Penske, Power Quickest in IZOD INDYCAR Friday Session at Barber

A cloudy, wet weather greeted the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series drivers and teams for their first day at Barber Motorsports Park for Sunday‘s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Due to rain that intensified over the course of Friday, the fastest session for the 26 race cars around the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course occurred in the late morning.

The defending winner of the 2011 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama with a masterful flag-to-flag victory, Will Power kicked off one day at Barber Motorsports Park with the top time in overall Friday practice. Power’s lap time of 1 minute, 11.2886 seconds was faster than the times from in qualifying for the 2011 race. Power was 21/100ths of a second faster than his Penske Racing teammate and recent St Petersburg victor Helio Castroneves. “The Verizon No. 12 Chevy felt very good this morning before the rain.” said Will Power confident on his ability to repeat at Barber Motosports park. “We have tested here a lot and know the track very well and the set-up very well. We just made minor adjustments to the car because we basically know what we want.” said Power. With two of the three Team Penske Chevrolet entries at the front Friday, the third entry handled by Ryan Briscoe settled for 15^th quickest among the IZOD INDYCAR Series racers.

While the presence of Team Penske at the top of IZOD INDYCAR result sheers is a trend early in the 2012 season, Friday’s remaining top-five fastest lap times threw a surprising curve ball into the year’s second race weekend for the open wheel stars. Recommitting to the IZOD INDYCAR Series schedule for the first time since 2008, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team’s #15 car piloted by Takuma Sato grabbed the third fastest speed for day one. Both cars are powered by Honda engines. In 4^th place in the combined practice results was series rookie of the year Simon contender Josef Newgarden driving for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

Considered to be the teams presenting best chances for challenging the Team Penske juggernaut into the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing both had race cars in the top-10 during Friday practice at Barber Motorsports Park. Andretti Autosports was led by the #26 car of Marco Andretti in 6^th place in the first track session. Planning to mount a stronger race than the season opening effort at St Petersburg, defending IZOD INDYCAR series driver Dario Franchitti logged a 9^th fastest time ahead of an affiliated #38 car driven by Graham Rahal.

Despite rather light track activity at Barber Motorsport Park, several IZOD INDYCAR Series drivers and teams desperate for testing took full advantage of Friday to acquaint themselves with their 2012 Dallaras. Setting the record for Friday laps was the former Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello for KV Racing Technology. Logging 34 laps, Barrichello was also fastest around the Barber Motorsports Park course recorded at 5^th fastest amongst the practice times in both practices. “I have only done one test here, but it makes a huge difference compared to last weekend at St. Petersburg.” said Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello’s teammate and fellow Brazilian Tony Kanaan was 7^th quick on Friday in the #11 car. First practice for the IZOD INDYCAR Series ended with Kanaan stopped on track after running out of fuel.

While Tony Kanaan’s event was not severe, the #18 of Justin Wilson did encounter a failure relating to his Honda powerplant driving his Dale Coyne Racing car. The Dale Coyne Racing team has been devoted to replacing a damaged fuel injector in order to preserve their potential grid position earned in Saturday’s qualifying. While Justin Wilson might be saved from loosing starting position, Oriol Servia will suffer the IZOD INDYCAR’s 10-grid spot penalty after the Lotus engine of his #22 car stopped in early in practice.

Simona de Silvestro completed the second-most laps over the course on Friday. In both sessions at Barber Motorsports Park, the #78 Lotus-powered race machine recorded 32 laps with the majority coming in the late morning practice. The Swiss driver’s fastest time was only 20^th on the speed charts leading to desire that the remainder of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama weekend could turn the fortunes of de Silvestro and the HVM Racing team. Of the Lotus-powered Dallaras, Sebastien Bourdais recorded the fastest time around the 2.3-mile road course at 1 minute, 12.4818 seconds for Lotus Dragon Racing. With Bourdais in the #7 car for the Lotus Dragon Racing team, rookie teammate Katherine Legge ended the day at the bottom of the IZOD INDYCAR competitor’s time chart for Friday. Legge’s fastest time in the #6 car was more than five seconds off the speed of Will Power.

