Auto Club Speedway Hosted Q And A With Dario Franchitti Of Target Chip Ganassi Racing

August 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti unveiled culinary creations that will be available for purchase at the Drivers Cuisine Cantina during the MAVTV 500 INDYCAR World Championships at Auto Club Speedway. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series


Auto Club Speedway Hosted Q And A With Dario Franchitti Of Target Chip Ganassi Racing

We are joined by four-time IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Dario Franchitti, who drives for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. After winning the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship three years in a row, posting a season leading five pole positions in 12 races of a 15 race season (second is Will Power with three), winning the Indy500, and needing one more win to become the exclusive seventh all-time winningest driver in American open-wheel racing history here during the first season of the DW12 formula chassis. Let me intorduce myself, I’m Edmund Jenks (please call me Ed), and welcome to Motorsports Unplugged.

Hello, Ed.

There have been a few changes this season in American open-wheel racing, probably more changes than most seasons, what with the chassis, additional engine suppliers, a new director at Race Control and the rules that govern on-track relationships between drivers, technology nuances like push-to-pass and its many applications … and finally, rules that govern the supply and performance of the new turbo-charged engines.

Question #1a – How has the change in attitude and management styles at Race Control – this includes Beaux Barfield and the entire staff – affected your approach and preparation to races this year? What one thing or area of race management stands out in your mind?

I don’t think anything has really changed with the race management, it’s just not any different, really. Ummm, definitely, the last group under Brian Barnhart did a good job and Beaux’s continued that, Ummm so I haven’t looked like a difference there … as you have mentioned, Ed, everything is different though, with the new cars, the DW12, the engine suppliers, the engine war between Honda and Chevy going on its really been a whole fresh start for the IndyCar Series and, its not that there have not been teething problems but has brought some great racing.

Question #1b - Yeah, it really been amazing the way, I guess, the cars have been able to mix it up over the old formula, although you did kinda’ clip the wing in this last race (at Mid Ohio). In general the chassis seems very strong.

I hope that the chassis is strong, definately with the side-to-side contact and the design of the car now with the body work its eliminated some issues, Ummm trust me, the car is far from perfect, there’s some issues with the suspension that when we put on the brakes that we definitely like to sort out but that cut in the wing at Mid Ohio was totally my fault and nothing to do with it (the suspension), the new design, just me makin’ a mistake in judgement. 

So, otherwise though, I think its performed quite well, obviously love some more horsepower from the engines if the series would allow us run more with something … but the Honda has done a great job at gettin’ some good horsepower that was fixed this year.

Question #2 – In this late season section of races, we have seen the implementation of Push-to-Pass – we have also seen its implementation take on a few technology wrinkles like 100 seconds to be used whenever as opposed to 10 second spurts – and a delay added to the reaction time when the button is pushed. Most people I talk with are confused, do you have an understanding of this tool and what would be your recommendation on how it might be used … if at all.

I think there’s a bit of a plus on that – I think the push-to-pass is a good thing, but at the same point that if both cars are on the push-to-pass, or on the overtaking, if you want to call it that, then it negates the whole thing, so we have to do something to change that, but we have to be careful not to be too gimmicky I would say. With the five second delay that is attached to it? – that when you press it you have to wait five seconds to activate, you … it will only activates when you go full throttle … we get some teething problems with that. Ummm, we can’t make it too complicated otherwise the fans will ahh won’t understand, I would say, they won’t understand the intricacies with it … the casual fan, anyway, not the hardcore fan will.

They are tryin’ stuff and I like the fact they are mixing up trying to improve the racein’ for the fans, and umm it probably needs a little bit of work but we’ll get there.

Question #3 – Your brother, Marino Franchitti, is a talented and winning driver in his own right. His latest project has him developing a new concept in a racing platform known as the DeltaWing. A little less than a week ago, word was released that the Panoz developed, Nissan-powered and supported DeltaWing joined the competition of constructors vying for the contract to supply the new 2014 Indy Lights car. What do you think of the DeltaWing? Being that it was originally developed and considered in the competition that was eventually was won by the new DW12 here in the IndyCar Series, would you have preferred driving the DeltaWing as opposed to the DW12?

It was an interesting position to be in because my boss, and Scott Dixon’s boss, the boss of the Target team, Chip Ganassi … he was the guy who put up the money to develop the DeltaWing – and ummm – when I first saw it, it was totally unbelievable, I thought this thing is not going to work. I’m really not sure about it. So when it became a project for Le Mans and Marino found out that it worked in the turns and he said it drove pretty much just like a normal car but the performance was far exceeded and umm if they really get a chance to work on that with differentials and stuff, the performance of that car with only 300 horsepower it would be really significant.

I know it was a shame that they got taken out at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was a real shame the way it ended there.

As far as Indy Lights, I think it would be a very interesting thing to have that as the car. The future … would that train the future IndyCar drivers in the best possible way? I don’t know.

Question #4 – How has the issues surrounding engine hours, engine changes, and the 10-spot penalty in qualifications effected your season and will it be a factor in closing out your season?

Ahh we’ve had a couple of engine issues. You know, the guys at Honda continue to absolutely improve the envelope – to get the most power, the best fuel consumption, and the possible improvement on a couple of issues since Iowa (the rest of the answer became inaudible).

I think I’m on my 5th engine, I have one engine to go (more break up).

Question #5 – You are tied with Sebastien Bourdais (the only other active four-time IndyCar open wheel champion) and Paul Tracy for seventh all-time winning-est drivers – besides wanting to hold this seventh position exclusively, what other goals do you have in IndyCar and are there other racing goals outside of open wheel racing that you would like to pursue?

Obviously I have great pride in all of those wins, and the three Indianapolis 500s and the four championships, I’d like to have more wins, absolutely, especially at Indianapolis. But eventually I would love to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans I really think that is a race I’d like to do.

Dario, thank you for your reflections on this 2012 season and we wish you great success in your Honda-powered DW12 at the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Grand Prix of Baltimore, and the season ending MAV TV 500 mile race at Auto Club Speedway there in Fontana  – thanks for joining us here at Motorsports Unplugged.

… notes from The EDJE

 

 

 

** Article first published as Auto Club Speedway Hosted Q And A With Dario Franchitti Of Target Chip Ganassi Racing on Technorati **

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Pivotal #EdmontonIndy May Prove P2P Strategy Key To Winning

July 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Edmonton Indy race start last year – The secret to the IndyCar engine’s success is how its twin turbochargers boost performance and throttle response. With the ability to reach 12,000 rpm, the power plant is the highest-revving direct injection engine in current racing competition. Image Credit: Edmonton Indy (2011)

Pivotal #EdmontonIndy May Prove P2P Strategy Key To Winning

Going into the 11th race in a shortened 15 race season, the driver’s championship is as competitive as ever. Ryan Hunter-Reay has vaulted into first place after winning three straight races, while the Franchitti, who won his fourth drivers’ championship in 2011, has struggled. He’s in eighth spot, 13 points ahead of Briscoe.

The last two years ended in disappointment for the Penske driver, Will Power, who ended up in P2 on the last race of the season, and up until he lost his left front tire to a Josef Newgarden weakened broken wing section that came off and caused a puncture, he looked as though he would be able to retain the points lead built upon with three season wins of his own.

Last year, Will Power was behind Dario Franchitti and needing a win to get back into contention after loosing points in Toronto. This year, Power is pretty much in the same position but this time his chief rival is Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay who is ahead by 34 points by winning on two ovals and one road course. The Achilles heel for Penske and Will Power in securing a championship has always been ovals. Edmonton represents a must win situation as it did last year for Will Power but all things are not the same.

First off, we find ourselves in the infancy of the DW12 era with new engines. It appears that this new chassis outfitted with the Chevrolet engine, performs a little better than the Honda engine under racing conditions. Of the top five drivers in the points chase, four of the five are powered by Chevrolet engines (P1 – Ryan Hunter-Reay, P2 – Will Power, P3 – Helio Castroneves, P5 – James Hinchcliffe). The only Honda to spoil the “bowtie” party for the championship is Scott Dixon in P5.

Secondly, the IZOD IndyCar Series has decided to add another wrinkle into the mix for Street/Road courses – of which four of the last five races are to be contested. This driver controlled element to performance is called Push-to-Pass or P2P. These new engines are outfitted with a turbo-charger which boosts additional power through compression to the engine and the P2P gives each driver additional boost controlled by a button on the steering wheel for a total of 100 seconds.

City Centre Raceway – last year known as Rexall Edmonton Indy Speedway – Edmonton City Centre Airport IndyCar race track configuration detail – pre-2011 in yellow / 2011 configuration in blue [ctrl-click image for "A virtual lap of the Edmonton Indy" video]. Image Credit: GrabBagSports.com (2011)

The reason P2P is very important to a driver’s strategy at Edmonton is because of the unique character of the new layout introduced just last year (so the contending drivers have seen the track before). The track is a 2.25 mile temporary road course set up on an airport runway/tarmac in Edmonton.

The course is unusual in that it tracks counter-clockwise and features 13 turns, a nasty hairpin turn that separates two long straights made from a landing/takeoff runway, and another slightly curved straight that dives into another situation similar to ” Turn 3″ at the end of the only high speed straight in Toronto.

Turn 1 out of the pits and at the end of the long straight past the Start/Finish line (the longest of the new layout). The corner is an unusual left hand power turn (120%) that leads to a speed section with a slight right-hand kink at Turn 2 and a high-speed left/right jig at turns 3 and 4.

The second kinked straight ends at Turn 5 in another hard left-hand turn (curved 180%) that tracks through a curvy section that was used in the previous layout.

Lastly, starting at turns 10 and 11, a long 150 mph straight made from a landing/takeoff runway that ends in a nasty hairpin at turn 13 that starts the process over again with the longest straight (3/4th of a mile – nearly 200 mph) in this course.

Whoever has the best strategy to manage and where to engage the 100 seconds of P2P just may end up having the advantage on this course.

Again, turns #1, #5, and #13 are pivotal to the fortunes (or lack thereof) of these teams and drivers and the  Edmonton Indy is uniquely situated in the season, with just 5 races left, to set the tone to the end – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Grand Prix of Baltimore, and the season finale at Auto Club Speedway.

… notes from The EDJE

Event Information:

Edmonton Indy, Edmonton, AB, City Centre Raceway, Knockout Qualifications, ending with the Firestone Fast Six – 2:00 to 3:15PM ET Sat. July 21, Race Coverage – 11:00AM to 4:00PM ET Sun. July 22 on NBC Sports Network

UPDATE – Reset Grid Assignments:

With this morning’s warmup in the books, the starting grid for today’s Edmonton Indy (2:30 pm ET, NBC Sports Network) is set with three of the top four drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship kicked into the pack after 10-spot grid penalties for unapproved engine changes.

Ryan Hunter-Reay (qualified on pole), Will Power (qualified 7th), and Scott Dixon (qualified 8th) — first, second and fourth in the standings respectively — will have to wind their way through the field and perhaps play a bit of strategy in order to get back up front.

Their penalties may prove fortuitous for Helio Castroneves, who sits third in the standings and will start fifth in the race after qualifying sixth on Saturday. Castroneves has earned three second-place finishes in four starts at Edmonton and wants to finally get the top spot on the podium there.

Dixon was the fastest in this morning’s warmup session, posting a lap of 76.9006 seconds in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Rubens Barrichello was second-quickest and Mike Conway bounced back from mechanical woes in qualifying to go P3, indicating the strong pace he’s had at times over the weekend.

Also getting tagged with 10-spot grid penalties today are Oriol Servia (qualified 20th) and Simona de Silvestro (qualified 23rd).

Here’s how the grid looks for this afternoon’s 75-lapper around Edmonton’s City Center Airport:

ROW 1
10-Dario Franchitti, Ganassi/Honda
6-Ryan Briscoe, Penske/Chevrolet

ROW 2
15-Takuma Sato, RLL/Honda
98-Alex Tagliani, Herta/Honda

ROW 3
3-Helio Castroneves, Penske/Chevrolet
77-Simon Pagenaud, SHM/Honda (rookie)

ROW 4
8-Rubens Barrichello, KVRT/Chevrolet
38-Graham Rahal, Ganassi/Honda

ROW 5
27-James Hinchcliffe, Andretti/Chevrolet
18-Justin Wilson, Coyne/Honda

ROW 6
28-Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti/Chevrolet
7-Sebastien Bourdais, Dragon/Chevrolet

ROW 7
67-Josef Newgarden, SFHR/Honda
19-James Jakes, Coyne/Honda

ROW 8
26-Marco Andretti, Andretti/Chevrolet
5-E.J. Viso, KVRT/Chevrolet

ROW 9
12-Will Power, Penske/Chevrolet
9-Scott Dixon, Ganassi/Honda

ROW 10
83-Charlie Kimball, Ganassi/Honda
4-J.R. Hildebrand, Panther/Chevrolet

ROW 11
11-Tony Kanaan, KVRT/Chevrolet
20-Ed Carpenter, ECR/Chevrolet

ROW 12
14-Mike Conway, Foyt/Honda
22-Oriol Servia, Panther+DRR/Chevrolet

ROW 13
78-Simona de Silvestro, HVM/Lotus
(ht: IndyRacingRevolution.com)

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Push To Pass Gives 100 Seconds And Excitement At Honda Indy Toronto

July 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Crystal trophy to be presented to the IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto Champion. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via Twitter

Push To Pass Gives 100 Seconds And Excitement At Honda Indy Toronto

Push-to-Pass (P2P) will be re-introduced as a tool for the drivers to use in today’s race in the streets around Exhibition Place in Toronto ON, Canada.

The Honda Indy Toronto will have a different version from the one that was introduced by the ChampCar World Series (CCWS) through the Panoz DP01 where a driver could push a button on the steering wheel and get 10 seconds of extra boost delivered to the turbo-powered engine. The driver’s were limited to only ten 10-second boosts on the P2P for a total of 100 seconds.

The version that will be used on the DW12′s on the 11 turn 1.75 mile track in Toronto will allow the driver to use as much of their 100 second allotment whenever, and however they choose.

If Takuma Sato, for example, wishes to employ the 100 second boost all at one push, all he has to do is keep the button down. Most drivers feel that P2P is best used as a tool saved for the final third of the race but this is not a guarantee of advantage. If the driver to be overtaken also saved his allotment of P2P, all he has to do is push-to-defend and the advantage is neutralized.

In a report at SPEED TV, Helio Castroneves shared another idea on how P2P should be modified to make it more exciting to the on-track action.

“We can see the revs increasing on the computer, but you don’t feel it in the car,” said Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves, who echoed the comments of numerous IndyCar pilots. “It’s about two-tenths [of a second] on lap time. The good thing is, Push-to-Pass is back again. But maybe we should plan ahead, especially when we have a two-week break to the next race at Edmonton.”

At the behest of the engine manufacturers, the series has re-introduced the system with a modest and measured increase in power, but it’s likely the power the button delivers will grow before the end of the season.

For now, and with such a soft increase in performance, Castroneves would like to see a unique anti-Push-to-Pass safeguard system established.

“Maybe we can do something like a delay, so if one guy presses the button, the guy in front or behind him cannot react right away,” he suggested. “Then you can make a proper overtake. If I push my button, and the guy I’m chasing then pushes his button, you get nothing out of it. The bottom line is yes, this is for us as drivers, but it’s also for the fans. If we can use the button to cancel each other out, maybe we should think about not letting that happen so easy.”
[ht: SPEED TV]

Photo of Andretti Autosport – Ryan Hunter-Reay’s steering wheel – At present, the Overtake button will not provide the rush of acceleration some where hoping for, but the series will likely tweak its impact in the coming races. Green “Overtake” button on upper-right. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett

The following entries about the Honda Indy Toronto come from “Tweet Deck” tweet-by-tweet with added comments from the author:

Jordan Irvine @IrvineF1
#HondaIndy atmosphere and paddock is just fantastic! What a day so far, and the race hasn’t even started yet!!! #Indycar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Happy Race Day! Catch us on @ABC & TSN2 (Canada) @ 12:30pm ET! Look out for these hot spots at #hondaindy: indycar.com/News/2012/07-J… #indycar2012

Dale Coyne Racing @DaleCoyneRacing
If you see him around the track today, be sure to wish Dale Coyne a #HappyBirthday! #indycar #HondaIndy

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN – The Honda Indy Toronto with P2P begins!

