Power Vs. Franchitti: INDYCAR Stars Battle for 2011 Title in Las Vegas

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

The fierce rivalries in motorsports has always been a key element in the most memorable eras. Richard Petty versus David Pearson, Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost and even manufacturer face-off such as Ferrari versus Chevrolet are occasions in auto racing history where the presence of a full group of contentions is respectfully discounted to see a one-on-one match-up. While modern auto racing bodies are constantly trying to open up the playing field to an assortment of drivers and organizations, there continues to be match-ups where two figures become a prominent fixture.

For the past two seasons in the IZOD INDYCAR Series, the Scottish driver for Target Chip Ganassi Racing #10 car and an Australian driving the #12 Penske Racing team have been the overall championship point duelers. In 2010, Will Power demonstrated some incredible magic on road courses in a first full season for Penske that allowed the Australian to contend for the series title against the more experienced shoe of Dario Franchitti. Franchitti's performance on ovals (a track layout understood to be shortfall for Power last year) gave himself and the Chip Ganassi Racing team the advantage for the 2010 series championship.

In 2011, the battle between Power and Franchitti has apparently become a lot more directed. The focal point for their combat was the Honda Indy of Toronto where Franchitti's actions during the event sent Power's #12 around on course. Embattled in a see-saw battle through the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR season, Will Power and Dario Franchitti entered the Iowa Speedway race tied in the overall points standings after six events. Through unfortunate events at Iowa and Toronto for Power and the Penske Racing team, Franchitti built up a sizable points cushion only for Will Power to chip away at the lagging slowly. Helped largely by a 6th place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway following Franchitti suffering a DNF, Power would take the points lead following the Twin Ring Motegi road course event. Will Power's efforts were heavily set-back by a miserable outing in the past race at Kentucky Speedway where he finished 19th after a pit road accident damaging his race car.    

Entering into their second championship showdown, both drivers came from a background involving competition in Formula cars overseas only to be discovered in North America under modest circumstances. For Dario Franchitti, he arrived in the CART series in 1997 driving for Hogan Racing while Will Power was drafted by Team Australian/Walker Racing in Champ car in 2005. Considerable talents, the IZOD INDYCAR Series premium teams signed their respective drivers. Together, Franchitti and Power combine for 10 of the 16 races currently completed on the series schedule.

Taking their championship battle onto the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval, Dario Franchitti and Will Power arrive to the track that neither driver has competed on in the IZOD INDYCAR Series. On account of the last major open wheel event for INDYCAR was run at the track in 2000 (when the series was known as the Indy Racing League), the search for understanding of the oval could have contributed to the 18th and 19th place qualifying efforts Friday. Both drivers do process a vague interpretation of racing in the major Nevada city. Heading into the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Will Power in fact has a winning history in the land famously known as 'Sin City'. In 2007, the Australian won his first major open wheel event in North America on the Fremont street course during an Champ Car event. In the case of Dario Franchitti, he raced the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during his 2008 foray into NASCAR. Driving in the Sprint Cup stock car series to a 33rd place finish, Franchitti also competed in the NASCAR Nationwide round taking a more optimistic 6th place.

With an 18-point gap separating Will Power from Dario Franchitti, the IZOD INDYCAR World Championship race at Las Vegas will see if the score can be even in their series championship fight.

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

2012 INDYCAR Engine Shuffle in Full Swing

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Big technical changes announced little over a year ago for the IZOD INDYCAR Series is quickly coming to reality. An all-new race car will be christened with the season opening race connecting the series to the advanced technologies utilized in the modern automobile industry. Among many changes upcoming to the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR season is completely revised engine specifications. Regulated to twin-turbocharged 2.2 liter V-6 powerplant, the series entrants will be presented with a choice of manufacturers for the for time since the sanctioning body's 2005 open wheel racing season. As the current 2011 season has just past its halfway point, several major INDYCAR Series teams have already decided on the powerplant choices for 2012. After powering the IZOD INDYCAR Series through the past 6 years as the sole engine supplier, Honda will remain one of three manufacturers which now sees direct competition from Chevrolet and Lotus.
The first race team to announce their 2012 powerplant choice was Penske Racing. Prior to the new year, Ilmor Engineering confirmed involvement with the Chevrolet brand's return to open wheel. A long-time partner with Ilmor, team owner Roger Penske was present at the introduction ceremony. Absent from open wheel racing since the end of 1993, Chevrolet's history with Penske Racing included three Indianapolis 500 victories and a 1988 championship on the CART World Series.

Penske Racing intention to run Chrevrolet engines in 2012 was followed almost six months later by powerplant confirmation from rival Chip Ganassi Racing. For the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR season, the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing and rookie Chip Ganassi Racing team has elected to remain faithful to Honda power. Winning the past three IZOD INDYCAR driver titles titles with Honda engines, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing became a powerhouse combination on the CART World Championship during the late 1990s.

On July 19th, long-time series team AJ Foyt Racing confirmed their #14 car will remain powered by Honda Racing Development through the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season. In response to the race team making an agreement with the Japanese-born auto company, president of Honda Performance Development and vice president, corporate planning and logistics, for American Honda Erik Berkman responded, "A.J. shares many traits with Soichiro Honda, the founder of our company. Passionate, dedicated men, their names became synonymous with racing in their native lands, and each has served as a symbol of his country’s passion for motorsport around the world. Today, we consider A.J. to be a venerable member of the Honda ‘family,’ and we look forward to our continued association with both the man and his team." On the side of AJ Foyt Racing, the four-time Indy 500 driver turned team owner AJ Foyt stated "I am really looking forward to working with Honda next year,".
There has yet to be a confirmation for teams opting for the Lotus engine. Expect KV Racing Technology, a current technical partner with Lotus Motorsports, to officially declare the usage of the British sports car company's engine. Perhaps one of the last remaining superteams still in play for their 2012 engine decision is Andretti Autosport and Newman/Haas Racing.

Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

Yet to confirm their choice, Andretti Autosport is equally as likely remain with Honda as it is with taking a chance with Lotus or Chevrolet. Building a close-knit reputation with Honda, the Andretti family also has a history connected to each of the other auto manufacturers competing on the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR circuit. Michael Andretti won the 1991 INDYCAR/CART World Championship with Chevrolet power while Mario Andretti became the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship driving for Colin Chapman's Team Lotus. A wild card decision for 2012, expect Andretti Autosport to choose what is best for both sponsors and for the team's competitiveness in the future IZOD INDYCAR Series.

In the case of Newman/Haas Racing, staying with Honda could be a likely decision but other engine suppliers are not completely out of the equation. With Honda power in the IZOD INDYCAR season, Newman/Haas Racing has two team victories in 2008 but has not won a race for almost 3 years. Newman/Haas could select Chevy power for the 2012 season marking a return to a powerplant the team used from 1987 to 1991.

With a chance to completely shake up the front-runners to the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series, engine manufacturers choices could affect the balance of competition for the anticipated new car season.

Power Takes Honda Indy Toronto Pole

 Photo Credit: Jim Haines

The 25th anniversary of the Indy in Toronto, former Penske Racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi was the inaugural pole when the event existed as the Molson Indy in 1986. 24 races later, the Toronto event readies with the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR time trials.

Receiving beautiful weather in the great Canadian city of Toronto, the 2011 edition of the Honda Indy concluded its first day Friday with driver Will Power posting a fast pace. Taking just over 1 minute to lap the 1.755-mile, 11-turn temporary street course, Power's #12 Penske Racing was 1/10th of a second faster than Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon. In the second practice session Friday, Dixon was followed on the time sheet by current IZOD INDYCAR Series points leader Dario Franchitti. As the Toronto race ends a 5-race streak of oval event on the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series tour, the Scotsman realizes he needs to shut down challenger Will Power starting with the event the Penske driver won last season.

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter

In a fast Honda Indy of Toronto qualifying session, the top-3 drivers positioning mirrored Friday second practice with Will Power edging the #9 car of Scott Dixon with a 59.5771 second time. Winning the Toronto race first under the Champ Car banner in 2007, Will Power took victory in last year's IZOD INDYCAR Series round on the temporary street course.

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/ XSL Speed Reporter

Recording a 2nd fastest time in the qualifying order with 59.6646 second lap around the Toronto circuit, Dixon retains a normally strong time trial effort through his five career events at the race track. Dario Franchitti resulted the afternoon with a 3rd place timed run but was almost bumped by a fast Andretti Autosport car in the hands of Mike Conway. Fastest in the morning practice, Conway wheeled his #27 to a 59.6329 second pace through 1.764 miles. The top-4 drivers in Honda Indy qualifying broke the 1 minute barrier.

Concluding the timed session with a 5th place, a delighted Graham Rahal driving the #38 Service Central Dallara-Honda looked forward to the 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series season's return to road course. Rahal captured a runner-up spot in the last street course event at Sao Paulo, Brazil. Graham Rahal's teammate Charlie Kimball will be starting his first Honda Indy of Toronto IZOD INDYCAR race in 25th place just ahead of Ana Beatriz.

Behind 6th place's Oriol Servia, former Toronto race winner Sebastien Bourdais greatly changed his fortunes after practice. Driving the Dale Coyne Racing #19 as the series returns to road courses, Frenchman Bourdais added a 7th fastest starting position for Sunday's Honda Indy event.  

The first IZOD INDYCAR race of the year for what is a two-event stretch in Canada, Toronto gives the nation's motorsport fans a chance to intimately cheer on their country's drivers. Totaling three in for 2011, mainstays at the Honda Indy of Toronto Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani were joined by 2011 IZOD INDYCAR rookie contender James Hinchcliffe. A popular young wheel man, Hinchcliffe seated in the #06 car brought an exciting new dimension to the 2011 edition of the race. Hometown fans for the Canadian contingent of drivers were brought to their feet on Friday by the pace of Toronto native James Hinchcliffe in this Newman/Haas Racing. Recording a 4th fastest time in the second practice session of the opening day of track action, the rookie Hinchcliffe could only muster a 13th place run on Saturday. Alex Tagliani in the #77 Sam Schmidt Racing car posted the fastest time by a Canadian driver in qualifying with 9th place. Driving the #8 for Dragon Racing, Paul Tracy launches off 24th on Sunday Make a Wish Foundation Dallara-Honda.

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

As Will Power surges the hopes for a third Penske Racing team victory on the streets of Toronto, the cars of Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves faltered somewhat in qualifying. The #6 of Briscoe starts 10th while Castroneves will take the 13th place on the grid. Crashing out of Honda Indy race in 2010, Toronto has been a tough career race for Helio Castroneves. In fact, the Brazilian's best finish on the race circuit was 10th coming in his CART rookie year in 1998. Ryan Briscoe has better race luck on the Honda Indy track with a runner-up result in the 2009 race.

A three-time winner in 2011 and the reigning Honda Indy champion, the pole position may not seal a certain victory for Will Power. Only 6 times in 24 Indy car-style races on the Toronto street course has the winner started on pole. Dario Franchitti was the last driver to accomplish this feat in 2009.

The 25th year anniversary edition of the Honda Indy Toronto starts tomorrow at 2:50 pm Eastern time.

