Auto Racing

Search Results

Close Previous Now showing: of Next

Previous Next Close

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.

comments powered by Disqus

May 10, 2009

Bumping abounds at second day of 500 qualifying

By Lori Wood The Tribune Star Sun May 10, 2009, 11:42 PM EDT

Speedway — In a span of less than three minutes, Panther Racing’s Scott Sharp’s stress level went from off the charts to manageable.

Sharp, who last raced at Indianapolis in 2007, bumped his way into the 22nd position during Sunday qualifying for the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500.

Sharp faced not only a car that lacked the necessary speed, but a commitment for an American LeMans Series race in Utah next weekend. If he didn’t make it Sunday, Sharp would have to rent a plane to fly to Indianapolis to qualify then return to Utah to race.

Initially, Sharp bumped Milka Duno from the field. She did not make another attempt. However, the team withdrew his time, knowing it would not hold up. At 5:12 p.m., he took his second of three daily attempts, turning in an average of 221.333 miles per hour, bumping John Andretti, who had already crashed and was finished for the day.

A.J. Foyt IV, after being bumped by Vitor Meira, fought his way back in with a 222.586, leaving E.J. Viso on the bubble. As the minutes ticked down, Sharp found himself four cars back in the qualifying line behind Sarah Fisher, Davy Hamilton and Viso.

After Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alex Tagliani waved off their attempts, workers scrambled to move Fisher and Hamilton from the line since they were safely in the top 22.

With Viso on the bubble, he could have sat in the line, keeping Sharp from the track. In the good spirit of the sport, Viso removed his car from the line, allowing Sharp to make a final attempt.

Sharp rolled off of pit lane, just as the gun fired. His final four laps were his fastest of the day, bringing his four-lap average to 222.162 and making his 14th Indy 500 start from the 20th position.

“We were just chasing speed. Our runs were good enough in practice, but we couldn’t get the numbers. Finally at the end, the team hustled hard and laid the wings down a bit. We just had to go for it.”

While Sharp sat in the tech line, he looked at his watch, seeing it was six minutes until 6 p.m. and thought they were done. He lost his radio.

“I’m sitting in line thinking this isn’t going to happen.”

Suddenly he got the go signal, laying it all out and it worked.

Drivers vying for positions 11 through 22 found Sunday’s weather, sunny and without wind, a complete opposite of the conditions on Saturday. Rafael Matos scored the highest qualifying run of the day, 223.492. Matos’ run was actually the seventh fastest in the field, but because he qualified Sunday he will make his first Indy start from 12th.

Fisher got in on her second attempt with an average of 222.777, putting her 21st on the grid.

After crashing Saturday, Dan Wheldon found enough speed to put him on the outside of row six. His seventh start in Indianapolis will be his worst, but when he won in 2005, he started 16th.

Ed Carpenter’s 222.780 got him back in after being bumped Saturday. “As upset as I was [Saturday], I’m that happy today. Today is a whole lot faster, the track is better, and we made the car better, too,” Carpenter said.

Andretti took the hardest hit of the day. His earlier qualifying speed of 221.109 left him on the bubble. While running practice laps, Andretti did a quarter spin in Turn 1, smacking hard into the SAFER barrier.

In morning practice, Dreyer and Reinbold’s Mike Conway and Tagliani both made heavy contact with the Turn 1 wall, just minutes apart. Conway was taken to Methodist Hospital for further evaluation, but Tagliani was released from the infield care center and cleared to drive.

The remaining 11 starting positions are up for grabs next Saturday, with final bumping on Sunday.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Auto Racing

• TRACKSIDE: Valley racing showed best, worst of times in 2011

  A look back on the 2011 Wabash Valley auto racing season reveals the best and worst of times the sport has to offer.

  January 1, 2012  

• Action Track to play host to 4 USAC events

  U.S. Auto Club officials have released preliminary schedules for next season and four events are listed to be run at The Action Track.

  December 15, 2011  

• ISU's Troxell, Crossroads Dragway in running for NHRA awards

  Indiana State University student Derick Troxell and the Crossroads Dragway are both in the running for annual National Hot Rod Association awards.

  November 23, 2011  

• Memorial service for Wheldon attracts thousands

  Thousands came to honor deceased IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon during a memorial service at Conseco Fieldhouse on Sunday.

  October 24, 2011  

• Indy remembers Wheldon

  Dan Wheldon’s biggest fans wanted one more chance to thank their favorite driver.
  One by one, they turned Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s main gate into a memorial for the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, who was killed Sunday in a fiery crash at Las Vegas.
   

  October 18, 2011  

• Wheldon fans leave tributes at Indianapolis track

  Dozens of fans have left flowers, candles and notes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gates in memory of two-time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon.

  October 17, 2011  

• Indy 500 winner Wheldon dies after massive wreck

  Race car drivers always know the worst can happen whenever they get behind the wheel.

  October 17, 2011 8 Photos  

• UPDATE: Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon dies after massive crash in Vegas

  Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after his car became ensnarled in a fiery 15-car pileup, flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch fence just outside turn 2.