Mouser Racing Team @MouserIndy
Toronto is green! Best of luck to @TonyKanaan and @kvracing! #GoMouser11 #IndyCar

Dario jumps to the front over Will Power – all cars get through the first turns side-by-side then settle into a single file.

Matthew Day @matthewnotmatt
Time for some #Indycar – maybe @dariofranchitti can save some pride for us Brits and win at Toronto

Marcoteers Andretti© @Marcoteers
@FollowAndretti cars are @RyanHunterReay p6 @Hinchtown p16 and @MarcoAndretti p21 #HondaIndy #Toronto #IndyCar2012

Justin Wilson gets past Will Power for a couple of laps … Power grabs the position back before Franchitti gets to far away.

Jeff Cunningham @Cowboy_Witch
This just in: Will Power is pretty good at Toronto. But you probably already knew that. #hondaindy #IndyCar

Power passes Franchitti for the lead on LAP 6

Deke Weinberg @Deke15
Chilly Willy with the lead! #hondaindy #IndyCar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Car No. 9 stopped in the runoff in Turn 1. #hondaindy #indycar2012

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Dixon has stopped. #IndyCar

This is big because Dixon was third in points and one of the biggest threats to Will Power maintaining his potential lead – engine broke and oil is spilling out

Simona de Silvestro has pitted and it is not known why … except she is in a Lotus

Tony DiZinno @tonydizinno
Since it’s not listed on T&S, those on reds: Dario, Will, Justin, Seb, Dixon, Helio, Conway, Hinch, Jakes #HondaIndy #IndyCar

Kent Barber @Thummper08
Who ever said that Team Lotus couldn’t finish higher in a race than a Ganassi ?? #IndyCar

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Hinchcliffe and Kanaan made contact at turn four. #Indycar

Great in-car camera work – the cars solider on

LAP 12 – Viso in for REDS – stays on lead lap

IndyCar al día @indycaraldiaweb
Ernesto Viso se va a los pits en la vuelta 12. Tiene llantas negras #IndyCar

1 Racing Mind @1RacingMind
Grid position penalty means another confusing event ahead defining differences in driver qualifying results and grid position. #INDYCAR

More pit stops – Briscoe in for REDS

LAP 16 – Will Power tries to check out with a 3.3 second lead on Dario Franchitti

Tagliani in for REDS and fuel

Ryan Brothers @renegade_3
#IndyCar Will Power dominating #Toronto100 #hondaindy on lap17 Franchitti 2nd Wilson 3rd. Tight/skinny street circuit in Toronto

IndyCar Garage @IndyCarGarage
Hinch into the pits at lap 18 – still green #INDYCAR

LAP 18 - Sebastien Bourdais gest around Justin Wilson for P3

LAP 19 – Graham Rahal leaves no room for Charlie Kimball and Kimball is in the tires – backs out and continues

LAP 20 – Top 10 are as follows: Power, Franchitti, SeaBass, Conway (up from P16), RHR, Helio, Rahal, Sato, JR Hildebrand, and Newgarden

Ricardo Arcuri @FaleComCarioca
ow, o Graham Rahal tb nao foi la muito correto nesse lance viu…. #Indycar

Matthew Embury @MattEmbury
Ton of defensive blocking from Graham Rahal there, not a cool move on his own teammate. #indycar

Tony Kanaan is issued a drive through penalty for hitting a tire in the pits on previous pit stop

YELLOW Flag – LAP 22 – Rahal locks tires up and hits the wall – PITS Closed

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Full course yellow. Car 38 of Graham Rahal in the wall at exit of Turn 1. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Race Control: Car #11 has a walk of shame penalty for trying to stick a fifth tyre on his car. #IndyCar

Joshua Rogers @Joshua_Rogers
Is it safe to say that Graham Rahal is the Steve Wallace of #Indycar?

Sal’im McNeill @Salim1luv
Absolutely love the car design, and real racing#indycar

Top 7 cars have not pitted – this may leave Simon Pagenaud in a good position

Pit Lane is open – Dario Franchitti pits first – fuel buckeye gets stuck and gives hime a long pit stop

Tagliani replaces nose piece during pit stop

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
10-Franchitti needed to have his car jacked up and moved closer to pit wall in order to get fuel. That’s gonna hurt him. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

 RESTART – GREEN Flag – LAP 29

KV Racing Technology @kvracing
Kanaan moves from 10th to 3rd at the restart!! Barrichello to 6th and Viso 12th #HondaIndy #Indycar2012

LAP 32 – Top 10 – Pagenaud, RHR, Kanaan, Briscoe, Sato, Barrichello, Wilson, Kimball, Servia, and Newgarden

Matt White @MattW1986
Hmmm, cheering for 2 Frenchmen in a series full of brits #indycar

Ashley Noelle @AshNoeModel
Watching #F1 on Fox and #IndyCar racing on ABC from my balcony over the ocean in San Diego.. Today is a good day ❤

Niko @icthyes
Pagenaud is bossing it #IndyCar

Indy Racing Review @INDYracereview
@simonpagenaud has a 3.42 seconds lead over @RyanHunterReay #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Race with Insulin @racewithinsulin
Charlie makes a pass to reach 7th position on lap 35. #HondaIndy #IndyCar2012

Kai @AndersFinn
Stinks that Dario had that fuel buckeye issue in pit, but happy to see Pagenaud leading. #Indycar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Lap 35 update: Pagenaud leading, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Briscoe, Sato follow. #hondaindy #indycar2012

If the race would end with this order, Ryan Hunter-Reay would lead Will Power by 16 points by securing P2 over a P11 finish for Power

Hinchtown officially out of the race – broken engine – bowed out from a P4 position on the track

Niko @icthyes
Massive shame for @Hinchtown #IndyCar

LAP 41 of 85 – Race leader Pagenaud last pitted on LAP 14 – 29 laps on tires and fuel

Lewis Franck @LewisFranck
Got to consider the caution laps produced better mileage when making this next pit stop. @hondaindy #IndyCar

Cambyland @MarkCLynch
A little more yellow and those 7 will only have to stop once more. #Indycar

Martin Pinnau @martinpinnau
Why is Simon Pagenaud listed as a rookie? I remember watching him in Champ Car. #indycar

The merger betweem CCWS and the IRL did not account for a break for those drivers that were unable to make it through the transition – Simon Pagenaud went on to become a American Le Mans Series Champion driving along with teamate/co-driver Gil de Ferran in Gil’s last competitive racing season

Great action with Josef Newgarden pulling a nifty move on Oriol Servia for P9 from P10

LAP 49 of 85 – Pagenaud comes in and may have a little problem with the car coming down on the air hose – awaiting to see if he gets a penalty

Power passes Sato in Turn 1 – for P7 and Bourdais gets past Sato as well

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Kanaan on pit road, scuffed reds for him. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Sato is the main target as Conway passes him with a slick move

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Lap 57 update: Top 5 — Hunter-Reay, Wilson, Kimball, Newgarden, Power. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Power in the pits … EJ Viso pulls in and he is out of the race with engine problems

LAP 58 of 85 – Will Power gets contact with Newgarden and has a flat front tire – possible damaged front wing but puts off change to stay on lead lap

DZ @HalfShaftBlues
Did I just hear someone honking a clown horn when RHR hit his pit? #IndyCar

Kashvinder Mann @kashwinner
Power’s wing broke, which cut the tyre. How did that got damage in the first place? #IndyCar

Kev @ElusiveKev
Looks like Hunter-Reay really likes this leading thing lately. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Power comes out 20th, while Ryan Hunter-Reay leads Tony Kanaan by six-tenths of a second. New points leader on the way? #IndyCar #HondaIndy

LAP 60 of 85 – Top 10 – RHR, Kanaan, Pagenaud, Kimball, Wilson, Briscoe, Newgarden, Barrichello, Bourdais, and Servia

nascarcasm @nascarcasm
Roger Penske has just put Hornish on a plane to Toronto to fix Will Power’s front wing. Just for the hell of it. #IndyCar #hondaindy

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
77-Pagenaud and 83-Kimball going at it hard for third place! #IndyCar #HondaIndy

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Big movers: Kanaan P2 (from 17th), Kimball P4 (from 13th), Newgarden P7 (from 20th), Barrichello P8 (from 18th). #hondaindy #indycar2012

Colby Martin @Goblowsoup
So saying no to Road America and Michigan is not what I wanted to hear. Phoenix sounds good, but replace Detroit with RA please. #IndyCar

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Third-placed Pagenaud has Kimball, Wilson, Briscoe and Newgarden on his tail tryingto pass. #IndyCar

James Jakes @JamesJakes
20 laps to go. JJ holding P17 PR #HondaIndy #IndyCar2012

Jacob Kraemer @StewCrew14
Pagenaud is in the way and holding up 4 other cars. Kimball is all up in his wing. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Jeff Cunningham @Cowboy_Witch
@armond_ealey There’s so much racing going on that I sometimes have trouble keeping up. #NASCAR #F1 #IndyCar #GrandAm #ALMS

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Car 18 of Justin Wilson hits wall on front stretch. #hondaindy #indycar2012

PRN Motorsport Mag @prnmag
@justin_wilson out of race, engine problems #HondaIndy

17 Laps to go – RHR leads by 5.5 seconds over Kanaan, Pagenaud, Kimball, Briscoe, Newgarden, Barrichello, Bourdais, Servia, and Castroneves – Power is running in P19 and may loose the points lead today

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Wilson has retired due to suspension damage from contact with wall on frontstretch. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Indy Pro Sports @ProIndy
15 to go! We’re predicting another win for @RyanHunterReay. RT if you’re thinking the same! #hondaindy #indycar2012

Kimball passes two cars in one move on the end of back straight corner – now up to P2 – not bad for being fueled on insulin

AJ @ajslideways
That move by Charlie Kimball was siiiiiiiick. #IndyCar

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Pagenaud goes to the inside of Kanaan, locks up. Kimball sneaks by on the inside line. Heads-up pass by the American! #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Shane Rogers @shagers
You were looking at Kimball, but Newgarden’s move on Briscoe was Balls with a capital B. #indycar #hondaindy

Peter Leung @BaronVonClutch
What Diabetes? @charliekimball is a Hella Better Driver. He’s up to P2 now. #IndyCar

Ten laps to go and its RHR by 7.6 seconds over Kimball, Pagenaud, Newgarden, Briscoe, Barrichello, Bourdais, Servia, Conway, and Kanaan

Cecilia Rodgers @CeciliaRodgers3
#HondaIndy I truly enjoy this goo.gl/xUAya?FLt1eJ

Fake Charlie Whiting @charlie_whiting
Fantastic. @charliekimball and @racewithinsulin in P2!!!! Team is pumped. Now bring her home, lad. #IndyCar

Newgarden gets BLOCKED and pays the price as he goes into the tires

YELLOW Flag – Newgarden stalls out and this will bunch up the pack – SFR not happy with Sam Schmidt/Hamilton Racing’s Pagenaud … should be a penalty on Simon

Kim Wilson @daisy2gal
I didn’t know @SarahFisher knew how to say that word! Not that I blame her! #IndyCar

Tim Blum @dbsdad
Newgarden is, of course, one word. But not to auto correct. #Indycar

Indy Racing Review @INDYracereview
Full course caution for @josefnewgarden into the tires. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Joaquín Candia @_chudox_
Bandera amarilla, faltan 5, cagó la ventaja de Hunter-Reay, va a estar buena esa relargada cuando falten 3 #IndyCar

Daniel Gazquez Tapia @dangaztap
Sato es 14º #IndyCar y Newgarden 18º

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Five laps to go. BIG RESTART COMING. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Eric Hamme @NegativeVORP
That might be the first recorded profanity of Sarah Fisher ever. #indycar #hondaindy

ZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Newgarden has continued. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Keyrazy LEDs @KeyrazyLEDs
Pagenaud should get a penalty! @IndyCar @hondaindy #HondaIndy

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN, Restart – LAP 82 – Carnage to Bourdais, Ryan Briscoe, Barrichello, & Franchitti

Pagenaud serves penalty

Ron @rrush59
Was Dario driving with his eyes closed ? WTF ! #HondaIndy

repT.O @repTdotO
Shit just went kray!!! #HondaIndy

James Jakes @JamesJakes
Full course yellow. So much just happened but JJ did a great job avoiding it! Currently P8! PR #HondaIndy #IndyCar2012

SCCGR & NNCGR @CGRTeams
Back to yellow with only 3 laps to go at #hondaindy. @racewithinsulin holds P2.

RACE ENDS under YELLOW Flag

Ryan Hunter-Reay gets his third win in a row here in the middle of the season – up 34 points for the championship over Will Power

Jozef Colomy @JozefColomy
Damnnn 3 in a row? Go @RyanHunterReay #IndyCar

Dayna Winslette @UCTaillights
Three in a row for @RyanHunterReay AND takes over the points lead! WOW!!! #IndyCar

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Hunter-Reay leads home Kimball, Conway, Kanaan, Servia, Castroneves, Hildebrand, Jakes, Sato and Tagliani. #IndyCar

Daniel Gazquez Tapia @dangaztap
Que gran carrera de #IndyCar se ha perdido @Javigarv Oriol Servia finalmente 5º !!

IndyCar al día @indycaraldiaweb
Ryan Hunter-Reay gana el Honda Indy Toronto 2012. Tercera consecutiva del año, nuevo líder del puntaje #IndyCar

Tammy_Madsen @tamiramadsen
Really, #IndyCar? Finish under yellow? Change that rule!

Andy Young @AndyYoungF1
That’s a Ryan Hunter-Reay Hat-Trick!! #Indycar

Matt Soleyn @soleynm
#Breaking: Ryan Hunter-Reay wins the #HondaIndy in #Toronto, giving him three straight IZOD #IndyCar wins!

Jenna Fryer @JennaFryer
Second race in a row that ends under yellow. Just feels so flat to me. #IndyCar

Hunter Gunnell @HunterGunnell
#indycar Congratulations RHR!

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Tony Kanaan finishes fourth, Oriol Servia comes up fifth. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Austin @Zappatista
At least the idiots didn’t ruin the class of the field. Hunter-Reay with a well deserved win. #IndyCar

Chris Cunningham @CunninghamCE
How about absolutely not? RT @rsanchez4577: @JennaFryer How bout some G W C #IndyCar

TCGR @TCGRTeams
Checkered flag @dariofranchitti p17 @scottdixon9 p25 @hondaindy #IndyCar2012

Fox Sports 1230 WMML @WMML1230
RT @IndyCar: Race ends under yellow. @RyanHunterReay wins third in a row! Kimball and Conway on podium! #hondaindy #indycar2012

Blayne Pereira @Blaynos14
Well most of it was pretty dull, but glad I woke up for the frantic end to the #IndyCar race

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Incident on the restart, several cars involved. Among them Pagenaud, Carpenter, Briscoe. Back to yellow. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Ben Turner @BLT77
Looks like AJ’s car will get a podium. I guess that means Supertex won’t throw any laptops today or beat on a car with a hammer

Joaquín Candia @_chudox_
Ganó Hunter-Reay en Toronto, había ganado la última en Iowa también #2AlHilo #IndyCar

Antoine L. @TonioF1
Hunter-Reay wins the race at Toronto #IndyCar

John Haywood @JHay97
Congrats to @RyanHunterReay and @FollowAndretti on the win!!! 3 in a row!! #Epic #IndyCar

Dustin Long @dustinlong
#IndyCar …Ryan Hunter-Reay wins Toronto for 3rd victory in a row. ABC says he’ll have take points lead & have a 34-point lead on Will Power.

