Fantastic race!

Down F0rce · 4 Jul 2004, 18:48 (Ref:1025999)

Amazing race - lots of action thoughout, and a classic finish that only the IndyCar Series can do! Well done to Buddy for his second win, he's a championship contender no doubt. Vitor was the fastest man today though, he's really coming of age now and Rahal will be pleased that he signed him for the rest of the year.

Kicking-back · 4 Jul 2004, 18:59 (Ref:1026015)

Great race indeed.

I wish the commentators would stop having a go at Darren Manning though - totally unjustified.

Well done to Buddy Rice and hopefully Meira will win one soon.

And good to see a potentially terrible incident with Wheldon in the pit lane turned out OK.

tanalised · 4 Jul 2004, 19:00 (Ref:1026016)

Meira nearly got him (Rice) at the line

jenna · 4 Jul 2004, 19:00 (Ref:1026017)

how close was that finish? i think the last 10 laps of the race took a few years off my life!
Poor Kanaan just couldn't get through there, which sucks, it really should have been him and Meira battling it out... Unfortuanately i was watching the race without commentary again so i have no idea what happened with all the crashes etc.
lol, what the hell was up with the Sharp/Takagi thing? way to put it into the wall before lap 1!! i could see the interview with Sharp and he actually looked more amused than anything (or maybe it was a "if i don't laugh i'm gonna cry" situation!!)
and we shall not even speak of the Scheckter situation..

Down F0rce · 4 Jul 2004, 19:04 (Ref:1026021)

One lap Meria had the lead, then it was Rice, then Meria again, then Rice....fantastic stuff.

macdaddy · 4 Jul 2004, 19:06 (Ref:1026027)

"And it's Meira!!! No wait, it's Rice!!! First the computers said Meira, now they're saying Rice!"
I don't understand this quote from the commentators, but it sure was a fantastic finish!

jenna · 4 Jul 2004, 19:09 (Ref:1026031)

lol, maybe i'm actually better off without the commentary?!?!! i could tell it was Rice even without the playback..

jenna · 4 Jul 2004, 19:18 (Ref:1026034)

interestingly though, Scheckter did post the fastest lap.. in a chevy..

rustyfan · 4 Jul 2004, 20:13 (Ref:1026069)

Congrats to Team Rahal-Letterman on their top-two sweep

Hazard · 4 Jul 2004, 21:19 (Ref:1026128)

Quote:

interestingly though, Scheckter did post the fastest lap.. in a chevy..

No doubt with an empty fuel tank.

Kicking-back · 4 Jul 2004, 21:42 (Ref:1026152)

And getting a great tow.

rahalteamdad · 5 Jul 2004, 02:24 (Ref:1026302)

Man, what a race, Miera was taking the high line, and was going faster but having to go farther. Take it from me, he will win one soon.
Rahal will be the team to beat the rest of the year. They have the cars, the drivers, the engines, and the pit crews. What more is there?

Refutation · 5 Jul 2004, 02:50 (Ref:1026308)

I still think AGR will come out on top,They still have 2 wins over Team Rahal,and they will have more

They will win more races,and Hopefully we'll see Dario and Bryan get a win this year.I also wanna see a 1,2,3,4 finish damn it

Frankly never been a fan of Rahal related anything,only when Bryan Herta was racing for him.Always been a Bryan Herta fan.

I still think Vitor could've won it,and should have won it.My guts telling me Vitor held back just a tad so Buddy got the win.I like Vitor a lot too,He just seems like an incredible driver,and great personality.

marcus · 5 Jul 2004, 07:15 (Ref:1026386)

good race , I enjoyed it alot , I think the Kansas track is a special place , I really like it alot.

Brilliant effort by Rice and meira at the end but had to feel sorry for Kanaan just nowhere to go.

Bring on more of it I say

jenna · 5 Jul 2004, 09:19 (Ref:1026457)

Quote:

Originally posted by Hazard
No doubt with an empty fuel tank.

i was pretty upset with him for that until i read this story:

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A pair of unfortunate mishaps cost Panther Racing a chance to get both its cars a Top Ten finish. After a solid qualification effort on Saturday – Tomas Scheckter qualified fifth, Townsend Bell seventh – Panther appeared primed to post its best finish of the season. Instead, the list of back luck and misfortune for the 2004 Indy Racing League season grew a little bit longer.

Despite the Pennzoil Panther team losing its telemetry, Tomas Scheckter quickly moved up the grid. Scheckter spent several laps battling two-wide for the lead with Tony Kanaan, and was a mainstay in the top pack of cars. However, losing the telemetry would come back to haunt the Panther Pack, as Scheckter ran out of fuel entering Turn One just before making his second pit stop. Even though Tomas made it back to the pits, he lost several laps in the process and was unable to get back into the fight for the lead. Scheckter fought for position and finished the race in 15th.

