The Foyt Futility Watch -- Belle Isle Edition

[pchall]

Tony George says: "All you race are belong to us."

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4826944407865830684

Dario Franchitti
"I am really looking forward to going back to Belle Isle. I have driven on the course they are going to use for the race. It is a difficult course and it is going to be very important to stay out of trouble. Since this is an event that Roger Penske has been involved with, you know it is going to be a good event because of his attention to detail."

Tony Kanaan
"I have a lot of good memories of Belle Isle. The course is where I won my first race in 1996. It's also the place where I broke my arm in 2000, so there are a few not-so-good memories, too. Belle Isle has always been a tough track, with very few passing opportunities so track position will be key. I can't wait."

Danica Patrick
"With this being a new race for us, I don't know a lot about Belle Isle. But, knowing Roger Penske, it will be a first-class event and I'm looking forward to it. I know we will have to get up to speed very quickly on Friday and find a good feel for the Motorola car. Track position will be very important, like it is for any street race, so we need to make things as easy on ourselves as possible by getting off to a good start."

Marco Andretti
"I love street course racing so Bell Isle should be a lot of fun for the NYSE team. There's just no margin for error so you really have to be precise with car placement. I haven't seen or driven the track like a couple of my team-mates, but when it comes time, we'll debrief and be ready."

So much for the All American All Oval racing tradition in the IRL.:tony:

[Spicoli]

Translation: I want a seat at Penske next year.:tony:

[stroker]

^^^^ you got that right.

:)

So which of the happy AGR gang are getting chucked out of the lifeboat?

[Methanolandbrats]

^^^^ you got that right.

:)

So which of the happy AGR gang are getting chucked out of the lifeboat? The girl.

[devilmaster]

I walked outside to get the mail and I could hear a nasty swarm of drunk bees nearby....

Oh wait, friday practice, my mistake. :gomer:

[Wheel-Nut]

Go give us an "on the scene" futility report . . . .

[devilmaster]

Go give us an "on the scene" futility report . . . .

[elwood blues]F**k that noise, man![/elwood blues] :tony:

Just like the old days, today is Free Prix Friday where you can get onto the island and watch practice for free.

And i'm at home. Gonna mow the lawn. Maybe floss my toes. Sit down and watch a movie or two. Do some shopping. Pet a tree. Hug a cat.

Hell, I'm not even heading downtown in Windsor. They have karting races down there this weekend. Its what the city got for fronting 50 grand or whatever to Penske and Sharnaman. Oh, and they got naming rights for the press box or something. :tony:

[pchall]

The girl.

If there is any Motorola and Argent money left she stays. Franchitti is halfway out with his butt ready to get the doorknob, championship in hand or not. Kanaan will be the last driver with a seat when the music stops because of his recent subservient bootlicking on track and in the press.

[Methanolandbrats]

[elwood blues]F**k that noise, man![/elwood blues] :tony:

Just like the old days, today is Free Prix Friday where you can get onto the island and watch practice for free.

And i'm at home. Gonna mow the lawn. Maybe floss my toes. Sit down and watch a movie or two. Do some shopping. Pet a tree. Hug a cat.

Hell, I'm not even heading downtown in Windsor. They have karting races down there this weekend. Its what the city got for fronting 50 grand or whatever to Penske and Sharnaman. Oh, and they got naming rights for the press box or something. :tony: Buy 50 lbs of roofing nails, sneak in at night and salt the track.

[devilmaster]

Buy 50 lbs of roofing nails, sneak in at night and salt the track.

:laugh:

Ya know, I've always said Belle Isle had only one true problem - one bridge.

That puppy falls in, no one can get to the track and no team can get their hauler off.

On a completely unrelated topic, anyone got a couple dozen pounds of C4? ;) :tony:

[pchall]

Whitewall by #22 AJ Foyt IV on the right side.
2007-08-31 11:17:38

It's Steve's fault. :laugh:

[devilmaster]

It's Steve's fault. :laugh:

sweeet. http://smilies.vidahost.com/contrib/ruinkai/FIREdevil.gif

[pchall]

The Futility is strong this morning. I can feel it on the back of my neck like Huskie breathe.