Peter Leung @BaronVonClutch
.@RyanHunterReay takes the chequered Flag! ‘Make sure you wave to the fans!’ Mitch Davis tells RHR. #IndyCar @FollowAndretti

Covsupport News Serv @CovsupportNews
Great drive Mike Conway #indycar

AJFoytRacing @AJFoytRacing
YES @Mikeconwayindy !! what a run! Way to go!#hondaindy #indycar

Matt White @MattW1986
Actually, not a bad top 3 #indycar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Race ends under yellow. @RyanHunterReay wins third in a row! Kimball and Conway on podium! #hondaindy #indycar2012

ENDS

Following his final service stop with 30 laps remaining in the Honda Indy Toronto, Ryan Hunter-Reay was enjoying his Sunday drive on the Exhibition Place street circuit. Hunter-Reay, in the No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda car, inherited the lead on Lap 57 when JR Hildebrand pitted and upped his margin over Tony Kanaan from .6040 of a second to 4.0794 seconds in the matter of five laps on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn course. Charlie Kimball replaced Kanaan as the protagonist on Lap 72, but the challenger didn’t matter. Hunter-Reay pulled away by 7.6 seconds with 10 laps left and — staying ahead of restart pileups in Turns 1 and 3 with three laps left — went on to his third consecutive victory. Caption and Image Credit: IICS

An American driver leads in the points for the first time in … forever! Hats off to Andertti Autosport and Ryan Hunter-Reay for completing a “hat-trick” with three mid-season wins in a row to pull into the points lead for the IICS championship over Will Power.

In the post-race interview, Sebastien Bourdais claims that Charlie Kimball does not deserve to be on the podium because it was Kimball that took Bourdais out of the race with poor driving.

Push-to-Pass had an effect on the race but not as many imagined. Some of the best passing moves on the track happened when those using the P2P came in too hot into a corner and leaving the apex open for following cars to sneak through. Charlie Kimball’s pass on two cars was just such a pass.

Unofficial Results – Honda Indy Toronto

Pos.     Driver     Laps     Running / Reason Out

1     Ryan Hunter-Reay     85     Running
2     Charlie Kimball     85     Running
3     Mike Conway     85     Running

4     Tony Kanaan     85     Running
5     Oriol Servia     85     Running
6     Helio Castroneves     85     Running
7     JR Hildebrand     85     Running
8     James Jakes     85     Running
9     Takuma Sato     85     Running
10     Alex Tagliani     85     Running

11     Rubens Barrichello     85     Running
12     Simon Pagenaud     85     Running
13     Josef Newgarden     84     Running
14     Sebastien Bourdais     84     Running
15     Will Power     84     Running

16     Marco Andretti     84     Running
17     Dario Franchitti     84     Running
18     Ryan Briscoe     84     Running
19     Ed Carpenter     84     Running
20     EJ Viso     81     Running

21     Justin Wilson     67     Contact
22     James Hinchcliffe     28     Mechanical
23     Graham Rahal     23     Contact
24     Simona de Silvestro     9     Mechanical
25     Scott Dixon     7     Mechanical

Five more races remain on the schedule – four road/street courses and one super speedway oval – Edmonton Indy, Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Grand Prix of Baltimore, and the season finale at Auto Club Speedway.

… notes from The EDJE

 

—-

 

** Article first published as Push To Pass Gives 100 Seconds And Excitement At Honda Indy Toronto on Technorati **

Filed Under: TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHT Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For Lotus, New Engine May Be Too Little Too Late At Honda Indy Toronto

July 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

HVM’s Simona de Silvestro has finished only three of nine races this season and was black-flagged after 10 laps in the Indianapolis 500 because her Lotus/Judd powered DW12 was too slow. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

For Lotus, New Engine May Be Too Little Too Late At Honda Indy Toronto

It was announced earlier this week that Lotus/Judd will have a new and updated engine package for the single car team that remains in competition in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS).

We are now going to be treated to the 10th race in a scheduled 16 race season in the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the Honda Indy Toronto but, sadly, the addition of a single Lotus-powered competitor, no matter how good the engine, is of little consequence now that the effort has eroded to a single driver on a single team.

This announcement, if it came about by the third race of the season, may have saved the effort for 2012, but with the exodus of Dragon Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais & Katherine Legge, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Oriol Servia, and Bryan Herta Autosport’s Alex Tagliani before the Indianapolis 500 headline event, who cares?

The fact of the matter, the Lotus effort came along late with little or no team testing under the assumption that this would be an easy branding add-on and that some how Lotus would be competitive out-of-the-box against the likes of major manufacturing efforts of Honda and Chevrolet … not to mention established team resource support from the likes of Andretti, Penske, and Ganassi.

Let’s be serious, British based HVM with their single female driver, Simona de Silvestro, no matter how talented and dedicated she is, will have very little impact on the competitive nature of this new Lotus/Judd package other than deliver an on-track test conducted during the event of an IICS season race.

Simona de Silvestro in Turn #10 at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach … a track she had won a race driving in CCWS’s 2008 Formula Atlantic Series. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

This excerpted and edited from Cincinnati.com -

Simona de Silvestro finally gets new Lotus engine in Toronto
By Jenna Fryer – 11:44 PM, Jul. 3, 2012

Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro will have a new and hopefully improved Lotus engine this weekend at the Toronto Grand Prix.

De Silvestro said on Tuesday the new engine has been installed and she will get her first laps on track with it at Toronto. IndyCar last week approved upgrades for Lotus intended to help the struggling manufacturer, but de Silvestro thinks it could be a month before HVM Racing sees on-track improvement.

“Lotus is going to bring us an update, we think, before every race,” she said. “We’ll see how Toronto works out, but we think if we keep focusing on what we are doing, if we get to Baltimore (Sept. 2) and can run in the top 10, that would be really good for us. I think we are going to go to Toronto pretty open and excited to see what this new engine can do.”
—-
“It is a bit frustrating in the sense we’ve had some pretty strong race cars, especially at Detroit and Iowa, but it’s so hard for us to pass,” she said. “We can have a pretty good race pace, but when it comes time to pass, we don’t have the speed and it’s been so hard.

“And we’ve only finished three races, which is not a good record, and it’s made it difficult to focus on the areas that really need improvement. We focused on two areas at the test, and we’ll keep moving forward and hope our speed improves with the updates.”

Lotus began the year with five teams. All but HVM defected to other manufacturers before the Indy 500 in May.

She said being the sole team with Lotus has been a mixed bag: It’s been helpful to receive all the attention from the manufacturer, but de Silvestro believes her team has been at a disadvantage in not having another driver or team to talk to about strategies and development.
—-
“The biggest problem that happened the last two years was my crash at Indy hurt me a little bit, because it took me some time to get my confidence back,” she said. “But we still had the problem with the chassis, we just had struggles with that chassis that hurt us. This year we took a gamble to get with Lotus, and it’s also been trying.

“But racing, it is not always rosy. I’ve learned a lot this year about engines, and we have a very strong engineering group with the team. Hopefully with the work we are doing this year, we get to the end of the season and we are better.”
[Reference Here]

Without front line experienced drivers like those represented by four-time CCWS champion Sebastien Bourdais, or the high-posting consistancy delivered through Oriol Servia or Alex Tagliani, little progress is expected from Lotus/Judd with this engine update.

Event title: Honda Indy Toronto

Location: Streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Track: 11-turn, 1.75-mile temporary street circuit

Practice Sessions: Friday, July 6 from 11:05-11:35 a.m. EDT (group A), 11:35 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. EDT (group B – all cars) and 1:55-2:55 p.m. EDT; Saturday, July 7 from 9:45-10:45 a.m. EDT

Qualifying: Saturday, July 7 from 1:05-2:25 p.m. EDT

Race: Sunday, July 8 with pre-race activities starting at 12 p.m. EDT and estimated green flag at 1 p.m. EDT

Broadcast Information

Race broadcast (TV): Sunday, July 8 at 12:30 p.m. EDT on ABC Network

Race broadcast (Radio): IMS Radio Network (Internet Stream – racecontrol.indycar.com) and SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212)

… notes from The EDJE

** Article first published as For Lotus, New Engine May Be To Little Too Late At Honda Indy Toronto on Technorati **

Filed Under: Top Story Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Qualifications Explored And Explained

June 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

TrueCarRacing @TrueCarRacing – Getting corny here at the @iowaspeedway #Iowa250 waiting through the rain delay @IndyCar @emckone pic.twitter.com/sTNsfpnR

 

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Qualifications Explored And Explained

Tuned in to catch up on the #IOWA250 and this is what could be found on the average Twitter asset portal:

Breakthrough Racing @breakthruracing Aw, hell’s bells! RT @SSMIndy: We are officially in a holding pattern here at@iowaspeedway for the #Iowa250 due to a heavy rain shower.

Linda @greenfield7814Hope the rain stops quickly and we see a safe race #Iowa250 #Indycar

So, while we wait, this might be a good time to review how this group of 25 DW12′s powered with Chevy, Honda, and one lowly Lotus engine found themselves to be lined up in this order on the grid.

The IZOD IndyCar Series wanted to try something out to bring some excitement to the fans during qualifications on a small oval track like the one in Newton, Iowa represents … a banked 7/8th of a mile kidney-bean shaped oval. What the series management came up with was something that translated to be like the “Knock-Out” format that results in a “Firestone Fast Six” competition to set the first three rows of cars to start the race.

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Angie King @angiewarholWhatever the opposite of a rain dance is! RT @BHA: Looking for ideas to pass the time… anyone have suggestions?#Iowa250 #Indycar

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Here is the actual edited explanation from IZOD IndyCar Series issued yesterday before the Practice 2 session and the Heat Races:

Lap times from the second 45-minute Practice 2 session will set the qualification groups for the three heat races. The heat races of 30 laps each will set the starting lineup for the 250-lap race under the lights June 23 (Ganassi Racing’s Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan and KV Racing Technology Racing teammate E.J. Viso will incur 10-grid spot penalties for unapproved engine changes – Simon Pagenaud of Schmidt/Hamilton Racing was later added to the list). Honda requested the engine change following the initial practice. Heat Race 1 will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with the 10th-quickest practice time overall, and determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field from 10th down. Heat Race 2 will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with the ninth-quickest practice time overall, and determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field from ninth down.

Heat Race 3 will consist of drivers ranked one through eight by the practice times registered in Practice 2 session. Results of Race 3 will determine the first four rows, with the winner taking the pole position.

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Team Barracuda – BHA @BHANot a bad idea! RT @JorgGrayChile: How about time the jetdryers around the track with a Jorg Gray watch? #iowa250

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Ash (アシュー) @racingAshReady to enjoy Saturday night, short track #IndyCar racing at@iowaspeedway on @NBCSN! First up, yesterday’s heat races. #IndyCar#Iowa250

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The top 1 through 8 positions are kind of like the Firestone Fast Six without any of that pesky “real-time” build up and transfer process found in “KnockOut” qualifying found on closed road/street courses.

This might have been really, really cool sounding in the executive offices of the IICS (or where-ever), but from afar, like fans in Los Angeles for example, this has them wishing to have dinner a little early just so they can miss Heat Race #3 in protest. These West Coasters may have missed out on Practice #2 held hours earlier in the afternoon on Friday, a general session where the top 8 competitors were settled. The suspicion is that the fans out West may still have been at work. The Heat Races (and Practice #2) were not televised or streamed so if one wanted to get a sense as to what happened, it was back to the less than dependable IMS Radio feed (tough to find a back-up) and the Timing and Scoring panel found at RaceControl.IndyCar.Com.

—-

ICFanVillage @ICFanVillageThe LIVE @NBCSports Pre-Race Broadcasts starts at 8pm in the@ICFanVillage with guests@RyanHunterReay and@justin_wilson! #Iowa250

—-

HinchOnTrack @hinchontrack -@iowaspeedway #iowa250@Hinchtown Severe thunderstorms have shut down on track activity…race fans stand by! Race supposed to start at 9…

—-

In qualifying, it looks as though:

1 -The core of all the Heat Races were set by the speeds registered during the Practice #2 session.2 – All of the drivers that are challenging Will Power for the series points lead except for Pagenaud and Kanaan made it into the top 8 (first four rows) final Heat race tonight.

3 – The best that Kanaan will be able to qualify will be for P19 … he currently sits at P15 / The best that Pagenaud will be able to qualify will be for P9 … he currently sits at P21. These two drivers will have to out pace Barrichello, Tagliani, & Wilson to improve on their “odd-numbered” grid position. Kanaan won’t start higher than 19th because of a 10-grid spot penalty imposed for an unapproved engine change on the No. 11 GEICO/Mouser Electronics KV Racing Technology Racing car.

“I won this race starting from 15th,” Kanaan countered on a positive note.

4 – As far as the “even-numbered” grid positions are concerned – Rahal, who currently sits at P10 will be able to do no better than P20 if he is able to maintain his position. Rahal and Viso (P14) will incur 10-grid spot penalties for engine change-outs. Newgarden, Hildebrand, and Servia are the drivers expected to battle for P10.

This looks like one of these situations that one has to be in attendance in order to get into the full effect of this “Heat Race” grid battle. This has the feel that the excitement is already over because the top 8 positions have been filled … during a practice session which was probably missed by those who cared most about the importance it meant to the qualifications process – one hyphenated word … ANTI-CLIMATIC!

Christopher Estrada @estradawritingRAIN. Again. Grrr… #IndyCar #Iowa250

And ANTI-CLIMATIC this process was – Heat Race #1 everyone kept their station except toward the end of the 30 lap Heat, EJ Viso lost one position. This did not really matter to the grid because Viso wass on the list of engine change penalties.

Heat Race #1 Results – 30 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda 9m00.6441s
2. Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda + 6.2134s
3. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevy + 6.5594s
4. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevy + 7.4531s
5. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy + 8.3586s
6. Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda + 10.8144s
7. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevy + 13.4036s
8. Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda + 18.5671s

Alexandra Prud @La_Lales -If the rain let us to race today… My pick for #IndyCar #Iowa250 is: 1.Andretti 2.Franchitti 3.Briscoe. Happy Sunday Night! :-)

Heat Race #2 may have been a little more exciting if this were not for the fact that this Heat also had leading drivers that were to have a grid penalty assessed to them as well. Nice to see Kanaan do the best he could – Pagenaud has a poorly set up car but these DW12′s will be at the back tonight (or tomorrow) anyway.

Heat Race #2 Results – 30 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevy 8m59.4932s
2. Alex Tagliani Herta DW12-Honda + 3.1255s
3. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevy + 6.0818s
4. Justin Wilson Coyne DW12-Honda + 7.9310s
5. Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda + 10.0818s
6. Katherine Legge Dragon DW12-Chevy + 13.7490s
7. James Jakes Coyne DW12-Honda + 14.0032s
8. Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus + 1 lap
9. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt DW12-Honda + 1 lap

TrueCarRacing @TrueCarRacingGetting corny here at the@iowaspeedway #Iowa250 waiting through the rain delay @IndyCar@emckone pic.twitter.com/sTNsfpnR

Heat Race #3 did show the fan a little something since Marco Andretti, who started the race in P1 due to his fastest speed during the afternoon’s Practice #2 session, was passed on the outside twice – once by Dario Franchitti on LAP #8 and then by Helio Castroneves on LAP #16 of the 30 lap race.

Dario captured the pole position and the valuable point. This was a second best result for points leading Will Power since Dario is not the driver that poses the greatest threat at this time. If Hinchcliffe or Dixon got the extra point, this would bring either driver that much closer to start the second half of this 2012 IICS season.

Heat Race #3 Results – 30 LAPS:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap

1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda 9m16.9203s

2. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevy + 1.4671s

3. Marco Andretti Andretti DW12-Chevy + 5.1884s

4. James Hinchcliffe Andretti DW12-Chevy + 5.9813s

5. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevy + 6.5813s

6. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevy + 7.3542s

7. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti DW12-Chevy + 7.8433s

8. Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda + 9.2963s

Jane Ward Hamilton @jwardh Rain at #Iowa250 Meanwhile, back in Ohio it’s time to move the sprinklers.#Drought We need redistribution of rain.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 Starting Order:

1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda
2. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevy
3. Marco Andretti Andretti DW12-Chevy
4. James Hinchcliffe Andretti DW12-Chevy
5. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevy
6. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevy
7. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti DW12-Chevy
8. Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda

9. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevy*
10. Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda*
11. Alex Tagliani Herta DW12-Honda
12. Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda
13. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevy
14. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevy
15. Justin Wilson Coyne DW12-Honda
16. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevy*
17. Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda
18. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy
19. Katherine Legge Dragon DW12-Chevy
20. Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda
21. James Jakes Coyne DW12-Honda
22. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevy
23. Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus
24. Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda
25. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt DW12-Honda*

* Will take 10-place engine change penalty before start
(ht: autosport.com)

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Michael Williamson @michaelw2000 “@curtcavin: .@michaelw2000 IndyCar runs first, then Lights. #indycar” Cool! Thanks!