2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series
Streets of Toronto
Starting Lineup

1. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
2. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
3. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
4. 27 Mike Conway/England/Andretti Autosport
5. 38 Graham Rahal/United States/Chip Ganassi Racing
6. 2 Oriol Servia/Spanish/ Newman/Haas Racing
7. 19 Sebastien Bourdais/France/Dale Coyne Racing
8. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/Andretti Autosport
9. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ Sam Schmidt Racing
10. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
11. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
12. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
13. 06 James Hinchcliffe/Canada/ Newman/Haas Racing
14. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
15. 34 Sebastian Saavedra/Columbia/ Conquest Racing
16. 82 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
17. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland/ HVM Racing
18. 58 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
19. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
20. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
21. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
22. 4 JR Hildebrand/United States/ Panther Racing
23. 18 James Jakes/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
24. 8 Paul Tracy/Canada/Dragon Racing
25. 83 Charlie Kimball/United States/ Chip Ganassi Racing
26. 24 Ana Beatriz/Brazil/ Dreyer & Reinbold

Keselowski Locks Up 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series at Texas

Photo Credit: Autostock via Penske Racing


As Carl Edwards won the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speeday through a green-white checkered run to the finish, attention to the NASCAR Nationwide Series quickly shifted to the 3rd place #22 Dodge driven by Brad Keselowski. Leaving the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge with a 465-point lead over Carl Edwards, Keselowski clinches the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship with two races still left to be run.


On the way to his first NASCAR overall points title, Brad Keselowski's efforts were helped by 24 top-5s along with 27 top-10 finishes. Running at the end of every race, the worst result for the #22 Dodge this season was 21st at Chicagoland Speedway. Accumulating 6 wins on the 2010 season, Brad Keselowski's dedication to a full season in NASCAR Nationwide Series made was pivotal him only 1of 12 drivers have carried out a full Nationwide Series schedule.



Photo Credit: Jonathon Ferrey/ Getty Images for NASCAR

Remembering just 4 seasons ago, Brad Keselowski was an unproven talent without a permanent stock car ride. Keselowski's future changed at O'Reilly Raceway Park when a truck team needed a substitute driver to replace their recently suspended wheelman. Taking pole and leading a considerable number of laps, the performance was enough to attract JR Motorsports to the Michigan native. Entrusted to the #88 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for two full seasons, Keselowski won 6 races but was no match for the division's championship. Finishing 3rd in the points both 2008 and 2009, Brad Keselowski was bested by NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars in previous seasons. For 2010, Keselowski entered the ranks of full-time Sprint Cup Series by signing with Penske Racing but still had unfinished business inside of the Nationwide Series. This year with the support of Penske Racing's farm team, it was the Michigan state driver's turn to claim superiority.


A first title for Brad Keselowski, this championship is also the first in NASCAR for mega owner Roger Penske.

Will Power Wins IZOD IndyCar Race at the Glen

Photo Credit: Steve Swope/ Penske Racing

On a 4th of July afternoon, a northern New York track was alive as the IZOD IndyCar Series trekked to the Watkins Glen International for this year's open wheel event. Competing on the expanded 3.4 mile Grand Prix course, the Sunday Camping World at the Glen held at the 11-turn road course would be the first time in 2 months that the IZOD Indy cars find themselves battling their left and right turns.

Taking pole on Saturday, Penske Racing's #12 Will Power returned to his dazzling road course form after four races of oval racing where the Australian experienced more difficulty than the first four road courses. Power led a 1-2-3 Penske Racing performance in qualifying with Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe assembling themselves in a position to atone for Penske Racing's NASCAR Sprint Cup late race collapse at Daytona the previous night. Starting on the slower but harder Firestone black tires, the Penske Racing group started the race confident to run at the front. In first laps, Briscoe's #6 found his way around Castroneves' #3 with the first non-Penske Racing challenge on the top-3 wouldn't come until lap 4.

Starting on faster, softer red option tires, the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing pair of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti ran down the 3rd place running Castroneves pressuring the Brazilian at one point with a three-wide passing attempt. While the #3 Penske Racing car averted the aggressive Target cars for that instant, Dario Franchitti's #10 car would find his way around Helio Castroneves on lap 6 with Franchitti's #9 teammate of Scott Dixon eager to follow. Through the Esses Dixon thought he saw a chance but ended up colliding with Castroneves. Damaging the #9 car's right front wing plate and the puncturing the left rear of the #3, both cars would continue the race but their early race pit stops required both teams to fall off sequence with the field. Ultimately ending up as a disadvantage dropped them down the leadership late in the Camping World at the Glen running, Helio Castroneves would assess blame to Dixon in post race as "..a little impatience by the #9."

Several newcomers to the 2010 IZOD IndyCar schedule were featured at the Camping World at the Glen race. Starting his first race of the year, Paul Tracy took over the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing #24. Just missing the field for the Indy 500, Tracy's presence at Watkins Glen comes weeks before two races in Canada which he is guaranteed to be a favourite. In this preparation event with the #24 team however, Paul Tracy his way up from 12th to 9th at lap 4 but was dealing with an ill-handling race car deeper into the run which erased those early gains. While the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing crew were able to get the race vehicle more to Tracy's liking later in the race but lost too much distance to become a factor within the event. However, Paul Tracy did have a spirited bout with former A1 Grand Prix driver Adam Carroll. Driving a 5th Andretti Autosport car, team driver Marco Andretti helped the driver get noticed to driver this race as well as the upcoming Mid-Ohio round.

On lap 17, a spin and stall by the #4 car of Dan Wheldon brought out the race's first full course caution. Many drivers pitted to the attention of their pit crews with the #9 of Scott Dixon being one exception to lead the race with #8 KV Racing Technology car of EJ Viso and the FAZZT Race Team #77 driven by Alex Tagliani following, each running on different pit stop strategies. Once the race restarted, the #8 and #77 would pit 6 laps later leaving the participants of the early race incident Dixon and Castroneves in the top-2 spots. As the continued, the #9 and #3 would pit returning the lead to the #12 of Will Power by lap 32.

