Dario's Defense: Franchitti Celebrates 2010 IZOD IndyCar Championship

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

As Scott Dixon, the victor of the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300, makes a path to the winner's circle of Homestead-Miami Speedway, Target-Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti was smoking his tires doing donuts on the 1.5 mile oval frontstretch. Only in a title chase could a 8th place finisher of an event find so much reason for happiness. In the series finale round for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar series overall points title, Dario Franchitti slowly turned a 12-point deficit into a 5-point championship win.

Into this final round of 2010, the fight for the newly-designed IZOD IndyCar trophy saw the reigning 2009 champ Franchitti chasing down the Will "The Road Warrior" Power driving for Penske Racing. Taking points lead after the Iowa Speedway round in mid-June, Power retained the points advantage through the summer happening to add handsomely up to his win at Infineon Raceway. Taking the Road Racing championship for the IZOD IndyCar Series in commanding fashion, Will Power's point lead was foreseen to be under serious attack with the final four race of the championship on ovals (a configuration of track the Penske Racing #12 driver had yet to win). Losing 36 points in the first race on the Chicagoland Speedway oval, Will Power's lead in the IZOD IndyCar Series points continued to dwindle as Homestead-Miami Speedway neared. Overall losing 47 points in three races to a charging Dario Franchitti, only a 12-point separated the Target-Chip Ganassi Racing athlete and the Penske Racing ace.

Taking the pole on Friday for the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300, Franchitti scored the first point needed to close in on point leader Power. Being only 11 points away from Power as the green flag dropped Saturday night, the Target-Chip Ganassi Racing #10 of Dario Franchitti stayed pinned at front for a total of 128 laps (enough to clinch an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps). Through the early-going, Will Power's #12 machine had troubles keeping pace dropping from 3rd starting spot to as far as out of the top-10. Finding his car difficult in the race, Power sought the high-lane around the Homestead-Miami Speedway. As the race progressed, Will Power broke back into the top-4 thanks to a better handling car and the higher racing groove. Improving in position, a fight against Dario Franchitti for the lead coming from Scott Dixon and Andretti Autosport's Tony Kanaan gave Will Power the opportunity to hold on for a tight points victory.

Unfortunately for Power, the high-line would be the undoing of the #12 driver's championship hopes. Running through turn 3 on lap 134, Power's car slid in marble debris into the outer retaining wall brushing the concrete contacting his sensitive right side wheels and suspension system. While Will Power's #12 car appeared alright initially as the open-wheel race machine continued to circulate the Florida oval, closer examination revealed dire problems. A right-rear suspension mount was snapped and later more terminal damage was found to the #12 Penske Racing car ending it with retirement. Understandably, Will Power left the car somberly without an ability to add more points than that of 25th place.

Photo Credit: Dana Garrett

When Will Power's car could not be mended by the best efforts of the #12 Penske Racing team, the #10 Target-Chip Ganassi team remained on track with the champion in his hand. However, possessing a top-3 car through the first half of the event, Franchitti's Target-Chip Ganassi Racing machine is positioned in a very compromising spot on track buried in the lower top-10 of the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300 running order. Franchitti shed some light on the racing mentality running into the late stage of Cafe do Brasil Indy 300. In post-race, the newly-minted three time IZOD IndyCar said "You could see we were racing very, very hard tonight. And I didn't want to kind of win it doing what we did there, which was actually at the points race after Will had his problem but the guys were just extra cautious, didn't want me running out of fuel. Took an extra pit stop. Put me back in the pack and amongst all the madness". The madness Franchitti talked about was a two-aborted restarts and a near miss of a spinning #18 car of Milka Duno through the turn 3-4 complex. By a split-second, Franchitti's #10 car avoided being collected in the very same area of the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval that eventually claimed Will Power.

Averting disaster, Dario Franchitti needed only a top-10 finish to claim enough points to sweep by Will Power for the points win. With only 9 cars left on the lead lap including Franchitti, the Scot sailed on to the finish gaining one more position for good measure at the finish line. With 8th place, Dario Franchitti earns the 2010 IZOD IndyCar championship.

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Three-time champion after 4 seasons of IZOD IndyCar competition, Dario Franchitti had asserted prior to the 2010 season start that defending his crown would be very difficult. "I do believe the competition level in the series is going up. For whatever reason, we at Team Target both Scott and myself maybe didn't have the speed advantage we had last year." Franchitti said finding victory lane only twice during the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series tour. "But nobody on the Target team gave up. We did our best every single week. We find ourselves here again tonight."

Missing out on the 2010 IZOD IndyCar crown by 5 points, Will Power first full season with Penske Racing was still an absolute success. In fact, the #10 car driver could possibly sympathize with losing on such a close championship battle. Dario Franchitti's career consisted of losing a championship earlier in his career as a driver for CART Champ Car tour. In 1999, the championship battle was between Juan Montoya and Franchitti heading into the final round at California (now Auto Club) Speedway. At the end of the event, both drivers actually tied in their accumulative points. Dario Franchitti lost to Montoya through a tie-breaking decision considering most wins in the season.  

As Dario Franchitti succeeded in a 2010 title defense, his mind is not yet on whether or not he will three-peat starting in March of 2011, the Scottish driver will for sure celebrate with team members, family and other friends into the Florida night. "I'm just going to enjoy it. I think I'm just going to let it sink in, enjoy it. And if you ask me that question maybe starting next year I'll give you a better answer. But I'm very proud of the achievement. And it's an absolute honor to get to drive for the Target team."

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

Kanaan Curbs Winless Streak with Iowa Corn 250 IndyCar Win

Photo Credit: Sean Gritzmacher


Though only a 7/8 mile oval (the smallest circuit on the 2010 IRL schedule), the IZOD IndyCar Series at the Iowa Speedway has provided enough room for some entertaining events. Receiving warm accolades for being built to the specs for modern racing, including a wide pit road and a outside retaining wall built specifically with SAFER barriers in mind, the Iowa oval is a fantastic track for multi-groove racing.

Without completing a single lap, the Iowa Corn 250 fell under its first caution when the #22 car driven by Justin Wilson swept backwards up the track. Regrettably, the backward collision of Wilson caught the #32 KV Racing Technology car of Mario Moraes taking the Brazilian out of the event. Though two drivers were alright, they were also out of the event early. Disappointed for the sudden loss of control of the Dallara-Honda, Justin Wilson ended the day saying "It's obviously not how I wanted today to be and I feel sorry for everyone on the Charter car and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and also for Mario and his guys. He was an unfortunate bystander". Starting with some strong road course runs to the 2010 season, Justin Wilson and his Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team has found the ovals to be problematic. In the past 4 oval races on the IZOD IndyCar schedule Wilson had only one top 10 finish resulting in the Indy 500. Justin Wilson is definitely looking forward to the road course of Waltkins Glen not only for the before mentioned reason but because this was the race the Brit won last year.