—-

Motorsport @motor_racing -#irl #indycar IndyCar institutes starter camera (The Associated Press): NEWTON, Iowa (AP) The IndyCar Series is … yhoo.it/PS6M4N

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Harmonic Family @HarmonicFamily -track drying is complete, pre race about to begin #iowa250

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Andretti Autosport @FollowAndretti-As the track dries, the estimated green flag for the #Iowa250 is at 9:30PM local time.

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Edmund Jenks @TheEDJE - @TheEDJE Predicts a #DW12 Chevy will win#iowa250 Motorsports Unplugged Radio @rahalracing 620 WDAE – 7:15AM ET bit.ly/L1RBDu #indycar

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Edmund Jenks @TheEDJE-@TheEDJE predicts Hinchcliffe if no Penske #iowa250 Motorsports Unplugged Radio @rahalracing 620 WDAE – 7:15AM ET bit.ly/L1RBDu

—-

UPDATES To Follow …

Will Power Survives The Iowa Corn Indy 250

In a race that had mostly confusion mixed with anticipation before its rain delayed start due to and experiment to the qualifying process, Will Power escapes from a race that had the most attrition of any race, in this 2012 season, with the points lead.

Results - 250 laps:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
 1.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti DW12-Chevy     1h43m39.3031s
 2.  Marco Andretti       Andretti DW12-Chevy         + 0.1103s
 3.  Tony Kanaan          KV DW12-Chevy               + 2.7245s
 4.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi DW12-Honda          + 3.0075s
 5.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt DW12-Honda          + 3.8468s
 6.  Helio Castroneves    Penske DW12-Chevy           + 5.3061s
 7.  Rubens Barrichello   KV DW12-Chevy               + 5.9890s
 8.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter DW12-Chevy        + 6.9856s
 9.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi DW12-Honda          + 7.1607s
10.  Justin Wilson        Coyne DW12-Honda              + 1 lap
11.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi DW12-Honda           + 2 laps
12.  Takuma Sato          Rahal DW12-Honda             + 3 laps
13.  James Jakes          Coyne DW12-Honda             + 5 laps
14.  Simona de Silvestro  HVM DW12-Lotus               + 6 laps

Retirements:

     Katherine Legge      Dragon DW12-Chevy            243 laps
     Alex Tagliani        Herta DW12-Honda             207 laps
     James Hinchcliffe    Andretti DW12-Chevy          195 laps
     Ryan Briscoe         Penske DW12-Chevy            178 laps
     Josef Newgarden      Fisher DW12-Honda            178 laps
     Mike Conway          Foyt DW12-Honda              123 laps
     Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy        98 laps
     JR Hildebrand        Panther DW12-Chevy            95 laps
     Will Power           Penske DW12-Chevy             67 laps
     EJ Viso              KV DW12-Chevy                 67 laps
     Dario Franchitti     Ganassi DW12-Honda             0 laps

Read MORE Here

… notes from The EDJE

Filed Under: Featured Story Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Firestone 550 At 1.5-Mile Texas Motor Speedway, Tweet-By-Tweet

June 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Justin Wilson driving the red & white Sonny’s BBQ Honda-powered DW12 side-by-side with the Go Daddy Chevrolet-powered DW12 of James Hinchcliffe under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night. Image Credit: AP

Firestone 550 At 1.5-Mile Texas Motor Speedway, Tweet-By-Tweet

Welcome to the second oval and seventh race of the sixteen race 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS). This race was looked at with an added amount of anticipation filled with concerns surrounding racing on a tight 1.5-mile oval racetrack since the last race of the 2011 season.

In the wake of the circumstances that ended up ending Dan Wheldon’s race career and life at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, short race tracks with catch-fencing that had its poles exposed to the direction of the track, tracks that were purpose-built for closed bodied NASCAR style door-to-door pack racing combined with the high-stakes/speed open-wheel series were deemed too dangerous to have on the schedule.

It came to the surprise of many team owners and drivers alike that having a race on the 2012 schedule at Texas was incautious and ill-advised since this track carried many of the construct characteristics of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It was felt by series management the new Dallara DW12, with its purpose designed anti-interlocking bodywork and rear wheel guards, that just a change in the specifications of a rear-wing wickerbill would bring the cars into a safer configuration than the old Dallara DP09’s run in the previous years of the series. This would have the effect of reducing the downforce on the cars and reduce the possibility of the drivers having to race in a pack and thus reducing the level of contact incidents.

Concerns aside, here is how the drivers will be lining up to take the CHECKERED Flag after qualifications – overview excerpted and edited from Tony DiZinno at Racer.com:

Alex Tagliani claimed pole position for the fifth race of the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Canadian achieved an average of 215.691mph across his two qualifying laps at the wheel of the Bryan Herta Autosport entry to put himself just ahead of Ganassi’s Dario Franchitti. The average difference between the pair in terms of lap time was 0.0102 seconds.

“Since we got back together with Honda, we flew under the radar,” said Tagliani, whose team started the season using Lotus engines. “I think we’re there. It’s looking good for the rest of the year. Since Indy, we’re really strong.”

Graham Rahal was third-fastest ahead of fellow Ganassi driver Scott Dixon, with Penske’s Will Power heading the Chevrolet runners in fifth. The Australian had been in contention for pole position with his first lap of 216.041mph, but lost out badly on his second lap when he hit the hard limiter.

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                Speed

1.  Alex Tagliani        Herta DW12-Honda        215.691

2.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi DW12-Honda      215.646

3.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi DW12-Honda      215.554

4.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi DW12-Honda      215.331

5.  Will Power           Penske DW12-Chevy       215.116

 

6.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti DW12-Chevy     214.920

7.  Tony Kanaan          KV DW12-Chevy           214.701

8.  Mike Conway          Foyt DW12-Honda         214.458

9.  Marco Andretti       Andretti DW12-Chevy     214.424

10.  Takuma Sato          Rahal DW12-Honda        214.196

 

11.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt DW12-Honda      214.082

12.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske DW12-Chevy       214.060

13.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy  213.957

14.  Rubens Barrichello   KV DW12-Chevy           213.949

15.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti DW12-Chevy     213.927

 

16.  EJ Viso              KV DW12-Chevy           213.444

17.  Helio Castroneves    Penske DW12-Chevy       213.402

18.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi DW12-Honda      212.833

19.  Justin Wilson        Coyne DW12-Honda        212.136

20.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter DW12-Chevy    211.643

 

21.  James Jakes          Coyne DW12-Honda        211.245

22.  Katherine Legge      Dragon DW12-Chevy       210.543

23.  Simona de Silvestro  HWM DW12-Lotus          204.066

24.  JR Hildebrand        Panther DW12-Chevy      202.596

25.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher DW12-Honda

Four drivers will receive a 10 position grid line up penalty for engine changes – AJ Foyt Racing’s Mike Conway, Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Takuma Sato, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing’s Josef Newgarden, and HVM Racing’s Simona de Silvestro.

The following entries are entered in a “live blog” form of journaling using a combination of direct entries and 140 character (or less) entries – known as “Tweets” – found on the social media communications web portal TWITTER:

Autosportradio.com @Autosportradio
RT @JennaFryer: New #IndyCar bulletin: A rear wing wicker up to a maximum of 1/8” height and full span may be used.

IndyCar Garage @IndyCarGarage
@99forever crowd looks very similar to last and will still be the 2nd highest Attended oval all yr. At least 70k strong here #IndyCar

Stephen M. @sbmellen
Wow, look at all the empty #IndyCar seats in Texas. Disappointing. @willbuxton @PeterDWindsor @circuitamericas

Jeff Roberts @ENGPHOTO
#AJFoytJr: Boys and girls start your engines. #Firestone550 #IndyCar

HVM’s Simona de Silvestro – No fuel pressure on the 10 position Lotus/Judd – new engine – will miss the start of the race – same problem for Rubens Barrichello

James Black @16AndGeorgetown 27s
“We have one update finally [from Lotus/Judd] and then something like this happens, which is annoying,” says Simona de Silvestro. DNS from fuel pressure issue

rg @rg_here
Green green green! #Indycar

Alex Tagliani is able to make his pole position to work – first four begin to pull away from Power in P5 (Dixon, Franchitti, and Rahal)

Four Hondas cover the front of the field followed by six Chevys

Curt Cavin @curtcavin
I think we can see there’s separation of cars. #indycar BTW: There hasn’t been pack racing here for some time.

Andy @Gabbahey122475
Good shit by @curtcavin . Read it! RT @curtcavin: A rare column. #indycar tinyurl.com/d757hgd

As predicted on Motorsports Unplugged Radio this morning, Ganassi would be hard to beat but as a team, Andretti Autosport, if they hook-up could control the race.

LAP 20 of 228 – Top 10 – TAGS, Dixon, Rahal, Power, Andretti, RHR, Hinchtown, Kanaan, Briscoe, and Pagenaud.

Trouble with Tagliani and he drops to P4 at around 207mph – Dixon assumes the lead

LAP 31 YELLOW Flag - Charlie Kimball smacks the wall in a single car incident – racing hard with EJ Viso

This helps Franchitti get back on the lead lap after unplanned pitstop for adjustments put him one lap down

THE PACER MANIAC @TheSandman21 48s
Yeah, #indycar just had a crash while @NBCSN was on break… Think its time to go back to the race guys…

Commercials breed cautions

LAP 35 – Has the top 10 be Dixon, Rahal, Power, Andretti, Tagliani, Hinchcliffe, Kanaan, RHR, Briscoe, and Pagenaud – all cars comeinto the pits – it’s crazy down there

In the pits, TK gets wing damage – Power back in the pits with right rear tire problems – Pagenaud overshoots pit – TK back for a new nose and front wing – Franchitti back in for suspension adjustment

LAP 40 – Restart – GREEN Flag

Top five shuffled – Dixon, Rahal, Hinchcliffe, Andretti, and Briscoe

Tagliani looking racy again in P7 – Sato passes TAGS for P6

Pagenaud serves a pitstop penalty for speeding in the pits

LAP 49 – Kanaan is hooked up – nose change had him at the back on same lap as leaders at P21 has moved back up to P13

The Firestone tires last really good for 10 laps then they go away

IndyCar Garage @IndyCarGarage
The aero changes have eliminated pack racing , no question #IndyCar

LAP 58 – Dixon and Rahal are together within 1 sec. and the two are almost 6 seconds ahead of the field

YELLOW Flag – Takuma Sato hits the outside then the inside walls

LAP 66 of 228 – RHR in the pits for engine problems – everyone else except Franchitti in the pits for tires

JR Hildebrand started P23 and has worked his way up to P4 on this last pitstop

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
83-Kimball blames 5-Viso for taking air off his car and causing it to crash. Calls Viso “completely unpredictable.” #IndyCar #Firestone550

aka_robyn @aka_robyn
Well, now that Barrichello and Sato are both out, who do I root for… Justin Wilson! #IndyCar

Curt Cavin @curtcavin
.@edcarpenter20 from 12th (I think) to fifth on the stop. #indycar

Restart LAP73 of 228 – Field is Dixon, Rahal, Hinch, JR, Ed Carpenter, Wilson, Marco, TK, and Suprize … Servia!

It’s official, Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport out of the car and out of the race … not good for points – out with an injector issue

The DW12s seem to be involved in a bit of “pack racing” as most cars are holding station

All the DW12s like riding on the bottom

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Robin Miller just passed along Ed’s complaints/apology to the fans, then goes: “Doesn’t look boring from here.” #IndyCar #Firestone550

Oriol Srevia is bitten with a fuel pump problem so he joins the FP club with de Silvestro, and Barrichello

Helio Castroneves is finding success at the top of the track along with Justin Wilson … both are moving up – Wilson overtakes Helio for P5 and Helio on P6 – both are coming up on Ed Carpenter

LAP 100 of 228 – it’s Dixon, Hinchcliffe, Rahal (who almost loses it), oops Wilson then Rahal, Carpenter, Castroneves, TK, EJ Viso … yeah, he’s still shiny side up, Marco, and Power

We are now running laps at 197mph because this is the longest GREEN Flag session in the race at over 43 laps

Wilson takes over P2 from Hinchcliffe and now sets sail for Dixon who is ahead of him by .888 seconds

Marco’s car is not working … Hinchcliffe is also in and the Andretti Autosport teams are at a loss as to why their cars are going off

Marco is out of the car!

LAP 120 and 108 LAPS remain  - Pitstops on GREEN Flag and the order begins to shuffle

Justin Wilson assumes the lead as Dixon and many others come into the pits – Helio has four pitstops but still in the hunt – Marco Andretti’s car is back out on the track

Wilson gets ready to come in – in the pits – for pitstop number three – good stop

LAP 130 of 228 – field set with Dixon, Hinchcliffe, Carpenter, Power (looking strong), Wilson, Castroneves, WOW-EJ Viso, Briscoe, and OOPS!

YELLOW Flag for #5 KVRT’s EJ Viso – go figger! The car just stopped so the body work is … OMG! intact!

Scott Dixon come into the pits originally by himself … then followed by P6 Power on back after only 15 laps on the tires

Helio gets balked by Newgarden who stops in Helio’s pit – loses places

Breakthrough Racing @breakthruracing
RT @curtcavin: No contact between Helio and Newgarden. I think Newgarden was in his way. He nearly lost a lap. #indycar

EJ Viso in interview – the electronics went off and the car stopped – I want to thank the team for a competitive car

LAP 138 – Restart – GREEN Flag – Hinch leads the field but Dixon in P4 starts to move along with the Penske cars of Power and Briscoe just behind

LAP 142 - Dixon takes the lead from Hinch, Power all over Hinch and Briscoe and takes over P2

LAP 146 – Briscoe and Kanaan are now taking their shots at the Andretti Autosport Go Daddy car, Both get by on now LAP 149

LAP 150 – Top 9 has Dixon, Power, Briscoe, Kanaan, Hinchtown, Carpenter, Wilson, JR, and Rahal – TIRES … a fresh set of Firestone TIRES just may decide who wins in the end … pitstop timing and TIRES

Scott Dixon has been the class of the field – Kanaan is the only non-Penske/Ganassi car to have anything for the field so far

LAP 162 - Hinchcliffe  comes in on a GREEN Flag – Ed Carpenter is expected to be next

We are now 32 laps on the tires and are going around at 203mph – new tires go 213mph

LAP 170 - Will Power gets past Dixon for the lead –  Dixon had to check up on another lapped car

YELLOW Flag - Scott Dixon hits the wall and brings out the fourth caution of the race – spun because of dirty air – WICKERBILLS kill moving the mushroom off of the track and helps to cause single car spins

NOTE: PENSKE Racing occupy three of the top four positions

LAP 177 – pitstops are over – teams calculate to stay on the same tires to the end but they will be just hanging on at the end

Top 10 in the field is Power, Briscoe, Kanaan, Castroneves, Wilson, Rahal, Hildebrand, Hinchcliffe, Pagenaud, and Carpenter

Interview with Dixon (paraphrased) – traffic really unsettles the car so one has to work with the weight jacker and keep chasing the set-up. Power passed me and then the car just got away

LAP 184 of 228 – Restart – GREEN Flag

Briscoe and Power side-by-side and Kanaan gets cut out – Castroneves giving problems with Kanaan

Kanaan, again, has a hurt front wing and he comes in for a second replacement with Barrichello’s wing

LAP 190 – its Power, Briscoe, Castroneves, Rahal, and Wilson at the top

Wilson and Dale Coyne Racing is the only team with a new set of sticker Blacks in the pits

Will Power gets a BLACK Flag penalty for blocking [on Kanaan] and has to drive through – field now Briscoe, Rahal, Castroneves, Wilson, Hinchcliffe, Hildebrand, Pagenaud, Will Power a lap down, Tagliani, and Jakes

LAP 200 – Rahal passes Briscoe and now Wilson shags Briscoe all at the same time that Power tries to get his lap back … on the track – he gets shut out

Hinchtown passes Castroneves while Marco Andretti who is six laps down clogs Helio’s line

Rahal, Briscoe, and Wilson are the strength of the field all within 100′s of each other on lap times

LAP 210 of 228 – Top three cars are with 2.5 seconds of each other at 206mph – Rahal is using the middle groove and washing up and down in the corners to maintain speed – Graham Rahal is looking strong for these last now 15 laps

Wilson is getting racy and takes the position from Briscoe – P2

Justin Wilson is about 2.5 seconds behind Graham Rahal and tracking him down

LAP 218 of 228 – Ten laps to go – Ganassi Racing’s Rahal in a strong lead – tires may go away but right now Rahal is going 2mph per lap faster than P2 Wilson

LAP 222 – encounters lapped traffic but Wilson is back up to 212mph but may not have enough race left to catch him

Two laps remain – Rahal scraps the wall – car slows  – Dale Coyne Racing’s Wilson passes Rahal – now on his WHITE Flag lap – Got a break on lap 226

CHECKERED Flag

Justin Wilson’s Sonny’s BBQ Honda-powered DW12 is viewed as not being able to win on ovals takes the Firestone550 with a steady drive

Finishing top 10 – Wilson, Rahal, Briscoe, Hinchcliffe, Hildebrand, Pagenaud (last on lead lap), Castroneves, Power, Pole-Sitter Tagliani, and James Jakes

The top 10 was bookended by the Brits!