Following the previous year minor upset victories, the #2 HP de Ferran Dragon Racing team car piloted by Raphael Matos was delivering a strong mid-race emergence from 9th starting spot. In past runnings of the Watkins Glen IndyCar round the race was highlighted by the performance of incredible drivers behind the wheel of non-superteam cars. In 2008, Ryan Hunter-Reay drove to a fierce victory in the last full season of the Rahal-Letterman Racing outing. Last season, Justin Wilson delivered another minor upset to win the race for Dale Coyne Racing delivering the popular long-time owner his first win in top open wheel series. The efforts of Matos in the 2010 Watkins Glen race was complicated since lap 17 when his car's telemetry system malfunctioned. Ending up with a convincingly brilliant finish of 4th at the end, team president Gil de Ferran was quick to credit everyone when the de Ferran Dragon Racing team for the season-best run. “First, the engineers made some great decisions overnight and the crew made the car reliable. Second, we have been struggling lately with pit stops, but the crew was flawless today and even gained us a position on one of the stops. And last but certainly not least, Rafa drove a champion’s race today. He was calm, cool and collected. He was extremely fast all day, running at the same pace as the leaders and attacked when he needed. In short he was flawless and drove a really smart race."

Since winning the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award, Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro has been involved in a fire-filled crash at Texas and another terrible run at Iowa Speedway. Hoping to turn her fortunes back on the road courses would not allow de Silvestro to escape the recent streak of poor runs. At Watkins Glen, he #78 car slid through turn 8 on lap 40 and collided with the inner Armco barrier when she attempted to countersteer through the slide. Alright physically, de Silvestro remarked afterwards "...I tried to make up too much time. I made a mistake." Finishing 24th, this race is one the rookie and the Team Stargate World/HVM Racing organization will be working to put behind them as they head for the Toronto Honda Indy.

On what would be the Camping World at the Glen's final restart, Ryan Briscoe led Will Power out of the pits but the #12 of Power immediately put pressure on Briscoe's #6 car before reaching the bus stop. On lap 46, the #10 car of Dario Franchitti moved past Ryan Briscoe through the bus stop as he then mounted a challenge to Will Power. Looking good early for giving Target/Chip Ganassi Racing a fourth victory at the Watkins Glen IndyCar race, Franchitti would only fall within a second of the #12 on two separate laps. Admitting his used too much of his tires to get up to second place, Dario Franchitti would fall back into the clutches of Ryan Briscoe through the final lap passing the worn #10 car on the frontstretch through the final lap.

Taking victory for the first race since St Petersburg, Will Power drove a quiet, dominant race to keep him out front in the #12 Penske Racing car. Briscoe, Franchitti, Matos and the KV Racing Technology #32 of Mario Moraes rounded out the top-5 at the line.

Scoring the majority of points, Will Power pads his lead for the IZOD IndyCar Series overall standings as well as for road racing points total for the newly-named Mario Andretti Trophy.

As the Penske Racing team finished their celebration at Watkins Glen, the race enters 2011 as a question mark. Presenting a struggle for attracting fans and corporate hospitality, the IZOD IndyCar Series is unlikely to award a fourth of July weekend date next year. Unlike the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series which has heavily-invested corporations ready to sure up Coke Zero 400 hospitality to the event, the IZOD IndyCar Series is struggling to find companies and people willing to work through the July holiday weekend leading many rumours to assume the race is at least going to be moved elsewhere in the 2011 schedule. Other suggest the venue will leave the IZOD IndyCar tour altogether next year.



2010 IZOD IndyCar Series

Camping World at the Glen

Watkins Glen International


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

NASCAR Nationwide Series Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville: Practice Makes Perfect For Keselowski

John Sommers II/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Lee Montgomery
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

LEBANON, Tenn.—Brad Keselowski was one of four drivers pulling double-duty in NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races this weekend. But Keselowski was the only Cup driver to fly from Pocono Raceway to Nashville Superspeedway for Friday practice.

Was it any coincidence that Keselowski won Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race? Keselowski didn't think so.

"It's quite simple: If I didn't come here (Friday), I don't think I would've won the race," Keselowski said after scoring his third Nationwide victory of the season and second of his career at Nashville.

Keselowski came into Nashville with a one-point lead on Kyle Busch, but Busch and third-place Kevin Harvick skipped Nashville and will not run the full season. Keselowski's points lead is now 196 over Busch, with Carl Edwards 277 back in third.

Edwards finished second Saturday, with Paul Menard third, polesitter Justin Allgaier fourth and Mike Bliss fifth.

Edwards, Menard and Michael McDowell are also running both Cup and Nationwide races this weekend, but none were in Nashville on Friday.

Keselowski figures he owes it to his Penske Racing team to show up and practice.

"This team works in the shop on days when I'm sleeping in," Keselowski said. "They work, and they work. They work, and I get all the glory. It's my responsibility to know when it's time for me to get to work.

"Sometimes, it's not always the funnest thing to do or the easiest thing to do. There was a lot of travel (Friday), but it makes it worth it to be sitting here right now."

How was Keselowski's appearance Friday the difference? Crew chief Paul Wolfe said competition is so close that any edge a team can gain makes a big difference.

"One thing we did have going for us was this was the same car we ran here in (April), and we were very fast with it (finishing fifth)," Wolfe said. "That helped, but it's down to fine-tuning to win these races, and you've got to be close to perfect. That's where having Brad here to tune into what he thought he was going to need tonight was part of it.

"That's the kind of effort it's going to take, going back and forth. Obviously, that shows Brad's dedication to the series and winning this championship."

