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Al's Notebook, June 17

6/17/2015

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Lincoln Tech Indianapolis Speedrome

Rain has played havoc with the motorsports slate at the Lincoln Tech Indianapolis Speedrome at Brookville Road and Kitley Avenue on Indy’s near-Southeast side.

A Stock 50-lap Figure-8 unfolds Saturday, June 20 with Roadrunners, Jr. Faskarts, Jr. Hornets and USSA Mel Kenyon Midget Cars in action.

Exotic high-powered World Figure-8 cars return Saturday, June 27 for a 50-lap main event plus Roadrunners and Hornets in their own 50-lap features, too. The Tunny family (Ben, Austin and Jesse Tunny) finished 1-2-3 respectively June 13 in the 15th Annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-lap Figure-8 for World Figure-8 competitors. Southport’s Larry Hahn was fourth and Greenwood’s Curtis McMurtrey fifth.

Two Hall of Fame events are coming soon to the one-fifth mile paved oval. The 34th Speedrome Hall of Fame Night on July 18 features the 100-lap Sonny Thompson Memorial Figure-8 plus Stocks in a 25-lap Figure-8. An on-track induction ceremony honors those individuals who have made the Speedrome one of the nation’s historic race tracks.

Then July 25, the inaugural Tony Stewart Classic 100-lap USAC Midget Car race adds to Indy’s Night before the Brickyard festivities, including USAC Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

Racing begins each night at seven o’clock.

Very special NHRA triumph

The U.S. Army’s 240th birthday observance took place June 14 with a very appropriate victory for U.S. Army-sponsored NHRA driver Tony “the Sarge” Schumacher and team owner Don Schumacher at the New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.

The Army was founded June 14, 1775 and Schmacher lived up to the birthdate with his 79th career win in Top Fuel by defeating Larry Dixon in the final elimination duel.  Schumacher clocked the fastest run of the day, 3.809 seconds, 321.35 mph. In earlier rounds Schumacher eliminated Morgan Lucas, Clay Millican and Spencer Massey.

Next up on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour is the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol, Tenn., with finals Sunday, June 21.

USAC Midget Week concludes

The 2015 USAC Indiana Midget Week concludes Sunday, June 21 at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway after rains and wet grounds forced postponement of the June 14 event on the quarter-mile dirt track.

Rico Abreu leads Bryan Clauson by a single point heading into the final event after four races in four nights in Hoosierland.
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Midget Week winners have been: June 10, Tanner Thorson at Gas City I-69 Speedway; June 11, Bryan Clauson at Lincoln Park; June 12, Christopher Bell at Bloomington Speedway; and June 13 Rico Abreu at Lawrenceburg Speedway.

New Castle’s Tracy Hines, USAC’s leading national midget car driver, suffered a broken collarbone in a flip at Lawrenceburg. Hines is recovering from surgery but plans to race at Kokomo Speedway.

USAC’s Silver Crown Series returns Saturday, June 20 to Iowa Speedway for the first time in three years for a 100-lap main event. National leader Kody Swanson seeks his eighth win of the season.

Foggy bottom

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series veteran Donny Schatz captured two national events in the same day (June 14) by winning at fog-laden Knoxville Speedway that started at 2 a.m., and later on the same date at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.

Schatz joins Sammy Swindell as the only two drivers to win two WoO winged sprint races on the same date; Swindell did it in 1992 in Syracuse and Elbridge, N.Y.

Schatz, who races for car owner Tony Stewart, won a fog-shortened feature at Knoxville where rain showers interrupted the event. WoO officials called the race after halfway (15 laps) due to heavy fog.
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CFH team breaks from IndyCar slump with 1-2 finish

6/16/2015

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Josef Newgarden leads a pack of Verizon IndyCar Series competitors through Turn 9 in the race Sunday at Toronto. Newgarden and teammate Luca Filippi were 1-2 for the first time for the team co-owned by Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter.
PictureVerizon IndyCar Series photos by Chris Jones: Team co-owner and Southsider Sarah Fisher celebrates with Toronto race winner Josef Newgarden after his second Verizon IndyCar Series win.
By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

Team co-owner Sarah Fisher correctly labeled the 1-2 finish of Carpenter Fisher Hartman drivers Sunday in the Verizon IndyCar Series road course race in Toronto, Canada as “amazing.”

Josef Newgarden brought the No. 67 Hartman Oil Chevrolet Dallara home first for his second win of the current season to join superteam double winners Juan Pablo Montoya of Team Penske and Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi racing. Newgarden’s road racing teammate Luca Flippi who challenged for the lead briefly was second by 1.4485 seconds in the No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet Dallara.