[pchall]

Dario Franchitti is looking good today as he is the only driver under 115.
2007-08-31 11:43:06

I know the gomers like to keep their drivers around for a long time, but this is ridiculous. :tony:

[devilmaster]

The Futility is strong this morning. I can feel it on the back of my neck like Huskie breathe.

http://smilies.vidahost.com/cwm/cwm/eek3.gif

;)

[Wheel-Nut]

Is the track coming up?

The start of practice will be delayed for course repair from the ALMS practice.
2007-08-31 10:27:31

Surface flag is being shown in T3a.
2007-08-31 11:23:03

[devilmaster]

Is the track coming up?

The start of practice will be delayed for course repair from the ALMS practice.
2007-08-31 10:27:31

They were supposedly spending a couple mill on road improvements, so who knows? :confused:

[pchall]

They were supposedly spending a couple mill on road improvements, so who knows? :confused:

How much of the City of Detroit's money went into road repair and how much into Penske's pocket?

[Methanolandbrats]

Is the track coming up?

The start of practice will be delayed for course repair from the ALMS practice.
2007-08-31 10:27:31

Surface flag is being shown in T3a.
2007-08-31 11:23:03 Hopefully the surface is so bad the ALMS can't race. Then the IRL can do an open wheel rallycross. Just raise the ride height, install soft springs and put on those skinny tires they use to roll around the pits.:thumbup:

[pchall]

First IRL practice has now run for 1:43 and change. Just how long does it take to get a decent street/road set up on a Dallaradart?

Flagged at 1:58 whatever.

1 Dario Franchitti (27) 101.602

11 Darren Manning (14) 98.817
12 Danica Patrick (7) 97.812

16 AJ Foyt IV (22) 96.813
17 Ed Carpenter (20) 96.139

WTF have they done with the course? HCN qualified at 114.9 mph in 2001.

[cameraman]

Just how long does it take to get a decent street/road set up on a Dallaradart?

Attempting the impossible usually isn't quick.

[extramundane]

Is the track coming up?

The start of practice will be delayed for course repair from the ALMS practice.
2007-08-31 10:27:31

Surface flag is being shown in T3a.
2007-08-31 11:23:03

ALMS practice was a clusterf***.


-Viper backs into the wall.
-Intersport Creation backs into the wall
-Lowe's Lola and #4 Vette make contact
-Tafel Porsche hits the back of the TranSport Porsche on pitlane.
-Mazda loses it's rear diffuser on course
-Tafel Porsche and 45 FLM make contact
-#7 Penske Porsche runs into the back of the Intersport Creation
-#44 FLM Porsche taps the wall and pulls off course
-#3 Vette runs into the back of the Intersport Creation
-#71 Tafel Porsche hits an access ramp left on the circuit by marshals used to get drivers over the wall and the tire that was lost hits three cars.

Cue up the circus music. :shakehead

[FCYTravis]

What on Earth did they expect, running at friggin' Belle Isle, the poster-child for terrible street courses? :shakehead

[cameraman]

Oh brother, this is going to be sad. :shakehead



Detroit is a 2.1-mile street course on Belle Isle. It's a semi-permanent street course; if there is such a thing. The surface varies from concrete to asphalt. Some of the concrete is grooved in the direction of travel and will deliver high grip, and some looks like normal concrete slabs, with a brushed surface. The concrete will gain grip as cars put down rubber. The asphalt looks old and weathered; the asphalt parts are mostly high-speed corners.

I'm sure the grip will vary by corner and somewhat with conditions. The braking zone, off the backstraight, is shaded by trees and thus will have different grip to the rest of the track when it's sunny. The surface is bumpy but less than Houston and more than Long Beach. We expect a rather modest top speed here, about 235-240 Kph (about 150 mph); the straights are short. The curbing, for most of the track, is pretty aggressive and probably can't be used to any advantage. T8 (Turn 8) has some temporary entrance curbs that may be usable. The track has some high-speed corners reminiscent of St. Pete and one change of direction section at T4-6. There isn't much "point and squirt"; it's a flowing course. The layout is more of a road course with walls then a typical street course.

