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IZOD INDYCAR SERIES NEWS
AND NOTES - Aug. 30, 2010
Today's IZOD
IndyCar Series and
Firestone Indy Lights headlines:
1. With three to go, Title race is
anyone's to win
2. Vote for Tire-ific Move of the Race
1. With three to
go, Title race is anyone's to win:
After winning for the fifth time this season
at
Infineon Raceway, Will Power told
nearly everyone with a digital recorder and
video camera that he wasn't ready to claim
the
IZOD IndyCar Series championship for
his own.
"There's a lot of racing to go," he said.
"Really, whatever the buffer is, you can
lose a lot of that in just one race."
The Verizon Team Penske proved to be
somewhat clairvoyant. Power's 59-point lead
shrunk to 23 after
Dario Franchitti, won the
PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300
at
Chicagoland Speedway on Aug. 28, the
second of three consecutive weekends of
racing.
Power looked to mitigate any significant
points reduction by leading the remnants of
the 29-car field as late as Lap 172 of 200,
with Franchitti joining Power on pit lane
under yellow for the final time running
eighth. Franchitti exited with the outright
lead - enough ethanol in the tank and
confidence in the Firestone Firehawks on the
1.5-mile oval to go the distance (62 total
laps). Power's No. 12 Verizon Team Penske
car didn't take on enough fuel in the
7.3-second scramble, and at the blistering
pace of the dash to the finish he wound up
five laps short of challenging Franchitti
for the victory.
Power ducked onto pit lane for a splash and
drove home in 16th place. He's not one to
say "I told you so." "These things happen,"
Power said instead. "This obviously makes
things tougher for the championship, but
we're still in front and we proved how
competitive we can be on the ovals. I was
looking good there until that last stop. As
long as I was leading, they couldn't get
past me.
"We'll move on and we will work harder next
week at Kentucky."
It's a new two-man race, which widened the
smile Franchitti wore in his post-race news
conference, though he also was cautionary.
It's the third-closest title chase with
three events left in the past five years.
"We see how quickly these things can change,
especially on these one and a half mile
tracks," Franchitti said. "We're just going
to keep going. It would have been easy to
give up halfway through the race there when
we were running 10th or whatever. I've been
on the receiving end of getting beaten from
them sometimes when (Team Penske) managed to
pull things out of seemingly nowhere, so it
was nice to be on the end of actually
winning the (race)."
In six races at
Kentucky Speedway, Franchitti has
started from the front row his past two
races at the 1.5-mile oval. He has an
average finish of eighth (high of sixth in
'09 and '04). Power was strong last year,
advancing 11 positions to finish ninth in
his part-time role with Penske Racing. He
finished 26th in '08 in his first full
IZOD IndyCar Series season. Power was
among a group of drivers who tested at the
track earlier this month.
Power hasn't visited the egg-shaped
Twin Ring Motegi - site of the Sept.
19 race - while Franchitti has finished
second and third the past two years (average
finish of ninth through five races).
Franchitti secured his second series title
with a victory at
Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2009 and
has competed on that 1.5-mile oval six
times. Power's lone race on the track that
will play host to the
season finale Oct. 2 was in 2008 with
KV Racing Technology (season opener in which
he started 19th and finished 25th).
"It's far from over on both sides. It's
going to be interesting these last three,"
Franchitti said.
Championship chases in five years with three
races left:
2010
Leader: Will Power (528). Second: Dario
Franchitti (-23). Third:
Scott Dixon (-85)
2009
Leader:
Ryan Briscoe (497). Second: Dario
Franchitti (-4). Third: Scott Dixon (20)
Final margin and champion: 11 points. Dario
Franchitti
2008
Leader: Scott Dixon (558). Second:
Helio Castroneves (-78). Third:
Dan Wheldon (-138)
Final margin and champion: 17 points. Scott
Dixon
2007
Leader: Dario Franchitti (518). Second:
Scott Dixon (-8). Third:
Tony Kanaan (-52)
Final margin and champion: 13 points. Dario
Franchitti
2006
Leader: Helio Castroneves (376). Second:
Sam Hornish Jr. (-8). Third: Dan
Wheldon (-17)
Final margin and champion: Tie between the
three. Hornish won by virtue of most
victories
2. Vote for Tire-ific Move of
the Race:
Fans select the Firestone Tire-ific Move of
the Race winner by voting on
indycar.com
after every race. This $10,000 prize is
awarded to the driver best utilizing his or
her Firestone tires to make a bold, dramatic
move during the event.
