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Friday, June 29
Lazier, Fisher comprise front row
Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. -- Jaques Lazier, who got a ride earlier this
week, knocked Sarah Fisher aside Friday and won the pole for the
Indy Racing Northern Light Series' debut at Richmond International
Raceway.
Lazier turned a lap at a track-record 160.417 mph, depriving
Fisher of her first career pole. When no one else could match her
159.891 mph speed, though, Fisher still had the best start for a
woman in IRL history.
|  | | Sarah Fisher gets a bear hug from her father, Dave, after running a second place qualifying run at RIR. |
"This is a bullring. This is what I grew up with," the
20-year-old Fisher said. "I'm so excited about tomorrow,
wheel-to-wheel competition. You'll have to get your elbows up.
It'll get greasy tomorrow."
Lazier sounded happy just to be here, and said he surprised
himself.
"We far exceeded our expectations," said the pole-sitter, who
was named to drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in this race
Wednesday.
Before getting the call, Lazier expected to be home this
weekend.
When Schmidt called to offer him the ride, "I jumped in a
heartbeat because I knew this team was going to have what it takes
to be up front," the journeyman driver said. "This is a
tremendous opportunity for me."
The SunTrust Indy Challenge on Saturday night will be Lazier's
19th career start in the series, fourth this year and first for
Schmidt.
"This is almost as good as doing it yourself," said Schmidt,
who became a car owner after he was paralyzed in a practice crash
last year.
Fisher's starting spot broke her IRL record of a fourth at
Kentucky as a rookie last season. She was actually through several
drivers, drawing a roar from the sparse crowd, until Lazier bumped
her late in the session.
The lap for Fisher also came a day after she became the first
driver to crash in practice, and missed the evening practice
session.
"It was a great comeback," she said, thanking her crew for
fixing the minor damage she did to her car overnight. "They did a
great job of putting the car back together and giving me an even
better car."
Fisher admitted her heart sank a bit when Lazier's time was
posted.
"It would have been kind of neat to see us get the pole this
weekend, but hey, there's how many races left? We've got plenty of
trials left to go and get us a pole, too," she said.
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It's like driving a fighter plane inside a gymnasium.” |
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—Cheever on racing at RIR |
Six races remain in the season after Saturday night's 250-lap
event.
Eddie Cheever Jr., one of four drivers who crashed Friday,
bringing the total to six out of 21 drivers, rebounded to qualify
third at 159.202 mph, with Buddy Lazier, Jaques' older brother,
fourth at 159.199 mph.
Points leader Sam Hornish Jr. qualified sixth at 158.288 mph.
Cheever said he was extra cautious because of the practice
crash.
"It's all right making a mistake once, but doing it twice you'd
be the village idiot, so I wanted to make sure I didn't go out
there and crash," he said. "This place is tough. We're on the
knife's edge the whole way.
"It's like driving a fighter plane inside a gymnasium."
Cheever said the race would be "like playing chess at 160 miles
an hour," and that there would be "maybe 10 cars running at the
end."
Lazier's run came after Billy Boat, one of the pole favorites
because of his practice speeds and short-track roots, crashed
exiting the fourth turn. Jeff Ward later crashed in almost the same
spot during his run.
Earlier, Greg Ray crashed hard in practice.
Ray hit the wall in the fourth turn, damaging the left side of
his car and the rear wing. He was evaluated and released from the
infield care center, but was not cleared after being reevaluated
before qualifying began.
"We thought I could crawl in the car and have a good qualifying
run," Ray said. "But my left lower back is very stiff. It's not
worth the risk."
Ray will be examined Saturday and, if cleared to drive by IRL
medical director Henry Bock, will start from the back of the field
in the race.
Like Thursday's session, which drew less than 1,000 fans to the
track in the heart of NASCAR country, the time trials drew a small
crowd, even with a NASCAR Featherlite Modifieds race set to begin
at 8 p.m.
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SunTrust Indy 200 lineupJaques Lazier lands ride for Richmond | | | | 
IRL qualifying
Jaques Lazier is in shock over winning his first IRL pole for Saturday's SunTrust Indy 200.
avi: 1550 k
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Richmond qualifying
The top qualifiers comment on their performance Friday at Richmond International Raceway.
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Ray crashes
After crashing hard during practice, Greg Ray decided qualifying was not worth the risk.
wav: 217 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Feeling great
Sarah Fisher says her trip to the hospital after Thursday's crash was for precautionary measures.
wav: 164 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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