Sam Schmidt Motorsport Pledges to Use Honda Power in 2012 INDYCAR Season

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Announced ahead of the weekend racing activities at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the 2011 Indianapolis 500 pole-winning team Sam Schmidt Motorsports has affirmed plans to compete in the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season with Honda engines. Competing full-time in the 2011 season with the #77 car driven by French-Canadian driver Alex Tagliani, Honda and the Sam Schmidt Motorsports race team has two poles so far in the ongoing IZOD INDYCAR Series tour. In a press release, team owner Sam Schmidt commented on the team's powerplant choice for next season. “I believe its total commitment to performance, reliability and integrity as a company is perfectly aligned with the goals of Sam Schmidt Motorsports and its partners. We look forward to what we hope will be a long and very productive relationship.” said Schmidt.

Confirming an engine for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, Sam Schmidt Motorsports has been a race team appearing in the news and rumour mill more than once in 2011. A sophomore race team started in 2010 as the FAZZT Race Team (driver Alex Tagliani was one of the co-owners), Sam Schmidt bought into the organization at the beginning of the year saving the #77 INDYCAR team. A 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series highlighted by the Indianapolis 500 qualifying victory on Pole Day, the #77 car's race engineer left to rejoin Andretti Autosport shortly after the 500-mile event.

Questions have also surrounded the driver line-up for 2012 as sources indicate present driver Alex Tagliani is fighting to keep his seat in Sam Schmidt Motorpsorts. Part of entering the FAZZT Race Team in 2010 was a five-year contract to drive the #77 vehicle but it seems unsure if Tagliani's deal is upheld when the team was sold this past winter. Starting the season strong with a 5th place at Long Beach and 6th in the opening IZOD INDYCAR event in St Petersburg, Tagliani has most recently come off a two-race stretch in Canada where he became the center of criticism through instances of contact with other cars. Sam Schmidt Motorsports is currently backing past Firestone Indy Lights driver Martin Plowman for this weekend's race at Mid-Ohio. Rumours about Sam Schmidt Motorsports have a two-car, full-time effort a major wish for the organization.


As Sam Schmidt Motorsports becomes latest established IZOD INDYCAR Series team to commit to their engine choice for next season, the upcoming twin-turbocharged V-6 powerplant constructed by Honda Racing Development is a popular so far in the stages leading up to next season. Powerhouse team Chip Ganassi Racing as well as long-time IRL/INDYCAR Series operation AJ Foyt Racing both announced their intentions to retain the services of Honda Racing Development. Competing engines for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR season has Chevrolet and Lotus based within the series.

Review of Friday Action at the 2010 Honda Indy of Toronto: Part 1

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Alright, being December, I am fully aware that my entry on the 2010 Honda Indy of Toronto is quite late to be considered as current events I want to profile on XSL Speed Reporter. Due to other more pressing writing obligations has diverted my attention away from exercising more creative endeavours on this site. While my intentions is never to withdraw my dedication to completing this Honda Indy of Toronto review, time was never on my side. Being better late than never, I will hopefully allow you to reminiscence of the dog days of summer while much of Canada becomes covered with snow.

Following the productive year I had in 2009, I thought all I needed to do to make this year's coverage perfect was to add more updates and bring sunscreen (it took two weeks after last year's Honda Indy to overcome have serious sunburns on my face, neck and arms). Regrettably, I admit I was unable to attend this year's race in the official capacity of a member of the media. Having been granted the honour of media access last year, this first time experience didn't allow me to fully make use of my press flexibility. It was my intention to avail readers of XSL Speed Reporter to exciting coverage. Maybe representing the latest resurgence of IndyCar after reunification, larger media outlets (including many television stations which were not even present for Friday on 2009) covered the action of the first day of the Honda Indy weekend.

Media vehicles for CHCH TV, CP 24 and CBC were noticeably on attendance
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy

It would also be a relief that this year's general media presence were a little more accepting of the 2010 Honda Indy of Toronto. The 2009 event was almost slandered by sports writers more familiar with 'stick and ball sports'. More positive of the event, there was still articles questioning the presence of the major Canadian auto race.

As was the case last year, the race promoters did not publicize spectator numbers but I imagine media outlets simply observe the grandstands expecting everyone to be seated throughout the race weekend. For anyone who attends an IZOD IndyCar Series road or street course event, you know that this is unlike many year-round sporting events that last only for a few hours. The Honda Indy of Toronto is a three-day festival which encourages spectators to bask in the sights and sounds of the July atmosphere.

While lacking the press access, my love for the event would allow me to forgive my non-inclusion as a reporter. Coming on Friday for the 2010 Honda Indy weekend, I looked forward to again attend the race action as a spectator. Thanks to Honda Canada had provided a Free Friday promotion (giving patrons a chance to absorb the true amazement of the auto racing action) I can attest anyone attending the race was given almost as much freedom as I had last year in viewing to on-track action. As ambient high temperatures sailed past the mark of 30 degrees Celsius.

Photo of Toronto beautiful skyline
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Arriving in the early morning for the CNE grounds via the TTC streetcar, I Iucked out that a gentle rain shower had long ceased with much of the evidence evaporated under mid-summer temperatures that resided inside the 20 degree range. Following a short TTC street car ride, I was enjoying the chance to relish my attendance of the 2010 Honda Indy of Toronto. At the gate, spectators were endorsed to donate fairly to the Make a Wish Foundation Canada. While Free Friday was worth while for fans, there is not one fiber of my being that would not appreciate this charity drive.

After making a proper donation, as did many considerate race fans, I was treated once again to one of the more thorough security checks ever instituted at a sporting event. Bags were checked (which for me pertained to only my camera bag) and food or drink were prohibited beyond the gate. While I give the benefit that this is done for safety, the looks of the concession stand pricing inside the event would definitely need some kind of 'outside food ban' to keep brisk business. But, high prices at food and drink concession stands is only part of the sporting event experience.