Nominees for the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil
Indy 300 are:
Marco Andretti for taking the high
line most of the race to finish third; Dario
Franchitti for skipping a tire change on the
final pit stop, leading to his win and
Justin Wilson for climbing from the
23rd starting position to finish seventh.
IZOD INDYCAR
SERIES NEWS AND NOTES - Aug. 31, 2010
Today's IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone
Indy Lights headlines:
1. IZOD IndyCar Series Q & A
2. Kanaan, Dixon conduct Firestone tire
test New Hampshire
3. The 200th Race - Did You Know
1. IZOD
IndyCar Series Q & A: IZOD IndyCar Series
driver Paul Tracy participated in a Q&A
session today to discuss his return to
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's #24 car and his
return to oval racing this weekend at
Kentucky Speedway. Below are select quotes
from his interview. The full transcript and
an MP3 audio recording is posted at
www.indycar.com/media.
Q. Let's talk
a little bit about the announcement today. I
know when we last saw you at Edmonton you
thought maybe your season was done. Talk
about getting back into the Dreyer &
Reinbold Racing team.
PAUL
TRACY: Obviously, working with Robbie (Buhl)
and Dennis (Reinbold) and the whole team was
a great experience for me at Watkins Glen. I
felt we had a pretty good weekend and a good
result for just jumping into the car last
minute.
We've had some ongoing conversations of what
their options were going towards the end of
the season and where Mike was at with his
rehabbing to get back in the car.
You know, an opportunity for both myself and
my sponsor, Motegi Racing Wheels, was
presented to us from D&R. It really just
kind of made sense to keep trying to build
the brand of Motegi, get the awareness out
there about it, you know, from there, just
get an opportunity to get a couple more
races in.
Q. You have
never been to Kentucky Speedway. What have
you heard about that track? How long do you
think it will take you to get up to speed?
PAUL
TRACY: You know, the rules have changed a
little bit over the last year. Looked like
last year's race was a little bit more
spread out than, say, Chicagoland was this
weekend. You know, from what I saw from
Saturday night, it was pretty wild racing, a
lot of wheel-to-wheel, a lot of action, a
lot of really close racing, a lot of
tactician stuff going on where you've just
got to make the right move at the right time
and have a partner to do it with. Whether
that happens at Kentucky, a little bit more
of a bumpy track from what hear, has a
little bit less banking, we'll see on
Saturday night. But I'm expecting a barn
burner.
Q. Were you
intimidated by some of the driving you saw
going on at Chicago? Were you encouraged by
Justin getting a seventh-place finish?
PAUL TRACY: I
am obviously. You look at the qualifying
order, where cars qualify, and it really
doesn't give you an indication. Obviously,
Penske and Ganassi always seem to be towards
the sharp end of the grid on those type of
tracks.
But from the standpoint of watching and
analyzing the race, seeing that even when
the Penske and Ganassi cars, when they got
back in the middle of the field, you know,
they weren't really as strong as they were
when they were at the front end of the
field.
It's encouraging when you see teams like
D&R, much smaller operation than a Penske or
Ganassi, who come from the back and race
their way to the front, just watching guys
like Tag having a fantastic race, starting
way in the back, tiny little operation,
handful of guys, work their way right
towards the front. It's the type of racing
that can be done if you get the car right.
You know, I talked to Justin on the
phone. He was encouraged by the end
result. You know, they've got a couple of
ideas for qualifying. I talked to my
engineer, Yves Touron, a couple times at
D&R. They have some things they learned from
the final practice and the race that they
think are going to help the car in
qualifying trim. Hopefully we can have
Justin and I have good starting positions
and race well together and both get solid
top-10 finishes.
