Five Races To Go
With five races to go, the IndyCar season is coming down the stretch. Last year, the fifteenth round of the championship was the season finale at Fontana. Now the series will have four races at three different tracks after Sonoma. With four extra races, it means the teams will have to stretch their supply of five engines just a little longer than last year. Prior to Mid-Ohio, IndyCar released an engine consumption update. Entering Mid-Ohio, the only team to already be over their fifth allotted engine is the #18 Dale Coyne Honda. Teams on their fifth engine were the #10 Ganassi Honda, #15 RLLR Honda, #16 RLLR Honda and #67 Fisher Hartman entries. Three teams were still on their third engine at Mid-Ohio, the #4 Panther Chevrolet, #6 Dragon Chevrolet and the #7 Dragon Chevrolet. The rest of the field was on their fourth engine. With not only four races after Sonoma but testing as well, teams will have to do all they can to make sure they get to the season finale on fifth engine but with as little wear and tear as possible.
AJ Foyt Oval Championship and Mario Andretti Road Course Championship
If you have no clue who is leading the AJ Foyt Oval Championship and the Mario Andretti Road Course Championship, don't worry, IndyCar hasn't done a good job letting you know. Luckily, each will be posted below.
AJ Foyt Oval Championship: Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves are tied with 186 points, with the tiebreaker belonging to Hunter-Reay for having more second place finishes. Tony Kanaan is third, twenty points back with Ed Carpenter fourth forty-one behind Hunter-Reay. Andretti is fifth, five back of Carpenter. Will Power, James Hinchcliffe, Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud and Justin Wilson round out the top ten. Charlie Kimball is eleventh ahead of his teammate and 2010 AJ Foyt Oval champion Dario Franchitti. EJ Viso is thirteenth with Josef Newgarden and Takuma Sato rounding out the top fifteen. With one oval to go, only the top six have a shot at that title.
Mario Andretti Road Course Championship: With four road races to go, Scott Dixon leads Helio Castroneves by twenty-nine points. Marco Andretti is third, fifty-nine back. Dario Franchitti is fourth, three back of Andretti with Simon Pagenaud just four points behind him. Charlie Kimball is now sixth after his victory at Mid-Ohio. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson are tied for seventh but Hunter-Reay owns the tiebreaker with one win to Wilson's none. James Hinchcliffe and Sébastien Bourdais round out the top ten. Long Beach winner Takuma Sato is eleventh with Will Power, the only driver to have won the road course title in it's three years of existence, twelfth. EJ Viso, Simona de Silvestro and Graham Rahal round out the top fifteen with Brits James Jakes and Mike Conway sixteenth and seventeenth respectively. Josef Newgarden, Tony Kanaan and Tristan Vautier round out the top twenty with Alex Tagliani, Ed Carpenter, Oriol Servià and Sebastián Saavedra the remaining drivers mathematically eligible for the title.
The Debutant and The Returnees
One driver will be making their IndyCar debut at Sonoma and another will be making their first start since Indianapolis. German Lucas Luhr will debut driving for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, in partnership with RW Motorsports and Pickett Racing. Luhr currently drives for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing in the American Le Mans Series and leads the LMP1 class standings with four races to go. Luhr won in the ALMS GT class at Sonoma in 2000, 2002 and 2003. Meanwhile, JR Hildebrand returns to the Izod IndyCar Series driving for Barracuda Racing after missing the last nine rounds after being fired by Panther Racing. Hildebrand recorded his career best finish at his home track last year when he finished eighth but in his two other starts at the track he finished twenty-fourth and twenty-third respectively.
James Davison will return for his second career IndyCar start at Sonoma driving the #18 Dale Coyne Honda. Davison finished fifteenth on debut at Mid-Ohio earlier this month. In three Indy Lights starts at Sonoma, Davison's best finish is third. Stefan Wilson will make his IndyCar debut in the #18 at Baltimore with Mike Conway racing the doubleheader at Houston and Pippa Mann running the season finale at Fontana.
Wednesday Testing
An official IndyCar test took place Wednesday at Sonoma Raceway. James Hinchcliffe was the fastest in the morning session with a time of 1:18.9329 seconds, the only driver in the 1:18 bracket. Will Power was second with Ryan Hunter-Reay in third. Sébastien Bourdais was fourth, rounding out a sweep of the top four for Chevrolet. Dario Franchitti was fifth with Marco Andretti sixth and Helio Castroneves in seventh. Castroneves' championship rival Scott Dixon was eighth quickest ahead of defending Sonoma winner Ryan Briscoe in ninth. Justin Wilson rounded out the top ten.
