Saturday morning update from Sonoma

Graham Rahal talks to Dad Bobby

It is a cool morning here in Sonoma. The fog is still lingering over the track as I write this and should be gone long before the first practice session at 11 am. But as the temperature warmed up yesterday around 1 pm, the same is expected for today. And the track will heat up before the 3:05 pm qualifying sessions today.

Yesterday's highlights included the DWTS dancer Sharna Burgess being at the track and taking a two seater ride with James Hinchliffe at 5 pm. See video here

The couple had worked in a practice session late on Thursday for their upcoming show on Monday night, the 18th. Burgess was pleased that they were able to get one of the highest scores the first time out. And the vibrant red head is confident that they will continue to beat the other couples in future shows.

Conor Daly, driving the number 18 Jonathon Bryd's entry for Dale Coyne racing, lost his Honda engine during second practice of the day. They were reporting misfires and timing issues during the practice and the engine finally gave up on the track in the last 15 minutes of her session. Ironically, Alexander Rossi, the number 98 Doi Moir entry for Andretti Autosport, also stopped on track with 3 minutes left in the session. Their Honda engine was also misfiring, but it was not the reason he stopped.

Earlier this week IndyCar announced that the aero kits for 2017 were frozen. Which means no further development can be done to the aero bits that were introduced in 2015 to increase the speed of the cars. This is not a good ruling for the Honda teams, which are struggling with the current kit. Only two drivers have won in a Honda this season, Alexander Rossi for the Indy 500 and Graham Rahal at Texas. Seems the Honda has a better chance of catching the Chevrolets on the ovals.

So the rumor about Ganassi Racing moving to Honda engines next year has some wondering how would that happen. First, another team would have to move to Chevy engines. Andretti Autosport would be the team that would most likely make the switch since Michael Andretti is a bit frustrated with his team's disappointing results this season.

We will keep you posted as today unfolds.

Lucille Dust reporting live from Sonoma Raceway