Hinchcliffe, Tagliani and Villeneuve Ready for 2014 Indianapolis 500 Race Day

Photo credit: Chris Jones

Winning on the 105-year old Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit is a honour anyone who can handle a steering wheel would want. Of the select few who have joined the ranks of professional open wheel drivers, just 33 drivers a year compete for the Indianapolis 500. Bestowed with the chance at claiming the BorgWarner Trophy, the triumphant is the one who completes 500 miles around the 2.5-mile oval first.

With a rich national auto racing history, the Indianapolis 500 is understandable desirable to Canadians. Canada's History at the historic track known as "The Brickyard" runs deep. Pete Henderson was the first documented Canadian to run in the Indy 500 back in 1916. Since then, names such as Billy Foster, Ludwig Heimrath, John Jones, Scott Goodyear and Paul Tracy have competed for victory on the Indiana oval.

For the 2014 edition of the Indianapolis 500, three veteran drivers (James Hinchcliffe, Alex Tagliani and Jacques Villeneuve) have a 1 in 33 chance of winning the Memorial Day classic in motor racing.

James Hinchcliffe

Photo Credit: John Cote

Team: Andretti Autosport
Car: #27 United Fiber & Data Dallara-Honda
Sporting Spot: 2nd

The only Canadian driver running full-time on the 2014 Verizon INDYCAR Series tour, James Hinchcliffe is a 27-year old entered in his fourth Indianapolis 500.

Taking part in his first Indy 500 in 2011 with Newman/Haas Racing, Hitchcliffe's initial showing at Indy was strong but resulted with a DNF just ahead of the halfway distance in the race. Signing with Andretti Autosport the following year, his 2012 showing was his career best so far finishing sixth after starting second. The 2013 Indianapolis 500 had James Hinchcliffe arrive as an INDYCAR race winner of two races in the season. Unfortunately, he fell late in the race to finish 21st in his #27 Dallara-Chevrolet.

With the Andretti Autosport team switching from Chevrolet to Honda in 2014, Hinchcliffe enters this year's Indy 500 with a seventh place at Barber Motorsports Park being his best result of the season. Making problems worse, James Hinchcliffe suffered an concussion during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis race early this month resulting with him having to sit out the first four days of practice on the oval. EJ Viso subbed for Hinchcliffe until the Canadian received the go-ahead to step back in the #27 car. Fortunes might be turning around for James Hinchcliffe following a stellar performance last weekend in qualifying. Fourth fastest on Saturday, Hinchcliffe and the #27 Dallara-Honda was locked into the top nine positions of the 2014 Indy 500. After a Fast 9 Shootout on Sunday, James Hinchcliffe posted the second-fastest time behind pole winner Ed Carpenter. Hinchcliffe's four-lap average of 230.839 miles per hour was roughly 0.15 seconds off the pole-winning time.

Alex Tagliani

Photo Credit: Walter Kuhn

Team: Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
Car: #68 Dallara-Honda
Starting Spot: 24th

Despite running professionally in open wheel racing since the 1990s, French-Canadian driver Alex Tagliani was unable to run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until 2009 due to the IRL/CART split. Arriving with Conquest Racing, Tagliani finished 11th and became the second Canadian to be recognized as an Indy 500 Rookie of the Year. Alex Tagliani returned to the 2.5-mile track in 2010 with FAZZT Race Team. The 2010 effort consisted of a fifth place qualifying spot and a tenth final result. The following year, the FAZZT Race Team was sold to Sam Schmidt Racing and retained Tagliani for the 2011 Indianapolis 500. In a Fast 9 qualifying shootout for the race, Alex Tagliani and the #77 car won the pole with a 227.472-mile per hour average four-lap time.  Leading 20 laps on race day, Tagliani's race turned south and was ultimately cut short when the #77 crashed. For 2012 and 2013, Alex Tagliani participated with a Bryan Herta Autosport-owned race car. In both years, the team qualified 11th and finished 12th in 2012 and 24th in 2013.

For 2014, Alex Tagliani has been picked up by Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing for the Indianapolis 500 event. A one-off appearance in the 2014 Verizon INDYCAR Series, Alex Tagliani will be starting in the 24th starting spot on Sunday. In final practice, Alex Tagliani posted an eighth fastest time with the #68 car in race trim.

Jacques Villeneuve

Photo Credit: Walter Kuhn

Team: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
CarL #5 Dollar General Dallara-Honda
Starting Spot: 27th

Every Canadian race fan is familiar with Jacques Villeneuve's success at Indy. Prior to being the 1997 Formula 1 World Driving Champion, the son of Gilles Villeneuve drove a Players sponsored race car at the Indianapolis 500 twice. In his rookie year, Villeneuve started fourth in a Ford-powered Reynard chassis and finished second. Jacques Villeneuve and winner Al Unser Jr were the only drivers to complete all 200 laps in the 1994 race. His performance earned him the 1994 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honours becoming the first Canadian to do so. The 1995 Indy 500 was another fine moment for Canadian racing. Nine laps remaining in the event, a restart had Jacques Villeneuve behind fellow Canadian Scott Goodyear. Goodyear mistimed his acceleration overshooting the pace car that was entering pit road. With Scott Goodyear being penalized, Jacques Villeneuve (who had overcame a two-lap penalty himself for what the sanctioning body ruled as passing the pace car) won the 1995 Indianapolis 500. The second race would be has last Indy 500 ahead of his move to Formula 1 the following year. In 2014, Villeneuve returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a 19-year absence.