As I cleared the front gate to the CNE grounds, my 2010 Honda Indy of Toronto experience started by appraising the paddocks of 6 individual racing series'. Four of the six touring exhibits were found inside of the Direct Energy. Throughout the day, the shelter of the cooler Direct Energy building served some comfort as the July sun and humidity beamed over Toronto. Passing the fleet of Honda Ridgeline trucks destined to parade the drivers of the IZOD IndyCar Series prior to Sunday main event, passage through the Direct Energy Center gave me a look at the Acura World Challenge and Trans-Am on the right side of the building's interior. Far to the left, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series transporters and teams were assembled.

Inside Direct Energy Centre with Honda Ridgeline ceremonial vehicles in view.
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter

Becoming a oven-like warm Toronto morning, the grounds of the CNE were ripe with activity. The more stabilized and recognized IZOD IndyCar Series as well as the Free Friday promotion was clearly making an impact on attendance. As perhaps the most assuring signal was the presence of families at the race track taking in this affordable sporting event. Compared to Toronto Blue Jays tickets cost around $50 for cheap seat viewing at the Roger Center or a Toronto Maple Leafs game costing at least $150 to $200, the Honda Indy of Toronto provides refreshingly wallet-friendly trips for parents careful amidst these complicated economic times. Even though concession prices could make lunch a more expensive than usual, the no-charge admission succeeded in offsetting that cost.

As I stepped outside, my ears were ringing with an enchanting sound of race engines bellowing around the temporary 2.84-kilometer (1.765-mile) street circuit. Taking to the track early was the 2010 SCCA World Challenge and Trans-Am series competitors. Knowing that the sports cars were positioned as a supporting attraction to the open wheel racing, the sound of these vehicles echoed the best sound of any car competing during the Honda Indy of Toronto weekend. The sight of Volvo S60, Lexus IS300 as well as Volkswagen GTIs in race trim provided a roar which could be compared to a mix between Formula 1 and a Grand Turismo video game.

Tomy Drissi's Jaguar advertising the future release of the movie
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter

Acura Sports Car Challenge vehicles and SCCA Trans-Am series race cars returned for a second practice during the afternoon ahead of their Saturday afternoon event which saw the Realtime Racing Acura TSX piloted by Peter Cunningham win the GTS class. Randy Pobst took a close 0.821 second victory in the GT Class with a Volvo S60 as Montreal, Quebec's Kuno Wittmer came home 6th in a Dodge Viper. SCCA Trans-Am Series race's pole was snatched by the Jaguar XKR of Tomy Drissi but the Honda Indy of Toronto race was claimed by RJ Lopez (a first-time series win by the Dominican Republic native) and his Corvette by a nealy 9 second margin. Stouffville, Ontario's Blaise Csida retired with only 21 laps on the board with a mechanical problem.

Randy Pobst's K-Pax Volvo S60 on Friday.
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Back to Friday morning as the Honda Indy of Toronto was still a memory waiting to happen, the IZOD IndyCar series took to the track for their first practice of the 2010 event. The headliners of the July weekend speed festivities, the array of drivers such as Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti all returned after running last year's event (the first under the IRL/IndyCar Series structure). It was also the return for 2010 for the 2nd Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing car driven by Graham Rahal. Of course, being one of two Canadian rounds for the major open wheel racing series, Paul Tracy rejoined the tour alongside French-Canadian regular Alex Tagliani in competition.  Tracy was running his 2nd race of the season after driving for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing at Watkins Glen in place of the injured Mike Conway.

Graham Rahal ahead of his first practice back with NHL Racing for 2010.
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Just like the 2009 event, the IZOD IndyCar teams paraded from the paddock area to the pit lane ahead of every session allowing fans to get a look at their favourite Dallara-Honda Indy cars and drivers. Compared to 2009 where Patrick moved like a flash between locations shielded from view, the popular IZOD IndyCar driver turned over a new leaf in respecting the Canadian race fans. Upon my first sight of her ahead of the first IZOD IndyCar series practice, Danica Patrick would walking down gasoline alley smiling as she cheerfully signed a few autographs. Whether the pressures of her sponsors through IndyCar as well as NASCAR in 2010 or an improved mood, the more congenial Danica Patrick was no less than a welcomed inclusion for the 2010 Honda Indy of Toronto.

Danica Patrick embracing her usually abundant fanfare.
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter 

Danica Patrick along with Simona de Silvestro and Milka Duno were the female composure of a very diverse grid for the 2010 race in Toronto. With the G20 Summit gathering occurring just three weeks prior, the IZOD IndyCar Series presented a rich international representation of drivers from 12 different countries. Even though the Honda V-8 engines buzzed loudly along the Toronto lake shore, its arguable the race action was more peaceful.

The first time to measure up the competition for the event, the one hour session was led by Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon over Justin Wilson by leading the circuit in 1 minute, 3.9149 seconds. Within several minutes of the green flag being displayed for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series cars, the KV Racing #5 car of former Formula 1 driver Takuma Sato lost traction through the final corner backing his car into a retaining wall. Assisted by the safety crew, Sato was able to restart his car suffering a loss of his rear wing. Belgium's Bertrand Baguette also left the first practice session with damage to his #36 Conquest Racing car. Being the first visit to the Toronto circuit, Baguette was continuing a hard-fought rookie campaign in the IZOD IndyCar Series which started at the 3rd race of the 2010 season.

Picture of Takuma Sato's KV Racing #5 car seconds before impacting the
frontstretch wall.
Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter 

Third-fastest in the first practice session, Alex Tagliani and the FAZZT Race Team posted an effort many home country fans were eagerly seeking from the #77 car. Driving the Make a Wish Canada #15 car, Paul Tracy could only muster a 15th place run against 26 cars. Being Canada's drivers, both Tagliani and Tracy appeared to have a higher than usual amount of obligations to press as well as sponsors. Ahead of noon, Alex Tagliani's FAZZT Race Team's presided within the IZOD IndyCar paddock spotted for one media engagement. Getting in and out of his Hot Wheel-sponsored #77 car, an adoring crowd surrounded the Canadian racer.

