A Kinder, Gentler Sebastien Bourdais - Interview With Three 2015 IndyCar Races Left

KVSH Racing, Hydroxycut Hardcore® Elite, Mistic® electronic cigarettes, Chevrolet-powered and aerodynamically outfitted Dallara Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais as he gets instruction from the pit box during the MAVTv 500. Always improving, SeaBass finished the race as the last car on the lead lap - started at P15 and finished P11. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2015)

A Kinder, Gentler Sebastien Bourdais - Interview With Three 2015 IndyCar Races Left

BEGIN INTERVIEW SCRIPT
Sebastien Bourdais, who currently races for a person he competed against in ChampCar, Jimmy Vasser at KVSH (formally KV Racing Technology), is one of the most successful championship drivers currently competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series with four season championships.

Between 2004 through 2007, he beat out the likes of Bruno Junqueuira, Oriol Servia, and Justin Wilson as runners-up for the ChampCar season title ... while Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Dario Franchitti were becoming champions in the separate Indy Racing League.

Bourdais re-joined the fight in open-wheel racing after the merger between the IRL and ChampCar by joining Dragon Racing and driving, the new Dallara DW12, outfitted with the short-lived Lotus Engine effort, but proved that the Lotus Power was up to competition on street and road races courses that featured a lot of corners.

In his second year with KVSH, driving the Chevrolet-powered and aerodynamically outfitted Dallara, Bourdais has two wins, one on the road/street - Race 2 at the Dual of Detroit, and one at the world's oldest racing course, the Milwaukee Mile oval. With 34 wins, Sebastien ties Al Unser, Jr. for seventh on the all-time list of American open-wheel career wins.

Also, in 2015, Sebastien Bourdais has a win at the Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring in the Tudor United Sports Car Championship with team drivers João Barbosa, and Christian Fittipaldi driving the #5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype.

KVSH Racing, Hydroxycut Hardcore® Elite, Mistic® electronic cigarettes, Chevrolet-powered and aerodynamically outfitted Dallara Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. A good outing where SeaBass was able to qualify 9th and finish 6th. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2015)

Welcome Sebastien Bourdais ...

1)   Last weekend, during the race broadcast of the INDY Corn 300 in Iowa on NBCSN, we were treated to a video package that reviewed the tumultuous competitive relationship between you and Paul Tracy, that at times looked to almost come to physical blows on and around the track.

The two of you were shown being reflective and chummy, cruising around the Iowa countryside in a beautiful Corvette – one question, were you able to drive the Corvette that the two of you were taking a ride in?

2)  3-time champion Scott Dixon, after the Indy500, said the trailing turbulence, when one is behind 3 or more cars, makes it nearly impossible to charge toward the front - whereas, former team-mate Graham Rahal mentioned after the MAVTv500 at Auto Club Speedway, that the Chevy Turbulence was unpredictable but the Honda trailing turbulence was smoother and allowed for a better draft.

What has been your experience on the issue of trailing turbulence?

Is there a difference between Chevy to Honda?

What happened at the Milwaukee Mile and trailing turbulence? ... it appeared that since you had lapped the field at one point, this was never an issue as it may have been for others.

3)  It is good to see you at #6 in the 2015 championship points race after 13 races, with just three races left - the road course at Mid-Ohio, the superspeedway tri-oval at Pocono, and the double-points finale on the road course at Sonoma Raceway. Please tell us your planning and anticipation for these three races beginning with;

Mid-Ohio -

Pocono -

Sonoma Raceway near San Francisco -

4)  We believe we know how difficult it is to form a winning combination of sponsors, team mechanics/engineers, ownership, and driver testing. Will you be able to keep what has worked for you this year, in 2016?
What element do you think you could use more of, or would like to modify in any way?

5)  On a personal level, the folks at IndyCar put the word out that unlike a lot of competitors in the series; you enjoy driving your own coach to the racing venues. It stated in the public relations document that sometimes you are known to travel with wife Claire and two children, Alex and Emma, in tow. What do you enjoy most about traveling from race to race in a motorcoach?
What are you and Claire able to teach your kids?