Though Penske Racing's Will Power started on the pole position, the #12 Verizon car would be spending a short time amongst the front. Leading the first 32 laps for the day, the Penske Racing car of Power will be unseated at the front by the #26 of Marco Andretti. the first lead change of the race, the front position would be swapped 16 times during the Iowa Corn 250 event. Leading the most of the 250 laps was the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing #10 of Dario Franchitti. Taking the lead on lap 45, Franchitti led until a lap 52 debris caution, the second time the yellow flew on the day so far. Most cars took the opportunity to pit with exception to the #24 Dad's Root Beer car being driven for the weekend by Graham Rahal. Initially thought by observers as a bold attempt to gain track position, Rahal would confess in post-race that his presence in the lead was a result of radio troubles.

After 5 laps under green, Dario Franchitti would take the lead from Graham Rahal and the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car was required to pit lane for refueling as well as tires. Without letting Franchitti capturing on the glory for the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team at Iowa, the #9 team car of Scott Dixon would make a competitive move on his Scottish teammate as the two Target cars swapped the lead 4 times between lap 68 to lap 116. The race was slowed again for a Sarah Fisher accident in turn 4 allowing an opportune caution where teams could pit.

Restarted on lap 112 for the Iowa Corn 250, the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing cars would soon meet a very hungry and very fast Andretti Autosport #11 car hovering in their mirrors. Tony Kanaan bolted from a 15th place starting spot in just under half the race distance with credit going to teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay for aiding the Brazilian on a race setup. Making full use of his teammate's setup, Kanaan took the lead on lap 120.

Having a terrific performance, the KV Racing Technology team had two cars within the top-10 of the running order led by the #5 Lotus Engineering car driven by Takuma Sato. Running incident-free for more than 75% of the Iowa Corn 250, the Japanese rookie's race ended on lap 17 8 when his #5 car swept into the turn 4 wall.

Through the final pit stops for the leaders under this caution for Sato, an anxious moment developed within the Andretti Autosport team. As Kanaan was being serviced by the #11 crew members, the #37 of Ryan Hunter-Reay darted into his pit and almost made contact with the #11 team's front tire changer. The incident was a near miss as crew member was not seriously hurt and both Andretti Autosport cars were initially sent back into competition. However, IRL later summoned Ryan Hunter-Reay to pit road for a drive-through penalty for making contact with pit equipment.

After the pit stop, Dario Franchitti was positioned convincingly for his 3rd win at Iowa Speedway. However, a challenge from Penske Racing's Helio Castroneves kept pressure on the Scot's #10 car. Franchitti's desire for Iowa victory ended after late in the event when his Dallara-Honda experienced gear-shifting issues regulating the 2010 Indy 500 winner into pit road and several laps down. Finishing 18th in the race, Dario Franchitti lost the overall IZOD IndyCar Series points lead falling to third as well as the AJ Foyt Oval championship points lead.

With Castroneves now in the lead in his #3 car, the #11 of Tony Kanaan begin a triumphant charge back to the front. With only 10 laps remaining, the duo of the Brazilian IndyCar drivers was resolved with Kanaan streaking by Castroneves winning the Iowa Corn 250. The first win for Kanaan since Richmond of 2008, Tony Kanaan was understandably ecstatic about being in victory lane. This victory for the #11 team was also the second win of the season for Andretti Autosport signalizing that the IZOD IndyCar series could be showing signs of having three strong superteams.

With Tony Kanaan's first win in about two years proving as a significant storyline, some special credit should be paid to the finish of KV Racing Technology's EJ Viso pulling out a brilliant 3rd place run. The last of the KV Racing Technology cars left in the Iowa Speedway event, the Venezuelan moved from 19th to score this personal-first podium position.

As Dario Franchitti falls from the top of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar series overall points lead, Will Power retakes the lead enduring the four-race oval stretch which saw the Australian nonetheless with only an 11 point lead over Scott Dixon.


2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 250 Race Results

1. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
2. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
3. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
4. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
5. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
6. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
7. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
8. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
9. 24 Graham Rahal/South Africa/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
10. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
11. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
12. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
13. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
14. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
15. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
16. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing
17. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
18. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
19. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
20. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
21. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
22. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
23. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
24. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
25. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology

IZOD IndyCar Will Use Fan Votes to Name Road Course/ Oval Trophy

With North American open wheel racing finally reunited under the IZOD IndyCar Series, the tour returned to the race track diversity which made the glory days of Indy car-style competition so special. Announced at the beginning of May, the IZOD IndyCar Series has expanded their series points program in 2010. Not only recognize the overall championship but the highest points-scoring drivers in the collected road race and oval races will each be rewarded a new championship.

Starting the 2010 season with four road races, the a set of drivers such as Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay established themselves as front runners through the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series. However, as the American open wheel racing competitors turned to ovals, those contenders' advantage in the series overall championship appeared dulled. In the case of Will Power particularly, his road racing credentials are stellar in open wheel but his lack of oval experience is fairly apparent. Though the overall IZOD IndyCar Series Championship is the goal of every major driver, the two sub-championships acknowledges the efforts within the diverse schedule.

With the inaugural year of these new championships, IndyCar is asking fans help on naming the trophies to be presented at the end of the 2010 season. Choosing from a list of four nominees, the following drivers are in contention:

Oval:

Mario Andretti
A.J. Foyt Jr.
Ted Horn
Rick Mears
Bill Vukovich

Road Course:

Mario Andretti
Mark Donohue
Dan Gurney
Al Unser Jr.
Alex Zanardi

To make your vote count, please to the website below before June 3rd.