Keselowski qualified 24th and slowly worked his way to the front of the field. He didn't get the lead until after the halfway point but led 97 of the final 100 laps. He was one of several drivers to stay on the track under the race's final caution period, and after a brief tussle with Edwards, Keselowski pulled away for his third win of the season.

Briscoe Two-Steps Past Patrick to Win Texas IndyCar Event

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney


Following the Indy 500, Scot Dario Franchitti is walking on cloud 9 capturing his second Borg-Warner Trophy impression in dominant fashion. On the other side of the fence, the favoured three-car team of Penske Racing faced a surprising meltdown. Suffering a pit road mistakes and a crash to Ryan Briscoe, it was the worst overall Penske performance since the 1995 race where Penske's two-car team of Emerson Fittipaldi and defending race winner Al Unser Jr failed to qualify. With the next 500 mile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a year less a week away, Penske Racing will use the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule as a measure to reassert their dominance.

The early laps of the Firestone 550k at Texas Motor Speedway was the latest edition in the Penske Racing vs. Target Chip Ganassi Racing bout. With Ryan Briscoe leading the first 7 laps from pole, 2010 Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti took the lead wanting an encore performance of last Sunday. Leading 86 laps total through the night, Franchitti would have a strong follow-up to this Indy win at Texas. The first caution came out on lap 57 for KV Racing Technology's #5 of Takuma Sato who collided with the wall within turn 2.

Just 6 days later the Indy 500 wreck which featured Mike Conway suffering a nasty impact with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catch fence, another frightening impact occurred when 2010 Indy 500 Rookie of Year Simona de Silvestro slid into the wall on the backstretch on lap 98. While the impact was not severe, her #78 HVM Racing/Team Stargate Worlds car erupted into flames. With fire rapidly rushing to the cockpit, de Silvestro was in a rush to get out of her car. With the aid of some safety crew workers, Simona de Silvestro was hurriedly extracted from her vehicle. Sustaining a burn to her right hand, de Silvestro was expressing more disappointment in the fact she was unable to fight her loose race car through the laps leading to her crash.

The most significant crash in the Firestone 550k occurred on lap 129. Coming out of turn 4, Helio Castroneves had been setting up the KV Racing Technology #32 car of Mario Moraes to pass on the outside. As the #3 Verizon car began to blaze past Moraes on the outside, the #32 edged up and tangled with the Castroneves. As the two race cars of Castroneves and Moraes would slid down the front tri-oval stretch, the Conquest Racing #36 of Bertrand Baguette would become a casualty to the incident as he attempted to duck between the wrecked cars. As the vehicles of Castroneves and Moraes were still in motion, Baguette clipped both cars suffering race-ending suspension damage. Immediately after getting out of his #3 Penske Racing machine, Helio Castroneves quickly approached Moraes expressing some passionate words of displeasure. After the accident, it was reported that the #32 car did not receive radio communication of Castroneves passing him. In the final results for the Firestone 550k, Helio Castroneves would place 20th for what might amount as a costly night for the overall IZOD IndyCar Series points.



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Through a final round of pit stops proceeding under green, pressure was placed on the crew members and drivers in the late stages of the Firestone 550k at Texas Motor Speedway. Appearing as if they could expect another respectable oval finish in 2010 leading a midway portion of the event, the FAZZT Race Team #77 car driven by Alex Tagliani would see their day go sour on pit road. Through the completion of their pit stop, the #77 car left before the refueling hose was disconnected. FAZZT Race Team fueler Phil McRoberts was struck by the fuel hose but was fortunately unhurt thanks to wearing his helmet (a requirement of all over-the-wall crew member in IRL sanctioned events). However, the FAZZT Race Team would be required to bring Tagliani back into pit lane for a drive-through penalty on the miscue.

As the field cycles through under pit stops, Ryan Briscoe relinquished his lead position for fuel and tires coming down to his Penske Racing pit crew. However, as Briscoe is released back into competition around the 1.5 mile oval, the #7 Andretti Autosport team preformed a stunning pit work for their driver Danica Patrick which allowed her to come out of pit road ahead of Briscoe. As Dan Wheldon and Hideki Mutoh had pit stops upcoming, this fight for third would end up becoming the battle for the race lead and victory. With Patrick briefly able to use her crew's gain on pit road to keep the #7 car ahead of the Penske Racing machine of Briscoe, the #6 car would be relentless charging back on Danica Patrick's car. After several laps of dicing, Ryan Briscoe was able to emerge with the upper hand.

Holding the lead through the final 35 laps, Ryan Briscoe captured a much-needed first win for 2010 after experience a difficult year so far in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The fourth win for Penske Racing on the 2010 tour, all three team drivers have collected at least one victory for the Verizon-sponsored team.

While Team Penske recovered nicely at Texas, the efforts of Andretti Autosport is worth special consideration. Perhaps running her best race since her 2008 win at the Twin-Ring Motegi race in Japan, Danica Patrick gave a consistently strong run for the Godaddy.com #7 car finishing a little more than 1.4 seconds behind Briscoe. Following up his podium run finish at Indy, Marco Andretti secured another 3rd place finish at Texas. the final two Andretti Autosport drivers also made massive gains from their starting spots with Tony Kanaan going from 13th to 6th and Ryan Hunter-Reay improving 17 positions to finish 7th.

Thanks to three races of oval success, Dario Franchitti has overcome the early season lead that Penske Racing's Will Power gained through the road courses. Standing a slight 3 points ahead of Power, 1st through 6th in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series overall championship is separated by only 45 points.

The next race is in two weeks at Iowa Speedway on June 20th.


