Richmond International Raceway
SunTrust Indy Challenge

Richmond International Raceway

Race Report: SunTrust Indy Challenge


RICHMOND June 30, 2007—Darren Manning appeared to be headed for his second straight top-10 finish when a ‘”big moment” in traffic ended his chances in the SunTrust Indy Challenge Saturday night.


When qualifying had rained out Friday at the ¾ mile banked oval, the field was set according to the owner’s points, giving Manning a 13th place starting berth. He slipped to 14 at the start but was able to work his way into 12th passing a couple cars before his first stop under caution.


The ABC Supply crew had a good stop allowing Manning to move into 11th. He slipped back to 12th and then was again in 11th about 15 laps later as he passed Vitor Meira. As he came up to lap A.J. Foyt IV, however, his attempts to pass were thwarted as Foyt IV soundly shut the door.


Then the turning point for Manning occurred when a slower car ahead checked up unexpectedly. The accordion effect nearly collected Manning.


“There was a big moment with about four or five cars in front of me and then there was the concertina effect and I nearly got into the back of Anthony,” said Manning. “I had to run wide and got up into the marbles and nearly hit the wall. By the time I gathered it up, Vitor Meira got back by me and the leader got by me and that was pretty much the end of our night. If I could have gotten by Anthony cleanly, there were cars that were struggling for speed in the middle of the stint when my car was pretty fast and I think I could have gotten by them.”


Track position was the key factor in the race as there was very little passing throughout the night. A.J. Foyt admitted to a miscue on the final pitstop when he didn’t immediately order his driver to the pits when they opened up late after a caution for debris. Manning went from 12th to 14th and lost valuable track position in the process.


“It was a mix-up in the communication and I take the blame for that,” said Foyt. “Darren drove a good race and I’m glad that he saved it after getting in the marbles. It could have been worse.”


Manning finished 14th. Dario Franchitti, who started on the pole by virtue of being the point leader, won the race. Scott Dixon, who started directly behind Franchitti in third, finished second. Dan Wheldon, Tony Kanaan and Buddy Rice rounded out the top five.


The series moves to the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y. this week where the Foyt team scored a fifth place finish last year. The race will be televised Sunday afternoon by ABC Sports at 3:30pm eastern.

Notes & Quotes: SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond Int’l Raceway
Darren Manning: No. 14 ABC Supply Dallara/Honda

·         Darren Manning on Richmond: “The first time I ever saw Richmond it was definitely a bit of a shock. It was the first time I had run a track that small and with that much banking but I think it is one of the most enjoyable tracks that we run on. Even though it hasn’t been too lucky for me [Manning hasn’t finished in his two visits there] and it’s one of those tracks where it’s difficult to pass and even more difficult to hide, I like it, it’s fun to drive there. It takes driver input, it’s not one of those flat out tracks like the superspeedways where you never lift or a short-lining track like Iowa where if you run the bottom, no one can pass you. It’s a two-lane track and it has more of a racing line attitude. The bottom’s shorter but it’s also slower. There are opportunities to pass but you have to work hard at it.”

·         Manning on physical conditioning: “There’s a lot more steering effort at a track like Richmond—it’s like driving on a road course with the steering effort and the g-forces that work on you constantly. The good thing is having these races back-to-back so your race muscles get conditioned. I maintain my cardio-vascular workout which is important in overall conditioning but the only thing to develop race muscles is racing really.”

·         Past performances at Richmond: The Foyt team’s best finish at Richmond is 6^th with Airton Dare in 2002 and their best start is 7^th with Eliseo Salazar in 2001. Manning’s best start is 10^th in 2005 when he was credited with 15^th after tangling with a lapped car with ten laps to go. He was running seventh at the time.

·         A.J. Foyt is fielding two USAC Silver Crown cars this weekend: Bobby East will drive the No. 14 Greer Special and Pablo Donoso will drive the No.11 car. In East’s first and only drive for Foyt, he won at Iowa Speedway in May sweeping the pole and the race. Donoso was poised to deliver the team’s second one-two finish of the season but dropped out with an oil pump problem with 13 laps to go.

·         Manning’s reflections on Iowa: “We’ll definitely take that top-five. We’ve been in unfortunate situations with the yellows not falling our way in our pit windows and it’s hurt us all year so we got one back at Iowa. In the race, we thought we’d be faster than what we showed. We’re going over all the data to try to get the car more balanced throughout the run. We were slower at the beginning of our runs and faster at the end so we’re adjusting the set-up to make the car better earlier.”

·         Cascante Contracting Inc. of Richmond, Va. 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. Francisco Cascante 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.

The SunTrust Indy Challenge will be shown live at 7:30 p.m. eastern time Saturday night, June 30 on ESPN-TV.