MVN - Most Valuable Network

IndyCar Notes: Kentucky test brings crashes for Wilson, Matos

Two IndyCar Series teams will have to work overtime to repair wrecked cars after a test at Kentucky Speedway this week in preparation for the Aug. 9 Meijer Indy 300.

Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing pilot Justin Wilson crashed a brand-new chassis that had been designated as his road course car. Wilson wasn’t the only one to suffer, as Firestone Indy Lights competitor Raphael Matos put one of Tony Kanaan’s No. 11 IndyCars in the wall, according to MyNameIsIRL via Trackside Online.

According to Wilson, his teammate Graham Rahal was using Wilson’s oval car at the test, because his own No. 06 machine hadn’t been fully repaired after sustaining heavy damage at last week’s Rexall Edmonton Indy.

This is another in a long set of obstacles that have been placed in front of N/H/L this season. I doubt that anyone will be as happy to see the season conclude next month as they will. As for AGR, I figure that after their tense post-race powwow up in Edmonton, a busted race car isn’t needed over there either.

—–

Wheldon looks to finish strong

Dan Wheldon understands that not every year will be a perfect season. But the 2005 IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion is still bothered by how the 2008 campaign has turned out for him.

Despite two victories at Kansas and Iowa, the Brit is staring at a 115-point deficit in the championship heading into next Saturday’s battle in the bluegrass. He’s also trying to get in sync with his engineer and it’s led to having an uneven car throughout each event weekend, which he calls his “biggest frustration” on the matter. He talked about it  for a press release put out by Kentucky Speedway:

“I have a new engineer this year and trying to strike a rapport with somebody in a very intense season is somewhat difficult. We’re definitely not working in unison yet. You’re never always going to be 100 percent comfortable with your car, but you want confidence that in any given situation you can make the best happen. That’s what we’re lacking.”

However, Wheldon is confident that he can make a charge in the final four races to second place in the championship — preferably behind his teammate Scott Dixon, who’s leading in the title hunt by 65 markers over Helio Castroneves.

He’ll gladly be a team player if it’s necessary to help Dixon claim the title, but right now, he’s focused with gaining as much ground on Castroneves as he can. He says:

“The thing now is to try to take as many points off Helio as I can. To some degree, I’ll always support Scott to make sure the team can win the championship, but at the same time, it would be nice to finish the season with a couple more wins.”

—–

Casey Mears open to open-wheel return?

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Casey Mears is contemplating his options about what to do when he leaves Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season.

Apparently, the IndyCar Series could be one of those options. The nephew of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears commented on the possibility of leaving the stock car world and returning to his open-wheel roots at a media event this week at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif.  Casey told the press, including noted NASCAR writer Greg Engel:

“I’m not glued to this type of car. Racing is really important to me.”

I’m not expecting anything out of this honestly; somebody should be able to step up and keep him in a stock car.

—–

All quotes used in this article have been attributed to their proper subjects, writers and/or organizations.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.