Preview: 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel

The Notes and Know:

The Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg marked the first time that the Dallara DW12 was unleashed with the opening of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR competition. This weekend, the brand new race car will roam the sweeping, twisty road course of Barber Motorsports Park. The visit to the 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park road course early in the season for the IZOD INDYCAR Series will be the third year in a row. Unlike the temporary St Petersburg street course, the race track of Barber Motorsports Park has already been lapped by the new race cars through a multi-day test session in 2012 IZOD INDYCAR pre-season.

After the first-ever event with the updated racing vehicles, the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series' return to a multi-engine formula appeared to have contributed to a higher than accustomed to rate of mechanical issues for some race competitors compared to season INDYCAR seasons. The elevation changes and the high-speed turns of Barber Motorsports Park will provide another unique test for the new Dallara open wheel race cars. In a contentious engine battle between Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus, Chevy has claimed the initial upper hand when Helio Castroneves guided a Penske-owned vehicle to victory at St Petersburg.

For fans, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama should provide an interesting spectacle. All 26 cars that debuted in the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series opener will be present at Barber Motorsports Park. Will Power will be looking to defend his pole which led to a flag-to-flag victory at last year's Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.


Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
Track Type: 17-turn road course
Track Distance: 2.38 Miles
Race Length: 90 laps/214.2 miles
Race Time: 2:00 PM Eastern

2011 Defending Race Winner: Will Power


IZOD INDYCAR Entry List

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

Race Weekend Weather Forecast: April 8th to 10th, 2011

Photo credit: Dan Helrigel

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysian Grand Prix
Formula 1

(Times are Local)

Friday:

10 am- Formula 1 Practice
Temperature: 28 degrees Fahrenheit (82 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

2 pm- Formula 1 Practice
Temperature: 32 degrees Celsius (89 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Saturday:

1 pm- Formula 1 Practice
Temperature: 32 degrees Celsius (89 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with possible thunderstorms
Chance of Precipitation: 80%
4 pm- Formula 1 Qualifying
Temperature: 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloud with possible thunderstorms
Chance of Precipitation: 70%


Sunday:

4 pm- Formula 1 Race
Temperature: 31 Degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with thunderstorms
Chance of Precipitation: 80%


Birmingham, Alabama
Barber Motorsports Park
Honda Grand Prix of Alabama
IZOD INDYCAR Series/ Firestone Indy Lights/ Grand Am Rolex Series

Thursday:

2:25 pm- Grand Am Rolex Series Practice
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Mostly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Friday:

8:40 am- Grand Am Rolex Series Practice
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

10:40 am- Grand Am Rolex Series Qualifying
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

12:15 pm- Firestone Indy Lights Practice
Temperature: 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

1:20 pm- IZOD INDYCAR Series
Temperature: 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

2:55 pm- Firestone Indy Lights Practice
Temperature: 26 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 100%

4:00 pm- IZOD INDYCAR Series Practice
Temperature: 28 degrees Celsius (83 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 100%


Saturday:

8:00 am- IZOD INDYCAR Series Practice
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 30%

8:30 am- Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 30%

9:25 am- IZOD INDYCAR Series Qualifying
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 30%

3:00 pm- Grand Am Rolex Series Race
Temperature: 28 degrees Celsius
Sky Conditions: Clear/Sunny (82 degrees Fahrenheit)
Chance of Precipitation: 0%


Sunday:

8:00 am- Firestone Indy Lights Warm up
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 20%

9:00 am- IZOD INDYCAR Series Warm up
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 20%

12:00 pm- Firestone Indy Lights Race
Temperature: 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 20%

2:45 pm- IZOD INDYCAR Series Race
Temperature: 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with clouds
Chance of Precipitation: 20%



Fort Worth, Texas
Texas Motor Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup/Nationwide Series

