Kanaan benefits from rain
A fierce downpour washed out qualifying Saturday for the Honda Indy 225 IRL IndyCar Series race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Kanaan, who had the fastest lap during the two practice sessions before the storm, will start from pole position.
Andretti Green Racing team-mate Dan Wheldon, who's chasing Kanaan for the series championship, will start alongside him on the front row. All four AGR cars will start among the top six: Dario Franchitti had the fourth-fastest lap in Saturday's combined practice results, while Bryan Herta had the sixth-best.
"It's a shame we didn't get to qualify," Kanaan said. "I think this team could have gone 1-2-3-4. It's not the way we wanted it to be, but I'll take it."
Kanaan was clocked at 20.6527 seconds - 174.311mph - in the No. 11 Andretti Green Racing Honda-powered Dallara during the afternoon session. At 173.586mph in the same session, Wheldon's No. 26 AGR Honda/Dallara was second-fastest.
Rahal Letterman Racing driver Vitor Meira, who will start fourth, helped Honda make it a top-four sweep in his Honda/Panoz G Force. Helio Castroneves was the only Toyota to break the top seven. He'll start fifth.
"All four Andretti Green cars were very strong," Wheldon said. "It's a critical moment in the season. You can tell the difference between the teams that are in the championship battle and those that aren't. The ones that are in it are trying different things."
Buddy Rice, who trails Kanaan by 50 points with five races remaining in the season, will start 11th Sunday. Adrian Fernandez, last week's winner at Kentucky Speedway, will start seventh.
Chevrolet's struggles continued Saturday as Felipe Giaffone posted the fastest lap for GM Racing. He will start 12th.
The only incident of the day sent Kosuke Matsuura to his back-up car.
Matsuura's No. 55 Super Aguri Fernandez Racing Honda/G Force spun and hit the wall during the second practice session Saturday. Matsuura was not hurt, but the car was badly damaged.
"There was no sign of a problem with the car, so I don't know why I spun," Matsuura said. "We are now trying to find out what happened."
Laser Tools Racing continues in BTCC with Hill
The Laser Tools Racing name that was carried to British Touring Car Championship titles in 2020 and 2021 will continue in the series after all with Jake Hill.
McLaren to share F1 reserve driver Schumacher with Mercedes
Mercedes Formula 1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher will be also made available as a stand-in to McLaren, the Woking team has announced.
NASCAR Next Gen car gets safety upgrades for 2023 season
NASCAR unveiled some changes to the Next Gen car for the 2023 season, with most enhancing its safety aspects.
O’Ward optimistic about Rossi and that McLaren IndyCar DNFs can be reduced
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward says he’s confident that Alexander Rossi will be a strong addition to the line-up and that the team has gotten on top of its mechanical woes.
Nigel Mansell’s greatest F1 and Indycar drives
It’s 30 years since Mansell won the Formula 1 world title and then headed off to do battle in America. Here are his best races – and the Briton’s memories of them
How Ericsson achieved Indy immortality as Ganassi's main man stumbled
Chip Ganassi Racing team was strong again in the Indianapolis 500, with poleman Scott Dixon and reigning champion Alex Palou leading almost three quarters of the race between them. But when dominator Dixon was penalised for pitlane speeding, ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson stepped up to score the biggest win of his career and seize the IndyCar points lead
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
In an enthralling 2021 IndyCar campaign, the series bounced back from its COVID-19 truncated year prior and Alex Palou defeated both the established order and his fellow young guns to clinch a maiden title. It capped a remarkable season with plenty of standout performers
How F1's other IndyCar exile finally unlocked his potential
Romain Grosjean's swashbuckling rookie year in IndyCar captured the imagination of many in 2021. But another ex-Formula 1 driver whose potential was masked by five years of toil in, at best, middling machinery also enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 - winning twice and finishing sixth in points. Here's how Marcus Ericsson finally delivered on his promise
How Ganassi's relentless new champion outfoxed IndyCar's best
IndyCar sophomore Alex Palou stunned by overcoming team-mate Scott Dixon and the rest of a white-hot field in 2021. He was consistently fast and crucially showed a level head, rebounding well from setbacks to put himself in a near unassailable position entering the final round
Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCar’s next winning match-up?
Despite appearing to have an IndyCar job for life with Meyer Shank Racing, Jack Harvey’s departure and move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing sparked plenty of debate. However, Harvey's and RLL's combined strengths could prove to be a winning combination - if they get the balance right
Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing IndyCar win
Saturday 16 October marks the 10th anniversary of Dan Wheldon’s death. David Malsher-Lopez pays tribute, then asks Wheldon’s race engineer from 2011, Todd Malloy, to recall that magical second victory at the Indianapolis 500
Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting
Kyle Kirkwood, the record-setting junior formula driver, sealed the Indy Lights championship last weekend. But despite an absurdly strong junior career and scholarship money, his next move is far from clear
Subscribe and access Autosport.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.