Well, Sebastien Bourdais ... good luck for the rest of the season and we hope to see you on the podium again soon.
ENDS

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: Sebastien Bourdais, Verizon IndyCar Series, KVSH, Jimmy Vasser, Bruno Junqueuira, Oriol Servia, Justin Wilson, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti, The EDJE, Race Talk Radio, Hydroxy Cut, Mistic

IndyCar driver Justin Wilson is released to recover from home

Justin Wilson in the pits. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2013)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Justin Wilson being attended to out on Turn 2 at Auto Club Speedway. Image Credit: Ken Manfred (2013)

IndyCar driver Justin Wilson is released to recover from home

IndyCar pilot Justin Wilson returned home to Colorado this week to begin his recovery process after suffering injuries in a lap 111 accident in the 2013 IndyCar season finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California last weekend.

Wilson suffered a pulmonary contusion as well as three fractures to his pelvis from the impact, which saw the front of a competitor’s car make lateral (t-bone) contact with the right side of Wilson’s DW12. The recovery process will require several weeks of inactivity for Wilson.

The order to keep off his feet is a big adjustment for Wilson, who in addition to his duties as a doting dad to his two young daughters, stays extremely active with a comprehensive training program that integrates long-distance cycling, mountain biking, and weight training.

“They said it will be six weeks before I can put weight on my right side,” said Wilson, who has already become adroit with his new crutches he will use to get around. “I am hoping for a lot less (time) of course, but you have to do what they say. It will be hard because I am already thinking about getting back in the car and training to be ready for that, but it will just take some time.”

Wilson has a recent precedent for this process after suffering a back injury in practice at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, 2011. But after sitting out the final six races of the IndyCar season, Wilson returned to 2012 race duty in fine form, winning in his first race back with a breakthrough victory for Michael Shank Racing in the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona.

While obeying doctors orders and keeping off his feet will be key to his healing, the affable Briton has already also benefited from an outpouring of support from a wide range of sources.

“It has been amazing, several of the drivers came and visited me in the hospital and everyone has called, tweeted, or texted me just saying ‘get well fast’.  It has been a little overwhelming,” said Wilson. “I’d like to respond to everyone, but I think it would be impossible!  I am grateful for the support, and it is  really encouraging for me.”

The primary partner on Wilson’s No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda-powered machine was the Boy Scouts of America, and the group was another outlet of support as the national council organized a section of the website for Scouts from across the country to wish Wilson a speedy recovery  (http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/10/21/justin/).

... notes from The EDJE

Chevrolet Indy Dual In Detroit Race 2 Tweet-By-Tweet

Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans Race 1 Results >>> @TheEDJE – Dale Coyne Racing nets a P1 Conway and a P3 Wilson for a double podium finish after waiting 25 years for first win. Top 10 – 1 Conway, 2 RHR, 3 Wilson, 4 Dixon, 5 Castroneves, 6 Franchitti, 7 Newgarden, 8 Power, 9 Rahal, 10 Jakes!!! Penske Racing’s Helio Castroneves by finishing 5th captures the season points through six of nineteen races. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Chevrolet Indy Dual In Detroit Race 2 Tweet-By-Tweet

The IZOD IndyCar Series experimented with a format of holding two street/road course races at the same venue over the same weekend and by most anyone's standards, the weekend was a great success.

This was be the first time IndyCar had tried this format for this type of racing (not an oval) and going in, people wondered if the physical demands of driver and track could hold up to the pressure and rigors of two 70 lap races in two days ... after all, the drivers were not just turning the car to the left all the time and last year, parts of the track surface came apart with about 25% of the race still to be run.

Another concern was the potential of the typical spring pop-up shower but the weather only became a bit of a factor during the first qualifying session on Friday - the rest of the weekend was fine.

In hosting the inaugural IZOD IndyCar Series doubleheader in the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, there are several new features to the street circuit for the race weekend **Extended the circuit to create more overtaking opportunities. A half-mile straightaway between Turns 2 and 3 has been added **More than 100,000 square feet of road surface has been refurbished **Curbing at Turns 3 and 4 has been reworked or removed to create tighter turns and, consequently, more overtaking opportunities. Image Credit: IICS

The first race was an exciting affair that featured passing due to the new, longer and wider configuration and very few YELLOW Flag cautions. The race was won by a first time winner from a smaller team that has two British drivers for street/road course races - Mike Conway driving for Dale Coyne Racing's Sonny's Bar-B-Que sponsored Honda-powered Dallara DW12.

