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2005 INDYCAR IRL - NASHVILLE

2005 INDYCAR - July 24, 2005 The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, 1 mile oval

RACE: JULY 24, 2005

COURSE:

• The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
• Opened 1903
• 1 mile asphalt oval; 9° banking
• First Indycar race lats year , 2004
• LAT YEAR'S RESULT
• 1 Dario Franchitti , Andretti Green Honda 225 LAPS
• 2 Buddy Rice, Rahal Honda +0.65
• 3 Sam Hornish Jr. +5.2
• 4 Tony Kanaan, +11.1
• 5 Vitor Meira, +11.2
• 6 Townsend Bell

RACE RESULT

• 1. Sam Hornish (US) 225 laps
  2. Dario Franchitti (UK) +0.38
  3. Tomas Scheckter (SA)
  4. Tony Kanaan (BRA)
  5. Dan Wheldon (UK)
  6. Bryan Herta (US)
  7. Patrick Carpentier (CAN) +1 lap
  8. Alex Barron (US)
  9. Vitor Meira (BRA)
  10. Scott Sharp (US)

QUALIFYING

GRID

• 1. Sam Hornish Jr. Dallara-Toyota 21.457s
  "With how quickly he went this morning, we knew that Helio was going to be our main competition for the pole today. We just went out there and put up the best lap that we could. There was a little bit more push than what we wanted in the car, but it was good enough to do what we needed it to. This is a great opportunity. We've had some things fall through the cracks at Kansas and Richmond, but we look at those days and those are behind us. We move forward from there. It's days like this where we go out, get a good starting position, we have a good view for the start of the race, and just go out there and run our own pace and hopefully not give ourselves any problems. If we go out there and stay out of trouble, we should be OK."
• 2. Helio Castroneves Dallara-Toyota +0.009
  "Starting last, it was nice to know the lap times of everyone. Unfortunately, I had a huge push entering (turn) four, even on my fast lap. I couldn't believe it. I'm like, 'OK I'm going to try it again.' We made some adjustments to the car to try to go fast, and then obviously it went even worse. I was very pleased, suprised by the time. It was so close between me and Sam (Hornish Jr.), with the problems that I had. It was just a shame because obviously you'd like to get the pole. I'm hopeful for the race right now and we can finish like we did in Richmond."
• 3. Tomas Castroneves Dallara-Chevrolet +0.164
  "I screwed myself on that run. I didn't realize that I had another lap to go and just backed off. We had such a great car. The Pennzoil guys and Chevrolet did everything they were supposed to do. I just threw it away. I'm very upset with myself at the moment. But, at least we're still starting very close to the front, and I'll be able to make up for it early in the race. A lot can happen tomorrow and the good cars always find their way to the front."
• 4. Dan Wheldon Dallara-Honda +0.222
  "The Klein Tools/Jim Beam team is a little bit up against it here. It seems like we're very close to being flat out around this track, but not quite. Obviously, the Honda guys are helping out as much as they can, and we're all going to work together to make sure we've got good race cars. You've got what you've got, and you have to make the best of it. This is what makes Milwaukee what it is. It never goes completely to plan because this track is so difficult."
• 5. Buddy Lazier Dallara-Chevrolet +0.227
  "We had a pole car today, and that's all I can ask out of my team. The conditions changed a lot from this morning, and we picked up a major push in our qualifications. This is the first short oval I've been on in a long time, so I'm not totally up to speed on the tendencies of the track. Our ROCKSTAR racecar is just awesome in race setup, and Panther always get it right for the race. We've also got everything we need out of Chevrolet, and it will really show tomorrow."
• 6. Danica Patrick Panoz-Honda +0.380
  "Overall, it was a decent run. The track seemed to slow this afternoon, so some speeds were off from this morning. The most important thing is that this car can hold on for 225 laps on Sunday. That is the key for us. I'm just glad my time stood up for the qualifying session. With the temperature change, I wasn't sure if I could stay in the top five or six. The car was well balanced. Sunday's race will be a matter of getting through traffic well. You have to be confident in your passing and attacking the corners. We'll do our best and pray for a little luck on Sunday. I'm very fortunate that I have a lot of support wherever I go and even more so here in Milwaukee. I have a lot of family and friends that come from Roscoe (Ill.) to see me race. This is the closest track to my hometown. That is pretty exciting."
• 7. Alex Barron
• 8. Dario Franchitti
• 9. Tony Kanaan
• 10. Roger Yasukawa
• 11. Vitor Meira
• 12. Bryan Herta
• 13. Scott Sharp
• 14. Patrick Carpentier
• 15. Buddy Rice
• 16. Ed Carpenter
• 17. Jimmy Kite
• 18. Scott Dixon
• 19. A.J. Foyt IV
• 20. Kosuke Matsuura

RACE PREVIEW

• WHELDON, CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER: "This is getting to be a very difficult part of the season for everybody and the main goal is to keep scoring points at each race, and I think the Klein Tools/Jim Beam team did a good job of that up until Nashville. The race at Milwaukee was very difficult for us last year and I'm expecting it to be somewhat difficult this year. But, with the help of my teammates and the engineering staff, I think we'll have a good chance of winning this year."
• KANAAN, 2ND OVERALL: "We have a good setup for the short ovals and Team 7-Eleven has posted good results on the 1-mile tracks. We are second in the point standings and just need to focus on cutting into Dan's advantage race by race."
• CASTRONEVES, 3RD: "Marlboro Team Penske has done well on short ovals this season, so I'm excited to go to Milwaukee this weekend," said Castroneves. "The Milwaukee Mile is a very historic place for me as it was the site of my first podium in 1998 and my first pole in 1999. I have very strong feelings about this place and I can't wait to get out there on Sunday."
• HORNISH JR, 4TH: "I'm looking forward to racing in Milwaukee again this year. We finished third there last year and I'll definitely be looking to bring the Marlboro Team Penske car home in a better position this season. I like The Milwaukee Mile because it's a flat, one- mile track that's deep rooted in open-wheel heritage so it's great to be able to race there. I like these types of tracks, so I think we should be in for an exciting race."