Q. Paul, how
do you think it will affect you in working
with different teams on the ovals as opposed
to what you would do regarding setup for a
road course? Obviously it's going to be a
lot colder for you to come in, especially on
a specific track like Kentucky, where some
of the other teams might have a marked
advantage.
PAUL
TRACY: I've just got to do what I can do.
Obviously, I've talked to the team. They
said, 'Our cars are pretty solid. We don't
do anything that's way outside of the
box. Mile-and-a-half cars when you're out
there qualifying, running, not too
difficult.' There's quite a bit of banking
at Kentucky. The cars are fairly stable with
the bigger wings on them.
In the race, if it's like Chicagoland, for
sure the first third of the race, because I
haven't done that style of racing in a
while, it's going to take me a little bit to
get my feet back under me and get used to
whatever situation you have to get into. But
as the race progresses, you know, hopefully
we'll be running towards the front.
My goal is, are we going to come there and
win the race? It's a pretty lofty goal. But
I think a realistic expectation is to finish
in the top 10. If things go really well,
have a good, solid finish like Justin had,
maybe even a top five or six.
Q. Paul, this
is not your first time with D&R. At Watkins
Glen, after the first day, you seemed to
click pretty well with the team. Is there
anything specific you can count to and say
why you seem to click pretty fast with
them?
PAUL
TRACY: Well, I think just the general
atmosphere of the team is pretty calm, which
I like. You know, I've known Robbie for a
long, long time. We raced against each other
in the '80s. So, you know, we've known each
other for a long time. We have mutual
friends that we've known each other for
many, many years.
You know, working with Justin, obviously I
get along well with Justin. I've never got
into a problem with him on the
racetrack. From that standpoint, you know,
right away our feedback was very similar to
the engineers. Really just the weekend went
pretty nice.
It was a pretty nice atmosphere to be in.
Great working with Honda on that race,
Motegi. For that race there, for Motegi,
we've been able to build this program.
Hopefully we can, you know, have a good
couple of races here and then build on our
program for next year.
2. Kanaan, Dixon conduct
Firestone tire test New Hampshire:
Tony Kanaan drew a comparison between New
Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he completed
the first segment of a two-day Firestone
tire test, and Chicago Motor Speedway, where
he competed in CART, in helping decide
downforce parameters for the 2011 IZOD
IndyCar Series return to the 1-mile oval.
The conversation with IZOD IndyCar Series
technical director Kevin Blanch and Target
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon is
just what Firestone Racing senior project
manager Dale Harrigle wanted to hear. It
helps his cause as Firestone engineers went
through their due diligence to discern a
direction for the tire specification.
"Especially coming to a track we haven't run
at in a long time, we want to bring veteran
drivers who can tell us what they feel in
the car and give us a direction," Harrigle
said. "We want guys who have driven
different downforce levels and different
racetracks that can help us hone in on where
we want to be for this race."
Nearly 400 tires of 20 different compounds
were brought to the track, which last played
host to the series in 1998. On June 27, IZOD
IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard joined
Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Bruton Smith
and New Hampshire Motor Speedway executive
vice president Jerry Gappens in announcing a
race date for 2011 (Aug. 14).
"When the IRL announced this race in Loudon,
obviously we had a history here from '96
through '98 but the closest track we ran at
most recently was Milwaukee, and this track
is similar to Milwaukee," Harrigle said.
"Our baseline tire is the 2009 Milwaukee
tire. We took that construction, put some
current compounds on it and brought it here
as our control tire. We also have some
compounds that are a little softer and a
little harder to give us a good range.
"We completed our runs on the control tires
to get the guys comfortable, give both teams
time to work on their car setup and then
we'll go through our range of compounds to
see where we are. On (Sept. 1), we'll
evaluate where we are with the appropriate
level of grip, hardness and durability for a
fuel stint."
Kanaan and Dixon agreed that the aero
package used at The Milwaukee Mile as a
baseline was initially comfortable for the
variably-banked (2 to 7 degrees) oval.
