted... I'll give you a few more specifics in a few minutes... Last edited by Tim Northcutt; 30 Jul 2004 at 15:27. |
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30 Jul 2004, 15:26 (Ref:1052071) | #2 | |
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Am I reading that correctly - Kanaan did 199 laps in a practice session?
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30 Jul 2004, 15:33 (Ref:1052079) | #3 | ||
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Mis-Type...did 19...
Top Ten 1. Scheckter 2. Kanaan 3. Bell 4. Meira 5. Wheldon 6. Barron (Note...all six were over 213 mph) 7. Franchitti 8. Rice 9. Hornish 10. Fernandez (Note: these four were all in the 212s) Castroneves was 18th, but ran only 7 laps... Carpenter was 11th in the 211 range... Toyotas were not strong this morning, and seemed to be clumped into the bottom third of the field with the exception of Sam... FINAL NOTE: The Midwest (especially Michigan and Indiana) are expecting a lot of rain today.... Thus they may not get another crack at some track time as well... But tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to have nice weather.... They will have another early a.m. session on Saturday before they qualify at 11 a.m. local time in Brooklyn.... |
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30 Jul 2004, 16:06 (Ref:1052101) | #4 | ||
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Local time in Brooklyn? :confused:
Is there a Brooklyn in Michigan? |
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30 Jul 2004, 16:09 (Ref:1052103) | #5 | ||
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Quote:
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30 Jul 2004, 16:11 (Ref:1052105) | #6 | ||
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Yes....
Sorry... Brooklyn, Michigan, is where Michigan International Speedway is located... It is due west of Detroit, between the Motor City and Battle Creek... I should have noted that... Although Brooklyn NY, and this Brooklyn are both in the same time zone... |
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30 Jul 2004, 18:55 (Ref:1052176) | #7 | ||
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2nd Session Results:
1. Kanaan -- 214.747 2. Matsuura -- 214.414 3. Scheckter -- 214-277 4. Rice -- 214.276 5. Wheldon -- 213.550 6. Carpenter -- 213.365 7. Fernandez -- 213.357 8. Meira -- 213.261 9. Barron -- 213.137 10. Franchitti -- 213.091 7 Hondas (4 of top five) and 3 Chevy-worths in the Top 10 Hornish was the top Toyota in 11th at 213.068 Dixon 15th Helio 19th...below 212 mph...and his best lap was two laps before he ran out of fuel late in the session... Townsend Bell hit the Turn 2 wall and did moderate damage to the left side of his car...His session time was 14th overall...mid-212s.... Many Toyotas still back at the bottom of the charts.... Manning is the slowest thus far, with Takagi just slightly above him... |
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30 Jul 2004, 19:00 (Ref:1052178) | #8 | ||
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Good to see Chevy do something! They look strong, and Bell is looking like the real deal! I think he found a home here in the IRL. If they can at least stay up towards the front, and draft well, there may be some hope for alittle shake-up of the leaders.
Hmmm, imagine a Chevy 1-2, at this point in the season. I'm thinking that Toyota are really holding back, and will show us something during quals. |
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30 Jul 2004, 19:04 (Ref:1052184) | #9 | ||
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It IS good to see the Chevy updates to their motors showing some promise!!!
Scheckter is the guy who seems to be turning the laps....but Bell would have been up there in the 2nd session if it weren't for the mishap... I'd love to know what defines "moderate" damage....enough to make him go to a back-up, I imagine... But he hit a SAFER barrier, and there was no initial report of any serious injuries to him... |
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30 Jul 2004, 19:05 (Ref:1052185) | #10 | ||
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Good news about Bell, and look at Carpenter in 6th! He's desperate for some good news...
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31 Jul 2004, 16:35 (Ref:1052779) | #11 | ||
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qualifying has been run and won and its Kanaan taking pole but the suprise is the Toyota guys are up there with Helio , Sam and Dixon having fantastic qualifying runs.
Matsuura also impressed with his best career qualifying so far and its shaping up to be a ripper |
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1 Aug 2004, 08:07 (Ref:1053102) | #12 | |
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Grid looking good.
Michigan always produces great racing but it's heart-in-the-mouth stuff. Here's hoping for a safe one - and maybe this time Team Rahal will do it for Vitor! |
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