Justin Wilson, Dale Coyne's full-season driver of the Boy Scouts of America sponsored Honda-powered Dallara DW12 had won the only other races for the team with two wins (one street/road course and one oval) came in at P3 giving the team a first-time double podium.

Dale Coyne Racing team-mate Justin bends over to congratulate Mike Conway on his first ever IZOD IndyCar Series win in Race 1. Image Credit: IICS

Before the Dual in Detroit Race 1 was run, in the morning's warm-up and Race 2 qualifications session, Mike Conway had already secured the Pole position for Race 2 so there was a lot of anticipation for Conway to become a double race winner for this first Dual in Detroit and take home a $50,000 prize in doing so.

Winning sportcar and Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports driver, Frenchman Simon Pagenaud became the second first-time IZOD IndyCar Series race winner in as many days. Pagenaud started from row 3 in P6 ... six positions better than he finished Race 1 on Saturday at P12. He's the sixth different winner -- from six different countries -- in seven races and the fourth first-time winner this season (Hinchcliffe, Sato, Conway, and Pagenaud). Image Credit: Simon Pagenaud via FB

The following New Media entries are a combination of Tweets from Twitter and comments from the author in observance to the events that transpired during the Dual in Detroit Race 2 … welcome to the 7th race of this 19 race IZOD IndyCar Series 2013 season -

@IndyCar
DRIVERS, START YOUR ENGINES! #IndyCar #DetroitGP

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN - LAP 1 of 70 in the Chevrolet Indy Dual In Detroit Race 2 begins

@stephanie_b_89
"@INDYCARPR: FULL COURSE YELLOW: Car No. 2 makes contact with the wall. #DetroitGP #IndyCar" @AJDinger : (

@Joshua_Rogers
Dinger wads up another car. Perhaps he needs to stick with vehicles with fenders. #IndyCar #DetriotGP

@DawnsKiss
@12WillPower Leader #IndyCar #Dual2 #Detroit under caution

@estradawriting
Power apparently got past Conway before the yellow light. Willy P your new leader. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@DannieAsphall
"@INDYCARPR: Back to green on Lap 4. @Mikeconway26 took the lead entering Turn 1 on Lap 5. #DetroitGP #IndyCar"

@HalfShaftBlues
#IndyCar powerhouses Mike Conway & Dale Coyne Racing continue their dominance, while plucky upstarts like Penske & Ganassi keep hope alive.

@ComingToTheFlag
Simona in the wall. Full course caution. #indycar

@MattEmbury
oh and Simona de Silvestro's dead in the water turn 9. Crash. #indycar #detroitgp

LAP 10 of 70 - 1-Conway 2-Power 3-Pagenaud 4-RHR 5-Jakes 6-Dixon 7-Viso 8-Wilson 9-Hinchcliffe & 10-Castroneves

GREEN Flag Restart - LAP 13

@ScottManifold
Reds should last longer today with more rubber down. #indycar

@MattEmbury
@IAIndyFan Several as I predicted before the race, interesting though that Power and Pagenaud stayed out on reds. #indycar #detroitgp

@WoodsiesGarage
Josef Newgarden slows on the backstretch as the track goes yellow again. Most of this race has been run under caution. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@AutoweekRacing
Cation out again for crash involving @tagliani. Sheesh. #DetroitGP #IndyCar

@jopijedd
I think it is time for the traditional "Ed Carpenter struggling with the fact that this circuit has corners in BOTH directions"... #indycar

GREEN Flag Restart - LAP 15

@BaronVonClutch
.@EJVISO has damage after contact with @h3lio's car. #IndyCar

@TomcatNASCAR
16 laps of #IndyCar is already more exciting than 375 laps of #NASCAR.