All of this on top of the extremely narrow nature of the track:irked:

[cameraman]

1 Dario Franchitti (27) 101.602

11 Darren Manning (14) 98.817
12 Danica Patrick (7) 97.812

16 AJ Foyt IV (22) 96.813
17 Ed Carpenter (20) 96.139

By way of comparison:

1 Sascha Maassen/Ryan Briscoe (6) 100.386 Porsche RS Spyder
2 Chris Dyson/Guy Smith (20) 99.802 Porsche RS Spyder

8 Dindo Capello/Allan McNish (1) 97.592 Audi R10 TDI

12 Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin (4) 90.114 Corvette C6.R

14 Eric Helary/Gianmaria Bruni (61) 87.467 Ferrari F430 GT

[cameraman]

1 Helio Castroneves (3) 101.646
2 Dario Franchitti (27) 101.429
5 Marco Andretti (26) 99.998
6 Ryan Hunter-Reay (17) 99.777
10 Darren Manning (14) 98.883
11 Danica Patrick (7) 98.319
15 Ed Carpenter (20) 96.967
17 Sarah Fisher (5) 95.706

Versus

1 LMP2 Sascha Maassen/Ryan Briscoe 101.585 Porsche RS Spyder
7 LMP1 Dindo Capello/Allan McNish 98.938 Audi R10 TDI
12 LMGT1 Johnny O'Connell/Jan Magnussen 91.935 Corvette C6.R
15 LMGT2 Eric Helary/Gianmaria Bruni 88.100 Ferrari F430 GT


The Porsche RS Spyder would have qualified second in the IRL session:shakehead
The Audi R10 would have been ninth

[Methanolandbrats]

1 Helio Castroneves (3) 101.646
2 Dario Franchitti (27) 101.429
5 Marco Andretti (26) 99.998
6 Ryan Hunter-Reay (17) 99.777
10 Darren Manning (14) 98.883
11 Danica Patrick (7) 98.319
15 Ed Carpenter (20) 96.967
17 Sarah Fisher (5) 95.706

Versus

1 LMP2 Sascha Maassen/Ryan Briscoe 101.585 Porsche RS Spyder
7 LMP1 Dindo Capello/Allan McNish 98.938 Audi R10 TDI
12 LMGT1 Johnny O'Connell/Jan Magnussen 91.935 Corvette C6.R
15 LMGT2 Eric Helary/Gianmaria Bruni 88.100 Ferrari F430 GT


The Porsche RS Spyder would have qualified second in the IRL session:shakehead
The Audi R10 would have been ninth Marketing idea-------------> run the IRL and ALMS races together :D :thumbup:

[Wheel-Nut]

End of session. #6 Sam Hornish Jr is into the wall in T3.
2007-08-31 15:00:39

[stroker]

:laugh:

Ya know, I've always said Belle Isle had only one true problem - one bridge.

That puppy falls in, no one can get to the track and no team can get their hauler off.

On a completely unrelated topic, anyone got a couple dozen pounds of C4? ;) :tony:

Will det cord be acceptable?

[devilmaster]

Will det cord be acceptable?

nah. gotta mow the lawn and then vacuum the pool. thats more important. :D

[Methanolandbrats]

I was taping this thing in case the AGR homos run into each other again, I enjoy that. I see Little Andretti is out, did he screw the pooch? Did he figure out a way to flip it? Man those ****boxes are slow, they were exiting corners so slowly I thought there was a full course caution........turns out the track was green.

[Sean O'Gorman]

Well that was an interesting end. I hope there is a good fight afterwards.

EDIT: Dixon totally did that on purpose, but I can't think of a more deserving team to have it happen to.

[DagoFast]

Nice thinking on your feet there Dixon! If cheep weren't so, you know, cheeep, he'd give you a nice bonus for that move. :laugh:

[NismoZ]

Beauty, eh?:gomer: Who thought we'd see the day a team finishes 1-2 and the owner is STILL pissed!:D (He had a right to be. If The League had any balls they'd dock DICKson the # of points Dario AND Rice would have received without the incident, minus the 9 car.:), and about 25k , too.)

[Elmo T]

Got a late start on painting and I flipped it on in the family room. Heard three memorable things: Foyt IV is available (on the market or free agent or something like that) because he has no ride for next year, Scott Goodyear bloviating about Buddy Rice still being a top driver and "having it" because he was leading the race (didn't pit :laugh: ), and the pit reporter lady saying they were "only" fueling the car and changing tires.

OT - Watching a burning Flying Lizard on the DVR now. :eek:

[stroker]

nah. gotta mow the lawn and then vacuum the pool. thats more important. :D

glad to see you got your priorities straight.

:)

[NismoZ]

Scratch my earlier rant. It's all Rice's fault. He ran out of gas and caused the whole thing. He said he was sorry, though!:)