Iowa Corn Indy 250 Qualifications Explored And Explained

Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay take the win for a second oval race in a row. Penske Racing's Will Power retains the overall points lead after this ninth race which saw a high level of attrition. Image Credit: IICS

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.
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ICFanVillage @ICFanVillageThe LIVE @NBCSports Pre-Race Broadcasts starts at 8pm in the@ICFanVillage with guests@RyanHunterReay and@justin_wilson! #Iowa250
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HinchOnTrack @hinchontrack -@iowaspeedway #iowa250@Hinchtown Severe thunderstorms have shut down on track activity…race fans stand by! Race supposed to start at 9…
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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 (photo below)

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!
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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
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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

Milwaukee IndyFest - Motorculture In Motion

Milwaukee IndyFest podium where two of the race promoter's drivers sit in positions P1 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, and P3 - James Hinchcliffe. A driver who use to race for Andretti Autosport and now drives for KV Racing Technology, Tony Kanaan came in at P2. Image Credit: Andretti Autosport

Milwaukee IndyFest - Motorculture In Motion

The IZOD IndyCar race last weekend was an interesting study of motorculture in motion (as viewed in more ways than just the race).

Traditionally, the open-wheel race at the track known as the Milwaukee Mile was held as the first race after the Indianapolis 500. The race is run on the Wisconsin state fair grounds and it garnered excitement for this distinction and the fact that this intimate short track race was on a surface that was wide and flat and this helped to increase the visual nature of the competition for all who attended. Further, this was a good race for television, as long as there was 2 to 3-wide passing throughout the field. Homes and West Allis town streets could be seen in the background as the cars raced by at speeds up to 168 mph.

The Milwaukee Mile track is also known as America's Legendary Oval because it is the oldest, continuously used auto racing track in the world. It started as a horse track in 1876 and the first auto racing event was held on September 11, 1903.

This race had been dropped off of the schedule in 2008 and again for 2012 due to tepid fan and corporate support. The last few years put the future of an IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile on life support, that is, until Michael Andretti's marketing company took over to stage Milwaukee's IndyFest at the Mile on Father's Day Weekend.

On October 14, 2011, Michael Andretti announced the launch of Andretti Sports Marketing LLC. This new venture is the result of the business expansion strategy of INDYCAR team Andretti Autosport to provide turn-key marketing solutions for companies both within and outside of its sponsor base.
Andretti Sports Marketing's agenda leverages the considerable expertise of its staff in multiple sports marketing formats on behalf of corporate clients in all forms of sport as well as in professional motorsports where Andretti Autosport made its mark as one of North America's leading sports marketing properties.

Then on February 10, 2012, Andretti Sports Marketing Wisconsin announced that it will promote the Milwaukee IndyFest at the Milwaukee Mile, June 15 and 16. The Father's Day weekend festival will be headlined Saturday afternoon by an internationally televised IZOD IndyCar race and will also include many other events designed to create a memorable family holiday weekend at the Wisconsin State Fair Grounds.

"Andretti Sports Marketing is excited about promoting IndyFest at the Milwaukee Mile," said Michael Andretti, CEO of Andretti Sports Marketing, LLC, and a racer who visited Milwaukee's victory lane five times as a driver and three more times as a team owner ... at the time of the announcement. "It's a historic track in a great city, and it's a place that has always been a favorite for my family. I think I had my first pole here. I know Marco had his first pole here. My dad has had poles here. We've done a lot of races here. There was an all-Andretti podium here one year, in 1991, so we've done a lot of things here as a family," Andretti continued. "But, more importantly, it's an ideal track for Indy cars and always produces exciting racing for the fans."

As for the race itself, it was beset by a scheduling delay due to late spring rain that rolled through the area. ABC Sports did its best to keep the television crowd that had to endure a 90 minute delay but could not keep with the race to the end because of additional broadcast commitments.

The race was transferred to ESPN News which is not carried by all cable fed operations in their general cable programming packages so many fans were left with finishing the race online and IMS Radio through Timing & Scoring found at IndyCar.com.