10 gallon hats off to Justin Wilson and the Dale Coyne Racing Sonny’s BBQ sponsored, Honda-Powered, wickerbilled DW12

Colin Warnock @justin_wilsonPR
RT @SkyIndyCar Huge congratulations to @justin_wilson everyone at Sky IndyCar so happy for him. #ovalexpertnow #indycar

Heather Thomas Leo @HeatherTLeo
“@CrashGladys: A BBQ car wins in Texas – how appropriate!!! #indycar @TXMotorSpeedway @IndyCar @IndyCarPR Congrats @justin_wilson!!!”

Christopher C. Dyson @ChrisDyson16
Will and Tony were pretty gracious, all things considered.

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
2-Briscoe: “It was tough out there tonight, and it was exactly what we asked for. No complaints.” #IndyCar #Firestone550

Edmund Jenks @TheEDJE
Pageneaud has 100 points over Rubens and Newgarden – Honest question, is the rookie of the year battle in #IndyCar already over? #Firestone550

Bill Zahren @pressdog
Too bad we had the freak out about “pack racing” at Texas months before we had anything but supposition to go on.

Allen Wedge @AllenWedge
Will Power “that was the best racing I have ever had at an oval”

Female Racing News @FemaleRacing
Totes agree Will Power.. great racing!!!

GEICO Racing 11 @GEICORacing11
Checkered flag waves here @TXMotorSpeedway & @TonyKanaan is relegated to a disappointing 11th place finish. Tough night. #Firestone550

Mario Andretti @MarioAndretti
Congratulations @justin_wilson and @DaleCoyneRacing. Great job!

Allen Wedge @AllenWedge
Seriously, I don’t care about aerokits anymore, This new package has given us 5 great races so far this year! #indycar

Tony DiZinno @tonydizinno
Bummed to miss end of #IndyCar race. Congrats @justin_wilson that’s awesome!

Panther Racing @PantherRacing
.@JRHildebrand: “The setup is still an engineering project, but as a driver it’s super nice to have a lot more input into what’s going on.”

Pippa Mann @PippaMann
Really hope #Indycar goes back to Texas next year after the race today!! #WhetherImJustAFanOrADriver And that says a lot!!!

Holly Wheldon @hollywheldon
@GrahamRahal Great job today Graham xxx

Gustavo Yacaman @GustavoYacaman
Agree with @TonyKanaan 100% stupid moves like that are simple dangerous at those speeds.

SpeedFreaks @SpeedFreaks
@AJDinger @justin_wilson Soooo true!!! Justin is winning the coolest hardware in 2012! #Rolex24 & #Firestone550 Watches, Cowboy hats & guns!

Nytewynd18 @Nytewynd18
@RyanLewisRacing @alex_lloyd @cjeffduncan I agree with Hinch, I’d rather worry about the cars being in one piece than worry about the driver

Panther Racing @PantherRacing
A stellar fifth-place finish by @JRHildebrand and the @PantherRacing crew after being a lap down TWICE and starting 23rd. Impressive.

Erica Gordon @erica_g
Soooo #IndyCar racing is pretty awesome. Can’t wait til @MKE_IndyFest next weekend! #IndyFest

OFFICIAL BOX SCORE (PDF)

OFFICIAL RESULTS – FIRESTONE 550

Pos.       Driver   Laps       Running / Reason Out

1              Justin Wilson                     228         Running

2              Graham Rahal                    228         Running

3              Ryan Briscoe                      228         Running

4              James Hinchcliffe            228         Running

5              J.R. Hildebrand                                 228         Running

 

6              Simon Pagenaud              228         Running

7              Helio Castroneves           227         Running

8              Will Power                         227         Running

9              Alex Tagliani                      227         Running

10           James Jakes                       227         Running

 

11           Tony Kanaan                      227         Running

12           Ed Carpenter                     227         Running

13           Josef Newgarden            226         Running

14           Dario Franchitti                                225         Running

15           Katherine Legge               224         Running

 

16           Mike Conway                    224         Running

17           Marco Andretti                                 222         Running

18           Scott Dixon                         173         Contact

19           E.J. Viso                               129         Mechanical

20           Oriol Servia                        89           Mechanical

 

21           Ryan Hunter-Reay           66           Mechanical

22           Takuma Sato                      63           Contact

23           Charlie Kimball                                 29           Contact

24           Rubens Barrichello         0              DNS

25           Simona de Silvestro       0              DNS

Allen Wedge @AllenWedge
IndyCar fans need to send HUGE thank you to @NBCSN went commercial free for final 30ish laps, and ran late to get us proper interviews

Tony @PopOffValve
I think @justin_wilson won because I had barbecued pork ribs for dinner. #yeahiwillgowiththat

Tony @PopOffValve
Going to sign off and savor this race evening. Kudos to @IndyCar, @RBINDYCAR, @justin_wilson, and @eddiegossage.

… notes from The EDJE

** Article first published as Firestone 550 At 1.5-Mile Texas Motor Speedway, Tweet-By-Tweet on Technorati  **

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96th #INDY500 Tweet-By-Tweet – A Live Blog Effort

May 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The famous control tower IMS pagoda at dawn the day of the 96th Indianapolis 500. Image Credit: Jeff Gluck via instagram

96th #INDY500 Tweet-By-Tweet – A Live Blog Effort

This edition of the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing” will be unique due to one major overriding issue, the new Dallara DW12 is racing in its first oval race and it happens to be the biggest, most historic venue one could choose for this maiden outing.

Fans and drivers are excited to see how this platform will perform in traffic because these cars are much kinder to the cars that trail behind them due to the aerodynamic effect known as Mushroom Busting incorporated into the design of the body work. What this means is that the disturbed airflow behind the car has been directed above the racing surface much more quickly than previous designs and this allows a car riding behind another car to be more stable and be able to get a “TOW” from the car in front.

Multiple car teams like Andretti Autosport with five cars entered may have an advantage if the team drivers work together as roller-derby teammates would work together to “sling-shot” each of their drivers forward.

The additional subtext to this 500 mile race would be the durability of the new racing engine formula. Three engine manufacturers have been authorized to produce these engines and it would seem that the weakest link resides with the DW12′s powered by the Lotus/Judd turbo-charged engines. How many laps will they go before they are 1) Black-Flagged for being too slow or 2) if they will be able to complete the 500 miles still running without a failure.

Of course the final outcome will be watched by the Chevrolet and Honda engine team for their own ability to be able to complete the 500 miles still running without a failure as well.

Predictions are that either KVRT’s Tony Kanaan or defending championship team of Bryan Herta Autosport’s #98 Alex Tagliani would be the winner at the end of 500 miles. If the race is won by a multiple car team that would go to Andretti Autosport with Ryan Hunter-Raey. Fastest female now that Danica Patrick isn’t sucking the PR air out of the room goes to Andretti Autosport’s Ana Beatrix. Top former F1 driver goes to KVRT’s Takuma Sato. Highest placing former INDY500 champion would be Helio Castroneves – Motorsports Unplugged Radio.

The following entries come from “Tweet Deck” tweet-by-tweet with added comments from the author:

Matt Archuleta @indy44
What a great intro on ABC. Spotlighted Dan Wheldon on Borg-Warner trophy. “That’s what it takes to ride with Legends.” #Lionheart #Indy500

Jeff Gluck @jeff_gluck
Cool pic. RT @penskeracing: Minutes before the walk out to #Indy500 @h3lio & @12WillPower collect their thoughts. twitpic.com/9pxgn8

Indy Motor Speedway @IMS
Cars are lining up on the front stretch! Head over to get a chance to see the new DW12 cars up close and personal. #Indy500

Chris Siegle @chrissiegle
You’d think with every Dan Wheldon tribute that is shown on TV, they’d get easier to watch. But they haven’t for me. #Lionheart #Indy500

Sam Schmidt Mtsprts @SSMIndy
@simonpagenaud talks with Honda guests. Thanks to @HondaRacing_HPD for all they do. #Indy500 @IndyCar pic.twitter.com/IneJrVaz

Indy Motor Speedway @IMS
Driver introductions and pre-race ceremonies are about to begin! What’s your favorite #Indy500 tradition?

Dave Walker @reklawed
Turned on the #Indy500 only to discover that #IndyCar hasn’t honoured Greg Moore and kept his number retired. That is beyond disappointing

Craig Terrill @TerrillMusic
“When I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash, then I long for my Indiana home” #indy500

The recorded version channeling Jim Nabors seems grand and appropriate for this first race of the DW12

on Frankl @ronfrankl
In-cars on ESPN3.com just went live. #IndyCar

Brad Plummer @PlummerBrad
why do i not have the video only sound? – #indycar live on livestream.com/indycar

Mike Saverko @Msave69
Like to thank all our veterans for giving us a chance to enjoy #Indy500 and #Coke600 today!! This wknd for you!! Thanks!! #NASCAR #IndyCar

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
GREEN FLAG FOR THE 96TH RUNNING OF THE #INDY500! #indycar2012

All cars safely around for a full lap – James Hinchcliffe takes the first lap

Two laps two lead changes as Briscoe takes the position back

Steph@MoreFrontWing @99forever
Okay, guys. The only lap you need to lead is the 200th. Relax, please. #indy500

Graham Rahal’s fuel light alarm is flashing on lap 8 of 200

Wayne Willis @WayneWillisJr
These cars are racing really nice. Looks good so far. #Indy500 @JamieLittleESPN

Jay Howard @JayHowardRacing
[PIC] Seeing #dannyboy car circle @IMS is not only emotional bt special 4 all his many fans, me included #indy500 @IMS lockerz.com/s/212340109

Peter Leung @BaronVonClutch
Race Control has black-flagged Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro. Both cars were lapping about 10mph slower than rest of field. #Indy500

Lap 15 of 200 – Lotus/Judd cars are out of the race as predicted yesterday on Motorsports Unplugged Radio – “Wouldn’t last 25 Laps”

YELLOW Flag – Clauson spins and saves the car and doesn’t hit the wall – Pits Open

EJ Viso punts Dario Franchitti in pit lane and turns the #50 car around – nose cone change ordered by Chip Ganassi

Patti Rodisch @nascar_lugnuts
that was a frantic set of pit stops…#indycar

LAP 17 of 200 – Restart – GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Incident between Viso and Franchitti on pit lane was investigated. No action taken. #Indy500 #indycar2012

Fuel consumption may be down from expected due to the temperatures on the track

9 lead changes between three drivers by Lap 24 of 200

ABC replays the “single-file” restart and there were as many as five-wide at one point

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Pic: The start of the 96th Running of the #Indy500. #indycar2012 pic.twitter.com/8x0Wyi8C

Ryan Brothers @renegade_3
RT @INDYracereview: . @MarcoAndretti is back in the lead. #IndyCar #Indy500

Tom Meyer Klipsch @TOMMYKlipsch
Lets go @Andretti26 #TeamRCcola #Andretti Leading the #Indy500! instagr.am/p/LIyFPuTENu/

LAP 34 of 200 - Top five – Andretti, Hinchtown, Briscoe, Tagliani, and Kanaan

GREEN Flag ptistops begin

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
L43 Hinchcliffe pits. #IndyCar

Doug Demmons @dougdemmons
Jean Alesi says he’ll be back next year and he won’t be driving a Yugo … I mean, Lotus #Indy500

Ron Frankl @ronfrankl
Hinchcliffe told by team they’re beating everyone on fuel mileage. Not concerned to be first to come in. #IndyCar

James Jakes @JamesJakes
4 more #Firestone tires and fuel! Fast work by the crew today! Indy500 #IndyCar

LAP 49 – Newgarden car stalls in the pits – hand pushed and restarted

Dragon Racing’s Katherine Legge two laps down in P28 – Teammate Sebastien Bourdais in P23 one lap down

LAP 50 of 200 Top 10 – Andretti, Dixon, Hinchcliffe, Briscoe, Sato, Power, Kanaan, Franchitti, Rahal, and Conway

Graham Rahal is just not up to speed – complains of too much downforce

Tagliani must have had a terrible pitstop – he’s dropped to P24 on lap 64 of 200 after running in the top 5at lap 34

Marco Andretti is showing great strength on lap 68 with a lead, running alone at .6689 ahead of Scott Dixon – lapping at 217mph

Bruno Tarulli @BrunoTarulli34
Kanaan paro otra vez en boxes. Sato es tercero. Sigue adelante Marco Andretti, nieto de Mario. #IndyCar #Indy500

Jenna Fryer @JennaFryer
Marco Andretti has now led more laps than he’d led in all his previous combined #Indy500 (31 laps led) #IndyCar

Anthony Stuart @Anthony_Stuart
#INDY500 came back into my room… definitely awake now! Some absolutely amazing driving on display @imsupdates

Dario Franchitti has worked his way up to P5 since dropping to P28 with the first pitlane incident

LAP 74 - Andretti in the pits, Hinchcliffe in the pits, RHR in the pits, 29 laps on a tank of gas

LAP 75 - all three Penske Racing cars in for fuel and tires

Dixon and Franchitti P1 and P2 before their pitstops – two Honda-powered lead the race

14 different lead changes as Charlie Kimball takes the lead on transition

YELLOW Flag – Mike Conway and Will Power in a big crash after Mike Conway pulss out of the pits. Conway on the pitstop ran into three of his crew members and was assesed a drive through penalty which he was going to serve on the next lap.

Conway’s ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing car just spun in front of Will Power as it looked like a front wing problem that caused instability

Four cars out of the race – the two Lotus cars and now Mike Conway and Will Power – Slow motion of the accident showed the safety of the systems built-in to the cars and the track

Andretti Autosport @FollowAndretti
After dropping back with push condition, @RyanHunterReay climbing back into fray. P7. #Indy500

Tony @PopOffValve
Looks like more folks are seeking out the misting stations @IMS – worst heat of the day right now.

Allen Wedge @AllenWedge
@tonydizinno everyone ok, Conway hit wall alone Power couldn’t avoid and got under him

Bill Zahren @pressdog
As Conway gets airborne he’s all like “fabulous. this again” heart rate climbs to 49 bpm

LAP 88 0f 200 – GREEN Flag Restart of second caution period of the race

Top ten – Andretti, Dixon, Sato, Kanaan, Franchitti, Hinchtown, RHR, Briscoe, Rahal, and Kimball

LAP 89 of 200 – YELLOW Flag - Ana Beatrix hits the wall alone – backend got loose and barely brushes the wall

Pits Open with many takers – RHR decides at last moment to not go in – Hinchcliffe has a pit problem – Dixon and Franchitti stay out as well

Jim @RacingBluejay
What the hell is it with rear tires today at #IMS? #Indy500 #IndyCar

Ryan Brothers @renegade_3
Sad to see my man @12WillPower have to end his day early #Indy500 . A little momentum lost from his amazing start to this #IndyCar season.

Stephanie Flint @stephmflint
Listening to the #500 on the radio as I drive home isn’t quite the same after experiencing it as a @PrincessIndy500 last year… #indycar

Formula 1 @F1grid
PHOTO: A lot of empty seats at the Indianapolis 500 #Indy500 #IndyCar twitpic.com/9pzaod

On pit out, Ana Beatrix pulls out slowly and causes a traffic jam on the out lane

LAP 95 0f 200 – GREEN Flag Restart of third caution period of the race

All cars safely through in very tight racing quarters – this Mushroom Busting design delivers a quality racing product!

