Richmond Will Feel the Effect Of Unification

Shortest Track in IndyCar Series To Have More Cars Than Ever

RICHMOND, June 27 -- There are certain abiding qualities to Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway. The track still is small, and the cars on it still are fast. Those facts will not distinguish this year's SunTrust Indy Challenge.

This time, the IndyCar Series event carries with it a still sizzling topic among those connected with the sport: unification. The Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series unification in February has been much discussed, but its direct effect on competition, in the form of additional cars, is a variable that might be felt no more dramatically than at Richmond.

Unification has helped bring the most-ever cars -- 26 drivers will start their engines Saturday, an increase from the 19 who raced last year -- to this event. At three-quarters of a mile, Richmond just so happens to be the shortest track in the IndyCar Series. Expect cars to congest the small circuit and clot pit road, where seconds are crucial.

"It's going to be very, very busy," Richmond track president Doug Fritz said in recent interview.

What that means for spectators is high drama with lots of passing. What that means for drivers is perilously close, fender-to-bumper racing on a track that runs 16-second laps. And it has made pole position all the more crucial.

That's why Tony Kanaan of Andretti Green Racing, who has three top five finishes at Richmond since 2001, took a major step Friday night. He finished in top qualifying position with a four-lap average speed of 167.879 mph.

Marco Andretti had a good enough qualifying run to start alongside Kanaan, his Andretti Green teammate, in the front row. Andretti had the second-best time, averaging 167.795 mph over four laps.

Much talk recently surrounded Danica Patrick and her aggressive driving after Scott Dixon called her a "menace" at last weekend's race in Iowa. She dismissed his comments at a news conference Thursday and on Friday shifted focus to this weekend's race, qualifying in the 14th position (164.369 mph).

Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves, who also has three top five finishes at Richmond since 2001, did not qualify well. He will start in the 18th position (163.353 mph). Despite his poor qualifying, Castroneves is one of the most experienced drivers at Richmond and even he acknowledged the scene will be suffocating with the added competition.

"It's probably like a big highway when you have big traffic and you're trying to find the space and you can't -- just without [turn] signals," said Castroneves, mimicking with his hands on an invisible steering wheel. "It's probably going to be like that tomorrow night."

Over the month of June, all three short-track circuits in the IndyCar Series have built to a crescendo of sorts that will culminate in Richmond. In the run-up to Saturday's race, the Milwaukee Mile held this season's first short-oval event June 1, and then Iowa Speedway, which is seven-eighths of a mile, played host to the Iowa Corn Indy 250 last weekend.

Both races prefaced what is expected Saturday, but they may not have been able to fully prepare drivers for Richmond's tight oval at near capacity. That is especially true for about a dozen drivers making their first start at the track, many of whom have come because of unification.

"The key is to try to not get too carried away and too tense and hopefully you'll be in a good position," said driver Justin Wilson, who made the transition this year from Champ Car and never has raced at Richmond. "If you get too tense, you can make mistakes and give up opportunities, and that's something I don't believe you can get away with at a track such as Richmond."

Richmond poses a formidable test. Pit boxes have been squeezed to 39 feet, down from 45 feet last year, to accommodate more drivers. Fifty laps have been added, making it a 300-lap race and confusing teams' typical refueling plans here. And Richmond's sharply banked track -- turns are steeped at 14 degrees -- have been known for applying heavy G forces.

Add 26 cars, including those variables inserted because of unification, and it makes a difficult track nearly impossible. "This place," Castroneves said, "is a challenge just running by yourself."

Racing Notes: Two drivers, Enrique Bernoldi and Hideki Mutoh, experienced relatively minor accidents during practice laps Friday. Bernoldi skidded exiting turn four and hit the wall, wrecking his car's rear-left suspension. Mutoh ran into crew member Scott Lynch entering his pit stall. Lynch suffered a fractured right toe and a left ankle contusion.