http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/37641/

Countdown to Indy (#17): Indy 500 by the Numbers

Photo Credit: Bret Kelly


INDY 500: BY THE NUMBERS

3- Number of 4-time winners of the Indy 500 (Helio Castroneves seeks to become the 4th in 2010). List consists of drivers AJ Foyt, Al Under Sr and Rick Mears.
4- Former Indy 500 race winners competing in the 2010 race.
5- Women who have previous started in the Indy 500. Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick and Milka Duno.
9- Wins by Chassis builder Dallara. Number will grow to 10 after 2010 with the entire entry list running Dallaras.
10- In years, the longest wait between Indy 500 wins for a multiple race winner. AJ Foyt won in 1967 and again in 1977.
40- Cars which participated in first Indy 500 event.
47- Age of oldest Indy 500 winner. Al Unser was 47 years, 360 days old when he won his 4th race 1987.
67- Drivers having won the Indy 500.
74.9- Average speed in miles per hour for the first Indy 500 event won by Ray Harroun. Race would be slowest 500 mile event ever held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
93- Indy 500 races held prior to the upcoming 2010 race.
102- Fewest laps competed for a shortened Indy 500 race. In 1976, red flag flew on after 255 miles. Johnny Rutherford was named winner.
185.981- Miles per hour. Average speed of the fastest Indy 500 race in 1990.
233.718- Miles per hour. Fastest 4-lap qualifying effort by a driver on Indianapolis 500 Pole Day recorded by Scott Brayton in 1996. Unfortunately, Brayton would not have the opportunity to lead the Indy 500 after perishing in a fatal crash at the speedway just 5 days after earning the honour.
300- Mileage of first race to be run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Winner declared after 235 miles due to accidents)
1911- Year of the First Indianapolis 500
45432.5- Miles Completed in 93 previous Indy 500 events.

XSL Speed Reporter's Countdown to Indy (#19): Should the Indy 500 become a non-points event?

Photo Credit: Jim Haines

Draped in history and set on a pedestal of prestige, the Indianapolis 500 is the most prized car races in the world, let alone open wheel racing. Even within the years of the divided open wheel racing series in North America, the Indy 500 reigned above every other spectacle in motorsports as every driver wants their face on the Borg-Warner Trophy. A truly cherished honour to run on the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, another battle continues to be raged in the race's background. The IZOD IndyCar Series points continue to me counted in this unique event. For day two of XSL Speed Reporter's coverage leading into the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500, this is a chance to pose a question. Should the Indy 500 event be excluded from the IZOD IndyCar Series points?

With 14 limited-schedule race efforts attempting to break into the 33-car field for the 2010 Indy 500, it can be argued that these cars possess an interesting advantage over the season-long IZOD IndyCar teams. Without the underlying fear of upsetting their championship hopes, drivers in fearlessness of points will be able to take their vehicles a little deeper into corners and nose forward for that daring (or potentially stupid) pass.

Maintained as a non-points event for a long-time, the 24-Hour of Le Mans has remained the pinnacle of sports car racing. With only a grand win at streak, the best of the best drivers and manufacturers devote themselves to being remembered for their Le Mans result. If the season's points battle would be abolished for the Indy 500, the only thing that mattered for the Indy 500 would be the race itself.

Through post-World War 2 events, the revered 500 mile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has rewarded drivers and teams in one or even multiple point championships. In the 1950s, the Indianapolis 500 was complicatedly a fixture in the Formula 1 World Championship. While Indy 500 winning drivers within this era was never officially recognized as winning a Formula 1 event, these drivers were able to apply their points to the world championship. When the CART championship was formed in 1979, the Indy 500 was still sanctioned by the existing USAC management. USAC retained their own championship until the Indy Racing League took control in 1996 where points are gathered on a single structure.

Despite the long-stemming fears that points can still be up for grabs, the best cars through the open wheel racing series have the habit of surfacing for strong Indianapolis 500 performance. While the IZOD IndyCar Series points hunt remains very hot in the Indy 500, several race winners went on to capture the season's championship which includes a run between 2005-2008. What might aid the cause of the Indy 500 is the race is run roughly 5 months before the season ends.

As the Indy 500 stands as a cornerstone to the IZOD IndyCar Series, it remains unlikely that the IRL would consider removing their shining race from the ever important season-long championship. Casting a thought on the Brickyard as a non-points event could surely be turn focus for the Indy cars in the month of May.

Scott Dixon Dominates Kansas IndyCar Race; Penske's Power Stumbles

Photo Credit: Jim Haines

Having completed four races so far in this 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season Team Penske led by the driving talents of Will Power quickly established themselves as a near unbeatable entity. However, having appeared in the wake of Penske Racing's dominance through the first three races, Andretti Autosport stepped up to become a firm challenger with more than 3/4s of the season left to be run. The Penske Racing trio battles with Andretti Autosport teams in 2010 with last year's dynamic duo of Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon at Target/Chip Ganassi Racing making little impact on the tour. As the 2009 open wheel series champion and runner-up drivers sets sights on the 1.5 mile oval of Kansas Speedway, the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing organization surrounded themselves with season-high optimism.

The first oval and Saturday afternoon show for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series, the Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 race at Kansas Speedway started without incident as drivers adapted well to the significant changes in this year's racing action. In benefit of his qualifying performance on Friday, Ryan Briscoe led from the start of the event recording a person-best run. Taking the lead away from pole sitter Ryan Briscoe for the first time working lap 32, Scott Dixon led 167 of the 200 circuits composing the race distance. Besides Dixon and Briscoe, the only other driver leading the Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 was Dixon's Target/Chip Ganassi Racing partner Dario Franchitti for 2 laps during a pit stop exchange.

The race ran clean and green for 78 laps until the first caution fell on the track for EJ Viso. Getting caught in the notorious marbles and debris at the top of the speedway's turn 4, Viso's #8 swept into the wall knocking the Venezuelan out of the event. Offering a breather from the 200-plus mile per hour race pace, cars left on the lead lap pitted for fuel and tires. Two major incidents occurred within the 10 lap caution period. Firstly, during this pit stop round, the cars of Takuma Sato and Milka Duno collided as they raced side-by-side off the pit lane. Despite shooting each other into the in-field grass area through turn 1, both cars amounted only minor damage and were able to continue. A second, more significant event transpired when Ryan Briscoe's #6 Penske Racing vehicle lost its left front wheel. Fortunately with the field still under yellow, Briscoe was able to safely pit for a new tires but lost ground on the race track.

While Scott Dixon held the top spot uncontested at Kansas Speedway, competition for the remaining top-5 positions was hot as common sights such as the #3 Penske Racing car of Helio Castroneves was joined by some surprise front runners including the #06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing machine of Hideki Mutoh. Drivers Dario Franchitti and Alex Tagiani made use of strong starting spot to stay upfront with others teams joining the party. Two cars belonging to the Andretti Autosport team, the #11 of Tony Kanaan and the #37 of Ryan Hunter-Reay, both made significant movements up from their starting positions.

In the final 25 laps, the race was slowed by two cautions for accidents. On lap 179, the first yellow flag came when Jay Howard, making his first run for Sarah Fisher Racing of the 2010 season, lost control off turn 4 and flew into the frontstretch wall. Howard exited the car unhurt. With a restart on lap 185, the caution came out one more time 2 laps later when the Japanese drivers Takuma Sato and Hideki Mutoh came together on frontstretch when they were three-wide running alongside Simona Silvestro.