Driving the #5 car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, he qualified his Dollar General sponsored in 27th starting spot for Sunday's race. Timing into the race with a four-lap average speed of 228.949 miles per hour, Villeneuve mentioned he had trouble accelerating in his Honda-powered Dallara during qualifying. During Friday's Carb Day practice, the #5 car was still struggling to find speed posting a 30th fastest time. However, Jacques Villeneuve has expressed confidence in his car and team in quote on his website saying, "I saw some guys out there taking big risks. We didn't do that, and the car is handling better than it has been all week. We're happy right now, which is a good place to be heading into the race on Sunday."

Back in 2009, I was fortunate enough to get some words from Jacques Villeneuve ahead of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Montreal. Among questions I asked was the potential of returning to INDYCAR racing. Villeneuve response went as follows: "IndyCar is still damaged and not what it used to be. The healing process hopefully has started as it was a great series that opened doors to F1 to a few drivers." A lot has changed in five years and we're happy to see Villeneuve back at Indy as he risks his average finish of 1.5 in his third race on the 2.5-mile track.

California Oval finale for 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series has Power on Pole

Photo Credit: Michael L. Levitt for Chevy Racing

The final event of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series, the year concludes in Fontana, California at the two-mile Auto Club Speedway. Preparing for a 500-mile Saturday night closing of the 19-race season, a championship is up for grabs between two long-time titans of the open-wheel racing series. Also, aside from the fight to be the overall best of the 2013 season, the IZOD IndyCar Series' MAVTV 500 presents a final chance for drivers to add to their year's resumes. A victory on the very speedy Auto Club Speedway would be the ideal way to cap off the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series for every one of the 25 drivers starting on Saturday.

Qualifying using a two-lap time average, the 2013 MAVTV 500 pole was snatched by Australian Will Power. With a time of 1 minute, 5.2247 seconds, Power's #12 Dallara-Chevrolet recorded an average speed of 220.775 miles per hour over the two laps around Auto Club Speedway. Seated seventh in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar points standing, Will Power's year ends with him out of contention for the overall championship for the first time since he began running full-time for Team Penske. It was a surreal 2013 season for Will Power who struggled during multiple road course races (a type of racing the Australian driver excelled in over previous years). Recent wins at Sonoma and race two of the Houston event has returned Will Power to typical form.

Nearly 1.1 miles per hour slower than Will Power, Helio Castroneves still posts a strong time with the #3 Team Penske car. Entering this final race of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series, Castroneves is trailing Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon by 25 points. Castroneves held the point lead through much of the season but lost it due to struggles in The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston weekend. The Brazilian is attempting to regain the points lead at the most crucial time. Hunting his third IndyCar championship and first since 2008, New Zealand's Scott Dixon qualified seventh with his Honda powered #9 car.

With the championship at stake, the teams of both Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon elected to place fresh engines in their race cars for the 500-mile Saturday night event. By doing so, each driver will be demoted 10 places from their qualifying spots. Therefore, Helio Castroneves will start 12th in his Team Penske machine while Scott Dixon will be starting 17th in his Target Chip Ganassi Racing supported vehicle. Based on the complexity of long-distance oval races on the IZOD IndyCar Series, starting position in the MAVTV 500 is not considered too serious for drivers and teams.

Returning for the finale, popular part-time driver AJ Allmendinger is piloting the #2 machine for Team Penske. In qualifying, a third fastest time by Allmendinger solidified the organization's quick pace on a two-mile track car owner Roger Penske built and originally operated.

Behind the Team Penske domination of the Auto Club Speedway qualifying, the Dragon Racing car co-owned by Roger Penske's son Jay will start the MAVTV 500 third over a fourth-fastest qualifying effort by Sebastien Bourdais. Posting a fifth-fastest time on Friday, Charlie Kimball driving the Chip Ganassi owned #83 car is starting fourth due to Castroneves' penalty. Tenth in the overall drivers' points, Kimball's 2013 racing effort is a considerable improvement over his previous two years in the series. Also worth of full marks is James Jakes who qualified at an average speed of 217.979 miles per hour for sixth fastest on Friday. Jakes' time was actually identical to seventh place Scott Dixon.  

Won last year by Ed Carpenter (who starts 8th on Saturday night), the MAVTV 500 is considered a wild card event where almost any competitor has a fair shot at winning. AJ Allmendiner, Alex Tagliani driving in substitution for an injured Dario Franchitti for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, 2013 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year standout Carlos Manoz, Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand returning to the series driving the Bryan Herta Autosport #98 car are limited or one-race deals that could easily pull off an upset against the field of regulars. While the Team Penske cars powered by Chevrolet proved strong in qualifying, Honda won the last IndyCar oval event at Pocono with a race pace that also emphasized fuel economy.

Certain to provide an eventful end to the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series (as well as the final race with IZOD as the title sponsor), the 250-lap MAVTV 500 is set to receive a green flag at 6:10 PM local time in California (9:10 PM eastern time).

