April 29, 2004
DIXON IN THE A.M.; HORNISH IN THE P.M., TOYOTA TAKES TOP THREE SPOTS IN FINAL TEST BEFORE SPEEDWAY OPENS
In a repeat of Wednesday’s testing, Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) reigned in the morning and Marlboro Team Penske teammates Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves topped the afternoon time charts as the three Toyota-powered cars gained the top three spots in Thursday’s final test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the 88th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Hornish registered the fastest overall time of the two-day test with a 220.113 mph lap with the new Toyota Indy V8 3.0-liter engine making its debut in Indianapolis.
Reigning IndyCar Series champion Dixon ran just a handful of laps in the afternoon session, but his morning time stood as the third fastest overall for the day.
Once again, 10 Toyota-powered cars registered laps with Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota, 12th), Sarah Fisher (Bryant Toyota, 20th), A.J. Foyt IV (Conseco Toyota, 21st), Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota, 22nd), Larry Foyt (Conseco Toyota, 23rd), Marty Roth (Roth Racing Toyota, 25th) and Darren Manning (Target Toyota, 26th). Manning’s day was cut short when he made contact with the wall in the morning session. Manning suffered no injuries and there was no significant damage done to the tub.
Toyota will be looking for its second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory after teammates Gil de Ferran and Castroneves placed one-two a year ago while driving for Penske Racing last year in Toyota’s first-ever Indianapolis 500 a year ago.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will open for official practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 9.
April 28, 2004
HORNISH FASTEST AS TOYOTA TAKES THREE OF TOP FOUR IN INDY OPEN TEST
Marlboro Team Penske teammates Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves led three Toyotas into the top four in the first day of a two-day open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday in preparation for the 88th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Hornish topped the charts with a 219.271 mph lap with the new Toyota Indy V8 3.0-liter engine making its debut in Indianapolis.
Reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon was the fastest in the morning session and placed fourth overall for the day to give Toyota three of the top four overall. Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Darren Manning, an Indianapolis 500 rookie, placed sixth.
“It was a good day,” Hornish said. “We tried to work on the car all day long and make it a little bit better. It’s a long race out here and you have to have a good-handling car. Everybody is kind of up in the air with what they’re supposed to be doing because of the new engine right now. It makes it tough. We spent a little bit more time out there than probably what we wanted to today, but I felt like we got a lot accomplished, got through a lot of things."
In total, 10 Toyota-powered cars logged laps on Wednesday with Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota, 11th), Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota, 18th), A.J. Foyt IV (Conseco Toyota, 19th), Larry Foyt (Conseco Toyota, 24th), Sarah Fisher (Bryant Toyota, 25th) and Marty Roth (Roth Racing Toyota, 26th).
Gil de Ferran and Castroneves finished one-two for Penske Racing last year in Toyota’s first-ever Indianapolis 500 a year ago.
The two-day test will conclude tomorrow in the final tune-up before practice for the Indianapolis 500 begins on Sunday, May 9.
April 16, 2004
TOYOTA TAKES THREE OF THE TOP FIVE AT MOTEGI
- Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) finished third to lead three Toyota-powered cars into the top five at the Bridgestone Japan Indy 300. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Darren Manning and Scott Dixon finished fourth and fifth.
- With his third-place finish, Helio Castroneves now sits third overall in the championship. It’s the second time that Castroneves has finished in the top three in the season’s first three events. He placed second at Homestead. The two-time Indy 500 champ also placed sixth at Phoenix.
- First-year IndyCar Series driver Darren Manning (Target Toyota) has now finished in the top six in each of his first three races since joining the Ganassi team this year. The strong early showing has put the Englishman into fourth place overall.
- Despite hitting the wall hard on Frday, Scott Dixon rebounded to earn his second top-five finish of the season with a fifth today. Today’s finish marks the fifth time in the last six races that Dixon has registered a top-five. Dixon currently sits fifth in points heading into the Indianapolis 500.
- Three different Toyota-powered drivers led today’s race with Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota), Darren Manning and Helio Castroneves all taking turns upfront.
- Scott Sharp and Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) placed ninth and tenth today to give Toyota five of the top-10 finishers. For Takagi, it’s his third straight top-10 finish this season after a fourth at Homestead and an eighth at Phoenix. Takagi is now seventh in points.
- Sam Hornish Jr. (Marlboro Toyota) appeared to be on the way to a top-10 finish before being hit, and subsequently knocked out of the race, by rookie Kosuke Matsuura midway through the event. Despite the early exit, Hornish maintains his spot in the overall top 10 in sixth position.
JIM AUST, Toyota vice president of motorsports: “It’s been a unusual early portion of the schedule due to the dual development of the 3.0 and 3.5-liter engines. It’s almost as if you have two different seasons. The 3.5-season is over and now the focus moves on to the 3.0-liter for the final 13 races. We’re looking forward to Indianapolis.”