Conwezys @Conwezys
Lap 98 #lionheartforever #LIONHEART #indy500

White sunglasses placed on the faces of everyone in the stands

James Foreman @James__Foreman
#indy500 #indycar2012 #hondaindy @girlracercouk – Dan Wheldon’s wife Susie watching the race from the pits, must be a very tough day for her

Halfway – LAP 100 of 200 - Top 10 drivers are TCGR’s Dixon & Franchitti, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Raey, CGR’s Graham Rahal, Dale Coyne Racing’s Justin Wilson, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato, CGR’s Charlie Kimball, Panther Racing’s JR Hildebrand, Dale Coyne Racing’s James Jakes, and Sam Schmidt Motorsport’sTownsend Bell

The field has settled down nose to tail in order to save fuel

LAP 112 – Pitstop by RHR after not taking fuel after the last yellow flag

Top six positions are Honda-powered DW12s

Jeff Gluck @jeff_gluck
Will Power on crash: “(Conway) said the team sent him out w/a broken wing. I don’t understand why they would do that.” #IndyCar

Taylor J. Ness @tness88
Many drivers, including seasoned veterans, seem to be having trouble with getting going out of the pit box. #INDY500

Robby Howard @robbyhoward1
Charlie Kimball, the first driver credited with racing with diabetes, has moved into the fifth position. #indy500

Dario Franchitti in and out of the pits on Lap 118 – Dixon gets one more lap after leading 34 laps – in and out

LAP 121 - Takuma Sato leads all drivers with the 18th lead change in the race and the first time in IMS history that a Japanese-born driver has led an INDY500 race

Ryan Hunter-Raey’s car is giving him troubles and comes into the pits – may be terminal – right rear upright giving way

Rubens Barrichello leads a lap at INDY500 after 33 laps between fuel stops

LAP 125 – top five are Sato, followed very closely by Franchitti, Dixon, Andretti, and Hildebrand … oops, passed by Rahal

Four Chip Ganassi managed cars in the top 10 – P2 Franchitti, P4 Dixon, P5 Rahal, P7 Kimball

Indy Star Sports @IndyStarSports
RT @indystar_hutch: Top five at Indy thru 131 (13 on lead lap): Sato, Franchitti, Dixon, Andretti and Rahal. #Indy500

Filip Cleeren @FilipCleeren
Marco still looking good to win this. #indy500

Allen Wedge @AllenWedge
Just watched Marco pick off Dixon on ESPN3, I wish they offered this to everyone

Team Chevy @TeamChevy
Total of 20 lead changes today. Most ever at #Indy500 – 29. @IMS #ChevyIndy500

Crash Gladys @CrashGladys
Turn 2 is never the hardest turn, but drivers r reporting that due to the tailwind it is increasingly difficult 2 turn there #Indy500

Mandy Valentine @Indy_Mode
Come on @TonyKanaan & @Hinchtown – U guys can do it! (well, not both of U, obviously, but U can be 1st & 2nd!) Drive boys, drive #Indy500

Vibration troubles with Marco Andretti’s car which may be the same problem with the CV Joint as Ryan Hunter-Raey’s car Marco in pitlane … and out

YELLOW Flag – LAP 145 of 200 fourth of the race – Andretti Autosport’s Saavedra stalled on pit in lane

Almost everyone in the pits – very hectic – now 12 cars on the lead lap – should be cycled forward for the restart

After pitstops by the field the top ten positions are Sato, Franchitti, Dixon, Hinchcliffe, Wilson, Kimball, Briscoe, Kanaan, Castroneves, and Barrichello

LAP 152 of 200 – GREEN Flag Restart of fourth caution period of the race

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar Green green green! Sato leads on Lap 152. #Indy500 #indycar2012

Single file restart with a log jam – Franchitti takes the position away from Sato – then Dixon TCGR in P1 and P2

Hinchtown now targeting TAKU! – Everyone needs to make one more pitstop so fuel strategy is out the window

Kanaan just eclipsed Hinchcliffe – after one lap, Hinchcliffe takes the position back

LAP 159 – Dixon passes Franchitti for the lead with TAKU right behind – oops, Franchitti passes Dixon right back

Jeff Gluck @jeff_gluck
It’s official: The temperature has reached 93 degrees, making the hottest #Indy500 in the 96-year history of the event.

Hasby Díaz Colina @dernierslayer
#INDY500 VUELTA 145 1.Sato 2.Franchitti 3.Andretti 4.Dixon 5.Wilson 6.Hildebrand 7.Kimball 8.Hinchcliffe 9.Bell 10.Castroneves 24.VISO

YELLOW Flag – LAP 164 – Josef Newgarden’s car lets loose and pulls to the infield of the track – Pits Closed

Pits now open with 35 laps to go – al little long to stretch to the end – WOW all leaders in – Hinchcliffe runs over a hose and delays at getting out of pits – lost positions way down the order

Ron Frankl @ronfrankl
Hinchcliffe being told repeatedly by cc to save fuel; James acknowledges but says he” doesn’t want to lose the field.” #IndyCar

Oakley @oakley
RT @OakleyRacing1 The #Indy500 – @scottdixon9 leading followed by fellow O driver @dariofranchitti – will they hold on? #indycar2012 Lap 168

Speculation is that with leaning down, all of the leaders my be able to make it to the end – possible penalties to Rahal and Hinchcliffe

LAP 171 of 200 – 30 LAPS To Go – GREEN Flag Restart of fifth caution period of the race

Three wide and Justin Wilson gets by Sato – Franchitti takes the lead – Wilson set sights on Dixon

Kanaan in the mix with Franchitti, Dixon, Wilson, Sato and Kaanaan

Wilson slips up near the wall and losses places back to P7 – now top five is Dixon, Franchitti, Sato, Carpenter, and Kanaan

YELLOW Flag LAP 181 - Ed Carpenter spins and is in OK shape – no crash or damage, may have kissed the wall – actually no touch – white line sends the car skidding

LaMarquis Martin @LaMarquisMartin
100% skill, 200% luck there by @edcarpenter20 #indy500 #indycar

Tony @PopOffValve
Holy cow. Screw green/white/checkers, this is going to be a GOBSMACKING finish to the #Indy500.

Kendra McKinley @dance_kenny
another new record! most lead changes in a single race. 31. #Indy500

Max Papis @maxpapis
Hats off to the class act of @CLTMotorSpdwy to show #Indy500 on the giant screen #classact

LAP 176 – Franchitti back in the lead with radio commands to manage fuel at “4.3 on the dash”

Dixon sets a new lead change record ant the INDY500 with 30 lead changes for this Mushroom Buster DW12

LAP 184 of 200 – 16 LAPS To Go – GREEN Flag Restart of sixth caution period of the race

Kanaan streaks to the lead from P6 – Franchitti passes TK back – Franchitti tries to bunch the field – Kanaan takes the lead again

YELLOW Flag - up to P8 Marco Andretti hits the wall and the tires on the right side of the car are bent – inside wheels hit the white line and spins

Gregory D. Howe ‏@wood_brothers21
Oh No, Marco! Get ready for some great radio! #IndyCar #Indy500

Marco fails in his bid for his best #INDY500 finish … and possible win

Declan Brennan @TheRaceTool
Has anyone noticed how FECKING AWESOME the Indy 500 is? :) #IndyCar

Curt Cavin @curtcavin
Pretty sure @TonyKanaan wishes he hadn’t taken the lead just before that crash. He’s going to be second (or maybe fifth) by Turn 4. #indy500

T.Marc Jones @TMarcJones
Ok ladies and gentlemen; 7 lap shootout! Is this an exciting race or what! #INDY500 #indycar2012 Let’s go @TonyKanaan

Angelique @Angeliquecr
This next restart is gonna test the sphincters of every soul at the @IMS #RaceDay #indy500 #Indy500SnakePit #indycar2012

Top five before restart are Kanaan, Franchitti, Dixon, Briscoe, and Wilson

LAP 194 of 200 – 6 LAPS To Go – GREEN Flag Restart of seventh caution period of the race

Franchitti passes on restart – Oriol Servia maks a charge to the front and is in P6

Two laps to go Sato holds on to Franchitti’s tail and is in P2 – Sato tries to pass on the inside, touches the whiteline and spins – YELLOW Flag

CHECKERED Flag – Franchitti becomes a three-time winner under a YELLOW Flag. WOW!

Final top ten – Dario Franchitti (from P33 to P3 on one fuel stint), Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia (former Lotus Legion-driver), Ryan Briscoe, James Hinchcliffe, Justin Wilson, Charlie Kimball, Toensend Bell, and Helio Castroneves

This is the first race of the season not won by a Penske Racing driver, but it still is a race win by either a Penske Racing or a Chip Ganassi Racing driver!

Ashley Judd Franchitti is absolutely beside herself as well she should be – Dario Franchitti becomes a Three-Time INDY500 Winner – dedicates the race to Dan Wheldon in post race interview (paraphrased).

“To be placed on the trophy besides Dan means the world to me.”

Dario gets an Igloo cooler full of icy water dumped on him ala winning Football Coach/Super Bowl style.

Post race interview has Takuma Sato complaining that he had taken the position but Dario pinched him down so hard that it caused him to have to be below the whiteline causing his DW12 to spin and hit the wall.

The 96th Indianapolis 500 is in the books and should be renamed the “Mushroom Buster 500″ in honor of the technology that brought together a great, competitive, and record 35 lead change race.

… notes from The EDJE

Filed Under: Featured Story Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Dallara DW12 Speedway Aero Takes A Nod From Swift Engineering

May 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Dallara DW12 in Speedway Configuration rear wing side-by-side with the Swift Engineering Concept 66 Mushroom Busting design and the similarities are striking. Image Credit: Various resources combined by Edmund Jenks (2012)

Dallara DW12 Speedway Aero Takes A Nod From Swift Engineering

The major difference with the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 … the Greatest Spectacle in Racing … and virtually all previous editions of the race is the racing platform technology.

Most people who have been following American open wheel racing since the beginning know the trials and tribulations with the separation and unification of the series but few really have a handle on as to why this year will be different than any other year.

The IZOD IndyCar Series has adopted a new chassis that handles the flow of air much differently than chassis of previous years and this change lays mainly in the concept of managing the airflow vortex that is created by the car and what happens to the flow of air after it leaves the back end or rear wing of the open wheel chassis. The car punches a change of the nature of the air … or hole in the air and this allows a car that is following to pass through the same space more easily, with less drag. Some have come to term this effect as “Tow” but what is really happening is that the new design manages the flow of the air to allow for the vortex “mushroom” to be busted. An aerodynamic design feature first pioneered by Swift Engineering and put into play by some very enterprising aerodynamic engineers at Dallara for the Speedway Configuration of the DW12 chassis.

Bryan Herta Autosport’s Alex Tagliani had the following observation as to this “Mushroom Busting” effect upon the trailing car, a car following a lead driver:

“You can really see it. If you make the corners flat (out), and being within three car-lengths, you’ll get sucked in,” explains Alex Tagliani, who’s understandably bullish about his chances having both a Honda and running with defending champion team Bryan Herta Autosport. “If your car isn’t as good, and you’re maybe four lengths back, you’ll still be able to suck in three, but you’ll just getting right on their back.”

This is where the timing element comes into play. “Getting closer, you get more disturbed, and if you lift, you become a sitting duck,” he says. “The timing of the draft is very important, but you also have to stay within the appropriate distance to pick up the tow and get by the guy.”
(quote ht: Racer.com)

The following was first published on 4/16/2010 and updated on 6/10/2010 by Edmund Jenks after a visit and tour of the Swift Engineering creation and production facility located in San Clemente, California:

Swift Engineering’s 2012 IZOD IndyCar design concept 66 CAD image with California Speedway background. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

Surprise Swift Tour Yields A Look At “Concept 66″ Platform
(originally posted 4/16/10 – 1:28 PM)

If the folks at the IZOD IndyCar Series are thinking with a level head, given what we, at The EDJE, were exposed to at a surprise tour of the Swift Engineering facility in San Clemente, they will soon be singing “We get our kicks settling on Concept 66″ as their way of the future of open-wheel racing.

Swift Engineering’s 2012 IZOD IndyCar design concept 66 artist rendering. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

We were invited by the Publisher of The Motorsports Report, Dicken Wear, as an impromptu field trip after checking in at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Credentials area to pick up our Photo Vests for this weekends event. What a bonus since the major motorsports events of the day would be background shots taken while the IRL, ALMS, World Cup Challenge, and Firestone IndyPro Series cars practiced so the teams could dial in for the races ahead.

Swift Engineering’s 2012 IZOD IndyCar design concept 66 CAD image without background. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

A group of about 20 people (writers, drivers, engineers, and photographers) gathered and were treated to a tour of the facilities at Swift that included a look and demonstration of their on-premises 140 mph wind tunnel, driving simulator, and composite fabrication areas. We were led on the tour by Program Director, Casper Van Der Schoot originally from Holland by way of Hogan Racing.

Casper enlightened the eager crowd with the concept of designing to reduce the effects of the vortex “dirty air” so that the platforms could race nose to tail with greater safety and, of course, greater competitiveness. The design concept of how to do this came in the development of a rear wing and forward rear wheel pod shapes that turn the Concept 66 into a “Mushroom Buster”!

Swift Engineering Inc. – Design Concept 66 – Mushroom Buster Video

One can not totally eliminate the shroom effect, but by shrinking the width of the shroom plume, and raising the “cap” of the shroom so that it is moved away from the following platform … the mushroom is effectively busted.

UPDATE: Swift Concept #70 proposal for the next IZOD IndyCar

The IZOD IndyCar ICONIC Committee earlier this week, received a presentation previewing Swift’s concept #70. The #70 is the latest evolution open-wheel car concept and incorporates aspects of the six previously launched concepts Swift has designed over the past nine months.

Swift Engineering’s Design Concept #70 placed into a Long Beach Grand Prix track background. Image Credit: Swift Engineering via Racer

“Our latest concept evolves elements from our previous concepts and from the direct feedback we have received from the series, teams and fans,” said Casper van der Schoot, Swift’s Program Director in an interview published in Racer. “I would like to thank the fans who have provided great feedback to us through our Facebook page and in particular Erik Berkman and Dave Marek from Honda for sharing with us their data and modeling for their next generation V6 powerplant as well as their chassis styling concept that weighed heavily in our design.”

The main thing that Swift was able to design in and keep in the #70 was a nose-to-tail racing safety and competition design concept known as “The Mushroom Buster” explained in the breakthrough design first introduced with Design Concept #66 above.

The 70 has increased signage real estate, as demanded by the teams,” said Mark Page, Swift’s Chief Scientist to Racer. “We enlarged the car’s bodywork and angled the surfaces so that they present the best view to the fans. We also have a new ‘Mushroom Buster; design. This promotes passing by busting the ‘mushroom cloud’ of dead air behind the racecar. Our number 70 model was run through extensive Computational Fluid Dynamics on our new Cray supercomputers. The Cray has increased our capability 50-fold, and we now know our car will have significantly less drag than the current car.”

“The monocoque is larger than the current spec,” stated Chris Norris, Swift’s chief designer in the same Racer interview. “It is designed to accommodate driver size from Danica [Patrick] to Justin [Wilson] with added padding beneath and behind the driver. In addition we have added anti-wheel lock blades dubbed, ‘Satan’s teeth’ aft of the front wheels, attached to the front of the sidepods. Also an anti-lift approach to the design of the front wings and sidepods will dramatically reduce the likelihood of the car getting airborne.”

The IZOD IndyCar Series is reviewing the Swift and four other manufacturer’s value propositions and is expected to make its decision for the next generation IndyCar for 2012 by June 30, 2010.
[Reference Here]

Well, Dallara won the contract and the incorporation of the mushroom busting design in the DW12 is very evident, more so than with a road/street course aerodynamic set up. Maybe as this author had done with the quote used by Alex Tagliani for this article, Dallara should place at the bottom of each rear wing assembly (ht: Swift Engineering) … do ya’ think?

This year, the “tow” will be the story of the race and it will be because of moving the dirty air vortex up and away from the track surface – Mushroom Busting – which will allow cars to be more stable and gain an advantage on the track if used properly.

