Ron's letter from America* - 21st June 09
We had a good crowd for the Firestone Indy Lights race held under lights at Iowa Speedway tonight and a great race. There were a few too many accidents and I wouldn’t like to pay the bills.
We were only running one car at this round and our driver Charlie Kimball drove very well finishing seventh with no damage. He’s a good driver but maybe lacks a little experience. But the main thing is that he finished.
It was a great weekend for him as right from the time we wheeled the car out of the truck he was on the pace, leading the first practice. Seventh is good as we pick up $US14k which all helps.
It finished under a yellow (caution) with two cars collecting each other.
Wade (Cunningham) was unfortunate in not picking up the win. He did exceptionally until Saavendra balked him heavily. Any other driver would have lost three or four places but Wade was able to get out of it.
You’ve got to remember that on these ovals, and this is a short one (.875 miles) if you slow for any reason then it takes two laps to catch back up. By the time Wade did it was the last lap and bang there was a crash and the whole thing finished under yellow.
Anna Beatriz, the winner drove a superb race. She took her opportunities but it was Wade that dominated the race.
Qualifying didn’t happen with the IndyCars because of the weather and puddling down on the back straight. Scott (Dixon) starts on three behind Castroneves on pole and Briscoe alongside him. This has been determined by the entrants points. It’s strange because Castroneves missed out on the first round but picks up entrants points because Will Power drove his car at St Petersburg. Apparently it is the points from the car and not the driver.
Anyway Scott is not unhappy with his car so we are looking forward to tomorrow.
Other letters from Ron
- Castroneves claims Texas, Dixon third
Qualifying was average, the racing should be great
*Ron Dixon is father to Indianapolis 500 winner and 2003 & 08 IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. He is also the President of Palm Beach International Raceway, Junpitor, Florida. This season nzracer.com follows Ron on his road trip around America with the Indycar Championship. Each week Ron will give us the insiders view from track side, pit lane and behind the scenes.
