Carpentier holds down 10th spot

Monday, Aug. 22, 2005 | 8:59 a.m.

FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- For Patrick Carpentier, whose Red Bull Cheever Racing team has been struggling to find speed in the Indy Racing League this season, a 10th-place finish Sunday at Pikes Peak International Raceway was cause for a smile.

"I'm happy with that," Carpentier, a Las Vegas resident, said. "For sure, you always wish you could battle with the guys at the front but, at the beginning of the race, we had too much tire pressure and the car was sliding around like crazy.

"We made an adjustment after that and the car was a lot better after that. The car was fast but we had already lost a lap. I was pushing as hard as I could ... so 10th is not bad."

Carpentier, in his first season in the IRL after eight seasons in Champ Car, earned his eighth top-10 finish of the season and remained 10th in the IRL points standings.

"We are still 10th in the championship and if we can finish up there, it would be good," Carpentier said.

It would be equally pleasing, Carpentier said, if his team could achieve the level of consistency that saw him score a pair of third-place finishes in three races earlier in the season.

"There have been some tough times but overall I'm pretty happy," Carpentier said. "I enjoy racing here. I wish we could be more consistently at the front ... we just need a little bit more speed."

NO HARD FEELINGS: Dan Wheldon insisted Sunday that he harbors no ill will toward Danica Patrick for stealing most of the media attention from his Indy 500 victory in May.

"I think what she's done is particularly special, so I think she deserves a lot of the praise she's getting," Wheldon said.

"The fan base and media respect will keep building. I give a lot of credit for the job she's been doing this year; I think it's fantastic."

LAZIER SITS OUT: Jaques Lazier, who is from nearby Vail, did not start Sunday's Honda Indy 225 due to an accident during Saturday's final qualifying session.

Lazier was scheduled to make his third start of the season in the No. 10 Toyota /Panoz for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but the team could repair the heavy damage to the rear of the car.

INFINITI PRO SERIES: Jeff Simmons led 99 of 100 laps and won Sunday's Menards Infiniti Pro Series race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. It was Simmons' second victory of the season.

Travis Gregg, Chris Festa and Jaime Camara -- who drive for team owner Sam Schmidt of Henderson -- finished third, sixth and ninth, respectively.

NASCAR WEST: Steve Portenga of Sparks won Sunday's 150-lap NASCAR West Series race at PPIR and the two Las Vegas residents in the race had strong showings.

Series points leader Scott Lynch finished second and Spencer Clark was leading the race when his car developed an electrical problem. Clark, 18, was relegated to a 19th-place finish after leading 73 laps.