Qualifying Results

1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 220.775

2. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 219.677
3. (2) AJ Allmendinger, Dallara-Chevy, 218.894
4. (7) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 218.513
5. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 217.986
6. (16) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 217.979
7. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 217.979
8. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 217.958
9. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 217.932
10. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 217.871
11. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 217.798
12. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 217.566
13. (10) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 217.419
14. (5) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Chevy, 217.050
15. (1) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 216.898
16. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 216.447
17. (4) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 216.213
18. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 216.106
19. (98) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 215.967
20. (55) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 215.207
21. (78) Simona De Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy, 214.679
22. (6) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 213.262
23. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, no speed
24. (18) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, no speed
25. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, no speed

Alex Tagliani to Sub for Injured Dario Franchitti in Fontana IndyCar Finale

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy

Whether you are an active follower of the IZOD IndyCar Series, fan of any other form of motorsport or just a human being concerned for the health and welfare of automotive speed demons, this past Sunday's race on a Houston, Texas street circuit contained a occurrence we hated to see. On the final lap for race #2 of the Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston race weekend, a freak but serious crash put the lives of drivers and spectators at risk.

Impacting the rear of Takuma Sato's vehicle, Dario Franchitti #10 car owned by Chip Ganassi Racing was launched violently into the track fencing. The heavy hit into the temporary caging barely retained the Honda-powered Dallara race car as Franchitti was whipped around multiple times. The #10 car settled on within a sea of debris that showered the track as well as an unfortunate crowd of people observing the Houston IndyCar event. Not without concern for the several spectators who required medical attention following the incident, drivers, teams and many fans were tensely watching the remains of the vehicle belonging to the four-time IZOD IndyCar champion driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Team owner Chip Ganassi (himself a former race car driver) quickly jumped on his motor scooter racing to the crash scene with immense concern for his driver. While head movement was observed with Dario Franchitti, the greatest relief came several minutes later when reports stated the Scottish athlete was awake and alert. Thanks to safety systems built into the Dallara chassis, the massive collision preserved the life of Dario Franchitti. Injuries to others outside of the race competition also proved non-fatal allowing for some relief. The memories of 2011 Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon's fatal crash at Las Vegas is still a memory of an occasion no one wants to live again.

Alive and talking, worry focused on potential injury to Dario Franchitti. Indeed, the Scot described pain to his back and ankle as he once carefully lifted from his car to an Ambulance. At a Houston hospital, Franchitti was diagnosed with a broken right ankle, two spinal fractures and a concussion following the wreck. Well wishes for the three-time Indy 500 winner have come from fans and fellow competitors eager to see the driver return to his race car. With reports on Wednesday Franchitti will require a second surgery for his ankle, the business of motorsports required Chip Ganassi to select a replacement driver for the #10 machine as the final 2013 IZOD IndyCar round at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California is set for October 19th. Wednesday afternoon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing named Canadian Alex Tagiani as the fill-in driver for the #10 team.




Photo Credit: Chris Nagy

A product of the Players Driver Development Program that operated for promoting Canadian drivers in the 1990s , the 14-year veteran of major open wheel racing brings a lot of experience to the #10 Dallara-Honda. Tagliani's racing resume includes a Champ Car series win at the 2004 Road America round, 2009 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year and a pole position at the 2011 Indy 500. “As a driver you never want an opportunity like this to come under these circumstances, but I’m up for the challenge and looking forward to working with my friend Scott and the whole Target team. I’m thinking of Dario as everyone else is, and wishing him a quick recovery. This team has a championship on the line and I’m ready to step in a help them win it.”, said Alex Tagliani in a team release. Chip Ganassi voiced, “Obviously the situation is not ideal with Dario being unable to compete in Fontana. As we look to the season finale we needed a driver with experience and the ability to step in and get the job done in the No. 10 car, and Alex was a logical choice for us”. Alex Tagliani has been a free agent since the conclusion of the 2013 Honda Indy Toronto race weekend in July.

Starting his CART career with Players Forsythe Racing, Alex Tagliani has driven for Rocketsports Racing as well as Team Australia co-owned by Derrick Walker (the current IndyCar Series President of operations and competition). Joining the IndyCar Series on a regular basis in 2010 as part-owner of the FAZZT Race Team, the #77 vehicle fought with limited success against the superteams of Team Penske, Andretti Autosport and Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Tagliani and the FAZZT Race Team owners were bought out by Sam Schmidt in 2011. Sticking with Alex Tagliani for most of the season, the Canadian was released late in the season. In 2012, Tagliani landed at Bryan Herta Autosport driving the #98 car who was pressing forward with its first full season of competition. Starting off the 2012 IZOD IndyCar campaign with the underpowered Lotus powerplant, results were dismal. A mid-season switch to Honda engines improved results topped by a 5th place finish at the Edmonton Indy. Part of the team for the start of the 2013 season, the effort simply could not improve on their 2012 performance. Alex Tagliani was released once again during the middle of an IZOD IndyCar season. During his hiatus from IndyCar, Tagliani drove a Ferrari 458 Italia GT car in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

Competing at Auto Club Speedway in the past with CART and the IZOD IndyCar Series, Alex Tagliani's best result at the track is third occurring in 2001 (Tagliani also won the pole position for that event). Last year's race at Auto Club Speedway ended with a late race crash for Tagliani after leading several times.

The October 19th MAVTV 500 will end the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Season.