  October 16, 2011 8 Photos  

• It was a frigid ending to oval dirt track season

  The oval dirt track part of the 2011 Wabash Valley racing season came to a highly successful and climactic end over the weekend at Lincoln Park Speedway.

  October 5, 2011  

• Windom’s impressive streak evokes lofty comparisons

  In the storied history of the Terre Haute Action Track no name is more synonymous with winning and dominance than the late Jim Hurtubise.

  September 14, 2011  

• Windom drives away from field at Action Track

  Chris Windom led all 30 laps to capture the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by First Financial Bank for USAC National Sprints at the Terre Haute Action Track on Saturday.

  September 11, 2011  

• USAC cars return to Action Track today

  The United States Auto Club sprint cars return to the Terre Haute Action Track tonight for the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by First Financial Bank.

  September 10, 2011  

• Points titles are on the line at Wabash Valley race tracks

  They have become as much a part of the motorsports scene as the traditional green and checkered flags.

  September 7, 2011  

• Stock cars: ‘backbones’ of short tracks

  It was a familiar scene played out every Saturday night throughout the summer at hundreds of short tracks scattered across the country.

  August 10, 2011  

• Menard pulls off the upset

  Thirteen different drivers held the lead for at least one lap in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Paul Menard led 21 of them — including 11 of the last 12 and the last four — to take the checkered flag.

  August 1, 2011  

• Family: Menard’s team won IRL title

  Although it took 35 years, the name Menard finally made it to victory circle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

  August 1, 2011  

• Sprint Summer Showdown begins at Indianapolis

  The Sprint Summer Showdown begins today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Brickyard 400 for NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers is the first of five races in the new event that will culminate with the AdvoCare 500 in Atlanta.

  July 31, 2011  

• Johnson knocked off pole by upstart Ragan at Brickyard

  The 18th Brickyard 400 will be run today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

  July 31, 2011  

• Billboard aims to curb race fans’ hot dog cravings

  A new billboard is warning Brickyard 400 fans that eating hot dogs can be dangerous to their health.

  July 26, 2011  

• Hinchliffe looking forward to IndyCar's Canadian stops

  James Hinchcliffe is looking forward to the next two IZOD IndyCar Series events to be run in his native Canada. First up is Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto to be run on the streets of Toronto. Versus will carry the action live at 2 p.m. EDT.

  July 8, 2011  

• Safety rules at track

  A race delayed for more than two hours by overnight rain was eventually forced to be postponed by extreme heat and deteriorating track conditions as the vagaries of Mother Nature found another way to plague the Terre Haute Action Track on Sunday.

   

   

  July 4, 2011 4 Photos  

• Sumar Classic hits track Sunday

  Jason McCord remembers how he used to watch racing, playing catch with his father on the infield during lulls in the action on the track.

   

   

  July 2, 2011  

• TRACKSIDE: Coons should be favorite for Sunday

  When the U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown contingent motors into the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds this weekend for the SUMAR Classic it would appear that Jerry Coons Jr. would be the odds-on favorite to win Sunday’s 100-lap main event.
  After all, the veteran driver has all the credentials to make him a winner.

  June 29, 2011  

• TRACKSIDE: Decision to stick with USAC pays off

  When the 2011 USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks schedule was announced back in January, there were many who expressed their share of disappointment that Lincoln Park Speedway had once again been snubbed for one of the coveted series dates.

  June 15, 2011  

• Stunning victory

  After one of the craziest finishes in racing history, Dan Wheldon emerged as winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  Just when it looked like rookie J.R. Hildebrand was one corner away from giving Panther Racing its first Indy 500 victory, he got up into the marbles in the fourth turn, bouncing the right side of the car into the wall.

  May 30, 2011 3 Photos  

• Field still split over double-file restarts

  For the first time ever at the Indianapolis 500, the IZOD IndyCar Series began using double-file restarts during the race.

  May 30, 2011  

• Centennial Indianapolis 500 fill have deep meeting to today's winner

  In the words of Al Unser Jr. as he stood in the winners circle in 1992, “You just don’t know what Indy means.”

  May 29, 2011  

• USAC Tony Hulman Classic tonight

  The 41st running of The Tony Hulman Classic for United States Auto Club cars is set for tonight at The Action Track.

  May 26, 2011 1 Photo  

• TRACKSIDE: Auto racing in May in Indiana runs on history and tradition

  Possibly nowhere in the sports world does history and tradition play such a key role in an event’s success and future as that found in auto racing.

  May 25, 2011  

• MARCO, DANICA MAKE THE CUT

  Every year on Bump Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the question is “Who will make it?”
  The question this year was who wasn’t going to make it in the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500. When it was all over, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick were in. Teammates Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay were out.

   

  May 23, 2011 2 Photos 1 Story  

• More Auto Racing Headlines

© 2012 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. · CNHI Classified Advertising Network · CNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2012. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope. Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
Privacy Policy | AP News Registry privacy policy
Terms and Conditions
Advertiser Index

Events by eviesays.com

News From Terre Haute, Indiana 222 S 7th St Terre Haute, IN 47807