The race could have been a bit more exciting if it had not devolved into a "pack-racing" affair but it was good to see the DW12 formula cars take to this type of legendary venue for the first time.

Other than the rain delay, one other race time decision by Race Control marred an otherwise spirited contest and that was a drive through penalty assessed on one of the race lead challengers from the Target Chip Ganassi Racing stable, Scott Dixon. His car was one of the most competitive out there and Scott knew it. The best explanation of the situation that ended up in a penalty came directly from the President of competition and the final authority for race control during a race, Beaux Barfield.

Basically, an assumption that the technology of the race clock and the video assets of the race for review were in synchronization ... which turned out NOT to be the case. The race clock was set at almost exactly the time it would take for a lap to be completed around the Milwaukee Mile. Scott Dixon was observed to be jumping a GREEN Flag re-start of the race but the start was waived off with a YELLOW Flag so technically, Scott Dixon did not actually jump the GREEN Flag re-start. This was discovered after the race and Beaux held a lengthy press conference with track reporters in order to make it clear exactly the level of technology aided human error that had happened - "That's Racin'!"

Overall, even with the rain delay, pack-racing due to more down-force and less power delivered in the approved set-ups on the DW12 chassis, and the Race Control error to Scott Dixon, the first Milwaukee IndyFest was a success over the previous IndyCar race in 2011 and looks to be a winner on the schedule in the years to come - thanks to Andretti Sports Marketing.

 This podium represents an almost "SWEEP" by the race promoter and IndyCar team ... Andretti Sports Marketing/Andretti Autosport - Tony Kanaan (P2) was once a winning driver at Andretti Autosport was joined by Ryan Hunter-Reay (P1) and James Hinchcliffe (P3). Image Credit: Marcus Hotels

This excerpted and edited from the Milwaukee IndyFest Post-Race News Conference Transcript - Discussion in 'IndyCar Headlines' started by John Kernan -

MILWAUKEE INDYFEST PRESENTED BY XYQ
MILWAUKEE MILE - JUNE 16, 2012

MICHAEL ANDRETTI, TEAM OWNER, NO. 28 TEAM DHL/SUN DROP CITRUS SODA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET DRIVEN BY RYAN HUNTER-REAY:

TAKE US THROUGH YOUR FEELINGS RIGHT NOW WITH GETTING A WIN, FINISHING THIRD WITH JAMES (HINCHCLIFFE) AND WHAT LOOKS LIKE A GREAT EVENT ALL AROUND: “Unbelievable, just incredible first of all. Thank you Milwaukee for coming out and supporting it. I think we had a great crowd [20,000] for the first shot out here. It’s something to build on and we are going to be back here next year and hopefully for a long time after that. We are excited about that and I think the whole Andretti sports marketing team did an incredible job and my hats off to those guys. We have a great team there as well as we have a great racing team. I think we showed that here coming out here and getting two cars on the podium. I’m really excited about that. Ryan (Hunter-Reay) did one heck of a job and so did the whole DHL/Sun Drop team just didn’t miss a beat. Pit stops were great, pit strategy was great and the car was really good. That was all good. James (Hinchcliffe) did a hell of a job just to hang in there and get himself on the podium for GoDaddy so that was awesome.”

FROM A TEAM OWNER STAND POINT TO KIND OF STEM THE HONDA TIDE THAT HAS BEEN GOING THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS TO GET ANOTHER VICTORY FOR CHEVY AND ALSO THE FACT THAT THE LAST TWO WEEKS IT’S BEEN NON PENSKE/GANASSI TEAMS THAT HAVE WON RACES HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT FOR THE SERIES? “I don’t know about the series but it’s good for us. We are one of them. Anytime you can beat those two you have done something. Those two organizations are total class organizations. They are the ones that set the bar. When you go out there and beat them that is great. I think it’s great for the series as you said to have other winners. I was really happy for Justin (Wilson) and the whole Dale Coin team last week. I’m glad we were able to come out and do this.”

