by Lynne HunttingSunday's schedule at warm and breezy Infineon Raceway included Indy Racing League's Indy Pro Series and IndyCars, as well as the Historic Grand Prix for classic Formula One cars.
RICHARD ANTINUCCI/#51 Cheever Racing won The Valley of the Moon 100 Indy Pro Race Sunday morning after starting second. He also turned the fastest lap and the fastest leading lap of 1m 23.4655a/99.203 mph on Lap 20 of the 30 lap race.
Pole sitter and Lloyd's Sam Schmidt Motorsports team-mate, RYAN JUSTICE finished second after leading the first 18 laps. Third was ANDREW PRENDEVILLE/#5 RLR/Andersen Racing. Fourth and fifth were LOGAN GOMEX/#23 Isilon Systems and STEPHEN SIMPSON/#24 Kenn-Hardley Racing. The top five drivers were all Rookies.
Saturday's Indy Pro winner and newly crowned 2007 IPS Champion, ALEX LLOYD/#7 Sam Schmidt Motorsports, didn't run Sunday's IPS race. Shortly after winning Saturday afternoon, he started the Armed Forces 250 Grand-Am Race for Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes. Lloyd qualified fifth in the #19 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley Daytona Prototype. He and co-driver MICHAEL VALIENTE finished fifteenth after Valiente had a race contact late in the race.
J.R. HILDEBRAND/#15 RLR/Anderson retired early from Sunday's IPS race, as his left wrist was hurting. Hildebrand hurt it Saturday in an unfortunate IPS race accident on Lap Two when he was taken out. The wrist was taped after Saturday's race as a precaution and again Sunday before the race, but it continued to pain Hildebrand, so he 'decided to cut his losses and call it a day'. “I wanted to bring the car back in one piece," he added. This was Hildebrand's first start in IPS. He ran the full Champ Car Atlantic Series, finishing seventh overall out of 34 drivers, and fourth in a full field of 24 drivers from around the world. Hildebrand was the top American Rookie.
The track temperature was 108 degrees F before the start of the IndyCar race.
SAM HORNISH Jr/#6 Team Penske is often asked about his future career plans, and comparing NASCAR to IRL. Hornish joked that the bumping is better in Busch now.
But seriously folks... Hornish said: "One difference in NASCAR versus IRL is the focus on Qualifying. In Busch the focus all weekend is to qualify well. I can't focus on the race early on while I'm learning."
Another difference Hornish noted is the qualifying setup: "In IRL the tyres have more grip, as they come straight from the tyre warmers. In NASCAR they're cold. In IRL there aren't huge changes in road course setups between qualifying and the race. In IRL the teams have spotters at all road courses. It helps at first, but can be hurtful in some ways. Some accidents can't be seen by the spotters, and other drivers may take it for granted the spotter will see and report everything so not look in the mirrors as often."
Hornish's first child is due 10 February 2008 and he and wife CRYSTAL don't know yet what it will be. She wants to know the baby's sex, but Sam doesn't. Hornish said: “Crystal usually gets what she wants. If it's a son, it will have a family name, such as Sam Hornish III.” They haven't yet selected any girls' names.
Hornish starts sixth in Sunday's race in #6 Team Penske.
