Newman-Haas-Lanigan Sweep Front Row At Kansas

The IndyCar Series wanted to spice up qualifying for their events, well after nice runs by ‘road course masters’ Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing and two favorites sent to the back, qualifying at the 1.5-mile Kansas oval was a hot bowl of Texas chili.

Today was Graham Rahal’s second career pole position and his first on an oval, edged teammate Robert Doornbos by three-tenths of a second as NHL Racing swept the front row for the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300. Rahal’s previous best on an oval in qualifying was second last year at the Milwaukee Mile. This is Doornbos’ first start on an oval.

Rahal remarked after his run, “It’s a fantastic start for the McDonald’s team. First of all, for us to get a pole when we go to St. Petersburg, and then to do it again here at Kansas, I think it’s quite a shock. And obviously in memory of Paul (Newman), it’s great for us to have this success early in the season. Now of course there’s still a long way to go, but for us to get our first (oval) pole here, I hope it’s a sign of things to come.”

However it was Dario Franchitti’s and Helio Castroneves’ runs that were disallowed after they ducked their left side wheels under the white line during their four-lap qualifying runs. Castroneves was penalized for the same violation at Chicagoland Speedway in the Series’ finale last year.

After qualifying it was announced that E.J. Viso will be sent to the back for an undisclosed technical violation. Also it was reported that heavy thunderstorms hit the area damaging property near the track. The NASCAR Truck Series race that was underway was postponed after fifty three of the scheduled 167 laps were completed before the red flag was displayed. NASCAR made the call to reschedule the event for Monday.

The 2009 Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway will get underway tomorrow, April 26 at 4 p.m. (EDT). The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 4 p.m. (EDT) by VERSUS. The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights season continues April 26 at Kansas Speedway. The race will be telecast at 4 p.m. (EDT) on April 27 by VERSUS.

STARTING LINEUP

1. Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 211.311 mph

2. Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 210.665

3. Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 210.470

4. Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 210.368

5. Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 210.220

6. Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 210.197

7. Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 210.098

8. Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 210.082

9. Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 209.144

10. Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 208.956

11. Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 208.543

12. Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 208.537

13. Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 208.506

14. Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 208.461

15. Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 208.382

16. Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 208.145

17. Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 207.971

18. Stanton Barrett, Dallara-Honda, 205.820

19. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 205.673

20. Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, time disallowed

21. Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, time disallowed

22. E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, Time disallowed, technical violation

Steve Zautke

Steve Zautke, a Milwaukee, WI native, was raised in the sport of auto racing. His father, Bill, was a movie photographer that shot racing footage at tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1960’s and 1970’s Steve’s first professional job in racing was as an Emergency Medical Technician at tracks such as Angell Park and Hales Corners Speedway (1988-1991). Steve has also worked for the Milwaukee Mile as videographer, in media relations and historian (1993-2011). Steve also has worked as a reporter for Racing Information Systems (RIS) and has written features for ‘Vintage Oval Racing’ and ‘Victory Lane’ magazines. Most recently, Steve has written a book on Road America for Arcadia Publishing. ( http://www.amazon.com/Road-America-Nascar-Library-Collection/dp/1467111457 ) Steve co-hosts “Sparky’s Final Inspection” a motorsports-based radio show with hosts, Steve “Sparky” Fifer and “NASCAR Girl” Summer Santana on Sports Radio 1250AM in Milwaukee and is also available on the internet at www.Sportradio1250.com. A member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Steve follows all types of racing from the dirt tracks to Formula One.

racingnation.com

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