"Out of the box we were very close," Blanch
said. "In qualifying, with the package we
have now, the drivers can probably get flat
if the car is really good. In the race,
there will be no way you're going to get
flat. They'll have to constantly work the
throttle, which is what you want.
"The track is going to lend itself to really
good racing when we get the numbers right on
the downforce."
Kanaan and Dixon agreed on that, too.
"The track is very suitable for these cars,"
said Dixon, who was more than 1.5 seconds
quicker out of the box than the 1998 IZOD
IndyCar Series pole speed and 6 seconds
quicker than the NASCAR Sprint Cup track
qualifying record. "The key points are
picking the tire and an aero package that is
going to be good for the racing and the
fans.
"I'm excited to be back on another short
track. I can't wait to get back here for the
real thing."
Added Kanaan: "We have a big responsibility
because if we don't find a good package
we're going to get yelled at."
3. The 200th
Race - Did You Know: The Kentucky Indy 300
marks the 200th IZOD IndyCar
Series race. There have been 86 IZOD IndyCar
Series (and its title predecessors) races
with a margin of victory of less than one
second. That's through 199 events. Of those,
the pole sitter has won only 28 percent of
the time.
The above numbers point out how close the
competition has been throughout the
existence of the Indy Racing League's top
division.
The first race was Jan. 27, 1996, at Walt
Disney World Speedway (Buzz Calkins winner)
and the 100th race was Aug. 29, 2004, at
Nazareth Speedway (Dan Wheldon winner). Race
No. 200 is this weekend at Kentucky
Speedway.
Check out some additional tidbits and
numbers, which add up to an intriguing 199:
Answers to future trivia questions
The age of winners in the IZOD IndyCar
Series ranges from the youngest at 19
(Graham Rahal in 2008) to the oldest at 45
(Arie Luyendyk in 1998).
Jeff Ward is the only driver to win a race
by leading just the final lap. He
accomplished that at the June Texas race in
2002. It was his only IZOD IndyCar Series
victory.
Dan Wheldon is the only IZOD IndyCar Series
Rookie of the Year (2004) to follow up the
next season by winning the series
championship.
There have been 42 different winners in the
199 IZOD IndyCar Series races. Sixteen of
those have won one IZOD IndyCar Series
race. Among those are current drivers Marco
Andretti, Danica Patrick and Graham Rahal.
In the 199 IZOD IndyCar Series races, only
the 2009 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway
was run caution-free.
Treadway Racing was the first team to finish
1-2 in an IZOD IndyCar Series race
(Indianapolis, 1997). Team Menard was the
first team to start 1-2 in an IZOD IndyCar
Series race (Texas, 1997).
Helio Castroneves has competed in 26 of the
32 Firestone Fast Six sessions -- the most
of any driver.
Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan are
the only drivers to have competed in at
least one Firestone Fast Six session in each
of the past six seasons.
Will Power is only driver to
have competed in every Firestone Fast Six
session this season. Since 2005, at least
one driver has competed in all of the
Firestone Fast Six sessions during the
season. (Castroneves and Kanaan in
2005; Dixon, Castroneves, Dario Franchitti
and Kanaan in both 2006 and '07; Ryan
Briscoe in 2008; and Franchitti in 2009).
Buddy Lazier is the only driver to win the
pole for his first IZOD IndyCar Series
start. That was in the first IZOD IndyCar
Series race in 1996 at Walt Disney World
Speedway. Lazier did not win another pole.
Buzz Calkins won the first IZOD IndyCar
Series in 1996 at Walt Disney World
Speedway. It was his only win in the
series.
Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2000 Indianapolis
500, which was his first and only IZOD
IndyCar Series start.
Scott Dixon won his first career IZOD
IndyCar Series race in 2003 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway in his first career
IZOD IndyCar Series start. He went on to
win the series championship that year.
Robbie Buhl's second career IZOD IndyCar
Series win came at Walt Disney World
Speedway in 2000 with Dryer & Reinbold
Racing. It was the team's first IZOD
IndyCar Series start. Buhl is now part-owner
of the team.