Bell’s first Indy Racing League start was even more adventurous. After an impressive seventh place qualifying effort, Townsend was holding his ground in the Top Ten when the on-board fire extinguisher was activated. Bell was unable to drive the car, as fluid was spewed into his helmet visor, making it impossible to see the track. To make matters worse, as he tried to convey his struggles to the Menards/Johns Manville crew, the radio button fell out of the steering wheel. So the 29-year-old American was trying to maneuver the 1.5-mile oval while cleaning fluid from his helmet visor and communicating to his crew with the radio in his lap. Townsend returned to the track, and finished the race in 17th.

Tomas Scheckter:
“"We lost telemetry in the car early in the race, so we were trying to read the fuel off the dash. Apparently that was a little off as well, because we thought we were fine. It's unfortunate, my Chevy was fighting for the lead early and the car was good enough to run with anybody all day. It was another bit of bad luck for the Pennzoil Panther guys, but we're all going to keep fighting and the results will come."

Townsend Bell:
“The fire extinguisher just exploded in my face, and I couldn’t see anything. I was trying to hold the car down on the white line, but it reached a point where I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. We brought the car in and the Menards/Johns Manville guys cleaned me up, but once I got back out and was up to speed, the bag just continued to empty out. To make matters worse, the radio button in the wheel fell out, so I was trying to talk to the crew, drive the car, and get all the stuff off my visor so I could see. It was an interesting start. Even though I was several laps down, my Chevrolet could have run with the leaders if I was on the lead lap.”

Down F0rce · 5 Jul 2004, 12:07 (Ref:1026610)

Bad day for Panther Racing. Encouraging performance by both drivers though, they may very well be in the hunt for wins in the near future.

BootsOntheSide · 5 Jul 2004, 12:29 (Ref:1026646)

That has to be teh sot ridiculous debut for anyone ina top-line series since Esteban Tuero got penalties for a jump start and then pitlane speeding in his first F1 race. Or maybe even since Jos Verstappen barrel-rolled after a collision with Irvine in Brazil 94. Dreadful luck for both guys, but at least Townsend was competitive.

Rahal really looks like the better Honda team this year, especially when you consdier their less experienced driver line-up. Maybe 4 cars is too many to run competitively, or Michael just lacks the leadership instinct Bobby has?

Kicking-back · 5 Jul 2004, 12:45 (Ref:1026656)

Er, Tony Kanaan is still well in the hunt for the title, so I'd hardly say Rahal team is clearly better than Andretti.

Evenly matched is my assessment.

Down F0rce · 5 Jul 2004, 13:31 (Ref:1026717)

Here's that photo finish.

BootsOntheSide · 5 Jul 2004, 14:03 (Ref:1026757)

Quote:

Originally posted by Kicking-back
Er, Tony Kanaan is still well in the hunt for the title, so I'd hardly say Rahal team is clearly better than Andretti.

Evenly matched is my assessment.

True, but what I was htinking is that AGR is coming off a mcuh more secure platform, having always planed to enter the 4 cars they have on track. Rahal's driver lineup has been complicated by the late defection (meaning that the second car missed 2 races) and Kenny's crash. They've overcome those problems extremely well IMHO.

As an aside, there were no mechanical failures in the race, which must be something of a first. Fantstic aachievement by all 5 companies involved.

jenna · 5 Jul 2004, 14:04 (Ref:1026759)

how about Scheckters loss of Telemetry?
and a fire extinguisher going off for no apparent reason hahahah i think that car is haunted!!

N I Tram · 6 Jul 2004, 12:19 (Ref:1027979)

If only F1 was like this, just once in a while. All-action, in doubt right up to the end, places changing through OVERTAKING (look it up), and a thoroughly nice guy winning. This si surely the greatest IRL season yet, and better than any CART yer since 2000, if not earlier.

Tenoch · 6 Jul 2004, 19:04 (Ref:1028404)

DANG I just moved to Mcihigan and forgot about the time zone diferences and missed the race.

oily oaf · 8 Jul 2004, 12:54 (Ref:1030224)

Gripping stuff indeed although I'm a bit bemused by the competitiveness or lack of it from Sam this season. I wonder if he's having any misgivings about joining The Captain this season as Panther seem to have the car dialled in again. Any theories chaps?

Kicking-back · 8 Jul 2004, 12:59 (Ref:1030229)

Panther aren't doing too great.

Sam's problem has been too many crashes.

Things will come good for him and Penske again.

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