MICHAEL, WHAT WERE YOUR FEELINGS COMING IN TODAY? RYAN, WHAT WAS THE TALK AMONGST THE OTHER GUYS ON THE TEAM? WAS THERE ADDITIONAL PRESSURE TO WIN BECAUSE IT WAS YOUR BOSS' RACE OR NOT? “Lot of extra pressure (laughter). No, I was feeling a lot of things. The first time at the event, so we had to focus on that. Then there was still the race. Honestly didn't know what to expect because it's an all-new package with the car and everything. We were cautiously optimistic. Until you get out there with everybody, you don't really know. After the first stint, I thought, You know what, we got a shot at winning this thing for sure. The guys did a great job calling the race, he did a great job driving it, great pit stops.”

DO YOU SEE MOMENTUM BUILDING IN TERMS OF GOING INTO IOWA? “I hope so. We have a great series. We have great drivers, great personalities. If you like racing, how do you not like what's been happening this year in all the races? It's been flat-out great racing. I think our product's great. That's important. Hopefully people are going to take notice. I think they're starting to more and more. Hopefully you guys will report a good show and hopefully create some more interest for us, as well.”

WHERE DOES THIS ONE RANK WIN-WISE COMPARED TO '91 (WHEN MICHAEL WON AT MILWAUKEE AS A DRIVER)? “You know, they're all special. Every win is special. When you're a driver, it's a different feeling as an owner. But it's special in a different way.

This one's special. To have Ryan go out and win our first race that we're promoting is huge. We had this sort of feeling back when we did the first race that we promoted back in St. Petersburg, we had a 1-2-3-4 finish there in St. Petersburg. People are probably starting to think these things are rigged (laughter). But those are things that will always go up there as being one of the special ones, and this one ranks right up there.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, RACE WINNER – NO. 28 TEAM DHL/SUN DROP CITRUS SODA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET:

TAKE US THROUGH MAYBE YOUR EMOTIONS OF GETTING A WIN HERE AT YOUR BOSSES EVENT: “What a storyline it really is amazing. Milwaukee has been so important to IndyCar for so long and I think this is a huge event for Milwaukee. These two belong together. I really thank Michael (Andretti) for sticking his neck out coming back here and really doing it the right way. Andretti sports marketing if they are going to do it one way it’s definitely the right way. They have done a great job with this and hopefully this is the basis for years to come. We have laid the foundation now and hopefully many years to come and this will be a very successful event on the schedule. Getting the DHL/Sun Drop car though in DHL victory lane is quite a big deal for us. We are very happy about that.”

WHAT WAS THE LAST THIRD OF THIS RACE LIKE? IT DIDN’T LOOK LIKE ANYBODY HAD ANYTHING SERIOUS FOR YOU: “I didn’t really like the restarts I would rather just gone green, but you can’t always get your way. It was definitely tough work. You really had to look after the tires, know when you use them and know when not to. Michael (Andretti) really knows his way around this place and he was in my ears during the race and kind of coached me along. ‘Hey make sure you have those tires when you need them.’ That is what we did we saved them for when we needed them. We pounced we were right there ready to go when somebody slipped up and on the restarts we were aggressive. The guys did a great job in the pits. Really just a very strong day for Andretti Autosport overall, they just did such an amazing job. Those last few laps were a lot of fun just opening up the lead counting me down on the number of laps. I will tell you what though, 225 laps around here feels like a 500 mile race. It is a long race. It’s a short little place and it adds up quick. One thing I wanted to mention to was Happy Father’s Day to my dad he wasn’t able to be here. I want to dedicate this win to him for sure. He has done so much for me and my career he is the reason why I’m standing here.”