(Times are for Eastern time zone)

Thursday:

2:00 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Practice
Temperature: 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

4:10 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice
Temperature: 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Clear/ Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

6 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Practice
Temperature: 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Clear/Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%




Friday:

9:30 am- NASCAR Nationwide Series Practice
Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with cloudy periods
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

11:15 am- NASCAR Nationwide Series Practice
Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

2:00 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice
Temperature: 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Clear/Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

4:10 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Practice
Temperature: 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Clear/Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

 5:40 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying
Temperature: 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Clear/Sunny
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

7:30 pm- NASCAR Nationwide Series Race
Temperature: 30 degrees Celsius (87 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Clear/Night
Chance of Precipitation: 0%



Saturday:

6:30 pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Race
Temperature: 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Sunny with cloudy periods
Chance of Precipitation: 20%

Helio Delivers Penske Racing 3-Peat for Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Photo Credit: Den Helrigel

Spending the first two races confided within the urban-cented temporary street courses, the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series tour races at the picturesque nature landscape of one of Alabama's newest racing locales Barber Motorsport Park for a 90 lap affair at Barber Motorsport Park.

With an estimated 50,000 fan in attendance for the inaugural IZOD IndyCar race at the Barber Motorsports Park (mentioned by the track owner as doubled the attendance of any other race event held at the venue), NBA great Charles Barkley presided as grand marshal to officially start the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. As the green flag flew in the air, pole sitter Will Power surged forward to lead the first competitive laps around the road course for the series. Starting 5th in the field, Scott Dixon launch in his #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car up to 3rd place came under suspicious of the IndyCar officials. Judged to have passed cars prior to the start line, Dixon was required to surrender the two positions to Helio Castroneves and Marco Andretti.

As the 25 Indy cars sailed around the 2.38 mile road course, long straightaways and winding high-speed corners left a minimum of overtaking opportunities for the competitors. Some teams elected to pit early in an attempt to set them on a different pit strategy. By pitting early for tires and fuel, drivers will take advantage of open race track where they can run fast laps without interference from other cars. In the case of the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the caution came out shortly after those pit stops for a powerless #25 KV Racing Technology car of Takuma Sato. Found to be a broken throttle cable by engineers, Sato eventually rejoined the race. As the #25 car avoided retirement, the 90 lap distance ended with every competitor running.

Under the caution, the leading #12 car of Will Power and second-place Mike Conway in the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car pitted along with Penske's Ryan Briscoe as well as the #22 of Justin Wilson. Along with drivers who had previously made pit stops, 3rd place Helio Castroneves and the #26 Andretti Autosport Venom Energy car of Marco Andretti remained on track taking the top-2 spots.

The turn 5 hairpin represented the only true quality passing opportunity for drivers to advance their positions. On lap 15, Marco Andretti made a pass on Helio Castroneves through that corner using his Honda engine's available power boost twice to complete the move. Andretti's overtaking of the #3 Verizon-sponsored Penske Racing car would prove to have serious implications for the race outcome as both drivers pushed to survive with only a two pit stop strategy. Pitting on lap 29, Andretti briefly handed the lead to Castroneves until the #3 Penske Racing car pitted 2 laps later.

As the laps ticked away and many drivers held station, big questions surrounded whether the #26 Venom Energy car of Marco Andretti could make after his second pit stop on lap 57. While Andretti cycled back to the lead, Castroneves' #3 car maintained a hot pursuit aided by a possible attempt by Andretti to save fuel. Ultimately, the two-stop plan for the #26 car could not work as Marco Andretti regrettably brought his car to pit road on lap 82. Andretti came out at pit road exit in 5th place as Helio Castroneves stormed away from newly-promoted to 2n place runner Scott Dixon. In two laps, the #3 car of Castroneves more than doubled the interval back to the #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car which was 2.4 seconds on lap 85.

