WHELDON QUALIFIES 15TH FOR TOMORROW'S HONDA INDY TORONTO INDYCAR SERIES RACE
National Guard Panther Team Makes Dramatic Improvement from Morning Session TORONTO, Canada (July 16, 2010) – National Guard Panther Racing driver Dan Wheldon will start 15th in tomorrow’s Honda Indy Toronto after IZOD IndyCar Series qualifications were held on the city’s streets Saturday afternoon. Wheldon posted a quick lap of 102.411 mph, 1:01.6926 seconds, which was the eighth-best time in his group. He will start in the eighth row alongside Conquest Racing driver Bertrand Baguette. Last season Wheldon started 21st and was able to advance a total of seven positions during the race for a 14th-place finish. “It shows the strength of the team when you see that we never give up and work as hard as the National Guard Panther guys do because we’ve definitely improved the car a lot for qualifying,” Dan explained. “Looking forward to the race we’ll continue to work in the direction that we did for qualifying because we made a significant step forward that was very encouraging.” Panther is currently tied for eighth in the IndyCar Series point standings with Justin Wilson, and trails Tony Kanaan in seventh position by a total of 30 points. Dreyer & Reinbold’s Justin Wilson qualified on the pole for the event and will be joined on the front row by Team Penske driver Will Power. Defending Toronto race winner Dario Franchitti will start fifth for Ganassi Racing. “We still have the warm-up (practice) tomorrow to continue what we’re doing,” Wheldon concluded. “And I think we’ll have a very good race.” Prior to the start of the race tomorrow, Wheldon will receive the Firestone “Tire-ific Move the Race” award for his efforts at the last IndyCar race in Watkins Glen. Firestone nominates three drivers following each race who best utilize their Firehawk tires to make a bold, dramatic move during the event. Wheldon received the most votes on IndyCar.com to win the award. The Honda Indy Toronto, where the race will be broadcast live Sunday, July 18th at 12:30 p.m. (EST) on ABC with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, www.indycar.com, XM Channel 145 and Sirius channel 211. www.danwheldon.com - www.pantherracing.com – www.NationalGuard.com |
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