Sunday, March 30, 2008

March 30 newsstand: Homestead redux

Scott Dixon is the winner of the first unified IndyCar Series race ... although it was almost Tony Kanaan (and likely would've been had Ernesto Viso not popped a tire). A great race, with only two real incidents -- one of which caused by a flat, the other involving Milka Duno -- and a few CC refugees to keep Marty Roth company. Oriol Servia was the best of those guys, finishing 12th.

It gives TCGR three consecutive wins at Homestead -- the last two by Dan Wheldon. Dixon has 11 career IndyCar wins, and now two at Homestead (2003, 2008).

I'll toss my thoughts out tomorrow. Tonight, let's look at the coverage from last night's event ...

First, however, the news
From Cavin's notebook
Carpenter & Foyt had to move to the back of the field. Also, Conquest Racing has some sponsor issues with Opes Prime declaring bankruptcy, there is an Indy Lights recap.

But the big news is at the bottom ... Pacific Coast Motorsports might be in after all. Mario Dominguez is the driver, starting with Indy. DirecTV has signed a "letter of intent" with the IRL about being a presenting sponsor. Tim Cindric says there is a 30 percent chance Penske will field a third car at Indy (last year, they did so with Luczo Dragon ... LDR has spun itself off and is now on its own, fielding a car for Tomas Scheckter for Kansas, Indy & Infineon). I wonder if that 30 percent is the chance Sam Hornish Jr. won't qualify for the Fizzy Pop 600 and will suddenly have Memorial Day weekend free?

Race stories
Indy Star: Dixon wins trouble-free opener
Most of this focuses on the amalgamation of the CC guys into the series.

AP: Dawn of OW's new era gets a strong start
It covers the CC angle, but also some of the race action, including the bizarre finish.
Says TK: "I've been around a long time and the race is not finished until the checkered flag. With 10 laps to go, I was looking around and I was thinking, `This looks too easy.' "
Says Dixon, who almost wiped out himself and Marco Andretti midway through the race: "For a bad day, we still came away with maximum points,. That's what we've got to do. We've got to hit the start hard and gain as many points as possible because I think, last year, that's how we lost it (with a slow start).''

Boston Globe: Dixon off to fast start
A little bit on the race, but this story extensively quotes TG, Joie Chitwood and Roger Penske about the first race.
Says Dixon: "It's good to go in the record books as being the first to win since reunification. But, to be honest, I don't think the other guys [from Champ Car] had a fair shot, because they had so little time to get ready. I think next year will be more of a true championship under reunification."

SpeedTV
Says Scott of TK's accident: "I didn’t even know he’d hit the guy. It would have been really close even if he hadn’t had the incident because we were catching him pretty quickly. It was a shame to see him have such a silly little incident take him out of the race.”

The local stories ...
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Dixon takes opener
Says Scott: "Well, we were catching (TK) quick, and it would have been close at the end. I think Tony and Marco probably had the better cars, but we came through with the win."
Palm Beach Post: Dixon starts season on top
Says Scott: "It was one of those races where we didn't exactly have the speed all the time, or things weren't really going our way, but we still came out on top."
Tampa Tribune
Fort Myers News-Press
St. Petersburg Times
The Sports Network
IndyCar.com
ESPN

Race notebooks & driver stories
Top 3 press conference transcript
Servia, Andretti & Wheldon join Scott Dixon at the press conference.

Race boxscore

Official IRL news & notes
Recaps of both races from last night, look ahead to St. Pete.

This won't be on the official notes ... A.J. Foyt complains about Firestone's tires in the Tampa Tribune. Says A.J.: "We've got junk for tires. They've got one heat cycle, and they screwed us up the other day for qualifying; they fall off two or three tenths." He also says the Japanese-made Bridgestones are better than domestically-made Firestones. Tony Stewart move over.

Bringing it home: IndyCar.com looks at the CC drivers
Says Oriol Servia: "It was a long day in the office, but that means we achieved our first goal, which was to finish the race with no damage to the car. But it was also long because we did not have the speed that we were hoping for. We knew we were going to struggle. It's just tough when you are in the middle of it."

Palm Beach Post: Restart passing infuriates RHR
Ryan Hunter-Reay complains that TK was allowed to lead the field to the last restart on three wheels, which caused everyone to bunch up, which caused RHR to lose momentum, which caused him to lose positions.

St. Pete Times: Rahal's ride could have helped
Penske says it would've helped NHL get parts to put Graham Rahal in the race this weekend.
Says Tim Cindric: "We would have liked to have been able to help with that but nobody asked." RLR, obviously, would have also helped, and Vision Racing had a backup car that could have been used. Also, Helio Castroneves is looking for a place to stay in St. Pete next week. Not only is the Grand Prix going on in St. Petersburg, the Women's Final Four is taking place across the bay in Tampa.

Boston Herald: Open wheel, open season
Dan Wheldon says he's staying: "I’ve been very fortunate in IndyCar to have won a lot of races (and) I hope to continue to win races."

Easton (PA) Express-Times: Andretti not perfect, but still good
A look at the runner-up's performance Saturday night. Says Marco: "We were really working all off-season to get a car that works on this track."

Sydney Morning Herald: Aussies crash out
Briscoe gets collected by Milka Duno. Power's suspension breaks on contact with Justin Wilson.

Commentaries
In his blog, Cavin lists 5 things to like and dislike

Miami Herald: IRL's new era 'smashing'
He describes TK's accident in some detail: "Just sit there and watch Viso's car butterfly-kiss the right front tire assembly, marring it just enough to make it unfit for proper use. Just over seven laps from victory on what counts as his home track, Kanaan became just another part of South Florida's agony parade."

ESPN: IndyCar newbies get schooled
Terry Blount looks at life from the CC refugees: "Welcome to hair-raising, high-speed ovals, boys. Get out of the way and we'll show you how it's done. ... The new guys were schooled from start to finish in the Gainsco Auto Insurance 300 Saturday night. They never had a chance. Don't blame the Champ Car drivers for their lack of success in this one. You might as well have asked them to land a 757 on South Beach."

Robin Miller: IRL's Big Three reign on
The more things change ... the more they stay the same. Robin says: "But, aside from the fact Saturday night’s IRL season opener looked more like Saturday afternoon’s Grand Am show between prototypes and GT cars, there were no major surprises other than the lack of caution flags." But he spends most of the time talking with the ex-CC guys.

SpeedTV: OW's Appomattox
Writer Thomas O'Keefe says: "From the details we have heard so far, Tony George has chosen to follow Lincoln and General Grant in allowing the owners and sponsors of Champ Car to save face and diminish the financial impact of closing down Champ Car."


Driver stories
The Miami Herald has a big piece on Helio and his house
Helio gives the secret to decorating: "The answer is trophies. If you have enough of them you don't need to come up with too much artwork or shiny things to decorate your house.''

Indy Lights
Battistini wins at Homestead

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