Thanks to a sizable separation caused by a multitude of lapped cars, Scott Dixon was left unchallenged as he sprints to his first IZOD IndyCar win of the year. Dario Franchitti made it a Target/Chip Ganassi Racing one-two passing Helio Castroneves for the second spot. Franchitti still finished more than 3 seconds behind Dixon.

Despite losing a position in the final laps, Tony Kanaan and the whole #11 Andretti Autosport group can happily celebrate an impressive podium run in the Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 climbing 10 places from his starting position. Finishing 3rd, Kanaan has shown blazing speed but had struggled to transfer the pace to a top result on the four road courses. The #37 Andretti Autosport car also enjoyed a good race at Kansas. Ryan Hunter-Reay emerged up 17 positions to finish 5th as a brilliant way to back-up his victory last race on the streets of Long Beach.

As for the Penske Racing organization, the Kansas Speedway oval provided a mixed result. Helio Castroneves arrived home 4th and Ryan Briscoe recovered from his wheel issue to finish a well-earned 6th place. As for Penske's road course ace Will Power, the first visit to a circle track was a shockingly off-day for the #12 team. Having finished on the podium three of the last four races, Power finished 2 laps down in 12th spot. In overall IZOD IndyCar points, Will Power retains the lead but loses 34 markers to Scott Dixon, 14 points to teammate Helio Castroneves and 12 to Ryan Hunter-Reay. The top 4 drivers are within 31 points entering the Indianapolis 500.

In a post-race interview, Scott Dixon enlightened the race viewers on the driver's mindset leading an IndyCar event. "When you're leading that long, you're waiting for something to go wrong, whether it's the engine, you hear noises, or if you're going to have a tire go flat. In that scenario, it's going quite smoothly. It's not going easy, but it's going smoothly. You're waiting for maybe lap traffic." Dixon said.



Photo Credit: Jim Haines

2010 Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway
IZOD IndyCar Series
Race Results

1. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
2. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
3. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
4. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
5. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
6. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
7. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
8. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
9. John Andretti/American/ Team Window World
10. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Enterprises
11. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
12. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
13. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
14. 24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
15. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
16. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
17. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
18. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
19. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
20. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
21. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
22. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing
23. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
24. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
25. 66 Jay Howard/England/Sarah Fisher Racing
26. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
27. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology

Paul Tracy Returns to Indy with KV Racing

To the rejoicing cheers of open wheel racing fans (especially Canadian fans) Paul Tracy has been officially named as an entry to the 2010 Indianapolis 500. Announced at a press conference in Long Beach (the site of his first IndyCar victory in 1993), 41 year-old Tracy will pilot a fourth car within KV Racing Technology backed by insurance company Geico. The second year in a row driving the #15 car, Paul Tracy started 13th and finished 9th in the 2009 Indy 500.

Attempting to make his 7th start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, many fans of Paul Tracy would assert that the Canadian driver is actually an Indy 500 winner. In the 2002 race, Tracy running a one-off IRL event for his CART organization Team Green. Fighting his way up to second with only two laps to go, Paul Tracy ran down the lead Penske Racing car of Helio Castroneves. Having closed the distance on Castroneves, Tracy drew alongside the Penske-owned vehicle out of turn 3. At the same time, a two-car crash occurred on the other end of the track drawing caution on lap 199 just as Tracy peaked in front of Castroneves. In what has been the most controversial outcome in Brickyard race history, Helio Castroneves was declared the leader at the point of caution despite inconclusive evidence that the caution truly came out before Tracy's pass. Protesting the result, Team Green and Paul Tracy filed an official appeal. The IRL continuously defended the race results placing Castroneves in the lead and Tracy in 2nd place at the point of caution. It has long been believed that Paul Tracy was a victim of the than separated state of open wheel racing in North America.

With Paul Tracy only confirmed for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, it's reasonable to stay tuned for some announcements placing the popular driver in additional 2010 IZOD IndyCar events. Specifically, the two upcoming IZOD IndyCar rounds in Toronto and Edmonton are likely to see "The Thrill from West Hill" return to entertain his home country fan base.

Adding to an ever-filling contingent of drivers contending for 1 of 33 prized starting spots in the 2010 Indianapolis 500, the upcoming qualifying in the coveted Brickyard is shaping into a suspenseful outing for the IZOD IndyCar Series racers. On top of the regular 25-car field with teams and cars committed for the 2010 full-season, a growing list of quality Indy-only entries is certainly going to provide a high stakes competition simply to make the 500 mile race.

Will Power Secures 3rd Straight IZOD IndyCar pole at Long Beach

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Unleashed on the hot California street circuit on Saturday afternoon, the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and teams focus on achieving the best possible starting position for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

With 25 Indy cars taking to the 1.968 mile Long Beach streets for qualifying, the 3 rounds of timed times wrapped with the Firestone Fast Six. Prevailing on the final session of qualifying, Australian Will Power posted top time with a blazing 1 minute, 9.3185 second lap. More than 4/10th of a second faster than second place, the #12 Verizon Penske Racing car arrived as a favourite front-runner for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Having defended his 2009 pole run, Power's effort on the temporary street course added his 3rd consecutive pole of this 2010 IZOD IndyCar season. "We certainly have the car figured out, and I'm very happy that the Verizon car is P1 again." Power said in a post-race press conference.

Showing speed potential again on the temporary tracks after topping Friday practice, Ryan Hunter-Reay backed up Friday's performance with a 2nd fastest time on Saturday afternoon. Driving his #37 Andretti Autosport car for Sunday, Ryan Hunter-Reay is also entered in the American Le Mans Series event running a LMP Challenge car.

Behind Hunter-Reay, Justin Wilson brought the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing #22 car to 3rd place through qualifying. While Penske Racing has been enjoying a potentially record-setting season, the growing Dreyer and Reinbold Racing team has shown some great progress with driver Justin Wilson teaming with Mike Conway. Through qualifying this season, the team has placed one of their two cars in the top-3 fastest competitors since St Petersburg.

With Will Power posing another very strong effort for the #12 Penske Racing car, car owner Roger Penske profited heavily from his entire three-car team as Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe joined his teammate in the Firestone Fast Six. Narrowly missing the Justin Wilson's 3rd place mark, Indy Grand Prix of Alabama winner Helio Castroneves will start 4th tomorrow just one spot ahead of Ryan Briscoe.

Completing the Firestone Fast Six, Tony Kanaan will start 6th in his #11 7-Eleven sponsored car for Andretti Autosport. Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti provided a 9th fastest time at Long Beach while Danica Patrick starts deep in 20th place. In 2009, Patrick posted her highest road course finish on the Long Beach circuit crossing the line in 4th place.

