I guess teammates Scott Sharp and Ryan Hunter-Reay like to stick together. Both qualified for the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 race on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Scott qualified for the 11th position and Ryan slid in right behind him for the 12th position. Ryan’s qualifying time came in at 25.7566 with a top speed of 212.450 mph.
“The time just wasn’t in the car today,” Ryan commented about his position. “We’ll have to work on the car and make it faster for tomorrow. I know we have a car that can run in the top half of the field. We’ll just keep it up there and see what we can get.”
My data for the second practice run came in a bit late because just after the run, Chicagoland Head Photographer Steve Snoddy escorted me to the drop gates reserved for photographers with the red vests for the start of the ARCA race. Only 25 photographers receive the honor of sporting a red vest throughout the weekend. Previously, I had white vest access, aka strictly pit access. The drop gates are cut outs along the fence that encircles the track, which explains why management is so restrictive with who can shoot at these prime locations. Needless to say, Steve is an accessible Chicagoland hot shot who is eager to share his love of racing and his experience.
Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay cut out of practice session two early, completing just 27 laps. Ryan finished with a best lap time of 25.7039 seconds at a speed of 212.886 mph during lap 11. He finished 16th. When Ryan took a look at the telemetry of his IndyCar, I asked him what his team was still working with on the car. He said the crew is still trying to get things into line and that they’re working on improving the grip.
While I was out shooting Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay during the first practice run I got into a friendly competition for the best shots with the production crew working with John Basset. John clued me into to exciting news that Ryan Hunter-Reay is being featured on 
Team Ethanol pit crew personnel and Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay discuss practice one of the 2007 Antifreeze Indy 300. The team has one more practice to get everything dialed up before the IndyCar Qualifying run later this afternoon.
Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay spent a good amount of time in the pits with crews reworking the Ethanol IndyCar. That didn’t stop Ryan from completing 97 laps in the first practice run though. He was just two laps behind Danica Patrick for the most laps completed. Ryan reached his highest speed in lap 44, accelerating to 214.128 mph. He finished the lap in 25.5548 seconds, placing 14th overall.
Drivers and pit crews are dialing in their IndyCars this morning in preparation for Sunday’s final IndyCar Series race for 2007. Rahal-Letterman teammates Patron Driver Scott Sharp and Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay are assigned pits 7 and 8 at the Chicagoland track. The drivers have two practice runs today to work out the kinks and get everything in line.
Ground has been broken on a $60 million ethanol plant in Eastern Idaho that will make the green fuel from landfill waste.
“These are ambitious goals, and they would take a concerted national effort to reach,” Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell said in remarks prepared for a speech before the Society of Environmental Journalists Friday night in San Francisco.