Despite a final late race caution flying after Simona de Silvestro's #78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM car spun and stalled on the turn 5 hairpin, Dixon didn't have the pace nor the passing opportunity to challenge Helio Castroneves on the final two green laps.


Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel

Helio Castroneves' first race since the Texas round last season, a trademark fence climb and an embrace with his three-month old daughter accompanied the Brazilian's celebration. Commenting in post race, Helio Castroneves conveyed his confidence that helped me this victory possible. "I felt like the Team Penske car was better than Marco's but, unfortunately, I just couldn't pass him. I was just patient and waiting for an opportunity, and well, I guess we were able to be smart enough to save a lot of fuel. Towards the end, we just had a yellow flag. I didn't ask for that." Deeper into post race interviews, Castroneves jokingly boasted about taking the power away from his teammate Will Power. Power finished 4th overall in the 2010 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, missing out on becoming the first IndyCar driver to win 3 straight races to begin a season. While Power lost, Verizon Penske Racing still enjoyed Castroneves' victory in the #3 car as extending the team steak to 3 races for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season.

Finishing 2nd, Scott Dixon kept dwelling on the first lap start. "I feel that the officials made a poor call when they said that I passed Helio at the start/finish line. I got back behind him and he went around the outside at Turn 1." Dixon responded in post race comments. Behind a slightly disturbed Dixon, Dario Franchitti climbed to a 3rd place and final podium position at Barber Motorsports Park.

Making it two of the first three races he led in 2010, Marco Andretti spent a considerably longer time out in front at Barber Motorsport Park than he did in St Petersburg. Despite losing out to a daring fuel gamble, the entire #26 Andretti Autosport team endured to finish a strong 5th place. (I would like to believe that the interview he gave me for XSL Speed Reporter also contributed but I'm pretty sure I'm overselling my role).

With limited in passing opportunities, some IndyCar drivers were able to gain an advantage through the help of their pit crews. Starting 21st after being short on speed through the Saturday qualifying session, Alex Tagliani and his FAZZT Race Team pitted the #77 car early in order to "We made up 11 spots so I take my hat off to the team. They did a good job." Using the same strategy, Panther Racing's #4 car of Dan Wheldon shot up the most positions of any driver in the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama by leapfrogging up 12 places to finish 11th.

A race not matching the carnage of the Sao Paulo Indy or the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama wrapped lacking a certain desired excitement. The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series tour returns to street course racing at Long Beach next week (April 18th).


Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
2010 IZOD IndyCar
Finishing Order

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

Pruett and Rajos Take Grand Am DP Win at Barber; Mazda Wins GT Class

Photo Credit: Grand Am

With the IZOD IndyCar Series set for their inaugural race on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, the 2.38 mile race track saw the familiar face of the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series Saturday for the 2.5 hour Porsche 250. The first major series to open Barber Motorsports Park in 2003, the Rolex Sports Car Series brings the wide array of cars from Daytona Prototypes and the GT Class.

On the drop of the green flag, the pole-sitting #10 SunTrust-sponsored Ford Dallara leaped to an early lead in the hands of Ricky Taylor. Stretching out a 4.796 second interval over the 2nd place runner, the SunTrust Racing team showed dominance through the early pace. In the GT category, a quartet of Mazda RX-8s were fighting for the top spot in the production-based class. On lap 2, the lead in GT changed as the #30 RX-8 of Jordon Taylor passed the #70 SpeedSource RX-8.


Photo Credit: Grand Am

The first full-caution of the Porsche 250 was thrown on lap 14 as Tracy Krohn overshot turn 10 where after the #75 Ford Dallara was slowed by a sand trap and a large foam barrier along the wall. Following the yellow flag, a new leader emerged for DP class as the #8 Corsa Car Care BMW Riley benefiting from not pitting under the caution period.

On lap 21, the caution flew again at Barber Motorsports Park for a DP race car. This time, it was a blown engine on the #99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley. Team owner Bob Stallings looked on as two of the first three races of the 2010 Grand Am Rolex Series saw his #99 GAINSCO car parked prematurely. "Jon came on line and said he thought we lost the motor. There was a big vibration and then a big pop, and he said it sounded like something actually went through the side (of the engine)." Stallings said.