2009 winner of the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix race Dario Franchitti slotted in 12th fastest on the race track for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. Teammate Scott Dixon compared better to the field with an 8th place run but it remains apparent that the #9 and #10 cars on the IZOD IndyCar Series tour are having a hard time matching their 2009 vigor. With Scott Dixon claiming a runner-up position at Barber Motorsports Park, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing is turning the corner back to American open wheel racing victory lane.

Under severe pressure to perform at Long Beach on Sunday will be Graham Rahal. Driving for the 3rd time and final scheduled time with Sarah Fisher Racing, the results have been less than desirable. With a highest finish of 9th at St Petersburg, Rahal in Long Beach qualifying could only beat 3 cars on track rounding up 22nd in the starting lineup. Rahal commented in post race saying "It's again been a very frustrating day, and I think that pretty well caps it off. Never have I ever been the slowest one in qualifying in my entire career. It's pretty frustrating; we just can't seem to get the car to react to any changes that we make."



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney


With the race set to roll 1:15 p.m. local time (4:15 p.m. Eastern time), street course of Long Beach presents some passing opportunities. However, like many race tracks, considerable ground can be made up in the pits. Reminiscing about next week's IZOD IndyCar round at Barber Park Motorsport, Will Power is mindful to never discount the importance of pit road strategy. "Strategy can screw you, but it also can go your way. So we've got to read that well tomorrow."

Television coverage for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar race of Long Beach starts on Versus at 3:30 p.m. for American viewers. Canadian viewers will have to catch the race on TSN2 at 5:00 p.m.


2010 IZOD IndyCar
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Starting Lineup

1. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
2. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
3. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
4. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
5. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
6. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
7. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
8. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
9. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
10. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
11. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
12. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
13. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
14. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Enterprises
15. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
16. 24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
17. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
18. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
19. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
20. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
21. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
22. 67 Graham Rahal/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
23. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing
24. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
25. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing

Preview: 2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney


2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Track Type: Temporary Street Course
Year of First Event: 1975 (Formula 5000 Race)
Track Length: 1.968 Mile
Number of Turns: 11

First IndyCar Race: 1984 for CART/IndyCar, 2009 for IRL/IndyCar Series
Number of Laps: 85
Race Distance: 167.28 miles

2009 Polesitter: Will Power

2009 Podium

1. Dario Franchitti
2. Will Power
3. Tony Kanaan
4. Danica Patrick
5. Dan Wheldon


2010 IndyCar Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Entry List

06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing
36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
67 Graham Rahal/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing


IRL/IndyCar Weekend Schedule (All Times are Local)

Friday:

10:15 a.m.- Practice (1 Hour)
2:25 p.m.- Practice (1 Hour)

Saturday:

10:25 a.m.- Practice (1 Hour)
2:30 p.m.- Qualifying (1 Hour, 15 Minutes)

Sunday:

9:15 a.m.- Warm-up Practice (30 Minutes)
1:15 a.m.- Race (85 Laps or 2 Hour, 15 Minutes)

Will Power Bests Field in Friday Practice for Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel

Starting their season running on the urban confides of two street courses in Sao Paulo and St Petersberg, the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season proceeds for the first time to Alabama state to race at the modern Barber Motorsports park. Offering a one-race break from temporary street courses, the 2.38 mile Barber Motorsports Park provides a challenging array of winding, high-speed corners and multiple elevation changes. Winning the first two events kicking off the 2010 schedule Verizon Penske Racing driverWill Power, who ran only a limited schedule in 2009, is vastly becoming the prime 2010 contender for the championship title. With the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama only the 3rd race on the 17-race 2010 IZOD IndyCar tour

After the 2 practice sessions, Will Power weaved his #12 Verizon Penske Racing car around the 17 turn road course in the quickest circuit of the first day. Lapping the course at 1 minute, 11.1857 seconds, this time is more than a second slower than the benchmark time Power set in February when IndyCar teams tested on the 17-turn track. Reflecting back to the Barber Motorsports Park test, the Verizon Penske Racing trio held the fastest three positions leaving the road course. In the Friday return to the race track, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe found the competition has closed in for at least day 1 practice sessions. The #6 Penske car of Helio Castroneves held close by his teammate Power achieving a just 18/100ths of a second slower than the top recorded time for 3rd place on the day. In 7th overall after two practices, the third Penske Racing driver Ryan Briscoe commented "We did not quite find the balance that we were looking for today. We did find a good direction for tomorrow.".



Providing a challenge to Penske Racing, Andretti Autosport's driver Tony Kanaan rocketed his #11 7/11 car to second fastest. Showing constant top-3 pace through practice and qualifying in the two presiding rounds of the IZOD IndyCar season, Tony Kanaan has yet to capture a race finish equaling the Andretti Autosport car's speed. Fellow Andretti Autosport comrade Marco Andretti also finished strong on the first day practice. 5th fastest, Marco Andretti vowed confidently about his team's work in preparing the #26 Venom Energy Honda-powered Dallara. "We've made the Venom car better today and are only a couple minor changes away from being a pole contender." Andretti said in a late day comment. Other two Andretti Autosport efforts for the day saw Ryan Hunter-Reay in 11th and Danica Patrick placing 19th.



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Presenting himself as a factor on race day both times this season, Scott Dixon fight has been closing the deal in the final laps. Driving his Target Chip Ganassi Racing #9, Dixon was recorded 4th fastest time which is 7 spots higher than teammate Dario Franchitti.

Debuting on his first IndyCar event, newcomer Bertrand Baguette got acquainted with his #36 Conquest Racing Dallara-Honda but was second-last on the 25 car speed chart after Friday. However, it is also interesting to note that the other rookie driver for Conquest Racing, Mario Romancini, would be just one spot higher than Baguette.

On Saturday, the one and a half hour qualifying session is set to roll at 9:20 AM local time at the Birmingham, Alabama track.

Preview: 2010 IZOD IndyCar Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar

Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Track Type: Permanent Road Course
Year Opened: 2003
Track Length: 2.38 Mile
Number of Turns: 17

First IndyCar Race: 2010
Number of Laps: 90 laps
Race Distance: 214.2 miles

2009 Polesitter: NA

2009 Podium

NA


2010 IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg Entry List

06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing
36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
67 Graham Rahal/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing

Will Power Finds the Motion in Delayed Grand Prix of St Petersburg

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

Demonstrating some stewing aggression as the green flag dropped, the Honda engines of 24 IZOD IndyCar Series cars awoke at 10AM Monday for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg after hard rain silenced the mechanical race beasts on the scheduled Sunday.