Alex Tagliani seated in #77 Hot Wheels/FAZZT Race Team car
Photo Credit: XSL Speed Reporter

As the IZOD IndyCar Series left the track, the Firestone Indy Lights support series were next to lap the circuit starting their practice quarter past 11 in the morning. Leading the series points, J.K. Vernay was ahead of Charlie Kimball and Oakville, Ontario native James Hinchcliffe. Personally having the pleasure of interviewing Hinchcliffe ahead of the Honda Indy of Toronto for PRN Magazine, it was clear to me that a Firestone Indy Lights victory on the temporary race track for the 24-year old would be a major career achievement. In preparations for the Toronto 100 race, James Hinchcliffe would claim fastest time in the first practice.

Venturing around the race track all morning, I face much of that time attempting to find a source of refreshments. As I have already singled out the concession stand prices, it may be obvious it was an issue with me. Being a frugal deal-hunter, I have trouble spending almost twice the price for drinks. In hindsight, I probably should have been more willing to forgo an expense. Drinking fountains were few and far between on the CNE grounds with me eventually finding one inside the Direct Energy Center to refill my empty water bottle. Past noon time, I believe I was in the early stages of dehydration as I began to feel ill effect for not bracing for the elements. Clearly, I was alright after sitting down for about an hour inside the Direct Energy Center after recovering some water.

A productive and enjoyable morning at the 2010 Honda Indy, a brief rest reinvigorated me for what would be an even better afternoon.

Lotus Blooms as 2012 IndyCar Engine Supplier

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

For the second time in two weeks, the esteemed press and observers of the IZOD IndyCar Series were enlightened to yet another encouraging sign for the future of the open wheel organization. Surprising many with an announcement, Lotus Cars has officially become the 3rd engine supplier slated to be powering the upcoming 2012 IndyCar Series vehicles.

Revealed Friday at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show in the presence of IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard, Lotus Cars CEO Dany Bahar and IndyCar racing legend Parnelli Jones, the announcement involved not only the admittance to supplying engines but also confirming a previously-stated intent to offer a body kit to the Dallara chassis in 2012.

Since the formulation of the new car rules, it was more than likely Lotus was clamouring for a greater role in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Throughout this year, Lotus had a technical cooperation with the KV Racing team. In part of that agreement, the green and yellow colours of Lotus had been worn through the 2010 campaign by KV Racing's #5 car of Takuma Sato. Of course most notably, Lotus Racing has also reactivated as a Formula 1 competitor as one of three new teams joining the grand prix grid this past season. 

Through the 1960s, Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman launched an all-out charge to take the world's greatest oval racing event. Making a first stand at the 1963 Indy 500, the rear-engined Lotus race cars piloted by Formula 1 legends Jim Clark and Graham Hill would both have their pictures mounted on the Borg-Warner Trophy. Clark brought Lotus to the first ever victory at the Brickyard for a rear-engined open wheel car in 1965 with Graham Hill repeating for Chapman's team in 1966.

While Lotus' victory at the Indy 500 quickly led to complete adoption of rear-engine configuration on Indy cars, a two-year stint of 1967 and 1968 saw technology which would never again visit the Brickyard. Running a gasoline-powered turbine Indy car, Parnelli Jones almost won the 1967 race if it had not been for a late race mechanical failure. In 1969, Mario Andretti charged to the Indy 500 in a four-wheel drive Lotus but the car was lost in a crash prior to the 500-mile race. Andretti won the 1969 Indy 500 in a modified Brawner-Hawk chassis.

A part of such a rich racing past, Dany Bahar provided details on why Lotus has decided for a return to North American open wheel racing. "We believe in the series. We believe the series is developing very, very well. I think it fits perfectly very well our activities and strategies in the U.S., which is our biggest market."


With KV Racing being a likely client of the Lotus engines and aero kits, it is too early to identify which teams will opt for the components of the British-based organization but it will certainly not be an exclusive deal. Rules set out by the IndyCar ICONIC committee behind the 2012 race machine was to require any aero kits to be available to other teams.

While supplying chassis parts is not new for Lotus, it remains interesting to ponder how Lotus will develop an engine in just one year. As a sports car builder, many of Lotus' powerplants for production cars were harvested and modified from other company designs (The Lotus Elise and the upcoming 2013 Esprit borrow engines from Toyota Motor Company). Lotus does have experience as well as resources in building their own production powerplants (the Lotus 900 and the twin-turbo used on the Esprit V-8 are two examples).

Looking forward to about 15 months time, Lotus' Bahar states "We want to compete. We would like to design our own cars and hopefully maybe other teams can profit from our design capabilities. That's why we start already from today investing money and also capacities in developing the right aero kit and engine for 2012".

Scott Dixon Wins IZOD IndyCar Finale at Homestead

 

Photo Credit: Dana Garrett

 

Finishing off this 17-race IZOD IndyCar Series season of 2010 in Florida state, a 27-car field of North America's top open wheel racing teams assembled for the Cafes Do Brasil 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For drivers and teams still wishing for one more major on-track accomplishment in 2010, they were left with 200 laps around the 1.5 mile oval to leave their season on a high note.

 

Capping what has been a marvelous season for the Penske Racing and Target-Chip Ganassi Racing squads, each team had one driver poised to become the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Champion. Penske's Will Power and Target Chip Ganassi's Dario Franchitti would battle through the final IndyCar round of 2010 on the oval of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Claiming first blood in qualifying with Franchitti's #10 car taking pole, Target-Chip Ganassi Racing was immediately positioned perfectly coming to green flag of the Cafes Do Brasil 300.