The largest starting field in the 199 races
was 35 cars at the Indianapolis 500 in
1997. The largest starting field outside of
the Indianapolis 500 was 31 cars at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway in 1997.
Four drivers have won a pole in the IZOD
IndyCar Series but have never won a race:
Sarah Fisher, Marco Greco, Bruno Junqueira
and Vitor Meira.
Fourteen drivers have won a race in the IZOD
IndyCar Series but have never won a pole:
Alex Barron, Kenny Brack, Robbie Buhl, Buzz
Calkins, Airton Dare, Adrian Fernandez, Ryan
Hunter-Reay, Felipe Giaffone, Jim Guthrie,
Juan Pablo Montoya, John Paul Jr., Eliseo
Salazar, Al Unser Jr. and Jeff Ward.
In the 199 IZOD IndyCar Series races, there
have been six women to start at least one
race: Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, Danica
Patrick, Milka Duno, Ana Beatriz and Simona
De Silvestro. Five started in the same race
at Indianapolis and Chicagoland this year.
Only three drivers have won three
consecutive races: Scott Dixon (2007), Dan
Wheldon (2005) and Kenny Brack (1998).
By the numbers
182 - Different drivers to start an IZOD
IndyCar Series races; 24 of those have
started only one IZOD IndyCar Series race.
147 - Most starts by a driver (Scott
Sharp). Helio Castroneves can tie the
record by starting the rest of the races
this season.
94 - Different drivers to lead at least one
lap.
51 - Most drivers to start at least one race
during an IZOD IndyCar Series season. This
occurred during the 2001 season.
31 - Different tracks where the IZOD IndyCar
Series has competed. Texas Motor Speedway
has been the site of the most IZOD IndyCar
Series races with 21.
22 - Different states where the IZOD IndyCar
Series has competed.
4 - Countries other than the United States
(Brazil, Canada, Japan, Australia) where the
IZOD IndyCar Series has competed. The
October 2008 Australia race was non-points
exhibition.
2 - Women to start on the pole at the same
track in the IZOD IndyCar Series (Sarah
Fisher, 2002 and Danica Patrick, 2005 at
Kentucky Speedway).
37,076 - Laps run in the 199 IZOD IndyCar
Series races.
343 - Most consecutive laps led by one
driver. Scott Dixon led the final 84 laps at
Pikes Peak, all 206 laps at Richmond and the
first 53 laps at Kansas during the 2003
season.
IZOD INDYCAR
SERIES NEWS AND NOTES - Sept. 1, 2010
Today's IZOD
IndyCar Series and
Firestone Indy Lights headlines:
1. Rahal rejoins
Sarah Fisher Racing for Kentucky
2. Hinchcliffe hopes to ride high line
to success at Kentucky
3. 200th Race - First street
race special to Andretti
4. Drivers to visit high school to talk
safe driving
1. Rahal rejoins
Sarah Fisher Racing for Kentucky:
Sarah Fisher watched from the pit
lane timing stand as
Graham Rahal drove her IZOD IndyCar
Series car at St. Petersburg,
Barber Motorsports Park and Long
Beach.
Now the team owner/driver and Rahal will be
teammate on the racetrack for the first time
this weekend at
Kentucky Speedway in the Indy Racing
League's 200th event.
In partnership with Service Central -- the
automotive service offering available
exclusively at Tire Kingdom, National Tire
and Battery, Merchants Tire and Big O Tires
-- Rahal will drive the No. 66 Service
Central car in the Kentucky Indy 300.
"SFR is ecstatic to welcome Graham back to
our program with the Service Central No. 66
team for the Kentucky race," said Fisher,
who at Kentucky in 2002 was the first female
to start from the pole in a series race.
"The excitement in the shop has been
contagious and we will work as hard as we
can to give this program the merit it
deserves for Service Central."
Rahal competed for
Rahal Letterman Racing in the
Indianapolis 500 and for
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at
Iowa Speedway. He also has competed
in four races with Newman/Haas Racing,
recording a 10th place Aug. 28 at
Chicagoland Speedway.
"We are very appreciative that Newman/Haas
Racing gave us the go ahead to bring Graham
on board for this race," said Fisher, who
will drive the No. 67 Dollar General car.