As the field took the green, the postponed event set course for a 100 laps distance around the 1.8 mile St Petersburg temporary street course. However, the racing action the first lap as Dario Franchitti and Mike Conway spun through turn 2 drawing the caution

Early on in the start of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, race hungry drivers were eager to lead the event. With the Penske Racing #12 of Will Power benefiting from the pole position, a charge from Marco Andretti allowed the Andretti Autosport car to lead on lap 5. The young Andretti's lead would be short-lived as the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing of Scott Dixon overhauled the #26 Venom Energy car one lap later.

Putting a damper to a fine race, Marco Andretti suffered a punctured tire after lap 31 restart. The time loss getting back to pit road as well as the track position given up on a pit stop dropped Andretti from contention for victory. Marco Andretti would bring his #26 Andretti Autosport car past the finish lane 12th at the end behind teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay.

A spinning #4 National Guard Panther Racing car of Dan Wheldon on lap 46 collected #32 KV Racing Technology's Mario Moraes rendering both drivers out of the event listed 20th and 21st in the final race standings. While some blamed Wheldon for the accident, Panther Racing personnel conveyed that a right rear suspension problem was actually the culprit of the #4 car's spin.

At the point of this third full-course caution, Ryan Briscoe led after Dario Franchitti brief 3 laps on 1st place. The Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing #06 Hideki Mutoh was running a strong 2nd place behind Ryan Briscoe. While that position was lost through a pit stop during the full-course caution, Mutoh's run would be spoiled later in the St Petersburg race by stalling the #06 car on a future pit service. Finishing on the lead lap, 14th place was the result of the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing backup car driven by the 3rd year IndyCar Japanese driver.

As the race neared a climax, Will Power found his way back to the front in his Penske Racing #12 car leading 45 of the final 51 laps to take victory at Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg. Following Power was the Z-Line Designs-sponsored #22 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing machine driven by Justin Wilson. Both Power and Wilson were aided with track position as their vehicles required one fewer pit stop than the rest of the field.

With Australian Will Power making the most of his first full season with Penske Racing, the prestigious race team enjoyed a strong effort overall. Ryan Briscoe, who started the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg in 19th place, vastly improved on his qualifying effort with a 3rd place run. Rounding out the new look black and white Penske cars, Helio Castroneves 4th place allowed the team colours to be shown in 3 of the top-4 finishing spots.

Overcoming first lap difficulties, Scot Dario Franchitti rounds out the top-5 for the Cottonelle-backed #10 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car. Scott Dixon in the #9 team car would not see the end of the St Petersburg race as the Target car ended lap 73 in the turn 9 wall.

Having also playing the same strategy game as Power and Wilson, IZOD IndyCar's leading lady Danica Patrick emerged from deep in the starting field for a Andretti Autosport team best finish of 7th place.

Stepping away from the established race organizations of the IZOD IndyCar Series, younger teams FAZZT Race Team and Sarah Fisher Racing also recorded some positive results. Coming home 6th at Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg is the #77 of Alex Tagliani. Just missing out on a top-5 finish with a handful of laps remaining, Tagliani and the first year FAZZT Race Team ran competitively throughout the event. Sarah Fisher Racing's #67 car of Graham Rahal came 9th across the lane in the team's first outing for 2010. Gaining 7 positions over his qualifying run, Rahal's run was not entirely clean. On the same lap that Scott Dixon retired, Rahal and #78 HVM Racing's Simona de Silvestro made contact. Spun out, de Silvestro received the worst end of the contact but was still able to finish the race 16th overall.

Taking a one-race break from the temporary street circuits, 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and teams prepare for their


2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Grand Prix of St Peterburg Final Results

1. 12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
2. 22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
3. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
4. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
5. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
6. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
7. 7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
8. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
9. Graham Rahal/United States Sarah Fisher Racing
10. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
11. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
12. 26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
13. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil Conquest Racing
14. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
15. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
16. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
17. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
18. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
19. 24 Mike Conway/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
20. 4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
21. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology
22. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
23. 19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
24. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing

Heavy Rain Delays IZOD IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg to Monday Morning

Photo Credit: Steve Swope

The start of the IZOD IndyCar Series' Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg has been rescheduled for 10AM Monday morning as a large storm blows through the Florida area mid-afternoon Sunday. Race organizers, St Petersburg city officials, broadcast partners as well as the series made the decision at 3:30 PM on Sunday afternoon as up to a inch of rain coated the surface of the Florida temporary street course. IRL President of Competition and Racing Operations Brian Barnhart elaborated that standing water, track drainage, and potential driver visibility were reasons for the postponement of the race. "While our cars are equipped to run in the rain, we take the safety of our teams, event workers and fans very seriously. And with those conditions, even with the Firestone Firehawk rain tires and rain lights that we have, visibility would still be an issue." Barnhart commented.

Unlike the NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway, the IZOD IndyCar Series is faced with the fact they're running on a temporary street course incorporating roadways and part of an airport. For open wheel racing, past events with rain dampening temporary street circuits have resulted in some disgraceful black-eyes.

The most notorious American open wheel event to be broken by wet weather was the Surfers Paradise CART race in 2002. A monsoon-like rain resulting in a 9-car accident made it impossible for the field to safety compete after a mere 8 green flag laps were run on the Australian street course. Because of the need to convert the circuit back to public roads by the last day, CART elected to run the field under the yellow flag for 30 laps in order to push the race beyond the halfway mark. Making for a ridiculous parade, the Surfer's Paradise finish was also marred with additional controversy. With the race distance marked at 60 laps, it was suggested that CART waited until lap 40 to call the event because they didn't want than halfway leader Michael Andretti to claim a victory. Andretti had than announced plans to run the competing IRL Series, this defection might have provoked CART to hold off on declaring the race finished until Mario Dominguez took the lead.

In reaction to the postponement of the IZOD IndyCar event, Sao Paulo runner-up Ryan Hunter-Reay stated "This is probably the best turnout for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg we've ever had, so to have them all out here and have them go home and come back out tomorrow is a disappointment for us." Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's Hideki Mutoh supported the IRL/IndyCar decision saying candidly "If we were to go out and try to race, maybe there would only be one car that would finish."

Predictions call for rain showers to continue into the morning hours of Monday but the IZOD IndyCar vehicles are equipped to run in light to moderate rain thanks to Firestone wet weather tires. ESPN 2 will air the race live in the United States. With the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg scheduled to be shown on ABC, the rescheduling to the cable sports network was an unexpected but unfortunate loss for the teams, drivers and sponsors in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series.

