The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 38

D8 MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2004 ind Sports THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM AUTO RACING Scheckter runs into trouble Pit road incident, poorly timed pit stop, misjudged fuel load relegate him to 19th place. 1 II Af Vg Michigan Indy 400 (Top finishers) Driver Car 1. Buddy Rice G-H 2. Tony Kanaan D-H 3. Dan Wheldon D-H 4.

Sam Hornish Jr. D-T 5. Vitor Meira G-H 6. Bryan Herta D-H 7. Scott Dixon G-T 8.

Townsend Bell D-C 9. Scott Sharp D-T 10. Helio Castroneves D-T By Curt Cavln curt.cavinindystar.com BROOKLYN, Mich. Tomas Scheckter consistently was the fastest driver in Sunday's Michigan Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It didn't lead to a good finish.

The Panther Racing driver had more bad luck than the rest of the 22-car field combined. Scheckter was capable of finishing in the top three but ended up 19th, three laps off the pace. Pick a problem and the South African had it. Tora Takagi spun him into his crew on pit road, costing him a lap to the leaders. A green-flag stop came just ahead of the yellow, on which everyone else benefited.

His crew misjudged his fuel level and he ran out on lap 155. "Our Chevy was the car to beat today," Scheckter said. "We could get through traffic with no problem." Chesson wins first race Former sprint-car driver P.J. Chesson bounced his race car off the pit road wall following Sunday's Menards Infiniti Pro Series race at MIS. At least he was on his way to victory lane.

It was an unusual end to a stunning weekend for the World of Outlaws product. Sunday's start was just his fourth on a pavement track, and yet he found himself swapping the lead with series standout Thiago Medeiros over the final 20 laps. Chesson held on for a 0.941-second victory on the fast and spacious 2-mile oval track, a remarkable achievement for a driver still trying to learn the complexities of cars that battle aerodynamic drafts. It was the first series victory for the 25-year-old driver from Far Hills, N.J. "The only time I've sat like that Matt Detrtch The Star Dude, the track's that way: Jimmie Johnson gets the signal to go from his pit crew late in the Pennsylvania 500.

Johnson padded his Nextel Cup points lead with a victory. His teammate, four-time series champ Jeff Gordon, now stands second. Chassis: G-G Force, D-Dallara Engines: H-Honda, T-Toyota, C-Chevrolet Series points leaders: Kanaan, 400; Rice, 343; Wheldon, 311; Castroneves, 280; Hornish, 267 is in a lawn chair drinking a beer on the beach," Chesson said of his reclined position in the Mo Nunn Racing machine. "They use words here like 'slipstream' and and I say 'blast 'em' and 'run on the Different lingo." Chesson's first pavement race was July 3 at Kansas Speedway, and he spun twice. He was similarly sideways July 17 at Nashville (Term.) Superspeedway, but he calmed down to finish second last week at the Milwaukee Mile.

The winning team could grow to a two-Chesson team. Younger brother James Chesson is scheduled to test a car Wednesday at Chicagoland Speedway at Joliet, 111. Test this week Tomas Enge, a former F3000 standout who had a brief stint in Formula One, and Medeiros will take their IndyCar rookie tests today at Chicagoland and test Tuesday with Patrick Racing. Call Star reporter Curt Cavin at (317) 444-6409. Earnhardt Jr.

reeling (A -rr ft At the Speedway Friday: Practice, 2-4 p.m.; $10 (5 and under free) Saturday: Qualifying, 10:10 a.m.; practice, p.m.; p.m.; $15 (5 and under free) Sunday: Race, 1:30 p.m., WTHR-13 (coverage begins at 1 p.m.), WIBC-1070 Buying tickets In advance: (800) 822-INDY, (317) 492-6700, AtlRP Thursday: USAC JD Byrider 100, 8 p.m.; (12 and under free) Friday: NASCAR Trucks Power Stroke Diesel 200, 7 p.m.; (5 and under free) Saturday: NASCAR Busch Kroger 200, 7 p.m.; (5 and under free) Buying tickets in advance: He exits ill-handling car after 52 laps, leaving his availability for Brickyard unsure. By Steve Ballard steve.ballardindystar.com LONG POND, Pa. Dale Earnhardt health going into the Brickyard 400 became a major question mark Sunday when he was forced to get out of his car early for the second week in a row. Earnhardt turned his Chevrolet over to Indianapolis native John Andretti after completing just 52-of-200 laps of the 22-mile Pocono Raceway. A week ago at New Hampshire, he yielded to Martin Truex Jr.

