Peak Indy 300 - Chicagoland

[DanicaFan]

The last race of the season already (ones that count anyways). It makes me sad really. :( This year was a good one and it went fast. Danica got her first win and will finish 6th in points.

This will be a good race. Im going to this one. I am heading out today to Chicagoland Speedway to pick up my credentials. The weather seems like it will be good.

I figured I would start a race discussion thread on this race. Here are some details for this weekend's race..

Well, the last race of the season. http://trb.ipbfree.com/html/emoticons/sad.gif Well, that counts anyways. It was a good year and it went fast. I figured I would start a thread on this race.

I will be going to Chicagoland Speedway. Im heading out today to pick up my credentials. Im excited!

Here are some details for this weekend's race...

Peak Antifreeze Indy 300

Location - Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois

Date - September 7, 2008

TV Schedule - 3:30pm Eastern - ABC

Qualifications - September 6, 2008

Course Type - 1.5 Mile Oval

Distance - 200 Laps/300 Miles

2007 Winner - Dario Franchitti

[NickFalzone]

Looking forward to it, though I figured they'd be running practice today, not tomorrow. Would be nice to see Helio win, and Dixon clinch the championship.

[The instant classic]

umm the year really good? umm i woludnt go that far at all,,, the year was crap, hate to say,, as i have always pointed out, beside you Danica fans, loving her win,, what does stand out of great this year?? i cant say the mirage was great,, only cuz if not for wind tunnel i wolud have never knowing about it,,,it was never hype up,, the whole year was a big zzzz to me,, i just hope next year is 100 times better

[Mad_Hatter]

http://www.indycar.com/multimedia/build_photo.php?photo_id=75497&size=med&time=1.86157739239686

http://www.indycar.com/multimedia/build_photo.php?photo_id=75520&size=med&time=2.717968355959779

[ChampUSfan]

Looking forward to it, though I figured they'd be running practice today, not tomorrow. Would be nice to see Helio win, and Dixon clinch the championship.

I think the same : Helio winning and Scotty clinching the title...that would be awesome.

[ChampUSfan]

http://www.indycar.com/multimedia/build_photo.php?photo_id=75497&size=med&time=1.86157739239686

http://www.indycar.com/multimedia/build_photo.php?photo_id=75520&size=med&time=2.717968355959779


Buddy is my favourite driver ;) I love him new car paint!!

TK will also have new colors for this weekend.

[ChampUSfan]

http://www.indycar.com/multimedia/build_photo.php?photo_id=75497&size=med&time=1.86157739239686

http://www.indycar.com/multimedia/build_photo.php?photo_id=75520&size=med&time=2.717968355959779


Awesome!!

TK will also have new colors for this weekend.

[The instant classic]

i had an idea here guys, i just finsh up playing my xbox indycar game, i played Chicagoland, i played on hard mode, and yes i ran out of gas lol,

but on to my idea here, what if history re-plays itself again, and dixon runs out of gas, and helio wins the title? how weird wolud that be? could last year race happen again?

[TURN3]

This is a "preemptive" quote of DanicaFan after the first practice...

"Well first practice is over and Danica is 9th fastest out of the big 8!! I look for her to easily win the pole with that speed and blazing talent. She continues to show that she's the one to beat each weekend...she's ahead of Mutoh!!" Woo Hoo...go Danica!

[TURN3]

Now that qualifying is actually over (or about to be anyway), I'd take back my mocking comments about DP and her sweetheart but, Marty Roth qualified in the top 10 also. Just goes to show that anything can happen with only 1 car on the track and everybody is flat out from the pit box to the finish line. With a track full of cars, things will likely change but I'll hand it to AGR, they seem to have found something for qualifying at the very least. 3 cars in top 6...including Danica.

[NickFalzone]

Helio's white line violations are some of the funniest things I've ever seen done in a qualifying session. Practically driving into the infield, and he was pulling left on the wheel. Clearly, Helio and Roger believe they can get to the front from the back. And they probably will. But messing with Barnhart is probably not one of the smarter strategies in the paddock.