Toyota Driver, Start/Finish
Helio Castroneves 15/3
Darren Manning 10/4
Scott Dixon 6/5
Scott Sharp 12/9
Tora Takagi 21/10
A.J. Foyt IV 17/15
Sam Hornish 7/19
Next Race: Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 30, ABC Noon
April 15, 2004
DIXON LEADS TOYOTA IN JAPAN QUALIFYING
Scott Dixon’s (Target Toyota) sixth led three Toyota-powered cars to qualify in the top-10 in preparation for Friday night’s Japan Indy 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.
Dixon registered his qualifying performance despite driving with a hairline fracture in his ankle suffered in a practice crash on Wednesday.
Sam Hornish, Jr. (Marlboro Toyota) and Darren Manning (Target Toyota) joined Dixon in the top 10, qualifying seventh and tenth, respectively. Like Dixon, Hornish was driving in his back-up car after a Wednesday crash.
For Manning, it was his second consecutive top-10 qualifying effort and it gave Target Chip Ganassi Racing two cars in the top 10.
The green flag is scheduled to fall for Friday’s race at 11:30 p.m. EDT. ESPN2 will provide live coverage of the event.
Toyota Motegi Qualifying:
6. Scott Dixon
7. Sam Hornish, Jr.
10. Darren Manning
12. Scott Sharp
15. Helio Castroneves
17. A.J. Foyt IV
22. Tora Takagi
Japan Indy 300, April 16, ESPN2, 11:30 p.m. EDT (live)
April 13, 2004
FAST FACTS - JAPAN INDY 300
April 17, 11:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN (Live)
Twin Ring Motegi
200 laps on the 1.5-mile oval
TOYOTA LOOKS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT MOTEGI TRIUMPH – Toyota will be looking for its third straight victory at Twin Ring Motegi when the green flag falls for the Japan Indy 300. In 2002, Bruno Junqueira drove his Target Toyota to victory circle, while last season Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) earned the win in the IndyCar Series first trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.
3.5 ENGINE GOES OUT WITH SPARKLING NUMBERS – This weekend’s Japan Indy 300 will mark the final race for the 3.5-liter engine in IndyCar Series competition before the new 3.0-liter begins competition at the Indianapolis 500. Heading into its final race, the Toyota Indy V8 3.5-liter engine won 12 of 18 races and earned 11 pole positions. Seven different drivers have won with the engine, including Sam Hornish’s victory earlier this season at Homestead. In addition, a Toyota 3.5-liter has finished in the top two in every race it’s run up to this point.
…AND IN WITH THE NEW – The new IRL 3.0-liter engines debuted in a manufacturers test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 6. Unofficially, Toyota-powered drivers topped the time charts with Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) the fastest among all drivers on hand at more than 217 mph.
TCGR ON TARGET IN JAPAN – No race team has run more consistently at Twin Ring Motegi than Target Chip Ganassi Racing. The Toyota-powered team took the victory from the pole in 2002 with Bruno Junqueira. Last year, the team led a race-high 81 laps, and Scott Dixon had just passed for the lead on Lap 203 (of 207) when he was taken out in a two-car crash. Overall, the Target team has sat on the pole in four of the six events held at Twin Ring Motegi, including 2003 (Dixon).
BUSY WEEKEND IN THE TOYOTA CAMP – While the Toyota IRL program will be in Japan searching for its third consecutive Motegi victory, this weekend’s racing action will mark the busiest weekend in recent memory for Toyota’s motorsports program. Along with the IndyCar Series race, eight Toyota NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Tundras will take to the track in Martinsville. The 30th anniversary Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place in Southern California. In addition, while the Lexus-powered Grand-Am program enjoys an off-weekend, CompUSA Lexus driver Max Papis will take part in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race as Saturday’s feature race in Long Beach.
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up and Position Entering Japan
Car # Driver Car Season Points Standing (Wins)
#3 Helio Castroneves Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 2nd
#6 Sam Hornish Jr. Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 4th (Homestead)
#12 Tora Takagi Pioneer Toyota (Dallara) 6th
#10 Darren Manning Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 5th
#1 Scott Dixon Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force 7th
#8 Scott Sharp Delphi Toyota (Dallara) 12th
#14 A.J. Foyt IV Conseco Toyota (Dallara) 16th
“Quotes”
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: “Motegi presents an interesting challenge as the final race of the 3.5-liter engine spec. It’s been a delicate balance of continuing development on the current engine for three races this season, while pushing forward on the new 3.0-liter that we’ll be using for the remaining 13 races. Hopefully, we’ll be able to combine the best of both worlds and win our third straight race at Motegi, while still putting ourselves in a favorable position to win the Indianapolis 500 again.”
April 10, 2004
CompUSA LEXUS TAKES SECOND AT PHOENIX; THREE LEXUS-POWERED PROTOTYPES IN TOP SIX
After leading a race-high 79 laps from the pole, the CompUSA Lexus driven by Max Papis and Scott Pruett placed second to give Lexus its third consecutive podium finish in the Food City 250 Rolex Sports Car Series event in Phoenix Saturday night.
