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2005 INDYCAR IRL - RICHMOND

2005 INDYCAR - R6, June 25, 2005, 2005 Richmond International Raceway

• COURSE:
• RICHMOND Motor Speedway
• 0.75 mile oval ; shortest oval of the season
• Race: 250 laps

RACE RESULT: 2005 CLEVELAND IRL

• 1. Helio Castroneves (BRA) Dallara-Toyota 250 laps, av 114.153 mph (182.644 km/h)
• 2. Dario Franchitti (UK) Dallara-Honda+ 0.55s
  "Not a bad evening for us at all! After the first pit stop it became apparent that the Penske boys and our car were the fastest ones out there tonight. I did my best, but we were slightly shy of Helio (Castroneves) at the end. I needed traffic to catch him, but with the late caution and then getting the green and white flags on Lap 249, it wasn't going to happen. But I'm always happy just to finish at Richmond; this is the toughest track on the schedule. I think we had the second-best car out there tonight so I'll take a second place finish and be happy with it."
• 3. Patrick Carpentier (CAN) Dallara-Toyota
• 4. Tomas Scheckter (S AFR) Dallara-Chevrolet
• 5. Dan Wheldon (UK) Dallara-Honda
  "It was a difficult race for us, but when Sam [Hornish] went out and then Tony (Kanaan) went out, even a fifth-place finish netted us some very valuable points tonight. For us, the race was a case of trying to make the most out of what we had. We didn't have the car to win tonight, but we stuck with it and came out well ahead as a result."
• 6. Alex Barron (USA) Dallara-Toyota
• 7. Tomas Enge (CZE) Dallara-Chevrolet
• 8. Bryan Herta (USA) Dallara-Honda
• 9. Kosuke Matsuura (JAP)
• 10. Danica Patrick (USA)
  "We struggled in qualifying and we were hoping the car would be better for the race. I knew Vitor [Meira] tried some things with the car and he was running in the top five and six tonight. So that is encouraging. I was happy he was able to get his car competitive. Buddy (Rice) and I didn't make as many changes, and our cars weren't as good. It was an inconsistent car tonight. In traffic the car just wasn't very good. I think this place could be really fun to drive if we get a good setup for the short ovals. But overall, we had a pretty good experience tonight on this oval. Of course, this kind of racing is much different than other things I have driven. But I am still learning and we'll go to Kansas where the boys finished 1-2 last year. I think we have a good setup for that track."

QUALIFYING

• POLE, HORNISH JR: "The car was set up really good. We've made some big improvements in the last year, and we seem to be going faster and faster wherever we go. We were pretty much running flat out all the way around. It was just a really good run for us. That's the big thing I've learned. The year I won I only led the last two laps. Just wait for your car to come to you, make consistent changes over the night, make the car a little bit better and hope you have enough time at the end to get the job done."
• 2ND, CASTRONEVES: " I wanted to be on pole position but I guess my teammate went there and went a little faster. It's such a tough track to start in the back. But you have to be patient. (Being fast) is not always a key to winning the race. We've been close so many times."

GRID, JUNE 24, 2005

• 1 Sam Hornish Jr. Penske, Dallara-Toyota 176.244 mph, 15.32s
• 2 Helio Castroneves Penske, Dallara-Toyota +0.039
• 3 Ryan Briscoe +0.13
• 4 Patrick Carpentier +0.21
• 5 Dario Franchitti
• 6 Bryan Herta
• 7 Dan Wheldon
• 8 Tomas Enge
• 9 Alex Barron
• 10 Darren Manning
• 11 Matsuura 12 Sharp 13 Kite 14 Rice 15 Meira 16 Carpenter 17 Foyt IV 18 Yasukawa 19 Scheckter 20 Dixon 21 Patrick
• 22 Kanaan (crashed): "The car was very loose and it jumped out on me. There was nothing I could do to catch it. That's too bad, but we've been clean in qualifying for two and a half years now, so I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later. We'll just start the Team 7-Eleven car at the back of the field and put on a good show for the crowd. We've been there before and shown that we can find our way to the front."

RACE PREVIEW

• WHELDON: "Richmond is a very difficult track and a very intense race. It is the most physically demanding oval and the most mentally demanding oval, other than Indianapolis. There is a lot going on so you need to make sure you stay out of trouble because it is so close and you spend a lot of time running side by side. You need a car that handles very well on full tanks and doesn't deteriorate as the fuel burns off. Hopefully, the Klein Tools/Jim Beam team will be up to the task so we can be in a position to defend our title there."
• KANNAN: "I always look forward to racing at Richmond. It's a very tight, difficult track and requires so much from the driver in the way of physical stamina. You have to have your car set up perfectly or it will be a long, long night. You can't carry your car around the track for very long at Richmond. Andretti Green Racing and Team 7-Eleven have been strong on the short tracks and I'm looking forward to more of the same Saturday night."
• DIXON: "It's always fun to come back here. It's so different from any other track that we come to. You always have to hustle the car, and I think the race is pretty action-packed under the lights. It's a lot like a road course because it is so technical. There's a lot going on around you especially in those first few laps and you feel like you never stop turning. We're getting around the track in just 16 seconds and you can definitely be flat all the way. It's definitely one of the most demanding tracks of the season on the drivers."
• SCHEKTER: "Richmond is a difficult track, but it's one on our schedule that become one of my favorites. The racing there is exciting and I really enjoy when we race at night. We really want to carry the success we had in Texas on through the rest of the season, and that starts this weekend at Richmond. I know how powerful our Chevy motor is, and now it's up to us to get the job done again."