[Wilf]

Helio's white line violations are some of the funniest things I've ever seen done in a qualifying session. Practically driving into the infield, and he was pulling left on the wheel. Clearly, Helio and Roger believe they can get to the front from the back. And they probably will. But messing with Barnhart is probably not one of the smarter strategies in the paddock.

They definitely are calling his bluff. What was the reason for putting the "out of bounds" area into play? Are they creating issues just for the sake of creating issues? The announces seem to say going below the white line can only slow the car so why was it even brought up? It obviously didn't make Helio go faster. I can see Penske doing this, but I don't understand why it became an issue in the first place,

[MDS]

Helio's white line violations are some of the funniest things I've ever seen done in a qualifying session. Practically driving into the infield, and he was pulling left on the wheel. Clearly, Helio and Roger believe they can get to the front from the back. And they probably will. But messing with Barnhart is probably not one of the smarter strategies in the paddock.

I love this sort of thing. Defying the officials is a long honored tradition in racing. Good to see Penske getting in on it.

[NickFalzone]

They definitely are calling his bluff. What was the reason for putting the "out of bounds" area into play? Are they creating issues just for the sake of creating issues? The announces seem to say going below the white line can only slow the car so why was it even brought up? It obviously didn't make Helio go faster. I can see Penske doing this, but I don't understand why it became an issue in the first place,

They were just making some sort of statement out there, I'm not sure what exactly. Helio had almost all 4 tires below the white line at one point, and yes it was so bad that he was definitely losing laptime. They interviewed Helio, Tim Cindric, and Briscoe after the quals and nearly every one was smirking about it. I guess it's kind of a joke to them at Barnhart's expense, and the fact is that Helio will probably be in the top 10 by lap 50 anyway. One thing I can say about Penske Indy racing is that they're always up to something, whether it's a fuel mileage strategy, or a new trick part, or menacing the officials, it's always something.

[bravefish]

Well that something they've got up during qualifying makes no sense at all - sure Helio will no doubt work his way to the front, but he runs the risk of getting tangled with back and mid pack drama. If it is some sort of joke at Barnharts expense then its a pretty stupid thing to do when your in a fight for the championship. Very strange and pretty dumb.

[DanicaFan]

Turn 3,

Ive managed to get on-line before the race. I spoke with Danica after practice and qualifying. She told me the car is fast and it handles very good out of traffic. Her qualifying 3rd is par for the course. She qualifies very well and is very fast on ovals. I look for her in the winner's circle after this race.

Oh, and Marty Roth qualifying in the top 10 is a fluke. You know what they say about a blind squirrel. :D

[gm99]

Turn 3,

I spoke with Danica after practice and qualifying. She told me the car is fast and it handles very good out of traffic. Her qualifying 3rd is par for the course. She qualifies very well and is very fast on ovals. I look for her in the winner's circle after this race.


That's probably why she's been dropping like a stone since the start of this race (from 3rd down to 8th over the first 60 laps)... By comparison, Helio has gone up from last to fourth in the same time frame. Don't spend too long looking for her in victory lane ;)

[Andrewmcm]

This race is one big crash waiting to happen....

[TURN3]

Turn 3,

Ive managed to get on-line before the race. I spoke with Danica after practice and qualifying. She told me the car is fast and it handles very good out of traffic. Her qualifying 3rd is par for the course. She qualifies very well and is very fast on ovals. I look for her in the winner's circle after this race.

Oh, and Marty Roth qualifying in the top 10 is a fluke. You know what they say about a blind squirrel. :D

Well I'm so glad you were able to get online before the race! Golly Gee!!