The Papis/Pruett effort led three Lexus-powered Daytona Prototypes in the top six with the Ganassi Racing CompUSA team car of Luis Diaz and Jimmy Morales finishing fourth, and Michael Shank Racing (MSR) in sixth with Oswaldo Negri and Burt Friselle handling the driving duties. It was MSR's third straight top-six finish.
The Cegwa Sport OzExe team with Darius Grala and John Lloyd placed 10th in class, while the Doran-Lista Racing Lexus of Didier Theys and Fredy Lienhard finished 14th to round out the Lexus-powered entries.
On Friday, Papis earned the third consecutive pole for the Ganassi Racing No. 01 CompUSA Lexus and he immediately took the lead upon the green flag on Saturday night. The Italian never relinquished the lead before pitting on Lap 80. Unfortunately for the Ganassi team, a yellow flag came out just two laps later allowing the rest of the leaders to pit under caution and dropping Pruett well behind. He moved back up through the field and mounted a late challenge, but fell just short.
The Rolex Series returns to action on May 23 for the 6 Hours of Mont Tremblant on the scenic 2.65-mile Quebec road course.
April 09, 2004
PAPIS GIVES LEXUS THIRD STRAIGHT POLE; LEXUS-POWERED PROTOTYPES SWEEP TOP THREE IN PHOENIX
Max Papis set a new track record as he put his No. 01 CompUSA-sponsored Lexus on the pole for the third consecutive race to lead a Lexus sweep of the top three spots in today's Grand American Rolex Series qualifying at the Phoenix International Raceway.
Papis will co-drive with Scott Pruett in Saturday's Food City 250. Papis and Pruett will be joined on the front row by their Ganassi Racing team CompUSA Lexus team car driven by Luis Diaz and partnered by Jimmy Morales.
For the second consecutive race, the Michael Shank Racing (MSR) combination of Oswaldo Negri and Burt Friselle rounds out the Lexus top three qualifying effort with Negri in the car for today's session.
"We have a great team here in the Ganassi Racing CompUSA team," said Papis. "We have won three poles and now we want to give Lexus its first win this weekend."
In addition to the three Ganassi and MSR entries, the Doran-Lista Racing duo of Didier Theys and Fredy Lienhard will start 16th, while Cegwa Sport will start 18th in their 2004 debut with Darius Grala and John Lloyd in the OzExe Lexus.
A series-record 19 Daytona Prototypes are expected to start tomorrow's Rolex Series event - with Lexus powering five of the entries.
The green flag is scheduled to fall for Saturday's race at 9 p.m. EDT. SPEED Channel will provide live coverage of the event.
April 06, 2004
LEXUS EYES FIRST PROTOTYPE WIN AT PHOENIX; CEGWA SET FOR '04 DEBUT
After a heart-breaking finish to an extremely exciting race at Homestead, Lexus-powered teams head to Phoenix looking for its first Daytona Prototype victory at Saturday's Food City 250 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Bolstering the Phoenix effort will be the addition of a fifth Lexus-powered prototype with the 2004 debut of the Cegwa Sport team. The revamped team will feature owner/driver Darius Grala behind the wheel along with veteran John Lloyd in the OzExe Lexus. A year ago, the squad earned its first Daytona Prototype podium finish with a third at Watkins Glen.
"We've done everything but win," said Mike Wells, Lexus vice president of marketing. "We're confident that Lexus' first Rolex Series victory isn't far off. It's extremely encouraging to see all of the Lexus-powered teams running upfront and capable of finishing on the podium. It's a tremendously competitive series with a great formula and some terrific manufacturer competition."
Cegwa Sport will join a group of four Lexus-powered prototypes that have consistently been at the front of the pack in the seasons' first two races. After Scott Pruett won his second consecutive pole in the #01 CompUSA Lexus, the Ganassi and Doran-Lista Racing Lexus teams dominated at Homestead. With just 14 laps remaining, the manufacturer was running 1-2-3 before the bottom fell out. A stirring late-race battle for the lead between Max Papis and Jan Magnussen ended with both falling out of the top five after making repeated contact with one another. Michael Shank Racing picked up the pieces with a strong third-place showing after an early race incident to register the top Lexus finish.
The driver line-up for Phoenix will largely stay the same as Homestead. Chip Ganassi Racing's CompUSA Lexus team will stay intact with Pruett and Papis in the No. 01 and Jimmy Morales and Luis Diaz co-driving in the No. 02. Each of the Ganassi entries led at Homestead.
Scottsdale resident Didier Theys will be joined by Fredy Lienhard in the Doran-Lista Racing team after Magnussen filled in for Lienhard at Homestead. The team finished second in class at Daytona before being sidelined at Homestead while batting for the lead.
Oswaldo Negri and Burt Frisselle will return in the Michael Shank Racing Lexus after placing third at Homestead. The team currently ranks third in points, just seven out of the top spot, after making the move from the open-wheel ranks to sports car racing this year.
Qualifying for the Food City 250 is on Friday, April April 9 at 6:25 p.m., with the green flag falling on Saturday, April 9 at 9 p.m. (EDT) with live coverage on SPEED.