… notes from The EDJE

Filed Under: TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHT Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Will Power’s First Celebration At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach

April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Will Power points fingers to the sky as he celebrates his improbable and masterful second win at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the first win for the new Chevrolet-powered DW12 Dallara. Image Credit: Myles Regan (2012)

 

Will Power’s First Celebration At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach

This posting serves to clear the record as to when Verizon Team Penske’s Will Power was first able to celebrate his second win on the temporary street course that has served as a race venue, now, for 38 years. Most people think that the celebration would not really begin until the car and driver arrive at Victory Circle where all of the credentialed photographers stake out a good position to capture the action on the provided riser. Today, this was not the case – EVIDENCE HERE (video).

At the end of the race, Helio Castroneves (Penske-Chevy) did a chrome-horn nudge with the front of his DW12 to rear of former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello (KVRT-Chevy) at the apex of the hairpin turn #11. Rubens spun and blocked Helio from going around Rubens car and Helio, in turn, blocked Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne-Honda) and both Helio and Justin ended up being stalled with their cars unable to pass thus shutting down the rest of the straight-away to the Start/Finish line. Penske’s Ryan Briscoe, however, was able to sneak through before the orange-suited Holmatro IZOD IndyCar Series Safety Team were able to take over and straighten out the mess in the corner.

What happened next is the stuff of footnote legend – Will Power came up to the apex of turn #11 and was completely stopped.

Upon recognizing his plight … and then in a move that showed he could no longer contain his excitement at winning his second Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race (after three consecutive pole positions and no win), he unstrapped himself, got out of the car, and shared his celebration with fellow stuck drivers, the crowd in the bleachers closest to the turn, the crews that came out to clear the mess, and the photographers who were tucked in at the “island” apex shooting location.

One has to love the back story that not only did Chevy win the race and place a second car on the podium (Andtetti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe – “Mayor of Hinchtown”/”Manica”) at P3 … they took 7 of the top 10 places in the race after being penalized 10 positions to start the race. The closest Chevy on the grid at race start was Penske’s Ryan Briscoe at P11.

At race end, two Chevy’s get together and blocked the track to the final straight that led to the Start/Finish line. I imagine that Beaux Barfield, Director of Race Control had to “call” the race and sort out the finishing order due to the blockage.

Power gives a personal honor to the creators and race engineers of his Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet-powered twin-turbo DW12 Dallara as he bends over to suggest a kiss on the car through his helmet. Image Credit: Myles Regan (2012)

Myles Regan of Regan Digital Images (regandigitalimages.com), being the professional he is, kept the camera clicking away in gang-shot mode and he shared a file that contains about 140 images or so that are just excellent and capture the whole incident … even down to Will Power bending over his Verizon Penske Chevy and giving it a kiss through his helmet on the nose cowling that covers the suspension. The Video here shows the images Myles was able to capture in post-race turn #11 which are just priceless.

For the second time this month, Will Power came into an IZOD IndyCar Series race expecting nothing more than a top-five finish to secure valuable points in the championship.

But with two victories in the young season – starting from ninth at Barber and 12th at Long Beach – the hard-charging Aussie might be changing his outlook. Starting an IndyCar race from the pole position … of which Power has 10 over the past 20 races, including one this year, might not be the automatic ticket to Victory Circle.

Having to start the race from the 12th position in the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 15 (due to a 10-grid position penalty assessed to all Chevrolet teams for unapproved engine changes), Power squeezed 31 laps from 18.5 gallons of fuel on the 1.968-mile street circuit while being chased down by former ChampCar World Series team-mate (Team Aussie), Simon Pagenaud, the final 15 laps. Will Power won by 0.8675 of a second.

“I could not believe it,” said Power, who notched his 17th IZOD IndyCar Series victory. “You always believe that it is possible to win or get on the podium, but it was very unlikely, the fact that it was going to be a two‑stop race. But it was just amazing that Simon did three stops and I did two stops, like two different strategies and the result was similar. There was hardly any time between us as we crossed the finish line.

“It’s just always a surprise in IndyCar, I think. You can never predict; you can never assume going into a race. You just have to be smart as it plays out.

“This was a very sweet victory because I’ve been on pole here in 2009, ’10 and ’11, and it just frustrated me that every year something would happen and I couldn’t win. Once again this weekend, I’m starting 12th and I felt as though, ‘That’s impossible to win. I’ve got another bad year at Long Beach.

“But it was just a good race. I pushed hard all the time, no mistakes, great strategy, and just a great team effort again.”

The team effort has led Will Power and Team Penske to the top of the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings by 24 points over team-mate Helio Castroneves heading to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Power has won the past two years running.

Last year, after not converting the Long Beach pole into a podium (he finished 10th in the third race of the season), Power was seven points to the rear of Dario Franchitti. He wound up second in the standings – by 18 points, which included eight bonus points for a corresponding numbers of pole wins — for the second consecutive year.

Power added that the team effort is spread across the organization, which has swept the three races (Castroneves winning the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg). The Long Beach IndyCar Series win was Team Penske’s first since 2001, when Castroneves prevailed.

“I think it’s just that they’ve been probably one of the best prepared with the new car,” Power said. “We did a lot of miles (since manufacturer testing began in November). Chevy has worked very hard, and obviously our first hit of the year ‑‑ obviously the 10‑spot grid penalty was a precautionary thing and didn’t affect us too badly.

“To me, it has been hard work. I think my guys feel very confident no matter where we start now that it’s always possible.”

Will Power gives a thumbs-up to lucky photographer, Myles Regan, as Will denotes the joy of winning (for the second time) the grand dame of all American open-wheel temporary street course races - the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Myles Regan (2012)

By The Numbers – Race #3 On The Streets Of Long Beach:
Some numbers to note following the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third of sixteen events planned for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

0 – Lotus-powered cars on the podium in the 2012 season.

1 – Wins at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach by a Chevy-powered DW12

2 – Wins by Will Power at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in a turbo-charged car — one in a CCWS Panoz DP-01 and one in the Chevy-powered DW12.

3 – Drivers who have finished in the top 10 in each of the first three IZOD IndyCar Series events: Will Power, James Hinchcliffe and Simon Pagenaud.

5 – Different teams represented in the top five in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

7 – Different teams represented in the top 10 in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

9 – Lead changes in each of the first three race of the season. Percentage points increase in viewership on NBC Sports Network (formally Versus) over the same number of races in 2011.

11 – Positions gained from race start and consecutive races led by Will Power dating to 2011.

11.5 – Average starting position for Will Power in his two wins in 2012.

13 – Positions gained by James Hinchcliffe in securing P3 podium position standing with Simon Pagenaud – P2 and Will Power – P1.

15 – Positions gained by Tony Kanaan and JR Hildebrand in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, most of any drivers… Positions gained by Kanaan in IZOD IndyCar Series standings by finishing fourth at Long Beach as he advanced from 26th to 11th.

24 – Points separating Will Power (127) and Helio Castroneves in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

26 – Laps led by Simon Pagenaud — nine more laps than he had led in his previous 20 Indy car starts.

184 – Consecutive IndyCar starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland.

170,000+ – Fans who attended the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach event weekend, according to information released by the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, the event promoter.

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, winner Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach): “It’s a great day for the Verizon Team Penske Chevy. We really didn’t think it was possible to win from 12th place here because it was a two-stop race, but once again with (strategist) Tim (Cindric), Dave (Faustino), my engineer, and all the boys we overcame a 10-spot penalty.” (About Pagenaud bump): “When Pagenaud hit my tire, I thought he should have had a penalty for that. So I was happy beating him because I was kind of angry at him for ruining another one of my races.” (About Pagenaud closing in on the lead in the final laps): “They told me (Pagenaud) was coming and that I had a four-second gap and just needed to save as much (fuel) as I could and then I ran hard at the end, the last lap or two, and it was enough.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports, finished second): “It was fantastic. The car was great from the beginning. The guys, they did a great job running. We’re a one-car team operation, we don’t have as much data as Penske or Ganassi, but I’m glad we’re giving them a good run for their money. One more lap, man, I would have tried I tell you.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished third): “The credit has got to go to Firestone. The tires that they bring here are letting us race, and it’s mixing things up with different tire strategies. It was certainly exciting from where I was. I hope it was exciting for you guys in the stands, and thanks to all the fans that come out to the race because this is just one of the best events we go to all year bar none. The guys up in the stand were making all the right calls. I don’t know, it’s something about this race track that treats me well and I’ve been trying to get this first podium. We start in the front row and it doesn’t happen.We start in the second row and it doesn’t happen, and after Barber I said to myself, ‘I bet $20 bucks my first podium comes in some bizarre circumstance where I start off in the teens,’ and sure enough, here you go.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO (No. 8 BMC/ Embrase – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet, finished ninth): “Honestly I had a good race today. There were so many yellows the team used a strategy that had me saving fuel. Once we knew we were going to be short, I started to push hard. I would just like people to have more respect for each other on the track.   I was hit on every side of my car. .Apart from that, I enjoyed myself today.   To start so far back and finish in the top-10 again shows I am getting better and better, so hopefully I will have my best result two weeks from now in Brazil.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, finished seventh): “We just were stuck in traffic all day long. It’s a real shame because I think we had the quickest car out there and we just couldn’t do anything with it. We had a bad pit stop, the first one, and that put us way behind and from there we couldn’t go anywhere. It was just a really frustrating day.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Auto Club Team Penske Chevrolet): “We were just trying to finish and there were two cars in front of me and Rubens, and Rubens was being, I think, a bit cautious and stopped the car and he stopped too much—to the point that I obviously touched him. My intention was never to pass him, but we ended up blocking the track.”

Thank you Helio, for creating (and Myles Regan for capturing) a special unscripted moment to make this 38th edition of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach one of the most entertaining in years … with a post-race celebration worthy of the event-winning moment.

Next weekend catch race #4, the IZOD IndyCar Series Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle April 29, 2012: Streets of Sao Paulo. The race will be broadcast – on cable – live on NBC Sports Channel (formally Versus) at 11:00AM ET – SiriusXM Satellite Radio on Channel 94 – with Live Timing & Scoring from the web here – http://content.indycar.com/racecontrol – Also, follow the action at Twitter with the #hashtag – #saopauloindy – Sao Paulo Indy 300 (@IndyemSaoPaulo).

… notes from The EDJE

 

** Article first published as Will Power’s First Celebration At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix Of Long Beach on Technorati **

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A Full-Circle Win From Will Power At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Trophy, Star-Shaped Confetti, Girls, & All! - Will Power of Verizon Team Penske, Simon Pagenaud from HP Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports, and James Hinchcliffe of Go Daddy Andretti Autosport (joined by First Place team President and manager, Tim Cindric/Team Penske - on far right) celebrate their First, Second, and Third place trophies on the podium in Victory Circle at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks

Will Power Comes Full-Circle With Second Win At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Will Power puts together a masterful drive to win from a penalty starting grid position of P12 (due to the changing of engines in all Chevy-powered DW12 race cars) despite winning the pole (P1) position on the grid in the 35th, 36th, and 37th chapters of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This victory was Will’s second and represents the only victories by a ChampCar Series driver since the merger of the two American open-wheel racing sanctioning bodies of the Indianapolis Racing League (IRL) and the ChampCar World Series (CCWS).

The first win posted at this track by Will Power came soon after the announcement that a merger between the IRL and the CCWS was agreed to in 2008, however, since the two series utilized cars from different manufacturers based upon different technical configurations, the 34th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was performed under CCWS sanctioning with CCWS teams and drivers. At the time, Will Power drove for the KV Racing Technology/Craig Gore Aussie Vineyards/Smart & Final-Team Australia in a Panoz DP01 turbo-charged car. After 452 CART/CCWS races, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the last sanctioned race for the series and the Panoz DP01.

Will Power of Verizon Team Penske performs his signature jump for joy from a top his #12 Verizon Penske Racing DW12 Dallara IZOD IndyCar. This is Will Power's second win at the famed temporary street course next to the harbor marina at Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

This 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach win by Power was in the new formula DW12 chassis car powered by a 2.2 liter, 4 cylinder, turbo-charged Chevrolet engine as it is in its inaugural season … so one might conclude that with Will Power’s win in the new DW12 turbo-charged powered car, American open-wheel racing at Long Beach has come full-circle with Will Power’s help.

IZOD IndyCar Series rookie and ALMS standout driver Simon Pagenaud, piloting the HP Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports prepared DW12, enters turn #6 (Tacate Turn) at the end of the Merry-Go-Round short chute on his way to securing a podium P2 finish in the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Another interesting connection to the podium in this 2012 Long Beach race is that IZOD IndyCar Series rookie Simon Pagenaud, who finished the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in second place, was also a team-mate to Will Power on the Derrick Walker/Craig Gore Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia CCWS team during his rookie year in 2007.

This excerpted and edited from transcripts of the post race press conference at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach -

THE MODERATOR: We have now been joined by our race winner Will Power of Team Penske. This is the 17th career win for Will Power, his last win was two weekends ago at Barber. Will’s last back‑to‑back victories came in Infineon Baltimore in 2010. This is his second victory at Long Beach. He previously won here at the Champ Car finale in 2008, and this is Penske’s first win at Long Beach since 2001. Another great race for you. You said earlier never say never. Talk about overcoming that ten‑grid penalty to win today’s race.

WILL POWER: I think it came down to a good call in the beginning there to pit, and then obviously we had to save very good fuel throughout the whole race. So yeah, at the end I was very aware of Simon’s strategy, especially after he passed Sato, of the gap and the fuel that I needed to get to the end. We saved enough fuel to be able to push for the last two laps, so I felt we were pretty safe. The only thing was the couple of back markers there on the last. That was the only thing that really concerned me. But apart from that it was just running as hard as I possibly could, getting a good lap time with high fuel mileage, and that was the key to the race.

Q. Two questions: Number one: How far in the field do you have to start before you won’t win? And two, if you could talk about when you did come upon Viso, how much of a concern that was and how difficult it was to get around him?

WILL POWER: It was difficult because whoever was in front of him, they almost got together in the hairpin, so when I got a run, it was ‑‑ I got a very slow run. Yeah, it was ‑‑ I mean, yeah, the guy was kind of in the way. I don’t think it was deliberate or anything. I’m not sure his team informed him that the leaders were coming.

Yeah, what was your first question?

Q. How far back do you have to be in the field to not win?

WILL POWER: Yeah, pole. If you get on pole you won’t win. We’ve experienced that a number of times here and many other tracks.

Q. Under the circumstances of the ten‑spot penalty, how much sweeter if at all is this victory at Long Beach versus the one you had in the 2008 Champ Car finale?

WILL POWER: This was a very sweet victory because I’ve been on pole here I think ’09, ’10 and ’11, and it just frustrated me that every year something would happen and I couldn’t win. I thought, oh, once again this weekend I’m starting 12th. I felt as though that’s impossible to win. I’ve got another bad year at Long Beach.

I could not believe it. It was just a good race, pushed hard all the time, no mistakes, great strategy, just a great team effort again. Yeah, it is ‑‑ I go into every season thinking that there’s no way I can win another race. I don’t know why I feel like that, but I do, and that’s always my ‑‑ I guess I have an insecurity or something or I don’t believe in myself enough. Yeah, that’s always my feeling

Q. Describe this race for you. We’re used to seeing you attack if you have to make up positions, but today seemed to be something where you didn’t necessarily attack the whole time and kind of played it smart knowing that you had a long distance to travel.

WILL POWER: I passed when I could. Every time I could get a run, I passed. I think that was the key to the victory was making those moves on (Takuma) Sato, I think James, I can’t remember who else. But that was a key. And on those laps you use a lot of fuel, so then you’ve got to – Tim (Cindric) is on the radio saying, you must save fuel. You have to use fuel to do that but then save extra to make up for the fuel that you used and get the lap time. So it was just a day of pushing as hard as I could while saving fuel. It was a good race like as far as passing and strategy and everything, again, two weeks in a row.

Q. Will, this morning the attitude of your team and yourself going into the race as to what your potential outcome could be, what were your thought processes?

WILL POWER: We were thinking top-five would be a very good day for points. That’s what we were thinking. You always believe that it is possible to win or get on the podium, but it was very unlikely, the fact that it was going to be a two‑stop race. But it was just amazing that Simon did three stops and I did two stops, like two different strategies. Obviously he could run hard the whole time and not save fuel, and I saved fuel and did the best lap time I could. And the result was very similar. There was hardly any time between us as we crossed the finish line.

It’s just always a surprise in IndyCar, I think. You can never predict ‑‑ you can never assume going into a race. You just have to be smart as it plays out.