DO YOU SEE MOMENTUM BUILDING IN TERMS OF GOING INTO IOWA? “Yeah, absolutely. On the racing side, this is tough to beat. We've just been having great races. Big props to everybody involved in developing the car, to the engine manufacturers. It's been a lot of fun. But one thing I also forget is thanks to Go Daddy for an awesome site. It's pretty much the only site you need on your web browser. It's new, improved, awesome. Thank you, guys, for the support.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 GEICO/MOUSER ELECTRONICS KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2ND:

TALK ABOUT TODAY’S RACE: “It was kind of a long day for us. In the beginning of the race on the first stint I was just trying to manage the tires and to see how the track was after the rain. When it was time to go race after the second stop I felt that my car lost a little bit of speed and I didn’t know why. So I couldn’t save as much fuel. I could not run the lane the mixture because I was starting to lose a lot of positions. Those guys went three laps farther than I did. I was a little bit concerned about that. If the race had gone green which we had a long period of time of green flags I said ‘well we are hanging in here. I know this place well enough to the last year with 30 laps to go I put it in the wall so I said I will wait until the last stop and we will see what we can do.’ We got extremely a very good pit stop. A very good four or five out laps and I was able to gain a lot of positions and put myself in contention to be on the podium. Once I was there it was just a matter of trying to manage your position.

“For me it was a long day just because it’s very unlikely from me not to attack on restarts and I didn’t have anything for Ryan (Hunter-Reay) like I said I felt that the car was down like I didn’t have enough speed so I was actually defending myself on restarts which I realize I do not know how to do that. I did a very poor job on that. I decided that was one yellow to go. The last yellow I said you know what I’m going to go as fast as I can and I did. Ryan (Hunter-Reay) did a great job. I got a gap we had a lap car in between us which kind of got me. I lost those two precious seconds there and after that I knew it was over. Second place we will take it, it is my best result. We are building some points. I had two terrible races in the beginning of the season. The race before Brazil, I came to Brazil I was dead last in the championship. It was important. I’m happy for Ryan (Hunter-Reay) I think it is nice to see another team winning a part from the two we are used to seeing all the time. Michael (Andretti) did a great job by bringing this race back.”

ON COMING BACK TO MILWAUKEE NEXT YEAR: “I love this place. I always did. I was glad to see the fans, I was glad to see the infield with all this entertainment for the kids. I think every race should be like that because then if your kid wants to come you will come. I’m glad and I know Michael (Andretti) quite well and the people that work for him on the other side which is Scott Walsh which is the guy that does this event. They are very capable people and I was so glad that it was a very successful one. Having only a few months to put an event like this like Hinch said it’s remarkable. I by default I was catching a ride back to Indy with Michael and I did an appearance for free for him and people were extremely excited and I think Michael Andretti is still a big name in racing. Everybody that tried to organize this race up until now I think they were not successful because it was not that they couldn’t organize the race it was because they didn’t have the name that Michael has and the credibility that he does and what he brings to the sport. He said we are coming back and I’m extremely happy about that.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IOWA NEXT WEEKEND? “I don’t know about the heat races but I feel extremely confident. I knew the next two races which were here and Iowa those are places that I did quite well and places that suite me. I got to take advantage of that and I’m confident that we are going to be in contention there. It’s a shame what happened last weekend with us because we’ve been in contention to win a race. It’s like Hinch we’ve been knocking on the door and it looks like it never happens but to be able to win a race that is what you’ve got to do.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, NO. 27 TEAM GODADDY.COM ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3RD:

