IndyCar
IRL: Phoenix: Panoz Friday report
Dixon, Sharp, Rice lead Panoz troops in Phoenix qualifying AVONDALE, March 18, 2005 - The XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 Presented by Argent Mortgage might not have Panoz runners on the front row of a 22-car grid but all eight agree their cars are ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:32 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Dixon, Sharp, Rice lead Panoz troops in Phoenix qualifying
AVONDALE, March 18, 2005 - The XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 Presented by Argent Mortgage might not have Panoz runners on the front row of a 22-car grid but all eight agree their cars are ready for 200 laps around the fast and tricky Phoenix International Raceway one-mile oval tomorrow afternoon.
In the first two-day meeting on a 17-race 2005 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series calendar, Scott Dixon qualified eighth in the #9 Team Target Panoz/Toyota/Firestone entry at 175.439mph, one mile per hour off polesitter Bryan Herta's quick lap.
The 2003 IRL champion remarked he was "fairly happy with the car. It's definitely better in turns 1 and 2 here - the key to a fast lap around this track - and we were flat, trimmed out for qualifying."
The soft-spoken Dixon, who finished second here last year, had "a gearbox issue in the morning that we needed to sort out. The car is pretty decent considering the [small] amount of laps we had. We're pretty consistent on the long runs," the Kiwi noted.
Marking his 100th IRL start, Scott Sharp lines up ninth after lapping this track at 175.362mph in his #8 Delphi/Fernandez Panoz/Honda. Sharp feels like he's not a new lease on his racing life after joining Fernandez Racing for the 2005 season: "I've got a good race car for tomorrow. We cut into our qualifying performance a bit and may have hurt our grid spot" by concentrating on the race set-up.
"The engineering staff really know this car and they've put great time and effort into finding things to make it better. The car is just solid; we really took a step forward with the Panoz. Tomorrow is pay day and that's where I think we are going to shine," declared the 1998 Phoenix race winner.
Phoenix native Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winner starts tenth with his #15 Argent Mortgage/Pioneer Panoz/Honda at 175.115mph. Rice recognizes this is "a handling track and we have to stay with the pack early; then we can make the right adjustments after the first tank-load," he revealed.
"We ran a lot of laps in practice with lots of fuel and I think our Panoz is pretty comfortable. Traffic will play a major role in the race so we need to have a good solid car early so we can be competitive. I'm confident we can run with the leaders. That's our goal," Rice declared.
In what is known as the Valley of the Sun, qualifying was held under cool and overcast conditions today. Rain has been forecast for tonight and showers for tomorrow but the Indy Racing League and its denizens hope squalls spare the area sufficiently to accomplish a 200-lap sprint around Phoenix's daunting walls. The race will be telecast live in the USA on ABC television.
-panoz-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article CHAMPCAR/CART: New Director of Technology announced
Next article CHAMPCAR/CART: Walker Racing takes two
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Dixon
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
IndyCar
IndyCar
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
IndyCar
IndyCar
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
Latest news
Carson Hocevar credits tow truck driver for saving his race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
1 min
Carson Hocevar credits tow truck driver for saving his race at Talladega
Brad Keselowski to address questions about NASCAR future and RFK exit at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
1 h
Brad Keselowski to address questions about NASCAR future and RFK exit at Martinsville
Hamlin says Chevy teams 'suck at the teat' of Hendrick on superspeedways
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
4 h
Hamlin says Chevy teams 'suck at the teat' of Hendrick on superspeedways
Valtteri Bottas denies he might lose his Cadillac seat for F1 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
4 h
Valtteri Bottas denies he might lose his Cadillac seat for F1 2027
Feature
Discover prime content
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe