SunTrust Indy Challenge notebook

Strategy, luck frown on Andretti Green

Danica Patrick notched her only IndyCar victory on Japanese soil, and for a while it looked like Japanese teammate Hideki Mutoh might claim his first victory in Richmond.

The Andretti Green teammates were one and two for a short while, but a pit strategy that had them zigging while the rest of the field zagged left Mutoh in an unlucky fourth, with Patrick right behind him.

"Not today," Mutoh said with a smile and a shrug. "We needed more luck, you know?"

At issue was Ryan Briscoe's Lap 27 caution. Virtually every car in the field took a pit stop except Mutoh and Patrick. Their fuel mileage took them more than 100 laps before they needed to pit, meaning they would only need two pit stops compared to the three that every other car took.

But an unlucky caution thrown when Helio Castroneves spun out meant the rest of the field would be able to take that third pit stop without losing a lap.

"It was another top five, but I'm itching for a win," Patrick said. "Let's hope it comes soon."

The race nevertheless represented a strong finish for Andretti Green racing, which claimed spots 4 through 7 in the final standings. Mutoh led 74 laps of the race, which doubled the amount all the team members combined had led to this point in the season.

Drivers feel G's at RIR

Spinning through the corners at RIR, an IndyCar driver feels a force on his body equal to five times his body weight - more than any other stop on tour, and more than NASCAR drivers feel on the track.

"Think about the tallest, fastest roller coaster you've ever been on, and multiply that by two," Tony Kanaan said. "That's what it feels like in Richmond."

Last night's SunTrust Indy Challenge lasted almost two hours, time during which the drivers had to endure those 5 G's of force.

"You've gotta have strong arms and a strong upper body, because it wears you out," Graham Rahal said. "It's fun, but it wears you out. By the end, a good night's rest is what you need."

Technology tries to compensate for that with improved headrests and pedals that are adjusted for each driver, but still, it only takes them so far. Robert Doornbos joked that when he retires, he and the rest of the IRL drivers will be walking sideways.

The other aspect of the track is its short distance, which requires drivers to be alert at all times.

"It's so short there's no time to think," Doornbos said. "You're out of turn two, and you think, 'That was a nice turn,' and you're already in three and four."

Apology from Franchitti

Dario Franchitti, in his post-race interview broadcast to the track, apologized to the fans for what he felt was a lack of excitement in yesterday's race. The cars almost never went two-wide or three-wide, which creates the action.

"It was a track position race, and to a degree it became a fuel mileage race," he explained later. "Nobody could pass."

Flushed, with cash

As the temperature neared 100 yesterday, Kanaan found a way to kill time in the infield area.

After finding a volunteer - Aaron Godnai, an IRL series employee who was willing to subject himself to punishment - Kanaan raised $500 from spectators, which he matched with $500 of his own, to offer Godnai as an incentive for performing a thankless task. He had to spend an hour inside a port-a-potty on site at RIR.

After baking in the heat for an hour (Kanaan's crew "helped out" by taping the ventilation ducts), he claimed the prize and, perhaps more importantly helped the crew kill an hour of time while waiting for last night's race.

The challenge was documented on Kanaan's Twitter feed. Find a link at twitter.com/rtdsports.

Lugnuts:

• Next year's 18-race IndyCar schedule will reportedly be split evenly between ovals and road/street circuits, meaning one oval on this year's schedule won't be returning. If IndyCar officials have their way, that track won't be RIR.

Terry Angstadt, the Indy Racing League's commercial division president, said yesterday the league hopes to stage a 10th race at RIR in 2010.

"We're hopeful," he said. "In fact, we have a conference call on Tuesday with the ISC (International Speedway Corporation, owner of RIR) group to talk through specifics of renewing next year. We're optimistic."

- Michael Phillips and Shawn Fenner