TODAY WAS OBVIOUSLY AN IMPORTANT DAY FOR YOU WITH THE PODIUM FINISH BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF POINTS MOVING INTO SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP YOU SAID YOU DIDN’T START THE SEASON THINKING CHAMPIONSHIP ARE YOU THINKING IT NOW? “No, I think not thinking championship is what has gotten us to this point. If you had told me eight races into the season we would be second in the points I mean it just doesn’t add up it wouldn’t have made sense to me. I think that just shows how hard everybody at Andretti Autosport has been working. They don’t get the credit that the GoDaddy.com team guys deserve. Whether it has been road circuits, street circuits now superspeedways and short ovals we have been quick. Whether it has been qualifying trim, race trim and the results are showing. We are finishing races we are staying on lead laps and things like that. The consistency is really paying off. I’m happy to get back on the podium. I was kind of bummed that seven races in we had only had the one. So it’s nice to be back here especially with where we started and huge congrats to Tony (Kanaan) and especially Ryan (Hunter-Reay) he has been on a bit of a down streak so it’s been tough for him I know. It’s great to see him bounce back, especially at a race that an Andretti sort of brought back to life. It’s kind of a perfect day in a lot of ways.”
HOW SPECIAL IS THIS FOR THIS RACE TEAM? “I think the plane ride home with Michael will be a lot more pleasant than it was last week from Texas. It’s tremendous. He really put his neck on the line for this race. It is tough to get an event so late into the season. These guys I’ll tell you they have been working 24-7 since January to make this thing come off the way they have. You look around and I think they did a hell of job. The fans came out, the fans sat through a rain delay which is awesome and ultimately we went out and put on a good show again. That is why we all love coming to Milwaukee. The drivers love this place selfishly because it is so much fun to drive but it was really a good show so for Michael to pull off not only what I think is a successful event as a promoter to then have two cars on the podium as a race team owner it’s a good day to be Michael Andretti.”

WAS MICHAEL BEHAVING DIFFERENT BEFORE THE RACE THAN HE WOULD NORMALLY DO? “No, I don't think so. I mean, Michael has been a professional sportsman for a long time. The pressures I think of promoting an event are not dissimilar to the nerves you feel in the buildup to a race. If he was feeling nervous about how the event was going to turn out, he certainly didn't show it. With what you saw here today, I think he leaves here pretty happy on both fronts.”

CERTAINLY SOME GUYS WERE ABLE TO MAKE UP GROUND, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY REALLY PASSED THE LEADER. IS THERE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE BETTER OR WAS IT JUST THAT THE GUYS WHO LED WERE THAT MUCH BETTER? “Clean air is king, especially at this place. It was difficult to follow other guys, especially on the restarts. If you were three, four, cars back, guys in front of you, it was sketchy. When you're in clean air, it's such an advantage. But the leader should have an advantage. He's up there for a reason. I'm for that. I don't think the leader should be handicapped by restarting in first.”
ENDS

Numbers to note following the Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by XYQ, the eighth of 16 events of the 2012 IZOD Indy Car Series season.

2 - Drivers to finish every race this season -- Ed Carpenter and Simon Pagenaud. ... Number of laps Pagenaud has failed to complete (1,061 of 1,063).

6 - Indy car wins for Ryan Hunter-Reay, the most by a current American-born Indy car driver. ... Different teams represented in the top 10 in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

12 - Different drivers to finish on the podium in the first eight races of 2012.

15 - Different drivers with at least one top-five finish in 2012.

16 - Positions gained by Oriol Servia en route to his fourth-place finish at Milwaukee, most of any driver in the field.

27 - Poles for Dario Franchitti, tying Al Unser for eighth on the all-time list.

31 - Points separating front-runner Will Power (274) and James Hinchcliffe (243) in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings.

84 - Laps led by Hunter-Reay. Most by any race winner this season.

108 - Points scored on ovals by James Hinchcliffe, who leads the A.J. Foyt Trophy standings.

189 - Consecutive Indy car starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland.
(numbers ht: IICS)

... notes from The EDJE



** Article first published as Milwaukee IndyFest - Motorculture In Motion on Technorati **

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

 

Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing shows off the hardware and hat he won in Texas by being first at the line in the Firestone 550. This is Wilson's first win on an oval track. Image Credit: IICS

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

LAP49 - 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

 

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

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 has a hurt 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 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

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!

 

Justin Wilson celebrates his first oval track win on the front stretch at Texas Motor Speedway. Image Credit: AP

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

Road course expert, Justin Wilson takes his first oval track win at Texas Motor Speedway in the Firestone 550. Image Credit: IICS

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  **