James Jakes was eleventh quick with EJ Viso and Tony Kanaan twelfth and thirteenth. The top thirteen were within a second of Hinchcliffe. Josef Newgarden was fourteenth followed by Simon Pagenaud and his teammate for this weekend Lucas Luhr. The German was 1.2933 seconds off Hinchcliffe and 0.0192 seconds back of his teammate. Tristan Vautier was seventeenth with JR Hildebrand eighteenth in his first laps in an IndyCar since Indianapolis. Simona de Silvestro and Graham Rahal round out the top twenty. James Davison was twenty-first and Sebastián Saavedra was the slowest car to take time during the session making only one lap. Most recent winner and Californian Charlie Kimball and the last two winners of IndyCar races in California, Takuma Sato and Ed Carpenter did not take part in the morning session.
In the afternoon, Chip Ganassi Racing's two Target cars took hold posting the two fastest times of the day. Dario Franchitti was fastest with a time of 1:18.2945 seconds, with Scott Dixon less than a tenth behind him. Chevrolets took up the next seven spots on the time sheet from three different teams. Ryan Hunter-Reay was third quick just 0.1762 seconds off Franchitti. Will Power was fourth with his teammate Helio Castroneves in fifth. Marco Andretti was sixth and the last driver to break the 1:18 second bracket. James Hinchliffe was seventh followed by the Dragon Racing duo of Sébastien Bourdais and Sebastián Saavedra. Just as in the morning, Justin Wilson was tenth.
Simona de Silvestro was eleventh quick ahead of Charlie Kimball. EJ Viso was thirteenth ahead of Josef Newgarden and Tony Kanaan. James Jakes was sixteenth fastest followed by Ryan Briscoe , JR Hildebrand and his teammate Graham Rahal. Simon Pagenaud was twentieth and followed by his teammate Tristan Vautier. Takuma Sato was twenty-second ahead of Honda driver James Davison, Ed Carpenter and Lucas Luhr. Luhr was 2.0096 seconds back of Franchitti.
James Davison will return for his second career IndyCar start at Sonoma driving the #18 Dale Coyne Honda. Davison finished fifteenth on debut at Mid-Ohio earlier this month. In three Indy Lights starts at Sonoma, Davison's best finish is third. Stefan Wilson will make his IndyCar debut in the #18 at Baltimore with Mike Conway racing the doubleheader at Houston and Pippa Mann running the season finale at Fontana.
Wednesday Testing
An official IndyCar test took place Wednesday at Sonoma Raceway. James Hinchcliffe was the fastest in the morning session with a time of 1:18.9329 seconds, the only driver in the 1:18 bracket. Will Power was second with Ryan Hunter-Reay in third. Sébastien Bourdais was fourth, rounding out a sweep of the top four for Chevrolet. Dario Franchitti was fifth with Marco Andretti sixth and Helio Castroneves in seventh. Castroneves' championship rival Scott Dixon was eighth quickest ahead of defending Sonoma winner Ryan Briscoe in ninth. Justin Wilson rounded out the top ten.
James Jakes was eleventh quick with EJ Viso and Tony Kanaan twelfth and thirteenth. The top thirteen were within a second of Hinchcliffe. Josef Newgarden was fourteenth followed by Simon Pagenaud and his teammate for this weekend Lucas Luhr. The German was 1.2933 seconds off Hinchcliffe and 0.0192 seconds back of his teammate. Tristan Vautier was seventeenth with JR Hildebrand eighteenth in his first laps in an IndyCar since Indianapolis. Simona de Silvestro and Graham Rahal round out the top twenty. James Davison was twenty-first and Sebastián Saavedra was the slowest car to take time during the session making only one lap. Most recent winner and Californian Charlie Kimball and the last two winners of IndyCar races in California, Takuma Sato and Ed Carpenter did not take part in the morning session.
In the afternoon, Chip Ganassi Racing's two Target cars took hold posting the two fastest times of the day. Dario Franchitti was fastest with a time of 1:18.2945 seconds, with Scott Dixon less than a tenth behind him. Chevrolets took up the next seven spots on the time sheet from three different teams. Ryan Hunter-Reay was third quick just 0.1762 seconds off Franchitti. Will Power was fourth with his teammate Helio Castroneves in fifth. Marco Andretti was sixth and the last driver to break the 1:18 second bracket. James Hinchliffe was seventh followed by the Dragon Racing duo of Sébastien Bourdais and Sebastián Saavedra. Just as in the morning, Justin Wilson was tenth.
Simona de Silvestro was eleventh quick ahead of Charlie Kimball. EJ Viso was thirteenth ahead of Josef Newgarden and Tony Kanaan. James Jakes was sixteenth fastest followed by Ryan Briscoe , JR Hildebrand and his teammate Graham Rahal. Simon Pagenaud was twentieth and followed by his teammate Tristan Vautier. Takuma Sato was twenty-second ahead of Honda driver James Davison, Ed Carpenter and Lucas Luhr. Luhr was 2.0096 seconds back of Franchitti.
