An IRL tuneup
Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan tuned up for the Indy Racing League season Saturday, teaming with Bryan Herta to place second overall in the 12 Hours of Sebring.
The Andretti Green Racing team was in an Acura, which was making its prototype debut in the American Le Mans Series season opener.
The Acura, which led three times during the race, finished second overall – and in the prototype class – to the diesel-powered Audi R10 co-driven by Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner.
The Audi R10 completed its second straight Sebring win with a six-lap lead.
The second of three Acuras entered finished third with Mexicans Adrian Fernandez, Luis Diaz and David Martinez sharing the cockpit.
Two other finishes of note:
Rancho Santa Fe's Liz Halliday co-drove an Aston Martin to an 11th overall and a third in the GT-1 class.
San Diego's Michael Lewis fielded a privateer Lola that finished 21st overall after encountering suspension problems.
LOCAL TIES
Ron Capps' victory at the Gatornationals catapulted the Carlsbad driver to second in the Funny Car standings. The victory was the 23rd of Capps' career in 46 final-round appearances.
El Cajon's Jerry Lacy, driving a 1956 Chevrolet, was the No. 1 qualifier last week at the Pacific Car Association's Spring Break drag racing meet at Fontana.
SCHEDULE
Tomorrow
RaceLegal Drags: Qualcomm Stadium, west access road, 5 p.m.
Saturday
Indy Racing League: XM Satellite Radio 300, Homestead, Fla. (200 laps, 1.5-mile oval; ESPN2, 5 p.m.) – Dan Wheldon won the season opener last year following the death of rookie driver Paul Dana during the prerace warmups. Reigning IRL champ Sam Hornish Jr. has won three of the first six races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR Busch Series: Sharpie Mini 300, Bristol, Tenn. (300 laps, .533-mile oval; Channel 10, noon) – Jeff Burton will be looking for a third straight win. Carl Edwards has not placed worse than sixth in the season's first five races and is the only driver to finish in the top 10 of every race. Reigning series champ Kevin Harvick has four Busch wins at Bristol and was second in both 2006 races at Thunder Valley. Kyle Busch is the defending race champ.
Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip: Gambler Series, test and tune, 10 a.m.
Sunday
NASCAR Nextel Cup: Food City 500, Bristol, Tenn. (500 laps; Channel 6, 10:30 a.m.) – So many story lines for this short track. This is the first race for the common-template Car of Tomorrow. The four crew chiefs suspended before the Daytona 500 return this week. Jimmie Johnson will be looking for a third straight win. Points leader Mark Martin is going to stick to his schedule and hand over his Ginn Racing Chevy to Reagan Smith. Kurt Busch completed a family weekend sweep by winning this race last year, but neither Kurt nor the Penske South Dodge team has won a race since. After this race, the top 35 in the standings will be assured starting spots for the next five races.