Wilson Whips INDYCAR Superteams with Texas Win

Photo source: Michael L. Levitt. LAT Photo USA

The IZOD INDYCAR Series trip to the Texas Motor Speedway has always been one a fan favourite. While last year's race featured much of the drama within the twin-race experiment, many believed the reversion back to the single 228-lap formula in addition to the new 2012 race cars would amount to a better quality race at Texas for the Firestone 550. Fortunately, the result for this Saturday night contest among the open wheel racing stars of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series was everything fans wanted. Race-long competition, a few harmless crashes and a late lap fight between two hungry drivers.
When the 25-car field took the field at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, pole-sitter Alex Tagliani led the Firestone 550 for 20 laps. The #98 Bryan Herta Autosport car's presence at the front was disturbed by the charge of the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing piloted with the hands of Belle Isle race winner Scott Dixon. Dixon took the lead from Tagliani through turn 3 coming on the 20th lap. 
The race's first caution came on lap 31 with Charlie Kimball crashing his #83 car slammed the turn 4 wall. Kimball left out of his vehicle unhurt but expressed displeasure with the driver of the #5 KV Racing Technology driver EJ Viso. "It's disappointing. The car was going to get better and better, especially in clean air. I had really good pace but the No. 5 car of Viso was all over the road in front of me. I had no idea what he was going to do for five laps in a row. I'd go low and then he'd chop me, and I'd take off toward the fence." said Kimball.

leaders of the Firestone 550 would pit on lap 36 making use of the caution period ahead of a restart on lap 40 where Scott Dixon continued to lead the early stage of the Texas oval race. Between lap 62 and lap 65, the Firestone 550 saw two potential front-runners fall to the waste side during the Saturday night race. Started with the souring of the Chevrolet engine inside the #28 Andretti Autosport of Ryan Hunter-Reay, Takuma Sato lost control of his #15 car in turn two drawing the race's second yellow flag.

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

During the Firestone 550's first 173 laps, Oriol Servia, Mike Conway and James Hinchcliffe would lead on occasions but the race was dominated by the #9 car of Scott Dixon. The New Zealand driver Dixon was at front for 133 of the laps Saturday night but would not finish the Texas Motor Speedway. After a fantastic performance, the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver spun out in turn 4 and made slight contact with the wall. "I turned in and the rear just started to slide and I kind of dipped down onto the apron and shut around again." said Dixon who would wind up in 18th place.

Following the clean-up of the Dixon caution, the plot thickened to the Firestone 550 as the new leader of the race Will Power made contact with the #11 car of Tony Kanaan during a three-way battle for the lead. Resulting in minor damage to the #11 KV Racing Technology car, the #12 Team Penske car of Power was charged with a violation relating to blocking on lap 194. "I had (Ryan) Briscoe on the outside and Tony (Kanaan) took me by surprise. I feel bad for him. I ruined his day because he had to come in and change the front wing, and we ruined our own day by getting the penalty." said Will Power who ended up 8th in the event.

Will Power's teammate Ryan Briscoe inherited the lead of the Firestone 550 on lap 194 but would lose the position 6 laps later to Graham Rahal's #38 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda. Through the final 28 laps, the story was about the leading car of Rahal and the charging #18 Dallara-Honda under the Dale Coyne Racing banner. Reeling in the leaders, British driver Justin Wilson in the #18 car focused on providing the first win to his race team since his 2009 victory at the Watkins Glen INDYCAR event. Into the final laps, Wilson caught Rahal and Briscoe for a final two-lap showdown among three cars. Through turn 4, a bobble by Graham Rahal's #38 car opened the door for the #18 of Justin Wilson to pass and win the Firestone 550.

Justin Wilson's first oval victory in an Indycar-type machine (counting INDYCAR and Champ car competition for the British driver), this memorable win with Dale Coyne Racing was a significantly treasured triumph against the heavyweight teams in the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series that ruled the season. Wilson returned to Dale Coyne Racing in 2012 after two seasons signed with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing organization. "I just can't believe we managed to pull this off. The car was fantastic. And on the long runs, it just got better and better. I saw people sliding around and knew I just had to hit my marks." said the winning driver of the Firestone 550.

Photo source: (c)2012, Phil Abbott. LAT Photo USA

Despite the late-race mistake, Graham Rahal held onto 2nd place ahead of Ryan Briscoe. After being the victim of a degrading Detroit race track on the previous race weekend, the #27 Andretti Autosport driver James Hinchcliffe rebounded to finish 4th. The Canadian driver Hinchcliffe was elevated back to third in the overall driver points standing with Will Power still holding on to the top spot.

The euphoria of that win was dampened slightly away from victory lane as the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Dallara-Honda was sent through inspection. An forbidden aerodynamic adjustment on the winning race machine resulted in a fine of $7,500 and the deduction of 5 points earned through the Texas Motor Speedway win.