"He should be in a car as often as he can,
and with the support of our partners we were
able to pull that off for him this weekend.
Graham works very hard outside the car to be
in the car, and he always takes that next
step to make sure he is as prepared as
anyone out there.
"The whole team believes in Graham's
abilities, and I am truly looking forward to
working with Graham as a teammate on track.
If you think I had fun in Chicago last
weekend, I expect this weekend to be even
better."
Rahal returns to Kentucky Speedway for the
third time, where he started 10th and
finished with a top-five run in 2009.
"I'm thrilled to be back in the car with SFR
at Kentucky this weekend, especially with
NTB and Service Central who supported me at
Mid-Ohio," Rahal said. "I'm extremely
grateful for this opportunity, and I'm
hoping we can give Service Central a great
result in the No. 66 machine."
2. Hinchcliffe
hopes to ride high line to success at
Kentucky:
James Hinchcliffe used to watch Greg
Moore drive around competitors on ovals and
dream of making high-side passes like his
racing hero.
Now a highly regarded racer in his own
right, Hinchcliffe has used the inspiration
of the late
Indy Lights and CART star as a
template for success on ovals, applying
those lessons throughout his two years in
Firestone Indy Lights, including his first
oval win at Chicagoland Speedway on Aug. 28.
"I learned a lot watching Greg Moore when I
was growing up," the 23-year-old Canadian
said. "Greg used the high line, and I was
awe struck watching him on an oval. Not for
a second, am I pretending to have the gift
that Greg had, but I sort of turned (running
the high line) into my thing."
Another strong performance on an oval will
help Hinchcliffe in his pursuit of J.K.
Vernay for the Firestone Indy Lights
championship. The French rookie leads
Hinchcliffe by 53 points heading into the
penultimate Firestone Indy Lights race and
could clinch the Firestone Firehawk Cup by
finishing ahead of Hinchcliffe in the Drive
Smart. Buckle Up Kentucky 100 on Sept. 4.
"We'd like to take it to the last race and
not let J.K. sleep comfortably for the next
month," Hinchcliffe said. "I know
championship is a long shot, so all I can do
is focus on my own effort. That effort is
going really well right now."
And while Hinchcliffe's confidence is high
entering the race, Vernay has the advantage
of knowing that the pressure is on
Hinchcliffe.
"We're showing that we can be competitive on
the ovals, and I enjoy the racing," Vernay
said. "After testing in Kentucky and being
very quick there, I'm very confident heading
into the last two races of the season that
we can still win another race or two and
have a great result for the championship."
Vernay's confidence means Hinchcliffe may
have to drive on the high-side, both in the
race and in the title race, to get to his
goal of winning the Firestone Indy Lights
title.
"I was in a
Sam Schmidt car at Kentucky last
year, so I know how good a car J.K. has.
Plus, they've been there. We may be behind
those guys, but at the same time, I have
faith and confidence in my car and I know we
can be strong for first practice.
"Kentucky was most my competitive oval last
year. I really like it. I just have to give
it my best shot and see where it all works
out."
FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS CHAMPIONSHIP
SCENARIOS:
J.K. Vernay will clinch the Firestone
Firehawk Cup if:
·
He finishes ahead of James Hinchcliffe,
regardless of position.
·
Hinchcliffe finishes ahead of Vernay, but
fails to gain 19 points or more. (Example,
Hinchcliffe finishes 4th, Vernay
5th)
James Hinchcliffe will remain eligible for
the Firestone Firehawk Cup if:
·
He finishes ahead of Vernay and gains 19
points or more. (Example, Hinchcliffe wins
race and Vernay finishes fifth or worse)
3. 200th
Race - First street race special to
Andretti:
One in a series
highlighting the 200th
Indy Racing League IZOD IndyCar
Series points-paying race this weekend.
With four (and occasionally five) drivers
competing for Andretti Autosport, it's
understandable if
Michael Andretti might be
hard-pressed to select one event that stands
out in eight seasons of IZOD IndyCar Series
competition.