First, I'd like to ask a question of you. How can Marty Roth's qualifying run be a "fluke" but yet Danica's is not? given that her fastest practice times had her 9th...I'd say a qualifying spot of 3 was a fluke for her. Further, since you don't seem to have any clue of stats given you've never provided any to support your "enthusiasm" (because stats don't support your "enthusiasm"), Danica's average qualifying position on the aero, no skill required tracks is 6.5. So Q3 for her isn't "par for the course" it's more like an albatross (that's 1 better than an eagle, 2 better than a birdie, 3 better than a "par". Considering on those track types she's really only competing against 7 other cars, that means she's about the slowest of the bunch.

Another fact to point out to you about just this season alone...forget looking at her career stats for now. She has led a total of 4 laps this year...FOUR LAPS LED!!! She's in one of the top 8 cars on the grid!! Milka led 4 laps in today's race alone!!!!! How do you drive for AGR and only lead 4 laps in an entire season?

She hasn't made a competitive pass on the track virtually all season...including today. She spent half her race today blocking and chopping the cars behind her trying to cling to a top 10 and then has the balls (too funny, hah!) to "complain" about other drivers. This girl doesn't deserve a ride in Indycar let alone with a top team. She's there for 1 reason and 1 reason only and that is to bring sponsorship dollars...she's funding AGR but AGR can't win with 1 driver setting up all 4 cars.

[gm99]

What a finish!

Congrats to Dixon, he really was the dominating driver of the 2008 IndyCar season.

[downtowndeco]

Helio wins! Heck of a race. safe, exciting, great finish. The guy I always root for (Carpenter) crashed out early due to a broken part but still, very good race. Here's to an even better next season!

[elis]

Well that race certainly made up for a bit of a lacklustre season! Excellent race from Helio from last place to first! Fantastic effort for EJ Viso also to get from the back of the grid up as high as 4th before a tyre blow out ended his day.

Congrats to Dixon.. I was rooting for Helio but kudos to Scott for a good season :)

*On a down note.. its early September & the season is done? That's crazy!

Roll on Surfers for some fun in Paradise ;)

[FormerFF]

Well I'm so glad you were able to get online before the race! Golly Gee!!

First, I'd like to ask a question of you. How can Marty Roth's qualifying run be a "fluke" but yet Danica's is not? given that her fastest practice times had her 9th...I'd say a qualifying spot of 3 was a fluke for her. Further, since you don't seem to have any clue of stats given you've never provided any to support your "enthusiasm" (because stats don't support your "enthusiasm"), Danica's average qualifying position on the aero, no skill required tracks is 6.5. So Q3 for her isn't "par for the course" it's more like an albatross (that's 1 better than an eagle, 2 better than a birdie, 3 better than a "par". Considering on those track types she's really only competing against 7 other cars, that means she's about the slowest of the bunch.

Another fact to point out to you about just this season alone...forget looking at her career stats for now. She has led a total of 4 laps this year...FOUR LAPS LED!!! She's in one of the top 8 cars on the grid!! Milka led 4 laps in today's race alone!!!!! How do you drive for AGR and only lead 4 laps in an entire season?

She hasn't made a competitive pass on the track virtually all season...including today. She spent half her race today blocking and chopping the cars behind her trying to cling to a top 10 and then has the balls (too funny, hah!) to "complain" about other drivers. This girl doesn't deserve a ride in Indycar let alone with a top team. She's there for 1 reason and 1 reason only and that is to bring sponsorship dollars...she's funding AGR but AGR can't win with 1 driver setting up all 4 cars.

Danica typically qualifies well on the fast ovals, especially the 1.5 mile ones, so you can't say that her qualifying position was a fluke. Third is better than usual, but still in the ballpark. She doesn't usually stay that far to the front of the field, she rather tends to drop to the second half of the top 10.

There's no need to bash her. She's an adequate driver with an outsized opinion of her self. She's shown that she can handle the car reasonably well and usually keeps herself out of serious trouble, which is why she finished the points in sixth place rather than Marco or Hideki. I suspect she'll have a hard time finishing as well next year, as I expect she'll be outrun by the drivers from KV, NHL, and Rahal-Letterman.

