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| | Sunday, September 26 | |||||
| LAS VEGAS -- The yellow flag waved early and often at Sunday's Vegas.com 500.
Donnie Beechler caused the first of 11 cautions when he spun in the backstretch on the first lap. Rookie Scott Harrington and Stephan Gregoire also tangled in an accident in the third turn on the same lap.
The Indy Racing League record for cautions during a race is 13.
Seventy of the race's laps were run under yellow.
Johnny Unser did a 360-degree spin coming off Turn 4 on the
seventh lap, but kept on going. He later was forced out after an
accident on the 95th lap.
Willy T. Ribbs, competing in his first race in four years, spun
and hit the wall in the same spot as Unser on lap 18. Upon impact,
flames shot out of the car and debris scattered in the turn, which
caused yellow for the next nine laps.
Winner Sam Schmidt said he barely avoided hitting Ribbs and
Unser.
"I was around a couple of them really close and those were just
driving errors," he said. "The track was changing constantly.
It's a pretty fussy track, a lot like Indy and Pike's Peak. You
have to adjust your driving style."
Beechler got into trouble again on lap 124 when he hit the wall
in the fourth turn. He was taken to a local hospital for
observation of his neck and chest.
Rookie Ronnie Johncox sustained a minor fracture to his left
foot in an accident in the second turn on lap 163.
McGehee tops among rookies Robby McGehee finished sixth, good enough to take the lead in the IRL rookie of the year standings with one race remaining. McGehee started 19th and worked his way up to his best finish since placing fifth at the Indianapolis 500 -- where he was named rookie of the year. "We seemed to have a little bad luck with the yellows. Every one seemed to cost us a position or two," he said. McGehee has 138 points -- one more than Scott Harrington -- as they head to the season finale Oct. 17 in Texas. "It's great to head to the last race of the season with the rookie points lead," McGehee said. "That's a real tribute to the Energizer Motorsports team because we missed the first three races of the season while we were getting our race program together." Harrington had problems from the beginning. He spun between the third and fourth turns and hit Stephan Gregoire, then the wall on the first lap. Gregoire continued. Harrington's crew replaced the left rear suspension in about 30 minutes, allowing him to return and finish 14th. "It was my fault; I shouldn't have been that low on the track," Harrington said. "The big story of the day was the super-human effort our guys made getting the car back out there. I'm going to have a big bill to pay over at the bar at the Hilton because I already told them I'm buying the beer tonight." Jonsson a little jittery Swedish rookie Niclas Jonsson felt plenty of nerves in his first IRL start. The 32-year-old Jonsson started 25th, but ran as high as second before mechanical problems forced him out on the 85th lap. A fuel leak burned through wiring in the car's engine and caused a fire. Jonsson pulled his car into the pits, but the fire worsened before putting out by safety crews. "I was concerned about the start, but once I settled in, things started to work out," he said. "I was able to pass several cars and stay with the pack throughout. To run second in my very first race was more than I could ask for and to run consistent within the top 10 was also great." A little pigskin in Goodyear's pits Scott Goodyear's crew decorated his pit with a San Diego Chargers flag in honor of quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who co-owns the Panther Racing team. Neither had a good day. The Chargers lost 27-19 to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Goodyear got caught up in the race's 11 cautions. He spun 180 degrees in the fourth turn, hit the outside wall with the left side of the car and slid into the infield on lap 48. He wasn't injured and wound up 25th -- a placement that dropped him from second to fifth in the points standings. | ALSO SEE Schmidt hits jackpot, wins first career IRL race in Vegas
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