Firestone 550k 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Final Results
1. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
2. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
3. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
4. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
5. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
6. 11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport
7. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
8. 19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing
9. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
10. 14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises
11. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
12. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
13. 24 Tomas Scheckter/South Africa/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
14. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
15. 67 Sarah Fisher/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing
16. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
17. 34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing
18. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
19. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
20. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
21. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
22. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing
23. 18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing
24. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
25. 5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology
26. 66 Jay Howard/England/ Sarah Fisher Racing

Briscoe Starts on Pole for Saturday's IndyCar Race at Texas

Photo Credit: Steve Swope

The week after Indianapolis race has long been a mainstay event at the Milwaukee Mile oval. Of course, because of issues surrounding promotional rights and financial tie-ups, this traditional stop was stricken from the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule. Instead, the open wheel tour has proceeded to the popular IZOD IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway for the Firestone 550k.

26 cars join the 7th event on the 2010 schedule around the ultra-fast 1.5 mile speedway expanded by the presence of a two-car team from Sarah Fisher Racing. Owner/driver Sarah Fisher is joined by Jay Howard what will be the third race of 2010 (this race will actually be Howard's second start since his car failed to qualify into the Indy 500). Also in the lineup is South Africa's Tomas Scheckter rejoining Dreyer & Reinbold Racing as a substitute for regular Mike Conway. Experiencing a dramatic last lap crash in the Indy 500, the British driver Conway was taken to Methodist hospital following the accident for evaluation. Mike Conway could be out of the race car for 3 months as injury to his thoracic vetebrae was discovered. In a back brace, Conway was thankful to the physicians and medical staff confident he will be back to the track.

Taking the Peak Pole Award, Ryan Briscoe driving the Penske Racing #6 set an average fast lap of 215.273 miles per hour. Briscoe was able to nick the #10 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti. With Briscoe's Texas pole in 2010, all three Team Penske drivers have taken poles in this season's IZOD IndyCar Series.

The top-5 starting positions have all been claimed by the IndyCar superteam cars belonging to Penske Racing and Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. 3rd to 5th through Texas qualifying were Will Power, Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves suggesting that the Saturday night race is geared to be another all-out war between the two dominant operations. While Team Penske, propelled by their new star Will Power, was able to claim three of the four road races that started to the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, the complexion of team dominance has shifted to the red cars of recent races. The collective efforts of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti within the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team have snake-bitten the Verizon Penske machines. With Penske's Helio Castroneves the defending winner, the team intends to use the Firestone 550k as an atonement to their oval racing efforts.

Outside of the Team Penske vs. Target/Chip Ganassi Racing feud, Dale Coyne Racing rookie Alex Lloyd found momentum to break into the Firestone Fast Six with a speed of 214.408 miles per hour for an average lap in the #19 car. In fact, Lloyd wasn't the only surprise in the top 10. Behind the #19 Dale Coyne Racing car, Hideki Mutoh delivered another strong start on an oval for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing with 7th place. Running near the front for much of the Kansas race last month, Mutoh has ambition of finishing prominently at Texas Motor Speedway. Danica Patrick starts a season-high 8th fastest effort in the #7 Godaddy.com car. Patrick leads the Andretti Autosport race effort which sees Marco Andretti in 10th, Tony Kanaan in 13th and Ryan Hunter-Reay starting deep in the field in a 22rd place starting spot.


Firestone 550k
2010 IZOD IndyCar Series
Starting Positions


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

Castroneves Takes Pole Position for 2010 Indy 500

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel

In the past week, IZOD IndyCar teams have been logging laps on the historical 2.5 mile race track in a quest to refine their pursuit for the 94th Indianapolis 500. On Saturday May 22nd, the first true challenge presents the drivers and teams as everyone is going for their maximum speed through a four-lap run.

Started with a brief morning practice, Indy 500 Pole Day officially opened at 11 a.m. with the top-24 starting spots of the classic 2010 Memorial Day weekend race up for grabs . Concluded with a special late day qualifying for the top-9 drivers at 4:30 p.m. called the Fast Nine. Triumphant for the day, the #3 Penske Racing car of Helio Castroneves lit up the 2010 Indy 500 Pole Day with a white-hot run. Exceeding 228 miles per hour in two of his four laps within his Fast-Nine qualifying attempt, Castroneves average four-lap speed was 227.970 miles per hour. "Sitting in that car for an hour in half was not easy at all, especially with everyone getting closer and closer. I was like, 'Are we going or not?' because I can't handle that much pressure." were thoughts in the mind of Helio Castroneves through the Fast-Nine qualifying.

Mounting the closest offensive to capture the pole was Helio Castroneves' teammate Will Power. Driving the #12 Penske Racing car, Power lacked 4/10th of a mile per hour within the combined four-lap qualifying speed average. With fastest practice times pegged just above 227 through the week, it seems to imply that the Penske bunch were holding something back through at Indy. Not in the 226 mile per hour club but still strong for Penske, the third car to the Verizon Penske Racing trio would be firmly planted 4th after qualifying with 226.554 mile per hour attempt.

In touch with the Verizon-sponsored cars enough to ruin a 1-2-3 effort for Penske Racing, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing has placed their two-cars within the first two rows. Dario Franchitti in the #10 car will start in 3rd place for the Indy 500 with an average 226.990 mile per hour four-lap qualifying adventure. Unlike the practice session at the race track through the week, Franchitti outran his teammate in the #9 Target car. Scott Dixon settles for 6th place after saying in an interview prior that "The pole is not the end-all to the race."

With Penske Racing and Target/Chip Ganassi Racing taking 5 of the 6 spots of the first two rows, an interloper to this fight was the FAZZT Race Team #77 car driven by Canadian Alex Tagliani. Before the Fast-Nine, Tagliani said "I have to credit the amazing group at the shop. The guys put together a good car. They put their passion, their love into it, and they're willing to stay an hour extra to make sure everything is fine-tuned. The chemistry is fantastic. Everybody feels like they're a part of the result." Indeed, the FAZZT Race Team has found themselves in operating in unison to become the best of the rest outside of the dominant IZOD IndyCar superteams for Indy 500 pole day qualifying.