2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Firestone 550
Texas Motor Speedway
Race Results

	Car #	Driver	Driver Nationality	Race Team	Engine
1	18	Justin Wilson	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
2	38	Graham Rahal	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
3	2	Ryan Briscoe	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet
4	27	James Hinchcliffe	Canada	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
5	4	JR Hildebrand	United States	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
6	77	Simon Pagenaud	France	Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports	Honda
7	3	Helio Castroneves	Brazil	Team Penske	Chevrolet
8	12	Will Power	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet
9	98	Alex Tagliani	Canada	Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian	Honda
10	19	James Jakes	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
11	11	Tony Kanaan	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
12	20	Ed Carpenter	United States	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
13	67	Josef Newgarden	United States	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda
14	10	Dario Franchitti	Scotland	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
15	6	Katherine Legge	England	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
16	14	Mike Conway	England	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
17	26	Marco Andretti	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
18	9	Scott Dixon	New Zealand	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
19	5	EJ Viso	Venezuela	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
20	22	Oriol Servia	Spain	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet
21	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
22	15	Takuma Sato	Japan	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
23	83	Charlie Kimball	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
24	8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
25	78	Simona de Silvestro	Switzerland	Lotus-HVM Racing	Lotus

Tagliani Tops Texas INDYCAR Qualifying for Firestone 550 Pole

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

 
A week after a bizarre street race on Detroit’s Belle Isle course, the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series is taken into another unusual situation for the 7^th race of the year. Only the second oval race of the 2012 season where drivers are still acquainting themselves with new Dallara racing machines, the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway is the first time the new vehicle configuration will run on a highly-banked circuit.

For the second year in a row, Canada’s Alex Tagliani was the toast of Texas in the time trials for the IZOD INDYCAR Series’ Firestone 550 at the 1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth. Last year winning the pole with Sam Schmidt’s team, it was Tagliani and the combined effort of the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport team that mustered a two-lap average speed of 215.691 miles per hour to take the top spot for Saturday night’s 228-lap event at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Beating the #10 car of Dario Franchitti by a thin 0.01 second advantage, the #98 car’s pole is only the latest indicator for an emerging force to be reckon with on the IZOD INDYCAR Series tour. Since being dropped by engine supplier Lotus at the end of the Long Beach event, the Bryan Herta Autosport team returned to the Indianapolis 500 with Honda’s formidable powerplant. After a stable Indy 500 for the team, Alex Tagliani delivered the #98 car into the top-10 at the Belle Isle for the highest finish in the 2012 season for the team. “Wow that is so great, back on the pole at Texas! I told people after we sat out the race in Brazil that our season started in Indy and it did, with Honda power.” said Alex Tagliani after qualifying adding confidence that his team will be a threat for the Firestone 550.

From 2^nd through 4^th, Chip Ganaasi-owned race cars of Dario Franchitti, Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon will be lined up on Saturday night planning to display their dominance showed in the first race of the double-race last season at Texas Motor Speedway. With the Firestone 550 integrated back into a single race for 2012, the Texas Motor Speedway event will not have the disputed second race lottery that proved costly for Franchitti and Dixon in 2011.

With Chevrolet power showing the way through the beginning of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, the improved forces of Honda teams have begun to displace the bowtie’s early path of success. Will Power leads in the #12 Team Penske car in 5^th place leads the Chevrolet runners that occupy 4 of the top-10 spots in the Firestone 550 starting grid. Andretti Autosport’s #27 car piloted by James Hinchcliffe and Tony Kanaan in the #11 KV Racing Technology vehicle are Chevrolet drivers right behind Power’s #12 car while Marco Andretti is placed 9^th on the grid for the Saturday race.

Losing 10 grid positions after engine changes at the previous Belle Isle race will be the HVM Racing #78 car of Simona de Silvestro and the AJ Foyt-owned #14 driven by Mike Conway.

The Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway will start at 8pm on Saturday night.


2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Firestone 550
Texas Motor Speedway
Qualifying Results

	Car #	Driver	Driver Nationality	Race Team	Engine	Speed
1	98	Alex Tagliani	Canada	Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian	Honda	215.691
2	10	Dario Franchitti	Scotland	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	215.646
3	38	Graham Rahal	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	215.554
4	9	Scott Dixon	New Zealand	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	215.331
5	12	Will Power	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet	215.116
6	27	James Hinchcliffe	Canada	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	214.920
7	11	Tony Kanaan	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	214.701
8	14	Mike Conway	England	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda	214.458
9	26	Marco Andretti	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	214.424
10	15	Takuma Sato	Japan	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	214.196
11	77	Simon Pagenaud	France	Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	214.082
12	2	Ryan Briscoe	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet	214.060
13	22	Oriol Servia	Spain	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	213.957
14	8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	213.949
15	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	213.927
16	5	EJ Viso	Venezuela	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	213.444
17	3	Helio Castroneves	Brazil	Team Penske	Chevrolet	213.402
18	83	Charlie Kimball	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	212.833
19	18	Justin Wilson	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	212.136
20	20	Ed Carpenter	United States	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	211.643
21	19	James Jakes	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	211.245
22	6	Katherine Legge	England	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	210.543
23	78	Simona de Silvestro	Switzerland	Lotus-HVM Racing	Lotus	204.066
24	4	JR Hildebrand	United States	Panther Racing	Chevrolet	202.596
25	67	Josef Newgarden	United States	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	No Speed

Briscoe Beats Hinchcliffe for Indy 500 Pole with Tightest Margin

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

After a week of practice, Indy 500 Pole Day for the 96^th running of the great open wheel event had finally dawned on the Brickyard. Testing out the all-new Dallara DW12 race cars paired with either Chevrolet, Honda or Lotus engines, the time trials for the Memorial day Sunday Indianapolis 500 race is the most crucial laps teams and drivers will set on the racetrack so far.