 

Though a championship race maintained hotly contested through the first-half of the Homestead-Miami Speedway event, the fight on the track among many of the IZOD IndyCar Series teams provided one of the most exciting open wheel races the oval has held. As dusk fell on the speedway for the Saturday night event, sparks coming from the underbodies of Dallara race cars were like fireworks for what would be an exciting finale to this 2010 tour. 

 

Dario Franchitti led for the first 42 circuits of the Cafes Do Brasil 300 with teammate Scott Dixon pursuing in second place, an active fight took place 3rd place and back. Moving through the field in a hurry, 8th place starter Tony Kanaan flew this #11 Andretti Autosport to 3rd on the 20th lap. Never winning at the Homestead-Miami track, Kanaan has an 7-season long record of finishing the event which compiles to a 6.14 average race result.

 

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

 

Based on the fact last year's Homestead-Miami Speedway race ran caution-free, the show on the 1.5 mile oval presented very little on-track excitement. However, thanks to five cautions regrouping the field of IZOD Indy cars, the 2010 race at the Florida race track was much more dramatic than the caution-free 2009 event. Mario Moraes' suffered gearbox failure on his #32 KV Racing Technology car brought out the first yellow flag on lap 36 allowing an opportunity for all the lead lap drivers to receive attention of their pit crews. Franchitti retained the lead but the #6 Penske Racing team used a speedy pit stop to vault their driver Ryan Briscoe into 2nd place. Without the security net of his Target-Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Franchitti was vulnerable to assault from the Penske Racing #6 car on the lap 42 restart.

 

Using a strong acceleration run, Briscoe blazed by Dario Franchitti to take the lead on the next lap. For what would be part one of this battle between the two, as Franchitti retook the lead the caution flag came out once more when the #24 Dreyer and Reinbold Racing car driven by Ana Beatriz met the turn 4 wall. Only the female Brazilian's 3rd IZOD IndyCar event, Beatriz reported gearbox troubles with her vehicle a few laps prior to the ultimate ending in the Homestead-Miami Speedway's retaining wall.

 

With the first battle cut short by the yellow flag, when the Cafes Do Brasil 300 was sent back to green on lap 51, Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe had a battle for the race's lead. Swapping the lead 5 times at the start/finish line through 6 laps, the #10 Target car and the #6 Verizon vehicle were inavertedly opening the door for competition for chase down the dicing duel.

 

Not limited to Franchitti and Briscoe, the lead at Homestead-Miami Speedway turned in an IZOD IndyCar battle royal. Demoted to 3rd after lap 37 pit stops, Scott Dixon shot by his teammate and Briscoe to take the lead just as Tony Kanaan was also positioning himself for a run at front. On lap 69, Tony Kanaan received a reward for his effort as the #11 car surges to 1st place. Lasting only 4 laps, the lead would cycle back to Dario Franchitti on lap 73.

 

Within a long 85-lap stretch since the caution for Ana Beatriz's crash, the lead changed hands during green flag pit stops rewarding Alex Tagliani with a race lead on lap 98. Keeping the FAZZT Race Team car out front for 3 laps, Tagliani would come for service after a brief playtime leading the Cafes Do Brasil 300. Completing the race in 14th spot after a pit road violation cost the #77 team later in this event, the first-year FAZZT Race Team now has a season of experience with some moments of greatness to build on for 2011.

 

Ending the long green flag run was an incident which would ulimately decide the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series championship. After backsliding through the early stage at Homestead-Miami Speedway out of the top-10, the #12 Penske Racing car of Will Power had been running 3rd approaching the last quarter of the race. Having to run a higher line to keep his car competitive, Power would brush the outside wall through turn 3 and turn 4 on lap 129 causing a yellow flag to be thrown a lap later. As the Penske Racing team were unable to effectively repair the #12 car, Power was sidelined into 25th for the oval race.

 

Fuel played on the minds of many teams through the final stage of the Cafes Do Brasil 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway as some team risked being only a few laps short of going rest of the race distance. Being solace to teams, a yellow flag slowed the field again as Milka Duno spun in turn 4. Impacting the turn 4 wall in an almost similar fashion to the #24 car, Duno too escaped unhurt from a Dallara-Honda race machine. The final caution for Duno secured the chances for all vehicles to make it to the checkered flag.

 

Making a conservative choice to pit, the #10 Target-Chip Ganassi Racing team brought Dario Franchitti to this pit stall for fuel and tires through the final 18 lap run to the finish. With Franchitti in 9th place on the restart, the #9 Target car of Scott Dixon led the field fending out Tony Kanaan. Stretching out a 2.76 second lead, Dixon cruised to the finish of the Cafes Do Brasil 300. Compiling three wins in 2010, Dixon's Homestead-Miami Speedway victory contributed to the New Zealander's 3rd place in the overall IZOD IndyCar Series.

 

As Dixon flew to victory, action since the last restart was dominated by a fierce fight that Danica Patrick brought to Tony Kanaan for the 2nd place position. Perhaps hurting one of them a chance of chasing down Scott Dixon's #9 car, the #11 and #26 ran side-by-side through the final distance as considerable ground on 4th place Briscoe assured this was going to be a two-car battle to the end for the runner-up spot. Into the final lap, Danica Patrick timed a perfect move into turn 1 to grab an edge on Tony Kanaan's car for what would be a 0.0111 second advantage. "After I crossed the line, I said it wasn't a win, but it sure felt like one. This was a great way to end the season." Patrick said perceptive the Andretti Autosport late lap dueling pleased the crowd. Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves rounded out the top-5 of the Homestead-Miami finale.

A wonderful end to the season for team owner Chip Ganassi topped with driver Dario Franchitti repeating as IZOD IndyCar Series championship, the season netted 6 wins including the Indy 500 for the Target-Chip Ganassi Racing. Once again bettering the Penske Racing team in the open wheel racing series, the first full-season effort of Will Power and the later year improvements of Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe provided some rich challenge on Target-Chip Ganassi Racing team race-to-race for 2010. As the Homestead-Miami Speedway ends the IZOD IndyCar season, the cars and drivers of the season will rest until the 2011 season opener in St Petersburg this upcoming March.