Determined through the Saturday qualifying, the third row of the 2010 Indy 500 features three cars who experienced a fairy tale time trial results. Leading the group was the one-off effort of Graham Rahal driving a #30 Rahal/Letterman Racing car. An eager young American driver wanting to reclaim a full-time ride in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Rahal is remaining appreciated to the effort of the #30 team. "I think for us it's great to see. I think we're all surprised. None of us expected to be, you know, a tenth of a mile per hour off of Scott Dixon. I think that shows, though, the potential of this team." Graham Rahal said. Another Indy 500 effort was Ed Carpenter driving a car fielded in cooperation with his past Vision Racing team and Panther Racing. As Carpenter makes his first start of 2010 in the Indy 500, he joins Rahal in not only desiring a top Indy 500 finish but a ride for the remainder of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule. Hideki Mutoh sailed his #06 Newman/Haas/ Lanigan Racing car to 9th fastest tying the Japanese driver's best qualifying effort from 2008.

Having been a consistent top-10 car through practice and a pre-Pole Day favourite, Tony Kanaan's efforts of a top qualifying run at Indy were swept away on Saturday. Coming out of turn 1 through his qualifying run, Kanaan's #11 Seven/Eleven car lost traction and slid along the track making moderate rear end contact with the straightaway's outside wall. The Brazilian stepped out of his damaged Andretti Autosport car unhurt but suffered pain from the lost qualifying opportunity. To see video of the accident, please refer to the web link to IZOD IndyCar Series' Youtube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/indycars#p/u/0/2DeV8IIymW4. Mario Moraes crashed in his #32 KV Racing Technology car in his qualifying attempt swiping the rear wing into the outer wall. As with Kanaan, the damage to Moraes was too suffer for the team's crew to repair.



Photo Credit: Robert Ellis

With the Andretti Autosport #11 car of Tony Kanaan experienced a disappointing end to his Pole Day hopes, his fellow Andretti Autosport team finished the Saturday qualifying session shaking their heads confusion. Showing competitive pace in the practice sessions, the fastest entrant from the team was Marco Andretti who grabbed the 16th spot for the Indy 500 in his #26 . Calling his first qualifying attempt "pathetic", Andretti would eventually settle on a four-lap average qualifying run of 224.575 miles per hour. In 17th place, Ryan Hunter-Reay's IZOD-sponsored #37 car closely mirrored his Andretti Autosport teammate.

Danica Patrick has previously been a solid qualifier within the front rows of Indianapolis 500 events. Unfortunately in 2010, Patrick struggled terribly in qualifying finally to hold on for a 224.217 mile per hour four-lap qualifying run. "I was shaking for minutes after I got out of the car. I know a lot of people are saying they're loose but, I'm sure they are for sure, but this is such an uncomfortable imbalance. It's just uncomfortable." Patrick said unsatisfied with the result but guaranteed in the 2010 Indy 500 in 23rd place.

The 2010 Indy 500 pole brings Castroneves' career first place starting spots at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to four. Contributing also to team owner Roger Penske's tally, the legendary motorsport businessman will watch the Indy 500 start for the 16th time with one of his cars leading off the field Sunday.

With 24 drivers securing their positions in the 2010 Indy 500 during Saturday's Pole Day, other notables making their way into the race through today's qualifying includes three Indy 500 rookies Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro and Bertrand Baguette. Tomorrow, the remaining drivers will compete for the final 9 spots in the 2010 Indy 500 in a scenario called Bump Day.


2010 Indy 500 Qualifying (1-24) Indianapolis Motor Speedway IZOD IndyCar Series

1. 3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing
2. 12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing
3. 10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
4. 6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing
5. 77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team
6. 9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
7. 20 Ed Carpenter/United States/ Panther Racing
8. 30 Graham Rahal/United States/ Rahal Letterman Racing
9. 06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
10. 99 Townsend Bell/United States/ Chip Ganassi Racing/Sam Schmidt Motorsports
11. 22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
12. 2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports
13. 32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology
14. 21 Davey Hamilton/United States/ de Ferran Dragon Racing
15. 24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
16. 26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport
17. 37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport
18. 4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing
19. 8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology
20. 23 Tomas Scheckter/South Africa/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
21. 25 Ana Beatriz/Brazil/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
22. 78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing
23. 7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport
24. 36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing

Countdown to Indy (#10): The Last Before Indy 500 Pole Day

Photo Credit: General Motors


Pardon me for not adding to the Countdown yesterday. I will make up for the countdown as the Indy 500 draws near.

The day 6 Thursday practice session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the IZOD IndyCar concluded with drivers able to make of a little more than 3 of the 6 hours allotted to them on-track. After being a stable presence in the top-10 through all previous days of practice at Indy, Andretti Autosport's Tony Kannan saw able to see his name presented at the top of the speed chart. The KV Racing Technology #15 car of Paul Tracy placed a 2nd fastest time on the session in front of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's Hideki Mutoh.

On Friday, drivers and teams anxiously took to the track knowing this practice session is the prelude to Indy 500 Pole Day. Amongst a total of 6 interruptions for rain, 36 cars set times on the 2.5 mile speedway. Regaining the top spot on the practice sheet, Helio Castroneves once again shows the him and his #3 Penske Racing is in firm contention for a fourth Indianapolis 500 win. "Certainly with the conditions we had today, we put all of our focus on qualifying. You want to make sure you get a clean run in and try to simulate a qualifying run as closely as possible. We're fast and we're pushing to the limit and trying to make sure that we're comfortable for tomorrow." Castroneves said.