Through Saturday afternoon, the first 24 spots for the 2012 Indianapolis 500 were settled as Dallara DW12 race cars took the race track for the best combined four-lap run. On a hot race track 2.5-mile race track, teams slowly began to log lap times. For Indy 500-only drivers Sebastian Saavedra, Michell Jourdain Jr and Townsend Bell, efforts of securely qualifying into the 2012 edition of the Indy 500 were realized with top-24 times around the race track for Pole Day. Last competing in an United States open wheel racing car in 2004, Michell Jourdain Jr recorded a 222.893-mile per hour average speed in a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda-powered entry. Good enough with a 22^nd place starting spot, the Mexican driver Jourdain Jr will start two spots behind Townsend Bell but two ahead of Sebastian Saavedra.



Another impressive qualifying effort that involved getting an underdog race effort into the Indianapolis 500 was the run by Alex Tagliani with the Bryan Herta Autosport team. The reigning Indy 500-winning team, the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian entry skipped the last IZOD INDYCAR Series race in Sao Paulo to focus on defending their Indianapolis Motor Speedway success in 2012. The decision to miss a race was also reflective on Lotus removing the race team from their powerplant alliance. Bryan Herta Autosport returned to Indy with Honda power and Alex Tagliani locked the car into the field. Starting 11^th place for what will be the fourth row of the 2012 Indianapolis 500, the #98 car recorded a speed of 224-mile per hour flat.

At 4:30 pm, the fight for the pole of the 2012 Indianapolis 500 was amongst the drivers who will start on the first three rows of the event. The Fast Nine session gave eight Chevrolet-engined competitors and one Honda engine race team a chance to claim the top spot in the most prestigious race in the world. The #26 Andretti Autosport car of Marco Andretti performed the first completed qualifying attempt for what was a 225.456 mile per hour average speed.

Six minutes after Andretti’s time, the next competitor taking to the 2.5-mile oval was Ryan Briscoe for Team Penske. Briscoe’s #2 Chevrolet-powered Dallara would drastically better Marco Andretti’s best by more than a mile per hour average. Recording a four-lap average speed of 226.484, Ryan Briscoe would survive the charges of Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves and Will Power initially.

With 50 minutes to go, the biggest challenge to Briscoe’s pole position emerged from the Andretti Autosport team. Wheeling the #27 GoDaddy-sponsored Dallara-Chevrolet, Canadian James Hinchcliffe took to his Fast Nine time trial with an initial lap of 226.934 miles per hour. However, a slight cool down in the remaining three laps by Hinchcliffe’s car would result in a narrowly positive outcome for Ryan Briscoe. An overall four-lap effort of 226.481 miles per hour for James Hinchcliffe, the #2 Roger Penske-owned race machine of Briscoe would hold the pole by just 0.003 miles per hour.

The pole for Ryan Briscoe for next Sunday’s Indy 500 is the first for an Australian driver, the top starting position is the 17^th for Team Penske. Penske’s pole position will be joined by second row starts for the team’s other two cars. Will Power starts 5^th while Helio Castroneves will start 6^th for the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

With the top 24 fastest entrants with berths in the Indy 500, the remaining 9 cars will have to log times on Sunday’s Bump Day qualifying settling the 33-car field. 

2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Starting Grid (1-24)

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Race Team	Engine Supplier	Average Speed
1	2	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	Chevrolet	226.484
2	27	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	226.481
3	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	226.240
4	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	225.456
5	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	225.422
6	3	Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	225.172
7	67	Josef Newgarden	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	224.037
8	11	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	224.751
9	5	EJ Viso	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	224.422
10	8	Rubens Barrichello	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	224.264
11	98	Alex Tagliani	Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian	Honda	224.000
12	38	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.959
13	25	Ana Beatriz	Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing	Chevrolet	223.920
14	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.868
15	9	Scott Dixon	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.684
16	50	Dario Franchitti	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.582
17	19	James Jakes	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	223.482
18	4	JR Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet	223.422
19	15	Takuma Sato	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	223.392
20	99	Townsend Bell	Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	223.134
21	18	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	222.929
22	30	Michel Jourdain Jr	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	222.893
23	77	Simon Pagenaud	Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	222.891
24	17	Sebastian Saavedra	AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	222.811

Villeneuve Tops Montreal NAPA Auto Parts 200 Starting Field

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

The only 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series race held outside of the United States of America, a man-made island off the coast of the Canadian city of Montreal acts as the stage for the 600-700 horsepower of stock cars. Ile Notre-Dame's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course provides 2.71 miles of high-speeds as well as 13 corners testing braking of 3,300 pound stock cars. Providing the knowledgeable and loyal Canadian NASCAR community with the second-ranked touring series in stock car racing organization's rich portfolio since 2007, the 2011 presentation of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 is the province of Quebec's 5th year holding the race.

Each and every year, the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve leaves a permanent mark on the North American auto racing community. However, for Canadian race fans, the 2008 race where fellow Canuck Ron Fellows won a wet and wild victory left a lasting impression on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve inaugurated with a Formula 1 win in 1978. After NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying at the Canadian road course, the son of the track's namesake those honours as being the hometown hero.

