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Detroit News 100 - Michigan
Race
Luck was out for Kane at Michigan
Jonny Kane Racing, 22nd July: Ulsterman Jonny Kane had a disappointing day at the Michigan Super Speedway. In a race that requires Lady Luck on your side, it appeared that things were progressing well until an incident saw the end of Jonny's race with 23 laps to go.
Felipe Giaffone took the win from Casey Mears. A closely fought race saw Tony Renna take third. The race was action packed with many unscheduled pit stops among the teams. Kane was forced to pit for a new steering arm on the front right of the car. Unfortunately the pack passed while Kane was in the pits putting him a lap down and it was then decided to call it a day.
Scott Dixon, Casey Mears and Jason Bright now tie the Championship lead with 56 points. Giaffone lies third with 53 and Townsend Bell fourth with 43 points. Jonny is presently 8th with a total of 32 points.
Jonny's comments:
"I'm afraid I made a mistake. It is very difficult running that close to people at this speed. The only way that people seem to be able to pass is to get a run on the straight and try and go around the outside. I had used that move a couple of times on the straight and Chris Menninga was trying to do that. He was on the outside and I was trying to stay as close to the people in front and the front end just washed out.
"I tried to keep away from him but there was just too much understeer and unfortunately I hit the side of him which put us both out. Thankfully I managed to straighten him up by hitting him again otherwise he could have had a pretty bad accident. I am looking forward to moving on to the next race and getting back into the hunt for the championship."
LOU SCHOLLUM, TEAM KOOL GREEN INDY LIGHTS TEAM MANAGER:
"I am disappointed for Jonny and the team as we put a lot of work into these Super Speedway races. Unfortunately once you are involved in an accident it takes some time to fix the car and there was really no point in continuing on as there were no points to be had and you are just putting yourself at risk. We look forward to Chicago and on to Mid-Ohio. We haven't lost out much in the points as a lot of the drivers have now bunched up."
Team KOOL Green, 22nd July: Team KOOL Green drivers Jonny Kane and Jeff Simmons took turns fighting their way to the front, but both had their races ruined by contact in today's 50-lap Indy Lights event at Michigan Speedway.
Felipe Giaffone by contrast led every lap of the race from pole, winning under yellow ahead of Casey Mears and Tony Renna in third. Simmons and Jason Bright had contact on lap 20, sending the TKG rookie driver to the pit lane for a new right front and left rear tire under a caution flag.
Simmons returned to action on the lead lap in 16th position. On lap 26, Kane and Chris Menninga came together. Kane had been fighting understeer and drifted up into Meninnga's car, taking both drivers from the race. Kane was placed 17th. Simmons, meanwhile, had recovered with some daring passes to move to fourth by lap 34. He was dicing with Townsend Bell when the two made contact on lap 37. Simmons pitted again under green for a change of nose cone, but lost a lap to the leaders. He finished 16th.
Friday qualifying
Jonny Kane Racing, 21st July: British driver Jonny Kane took his Team KOOL Green Lola Buick to seventh in qualifying today for tomorrow's Detroit News 100. Kane took the chequered flag on his solo lap with a time of 39.611 seconds, averaging 181.768 mph.
Felipe Giaffone will start from the pole with a time of 39.287 seconds (183.267mph). Alongside him will be team mate Chris Menninga on a time of 39.303 seconds (183.192mph). Tony Renna will line up third (39.451 seconds, 182.505mph) with Casey Mears fourth (39.485 seconds, 182.348 mph).
Kane took the pole here last year and was rather surprised by the lack of speed on the qualifying laps. Yesterday's misfire problem was caused by a stuck open injector, but had been rectified overnight. Fortunately for Kane qualifying positions don't really mean a lot for the race as there is so much drafting and overtaking. This will lead to a competitive and exciting race for the Ulsterman.
Jonny's comments:
"That is all there was in the car. We've been quicker than that by ourselves most of the weekend, but we haven't ended up too good. The car felt fine but just wasn't quick enough. There is nothing really you can do, it is flat out all the way round. It doesn't matter where you start here; Didier (Andre) started 17th at Fontana and led most laps so this is one race where it doesn't matter about qualifying too badly. I am a bit disappointed after getting the pole last year but we'll see. It is a long race tomorrow."
EDDIE JONES, TEAM KOOL GREEN INDY LIGHTS CHIEF ENGINEER:
"We are a bit baffled as to where our speed has gone compared to last year where we were on pole at both super speedways, but that is the nature of these kind of tracks for Indy Lights. It is difficult to say where the speed has gone but really for the race it doesn't matter. I don't believe the speed will be a problem tomorrow as the slipstream here is so powerful. It is just a case of getting a good slipstream and a break in the traffic and you can be at the front."
Team KOOL Green, 21st July: After having been at the top of the timesheets in practice, Team KOOL Green's Jonny Kane and Jeff Simmons fell off the pace a little in qualifying. Simmons had been the quickest of all the drivers in practice, but could only manage the 12th best lap in single-car qualifying as the last car to post a time. He lapped the 2-mile oval in 39.957 seconds (180.194 mph), while his team-mate Jonny Kane was seventh with a lap of 39.611 seconds (181.768 mph).