Weather permitting, Will Power in the #12 Penske Racing car will lead off the 24-car field.

Power Produces IZOD IndyCar Pole on Streets of St Petersburg

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel/IndyCar

After starting the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season outside of the United States for the first time in series history within the thrilling Sao Paulo round, the teams return to the streets of St Petersburg, Florida. The 6th visit for the IndyCar Series, Penske Racing holds three of previous race victories on the 1.8 mile, 11-turn circuit.

In qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Penske Racing driver Will Power backed up a fastest speed in Friday practice to grab the pole position for Sunday's event. Blitzing the temporary race course in 1 minute, 1.6026 seconds, this fastest time by the Penske Racing #12 car is roughly 8/10ths of a second faster than the pole time of Graham Rahal in 2009.

Securing his last pole at Edmonton last July, a race that Will Power went on to dominate to victory. In a post race interview, Power responded to a question regarding his confidence going into tomorrow's race by saying "Yeah, been very strong all weekend, really happy for all of the Verizon guys. It's their first full season, so started off very strongly and that was hard work in that session. Tried to save the good Reds (faster, softer alternative tires) for the Fast Six and had a light run."

Posting a best time just 0.2771 seconds slower than Power's Penske Racing machine, Tony Kanaan falls short Andretti Autosport's first pole since the June 2008 race at Richmond. Andretti Autosport does has reason to celebrate with two cars being in the Firestone Fast Six qualifiers as the #26 car of Marco Andretti was 6th quickest in the afternoon time trial session.



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Filling the 3rd through 5th spots in the Firestone Fast Six were the #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car of Scott Dixon, the #22 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Justin Wilson and Will Power's teammate Helio Castroneves in the #3 Penske machine. As for Penske Racing's 3rd driver Ryan Briscoe, his #6 car will start deep in the grid in 19th place after struggling to find speed around the 1.8 mile track. Briscoe enters the race as the defending 2009 winner at St Petersburg.

Another car finding trouble in St Petersburg qualifying was the #10 driven by Sao Paulo polesitter Dario Franchitti. On Sunday, Franchitti will be making his 200th open-wheel racing start in North America at St Petersburg (86 races in the IRL IndyCar Series and 114 in the defunct CART tour).

Competing in his first race of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season, Graham Rahal has placed the Sarah Fisher Racing #67 in a sluggish 16th place in qualifying. With the partnership between Rahal and Sarah Fisher Racing scheduled only for St Petersburg as well as the next race at Barber Motorsports Park on April 11th, rumours have continued to run on Rahal's future plans in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Some indications have Graham Rahal returning to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing later this season.

The 2010 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg will air on ABC at 3:30PM.


2010 IZOD IndyCar Series
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg Starting Grid

Pos #| Car #| Driver/Team

1. 12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
2. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
3. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
4. 22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
5. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
6. 26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
7. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
8. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
9. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
10. 24 Mike Conway/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
11. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
12. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
13. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
14. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
15. 4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
16. Graham Rahal/United States Sarah Fisher Racing
17. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
18. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil Conquest Racing
19. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
20. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology
21. 7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
22. 19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
23. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
24. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing

Preview: 2010 IZOD IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg

Track Type: Temporary Street Circuit
Track Length: 1.8 Mile
Number of Turns: 14

First Race: 1985. First IndyCar race in 2005
Number of Laps: 100 laps
Mileage: 180 Miles

2009 Polesitter: Graham Rahal

2009 Podium

1. Ryan Briscoe
2. Ryan Hunter-Reay
3. Justin Wilson


2010 IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg Entry List

06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing
37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
67 Graham Rahal/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing

Will Power Edges Hunter-Reay for Sao Paulo Indy 300 Victory

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney


Day 1 of the IIndustrial grinding equipment worked through the night to add abrasion to the troubled area of the Anhembi Sambodromo frontstretch area. On Sunday, after a brief warm-up for IndyCar race teams, the work done by track crews received the rave appreciation of competitors.

Reconciled with the Sao Paulo street course, drivers and teams readied for the early morning qualifying. In the time trial session, Dario Franchitti pulled out a 1 minute, 27.7354 second lap time to take pole. In an astonishing development for the series debuting #77 car of FAZZT Race Team, Alex Tagliani delivered a run just 3/100ths of a second slower than Franchitti. Justin Wilson, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power and Tony Kanaan rounded out the starting order for the first ever Sao Paulo Indy 300 race.

Just four hours after Franchitti posed for his Peak Pole Award, the #10 Target/Chip Ganassi car led the 24-car field to the start as both the San Paulo Indy 300 and the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series were a go. However, just as the 24 IndyCar race competitors took green, a multiple car pile-up resulted just 10 seconds after the race season started. Involving 5 cars in total through the turn 1 area, cars of Takuma Sato, Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon were caught in one tangle which ultimately resulted with only Sato race ended. In a second more scary collision, the #32 KV Racing Technology car of Mario Moraes was launched onto Marco Andretti's #26 car. Fortunately, Andretti stepped out of his Venom-sponsored race machine uninjured.

With the first 7 laps run behind the safety car, the Sao Paulo Indy 300 restarted as pole sitter Dario Franchitti led the first green flag laps pulling out a 1.4 second lead on 2nd place runner Alex Tagliani. After starting on the front row, Alex Tagliani and the FAZZT Race Team were settling into their first race together running 5th after the first set of pitstops. Tagliani would see his respectable running run take a turn for the worse his #77 Bowers & Wilkins car was collected in a lap 29 coming together with Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon. While Wheldon and Kanaan continued on the way, the FAZZT Race Team machine of Alex Tagliani would be unable to continue finishing 17th in their first race of 2010. Dan Wheldon, driver of the #4 Panther Racing Dallara/Honda, would assume responsibility for the incident after the race.

Blazing to a strong run in practice in day 1, the #37 Andretti Autosport racer of Ryan Hunter-Reay followed up his Saturday afternoon performance by taking the lead of the race on lap 28. Leading 20 laps on the day, Hunter-Reay has emerged as a definite factor at this point in the Sao Paulo Indy 300.

By lap 32, a thunderstorm blew heavy rainfall through the area soaking the temporary race track causing at first a caution to fly as the #7 of Danica Patrick and the #32 car of Mario Moraes spun in the 1st and 2nd turn. As drivers encountered impossible racing conditions due to the flash storm creating deep pools of standing water, the loss timing and scoring through an electrical power outage necessitated a red flag. Through the red flag break, the toll of the temporary street course was evident with the physical wear placed on the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers. In the case of Will Power, bloody blisters were seen on the his hands.