Driving the #22 Dodge Challenger for the second time in the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season (first being in a rather eventful Road America event in June), Jacques Villeneuve guided the Penske Racing fielded machine around the Montreal race course in 1 minute, 35.800 seconds. The 1997 Formula 1 World Champion's first NASCAR pole position, the 40 year-old Villeneuve scores it at a very symbolic locale. Through the events the second-generation Canadian racer has competed at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Villeneuve's most significant victory came in Toyota Atlantic Series race in 1993. Eluded the coveted pole position in Formula 1 competition at the track, none of the 12 grand prix top trophies had been collected at the Canadian Grand Prix round. In NASCAR Nationwide competition, his best race effort came in 2009 when he finished in 4th spot.

A former graduate of the Players drivers development program (an initiative that developed a multitude of Canadian auto racers to greatness in the 1990s), Villeneuve starts alongside a more recent member of the same open wheel launch pad. For the 2011 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, current INDYCAR driver Alex Tagliani is partnered with Jacques Villeneuve in the Penske Racing Dodge Challengers. Penske Racing teammates for the weekend will top the front row for Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series event. In time comparison, Tagliani's #12 Dodge was only 0.127 seconds slower on his fastest lap than the #22 car.

A race won two of the four times by a NASCAR star more accustomed with ovals, these drivers do benefit from more robust team chemistry earned across the Nationwide Series race schedule. In 3rd spot, Jason Leffler will lead over proficient road racers Scott Speed and Michael McDonnell at the start of Saturday's event. Other NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars starting near the front includes Steve Wallace in the 7th and Justin Allgaier rolling off 10th for the race. Series championship frontrunners for 2011 had a sub-par qualifying effort Friday. Elliot Sadler starts 16th in the #2 Chevrolet while the #32 Dollar General Chevy of Reed Sorenson is placed 23rd.

Even behind Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Tagliani, the Canadian contingent for the 2011 edition of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 appears to be extremely strong. In the 43-car field for the NAPA Auto Parts 200, 9 of the 43 cars will be piloted by a Canadian driver.

Champ car winner and one-time NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Patrick Carpentier will start 8th in an event which could be the final time the French-Canadian will race professionally. In 11th place, aspiring NASCAR star Andrew Ranger looks to top a 3rd place effort in 2009 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve race. As Ranger and most Canadian drivers seek a first win, 13th place Ron Fellows has already been to victory lane (at least within a garage area sheltered from strong 2008 downpour). Fellows is again competing with JR Motorsports equipment sponsored by Canadian Tire. JR Fitzpatrick will start 21st in a Canadian-owned #67 Ford for Go Canada Racing. Maryeve Default, Lous-Philippe Dumoulin and 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series points champion DJ Kennington make the 43-car field with deep starting positions.

Besides Canadian driver, the usually American driver heavy NASCAR Nationwide Series will also feature the prowess of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' latest winner Marcos Ambrose. The Tasmanian driver will be pulling double duty between Sunday's Cup race in Michigan and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Foiled for victory after being a strong contender in all four NAPA Auto Parts 200 races held in Montreal, Ambrose makes a special appearance for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event continuing to hunt the road course win that has taunted the driver in previous years.

The 2011 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will be the first such event not to be limited to an all-male starting field. Driving the #81 Dodge from a 39th place starting position, Canadian Maryeve Default will be taking the green flag with INDYCAR star Danica Patrick who is driving the #7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. In her first NASCAR road race, Patrick acquired a 25th place start at the Montreal track.

A race lasting 74 laps, the final NASCARNAPA Auto Parts 200 race will be met with temperatures as high as 29 degree Celsius with a 30 percent chance of a thunderstorms.

2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
NAPA Auto Parts 200
Starting Lineup

1. 22 Jacques Villeneuve Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge
2. 12 Alex Tagliani Hot Wheels Dodge
3. 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Chevrolet
4. 33 Scott Speed Rheem Heating Cooling Water Heating Chevrolet
5. 18 Michael McDowell Sherwin Williams Toyota
6. 77 Robby Gordon MAPEI/Menards/SPEED Energy Dodge
7. 66 Steve Wallace 5-hour Energy Toyota
8. 99 Patrick Carpentier NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
9. 9 Owen Kelly Stanley Ford
10. 31 Justin Allgaier Florida Gulf Safe Chevrolet
11. 53 Andrew Ranger Quebec Dodge Dealers Dodge
12. 30 Boris Said Great Clips Chevrolet
13. 5 Ron Fellows Canadian Tire Chevrolet
14. 60 Billy Johnson Fastenal Ford
15. 64 Jason Bowles Fuel Doctor Toyota
16. 2 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet
17. 16 Michel Jourdain, Jr. 3M Ford
18. 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford
19. 11 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Toyota
20. 88 Aric Almirola Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet
21. 67 J R Fitzpatrick Go Canada Racing Ford
22. 97 Kyle Kelley NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet
23. 32 Reed Sorenson Dollar General Chevrolet
24. 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota Toyota
25. 7 Danica Patrick GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
26. 23 Alex Kennedy Media Master Chevrolet
27. 1 Mike Wallace G&K Services Chevrolet
28. 62 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Toyota
29. 19 Mike Bliss Del Monte Chevrolet
30. 44 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
31. 75 Chris Cook Alvin And The Chipmunks-Chipwrecked Ford
32. 15 Timmy Hill Rick Ware Racing Ford
33. 14 Eric McClure Hefty BlackOut/Reynolds Chevrolet
34. 39 Luis Martinez Jr. King Taco Ford
35. 40 Josh Wise Key Motorsports Chevrolet
36. 87 Kevin Conway NEMCO Motorsports Toyota
37. 51 Jeremy Clements Clements Racing Engines Chevrolet
38. 70 Blake Koch Daystar.com Dodge
39. 81 Maryeve Dufault Quebec Dodge Dealers Dodge
40. 28 Derrike Cope Jay Robinson Racing Dodge
41. 52 Louis-Philippe Dumoulin Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet
42. 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Chevrolet
43. 13 DJ Kennington DrivenMale.com Dodge

