Open Wheelers Gaining Ground at Memphis/ Rocket Man on the Pole/ Weldon on the Pole in BNA/ Chesson Out for the Weekend/ 2007 IRL Schedule
Open Wheelers Gaining Ground at Memphis
MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Welcome back to Memphis Motorsports Park and our coverage of this weekend’s O’Reilly 200. Our Open Wheelers were improving as the practice sessions went on Friday. Temperatures topped out at 97 degrees in the shade with a heat index of 105. I am sure it was even hotter in the trucks but as the final practice session of the day came, darkness fell and the track cooled. Teams scrambeled to make adjustments for the conditions they will see Saturday night. Aric Almirola topped the final practice charts at 115.706mph. Mike Bliss was 6th at 114.767. Earlier in the day, Bliss led the first practice session of the day. Scott Lagasse led the rookie practice at 113.089. Boston Reid was 4th at 112.561. Erin Crocker was 5th, Peter Shepherd was 7th, Bobby East was 11th and Kraig Kinser was 14th.
The drivers took a break between rookie practice and final practice to sign autographs for the fans right on the front stretch. Virtually everyone in the grandstands came down to get autographs from almost all of the drivers. It was a scene straight from grass roots Open Wheel racing on a Saturday night. All of the drivers were hot and the fans were hot but there were only smiles. Kudos to the track, series and drivers for making it happen. Photos of the session as well as images of the rest of the day’s activities can be found over on the Truck Series.com website. Here is the link to that gallery http://www.truckseries.com/photog/thumbnails.php?album=326&page=1.
Charles Krall of Trackside Live! interviewed Peter Shepherd, here is the link to the interview http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/bot/uploads/54/06r14_Prac_Shepherd.mp3.
Iowa based MUSCO Lighting is here this weekend providing the temporary lighting for the race. They did a great job last year and it is breathtaking to see the track lit up at night.
A heat advisory is in effect for today for the area surrounding the track. That means drink plenty of liquids. Drivers were seen all day Friday with water and energy drink bottles in hand. There are still tickets available for tonight’s race.
At the close of the day Friday, the track hosted a BBQ and Blues party for all the participants. The hard working crews were treated to some of Memphis’s best BBQ and there was also a live band on hand. Of course the crews were all smiles.
The smiles will probably go away today as the teams will be all business. The garage opens at 2pm and qualifying is at 5pm. Driver Introductions are at 7:45pm and the green flag is expected to fall at 8:15pm. The race is scheduled to air on SPEED at 8pm central time Saturday night. I will be at the track today to bring you all the information on our Open Wheelers. Because I am working for the track this weekend, I will not update until after I leave the track. My good friends at http://www.truckseries.com/ will have live coverage throughout the weekend.
Rocket Man on the Pole
Ryan Newman is on the pole for Sunday’s Cup race at New Hampshire.
Cup Qualifying New Hampshire
1. 12 Ryan Newman
5. 20 Tony Stewart
7. 24 Jeff Gordon
11. 9 Kasey Kahne
17. 99 Carl Edwards
20. 18 J.J. Yeley
21. 21 Ken Schrader
28. 22 Dave Blaney
29. 42 Casey Mears
34. 7 Robby Gordon
Weldon on the Pole in BNA
Dan Wheldon scored the pole at Nashville Superspeedway for Saturday night’s Firestone Indy 200. Sam Hornish, Jr. will start outside the pole. Weldon also led the final practice session of the day.
IndyCar Series Qualifying Results Nashville
1 Dan Wheldon (10) 203.293
2 Sam Hornish Jr (6) 202.362
3 Scott Dixon (9) 202.194
4 Helio Castroneves (3) 201.995
5 Dario Franchitti (27) 201.896
6 Tony Kanaan (11) 201.628
7 Vitor Meira (4) 200.819
8 Scott Sharp (8) 200.801
9 Tomas Scheckter (2) 200.426
10 Danica Patrick (16) 200.283
11 Buddy Rice (15) 200.274
12 Kosuke Matsuura (55) 199.744
13 Ryan Briscoe (5) 199.607
14 Ed Carpenter (20) 199.512
15 Jeff Simmons (17) 199.457
16 Bryan Herta (7) 199.386
17 Jeff Bucknum (14) 198.450
18 Marco Andretti (26) 198.311
Chesson Out for the Weekend
Trackside Online.com reports that James Chesson is done for the weekend after crashing at Nashville Saturday morning. The website reports that the Indy Pro Series team could return for the Kentucky and Chicagoland events.2007 IRL Schedule
Our friends at http://www.tracksideonline.com/ are also reporting that Iowa Speedway will host an IndyCar Series race in 2007. The website says the official schedule could come out in a few weeks and will have as many as 18 events, 12 of which will be ovals. For more on this story and complete coverage from Nashville, please visit http://www.tracksideonline.com/ and join.
Driving Force
Our final story of the day is not about an Open Wheeler but a racer that is probably one of the most charismatic guys in racing today. NHRA modern day legend, John Force will now have his life documented on TV. Driving Force is a new series that will follow the NHRA champ and his three daughters as he shows them the ropes of drag racing. The program premieres Monday and 8pm central on the A&E network.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of R.E. Technologies.
MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Welcome back to Memphis Motorsports Park and our coverage of this weekend’s O’Reilly 200. Our Open Wheelers were improving as the practice sessions went on Friday. Temperatures topped out at 97 degrees in the shade with a heat index of 105. I am sure it was even hotter in the trucks but as the final practice session of the day came, darkness fell and the track cooled. Teams scrambeled to make adjustments for the conditions they will see Saturday night. Aric Almirola topped the final practice charts at 115.706mph. Mike Bliss was 6th at 114.767. Earlier in the day, Bliss led the first practice session of the day. Scott Lagasse led the rookie practice at 113.089. Boston Reid was 4th at 112.561. Erin Crocker was 5th, Peter Shepherd was 7th, Bobby East was 11th and Kraig Kinser was 14th.
The drivers took a break between rookie practice and final practice to sign autographs for the fans right on the front stretch. Virtually everyone in the grandstands came down to get autographs from almost all of the drivers. It was a scene straight from grass roots Open Wheel racing on a Saturday night. All of the drivers were hot and the fans were hot but there were only smiles. Kudos to the track, series and drivers for making it happen. Photos of the session as well as images of the rest of the day’s activities can be found over on the Truck Series.com website. Here is the link to that gallery http://www.truckseries.com/photog/thumbnails.php?album=326&page=1.
Charles Krall of Trackside Live! interviewed Peter Shepherd, here is the link to the interview http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/bot/uploads/54/06r14_Prac_Shepherd.mp3.
Iowa based MUSCO Lighting is here this weekend providing the temporary lighting for the race. They did a great job last year and it is breathtaking to see the track lit up at night.
A heat advisory is in effect for today for the area surrounding the track. That means drink plenty of liquids. Drivers were seen all day Friday with water and energy drink bottles in hand. There are still tickets available for tonight’s race.
At the close of the day Friday, the track hosted a BBQ and Blues party for all the participants. The hard working crews were treated to some of Memphis’s best BBQ and there was also a live band on hand. Of course the crews were all smiles.
The smiles will probably go away today as the teams will be all business. The garage opens at 2pm and qualifying is at 5pm. Driver Introductions are at 7:45pm and the green flag is expected to fall at 8:15pm. The race is scheduled to air on SPEED at 8pm central time Saturday night. I will be at the track today to bring you all the information on our Open Wheelers. Because I am working for the track this weekend, I will not update until after I leave the track. My good friends at http://www.truckseries.com/ will have live coverage throughout the weekend.
Rocket Man on the Pole
Ryan Newman is on the pole for Sunday’s Cup race at New Hampshire.
Cup Qualifying New Hampshire
1. 12 Ryan Newman
5. 20 Tony Stewart
7. 24 Jeff Gordon
11. 9 Kasey Kahne
17. 99 Carl Edwards
20. 18 J.J. Yeley
21. 21 Ken Schrader
28. 22 Dave Blaney
29. 42 Casey Mears
34. 7 Robby Gordon
Weldon on the Pole in BNA
Dan Wheldon scored the pole at Nashville Superspeedway for Saturday night’s Firestone Indy 200. Sam Hornish, Jr. will start outside the pole. Weldon also led the final practice session of the day.
IndyCar Series Qualifying Results Nashville
1 Dan Wheldon (10) 203.293
2 Sam Hornish Jr (6) 202.362
3 Scott Dixon (9) 202.194
4 Helio Castroneves (3) 201.995
5 Dario Franchitti (27) 201.896
6 Tony Kanaan (11) 201.628
7 Vitor Meira (4) 200.819
8 Scott Sharp (8) 200.801
9 Tomas Scheckter (2) 200.426
10 Danica Patrick (16) 200.283
11 Buddy Rice (15) 200.274
12 Kosuke Matsuura (55) 199.744
13 Ryan Briscoe (5) 199.607
14 Ed Carpenter (20) 199.512
15 Jeff Simmons (17) 199.457
16 Bryan Herta (7) 199.386
17 Jeff Bucknum (14) 198.450
18 Marco Andretti (26) 198.311
Chesson Out for the Weekend
Trackside Online.com reports that James Chesson is done for the weekend after crashing at Nashville Saturday morning. The website reports that the Indy Pro Series team could return for the Kentucky and Chicagoland events.2007 IRL Schedule
Our friends at http://www.tracksideonline.com/ are also reporting that Iowa Speedway will host an IndyCar Series race in 2007. The website says the official schedule could come out in a few weeks and will have as many as 18 events, 12 of which will be ovals. For more on this story and complete coverage from Nashville, please visit http://www.tracksideonline.com/ and join.
Driving Force
Our final story of the day is not about an Open Wheeler but a racer that is probably one of the most charismatic guys in racing today. NHRA modern day legend, John Force will now have his life documented on TV. Driving Force is a new series that will follow the NHRA champ and his three daughters as he shows them the ropes of drag racing. The program premieres Monday and 8pm central on the A&E network.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of R.E. Technologies.
posted by Blake Johnson at 10:24 AM
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