[The instant classic]

i just saw on wind tunnel, someone say " this was the greatest race ever"
meaning today race, i know many fans are saying that, but i think cuz we have, seen crap all year long, so finaly when we see a great race, some fans say its the greatest ever, dont get me wrong, thats race fans view, to think that,, but cuz the year was such a let down, we see a great race fans are saying OMG THAT WAS THE BEST RACE EVER! i wolud say that race was great, but greatest ever? umm not in my books, i wolud say if the year was great and not such a let down, wolud anyone say todays race was the greatest ever? anyway great job dixon and helio ;)

[fugariracing]

best 1.5 miler this year. i still think Milwaukee was better overall, but that's just my opinion

[-Helix-]

I'm just glad we had a close finish for the naysayers that complained all year about how the old IRL races used to be more exciting because of the side by side finishes.

So what did the road racing fans think of that race? Although I think Milwaukee was still better.

[ChicagocrewIRL]

Just got back from Chicagoland Speedway and man THAT WAS A RACE !!!!

The atmosphere was electric. The crowd was into it. And I can hardly talk from yelling and screaming so much even though I know that no drivers could hear me.

This by far was the best race this year. My opinion. And I'm glad I went.

Helio from 28th to first was monumental and Dixon's charge back to the front after being as far down as P11 was incredible as well.

E.J. Viso, Mario Moraes, and IV, all had phenomenal drives today cut short by crashes.

Vitor ended a great run with Panther running hard and eventually crashing out.

2 and 3 wide racing throughout !!! Lead changes lap by lap... Milka Duno leading and everyone in my section of the grandstands flipping her off.... WOW

Being there was something special today. Hope all of you can experience it someday.

[SarahFan]

Just got back from Chicagoland Speedway and man THAT WAS A RACE !!!!

The atmosphere was electric. The crowd was into it. And I can hardly talk from yelling and screaming so much even though I know that no drivers could hear me.

This by far was the best race this year. My opinion. And I'm glad I went.

Helio from 28th to first was monumental and Dixon's charge back to the front after being as far down as P11 was incredible as well.

E.J. Viso, Mario Moraes, and IV, all had phenomenal drives today cut short by crashes.

Vitor ended a great run with Panther running hard and eventually crashing out.

2 and 3 wide racing throughout !!! Lead changes lap by lap... Milka Duno leading and everyone in my section of the grandstands flipping her off.... WOW

Being there was something special today. Hope all of you can experience it someday.

Nothing like being there!!!!

[DanicaFan]

Here is a picture of me and Danica at her garage this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/IMG_0525.jpg

[DanicaFan]

And here is another of me and her later in the day. I had a Wheaties box made up for her since she liked mine that I had her sign at Kentucky so much. I had her picture put on them. She wanted a picture of us with her holding the wheaties box up. Pretty cool. She loved it!!

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/IMG_0526.jpg

[maxmach]

Hey, you know Danica's married..........right?

[SoCalPVguy]

And here is another of me and her later in the day. I had a Wheaties box made up for her since she liked mine that I had her sign at Kentucky so much. I had her picture put on them. She wanted a picture of us with her holding the wheaties box up. Pretty cool. She loved it!!



Hey DF, next time, get a picture with the only female driver to actually LEAD the Chicago race (for 5 laps).... Milka Duno !!!!


*LMAO*

PS: Wheaties box.... made up w/ pic... creeeeeepyyyy !!!!

[The instant classic]

And here is another of me and her later in the day. I had a Wheaties box made up for her since she liked mine that I had her sign at Kentucky so much. I had her picture put on them. She wanted a picture of us with her holding the wheaties box up. Pretty cool. She loved it!!

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/DanicaRules/IMG_0526.jpg

danicafan, i may not be a fan of danica, but thats still pretty cool pic :cool:
awesome job