Helio Heats Up St Petersburg in 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Opener

Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing

A fixture on the early season of the IZOD INDYCAR Series since 2005, the 2012 edition of the St Petersburg street race had never received so much dedicated focus as it has when the brand new Dallara DW12 vehicles hit the 14-turn, 1.8-mile circuit. The first race for what will be the new look of the IZOD INDYCAR Series, the racing tour left 2011 mourning the loss of a two-time champion Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon. With many memorials setup around the temporary street course (including the naming of one stretch of street as 'Dan Wheldon Way'), the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg would be initiated by a green flag from Dan Wheldon's sister Holly.

Demonstrating true dominance early in the weekend, Chevrolet powerplants began to show some serious muscle early into the IZOD INDYCAR Series' first "Engine war" since 2005. Chevy-powered Team Penske #12 car of Will Power took pole while teammate Ryan Briscoe's #2 machine joined him on this monumental front row. As the top-5 in Saturday's qualifying were all Chevrolet powered Dallaras, the powerplants from Honda and Lotus would use 100 laps in Sunday's Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg as a chance to mount an offensive on the "Bowtie Brigade".
The first caution of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season was entered on lap 13 of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg when the #6 Lotus-powered machine of Katherine Legge lost power on the frontstretch. Part of the Lotus-Dragon Racing team, Legge would return to the race competition only to later fall victim to her vehicle shutting down. Katherine Legge's #6 car ended parked near the exit of pit road but out of harm's way. A two-car team the second Dallara DW12 vehicle of Sebastien Bourdais would also encounter misfortune in his first event back to full-time competition in United States open wheel racing for 2012.

With Will Power handed early advantage at the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg by virtue of his pole win, the event was seemingly the Australian's race to lose. After leading the first 11 laps of the race, the #12 Team Penske car pitted early and lost touch with the front of the field. Initially surrendering the lead to teammate Ryan Briscoe, Will Power would be unable to contend with the front pack at any other point in the IZOD INDYCAR opener. "We just got shuffled back a bit there after the first pit stop and we just couldn't make up the ground we needed. It was very tough to pass." said Power who settled with a 7th place finish in the first IZOD INDYCAR Series event for 2012.

Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing

Four laps following the completion of the Hond Grand Prix of St Petersburg's first caution period, the yellow flag was displayed once again when James Jakes nosed the #19 car into the turn 10 tire barrier.

Also during the second caution, Tony Kanaan slowed to a stop in his #11 Chevrolet-engined car for KV Racing Technology. An electrical voltage drop was recorded by the Brazilian driver commenting in post-race, "From Lap 1 I started to get the low voltage alarm. I don't know if, I think it was the alternator. I could tell it was the battery because my dash went blank, and with the electronic nowadays you cannot pull out of gear, if the dash is not working." Finishing so strong at the 2011 race as a first time outing for KV Racing Technology, Kanaan's 2012 St Petersburg race ended after just 21 laps. New car gremlins seemingly bit the KV Racing Tachnology car of former Formula 1 star Rubens Barrichello. While Barrichello completed all but two laps, the Brazilian's #8 car fuel meter issue contributed to the car running out of fuel. When the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg concluded, there was seven recorded mechanical problems in the final result. It appeared that new car blues had plagued the wide range of teams and even cars using all three engine companies.

In the early stage of second caution, the lead changed once again when Briscoe pitted. The #9 Target/Chip Ganassi Racing of Scott Dixon took over the race. After starting the race in 6th place, Scott Dixon (the highest-positioned Honda at the beginning of this event) would lead 37 laps on the day. Dixon's performance at the front was a major difference from the effectiveness of teammate and reigning IZOD INDYCAR champ Dario Franchitti. Stationed in the middle of the field for much of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Franchitti fell to 13th place after running out of fuel on the last corner in the final lap. 
After a segment where the St Petersburg race was led by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's #15 car piloted by Takuma Sato, a crucial pass by the #3 car of Helio Castroneves on Scott Dixon set the Brazilian onto the course for his first win since 2010. Leading for 28 laps including the final 25, Castroneves' Team Penske car survived contact with the #20 car of Ed Carpenter to pull out a 5.5-second interval on Dixon to go on to victory at the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg. By winning, Helio Castroneves gives a Chevrolet engine it's first victory lane appearance sine Nashville of 2005. In post-race, Castroneves commented on his race saying "No question, these guys are awesome, Ryan (Briscoe) and Will (power), and for me it's a great Chevy-power group, it's been always consistent. It might not be the quickest, but I did say out loud, 'If I start in the top six, I'll win this race.' And we did it, we are here in Victory Circle."

Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing

Shortly after taking the checkered flag, Helio Castroneves made a personal gesture to a fallen competitor when he brought his #3 Shell/Pennzoil-sponsored Team Penske car to a stop along turn 10. Climbing out of his race vehicle shortly after his IZOD INDYCAR race win, Castroneves leaped the fence along Dan Wheldon Way. Giving his former competitor a thoughtful salute, the emotional Brazilian driver talked about his impromptu tribute. "You can never question God's mysteries, and today for me, I ended up stopping [my car] on Turn 10, and honestly I did not plan it, it was just the way it happened, and there was the sign Dan Wheldon Way. So for me, and for all of us, the drivers and the fans, not having him here certainly we'll miss. But we've got to remember him as he lived, the way he lived, and continue to pray for his family." said Helio Castroneves.

With Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon finishing in the top-two spots in the debut event for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series, the next two positions were dominated by Andretti Autosport cars using Chevy power. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 3rd while James Hinchcliffe equalled his best ever series result with a 4th place run. Rounding out the top-five was the Penske entry driven by Ryan Briscoe.

Photo Credit: Steve Swope for Penske Racing

Other honourable mentions in the results of the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg reveals Simon Pagenaud as the highest finishing rookie contender with a fine 6th place with the #77 Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports car. Moving up 13 positions during the course of the 100-lap event to finish 9th, sophomore driver Charlie Kimball took part in a strong opening race with his Chip Ganassi Racing team. In 15th place, Canada's Alex Tagliani scored the highest final result for a Lotus-engined Dallara.

With Helio Castroneves putting a cherry on top of the sundae for Team Penske's delightful 2012 IZOD  INDYCAR start, the series leaves St Petersburg ready to take on Barber Motorsports Park.



2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg 
Race Results

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

Will Power Puts Chevy Power onto St Petersburg Pole

Photo Credit: Steve Swope

Competing with their brand new Dallara chassis race cars, qualifying for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg represented the a major milestone for teams and drivers of the IZOD INDYCAR Series. A chance to claim the honour and technical advantage of being the first driver to master the open wheel series' new specifications, the 2012 contenders of the IZOD INDYCAR Series looked forward to mount a strong offensive.

After the first qualifying session for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series on the streets of St Petersburg, there is a sense of whatever old is new again as Team Penske's road warrior took pole position. Lapping the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street course at 1-minute, 1.3721-seconds, Power's #12 Penske Racing car was a little more than half a second faster than his pole-winning time in the 2011 St Petersburg event. "It's a good start. It's only the beginning of the weekend. We need to have a good strategy for the race and see what comes." said Power in post-race.

Will Power's pole with Chevrolet power for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg was the first time since July of 2005 that the Bowtie brand would take an INDYCAR field to green. The start of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg race for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Season will also be the first in 18 years that a Chevrolet-badged engine powers the pole-sitter at a road course. Emerson Fittipaldi put a Roger Penske-owned car on the top starting spot at the Grand Prix of Monterey at the end of 1993.

For an all-Team Penske front row, Ryan Briscoe's #2 Dallara DW12 was little more than 2/10ths of a second slower than Will Power. A 2009 winner of the St Petersburg INDYCAR Series event, Briscoe's victory was one of four by Team Penske machines.

By using the first 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series qualifying session as a judge, it appears the brand new Chevrolet V-6 INDYCAR engine has promptly reached its performance zenith. Along with supplying power for the pole-winning Will Power's Penske Racing Dallara and his teammate Briscoe's car, seven of the top-10 in qualifying for the St Petersburg event were Bowtie-wearing entries. Also running Chevrolet engines, the second row for the Sunday street race will feature an Andretti Autosport duo. Drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay in 3rd and James Hinchcliffe in 4th separates the third Team Penske of Helio Castroneves from his front-row starting teammates.

French INDYCAR rookie Simon Pagenaud ushered the #77 Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports Honda-powered Dallara into the Firestone Fast Six. Ended up 6th fastest after qualifying, Pagenaud was the quickest Honda in the time trial session. However, the #77 will be assessed a 10-grid position penalty for an unapproved engine change during practice.