2010 IZOD IndyCar Series
Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race Results

 

 

Pos # |Car # |  Driver/Country of Origin  | Team

 

1. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
2. 7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
3. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
4. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
5. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
6. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
7. 26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
8. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
9. 4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
10. 02 Graham Rahal/United States Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
11. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
12. 19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
13. 20 Ed Carpenter/ United States Panther Racing
14. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
15. 34 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium Conquest Racing
16. 36 Sebastian Saavedra/Colombia Conquest Racing
17. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
18. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
19. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
20. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
21. 22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
22. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States Sarah Fisher Racing
23. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
24. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing
25. 12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
26. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
27. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology

 

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

Dario Franchitti takes Pivotal Pole for IZOD IndyCar Finale at Homestead

Photo Credit: Dana Garrett

Arriving at the 1.5 mile oval of Homestead-Miami Speedway, North America's top open wheel series sets for a late Saturday night running of a 300-mile event.With 27 cars running in this finale round of the IZOD IndyCar Series, the cars of Will Power and Dario Franchitti are likely to dominate the spectator's focus of the 200-lap distance.

Concluding what has been a memorable 2010 season, the final race of this year's IZOD IndyCar Series season will resolve whether two-time and reigning series champion Dario Franchitti will pull off another 'come from behind' points victory. Franchitti also claimed the single championship point which closes the Scot to only 11 markers to the Australian Will Power. Both previous championships, Dario Franchitti was lacking behind other drivers heading into the last round of the IndyCar championship. In 2007 driving for Andretti-Green Racing (now Andretti Autosport), Franchitti won the title on the final lap of the final corner at Chicagoland Speedway as then-leader Scott Dixon ran out of fuel. Last year, a crash by Ryan Briscoe in Japan gave another opening for Franchitti now with Target-Chip Ganassi Racing. Through pit stop strategy at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Franchitti found himself again the champion.


While Dario Franchitti's #10 car took top spot in qualifying with a 213.187 MPH average speed, Target-Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon positioned himself into 2nd place. Helpful to his Scottish teammate starting on the front row with a trust-worthy competitor, Dixon holds Will Power one more position at bay. Building more confidence on ovals, Australian Will Power qualified 3rd for the IZOD IndyCar Saturday finale. Even though he continues to sit in the lead of the 2010 championship into the last race, Power is finding himself surprisingly an underdog after a sensational first full season effort with Penske Racing.

Penske Racing #6 car of Ryan Briscoe accompanies his teammate in the second row off the start of the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300. In 5th, Panther Racing's Dan Wheldon once again quests for another top oval finish backed up by the final time this season by teammate Ed Carpentier in 7th place. When the IZOD IndyCar Series returned to the ovals, Panther Racing has found themselves a close competitor to the Penske/Chip Ganassi superteam bunching providing someone outside of the Andretti Autosport camp to see as a spoiler. Also showing flashes of brilliance this season has been the #22 car of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing piloted by Justin Wilson. However, following the spin-out during the Honda Indy Toronto, the Z-Line Design car appeared to be suffering an off-note through the latter half of the open wheel season. Wilson has placed 6th on the lineup for the Homestead-Miami finale as one of his stronger oval qualifying effort this year.

Andretti Autosport's Tony Kanaan, hard-luck rookie for KV Racing Technology Takuma Sato and the third Penske Racing car of Twin-Ring Motegi winner Helio Castroneves wraps up the top-10 in qualifying for the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300.

With the Indy Racing League and Homestead-Miami Speedway's parent company International Speedway Corporation at apparent odds with each other, likelihood dictates that this might be the last time for a while that IZOD IndyCars will visit the Florida oval. For 2011, indications point to Las Vegas Motor Speedway filling in the season finale spot but the IRL has still left the final date TBA on the upcoming season schedule.

Hardly known as an action track, the Homestead-Miami Speedway is known as a difficult place to pass under long green flag conditions. Barring cautions, the best way IndyCar teams will gain track position is through the pits. Though the normally bulletproof crews of Penske Racing appear to hold an edge, the Target Chip Ganassi Racing pit crews are certainly championship quality.
Coverage of the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300 will start on Versus at 6 P.M. in the United States. Canadian fans will finally receive a break as TSN is simulcasting the final race of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series on the main TSN channel.

2010 IZOD IndyCar Series

Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Qualifying Results

Pos | Car# | Driver/Country of Origin | Sponsor/Team

1. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
2. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
3. 12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
4. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
5. 4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
6. 22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
7. 20 Ed Carpenter/ United States Panther Racing
8. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
9. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
10. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
11. 7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
12. 34 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium Conquest Racing
13. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
14. 26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
15. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States Sarah Fisher Racing
16. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
17. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology
18. 02 Graham Rahal/United States Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
19. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
20. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
21. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
22. 19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
23. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
24. 36 Sebastian Saavedra/Colombia Conquest Racing
25. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
26. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
27. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing

  

Entry List for 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300 at Homestead

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

2010 IZOD IndyCar Series
Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300
Homestead-Miami Speedway

Car #  | Driver/Home Country | Team

 

1. 02 Graham Rahal/United States Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
2. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
3. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
4. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil Penske Racing
5. 4 Dan Wheldon/England Panther Racing
6. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan KV Racing Technology
7. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia Penske Racing
8. 7 Danica Patrick/United States Andretti Autosport
9. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela KV Racing Technology
10. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
11. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
12. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil Andretti Autosport
13. 12 Will Power/Australia Penske Racing
14. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil AJ Foyt Enterprises
15. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela Dale Coyne Racing
16. 19 Alex Lloyd/England Dale Coyne Racing
17. 20 Ed Carpenter/ United States Panther Racing
18. 22 Justin Wilson/England Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
19. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
20. 26 Marco Andretti/United States Andretti Autosport
21. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil KV Racing Technology
22. 34 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium Conquest Racing
23. 36 Sebastian Saavedra/Colombia Conquest Racing
24. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States Andretti Autosport
25. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States Sarah Fisher Racing
26. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada FAZZT Race Team
27. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing

 27-car lineup

IZOD IndyCar: Castroneves Leads Penske Qualifying Sweep in Japan

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

After 15 races, the 2010 IZOD IndyCar preultimate round brings the open wheel series to their only overseas engagement on the 1.55 mile oval called the Twin-Ring Motegi. A track owned and operated by local IZOD IndyCar engine supplier Honda, the planting in the series schedule shapes the Indy Japan 300 into a defining event for wrapping race seasons.

