Official Discussion Thread - Round 7 - Iowa

Allan Craighead

Hi race fans,

After a short break, the Indy Lights drivers are back in action this weekend with Round Seven at the Iowa Speedway, the shortest track on the schedule. Given the tight nature of the oval, qualifying will likely be key, despite the drivers having 115 laps to work their way to the front. Richard Antinucci enters the race with a one point lead over Dillon Battistini in the championship fight. Of note Logan Gomez was quickest in an open test at the track one week ago. The drivers will have two practice sessions and single-car qualifying on Friday, prior to race getting underway on Saturday aftrnoon. As always we will be keeping up to date with all the action and posting any news or notes from track here. So be sure to check back often, and if you have notes, comments or question regarding the race, this is the place to post.

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
eKartingNews.ca Managing Editor
eSportsRacer.com Managing Editor
(226) 808-9472 Cell
acraighead@howdenmediagroup.com

Zach Wenzel · Joined: 27 May 2008 Posts: 32

Happy Friday everyone.

The Indy Lights Series is fresh off their first practice session at Iowa Speedway with Dillon Battistini pacing the field, but Arie Luyendyk Jr. is not far behind. Meanwhile, Franck Perera put in a solid first practice of his Indy Lights career with his new Guthrie Racing ride.

Practice 1 Results
1. Dillon Battistini 159.851
2. Arie Luyendyk Jr. 159.341
3. Bobby Wilson 159.231
4. Logan Gomez 158.848
5. Brent Sherman 158.827
6. Robbie Pecorari 158.816
7. Ana Beatriz 158.641
8. Cyndie Allemann 158.604
9. Franck Perera 158.534
10. Pablo Donoso 158.187
11. James Davison 157.973
12. Raphael Matos 15.899
13. Sean Guthrie 157.825
14. Jeff Simmons 157.479
15. Andrew Prendeville 157.458
16. JR Hildebrand 157.167
17. Johnny Reid 157.137
18. Richard Antinucci 156.680
19. Micky Gilbert 156.558
20. Marc Williams 155.937
21. Mark Olson 152.328
22. Travis Gregg 142.596

The Indy Lights Series will begin qualifying for Saturday's Jeld-Wen 100 this afternoon at 3:20 local time.

Zach Wenzel · Joined: 27 May 2008 Posts: 32

Hopefully qualifying will get underway as scheduled.

It's about an hour away from the scheduled start of the Indy Lights qualifying session and the Indy Car test session has been stopped for rain. And, looking outside at the sky turning gray, it could keep going for a while.

We'll keep you posted as the day goes on.

Zach Wenzel · Joined: 27 May 2008 Posts: 32

It would not be a risky maneuver to declare the day is done here at Iowa Speedway.

It rained heavily for about 20 minutes solid with light rain still ongoing. The track would take hours to dry. Maybe even the whole night. So, while it has yet to be officially declared, chances are there will be no Indy Lights qualifying today.

Whether the field will line up according to points or practice times remains to be seen, but once I know for sure I will post it immediately.

Zach Wenzel · Joined: 27 May 2008 Posts: 32

Well, according to IRL officials, we're still going to try having Indy Lights qualifying. Plus an additional practice session. Here's the updated schedule for Friday in Iowa.

5:45-6:00 Firestone Indy Lights Practice (First half of Qual. order)
6:00-6:15 Firestone Indy Lights Practice (Second half of Qual. order)
6:25-7:10 Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying

The Indy Cars, however, are now done for the day with this addendum to the weekend's schedule.

We'll keep you posted.

Zach Wenzel · Joined: 27 May 2008 Posts: 32

The Indy Lights Series were able to get their qualifying session in today despite the rain, allowing Arie Luyendyk Jr to capture his fourth career Indy Lights pole.

Qualifying Results (Averaged speeds)
1. Arie Luyendyk Jr. 160.397
2. Dillon Battistini 159.921
3. Jeff Simmons 159.845
4. Bobby Wilson 159.671
5. Brent Sherman 159.666
6. Ana Beatriz 159.548
7. JR Hildebrand 159.354
8. Raphael Matos 159.337
9. Franck Perera 159.228
10. Pablo Donoso 158.923
11. Robbie Pecorari 158.896
12. Cyndie Allemann 158.874
13. James Davison 158.663
14. Richard Antinucci 157.937
15. Logan Gomez 157.755
16. Johnny Reid 157.661
17. Andrew Prendeville 156.778
18. Marc Williams 156.492
19. Travis Gregg 156.294
20. Micky Gilbert 155.978
21. Sean Guthrie 153.865

A full report is to follow.

Allan Craighead · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject:

Thanks for keeping us update Zach. I was away from the computer all day. How's the track looking for passing? Is there two lanes the drivers can use? Looking forward to the race tomorrow.

Cheers,
_________________
Allan Craighead
eFormulaCarNews.com Managing Editor
eKartingNews.ca Managing Editor
eSportsRacer.com Managing Editor
(226) 808-9472 Cell
acraighead@howdenmediagroup.com

Zach Wenzel · Joined: 27 May 2008 Posts: 32

Well Al, the track has been great for passing to say the least.

All weekend cars were running through their practice sessions side-by-side.

Today's race was no different. The last 20 laps are a definite must-see for even a casual fan. AFS/Andretti-Green driver, Arie Luyendyk Jr., led for 101 of the 115 laps. But on lap 102, Panther Racing's Dillon Battistini got a run on Luyendyk and made it stick.

With about ten laps to go, Johnny Reid made contact with the wall coming on to the front straight. With the track being so short in length, it was thought the race would finish under yellow.

The safety team did a hustled, but great, job and got the track cleaned up in time for the race to go green with one lap to go. The restart gave Luyendyk an additional opportunity to catch Battistini. But it was no use. Battistini kept on to the lead to secure his third victory this season.

Jen-Weld 100 Results (Unofficial)
1. Dillon Battistini
2. Arie Luyendyk Jr +0.4948
3. Ana Beatriz +2.7089
4. Brent Sherman +2.8920
5. Pablo Donoso +2.9964
6. Jeff Simmons +3.2590
7. Raphael Matos +3.5227
8. JR Hildebrand +3.54
9. Richard Antinucci +4.3933
10. Marc Williams +4.6108
11. Franck Perera +4.9390
12. Andrew Prendeville +5.1897
13. Micky Gilbert +5.7559
14. Logan Gomez +5.8181
15. James Davison +7.3363
16. Bobby Wilson +10.5639 (contact)
17. Robbie Pecorari +1 lap
18. Cyndie Allemann +3 laps
19. Johnny Reid (contact)
20. Sean Guthrie (handling)
21. Travis Gregg (handling)
22. Mark Wilson (mechanical)

Full report to follow.