Fisher’s description of the team’s achievement in Canada was definitely on target after a string of disappointments at Indianapolis, Belle Isle Park in Michigan and two blown engines at Texas Motor Speedway that followed Newgarden’s first career triumph April 26 at Barber Motorsports Park.

“I’m just really proud of everybody on this team,” Fisher said. “I’m proud of Josef; I’m proud of the 20 car guys…A 1-2, I never would have thought that would have happened.”

Newgarden who has been with Fisher for all four years of his IndyCar career is considered one of the series’ rising young stars. The veteran driver is beginning to believe this is his breakout season.

“Probably,” the Tennessean said. “I think last year we had more of a breakout in my opinion. We were close to wins last year. We just could never get it done which was tough on everyone because we knew we had the potential to win. I’m just happy that we were able to do it this year and now do it twice.”

Newgarden professed that his next goal is to put back-to-back wins together.

At Toronto, the race winner weathered early rain and seven lead changes among six drivers. Newgarden started 11th and pitted for two tires and fuel on Lap 28 just before the first caution. He stayed in the top five through his final stop on Lap 58 and reclaimed the lead on Lap 72 when other leaders pitted.

“I got a little lucky on that yellow,” said Newgarden, the sixth American driver to win an IndyCar race in Toronto. “It was a great call and it was an amazing effort by this team and the crew who gave me amazing pit stops.”

Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves and pole winner Will Power were third and fourth respectively. Series leader Montoya was seventh and holds a 27-point lead over Power with a 500-mile race ahead June 27 at Auto Club Speedway in California.

Newgarden discussed the team’s slump after his first series win in Alabama.

“May is the biggest month for IndyCar and it was arguably our worst month so far and that was tough for us,” Newgarden recalled. “We weren’t able to rebound in Detroit and definitely weren’t able to rebound in Texas. So now it was cool that we were able to get back in rhythm and hopefully we can continue to do that instead of falling into a slump again.”

CFH Racing is in its first year after team owners Fisher, Wink Hartman and Ed Carpenter combined their teams after the end of the 2014 season.

Fisher’s husband, Andy O’Gara of Beech Grove, serves as team manager at headquarters on Main Street in Speedway. The couple has two children and lives in Franklin Township.

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A.J. Foyt back at the 500

6/5/2015

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IMS PHOTO BY DANA GARRETT Indianapolis 500 was first race for team owner A.J. Foyt after recovering from surgery.
By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer

One of the leftover story lines from the 99th Indianapolis 500 was the appearance of four-time “500” winner A.J. Foyt, who continues to recover from triple bypass heart surgery.

Foyt was on his feet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but the A.J. Foyt Enterprises/ABC Supply entries were mostly guided by son Larry Foyt. They and son Anthony III took time to open a wine location on Main Street in Speedway before the recent “500.”

Foyt took time to greet friends and acquaintances at the Speedway and he also was at Belle Isle, Michigan for last weekend’s Horizon IndyCar Series twin street-course races.

He admitted at the Speedway that he still didn’t have much strength while talking with longtime friend Jack Housby of Des Moines, Iowa.

While at IMS, Foyt took time to take part in a media presentation to outline plans for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, May 29, 2016.

Foyt’s legacy and the traditional fame of the “500” are universal; he readily admits that the “500” provided him with his fame as a race car driver and not the other way around.

Foyt was predictable on the race track because he always wanted to lead, to be up front, and to win, whether it was in an Indy car, champ car, dirt, stock, sprint or midget car – and he won in everything. He stands as the only river in motorsports history to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and 24 Hours of LeMans.

The Foyt name has been on race cars at the “500” since 1958 when he first raced at the Speedway and has continued as a team owner.

Foyt reminisced, “I guess my life-long dream was to really qualify for the Indy 500. You have a lot of great race tracks, but there’s only one 500. It’s like horse racing, you have a lot of great horse race tracks, but you only have one Kentucky Derby.”

Although it was inevitable, Foyt announced his retirement as a driver in 1993 after going 221.114 in an early practice session before qualifications. Team driver Robby Gordon had made contact with the wall. Foyt pulled into the pits and called it quits and was interviewed on the P.A. system within a few minutes.

Foyt recalled that moment: “I figured I started here, I wanted to quit here. Robby Gordon done hit the wall again in my other car. It’s hard to be a car owner and a driver at the same time. Everybody couldn’t believe because we were running pretty quick that morning, pretty much quicker than anybody … I said, it’s through, I’m over. I crawled out (race car) and haven’t been back in one since. I always said when I quit, I’d probably quit here. I didn’t think nobody could believe it when I said, it’s over.”