The renowned venue where open wheel's popular driver Danica Patrick won her first major racing event in 2008, the Twin-Ring Motegi oval was also significant to last year's IZOD IndyCar title chase. As Ryan Briscoe led the 2009 standings and appeared destined to perhaps clinch the series crown, Briscoe lost control of his Penske Racing owned machine banging it against the inner pit road wall. With the DNF at the Indy Japan 300, Ryan Briscoe would go on to lose out on the championship at Homestead Speedway to Dario Franchitti of rival team Target/Chip Ganassi Racing.

Entering into the 2010 edition, another Penske versus Target/Chip Ganassi battle appears firmly in the cards as Penske's Will Power holds a slim 17-point lead over Dario Franchitti. With Penske Racing drawing first blood through the two practice sessions on the Twin-Ring Motegi oval, the Captain's 3-car squad found all the speed they needed through IZOD IndyCar qualifying as all three stand at the top of the charts. Led by recent Kentucky Speedway race winner Helio Castroneves, the #3 car flew around the Japanese 1.55 oval in 201.992 miles per hour average during the 2-lap qualifying run. Despite a faster second lap, 2nd place Penske car of Ryan Briscoe started with a dismal first timed lap which resulted in an average 4/10ths a mile per hour slower run. Will Power rounds out for Penske Racing trio's dominant qualifying in 3rd place. Power is probably going to feel uncomfortable knowing his title rival Franchitti's #10 car will be starting right alongside his #12 Penske in the second row Sunday.

Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, and Ryan Hunter-Reay line up in the 5th through 7th positions all driving for Andretti Autosport. Fourth Andretti Autosport car and 2008 race winner Danica Patrick will take the green flag on the outside of the 6th row following a 12th place in the time trial session. As Patrick starts mid-field, the two other female IZOD IndyCar competitors Simona de Silvestro and Milka Duno exited the Twin-Ring Motegi qualifying will sadly start on the final two positions of the starting grid.

A Japanese event where two full-time drivers get welcomed home, native Hideki Mutoh delivered a 17th place run for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing but would be topped by series rookie and KV Racing Technology driver Takuma Sato. Averaging a pace good enough for 10th place, Former Formula 1 driver Takuma Sato has visited Honda's other popular motorsport park facility of Suzuka but competes in open wheels at the Twin-Ring Motegi oval for the first time. After what has been a first season filled with misfortune for situations out of his control, Sato found solace in the patriotic Japanese fans.

Starting with a 25-car field in Japan, North American fans of the IZOD IndyCar Series will have to stay or wake up at midnight Eastern time to catch the Indy Japan 300 on TSN2 for Canadian audiences or Versus for American viewers.


2010 IZOD IndyCar
Indy Japan 300
Twin-Ring Motegi
Qualifying Results 

1. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing

2. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
3. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
4. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
5. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
6. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
7. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
8. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
9. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
10. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
11. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
12. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
13. 34 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
14. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
15. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
16. 02 Graham Rahal/United States/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
17. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
18. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
19. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ de Ferran Dragon Racing
20. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
21. 36 Roger Yasukawa/United States/ Conquest Racing
22. 24 Paul Tracy/Canada/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
23. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
24. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
25. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing

Briscoe Catches the Wind for IZOD IndyCar Pole at Chicagoland

Photo Credit: Steve Swope

For what who be the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season's last race held in the Northernmost corners of the North American continent, the open-wheel stars set sights on the Chicagoland Speedway.  



2010 IZOD IndyCar Series
Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil 300
Chicagoland Speedway
Starting Lineup

1. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
2. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
3. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
4. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing

5. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport

6. 02 Graham Rahal/United States/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

7. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
8. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
9. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
10. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology

11. 20 Ed Carpenter/United States/ Panther/Vision Racing
12. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
13. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
14. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing

15. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
16. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology

17. 34 Tomas Scheckter/South Africa/ Conquest Racing
18. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ de Ferran Dragon Racing
19. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
20. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing

21. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology

22. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing

23. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
24. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
25. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
26. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
27. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
28. 21 Davey Hamilton/United States/ de Ferran Dragon Racing
29. 66 Jay Howard/England/ Sarah Fisher Racing

Franchitti Leads Day 1 Practice at IZOD IndyCar Sonoma Weekend

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

The IZOD IndyCar Series' California dreaming has turned to reality as 25 top-level open wheel drivers make their way into Sonoma, a town within an area designated as wine country in the United States. Running a 2.305 mile permanent road course inside Infineon Raceway, Indy cars ready for a 75 lap main event on Sunday with a Friday practice.

Defending pole and Grand Prix of Sonoma winner Dario Franchitti showed immediately that he continues to hold the knowledge for getting around Infineon Raceway quickest. Weaving his #10 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car through the complex California track in 1 minute, 18.2970 seconds, Franchitti top time comes with a stark realization that the rest of the field knows the Scotsman is the benchmark. A little more than 4/100th of a second slower in his fastest time, Penske Racing's #12 car steered by Will Power was 2nd on the time chart. Remembering one year ago, Will Power suffered a horrific practice crash which caused him not only to miss the 2009 Infineon Raceway event but the remaining races Penske Racing had planned last season. Returning to Sonoma as a strong driver in the 2010 series, Power is focused on having the Infineon Raceway compensate him with a big points day.