The rain died quickly and the Indy cars returned to competition after a 36-minute interruption, a two and a half time limit in place at the street course, the full 75 lap distance could not be run in the allotted time. forced the event to become classified as a timed event with under 40 minutes left to run. While Dario Franchitti retook the lead briefly on the lap 37 restart, the Chip Ganassi-owned race machine relinquished first place when Franchitti pitted. As a result, the he lead returned to Ryan Hunter-Reay who was attempting to stretch his #37 car's fuel mileage to the race's end distance. Having to run a slower pace, the Andretti Autosport car soon came under attack from two Penske Racing vehicles, Ryan Briscoe #6 and Will Power #12 cars. On lap 50, amongst a fierce fight between Hunter-Reay and Briscoe, the lead changed as the #6 prevailed. As Ryan Hunter-Reay was still marginal on fuel, the Andretti Autosport driver did not back down and continued to apply pressure to Ryan Briscoe. With time ticking down on the race, the outcome changed as Ryan Briscoe miscalculated turn 5 braking nosing his #6 Penske Racing car into the tire barrier. The resulting yellow flag not only put Ryan Hunter-Reay back into the lead, the brief caution period eliminated fuel mileage concerns.

With time which would measure 6 laps remaining, Hunter-Reay's fight came from a hungry Will Power. With 3 minutes and 30 seconds still on the clock, Power used some skillful car control to beat Ryan Hunter-Reay through turn 11 successfully pulling away to win the Sao Paulo Indy 300. Will Power's second win in the IZOD IndyCar Series, this victory reinforced Roger Penske's wisdom to expand his open wheel team to 3 cars for 2010.

Though Ryan Hunter-Reay lost the Sao Paulo Indy 300 trophy in the latter stages, the American open wheel driver matched his first race finish last season at St Petersburg. With Andretti Autosport in 2010, Hunter-Reay has the opportunity to follow-up his initial finish through the duration of the IZOD IndyCar championship.

With Will Power healed from a severe back injury, two of the three members of the Sao Paulo Indy 300 podium. A fantastic run for the #14 AJ Foyt Enterprises race team, Vitor Meira finished 3rd in his return to IndyCar competition after serious injuries suffered in the Indy 500 last May. Meira's 3rd place run was also made him the highest finishing Brazilian driver on the Sao Paulo circuit.


Photo Credit: Chris Jones

Also a news item was the record female contention in the race with Danica Patrick, Ana Beatriz, Milka Duno and Simona de Silvestro all starting in this IndyCar round. Finishing the best of the racing women, rookie Ana Beatriz driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for her home event came home on the lead lap in 13th place. Acknowledged only as a one-off ride for the Sao Paulo IndyCar race, it will not be surprising if Dreyer & Reinbold Racing or another team will extend the young Beatriz more opportunities this season to run the series. Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro also had a memorable first IndyCar race of her career placing the HVM Racing car in the lead briefly through as the field was sorting through the first set of pitstops. Having signed with Dale Coyne Racing just 11 days ago, Milka Duno would be the only woman not to finish the Sao Paulo Indy 300. Duno spun her CITGO-sponsored car in turn 3 on lap 22 stalling the vehicle.

The next race for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series will take place on the Streets of St Petersburg on March 28th.


2010 Sao Paulo Indy 300 Race Results

Pos #| Car #| Driver/Team

1. 12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
2. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
3. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
4. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
5. 4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
6. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
7. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
8. 24 Mike Conway/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
9. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
10. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
11. 22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
12. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
13. 23 Ana Beatriz/Brazil Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
14. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
15. 7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
16. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
17. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil Conquest Racing
18. 19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
19. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
20. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
21. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing
22. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
23. 26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
24. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology

2010 IZOD IndyCar Indy Series Sao Paulo Indy 300 Entry List

Photo Credit: Chris Jones/ IndyCar

Composing the field of the San Paulo Indy 300 road race for the IZOD IndyCar Series, 24 cars and drivers will suit up for the open wheel series' first event in South America. Unleashing two dozen Dallara-Hondas for Sunday, March 14th, the IndyCar Series eagerly embraces the piping hot Brazilian weather as they compete on a 2.6 mile, 11 turn street course.

Preparing to be a grand spectacle in a country dominated with the memories of Aryton Senna and the success of modern drivers such as Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan, the latter 2 drivers will be 7 Brazilian born competitors on Sunday. In all, open wheel challengers from 11 nations will run the first race of the 2010 season. Diversity for the IZOD IndyCar Series will also spread amongst genders with a record 4 female drivers will prepare for the Indy 300 on the streets of Sao Paulo.

The one notable team not competing in the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 is Sarah Fisher Racing. Similar to last season, Sarah Fisher and company are not slated to run any IndyCar races outside of the United States for 2010.

Car # | Driver/Home Country | Team

06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing
19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
23 Ana Beatriz/Brazil Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
24 Mike Conway/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology
34 Mario Romancini/Brazil Conquest Racing
37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing

Mario Moraes Added to KV as Last Minute Addition to 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series

Photo Credit: IndyCar Media

KV Racing Technology has resigned Brazilian Mario Moraes just in time for the Sao Paulo, Brazil street race proceeding this weekend as the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season opener. Assigned to drive the #32 Banco Panamericano for the full 2010 schedule, a joyous Moraes commented in the team release saying "Being in the car to start the season is very important for me especially since the first race is in my hometown. KVRT is one of the best teams in the IZOD IndyCar Series and I am looking forward to working with everyone on the team again. Hopefully we can continue the success we enjoyed at the end of last season.".

A student in world racing at a young age, Mario Moraes' not so distant youth consisted of experience in British F3 and FTR 1600. Spending two seasons in the IndyCar Series driving first for Dale Coyne Racing in 2008, Moraes found his competitive footing during the last part of the 2009 schedule with KV Racing Technologies. Garnering 3 top-5 finishes in the final 4 races of 2009, Mario Moraes prospects in the IZOD IndyCar Series appeared promising following the Homestead-Miami Speedway finale with KV Racing Technology rumoured to resign him for 2010. However, as months went by, KV Racing Technology added some confusion to Moraes situation by hiring EJ Viso and Takuma Sato last month. To the relief of Moraes, KV Racing Technology added a third car as team General Manager Mark Johnson explains. "Mario showed last season he can be very competitive and is in the process of becoming one of the top talents in the series."
The 11th hour announcement regarding Mario Moraes is the 5th driver to be named to a full-time IndyCar ride through the past 11 days. With IZOD IndyCar practice and qualifying for the inaugural Indy 300 on the streets of Sao Paulo scheduled Saturday, expect the field for the open wheel driver/team lineup to be well-established for 2010.