Friday Adventure at the 2011 Honda Indy Toronto Part 3

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter

While the warm weather and outdoor spectacles such as the Honda Indy is quite agreeable, my long-time spent under the sun again fought my skin. Yes, for the three year in a row, I'm reporting how I have burnt myself after spending a day at the Honda Indy. However, I'll note that this year I was able to greatly minimize my sunburn after learning through past visits the measure I need to take in protecting my skin. One of the obvious measures for beating the extended periods of direct sunlight was to go inside. The Direct Energy Centre, the Media Centre as well as a Honda display set up behind the circuit's Gold grandstands served as not only shelter but two existed as spotlights of entertainment.

Assembled in a temporary building, the Honda display featured a large assortment of automobiles. From a first-generation Honda Civic dating back to 1973 inside, the newest ninth-generation 2012 Civic sat. Embracing the outside with the 2012 Honda Civic, a fleet of modified late model production cars that included Acura NSX models were found around the sheltered area.

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

With production cars in the open of daylight, ironically two race cars resided inside the Honda Indy display. Two cars relating to Canadian open wheel racing great Paul Tracy, a replica of the #8 Make-A-Wish Canada-sponsored Dragon Racing Indy car the 'Thrill from West Hill' had been wheeling around the 11-turns of the Toronto street course in 2011 sat. Beside the modern Dallara chassis, a Lola chassis wearing the Players livery and the #3 represented the latest Forsythe Racing car Paul Tracy drove in 2003 to a commanding flag-to-flag victory in the now-defunct Champ Car series. Though the show car was presented in speedway trim (note the smaller, flatter wing pieces), I was not entirely sure if this car was the exact Lola chassis Tracy won the 2003 Toronto race. Another detail I noted on the car was the absence of the Ford Blue Oval badges. Though it is sensational for Honda to bid honour to Canadian racing history, I feel it is a bit of a 'tsk-tsk moment' for Honda to display the vehicle with elements of its authentic livery deleted.

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Concluding their morning practice session, the IZOD INDYCAR teams and drivers lead themselves back to their paddock area. In the early track time for the 2011 Honda Indy of Toronto, the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing #10 car of Dario Franchitti posted the early benchmark time of 1 minute, 1.5676 seconds. Only 6/100th of a second ahead of Penske's Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Justin Wilson and Will Power rounded out the top-5 in the morning practice. The crews as well the drivers accompanied Indy cars being commuted back to the IZOD INDYCAR paddock area. Almost every driver rode motorized scooters seeking a quick travel back to debrief with their teams prior to lunch. Reassembling myself along Gasoline Alley, I watched as several drivers such as Graham Rahal, Marco Andretti and the fastest driver in practice Dario Franchitti rush back to their team haulers. I even caught 7-time Toronto race winner, now IZOD INDYCAR superteam owner Michael Andretti proceeding back to the pit road area.

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter

In my closest experience following the first IZOD INDYCAR practice at the Honda Indy was with #78 HVM Racing driver Simona de Silvestro. Simona de Silvestro was racing in Toronto two weeks after missing the Iowa Speedway round due to failing a post-concussion test following a crash at the Milwaukee Mile. Catching her quickly as she proceeded to her team's hauler lot, only getting a few seconds to talk with Simona de Silvestro, I simply expressed how it was great to see her competing at Toronto understanding the way the last half of June went for the Swiss driver. She said “thank you” but seemed more preoccupied with finding speed in her HVM Racing Dallara-Honda. 23rd of the 26 cars that logged speeds on the Toronto race track after the first practice, its easy to assume de Silvestro had the pursuit of speed on her mind. A quick meeting, it was nonetheless eventful for a person who has difficulty engaging in conversation; such as myself.

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter

Immediately following practice, a large portion of the wonderfully immense crowd positioned themselves politely alongside one of the IZOD INDYCAR team's paddock work stalls. Standing outside of temporary fences and barriers, the race fans's most ideal scenario is to capture a look at their favourite driver. As can be expected at this first of two Canadian races, Alex Tagliani garnered a gigantic crowd outside of his #77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports team paddock area. The fastest Canadian driver in the first practice at the Toronto track, Tagliani returns to Canada after gaining international attention as the Indianapolis 500 pole winner earlier this year. In a related story inside the IZOD INDYCAR Fan Zone, Hot Wheels finally released the diecast version of the blue Hot Wheels-sponsored car Tagliani drove last year. For whatever reason, I did not buy the 1:64 scale replica vehicle and I'm continuing to regret it weeks after the Honda Indy.  

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

As the morning completed, my first camera battery chose a most convenient time to give up its juice. With hotter weather and some pivotal action upcoming, I prepared to reload for the afternoon action at the 2011 Honda Indy of Toronto.