Photo Credit: Grand Am

The Corsa Car Care BMW Riley headed to pit lane relinquishing the DP lead to the #61 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley being driven by Mark Wilkins. With the Michael Shank vehicle comfortable in the top position for 17 laps, the Ford-powered Riley fall to the #01 Target Chip Ganassi Racing-owned BMW Riley. Piloted by Memo Rojas, the TELMEX-supported ride took control of the middle course of the Porsche 250 from lap 39 to lap 64. Within the time that the #01 BMW Riley took the lead, a battle in GT ignited as a challenger emerged against the Mazda brigade. One of the my new for 2010 cars to the Grand Am Rolex Series, the #07 Corvette piloted by Paul Edwards consistently lapped faster than the #70 SpeedSource team RX-8. On lap 54, Edwards completed the pass to take the Corvette to the front of GT. Unfortunately, this lead would be short-lived as the #07 Corvette would lose control on track spinning out. While Paul Edwards was able to regather the race car, the Corvette lost the class lead to the #69 SpeedSource Mazda now driven by Jeff Segal.

Driver changes took place beyond the halfway mark of the Porsche 250. Lap 62 saw than 2nd place Ricky Taylor come to the attention of pit road exiting the #10 to allow co-driver Max Angelelli to take the Ford Dallara through the anchor stage of the Barber Motorsports Park sports car event. "It was all going very good. I got held up in traffic and struggled a little. Hopefully we have good track position - I know Max can do it. At the start, the car was very good in clean air." Ricky Taylor commented after leaving the #10 SunTrust car.

Two laps later, Memo Rojas surrendered his race-leading #01 TELMEX BMW Riley to American teammate Scott Pruett. The #59 Brumos Porsche Riley in the hands of David Donohue briefly held first but would pit on lap 67 providing the lead back to the #01 BMW Riley.

With a 3rd race caution flying on lap 68 for a parked #19 Corvette driven by Andy Lally, the green restarted the race action on lap 73. Within the vehicle grouping, the #9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley was sent off course. Joao Barbosa wheeled the #9 car would finish the Porsche 250 10th in class indicating that the honeymoon for winning the 24-hour of Daytona is apparently over.

At lap 75, Scott Pruett in the #01 BMW Riley was holding first position over the #60 Crown Royal XR Ford Riley being wheeled by Ozz Negri. Ryan Dalziel and Max Angelelli followed to complete the top-4. In GT, with the efforts of the #07 Corvette going south, the Mazda Rx-8s were seated in the first four in class standings. The #94 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 being steered by Bill Auberlen running 5th was the highest running non-Mazda.

With the last 33 laps saw the Chip Ganassi-owned BMW Riley run away to their second overall victory of the year crossing the finish line first at Barber Motorsports Park. Negri and Dalziel brought their respective cars to podium in the Daytona Prototype class.


Photo Credit: Grand Am

In GT Class, Jeff Segal held off the fellow Mazda RX-8s driven by Jordan Taylor and his SpeedSource car owner Sylvain Tremblay to win the Grand Am category. The #57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R would rally to the 4th place in class.

Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Qualifying Sees Will Power Up Front

Photo Credit: Steve Swope/Penske Racing

Will Power flies to a second straight pole for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Lapping the Barber Motorsports Park 2.38 mile road course a 1 minute, 10.1356 seconds
Driving his #12 Verizon-sponsored Penske Racing car, Power's top time almost mirrored his fastest effort during Friday practice. As qualifying concluded, the #12 Penske Racing car was almost a mile per hour average faster than the performance of his closest time trial rival.

Starting on the front row, sophomore driver Mike Conway impressed by recording the 2nd fastest time. Through a drastic pick-up from Friday practice, the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing flew to time of 1 minute, 10.6510 seconds. Only his 3rd career appearance in the Firestone Fast Six, Conway run is also his best qualifying result entering into only his 20th IndyCar race.