@Pablomg228
Difference between Indy and F1: Indy drivers have the guts to try to pass in places like this #detroitgp #indycar

@BoBarkfield
Detroit...crash city! #indycar #DetroitGP

@MattEmbury
Oh and Hunter Reay has a busted suspension, wall contact likely #indycar #detroitgp

LAP 20 of 70 Top 10 - 1-Conway 2-Power 3-Pagenaud 4-Dixon 5-Jakes 6-Kimball 7-Castroneves 8-Wilson 9-Hinchcliffe & 10-Franchitti

@tonydizinno
Yellow again, wiping out an 8.8 second lead for @Mikeconway26, aka the Stig, aka Conweezy. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

No one is riding on REDS after a round of pitstops on 4th caution - for debris

Top 10 - 1-Conway 2-Dixon 3-Kimball 4-Wilson 5-Franchitti 6-Kanaan 7-Vautier 8-Sato 9-Bourdais & 10-Saavedra Top 4 have not pitted

GREEN Flag Restart - LAP 23

@CarlsonsRaiders
Meanwhile, they're back to green once again in Detroit! #Indycar #DetroitGP

Vautier touches Sato and sends TAKU in the wall

@FormulaThoughts
Takuma no! :( #SuperSato #Indycar

With all of the YELLOW Flags - 5 now - three fuel strategies seem to playing out

Top 10 - 1-Conway 2-Dixon 3-Franchitti 4-Kanaan 5-Vautier 6-Power 7-Pagenaud 8-Bourdais 9-Hinchcliffe & 10-Andretti - Top 2 yet to pit

@RLenziBlade
It's official: At the 26th lap, half of the #DetroitGP has been run under caution. #IndyCar

GREEN Flag Restart - LAP 27

YELLOW Flag - Power gets punted from behind, Wilson, Carpenter, Viso, Tagliani, and Briscoe all involved - Sebastien Bourdais is the culprit on the punt that collected

everyone - Hinchcliffe busts a wing on the way through

@CarlsonsRaiders
Will Power clearly pissed at Bourdais, decides to just throw his gloves rather than the double birds this time. #Indycar #DetroitGP

@npssandy
@indycaradvocate At least it wasn't the track falling apart this year... #IndyCar #DetroitGP

Riiiight ... it's just the drivers that are falling apart

LAP 30 of 70 - Top 10 - 1-Kanaan 2-Dixon 3-Vautier 4-Franchitti 5-Bourdais 6-Conway 7-Pagenaud 8-Andretti 9-Jakes & 10-Kimball

@jimlefko
Crazy amount of crashes/cautions at #indycar race at Belle Isle. Infinitely more entertaining though than seeing MConway drive solo in front

@elmondohummus
You know, this race really DOES represent Detroit: No matter what efforts you bring, it all goes downhill. #indycar

@FilipCleeren
Restart order: 11 55 10 7 25 83 9 18 77 67 4 6 1 16 3 20 #detroitgp #indycar

Top 10 - 1-Kanaan 2-Vautier 3-Franchitti 4-Bourdais 5-Andretti 6-Kimball 7-Dixon 8-Conway 9-Pagenaud & 10-Rahal

GREEN Flag Restart - LAP 37

Conway is just carving up the field and he making it look easy - passes three cars left-right-left

@neilhudson
Conway already up to fourth, will be third when Bourdais serves his penalty if he even waits that long #IndyCar

@4TheLoveOfIndy
Vautier to the lead. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

LAP 40 of 70 - Top 10 - 1-Vautier 2-Conway 3-Kanaan 4-Kimball 5-Dixon 6-Franchitti 7-Pagenaud 8-Saavedra 9-Jakes & 10-Andretti

@WoodsiesGarage
Vautier pits, giving Conway the lead again. >1s lead over Kanaan. Kimball P3, 2.6s behind Conway. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

LAP 42 - Conway already is 2.7 seconds in the lead over Kanaan - WOW!