But the former
Indy car racing champion is up to the
task (after a brief grace period for
deliberation).
"Although it is tough to say that anything
would be bigger than winning our first Indy
500 in 2005, I actually think the sweep at
St. Pete earlier that year is biggest in my
mind," Andretti said of the inaugural
IZOD IndyCar Series street circuit
race. "It was the first race we ever
promoted, we won the pole and the race with
Marco (Andretti) in Firestone Indy Lights,
we won the pole with Bryan (Herta), the race
with Dan (Wheldon) and we swept the top four
spots in IndyCar.
"The odds of something like that happening
to you; the deck is really stacked against
you.
"Once we got to the final few laps of that
race and Dan took the lead, I wasn't even
paying attention to the front. All my focus
was on Bryan in fourth; just hoping he could
hold off Vitor (Meira). Bryan had a broken
shock or something like that and I knew he
had his hands full. But that was the key
spot for us. I knew we had the race covered
at the front. The only question was whether
we could sweep and we did. It was a pretty
amazing day."
Since it started competing in the Indy
Racing League in 2003 as
Andretti Green Racing, the team has
won three
IZOD IndyCar Series championships and
two Indianapolis 500 victories. It also has
fielded cars for the past two
Firestone Indy Lights champion.
Marco Andretti,
Ryan Hunter-Reay,
Tony Kanaan and
Danica Patrick will represent
Andretti Autosport in the 200th
IZOD IndyCar Series race this weekend
at Kentucky Speedway.
The team was re-named Andretti Autosport in
November 2009 after the former shareholders
of Andretti Green Racing completed a
transaction that resulted in the
restructuring and rebranding of the
Indianapolis-based company. Michael Andretti
is president, CEO and chairman of the board.
Kanaan, the 2004 series champion, gave the
team its first pole start - at
Homestead-Miami Speedway in its
initial race in 2003. Michael Andretti
started second. Three weeks later, at
Phoenix International Raceway, Kanaan
delivered the first victory. He also gave
the team its last victory (of 36) - at Iowa
Speedway in mid-June.
Kanaan, who entered in the IZOD IndyCar
Series in the
2002 Indianapolis 500 with Hollywood
Mo Nunn Racing, also selected the 2005 St.
Pete race as his most memorable in the
series.
"Sweeping the top four spots at St. Pete in
2005 is definitely my all-time favorite
race," said Kanaan, who has made 129 starts
and holds records including consecutive
top-10 finishes (22) and consecutive races
led (12). "It would be easy to say that it
was Fontana 2004 when I clinched my
championship, or it was the race in Texas
when I won in 7-Eleven's back yard. People
would expect something like that to be my
favorite moment.
"To me, the way I look at it, it doesn't
have to be about a win or a championship.
I've made huge friends in racing and the
time that I spend with them is very special.
That team, back in 2005 with the four of us
- me, Dario (Franchitti), Dan and Bryan -
that was a 'dream team.' We kept saying that
and people didn't really believe us that
much back then. We probably didn't even
realize quite how good we had it right then.
But, to be able to do that, it was very
special.
"It's hard enough to go 1-2 not to mention
1-2-3, and we went 1-2-3-4."
4. Drivers to
visit high school to talk safe driving:
Three Firestone Indy Lights drivers will
join Bridgestone/Firestone's teen driver
safety initiative this weekend by
participating in a "Teens Drive Smart"
safety program at Carroll County High School
in Carrolton, Ky., on Sept. 2.
James Hinchcliffe, Martin Plowman and
Stefan Wilson will join the program
for the day, which includes a brief
presentation, a driver safety quiz bowl, an
autograph session for the students, and a
parking lot
tire inflation check.
"It's a program we're excited about,"
Hinchcliffe said. "It gives us an
opportunity to give something back.
Sometimes, it's easier for teens to hear the
message of safe driving from someone closer
to their own age, and doing what we do, we
know how dangerous operating a vehicle -
either a race car or a road car— can be.
It's just a good opportunity to share our
knowledge and show new drivers that they
should treat road cars the way they deserve
to be treated."
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