IndyCar

IRL: Richmond: G Force qualifying report

G Force drivers Jeff Ward and Felipe Giaffone fought their way into the top ten today during a tough Indy Racing League qualifying for tomorrow night's SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. Driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, ...

Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:47 AM

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G Force drivers Jeff Ward and Felipe Giaffone fought their way into the top ten today during a tough Indy Racing League qualifying for tomorrow night's SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway.

Driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, Ward was the fastest man aboard a G Force chassis in seventh spot, recording a speed of 164.551mph around the tightest track on the IRL schedule.

Giaffone set the 10th fastest time, setting a speed of 163.913mph aboard his Mo Nunn Racing machine on the 3/4 mile oval.

Ward was pleased with his qualifying performance, but was hoping to record a slightly faster qualifying speed.

"It was pretty good. It just kind of pushed up a little bit in (Turn) 1. I was good down the backstraight. I thought we would have been a little quicker than practice. We were a little bit, but not much as we thought."

"Just making sure your car stays on the bottom good and it’s not loose off the cornerwill be the secret in the race.

"That's hard to do. We have a really good handle on the race setup. I think we needed to be a little more aggressive on the qualifying set-up."

Sarah Fisher qualified in 15th position in her Dreyer & Reinbold team G Force in her return to full-time IRL competition.

George Mack however, was not so fortunate - crashing in practice and electing to skip qualifying as the team repaired the car for the race under lights on Saturday night.

Giaffone was disappointed with his qualifying performance after setting the fastest time in the opening practice session.

"We started the day so well. We were first in the opening practice and had the (IRL) track record for a while," Giaffone said.

"But then we fell back to sixth in the second practice session, and I thought for sure we would do a lot better in qualifying. We did not want to start the race in this position.

"We will have to race very hard and stay out of trouble so that we can be there at the end and make a charge at the finish.

"But this is not an easy track to pass other drivers. Teamwork will be very important because the best way to pass other drivers will be during the pit stops."

G Force had four of the top ten finishers in last year's Richmond race. Tomorrow's race will begin at 7.30pm.

-g force-

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