Race Report: Meijer Indy 300
SPARTA, Ky. Aug.11 – Darren Manning started 18th
and finished 13th in the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky
Speedway Saturday evening. A.J. Foyt IV posted his
career best finish of third behind winner Tony Kanaan
and runner-up Scott Dixon.
Manning and crew never found the sweet spot on the No.
14 ABC Supply car Friday or on race day. They made a
host of changes on the car to find the elusive speed on
the 1.5-mile superspeedway but to no avail. It was the
first time this season that the team didn’t make gains
with the car’s set-up in the race.
The team did post quick pit stops in the seven and eight
second range with one exception when a gun jammed. But
at that point in the race, the miscue cost only one
spot—to Buddy Rice. Manning regained the position on a
restart but eventually had to relinquish it back.
“It was a tough weekend,” said team owner A.J. Foyt. “We
changed everything on the car but we kept running the
same speed. It was very frustrating for all of us. But
I'm very proud of my grandson -- he drove a helluva
race.”
The race had a wild end when Dario Franchitti went
flying through the air for the second week in a row,
only this time it was after the checkered flag flew.
Franchitti admitted afterwards that he didn’t realize
the race was over when he rode up quickly on a slowing
Kosuke Matsuura. Franchitti tried to avoid Matsuura but
rode over his wheel which launched Franchitti into
another aerial act. He emerged uninjured.
Manning heads to Europe Sunday in preparation for the
LeMans Series race at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium where
he’ll drive an LMP2 car for Embassy Racing. It is the
first of three races that he will run in that series,
with the other two events being held after the IndyCar
Series season ends.
The IndyCar Series takes a weekend off before heading
into its final three events of the season, the first of
which is the Motorola Indy 300 at Infineon Raceway in
Sonoma, Calif. That race will be televised on ESPN at
3:30 pm ET Sunday, Aug.26.
Notes & Quotes:
Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway
Darren Manning: No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda
·
Darren Manning on racing after a crash
fest like Michigan: “You think about it, but
Michigan is such an individual track—you can run
four-wide there easily. It’s just that when a gust of
wind comes up or you hit the seams in the track, you
move around and it affects everyone because you’re
running so close together. There’s no escaping when
you’re running that close. And if you don’t run close,
you lose the draft and then you lose the race so you
have to do it. A lot of teams besides ours made strides
over the winter so what last year was a four-car leader
pack turned into a 10-12 car leader pack. You can’t do
it forever—something’ll happen.”
·
Manning on racing at Kentucky: “I
think it will be different at Kentucky because we
struggle to run side-by-side there so I don’t think
you’ll see the big pack racing like there was at
Michigan. I think our chances there are pretty good.
We’ve made some gains in learning what’s needed on the
1.5 mile tracks so I believe our starting point will be
closer to what we need for the race. There’s so little
time on the race weekends to get the car right and learn
what’s going on. On the road courses, you can make 10
changes and I can tell in a lap whether or not it feels
better, and if it feels better it’s usually faster. On
the ovals, you can’t seem to feel the benefits as
easily, sometimes it may feel better but it’s slower. So
we’re still learning, but we’re gaining.”
·
Manning attended the Kentucky Derby for
the first time this year as a guest of his team
owner A.J. Foyt, who has been a regular since the early
70s. Manning said, “I’d never been to even a Grand
National race in England, so for my first horse race to
be the Kentucky Derby (pronounced DAR-by) was quite
special. A.J. looked after us. He has a lot of knowledge
about it and he explained it all. Larry was there too. I
drove down with Anthony who helped me on the betting. I
didn’t make any money, and I had to give him money as
well! But I met my girlfriend Lauren (Feusner} that
weekend so it’s all good.”
·
Achelpohl Roofing is this weekend’s
winner of the ABC Supply Your Name Here Promotion for
its customers. The company name will be put on the top
of the sidepods of the No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda.
Wayne and Meredith Achelpohl will receive selected
merchandise, race tickets, hospitality and garage
passes, plus a Meet and Greet with A.J. Foyt and Darren
Manning. The “Your Name Here” promotion selected winners
by random drawing from a pool of entries sent in by ABC
Supply customers earlier this year.
·
Michigan performance: Manning
started 18th and was credited with 15th
after spinning and hitting the wall on lap 113. He was
challenging for eighth position at the time of his
accident. His was one of five cautions for crashes that
slowed the rain-delayed Firestone 400; 12 out of the 20
starters took home wrecked equipment from that race.
Manning: “Marco [Andretti] cut across the front of me
and I had to put a lot of wheel lock into it and when
the air hit it, it grabbed and snapped the back end
around….it’s a shame because we had a good car today. My
car was definitely better on long runs. It seemed that
everyone else’s cars fell off after the new tires wore a
little bit but my car didn’t fall off as much. It was
crazy out there.”
·
Past Performances on ovals in 2007:
Manning’s best start on an oval is 11th which
is where he qualified at Kansas and Texas. His best
finish is fifth place at Iowa; it’s also his best finish
of the season to date.
·
Past performances for A.J. Foyt Racing
at Kentucky Speedway: Foyt Racing’s best start is
second in 2000 with Eliseo Salazar driving and their
best finish is fifth in 2001 with Donnie Beechler
driving. A.J. Foyt IV posted his best finish for Foyt
Racing at Kentucky when he finished ninth in 2005 after
starting 12th.
·
The Meijer Indy 300 will be televised
live Saturday evening, August 11th
starting at 6:30 pm ET on ESPN2.