For what is likely Honda's top team, Target Chip Ganassi and the other Chip Ganassi Racing two-car organizations were based around the mid-pack in qualifying. Qualifying 7th, Scott Dixon will inherit 6th place on the grid from after Pagenaud's penalty. Reigning IZOD INDYCAR champion Dario Franchitti will begin his title defense in 9th place on Sunday. Admitting that the Target Chip Ganassi team missed the set-up in qualifying for the first 2012 event, Franchitti uttered in post-qualifying interview, "I don't think its by accident the Chevy guys were up there. We'll just keep our heads up and get the work done. We still have some tricks up our sleeve.". In the Chip Ganassi Racing #38, Granham Rahal was 11th fastest in practice disappointed with his effort on Saturday. Finally, sophomore IZOD INDYCAR Series Charlie Kimball had major struggles to end up 22nd in the time trials.

While Chevrolet and Honda engined cars appeared competitive, questions surround the Lotus engined drivers. The highest starting competitor to be running a Lotus-powered Dallara DW12 will be Alex Tagliani in 17th spot. Starting at the back of the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg is the two-car Lotus-Dragon Recing cars of Katherine Legge and Sebastien Bourdais. While the Lotus-powered INDYCAR teams for 2012 appear to show an engine that is off-pace, their customers consist largely of developing teams without the thick notebooks as the established teams running Chevrolet and Honda powerplant.

The premiere event for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series season, the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg will be set to start at 12:30 PM Eastern time Sunday.


2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg
Streets of St Petersburg
Qualifying Results

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

Preview: 2012 INDYCAR Series Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/XSL Speed Reporter

The Notes and Know:

The season-opening race for the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series will the site for a multitude of firsts. Not only will the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg be the first event for the new season, the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series event will be the first race with the all-new Dallara DW12 race chassis as well as the return of engine competition as Chevrolet and Lotus set to do battle with established player Honda Racing Development.

With a 26-car field arriving to compete in the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, there are veteran drivers in new team colours and rookie drivers set to get initiated with their first IZOD INDYCAR open wheel series competition on Sunday March 25th. Canadian driver and 2011 IZOD INDYCAR Series Rookie of the Year James Hinchcliffe joins the top-flite operation of Andretti Autosport. Hinchcliffe's teammate of 2011 Oriol Servia is now driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.  Two-time pole winner in 2011, Takuma Sato sailed to Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing as KV Racing Technology shifted from Honda to Chevrolet power in 2012. Some notable newcomers to the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series tour at St Petersburg is English driver and former Champ car contender Katherine Legge as well as long-time Formula 1 superstar Rubens Barrichello.

Still residing in the same teams from last year, Tony Kanaan and Ryan Briscoe take on new numerical identities in 2012. KV Racing Technology regains Tony Kanaan's #11 the Brazilian held during his long tenure at Andretti Autosport spanning from 2003 ending in 2010. Penske Racing swaps the number of Ryan Briscoe's car from #6 to #2 in 2012. Not only does Penske Racing hold the #2 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, the organization has enjoyed success with the number through open wheel racing. In the CART/Champ car series, Gil de Ferran won the 2000 championship riding the #2 on his vehicle.

St Petersburg will also be the first INDYCAR event since the tragic loss of Dan Wheldon on lap 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The transplanted home of the late INDYCAR superstar, Wheldon's memory has been honoured earlier this month with naming of the turn 10 component of the St Petersburg street course as "Dan Wheldon Way". There is also future plans for a permanent monument to Wheldon's racing and life achievements added to the St Petersburg area.


Track Vitals:

St Petersburg, Florida

Track Type: 14-turn temporary road course
Track Distance: 1.8 Miles
Race Length: 100 laps/180 miles
Race Time: 12:30 PM Eastern

2011 Defending Race Winner: Dario Franchitti



2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series
Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg
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	Simon 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

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

Photo Credit: Chris Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Photo Credit: Steve Swope

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

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

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

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

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

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

Power Produces IZOD IndyCar Pole on Streets of St Petersburg

Photo Credit: Dan Helrigel/IndyCar

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

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

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

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



Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

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

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

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

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


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

Pos #| Car #| Driver/Team

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

Preview: 2010 IZOD IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg

Photo Credit: Ron McQueeney

Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg

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

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

2009 Polesitter: Graham Rahal

2009 Podium

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


2010 IndyCar Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg Entry List

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

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.