IRL to return in'06, Rolex added IRL to return, Rolex added

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 28, 2005 | by Jack Rux, STAFF WRITER

SONOMA -- Not only will the Indy Racing League return to Infineon Raceway in 2006, but also coming with it will be those cars that race the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Infineon Raceway and the Grand American Road Racing Association announced Saturday that the Rolex Sports Car Series would join the IRL on its weekend series, set for Aug. 25-27.

"Since renovating this facility, it has been our mission to offer fans in Northern California the widest variety of motor racing action," Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon, said Saturday.

"The (Rolex) series delivers some of the most consistently competitive racing of any series on any kind of track."

On hand at the Victory Lane was a Pontiac Daytona Prototype, which was fired up and roared away from the press conference.

The Grand Am cars, in which two classes race on the track simultaneously, prototypes and the slightly slower GT cars, that look more like the cars sold to the general public, will likely run a race of about two hours and 45 minutes and around 250 miles at Infineon's 2.26-mile, 12-turn road course.

The sports car series features exotic, thoroughbred racers that unlike the Indy Cars have roofs and fenders, but they reach in excess of 185 mph. Among its top drivers is Scott Pruett of Roseville, a former Champ Car Series regular who often races at Infineon in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race as a so-called "road-course ringer. He finished third in the NASCAR race in 2004.

Other leading drivers included Novato's Memo Gidley, Christian Fittipaldi, "Mad Max" Papis, Wayne Taylor, Butch Leitzinger and Elliott Forbes-Robinson.

Grand American president Roger Edmundson emphasized that the Rolex Series will still come to Laguna Seca in the springalong with a race at California Speedway. He envisioned a "California Triple Crown for the series.

RAHALS GOOD, BAD AND BEAUTIFUL: Bobby Rahal, the team owner along with late-night TV host David Letterman of the team for whom Danica Patrick drives, said 2005 has been "a phenomenal year in some respects and a disappointing year in others for his team."

Having failed to win a race and being out of the championship chase have been the big disappointments, while Patrick's rookie season earns high praise from the former Indy 500 winner and Indy- car series champion.

Of Patrick, Rahal said, "I think she's done a phenomenal job. We certainly never expected Japan. I mean she had two fourth-place finishes in the first four races. And Milwaukee, she was clearly not only the fastest car on our team but also of all the Panoz cars, and hanging with (Tony) Kanaan and (Dario) Franchitti.

She has exceeded his expectations "completely," he said.

"She still has a ways to go, there's no doubt about that, Rahal said, "but I think she has handled everything far better that I thought. The press, the demands, the interest, it's been great to see what she has done, and she has done it with class and dignity, even when there were some people around that didn't deal with her the same way.

ANOTHER ANDRETTI: Here comes the third generation in an All- American racing family, 18-year-old Marco Andretti, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Mario , and dad, Michael.

The young Andretti won his third pole of the season Saturday in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series and will start up front today in the Sonoma 100 that will precede the Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix. He ran his one qualifying lap at 98.307 mph. The other times he was on the pole, on the street course at St. Petersburg, Fla., and on the road course at Indy, Marco won.

Asked if he could perhaps give his granddad and dad some advice on racing, Marco replied, "They don't need it. They're done.

As for the Infineon course, the young Andretti added, "This is home for me. I know elevation changes and road courses.

FAST PASSES: In the two races of the day, Justin Hall of Davis won the Miata Cup race for those models of Mazda cars, and Hamish Somerville took the victory in the Moly Shield Oil Historic Grand Prix in a 1979 Williams. ... The Stars of Karting series, which runs at Infineon's top-notch karting track among others, announced a five- year extension with sponsor Snap On Tools.