after 61 laps of the 1-mile oval Earnhardt, who started 16th, was a lap down in 32nd place when he called it a day. He was clearly disconsolate as he sat in his pit, head down, while Andretti was strapped into the car. Earnhardt said later he got out more because of the car's condition than his own. But he clearly still is experiencing considerable discomfort from the second-degree burns to his thighs suffered two weeks ago in a fiery crash in a sports car at Sonoma, Calif. "Hopefully I can go to Indy and get through it," he said.

"I think I'll be able to without any problem. I just wish this thing would heal up a little faster." With Andretti firushing 25th, seven laps down, Earnhardt fell one spot to third in the Nextel Cup standings, 35 points behind Jeff Gordon and 267 behind NASCAR NOTEBOOK race winner Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt admitted to numbness and cramping in his foot but said he would have been stayed in for the full 500 miles if his car had been at all competitive. "The car was so bad, there was no use for me being in there wasting my time," he said. "I'm just really disappointed that things are going like they're going." The car was so difficult to handle that Andretti brushed the wall shortly after taking over.

He continued but a few minutes later was black-flagged by race officials for being unable to maintain the minimum required speed. The problem turned out to be a broken front sway bar, which stabilizes the front suspensioa The team replaced it and Andretti returned to the track to salvage the best finish he could. Etc. With his 10th career win, Johnson has double victories at a racetrack in each of his first three seasons: Pocono (2004), New Hampshire 003) and Dover, Del 002). He is the fifth driver to win twice at Pocono in one year.

Despite rallying from two laps down to finish 13th, Ryan Newman isn't optimistic about his Brickyard 400 chances. "We've got some thinking to do," he said. Greg Sacks, 51, lasted only 19 laps and placed 42nd in his first start since April 1998, when he injured his back in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway. Call Star reporter Steve Ballard at (317) 444-6184 i i vf- -i r' Rice pointed out that he and Kanaan both have Honda engines, which means, in theory, their fuel mileage should be the same. Rice likely had an advantage following Kanaan for so long, said Scott Roembke, general manager of Rice's Rahal Letterman Racing.

"It's tough to save fuel and lead the race," Roembke said. Other than Panther's Namis-nak, right-front tire changers Mike Horvath of AGR and Rhrodi Griffiths of Super Aguri Fernandez Racing suffered bruised legs and ankles when they were knocked to the ground in separate incidents. Namisnak was struck when his driver, Tomas Scheckter, got turned sideways entering the pit box by Tora Takagi, who was exiting his pit. Horvath was about to change Dan Wheldon's tire when Vitor Meira hit him following rear contact from Adrian Fernandez. Griffiths was flipped upside down by Fernandez, one of the team's co-owners.

Fernandez admitted locking up his rear tires on entrance, causing the car to spia Except for Wheldon, who said the exit off the fourth turn creates too much side-by-side action on pit road, no one blamed the track. "I think the reason was just (bad) luck," Fernandez said. "It's part of racing, and you have to be careful." Said Roger Penske, the former owner of the 2-mile facility: "There's plenty of room (on pit road). It's like 1-465 in Indianapolis compared to Milwaukee." All of the affected crew members completed their jobs on that stop. It wasn't until Scheckter was back on the track that Namisnak was placed on a stretcher.

Namisnak was taken to Indianapolis for additional treatment. Horvath and Griffiths were sore but worked the rest of the race. Call Star reporter Curt Cavin at (317) 444-6409. Strategy Winner Rice was confident in his approach. From D1 Kanaan has won five races in his Indy-car career, including three this season, and he might have had his best-performing car Sunday.

He led all but six of the race's first 189 laps, giving up the top spot only to pit under greea The final segment of the 400-mile event came down to conserving fuel, and Kanaan thought he was doing a good enough job of it. But his team told him on the radio that Rice was going to run out of fuel before race's end. After some discussion, the concerned Kanaan figured the team knew best, so he let Rice go. "Then I see him make it (to the finish)," he said. "I'm not happy.