Another Penske Racing car which backed-up on the Friday performance the #3 of Helio Castroneves. Snatching 3rd in the timed session, Castroneves commented on starting near the top of the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama grid saying "It's always important to qualify upfront, no matter what place. But certainly here it seems to be a very challenging place." Also acknowledging in a post-qualifying press conference that pit strategy will be an unknown for many teams, Helio Castroneves props up his team saying "We'll continue doing very, very well. But for the No. 3 guys, we are stepping up every race, so hopefully tomorrow will be a good day for us.".

Wrapping up the Firestone Fast Six is Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon Target/Chip Ganassi, and Japanese rookie Takuma Sato driving for KV Racing. Fourth place in the session Marco Andretti was asked in post-qualifying about the obvious small gains in Andretti Autosport. Responding to what changes have been made to Andretti Autosport, Marco Andretti responded "Making the car's comfortable for us to drive. The difference is, and the thing I've personally been pushing for in the off‑season is you listen to your drivers a bit more than what the computer tells them." After qualifying, Scott Dixon seemed mildly impressed with his #9 car. "So surprised we made it into the Fast Six with just how the car is handling. But we'll take another stab at it tonight and hopefully try and make a few changes for the warm‑up, and get some consistency back in the car, especially for the race tomorrow." Dixon said.


The inaugural running of the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama is set for Sunday April 11th at 3:30 p.m. airing on the Versus in the United States and TSN in Canada.


2010 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
IZOD IndyCar Series
Qualifying Results

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

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

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel

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

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



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



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

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

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

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

Preview: 2010 IZOD IndyCar Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar

Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

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

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

2009 Polesitter: NA

2009 Podium

NA


2010 IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg Entry List

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

Graham Rahal Driving Limited Schedule for Sarah Fisher Racing: Will miss Sao Paulo Opener

Photo Credit: IndyCar Media

As many participants of the IRL IZOD IndyCar Series were heading to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the 2010 season opening race, one team sitting out the inaugural IRL trip to the South American country is Sarah Fisher Racing. Nonetheless, the part-time race team attracted some considerable attention on Thursday presenting Graham Rahal as a driver of the Sarah Fisher Racing #67 Dallara/Honda for upcoming St Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park rounds of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar schedule. The official statement arrived today but media reports leaked shortly after Graham Rahal indicated on his Twitter account that a big announcement was planned.

Driver/owner Sarah Fisher indicated through the official team release that she contacted team sponsor Dollar General after realizing Rahal was unsigned and arranged this deal for the 21 year old American driver. "We are all very enthusiastic about having Graham in the seat for the two road course races that start off our season". With Sarah Fisher herself dedicated to only a part-time schedule in 2010 for US oval races in the #66 Indy car, her team also added a #67 car which will be driven by Jay Howard for 4 IndyCar events and now Rahal for 2 races. As Rahal was named to Sarah Fisher Racing, Rahal stated "I can't wait to get behind the wheel of the Dollar General No.67 car and hopefully contribute to the success of SFR."

A talented second-generation driver, Graham Rahal has come into he own through a short career which includes 5 Atlantic Championship wins and a victory on the IndyCar tour in 2008's running the road course of St Petersburg. Moving with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing from the defunct Champ Car series into IndyCar, the 2009 season ended with less than spectacular on-track results and the departure of McDonalds as a team sponsor. Rahal spent the entire IndyCar series pre-season in the rumour mill as a return to Newman/Haas/Lanigan in 2010 was judge highly unlikely. Rahal's name has been pegged to both Gil de Ferran's attempt to build an IndyCar team and Dale Coyne Racing's second car. However, rides in the series soon filled up and Graham Rahal remained a free agent. Some sources alleged that Rahal was casting feelers to NASCAR but there were no major teams expressing interest.

