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Notebook NASCAR teammates to drive Porsche at Watkins Glen
NEW YORK (AP) -- NASCAR teammates Kyle Petty and John Andretti will drive a Porsche GT3R at Watkins Glen International. No, it's not a change of equipment for the Winston Cup race at the Glen on Aug. 12. They will share one of three Orbit Racing entries Aug. 10 in the Rolex Sports Car Series' Bully Hill Vineyards 250. The teammates from Petty Enterprises have experience in sports cars. Petty drove for Orbit in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, teaming with Leo Hindery, Gian Luigi Buitoni and Peter Baron to finish seventh in the GT Class. Andretti won the 1989 Rolex 24 in a Porsche 962 he shared with Bob Wollek and Derek Bell. "Kyle had a great time in Daytona with the team and he really likes them," Andretti said. "We'll come out, have a good time and hopefully do well." IROC finale this weekendBobby Labonte takes a one-point lead on 1999 Indy 500 winner Kenny Brack into the final IROC all-star race of the year Saturday in Indianapolis. Labonte's Winston Cup teammate, Tony Stewart, and 1998 Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever are tied for third with 38 points. Brack and Cheever are trying to become the first open-wheel drivers to win the four-race series since Al Unser Jr. in 1988. With a maximum of 26 points awarded to the winner, seven of the 11 drivers are in the running for the title. Unser will replace the injured Scott Goodyear for the second consecutive race, with the points going toward Goodyear's total. Goodyear, seventh in the standings, broke his back in the Indy 500. The series champion will receive $250,000.
Fast lapsSam Hornish Jr., closing in on his first Indy Racing League championship, topped the speed chart Tuesday in open testing at Gateway International Raceway. Hornish, 40 points ahead of 2000 champion Buddy Lazier, turned a lap at 169.152 mph in Panther Racing's Dallara-Oldsmobile. The Gateway Indy 250 is Aug. 26 on the 1.5-mile oval near St. Louis. "It makes us happy because we know that we have a pretty competitive car right now, and we are fast," Hornish said. "It is better than being slowest." Rookie Felipe Giaffone was second fastest at 168.090.
Passing gradeChris Menninga passed his Indy Racing League rookie test at Kentucky Speedway. Under the observation of IRL technical manager Mark Bridges, Menninga completed the four speed phases of the test in less than 70 laps last week with a top speed of 212.2 mph on the 1.5-mile oval. Menninga drove the Dallara-Oldsmobile raced earlier this season by Stan Wattles. "He got right with the program after he warmed it up and settled in," Bridges said. "He used his head. He can communicate real well. He can give feedback on what the car is doing." Menninga drove in the Indy Lights series in 1999 and 2000.
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