And Foyt took a look at the drivers of his era and the “500” drivers of today: “I would say most of the drivers today – like I came up in midgets, sprints, dirt cars, all that – a lot of these drivers, I think that’s the reason you see a lot of them here and gone tomorrow; they’re here just to race the great 500. Back then, to be a champion, you had to run dirt cars, you had to run road courses, and ovals, not just oval racing.  A lot of these boys, they probably would love and enjoy it if they ever had a chance to driver a sprint car, midget or dirt car … It’s altogether different than it was, like the world today is different when it was when I was younger.”

The Verizon IndyCar Series is at Texas Motor Speedway for the Firestone 600 (248 laps) Saturday, June 6 at 8 p.m. (NBC Sports Network). Info: www.IndyCar.com or www.TexasMotorSpeedway.com. Qualifying is Friday, June 5 at 6 p.m. Ed Carpenter is the defending race winner.

Race cars will have closure panels attached to the rear wheel guards to decrease the risk of lifting when traveling backwards. The panels were developed by Honda and Chevrolet and also will be in use at Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway. The cars also will have slightly more downforce than last year at Texas.

Coming up

Indianapolis Motor Speedway – June 11 thru June 14 – Brickyard Vintage Racing. Gates open daily at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 13, races begin at 8:15 a.m., featuring Pro-Am race in “muscle cars” at 1:35 p.m. Sunday, June 14, Vintage Class Enduro at 8:25 a.m., Historic GTP/GT Enduro at 9:55 p.m. followed by vintage cars on the oval, including an Unser family exhibition event. Location: 4790 West 16th Street. Info: 492-8500 or www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.

Indianapolis Speedrome – Saturday, June 6, 50-lap Figure-8 for World Figure-8 cars plus Stocks, Roadrunners, Hornets and Jr. Faskarts. Saturday, June 13, 15th annual Jake Cohen Memorial 150-Lap Figure-8 for World Figure-8 cars plus Roadrunners, Hornets, Legends, Indy Super Karts. Racing at 7 p.m. Location: Kitley Ave. & Brookville Road. Info: 353-8206 or www.speedrome.com.

Lucas Oil Raceway – Friday, June 5, Goodguys Friday Nite Drags, 4 p.m. Sunday, June 7, ET Bracket Series and Jr. Drag Racing League Challenge, time trials at 9 a.m. Location: 10267 Highway 136. Info: 291-4090 or www.lucasoilraceway.com.

Mid-America Speedway – Saturday, June 6, season flat track racing opener, heats at 7 p.m. Location: Marion County Fairgrounds, 7300 E. Troy Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. Info: www.midamspeedway.com.

NASCAR
– Friday, June 5, Truck Series, WinStar World Casino 400, Texas Motor Speedway, 9 p.m., FOX Sports 1. Sunday, June 7, Pocono 400, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, 1 p.m., FOX Sports 1. Saturday, June 13, XFINITY Series 250, Michigan International Speedway, 1:30 p.m., FOX Sports 1. Sunday, June 14, Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loan 400, Michigan International Speedway, 1:30 p.m., FOX Sports 1. Of Note: Jimmie Johnson’s win at Dover May 31 gives him 74 Sprint Cup career wins, just two wins behind the late Dale Earnhardt. Johnson has 10 wins at Dover, matching 10 wins or more at a single track with Richard Petty (Martinsville-15, North Wilkesboro-15, Richmond-13, Rockingham-11, Daytona-10), Darrell Waltrip (Bristol-12, Martinsville-11, North Wilkesboro-10), Earnhardt (Talladega-10) and David Pearson (Darlington-10).

NHRA – Toyota NHRA Summernationals, Englishtown, Pa., Friday, June 5, qualifying, 3:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. and Saturday, June 6, 1:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Sunday, June 7, eliminations, 12 noon, ESPN2. Info: www.nhra.com.

USAC – National Midget Series. Wednesday, June 10 at Gas City I-69 Speedway; Thursday, June 11 at Lincoln Park Speedway, Putnamville; Friday, June 12, Bloomington Speedway; Saturday, June 12 at Lawrenceburg Speedway; Sunday, June 14 at Kokomo Speedway. Info: www.usacracing.com.
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    Al Stilley

    Al Stilley is the senior sports writer for the Southsider Voice and has years of experience covering motorsports. 

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