At the beginning of the season, the well-positioned start for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing had some IZOD IndyCar Series observers bracing to see teams other than the traditional superteams. While Andretti Autosport reunited themselves with victory lane twice in 2010, there has not been a regular presense of teams in outside the superteam's circle. However, in the past IZOD IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio, the FAZZT Race Team were able to work in launching their driver Alex Tagliani up to the front for a sizable portion of the event. Delivering a 4th place finish in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Tagliani's race weekend starts with a 3rd fastest time in practice on Infineon. Speaking of Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, Justin Wilson's #22 car was 45th in the practice session one spot behind Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon. Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, Ryan Briscoe, Dan Wheldon and Hideki Mutoh rounded out the top 10 for the Friday practice for the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

With this being the last road course remaining on the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, Sunday's race at Infineon Raceway is a finale of sorts for the competitors of the American open wheel racing series. In fact, thanks to the Indy Racing League sanctioning body's decision recognize the top point leader on oval and road racing. Will Power has already earned the road racing title bestoving the Mario Andretti Trophy on the Australian's masterful drive through the twists of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series. Still in play and remaining highly valuable to Power and the Penske Racing team, the overall points championship is a contentious battle separated by 41 points after Mid-Ohio.

Franchitti Flies to Mid-Ohio IZOD IndyCar Victory

Photo Credit: Steve Swope

The 12th race event for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season would be the second to last event on a road course. Collecting just outside of the two of Lexington, Ohio for the Honda Indy 200 on the scenically-located Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a 27-car contingent prepared for 85 laps around the 2.258 permanent circuit. Winning all but one of the open wheel tour's races held on street or permanent road course this season prior to Edmonton, the Penske Racing team had been retaining a competitive edge on their rivals which has been led by Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. However, through the infamous actions of Penske Racing driver Helio Castroneves for blocking teammate Will Power on a late restart during the Honda Indy Edmonton, the #9 Target car of Scott Dixon broke through their first road course win of the year.

Showing weakness in Edmonton, the Penske bunch headed for Mid-Ohio determined to prove their on-track blooper was a fluke. Storming to pole, the #12 Verizon Penske car driven by Will Power outran Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti through Saturday Firestone Fast Six qualifying. Power would lead the first 22 laps of the Honda Indy 200 event under green until a yellow flag was thrown. The caution resulted from a coming together of Justin Wilson's #22 car and the #8 of EJ Viso in lap 4. Race-ending contact for both race team cars, each driver accused the other of not showing room during the early 1/3 distance.

As competitors were nearing their initial stops for fuel and tires, the caution was well-placed. While Power and the other front-runners pitted on that cue, one car presently deep in the field scored a major advantage with the timing of the yellow. Short-pitting from 15th place on lap 22, Alex Tagliani brought his #77 race to the attention of FAZZT Race Team mechanics in a team strategy that allowed them past some strong open wheel cars on a circuit notoriously hard find passing opportunities. In virtue of making a pit stop under green three laps earlier, the #77 FAZZT Race Team Indy car was vaulted right up to the race lead.   

Stung by back-to-back retirements due to contact in Toronto and Edmonton, the FAZZT Race Team returned to the United States without a desirable result in front what the team considers their home country. Losing the opportunity for top-10 race runs due to conduct of other drivers, Alex Tagliani was most vocal following through post-race interviews after the Honda Indy Toronto. Prepared to move on at Mid-Ohio, a confident Tagliani commented after Saturday qualifying. "Let's be frank, we have had our share of problems lately on road course, but the radical changes to our suspension packages improved the car".

The Lachenaie, Quebec native would lead the most laps of any individual driver during the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Completing 30 circuits in the top position between lap 26 until lap 56, Tagliani and the #77 FAZZT Race Team would secure a season-best 4th place result. Charging from 14th to just outside of the podium, Tagliani said "It felt good (to lead laps). It is very difficult when you're in the back.  This track is so difficult to pass on, so I'm very pleased that the strategy worked out". Alex Tagliani credited his chief engineer Rob Edwards as well as the other FAZZT Race Team engineering team for setting up the #77 car.

Tagliani's stint out in front of the IZOD IndyCar event was not accompanied by the 25 laps of green flag running Will Power had enjoy in the prior run. With the race field showing more haste, two cautions flew between the lap 28 restart and lap 37. The earlier yellow flag was thrown regrettably for the #5 KV Racing Technology car of Tukuma Sato. Posting a season-best 3rd place qualifying effort, Sato showed again in his rookie IZOD IndyCar Series season the pace to be competitive through the early stage of the Mid-Ohio race. However, on lap 28, Tukuma Sato potentially breakout race weekend ended when the Japanese driver lost grip on a dirty patch of turn 4 resulting in damage to yet another KV Racing Technology-owned car.

On lap 55, Alex Tagliani would relinquish 1st place as the lead drivers who stopped on the first yellow flag eventually gained the upper hand. The new leader became the Target/Chip Ganassi #10 of Dario Franchitti positioned ahead of Penske Racing's Will Power. Surviving Power's charge on two restarts between lap 60-70 for on-track incidents involving IZOD IndyCar newcomer Francesco Dracone, Dario Franchitti finished 1st by 0.5234 seconds. As Power took second, third place car was his Penske Racing teammate Helio Castroneves who once again found themselves close on the timing and scoring charts. Perhaps helped by the Castroneves #3 car finishing more than 3.5 seconds behind Power's #12 machine. Alex Tagliani and the #9 Target/Chip Ganassi car of Scott Dixon finished out the top-5 finishers.