@racer_27
First Hinch and Will Power is back too! All hail #IndyCar mechanics. #DetriotGP

@spunk72
Man, @Mikeconway26 is driving this race LIKE A BOSS.  #Indycar  #detroitgp

@Deke15
 That replay of Conway passing the Ganassis looked like he DROPPED THE HAMMER and the others were standing still. #IndyCar

Kanaan pits and comes back out in 12th

@4TheLoveOfIndy
This is Ganassi's best shot at a win so far in 2013. Currently occupies 2-3-4. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@drewallennews
Charlie Kimball gaining on Conway #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@racewithinsulin
No. 83 current lap time: 80.2126 for P2. Conway P1 at 82.4594. #DetroitGP #IndyCar -PLR

First time in two races and Conway gets passed ... Kimball in the lead

@mfriedman_63
Really, almost anyone can win these Indycar street races. Except the expected favorites! #DetroitGP #Indycar

@drewallennews
Pagenaud gets around Conway. Those tires are done. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

Conway in the pits - back on Blacks! - Conway out at P6

LAP 50 of 70 - Top 10 - 1-Pagenaud 2-Jakes 3-Andretti 4-Franchitti 5-Conway 6-Rahal 7-Kimball 8-Dixon 9-Kanaan & 10-Saavedra

@kenspi
This--> “@curtcavin: Great tweet from @BourdaisOnTrack "Seb avoids all the mess." Uh, he helped cause the mess. #IndyCar”

@MADMAUtwotwo
3-wide racing on the streets of Detroit!!!!! @IndyCar #indycar

@miller_j18
once they've figured out how to not hit each other, this is getting good! #IndyCar #DetroitGP

Conway up to P4 - Pagenaud and Jakes will need to pit for sure

The race is between Franchitti and Conway - first four cars are Honda-powered

@carbonconcepts
Why no Conway in-car?  #indycar #detroitgp

Pagenaud in and out and ahead of the Franchitti Conway battle

@IndyCar
Great battle between Conway and Franchitti for 3rd. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@INDYCARPR
Of note: these are the first laps led on road/street course for @JamesJakes. #DetroitGP #IndyCar

@michaelw2000
Anyone notice that Power is getting closer to Bourdais?!?! LOL!!! I sense a "Duel" coming! About 4 sec difference! #DetroitGP #IndyCar

Conway passes Franchitti on LAP 57 - 28 seconds behind Pagenaud - Jakes in and comes out in P2 ahead of Conway

LAP 60 of 70 - Top 10 - 1-Pagenaud 2-Jakes 3-Conway 4-Franchitti 5-Dixon 6-Andretti 7-Kimball 8-Rahal 9-Kanaan & 10-Castroneves

There is racing all through the top 10

@drewallennews
Pagenaud is one of those drivers who has constantly been knocking on the door. Does he get his first win today? #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@4TheLoveOfIndy
Kanaan pits from ninth. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@OfficialGinaN
Top two have never won #IndyCar race... Makes it more exciting! #DetroitGP

@99forever
In the top 3, Pagenaud and Jakes both just set fastest laps of the race. Jakes's was faster. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

The top 3 cars are all in sight of each other - what a grand street course race ... real ChampCar racing is back bigtime!

@WoodsiesGarage
Vautier spears the wall during another ad break, now stalled. Bourdais also went off but is still going. Local yellow. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@julesia18
ABC is picking the WORST times to go to commercial!!!! #indycar

LAP 65 of 70 - Top 5 are 1-Pagenaud 2-Jakes 3-Conway 4-Dixon 5-Franchitti and the field is stable unless something happens

@CarlsonsRaiders
Pagenaud is the fastest guy on track right now, doesn't look like Jakes or Conway have anything for him. #Indycar #DetroitGP

@indycaradvocate
Jakes trying to hold on to P2. Big day for Pags and Jakes both. #IndyCar #DetroitGP

@Jose_Galvan
The lethargic ABC @IndyCar announcers are describing an exciting race as though it were a medical procedure. Come on! #indycar

@IndyCar
. @simonpagenaud out up front with just a couple laps to go! #IndyCar #DetroitGP

Conway closes on Jakes at 2 LAPS to go

@TheoTradeMark
Two laps to go. Conway trying to battle Jakes for the 2nd #DetroitGP #Indycar

WHITE Flag

@therossbynum
At this point the circus clowns just tumble out of the clown car. Exhausted. Clown union preparing strike as we speak.  #IndyCar #DetroitGP

Race 2 Podium drivers congratulate each other during the cool down lap at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans. Image Credit: Nicolas Dura via Twitter

