Dixon Takes Top Spot, Andretti Also on Front Row for Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. - Rookie driver Marco Andretti came up a little short on Saturday at Infineon Raceway in qualifying for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma as Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon took the top spot.

Andretti (Andretti Green Racing), who was shooting for his first-ever IRL IndyCar(r) Series pole, will start second in Sunday's 80-lap feature on the 12-turn, 2.26-mile road course. It is the first front-row start for Andretti, who posted a speed of 107.417 mph; his previous best start was third, at both Watkins Glen (N.Y.) and Milwaukee.

Dixon notched his first pole of 2006 and the sixth of his IndyCar career with a speed of 107.484 mph over the twisting circuit. The New Zealand native has been extremely strong on the road/street courses, with two consecutive wins at Watkins Glen. He also placed second on the streets of St. Petersburg (Fla.) earlier in the year.

"On any road course it's important to finish qualifying in the first two rows because you don't get a good run to pass," Dixon said. "Qualifying up front is a big advantage."

Andretti, an accomplished road-racer who won the Indy Pro Series(tm) event in Sonoma in 2005, is bidding for his first IndyCar win. He placed second in a memorable Indianapolis 500 this season.

"I definitely enjoy myself out there," said Andretti, 19. "I've had more success (at Infineon Raceway) than I've had anywhere else. You really have to drive and I enjoy the turns and challenges of the road course. We got what we need and that is good track position."

Sam Hornish Jr. (Marlboro Team Penske) entered the weekend leading the points but qualified 10th out of 18 drivers. Five drivers entered this penultimate race of the season within 79 points of Hornish. The season concludes Sept. 10 at Chicagoland Speedway.

"There are still 106 points left on the table, including most laps led, so there's plenty of opportunity and lots can happen," said Dixon, who entered the weekend fourth in points, 33 behind Hornish. "It's going to be exciting. Right now, I feel like we're racing Helio (Castroneves)."

Castroneves (Marlboro Team Penske, 107.236 mph), defending race champion Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing, 107.209 mph) and Dario Franchitti (Andretti Green Racing, 107.130 mph) rounded out the top five. Danica Patrick (Rahal Letterman Racing) was 11th at 104.772 mph. The green flag will be dropped Sunday on the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at 12:30 p.m.

Sacramento's Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz teamed up to win the Sonoma 250 for the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series in the Daytona Prototype class. It was the second consecutive victory for the No. 01 Comp USA Lexus team and their fifth win of the season. Butch Leitzinger/Andy Wallace (Boss Snowplow Pontiac) were second, with Adrian Fernandez/Mario Haberfeld (Lowe's Pontiac) third. The timed race spanned 2 hours, 45 minutes.

The victory keeps the title chances alive for Pruett/Diaz as the season concludes Sept. 2 at Miller Motorsports Park. Pruett/Diaz moved into second place in points with the win, just behind Jorg Bergmeister (Krohn Racing Ford).

"There's nothing like winning on your home court," said Pruett, who recorded his 12th career win in the series, a record for Daytona Prototypes. "I had a lot of friends, family and supporters here and Infineon Raceway is my home track. That all combined together makes this really sweet. We dug deep and pulled out a strategy that would put us in position to win and we did. It was a great day for Comp USA and the whole Chip Ganassi organization."

Robin Liddell/Wolf Henzler (NEC Porsche) won the GT class for the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. It was the first-career win in the Grand-Am Series for both drivers.

Wade Cunningham (Brian Stewart Racing) won the 30-lap Carneros 100 for the Indy Pro Series(tm), with Alex Lloyd (AFS Racing) second and Nick Bussell (Cheever Racing) third. Cunningham, the 2005 series champion, qualified on the pole and led wire-to-wire. The Indy Pro Series(tm) will compete in a second 30-lap feature on Sunday, the Valley of the Moon 100.

For ticket information to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, call 800-870-RACE.

IRL Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. - Qualifying Saturday for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma IRL IndyCar Series event on the 2.26-mile Infineon Raceway, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and speed:

 

 

1. (9) Scott Dixon, Panoz-Honda, 107.484 

2. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 107.417 

3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 107.236 

4. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 107.209 

5. (27) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 107.130 

6. (10) Dan Wheldon, Panoz-Honda, 106.708 

7. (5) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 105.800 

8. (4) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 105.746 

9. (7) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 105.678 

10. (6) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Honda, 105.352 

11. (16) Danica Patrick, Panoz-Honda, 104.772 

12. (15) Buddy Rice, Panoz-Honda, 104.529 

13. (55) Kosuke Matsuura, Dallara-Honda, 104.490 

14. (17) Jeff Simmons, Panoz-Honda, 104.068 

15. (14) Jeff Bucknum, Dallara-Honda, 103.376 

16. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 103.065 

17. (8) Scott Sharp, Panoz-Honda, 101.397 

18. (2) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, no speed

 

IRL Indy Pro Series(tm) Carneros 100 

SONOMA, Calif. - Results Saturday of the Carneros 100 IRL Indy Pro
Series event Aug. 26 at the 2.26-mile Infineon Raceway, with order of
finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis, laps
completed, reason out (if any) and money earned:  

 

1. (1) Wade Cunningham, Dallara, 30, Running $23,159 

2. (2) Alex Lloyd, Dallara, 30, Running $17,045 

3. (4) Nick Bussell, Dallara, 30, Running $13,636 

4. (3) Jonathan Klein, Dallara, 30, Running $11,591 

5. (6) Bobby Wilson, Dallara, 30, Running $11,250 

6. (7) Mike Potekhen, Dallara, 30, Running $10,909 

7. (10) Jaime Camara, Dallara, 30, Running $10,568 

8. (8) Ryan Justice, Dallara, 30, Running $10,227 

9. (11) Micky Gilbert, Dallara, 30, Running $9,886 

10. (5) Jay Howard, Dallara, 29, Running $9,545 

11. (9) Scott Mansell, Dallara, 29, Running $8,863 

12. (13) Racer Kashima, Dallara, 29, Running $8,182 

13. (14) P.J. Abbott, Dallara, 27, Running $7,841 

14. (12) Daniel Gaunt, Dallara, 18, Mechanical $7,500        

 

Race Statistics       

Winner's average speed: 85.278 mph       

Time of race: 48:32.8171       

Margin of victory: 0.6018 of a second       

Cautions: 3 caution flags for 4 laps       

Lead changes: 0 lead changes       

Lap leaders: Cunningham 1-30.