Grid
1. Felipe Giaffone 39.287 183.267
2. Chris Menninga 39.303 183.192
3. Tony Renna 39.451 182.505
4. Casey Mears 39.485 182.348
5. Jason Bright 39.489 182.329
6. Rodolfo Lavin 39.531 182.136
7. Jonny Kane 39.611 181.768
8. Todd Snyder 39.624 181.708
9. Townsend Bell 39.666 181.516
10. Rolando Quintanilla 39.685 181.429
11. Andy Boss 39.700 181.360
12. Jeff Simmons 39.957 180.194
13. Scott Dixon 40.026 179.833
14. Rudy Junco 40.166 179.256
15. Geoff Boss 40.175 179.216
16. Cory Witherill 40.212 179.051
17. Luis Diaz 40.419 178.134
18. Mario Dominguez Did not qualify
Thursday free practice
Jonny Kane Racing, 20th July: Team KOOL Green driver Jonny Kane had a mixed day at the Michigan Super Speedway. Today's combined practice times put Kane fourth overall, however he suffered a misfire towards the end of the last session of the afternoon.
Free practice times are not really a good indicator as to how tomorrow's qualifying will pan out as the drivers have to qualify on solo laps and do not have the aid of large tows to boost their times. Jonny was very happy with his car both in traffic and running by himself. Although it is difficult to judge when drivers are running truly without a tow, it would appear that Jonny is one of the quickest.
Kane has been troubled with mechanical problems this year but it is hoped that the misfire problem from today will be rectified for tomorrow. Jonny has another practice session in the morning before qualifying to get rid of any gremlins. Jonny is confident that if all comes together tomorrow he will have a good shot at pole:
"We seem to be pretty quick but it is hard to tell in these sessions who is running by themselves and who is not. We did a good lap in a tow earlier, which has put us up the time sheets. The car feels good in traffic but we won't really know where we are until tomorrow in qualifying.
"I think overall we have a quick car and tomorrow will be a matter of trying to cause as little scrub as possible whilst getting round the circuit and trying to be smooth and not do anything too aggressively."
Team KOOL Green, 20th July: Team KOOL Green's rookie driver Jeff Simmons was strong on the opening day of practice on the 2-mile oval at Michigan Speedway. Simmons stood atop the timesheets in his first visit to a superspeedway after three practice sessions with a lap of 38.485 seconds, averaging 187.086 mph.
Jonny Kane, who won the pole in his first trip to the Michigan track last season, was fourth fastest in the combined practice with a time of 38.524 seconds (186.896 mph). Townsend Bell, who finished second at the last race in Portland ahead of Simmons in third, was second quickest today with a time of 38.513 seconds (186.950 mph). Felipe Giaffone had the third best lap of the day, clocking a time of 38.515 seconds (186.940 mph).
Most of today's fast times, however, came by drafting behind other cars and picking up a large tow to go faster. This strategy, while important in the race, will not aid any of the drivers in qualifying. The 18-car field will return to the track for a 30-minute practice session tomorrow at 9:25 a.m. Eastern Time. Single-car qualifying will begin at 3:15 p.m.
Race previews
Jonny Kane Racing, 14th July: Ulsterman Jonny Kane takes to the Irish Hills of Michigan to take part in the fifth round of the Dayton Indy Lights Championship. The Detroit News 100 will be the official support race to the CART FedEx Championship round at the Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Kane will take to the 2 mile super speedway in his Team KOOL Green Lola Buick on Thursday for free practice before the 100 mile race on Saturday. The combination of the length of the circuit and its 18 degrees of banking leads to lap speeds averaging almost 200 mph. The aerodynamic drag on the lead car at such high speeds is so great that it is impossible to pull away from the people behind. This can only mean one thing- a highly competitive race during which the lead can change many times.
Jonny qualified on pole last year but unfortunately his lack of tactical experience on super speedways saw him swallowed up during the race. However later in the season at a similar layout at Fontana Speedway he showed that he had learnt by his mistakes when he took pole and went on to take his first Indy Lights win.
Kane's last outing at Portland for Team KOOL Green proved disappointing when after showing his speed all weekend in practice and qualifying an engine problem caused him to retire from the race. Jonny is confident that he can show his ability again and that with a little luck which is often required in super speedway racing that he can claim another victory for Team KOOL Green.
Jonny comments:
"The super speedways are normally the most exciting races on the calendar and were probably my most successful tracks last year. As you are unable to do any testing on these circuits we should be in good shape. We had one of the fastest cars here last year.
"I think it is important over the next few races to gain as many points as possible to get back in the hunt for the championship. Two mechanical failures from four starts this season has seen me drop back in the championship standings but I am sure we will be able to make up the deficit, hopefully starting this weekend."
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