@mfriedman_63
A podium of Schmidt/Peterson, RLL, and Coyne??!! Are you kidding??!! :) #Indycar #DetroitGP

@scottaltimaman
Oui Oui! Pagenaud wins! #IndyCar

Schmidt Hamilton Racing’s Simon Pagenaud, driving the Hewlett Packard sponsored Honda-powered Dallara DW12, wins his first IZOD IndyCar Series race in 39 starts. Image Credit S. Pagenaud – iOS photo

@CrashGladys
BEST DRIVERS IN THE WORLD! 6 winners in 7 races, from 6 different countries. It doesn't get any better than THAT, race fans! Epic

@AutoweekRacing
Pagenaud wins #DetroitGP ahead of Jakes and Conway, but Conway was the undisputed star of this race and the weekend. #IndyCar

@BaronVonClutch
.@simonpagenaud Wins Race Two at the @detroitgp! Pagenaud also banked the fastest lap of the race. #IndyCar

First win for proven ALMS sportscar series winner Simon Pagenaud.

@ScottManifold
What a wacky year! Someone predicted that right? Nice job podium! Pagenaud, Jakes, Conway #indycar #detroitgp

Honda-power captures the top 5 positions with more horsepower than Chevy-power ... in DETROIT!!!

Overnight television ratings for ABC's live telecast of the second race of the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit on June 2 grew 14 percent over last year's Sunday telecast, which also aired on ABC.

The network earned a 0.8 overnight rating, up from a 0.7 overnight for last year's race at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. The June 1 race, which was new this year, earned a 0.7 overnight rating on ABC.

... notes from The EDJE


**Article first published as Chevrolet Indy Dual In Detroit Race 2 Tweet-By-Tweet on Technorati**

IZOD IndyCar Series Review At 3 Of 19 Scheduled Races For 2013

Former F1, and IZOD IndyCar Series KV Racing Technologies team driver, Takuma Sato - AJ Foyt Racing ... looking at data feedback after posting a P4 in qualifications for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

IZOD IndyCar Series Review At 3 Of 19 Scheduled Races For 2013

With 15.7894% of the season in the books, an early review of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS) season seemed to be in order.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach helped to cement a couple of themes that seem to shaping up in this sophomore season of the Dallara DW12 racing platform, two engine manufacturer era of American open-wheel racing.

Takuma Sato and the AJ Foyt Racing team in winner's circle at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: AJ Foyt Enterprises (2013)

First, congratulations to AJ Foyt Racing for helping to deliver a team effort role in Japanese, and former F1 driver, Takuma Sato's first win in the top rung of world automobile racing. A fully honest win won racing starting from P4 at the drop of the green flag aided only by a flawless performance driving the Honda-powered DW12 on the track, and team work in the pits for tires and fuel.

By winning the third race of the season, Takuma Sato notches his first win in 52 IICS race starts. His previous best finish at Long Beach was P8. Image Credit: Chris Jones IICS (2013)

This excerpted and edited from Aljazeera -

Sato and Japan make mark on IndyCar
Aljazeera – Fri, Apr 26, 2013

Takuma Sato says joining AJ Foyt Racing put him in position to become the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race.

Sato returned to Japan on Friday to speak about his historic win last Sunday in the Grand Prix of Long Beach, just his third race with the team.

"Motorsports is a team sport and you can't win without complete effort from the team," Sato said at a news conference. "The thing about AJ Foyt Racing is that regardless of the conditions they provide the stability needed to win."

The win at Long Beach came in Sato's 52nd career start in IndyCar, but was the first for AJ Foyt Racing since Airton Dare won Kansas in 2002.
----
IndyCar pulled out of Japan after the 2011 race, and Sato said he hopes his win at Long Beach will help return the series to his homeland. "People in Japan love IndyCar," the 36-year-old Sato said. "I can't bring it back myself but I hope in some small way the win in Long Beach will help bring it back. I want to race in the Indy Japan before my career is over."
[Reference Here]

Helio Castroneves survives a Honda engine onslaught at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to lead all drivers in the points with his Penske Racing Chevy-powered DW12 after three races. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

When the dust settled on the third race of the 2013 season, the top five drivers in the points for the IZOD IndyCar Series season championship are 1) Penske Racing's Helio Castroneves - Chevy - 99 points, 2) AJ Foyt Racing's Takuma Sato - Honda - 93 points (the only race winner this season in the top five), 3) Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon - Honda - 89 points, 4) Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti - Chevy - 87 points, and 5) Dale Coyne Racing's Justin Wilson - Honda - 81 points. To paraphrase Takuma Sato in what he stated in the interview above, these drivers through three races "regardless of the conditions they (the teams and drivers) provide the stability needed to win."

