TERRE HAUTE — Reflecting on a soggy weekend at local dirt ovals and far too much time spent in front of the television: Die-hard road racing fans couldn’t have asked for more Sunday, with no less than four major road races being aired throughout the day.
Ironically, the series created to showcase Indy Car racing on the ovals, the Indy Racing League, once again provided some of the best racing and biggest storylines of the weekend. The unfolding drama of a first-time winner and a tight points race on the twisting 2.26-mile Infineon Raceway road circuit at Sonoma, Calif., couldn’t have played out better for the IRL.
The bitter last-lap loss at Indianapolis for Marco Andretti back in May added to the bittersweet lore for the Andretti name at Indianapolis. Still, Sunday’s chain of events goes a long way in ushering in a new era for a family name synonymous with winning in American motorsports.
Since his close loss at the Indy 500, Marco Andretti appeared to have slipped from the IRL screen, but his well-earned win over the weekend elevated the talented 19-year-old back into the limelight and deservedly so.
It seems like only yesterday that grandfather Mario Andretti was notching his first Indy car win, which came on the Indianapolis Raceway Park road course in 1965.
Much like last Sunday’s show where fuel was a major issue, the racing gods were looking over the Andrettis as Marco scurried home to the checkered flag in front of teammate Dario Franchitti.
Mario Andretti’s win came when archrival A.J. Foyt ran out of fuel on the last lap of the Hoosier Grand Prix at IRP.
IRL officials now have two weeks to pump up their Sept. 10 season finale at Chicagoland Speedway with four drivers separated by only 21 points heading into the title showdown.
Penske Racing teammates Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish are separated by a single marker. Dan Wheldon is 19 points back and Scott Dixon only 21 points out.
Formula One also produced a first-time winner over the weekend with Brazilian Felipe Massa outdistancing Fernado Alonso and teammate Michael Schumacher in the Turkish Grand Prix.
Probably the biggest surprise here is that notorious F/1 “team orders” did not rear its ugly head to allow Schumacher to finish in front of Massa in order to gain a couple extra points in his tight points battle with Alonso.
Sebastien Bourdais moved a step closer to the Champ Car World Series crown with his win Monday in the rain-delayed Montreal Grand Prix.
And in the series that matters most to American racing buffs — the NASCAR Nextel Cup — Saturday night’s follow-the-leader affair at Bristol must have provided a huge sigh of relief to NASCAR brass at Daytona Beach.
It now appears NASCAR’s three marquee names, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, have safely survived “The Chase” to earn one of the 10 spots for the Cup title.
With the way Matt Kenseth has dominated the stocks in recent weeks, it looks as if nine of the 11 finalists will be running for second place come November at Homestead.
With that said now we can get down to serious racing with Saturday night’s USAC sprint car card at Haubstadt and the upcoming Hut Hundred at the Action Track on Sept. 9.
Joe Buckles can be reached by email at jbuckles@mycidco.com or by mail at the Tribune-Star, P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, IN 47808.
Trackside
Trackside: Die-hard road racing fans got a treat Sunday
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TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
TRACKSIDE: Stanbrough continues points chase after recent skirmish with rival
Veteran sprint car driver Jon Stanbrough has never been one to hide his distaste for chasing point championships. It simply doesn’t bode well with his style of racing.
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TRACKSIDE: Brett Andrew plays role in developing NASCAR's new body styles
The recent announcement from NASCAR regarding the approved body styles for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series follows extensive wind-tunnel testing that was a year in the making.
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TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
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TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
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TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
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TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
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TRACKSIDE: Retired driver LaJoie spreads the word of safety
In his roles as past driving champion and television analyst, Randy LaJoie has rightfully earned the reputation as a major contributor to the sport of auto racing.
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Trackside: Stanbrough on track at midseason
When veteran driver Jon Stanbrough ushered in a new season in Florida back in February, he found himself facing a pair of unfamiliar challenges.
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TRACKSIDE: Clauson bucks the IndyCar trend
On the surface, the distance from the dirt oval at Lincoln Park Speedway to the massive, paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway may appear only a few miles apart.