While economics in auto racing have stuttered a multitude of racing efforts, the effect on young American open wheel talent is risking to erode future interest in homegrown IndyCar drivers. Tony Stewart, AJ Allendinger, Scott Speed and Sam Hornish Jr are a few American racers lured by the more abundant corporate funding in stock car racing. However, even this pathway for rideless open wheel drivers has dried up (well, with the exception of Danica Patrick).

As only two races are currently planned between Rahal and Sarah Fisher Racing for 2010, Graham Rahal's plans for the rest of the year will likely depend on the outcome in the St Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park road races for whether he'll have backing for more races in the IZOD IndyCar Series in the future.

Day 2 of IndyCar Test at Barber Motorsports Park: Power Boosted to Front

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar

In the second day of the IZOD IndyCar Series open test, contenders in the 2010 open wheel racing circuit left the Barber Motorsports Park with full notebooks (perhaps more laptops at this time in auto racing) containing their gains and shortcomings. Averaging approximately 140 miles a piece through the two days, 20 Indy cars have attacked the 2.38 miles road course for what was the third and final session for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar series teams.


Taking on Barber Motorsports Park complex on a cool, sunny Thursday afternoon, speeds in two day testing showed significant pace increases. In session 3 runs, 9 IndyCar drivers posted times faster than the session 2 effort of Ryan Briscoe. As the IndyCar times dropped, Penske Racing's dominance from Wednesday spilled over to the Thursday IndyCar test session proving that the rest of the IZOD IndyCar has a reason to be concerned heading into 2010. On Thursday, Penske Racing cars swept the top 3 positions. However, a change came as Will Power took the lead. In fact, Power's fastest time was the only lap in the 2 day test that a driver was able to clock under the 1 minute, 10 second mark at 1:098724 lap time.

In hot pursuit of the Roger Penske 3-car team, Scott Dixon ran 4th fastest on the day in the #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing car. As for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's reigning IndyCar Series Championship driver Dario Franchitti, the Scotsman's Thursday run equated to a second to last fast time. Limiting himself to a 3 lap shakedown on the second two, Dario Franchitti ran the second-fewest laps amongst all participants in the IndyCar test.

Continuing the prove Dreyer/Reinbold Racing as a force to be reckon with for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series, Justin Wilson made his third consecutive appearance amongst the top 5 on the time chart. While Wilson's speed seems to indicate a stronger Dreyer/Reinbold Racing during the two-day open test, teammate Mike Conway's performance in test session 3 showed true gains. Having left Wednesday with a speed nearly one and a half seconds slower than day's leader Briscoe, Conway top time in day two was only 0.38 seconds off the new IndyCar pacesetter.


Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar

Taking a break from her much-publicized NASCAR Nationwide Series endeavours, the very busy Danica Patrick returned to her familiar #7 Indy car. While Patrick had trouble finding front-running speed, this lack of speed plagued the whole four-car Andretti Autosport team. Team newcomer Ryan Hunter-Reay is still traveling the learning curve in the #37 car, recording a 14th overall fastest time around Barber Motorsports Park. Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti reminded situated in the middle of test time sheets throughout the three IndyCar practice sessions. After two days, Marco Andretti showed the quickest speed of the four-car team averaging 117.621 miles per hour within a single 2.38 mile lap.



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar

Providing an impressive two day of testing after showing some early speed on Wednesday, Formula 1 veteran Takuma Sato best time placed the Japanese driver 5th on the overall test chart in his #5 KV Racing Technology car. Running more laps than any other driver in the three IZOD IndyCar test sessions at Barber Motorsports Park, Sato appears well-prepared to enter his first year of competition in the North American open wheel racing series. Running almost as many laps as Sato, Conquest Racing's rookie driver Mario Romancini also used the Barber test to gain as much pre-season seat time in the #34 car.