The drivers of the podium take their victory lap to the cheers of the crowd - all three drivers were from teams that were not named Andretti, Ganassi, or Penske. Takuma Sato of AJ Foyt Racing - P1 (R), Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing- P2 (L), and Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing - P3 (C). Image Credit: John Cote IICS (2013)

The other observable major point is that the top five, which almost always is exclusively populated by three multiple car teams ... and we know them all to well, have been broken up with the presence of two very competent drivers who drive for single car teams that have had trouble with consistency in previous years. That, and

Honda, after not showing so well in the first race of the season at St. Petersburg, Florida, has rebounded to the point that one could say that if you are driving for a team with a Honda engine, you may have a shot at an IICS Championship. Honda was able to occupy 9 of the top 15 positions at race's end at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach - which Honda and HPD consider their home track being that their main facility is located in Santa Clarita.

Some numbers to note from the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third race of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season:

1 - Indy car race winners from Japan: Takuma Sato, who became the second first-time winner in three races.

2 - Consecutive fifth-place finishes at Long Beach for JR Hildebrand.

3 - Drivers who have finished in the top 10 in each of the first three IZOD IndyCar Series events: Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves and Justin Wilson.

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

6 - Points separating the top two drivers, Helio Castroneves and Takuma Sato, in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

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

8 - Different drivers to score podium finishes in nine races.

12 - Positions gained by Graham Rahal in the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings, the biggest jump among drivers who competed.

13 - Drivers with at least one top-five finish in 2013.

18 - Points separating the top-five drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

20 - Drivers with at least one top-10 finish in 2013.

21 - Positions improved by Justin Wilson, the most positions gained by any driver. Wilson finished third. ["I think (the competition is) just so tense," said Justin Wilson, who charged from the 24th starting position to earn third place at Long Beach in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing entry. "There are so many drivers in this championship that are capable of winning races. When you do your lap in the car, you don't know when you come in if you're first or 25th.

"You can't afford to miss anything. You can't afford to have a bad result. The way this championship happens, when racers have had bad results, it opens it right up. I think it's going to be more intense and interesting as the season goes on."]

27 - Laps led by Dario Franchitti at Long Beach. Franchitti led a total of 11 laps on road/street courses in 2012.

50 - Laps led by Takuma Sato at Long Beach, the most laps he has led in any Indy car race. Sato's previous high was 31 at Indianapolis in 2012.

199 - Consecutive Indy car starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland. Kanaan is second to Jimmy Vasser's 211 straight starts.
(ht: indycar staff)

Lastly, do not bother to try to break into the top five in the points unless your car (and in one case, including helmet) livery colors include Red, White, and Blue:

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013) 

Helio has Automobile Club of Southern California - "Triple A",

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

TAKU sports the ABC Supply Americana motif,

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Dixie's predominately Red with White lettering and logo Target car combined with his distinctive Blue lid,

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Marco with RC Cola,

Image Credit: Richard Dowdy IICS (2013)

Finally, who can imagine becoming more Red, White, and Blue than the Boy Scouts of America who wraps the DW12 of Justin Wilson!

Quite fitting for the ultimate professional open-wheel racing series in America to be led by such a thematically colorful, yet international contingent.

Next weekend is the running of the fourth straight road/street race of the season and the last race before the INDY 500, the world's most famous 'oval' race track. The drivers become the boys and girls of Brazil (Helio's home track) as they race at an event facility known in Sao Paulo for it's Samba Festival held during pre-Lenten celebration of Carnival.

... notes from The EDJE

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  **