Ganassi seeks Road America sweep
ELKHART LAKE – The talk all week in the Chip Ganassi Racing shops was about the rare opportunity the team has at Road America.
Ganassi won the track’s IndyCar race in June with
Scott Dixon. It won the GT Le Mans class on IMSA weekend with Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller.
Now, with Justin Marks and Brennan Poole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Johnsonville 180 on Sunday, the team has an opportunity to win three major races at one track in the same year.
“Chip will call or text me right before the race sometimes, so I’m sure I’ll be getting one of those before this thing starts tomorrow,” Poole predicted before practice Saturday.
“I think everybody understands the significance of it and how cool it would be to sweep all the big races here at Road America. It would be special, something really cool.”
Poole matched his career best finish with a third place last year, and Marks’ only Xfinity victory came last year in the rain at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The forecast for Sunday calls for a 90% chance of rain, including some possibility of thunderstorms through the period the 2 p.m. race is scheduled to run.
Marks posted the fastest lap of the morning practice session with Poole right behind, and they were second and fifth, respectively in the afternoon.
“I feel like going into this weekend with Justin
Marks and myself, we’ve ran really good at the road courses this year so far,” Poole said. “We’ve had some speed and been able to contend for some stage wins and been right there.”
Fastest man: Sportscar and Indianapolis 500 veteran James Davison led Xfinity practice with a lap of 2:14.076 seconds (108.691 mph) on the 4.048mile course turned in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the second session.
Sunday will mark the Australian’s third NASCAR start.
“We proved today that we’re fast enough and we proved at Mid-Ohio we could fight for the lead,” said Davison, who finished fourth there. “So yeah, (winning is) certainly possible. It’s why we’re all together here, Joe Gibbs Racing and I.
“Living the dream right now. I feel like I’m Cole Trickle.”
Among local drivers,
Josh Bilicki of Richfield ranked 20th in the second session after sitting out the first to save tires;
Nicolas Hammann of Elkhart Lake was 33rd and 34th; and Dexter Bean, a native of Westby, was 34th and 32nd. Eyes on the prize: Veteran Brendan Gaughan, who called his shot in 2014 before he won at Road America for his first victory in the series, has often pokes fun at himself for being one of the more ... uh ... plump drivers in the series.
“When Reed Sorenson won (in 2011), it was the Harley race and he got a Harley,” Gaughan said. “When I won it, I got an air compressor; which, Gardner Denver, I appreciate
that.
“Now it’s the Johnsonville race. Look, these kids don’t need some Johnsonvilles; look at ‘em. They don’t need them.
“Me on the other hand, I could use some supply. So I’m just saying, I think I’m the right guy to win the race anyway. I’m a guy that’ll eat ’em.” Trans Am qualifying:
Austrian driver Martin
Ragginger won the pole for Sunday’s race, and defending winner Cliff Ebben of Appleton was thirdfastest. Former IndyCar driver
Rafa Matos was fastest in qualifying for the separate TA2 event.
Because of the threat of rain, the Trans Am race set to the start of Sunday’s schedule has been moved ahead 10 minutes to 7:55 a.m. with TA2 to follow at 9:15.