Watkins to offer Ganassi rare chance to shine?

The beleaguered Target Chip Ganassi Racing teams enters this weekend's Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix one car short of its usual quota as Ryan Briscoe continues to recover from the injuries sustained in the last race on the schedule in Chicagoland.

Despite having their combined arsenal sapped of one third of its strength, remaining TCGR drivers Scott Dixon and Giorgio Pantano are expected to be among the pacesetters for the IRL's first competitive visit to the storied 3.37-mile road course in Upper State New York.

In the last road course on the schedule both Dixon and series debutant Pantano showed a turn of speed that has so often been lacking in the Ganassi camp this year and while Dixon crossed the line in seventh place and Pantano 14th at the Infineon Raceway, their speed on the day warranted better.

The team have tested at Watkins Glen twice this season in attempt to master the 11 turn long course, which comes complete with varied banked turns between 6 and 10 degrees, 115 feet between the lowest point and the highest point of the track, and features the hallowed sections nicknamed "The Boot," "The Loop" and "The Chute". This weekend's race will be the first major open-wheel series race at the facility since 1981.

In his first IRL event, Pantano topped the chart in Friday morning practice at Infineon while teammate Dixon was second. A repeat performance on Sunday afternoon would do wonders for team morale in a season that seems to get worse by the race.