The 3rd and final Penske Racing car of Ryan Briscoe placed 6th on the day ahead of some absolutely terrific runs by Raphael Matos for de Ferran/Dragon Racing as well as the HVM Racing #78 car piloted by Simona de Silvestro

Missing out on a 5th 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series victory, Will Power was able to find a good reason to celebrate with his #12 Penske Racing team. Crossing the Mid-Ohio finish line in 2nd place, the Australian locked up the top spot in the IZOD IndyCar Series' first road course racing championship. Power will be honoured with the first Mario Andretti Trophy holding an 87-point lead ahead of his Mid-Ohio rival Dario Franchitti. Also 1st and 2nd in the IZOD IndyCar Series overall points standings after 12 races in 2010, Franchitti is still well within play for a 3rd championship in 4 years being just 41 points behind the Australian Power.

Providing a finale to the road racing inside the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, the open wheel cars are venturing to California's Infineon Raceway for the next scheduled event.


2010 IZOD IndyCar Racing
Honda Indy 200
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Race Results

1.   10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
2.   12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
3.   3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
4. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
5.   9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
6.   6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
7.   2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ de Ferran Dragon Racing
8. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
9.   26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
10.   37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport





11. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology 
12. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
13. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
14. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
15. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
16. 24 J.R. Hildebrand/United States/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
17. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
18. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
19. 27 Adam Carroll/Northern Ireland/ Andretti Autosport

20. 02 Graham Rahal/United States/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing  

21. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport22. 34 Francesco Dracone/Italy/ Conquest Racing
23. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing 24. 66 Jay Howard/England/ Sarah Fisher Racing
25.   5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
26.   8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology

27. 22 Justin Wilson/ England/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing

 

Power's the Pole Sitter at Mid-Ohio Earning 7th IZOD IndyCar Pole for 2010

Photo Credit: Dana Garrett

Rolling out of 2-race stint that brought the IZOD IndyCar Series competition through Canada, the open wheel series returns to the United States to run on the 2.4 mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course located on the outskirts of Lexington. This race is also a homecoming of sorts back to permanent road courses since last month's Watkins Glen event. 


Winning two of the last three races, Will Power is on the verge of securing the series' first road course championship called the Mario Andretti Trophy. Clinching the pole for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio with a 1 minute, 7.1997 second lap time through the Firestone Fast Six qualifying session, the #12 Penske driven by the fast Australian needs little more than to finish the event to lock up the honours of road racing champion. Depending on the strong finish, only this race and Infineon Raceway rounds remain for the Mario Andretti Trophy in 2010's IZOD IndyCar tour. Also leading the overall IZOD IndyCar points championship, Will Power first full season with Penske Racing is swimming in success entering a track which Power was unable to compete at in 2009. 


Planning to insure the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series overall points remains interesting, reigning champion Dario Franchitti has qualified his #10 Target/ Chip Ganassi Racing car 2nd at a little more than 1/10th of a second slower than the lead Penske Racing vehicle of Will Power. Not using the softer Firestone red tires, Franchitti still remarked that his Dallara-Honda was pulling "..consistent laps..". 


Offering the biggest surprise in the Mid-Ohio qualifying session was the speed from the KV Racing Technology car of Takuma Sato. Still looking for a finish to reflect some moments of greatness in his rookie year of American open wheel racing, Sato voiced his pleasure in post-qualifying. "I'm very pleased with the result today.  I was able to improve each session.  We tested here last week which helped me and my engineers a lot. We spent both practice sessions working on improving the car and each change we made led to more positive results". Takuma Sato will be the highest starting rookie at Mid-Ohio as Simona de Silvestro is the next closest driver starting 10th.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2009 Mid Ohio race winner Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves rounded out the Firestone Fast Six grouping, timed into the race within that order. Of course, following the Edmonton race where Castroneves' penalty and excessively-passionate behavior became the headline news today in the IZOD IndyCar Series.



With the IZOD IndyCar Series delivering a strong showing of 27 entrants for this weekend's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, there are some new faces appearing since the last IZOD IndyCar Series round. Including drivers Jay Howard, Graham Rahal and Adam Carroll, last year's Firestone Indy Lights champion J.R. Hildebrand will finally have an opportunity in 2010 to run in the big series. Having driven in the American Le Mans for Patron Highcroft Racing, testing with Force India along with driving a vintage F1 car at Montreal, Hildebrand will drive the #24 Dreyer and Reinbold Racing car for this race.

A notable absence to the driver lineup at Mid-Ohio is Brazilian's Mario Romancini in the Conquest Racing car. Due to lack of funds, Romancini lost his ride which has regrettably robbed the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series fan of a steady Rookie of the Year title contender. Through much of the season, the Brazilian was the counter-measure to Swiss' Simona de Silvestro. Conquest Racing will be fielding a second car for Turin, Italy's Francesco Dracone.

Guaranteed to be a perfectly hot summer day, the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will start Sunday with television coverage starting on Versus at 2:30 P.M. Eastern time for American viewers and on TSN2 for Canadian audiences.



2010 IZOD IndyCar Racing
Honda Indy 200
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Starting Lineup

1.   12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
2.   10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
3.   5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
4.   37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
5.   9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
6.   3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
7.   6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
8.   8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
9.   26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
10. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
11. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
12. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
13. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
14. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
15. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology 
16. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
17. 27 Adam Carroll/Northern Ireland/ Andretti Autosport

18. 24 J.R. Hildebrand/United States/ Dreyer and Reinbold Racing 
19 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ de Ferran Dragon Racing
20. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
21. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
22. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
23. 34 Francesco Dracone/Italy/ Conquest Racing
24. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
25. 02 Graham Rahal/United States/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 
26. 66 Jay Howard/England/ Sarah Fisher Racing
27. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing

Power Jets to Pole on Airport Circuit for Honda Indy Edmonton Race

Photo Credit: Steve Swope


Honda Indy Edmonton 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Starting Lineup

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