Q. Going into the race, how many laps, green flag laps, did you think you could make on a fuel run?

WILL POWER: Well, we were thinking 28. All I know, all I ask the team before every race is what lap number, if the radios go out, will I have to pit, if possible, and they said 28. What’s two times 28? I don’t know, whatever it is. On those laps you have to pit. I try to work that out in my head when the radios go out. What’s two times 28?

Q. So you got 31, that’s pretty impressive.

WILL POWER: Yeah, I think my engineer says it was amazing the lap time and fuel mileage I got. He said it was very good.

Q. The second question is what did you think of the pits being open immediately not from the standpoint of strategy but in terms of what the pit road looked like relative to open spaces? I know you had the problem with Simon, but basically it’s a much cleaner entry and exit.

WILL POWER: It is, when you get ‑‑ but sure enough, there was a guy leaving the pit as we were coming in and they sent him right in front of me and then he hit my tire. I was kind of pissed off after that. I asked the team, did he get a penalty, and they said no. I couldn’t believe it because I literally stopped for him as he left the pit, and I just knew that would happen, and I just go back to Kentucky when I lost the championship because of that, someone just sends it ‑‑ a team doesn’t care, someone is coming and they just send them into you. But this time I preempted it, so I stopped, let him go, and then he hits my tire, so that screws that part ‑‑ makes a massively long stop. But I’m aware in pit lane now of ‑‑ I’ve lost two championships in pit lane because of things like that, so that’s why I’m so keen on not getting in an incident.

Q. I believe there was a radio transmission as Simon was catching up to you and Tim said go faster but a little bit faster. How did you calculate that, and what’s the danger of just getting involved in a fast lap and using too much fuel?

WILL POWER: No, I was very aware of ‑‑ I have a fuel number on my dash, and he gave me a number. I was very good at picking a number and understanding how much ‑‑ I’ve got so many different levels of speed and fuel that I can do, and I just slowly picked it up and just used a little bit more fuel, went in a bit deeper everywhere. It’s just experience of fuel save, and just driving. That’s where it’s at, you know.

Q. About Barber, you thought that was one of the better IndyCar races in a long time. How did you think this one stacked up?

WILL POWER: I think just from what I saw there was a lot of passing and some very good passes in front of me. I didn’t know what happened to Marco (Andretti). It looked like in front of me there was a big crash. But it looked to me, the cars I passed and the passing that I saw, and even the start, I think Beaux Barfield [IZOD IndyCar Race Director | last year's ALMS Race Director, has background in CCWS] did a good job of getting everyone stacked up so it looked like a good start and good restarts, that people weren’t going too early. Yes, it was very good racing, again, and I hope it was on TV. I don’t know. I can only tell you what I saw.

Q. Both at Barber and here, drivers constantly say the tracks were difficult to pass, but at Barber there was passing like there’s never been before, there was times they were three wide going through corners which they’ve never done before. Do you think this new car is making it possible to do things that you haven’t been able to do in the past?

WILL POWER: I think it’s the tires, and maybe the new car is quite draggy so it creates a big hole in the air and allows the car behind to get a good draft. But I think it’s Firestone having a tire that ‑‑ between new and old there’s a big time difference, and I think they can go more with that. That’s definitely what it was in Barber, but here maybe just the draft effect made it a bit better, too.

Q. Speaking of the fuel mileage, on the cool down lap you stopped in the hairpin. Were you out of fuel?

WILL POWER: No, there was just a big stack up. No one told me to go the back way. Actually I had enough fuel to get around, no problem.

Q. The last two years you’ve come close to winning the championship and something happened at the end and you didn’t do it. Do you feel like this might be your year?

WILL POWER: After the last two years, I just don’t know. But all I know is I’m just going to do my absolute best at every race.

Q. You saved a lot of fuel, which allowed you to go quick at the end, but Simon was really, really closing down. How nervous were you in those closing laps with back markers and such?

WILL POWER: With three to go I had a four‑second gap or three‑and‑a‑half‑second gap. I wasn’t worried because I knew I could at least run under a second from him. I could probably equal his lap time if I pushed really hard. We had saved enough fuel to run really hard for the last two laps if we had to. You know, I think it was at six to go, I had a six‑second gap, so I was very aware all the time. I knew how fast he was. I thought it was about a second a lap quicker, and I knew that we’d saved fuel, so on the last two laps we could push if it came to him being right on me.

Q. Penske is perfect on the season, three poles, three race wins. Why do you think that is and what’s the mood of the organization?

WILL POWER: I think it’s just that they’ve been probably one of the best prepared with the new car. We did a lot of miles. Chevy has worked very hard, and obviously our first hit of the year ‑‑ obviously the ten‑spot grid penalty was a precautionary thing and didn’t affect us too badly, obviously. But yeah, to me it was hard work. I think whenever you’re winning, the whole team feels very good. I think my guys feel very confident no matter where we start now that it’s always possible. I think that’s good for them. It’s good for all of us. So yes, I think the team mood should be good because if it’s not good now, it never will be.

Will Power's helmet after it enjoyed the shower of star-shaped confetti from the confetti canon explosion after trophies were received by the drivers on the podium at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to be joined by Simon Pagenaud from Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports. This is a career best finish for Simon, previous best career finish was fourth, which he did three times, Mont Tremblant, Toronto and Edmonton, which is also a best finish for team owner Sam Schmidt in the IZOD IndyCar Series. His previous best finish was with driver Jaques Lazier, which was third in Nashville in 2001. Simon, you certainly put on a show today, reeling in Will there at the end. Walk us through the race in those closing laps.

SIMON PAGENAUD: I don’t really know until I watch the race to be honest what happened because it seems like it was a pretty cool race to watch. So I’m glad for the fans. I’m glad to be back in Long Beach. It’s a place where I’ve been pretty lucky in the past with two wins in sports cars, so I love coming back here. The Schmidt/Hamilton racing team is just fantastic at the moment. I think we are a one‑car team, but we need to give a lot of credit to Sam and the whole team for putting such a program together. They’re the strongest in Indy Lights with five championship wins, and here we are again with second position today in the IndyCar Series.

A lot of credit to those boys. HP is a big support for us with my new ride Best Buy, so thanks to them for giving us what we need to fight against Penske and Ganassi.

THE MODERATOR: We’ve also been joined by James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport, James is also having a career best finish today. His career best finish was fourth, which he did several times at St. Pete, Long Beach, New Hampshire and Kentucky. In three starts this season James has yet to finish outside the top six. First podium. Walk us through today’s race if you can.

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: I don’t know where to start. It was a bit of an eventful race, but man, I know from my seat it was certainly exciting. I bet it was from the outside, too. It’s cool to see some exciting racing back in IndyCar. For us, clean start, didn’t have the greatest first stint, kind of got held up behind E.J., he was struggling with the balance you could see, but ultimately it came down to the Andretti guys making the best calls on the pit stand. They’ve been doing that week in and week out this season. It’s cool to have such a great team behind you supporting you and making those right decisions because that’s what makes IndyCar racing so cool is you can start 16th and still have a crack at this thing if you play the strategy right. Credit to them. The GoDaddy car was strong right up to the end. I think my fastest lap was the second last lap of the race. Didn’t quite have enough to catch Simon and Will, so congrats to them. I do feel bad for Ryan because obviously we finished fourth on track but with Ryan’s penalty, and I only got there because of Ryan. He was punching holes left, right and center and I was just following him through for a lot of the race, so big thanks to him as well. Hopefully it’s not the last time I get a trophy in this series.

THE MODERATOR: What is this we hear about seeing baby face Hinch in two weeks?

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: Well, I may or may not have foolishly made a bet with Wade Cunningham, and the bet was that after my first podium I had to show up to the next race with a completely clean shaven face, and that’s not happened since about 2004. So I guess in Brazil you’re going to be seeing baby face Hinch show up, and I’m not thrilled about that.

Q. Simon, in your mind what was the biggest reason for your success today?

SIMON PAGENAUD: Every time he’s (Hinchcliffe) around we have a blast. I hope we get to do many podiums together.

I think it’s mostly my engineer and all the development they are doing is not by himself. He’s got a few other engineers working with him, so Ben Bretzman, Nick Snyder and Brendon Cleave, those guys are really close together, and the fact that we’re an one‑car team is actually not a bad thing because they’re very focused on just my car and very focused on my feedback. So everything I’m asking, I get it.

So we just ‑‑ obviously it’s taking us a little bit longer than those guys with three cars because we don’t have as many data, especially this weekend with less sessions. But when we have a normal weekend, we can actually be with those guys because we have time to catch up.

When we don’t unload from the truck really well, it’s a little bit harder like it has been this weekend, but still, they make good decisions as you can see, and I think it’s all about the right decisions at the right time, and I think that’s what they’re doing.

Q. Simon, not to pick on E.J. Viso, could have been any back marker, you had to have mixed emotions when you saw Will come upon him and slow down and then you had to realize you’ve got to get around him. What went through your mind at those two moments?

SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, I really thought I would have a go when E.J. was there. I thought E.J. did a good job. He did his best to get out of the way in the right place. There’s not much else he could have done, really. I was hoping we was going to end up a little bit more, so it gave me some time, but I just needed one more lap or a little bit more pace. But to be honest, that’s all I had, and I think it’s plenty quick.

But it is what it is; sometimes you can make it happen, and sometimes you don’t have the opportunity. But he knows we’re coming.

Q. Simon, this is along the same lines because I know race control asked the car 5 and 6 to move over for the leaders, and it seems like car 5 took a while, at least a lap before he did so, and I know there aren’t too many places around the track, but if he would have done it sooner do you think you could have challenged Will Power?

SIMON PAGENAUD: I don’t know. With a lot of ifs, you could change the world. It is what it is at the end of the day. I’m really happy with second. If I had an opportunity, I would have definitely tried. You can trust me on that. The day I have the opportunity, I will try.

But I didn’t have the opportunity, so I don’t think I’ll go end up (indiscernible) once again badly during the middle of the race, but that’s another story. The others I think are doing a pretty good job.

Q. Simon, can you clarify for us, your car appeared to have the best view of the first lap incident. Did you think Dario (Franchitti) made the contact with (Josef) Newgarden?

SIMON PAGENAUD: That’s going to start to be political now. To me it looks like Dario drove him into the wall, but that’s just to me. I’m not in his car, I’m not in Josef’s car. Again, I need to watch the race and then I could have a clear point of view. I think it’s a little bit harsh for me to say what I said.

Q. The tire that you struck, was there somebody on your outside when you hit power’s tire?

SIMON PAGENAUD: Actually, you know what happened, is when I got out of the pits I saw somebody coming in my mirror, so I tried to stay as far as I could on the inside to leave him room, but it was actually Will, but I didn’t know it was him. So I did my best to stay on the right to avoid a contact with that car, and I touched the tire. Really sorry about any delay I could have caused him. But it’s a tight pit lane.

Q. James, you get your first career podium. I’m wondering, are you celebrating it or you sort of got it by something happening in front of you.

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: No, you certainly ‑‑ any competitor wants to earn it. I would have rather have done that pass on the track to get the first podium, to get any podium, to get anything. You don’t like being given stuff like that. But at the end of the day, it’s a function of racing, and it is what it is. Sometimes those things work for you and sometimes they work against you, so it all sort of balances out, and you just have to take these little things when they come.

Q. How does Long Beach compare to other races on the circuit?

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: How does it compare? Long Beach is fantastic. I mean, this is a race that everybody looks forward to coming to every single year because it’s ‑‑ selfishly from the driver’s point of view the track is a lot of fun to drive. It usually produces really good races. And then from the fan point of view, the atmosphere, the environment, everything about this event is just so cool. It’s been around 37 years now, and there’s a reason for that ‑‑ 38 years now, I stand corrected, and there’s a reason for that, still. And yeah, it’s a favorite among drivers, it’s a favorite among fans, and I love coming back here. It’s always treated me pretty well. I wished we raced here three or four times a year selfishly.

SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, it’s a great place with a lot of history. It’s good to come to California, as well. It changes from Florida where we are all winter long. It’s nice to be here, and to me, as well, has been a pretty good track to me. The fans, they show up with ‑‑ it’s a pretty big crowd out there. As James said, there’s a great atmosphere, great restaurants around, so it’s cool for us to come over here.

Q. Simon, as the only Honda among the top seven after the penalty, is that kind of demoralizing to see that?

SIMON PAGENAUD: No, it’s not. I think Honda is doing a great job. I think it’s very tight with Chevy. But you know, Chevy has got ‑‑ teams like Penske and Andretti with six cars, so it’s quite a bit of cars to beat, and they’re very strong as a team. I think it’s just the consistencies of the race. I think drafting the Chevy, I don’t feel like we’re doing. I don’t feel like anything is better on their side. I just think it is what it is at the moment. But luck turns around, so we’ll see.

Q. For both you guys, how did the new rules with keeping the pits open during some of the full course yellows affect your races?

SIMON PAGENAUD: Honestly, I don’t know again. I need to watch the race. I just came back to the pit as early as possible when they said pit, pit, pit, and I tried to rush into the pit. I think it makes it better for the strategist. It shuffles everything, and you can ‑‑ we initially started to think we would do the race on two stops, and because of that we changed our plan. So I think it makes for good racing.

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE: Sort of like Simon said, I don’t know exactly ‑‑ that’s a tough question to answer without watching the race. But our strategy seemed to change lap by lap. It was pit in five laps, pit in four laps, pit in two laps, pit now. It’s sort of a bit of a bouncing ball for us. I think what is cool about this new rule is that it’s not a guarantee. Bo has the right or the prerogative to close the pits under a caution if it’s a severe enough accident and he doesn’t want people at speed trying to catch up or in pit lane. It just throws another element in there, another unknown, and I just think that’s great for the racing, spices things up a bit.

Q. Simon, at what point after your second stop did your team tell you that you would or would not be able to make it, and did they tell you to go for it at that point because you were pulling out enough of a gap and you needed to close back the gap after your third stop?

SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, I asked them at some point where I was because I didn’t know what was going on. I was just pushing as hard as I could with what they were saying. At the beginning of the race they said do this fuel mileage and you need to go as fast as you can so I was doing the fuel mileage and once we started thinking about the three‑stop strategy it was clear I had to push and not save fuel. So I pushed as hard as I could at the end when Will was behind me. I realized if he wasn’t staying up with me, it’s because he was saving fuel, so I knew he was going to the end and I wasn’t, so I was trying to open up the gap.

I understood, but when the team is just telling me to go as fast as possible, I just go as fast as possible. I don’t think that much.

Q. Have you ever closed on a leader like that before?

SIMON PAGENAUD: I did in 2010. I thought it was a repeat of what happened in MP1 in 2010 when I passed Adrian Fernandez in the last lap. I was hoping he was going to make the same mistake, but he didn’t.

ENDS

Go Daddy Andretti Autosport's James Hinchcliffe powers down Turn #7 through Pine Avenue as the course passes in front of the Long Beach Entertainment and Convention Center. The "Mayor of Hinchtown" ... or "Manica", as he is known around the track went on to hold down P3 on the podium at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

For those who think American open-wheel racing at Long Beach is just a single-file affair, all one needs to do is review the following facts:

All Chevrolet-powered cars started on the grid with a 10 lap penalty with the first Chevrolet on the grid being the car driven by Will Power. 10 Honda-powered and 1 Lotus-powered cars sat in front of the Verizon Team Penske DW12 with 85 Laps around the 1.97 mile temporary street course at Long Beach.

The margin of victory was less than one-second at .8675 seconds. There were nine lead changes among seven drivers with seven cars on the lead lap. Nineteen DW12′s were running on the track out of 26 cars that qualified and started the race with this being the third race ever run with the new DW12 Dallara formula that features Chevrolet, Honda, and Lotus turbo-charged engines.

Will Power advanced eleven places to win, Simon Pagenaud advanced two places to grab P2, and James Hinchcliffe advanced thirteen places to stand on the podium in P3!

So, no passing? No history? No sense of drama? And, no connections to the glorious past of ChampCar days in Long Beach?

If one just holds on and exhibits some patience, Will Power will deliver the full-circle racing experience we have been yearning for since the end of ChampCar World Series style racing in 2008!

… notes from The EDJE

** Article first published as Will Power Comes Full-Circle With Second Win At The 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Technorati **

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