"Today, I don't think we were very smart. The other team was smarter than we were." Kanaan, who finished second, refused to lash out at his team. "I don't have to say anything; they know," he said. "It's our fault. I'm part of the team." Kanaan considered the setback a trade-off for his victory here in 1999.

Max Papis had the best car that day, but he ran out of fuel. Kanaan also noted that he didn't have the best car in the IRL's race two weeks ago in Nashville, Tena, but he won after Rice and Wheldon made contact. "I wish the best car always won these races, but I know that doesn't happen," Kanaan said. Rice did not apologize for his third victory of the seasoa He said he conserved fuel most of the race, even when he came charging from the back half of the pack following a lap 128 pit stop. "I wasn't once concerned about where I was running," the Indianapolis 500 winner said.

Matt Dstrich The Star Burning up: An injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. is upset about his car's performance. Pennsylvania 500 (Top finishers) Driver Car Chevrolet Ford Dodge Ford Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet Ford Dodge Ford 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Mark Martin 3.

Kasey Kahne 4. Greg Biffle 5. Jeff Gordon 6. Terry Labonte 7. Robby Gordon 8.

Matt Kenseth 9. Jeremy Mayfield 10. Elliott Sadler The front end of Kahne's car was damaged when Stewart spun into his path, but his crew was able to make repairs without losing a lap. "It was just the center part of the hood. I guess that's not a real key spot," said Kahne, who gained two places in the standings to 12th.

The good news for Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing team was the car he wrecked is not the one they plan to bring to the Brickyard 400. The bad news is they lost two good cars in one afternoon because Stewart's teammate, Bobby Labonte, also was the victim of a hard crash. Ryan Newman, in his 100th start and the 800th for Penske Racing, came from two laps down to finish 13th and turn a potentially disastrous day into a net gaia The South native moved from 10th to eighth in the standings because Labonte crashed and Kevin Harvick dropped out with engine failure. Points contenders Busch, Jamie McMurray, Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip also were victimized by mechanical troubles in a race that had only 26 of the 43 cars running at the finish. Call Star reporter Steve Ballard at (317) 444-6184 sort, jumbling the standings and putting no fewer than 10 drivers firmly in the hunt for the last five spots.

Only Johnson among the top 10 did not change positions. Martin said he had little hope of beating Johnson but "went after him like I thought I could." But next week, should the same opportunity arise, he's optimistic of a different outcome. "We need to go win the Brickyard. If we do that, then you all come ask me if we can get into the top 10," said Martin, who currently sits 13th, 89 points out of 10th. "Winning Indy would make up for all the heartbreak we have experienced this year.

That would make our season biggest trophy, biggest check, biggest thumbs-up from our sponsor." Tony Stewart's day came to an abrupt end on lap 108 when he lost control and slammed into the walL Kahne, with whom. Stewart tangled three weeks ago at Chicago, and Kurt Busch were battling Stewart when he spun, but Stewart said any fault was his alone. "I got real loose off the corner, spun and wrecked," he said. "It was just hard racing. It was fun racing with guys like that today." Johnson Stewart has tough day, finishes well back.

FromDI Earnhardt, battling painful burns and an ill-handling car, lasted only 52 laps before yielding to John Andretti, who finished 25th, seven laps down. NASCAR changed the rules this season, and come September, Johnson is going to pay the price. The top 10 after 26 races will be reseeded in five-point increments for a 10-race shootout. So no matter how big Johnson's lead gets, it will be down to five points when he heads to Loudon, N.H., on Sept. 19.

"You may want to get all your smiling photos of us now," Johnson joked. But he quickly added that complaining about it isn't going to change it, so why bother and risk letting it become a distraction. "It's the same thing it has been," he said "At the beginning of the year, we knew what the points were going to be like. We voiced our opinion then. We've voiced our opinion since thea Series points leaders: Johnson, J.

Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, 2,606. fin Hopefully, maybe, we can influence it so next year it will be done differently." If that's his intent, he probably is accomplishing just the opposite. It was precisely this scenario NASCAR had in mind in trying to pump more drama into its points race over the final two months of the seasoa As an added bonus for fans of the new system, six of the top 10 in points had problems of some Carlos Osorio Associated Press Look at mo: Buddy Rice celebrates his third victory of the Indy Racing League season, which came when he passed Tony Kanaan..