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TRACKSIDE: USAC Midget Classic not nearly as revered as it once was
It might be three years removed from its birthplace but the Hut Hundred USAC Midget Classic still holds a special place in the hearts of Wabash Valley racing buffs.
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TRACKSIDE: What could have been: Indy’s folklore got richer this week
It’s a question that will linger for years and only add to the folklore of the Indianapolis 500.
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TRACKSIDE: Sprint car event could generate close racing
One of the hottest and most competitive weekends of the 2012 motorsports season gets under way tonight at the Terre Haute Action Track with the scheduled running of the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic.
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TRACKSIDE: Mulling over the biggest weekend in motorsports
We’re approaching what has traditionally become one of the busiest and most prestigious weekends in all of motorsports.
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TRACKSIDE: Helfrich: Short-track racing has good future
When questions arise regarding the current state of sprint car racing, whether they be at the local or national level, one doesn’t have to search much further for the answer than veteran promoter Tom Helfrich.
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TRACKSIDE: Near-capacity crowd turns out for opening night of racing
Opening night at one of the midwest’s premier short track operations can be like no other time of the year.
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TRACKSIDE: Racing season has promise
With several “test and tunes” sessions and season openers having already taken the green flag, it’s a sure sign the Wabash Valley racing campaign is shifting into high gear.
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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.
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TRACKSIDE: Menard's victory at Brickyard momentous for family, race fans
Who says one of those familiar bright fluorescent-colored Menards race cars can’t find its way to victory lane at Indianapolis?
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TRACKSIDE: After a delayed start, the Terre Haute Action Track gets season cranked up
Its arrival may have been delayed by several months — for a host of reasons — but the 2011 Terre Haute Action Track season is finally out of the blocks.
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TRACKSIDE: Changes come up on Indiana racing scene
With the highly anticipated USAC Indiana Sprint Week sprint card on tap at the Terre Haute Action Track tonight and the Tony Hulman/Don Smith Classic and a host of events leading up to the Brickyard 400 looming on the horizon, it would appear that it’s the best of times for Wabash Valley racing buffs.
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TRACKSIDE: Fortunes of dirt track racing at Action Track can be written in the dust
In the 40 plus years of covering motorsports, it would appear the process of writing this weekly race column would come together rather routinely.
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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.
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TRACKSIDE: Wabash Valley racing ready to take green flag — even Action Track
Despite having already lost several bouts to the elements, the 2011 Wabash Valley motorsports season has taken the green flag and will soon be shifting into high gear on several fronts.
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TRACKSIDE: Fitzpatrick on track to continue impressive start to racing career
One of the top stories on the Wabash Valley motorsports stage last season was the emergence of Blake Fitzpatrick as a legitimate front-runner on the national sprint-car scene.
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Frightening finish to season at Terre Haute Action Track
The 2010 Terre Haute Action Track season came to a climactic close over the weekend. Unfortunately, the campaign closed on a near-tragic note for the second consecutive year.
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Trackside: Attractive USAC sprint car card this weekend
With the area circle track season rapidly drawing to a close, fans will have a pair of attractive USAC sprint car cards to attend this weekend. Back-to-back shows at Lincoln Park Speedway and Terre Haute Action Track not only offer fans a final opportunity to see the sprints in action one final time, but they also serve as pivotal stops in the chase for the USAC sprint car drivers championship.
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Trackside: Sadler’s wreck brings up memories for Terre Haute racer Sizemore
One of the many fans that viewed Elliott Sadler’s wild crash at Pocono over the weekend with more than casual interest was former Terre Haute racer Paul Sizemore.
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Trackside: Talented young racer Blake Fitzpatrick savoring USAC success
The dust has long settled. The congratulatory phone calls and handshakes are becoming less frequent but that first taste of victory remains as fresh and sweet as ever for the U.S. Auto Club’s newest first-time sprint car feature winner.
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Trackside: Positive story lines in USAC
Reflections on events surrounding a highly successful USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks while looking forward to a crowded schedule of events leading up to this weekend’s Brickyard 400.
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