BACK IN BUSINESS FOR HERTA, QUALIFYING HAPPY END.Byline: Tim Haddock Staff Writer FONTANA - A day after sliding the back end of his car into the California Speedway The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. wall, Valencia's Bryan Herta Bryan Herta (b. May 23 1970, Warren, Michigan) is an American race car driver. He currently drives for Andretti Green Racing, which is co-owned by former CART and IRL driver Michael Andretti, in the ALMS, although his career has primarily been spent in open-wheel cars and his Andretti Green Racing Andretti Green Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the IRL IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. Early years in CART Founded in 1993 by Barry Green and Gerry Forsythe as Forsythe Green Racing team were scrambling Saturday to find a qualifying and race setup that worked. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what happened, I really don't,'' Herta said of the crash. ``The car got a little loose going into turn 2 on the lap before. The next lap, I went into the corner, and it just came around.'' Dr. Henry Block, Indy Racing League The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League consists of two series, the premiere IndyCar Series director of medical services, examined Herta after the crash. He was released from the track's infield medical center and cleared to race. Herta said his team has been playing catch-up ever since the crash that forced the Hart High of Newhall graduate into the team's backup car for today's Toyota Indy 400. On Saturday, he qualified 14th, outside row 7, and turned his best lap in 32.2428 seconds (223.306 mph). Indy Racing League points leader Helio Castroneves, driver for Team Penske, won the pole with a best lap of 31.7521 seconds (226.757 mph) on the 2-mile D-shaped oval. ``It sets you behind a little bit,'' said Herta, driver of the No. 27 Andretti Green Racing Honda. ``I missed our team's first test here, too, so I didn't have the benefit of doing all that stuff. It's gotten more comfortable. ``It's still not totally where we'd like it, but we definitely made progress there for qualifying.'' Because of the crash and the limited practice time, Herta's team will be relying on his Andretti Green teammates, Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah Kanaan Filho (born December 31, 1974) is a Brazilian race car driver of Lebanese Christian heritage from Salvador, Brazil. Kanaan is an IndyCar driver who holds the unique distinction of being the only driver in the long and storied history of the Indianapolis and Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Weldon (born June 22 1989 in Emberton, England) is a successful English auto racing driver. The 2005 Indy Racing League champion and Indy 500 winner, Wheldon is nicknamed "Difficult Dan" in the IRL pit lane for his choleric temperament. He currently resides in St. , to help set up his car. ``We trust them. It's one of the benefits of having a three-car team,'' Herta said. ``That's what great about having a team like this.'' Wheldon, a rookie driver for Andretti Green Racing, had the best qualifying run of the three. He will start fourth, outside row 2, and turned a best lap of 31.9014 seconds (225.695 mph). Kanaan, the last driver to qualify in the 22-car field, will start fifth. His best lap was 31.9719 seconds (225.198 mph). ``Sometimes it's an advantage to be the last qualifier, and sometimes it's a disadvantage,'' Kanaan said. ``I think (Saturday) I wanted to be the first guy because I knew it was going to get hot. At these types of places, the heat affects the downforce The term downforce describes the downward pressure created by the aerodynamic characteristics of a car that allows it to travel faster through a corner by holding the car to the track or road surface. and the way that the engine works. I'm happy. Honda did a great job.'' Herta's crash Friday occurred early in the first morning session. Consequently, he lost a half-day of practice. ``It was a difficult day for us all around. (Friday) morning was a setback, and we just haven't found a setup that I'm happy with yet,'' Herta said. ``We're going to take a good look and Dan and Tony's notes, then Allen (McDonald, race engineer) and I will sit down and get the Archipelago/Motorola car running better (Saturday).'' In addition to having to recover from crashing his primary car, Herta said he expects the hot weather play a role in today's race. ``It was a little windy (Friday) afternoon, so that made it tough in turn 2,'' he said. ``This place is kind of always like that. Wind conditions, the heat and everything has a big play in it.'' --NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Ted Musgrave Ted Musgrave was born on December 18, 1955 in Waukegan, Illinois . He drives the #9 Team ASE Toyota in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Germain Racing. Pre-NASCAR Musgrave fell in love with racing as his father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest. won his third race of the NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Craftsman Truck Series season. The driver of the No. 1 Mopar Performance Dodge passed points leader Brendan Gaughan Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) is a truck racer from Las Vegas, Nevada. Gaughan is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. with nine laps to go in the American Racing American Racing Equipment Inc. is a high performance after-market wheel manufacture started during the American muscle car era. History American Racing was founded by Romeo Palamides, a drag racer, J.O. Wheels 200. It was Musgrave's third victory in a row at California Speedway and the 13th of his Truck Series career. ``What a day,'' Musgrave said. ``It was a pretty awesome day with everyone involved in the pit area, to the guys setting up the truck to everything that was done on pit road. We started in the rear due to an engine change, but here in Fontana, it's just a fantastic place to start in the rear and make some moves.'' Lance Hooper, a Saugus High graduate who won a couple of NASCAR Sportsman class championships at Saugus Speedway, faded quickly in the race. He started 18th but withdrew after 38 laps because of a vibration. He finished 32nd. Tim Haddock, (818) 713-3715 timothy.haddock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Valencia's Bryan Herta, shown here at the Kansas Speedway in July, qualified 14th for today's Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway in Fontana. Ed Zurga/Associated Press |
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