Sonoma Track Facts
This will be the tenth race ever held at Sonoma Raceway, the first being held in 1970 and won by Dan Gurney. In the eight races since the track returned to the IndyCar schedule in 2005, there have been seven different winners with Will Power the only driver to win their on multiple occasions. The pole sitter has won four of the nine previous races at the track with the winner twice coming from second or third on the grid. Fifth place is the furthest back on the grid a winner has come from. That was Scott Dixon in 2007. All podium finishers at Sonoma have started inside the top ten. Marco Andretti's win in 2006 is not only the last time an American has won at Sonoma but last time an American finished on the podium.
In seven starts at the track, Dario Franchitti has a win, five podiums, six top fives and seven top tens. His worst finish at the track is an eighth back in his first start at Sonoma in 2005. Since being injured at Sonoma in 2009, Will Power has two wins and a second place finish. In his last five starts at Sonoma, Ryan Briscoe has a win, four podiums and worst finish is fourth. Briscoe will return behind the wheel of the #4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet this weekend after missing the second race at Toronto and Mid-Ohio with a broken wrist.
Helio Castroneves has six top tens in eight starts at Sonoma, including a win and two second place finishes. Scott Dixon has five top tens in eight Sonoma starts, including a win and a second place finish. Ryan Hunter-Reay has two top tens in six Sonoma starts but his best finish is eighth with three eighteenth place finishes and has never started better than seventh. Since his win in 2006, Marco Andretti's best finish at Sonoma is a twelfth in 2010. This could be a good weekend for Graham Rahal. He has four top tens in five starts at Sonoma.
Last year, Will Power set the fastest time on the remodeled IndyCar course layout at Sonoma with a lap of 1:17.2709 seconds.
Last year, Will Power set the fastest time on the remodeled IndyCar course layout at Sonoma with a lap of 1:17.2709 seconds.
This year's Sonoma race will be the first race on August 25th since 2002 when there was a CART and IRL race on the same day. Gil de Ferran won the penultimate race held at Gateway International Raceway with Helio Castroneves and Alex Barron rounding out the podium while Dario Franchitti won the inaugural CART race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with Cristiano da Matta and Tony Kanaan finishing second and third.
Tony Kanaan looks to tie his team owner Jimmy Vasser for the most consecutive starts in American open-wheel racing. Should Kanaan take the green flag Sunday, he will make a record tying, two hundred and eleventh consecutive start dating back to Portland 2001, a CART event. Kanaan's last race missed was Belle Isle the week prior to Portland after suffering a concussion during qualifying for that event.
Prediction
Honda is on their longest win streak since Chevrolet rejoined the series last year. Ganassi Racing has won four in a row and will be racing with heavy hearts this weekend as Floyd Ganassi, father of Chip Ganassi passed away Monday at age 87. Dario Franchitti has yet to win in 2013 but has won a race every year he has competed in since 2007 and won at Sonoma in 2009. Scott Dixon has won three of the last four and won at Sonoma in 2007.
Give me James Hinchcliffe this weekend and it isn't because he was fastest this morning but he's facing a trying time with uncertain over whether or not he will return to Andretti Autosport and whether or not Go Daddy returns for 2014 as well. Despite his season of checkers or wreckers, I'll take Hinchcliffe. I think Ryan Hunter-Reay gets a top five and keeps his championship hopes alive and I think this is the weekend Helio Castroneves has his first sign of adversity in IndyCar in 2013. Scott Dixon will get a top five and I think Lucas Luhr will get a top ten on debut. Justin Wilson will run consistently up front as well as Ryan Briscoe. Sleepers: Sébastien Bourdais and Josef Newgarden.
Tony Kanaan looks to tie his team owner Jimmy Vasser for the most consecutive starts in American open-wheel racing. Should Kanaan take the green flag Sunday, he will make a record tying, two hundred and eleventh consecutive start dating back to Portland 2001, a CART event. Kanaan's last race missed was Belle Isle the week prior to Portland after suffering a concussion during qualifying for that event.
Prediction
Honda is on their longest win streak since Chevrolet rejoined the series last year. Ganassi Racing has won four in a row and will be racing with heavy hearts this weekend as Floyd Ganassi, father of Chip Ganassi passed away Monday at age 87. Dario Franchitti has yet to win in 2013 but has won a race every year he has competed in since 2007 and won at Sonoma in 2009. Scott Dixon has won three of the last four and won at Sonoma in 2007.
Give me James Hinchcliffe this weekend and it isn't because he was fastest this morning but he's facing a trying time with uncertain over whether or not he will return to Andretti Autosport and whether or not Go Daddy returns for 2014 as well. Despite his season of checkers or wreckers, I'll take Hinchcliffe. I think Ryan Hunter-Reay gets a top five and keeps his championship hopes alive and I think this is the weekend Helio Castroneves has his first sign of adversity in IndyCar in 2013. Scott Dixon will get a top five and I think Lucas Luhr will get a top ten on debut. Justin Wilson will run consistently up front as well as Ryan Briscoe. Sleepers: Sébastien Bourdais and Josef Newgarden.