Pushing a 226.558 mile per hour average lap time, Castroneves was joined closely by #12 Penske teammate Will Power. After showing some difficulty early in keeping up with his Brazilian teammate, Power his steadily climbed up the speed ladder to a best ranking on Friday.

As a first year team, the #77 FAZZT Race Team has united experienced crew members, a seasoned race engineer and a highly-capable driver to be a competitive car. Particularly in the later practice days, Canadian Alex Tagliani has been on cloud nine setting laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jovial about his chances on Pole Day, Tagliani pays about of credit to his team. "Last night I was in the garage by myself waiting for an interview and looking at the car, just going around and looking at every detail. I had to write my boys a note and tell them, 'Thank you so much for building this baby,' because just looking at the car makes me speechless."

Having made strong showings through the week of practice, the #9 car of Scott Dixon placed 4th fastest on the final full-day of track preparations with Tony Kanaan set in 6th place Friday. Leading the way for Andretti Autosport, Tony Kanaan is thinking big picture with the #11 team. "As a team, I think we did what we could. I'm obviously concentrating on tomorrow, but the real thing is a week from Sunday." Kanaan said post-practice.

Taking the past 6 active days of qualifying, I have accounted for each driver's average placement through the week to obtain a general understanding for which teams are certain to be a threat not only for the Indy 500 pole but the race as well. Without much surprise, the #3 Penske Racing car of Helio Castroneves leads with #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon in close tow. Please refer to the chart below to see the average standings of all the potential 2010 Indy 500 starters.

Starting tomorrow, Indy 500 Pole Day one begin to bring some drivers closer to the Borg-Warner Trophy while others may find themselves spectators to the 94th running of magnificent event missing only a crucial mile per hour.

Driver/Team	Day1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Average Placement
			Day Practice Canceled Due to Rain
3 Helio Castroneves/Brazil/ Penske Racing	1	1		8	8	4	1	3.83
9 Scott Dixon/New Zealand/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	3	2		1	1	13	4	4
11 Tony Kanaan/Brazil/ Andretti Autosport	5	5		6	7	1	6	5
12 Will Power/Australia/ Penske Racing	11	4		9	6	7	2	6.5
26 Marco Andretti/United States/ Andretti Autosport	8	9		3	12	4	8	7.33
10 Dario Franchitti/Scotland/ Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	2	3		7	5	20	9	7.67
77 Alex Tagliani/Canada/ FAZZT Race Team		24		4	3	8	3	8.4
32 Mario Moraes/Brazil/ KV Racing Technology	12	6		2	10	17	5	8.67
06 Hideki Mutoh/ Japan/ Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing		15		14	4	3	13	9.8
6 Ryan Briscoe/Australia/ Penske Racing	9	8		19	2	16	7	10.17
4 Dan Wheldon/England/ Panther Racing	4	7		5	31	5		10.4
30 Graham Rahal/United States/ Rahal Letterman Racing		10		20		9	11	12.5
21 Davey Hamilton/United States/ de Ferran Dragon Racing				24	14	10	18	16.5
99 Townsend Bell/United States/ Chip Ganassi Racing/Sam Schmidt Motorsports		12		23	9	29	10	16.6
20 Ed Carpenter/United States/ Panther Racing	7	23		21	13	11	25	16.67
14 Vitor Meira/Brazil/ AJ Foyt Racing Enterprises	17	11		16	15	24	20	17.17
15 Paul Tracy/Canada/KV Racing Technology	27	21		11	34	2	17	18.67
78 Simona De Silvestro/Switzerland HVM Racing				10	24	15	26	18.75
43 John Andretti/United States/ Richard Petty/Andretti Autosport	10	20		13	20	19	31	18.83
5 Takuma Sato/Japan/ KV Racing Technology		17		26	18	12	22	19
41 A.J. Foyt IV/United States/ A.J. Foyt Racing Enterprises		14		12	32	22	16	19.2
2 Raphael Matos/Brazil/ Luczo Dragon/de Ferran Motorsports	18	18		25	19	18	19	19.5
22 Justin Wilson/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	26	16		18	16	31	21	21.33
7 Danica Patrick/United States/ Andretti Autosport	14	13		30	21	28	28	22.33
24 Mike Conway/England/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	23	30		33	23	14	14	22.83
66 Jay Howard/England/ Sarah Fisher Racing				15	29	21	29	23.5
37 Ryan Hunter-Reay/United States/ Andretti Autosport	22	27		17	28	23	24	23.5
19 Alex Lloyd/England/ Dale Coyne Racing	24	26		32	22	30	12	24.33
36 Bertrand Baguette/Belgium/ Conquest Racing		31		22	25	27	23	25.6
8 EJ Viso/Venezuela/ KV Racing Technology	19	17		27		36	32	26.2
25 Ana Beatriz/Brazil/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing		22		31	17	26	36	26.4
23 Tomas Scheckter/South Africa/ Dreyer & Reinbold Racing		25		28	26	34	27	28
67 Sarah Fisher/United States/ Sarah Fisher Racing	20	19		29	33	33	34	28
34 Mario Romancini/Brazil/ Conquest Racing		28		34	30	25	30	29.4
33 Bruno Junqueira/Brazil/ FAZZT Race Team						32		32
18 Milka Duno/Venezuela/ Dale Coyne Racing	21	32		36	35	37	33	32.33
29 Sebastian Saavedra/Columbia/ Bryan Herta Autosport		33		35	27	35	36	33.2
27 TBA/TBA/ AFS Racing								#VALUE!
98 TBA/TBA/ Curb/Agajanian/Team 3G								#VALUE!