As the test wrapped up, there were IndyCar veteran drivers noticeably absent from the activities at Barber Motorsports Park, Graham Rahal and Mario Moraes. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing brought only one car to the test for their newly-acquired driver Hideki Mutoh leaving guesses for whether the team will even run two cars in 2010. Speculation has also mentioned Rahal considering a venture into NASCAR (historically, not a particularly smart move for open wheel drivers). As for Moraes, KV Racing Technology appears not to be giving up hope in campaigning the driver. Mario Moraes would no doubt want to see a deal formulated for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series opener. Sao Paulo, Brazil which is his birthplace.

Like every test, it will remain to be seen if the success or struggles of a few laps will be truly telling of the 2010 season for the IZOD IndyCar Series tour.

Test at Barber Motorsports Park Ignites Spark for 2010 IZOD IndyCar Season

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar


With various changes shaping the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series (the first of which being the IZOD title sponsor), the race teams of the upcoming season are eager to determine how their off-season structuring measures up to their rival competitors. Barber Motorsports Park, braced to hold their first IndyCar Series race on April 11th, played host to the most significant open test for the open wheel racing teams before the green flag falls on the 2010 IndyCar series on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. With the number of road courses exceeding the ovals for the first time since the IRL-based open wheel tour was founded in 1996, the mastery of left and right turning will prove pivotal to the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Championship.


Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar


Of course, the powerhouse teams of Penske Racing and Target/Chip Ganassi Racing are the likely benchmarks for the field after dominating the IndyCar tour last season. Only Dale Coyne Racing's broke through the superteam stranglehold in 2009 when Justin Wilson's pulled off the upset win at Waltkins Glen. At Barber Motorsports Park, the Penske Racing team appears more even more prepared than their best efforts of 2009. Unveiling their new look livery, the 3 Penske pilots of 2010 were among 3 of the top 4 cars residing on the peak of the time charts. In two practice sessions, Ryan Briscoe was the fastest car in the first day of testing blistering around the 17-turn, 2.3 mile complex in 1 minute and 10.5052 seconds. With a top time just two-tenths of a second slower than Briscoe is Penske Racing teammate Helio Castroneves. Besides posting fast speeds, both Penske runners ran more than 60 laps in shaking down their Dallara-Honda race cars. Completing Penske's triple threat to the 2010 championship, Will Power was 4th quickest overall in the first day test. Planted 3rd in the test time sheet surrounded by the Penske Racing machines is Justin Wilson, readying his debut with the #22 Dreyer/Reinhold Racing car in just a few weeks.

On this first of two days of testing for the IZOD IndyCar teams, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing with defending series champion Dario Franchitti are running respectable though not excellent times. Franchitti's best time was only good enough for 9th on the day but Scott Dixon rode a quarter of a second quicker clocked 5th overall.

Showing some serious promise with drivers who were signed just under a week ago, KV Racing Technology cars fared favourably so far. Led by EJ Viso recording a 6th fastest time, IndyCar rookie Takuma Sato was only one position behind has KV Racing teammate. Sato also tied in recording the most laps completed in the test with 70 laps (Conquest Racing's rookie Mario Romancini also ran 70 laps).


Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar

A continuance of a trend through this winter season which played a factor in the 2010 Speedweeks action in Daytona, climate in the usually more temperate south have led to lower than average temperatures. In the Birmingham area, low temperatures were beneath the freezing mark and only peaked at 47 degrees Fahrenheit. In comparison, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games weather in Vancouver, British Columbia were pegged at just degrees lower than the high at Barber Motorsports Park. The colder than normal temperatures that were forecasted for Birmingham, Alabama provoked FAZZT Race Team to decide in favour of sitting out the open test altogether. With the second test session being faster in the slightly warmer afternoon weather, all cars set their fast times during the 2nd practice with exception to Mike Conway. Setting 4th fastest time in the earlier practice session, Conway's run in the #24 car was only 17th for the day.


Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney/IndyCar

The more practice sessions for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar series runners are scheduled for Thursday at Barber Motorsports Park with weather conditions mirroring the Wednesday session.