It's a win, win, win for IndyCar at Mid-Ohio's Honda Indy 200

With 17 laps left in the 90-lap race, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing's Charlie Kimball scooted inside of then-race leader Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports' Simon Pagenaud between the fourth and fifth turns to regain the race lead at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Kimball earned his first win of the season, and led 46 of the race's Caution free 90 laps on the 2.258-mile road course. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

It's a win, win, win for IndyCar at Mid-Ohio's Honda Indy 200

All of the pre-race speculation for this 14th race in a 19 race IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS) championship season had predicted a race without passing, a race where the race would be won on pitstops and pit strategy and not actual driving ability on the track, a race of fuel saving strategy where the car with the best laps per tank would be at the top of the charts, and lastly, a race where the season championship points leader would definitely loose strength of position at the end of the day due to his poor qualifications performance and a starting position of P14. Sounds kind of depressing, doesn't it?

Charlie Kimball analyzes and discusses the performance of his Chip Gnassi Racing prepared No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Honda-powered DW12 in the pits at the GoPro Indy Sonoma last year. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Well, on three major levels, all of these predictions came up a bust and this was all to the benefit to the ardent fan of American open-wheel racing.

To the race winner, himself, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing's Charlie Kimball, after finding out six years ago the he had diabetes and thinking this would dash his dreams of being a professional race car driver, and after two plus years of showing promise driving in the pinnacle professional racing series in North America, clinches his first-ever series win by just driving flat out and have the chips fall where they may. So much for fuel management.

This 'first-ever' win was the fourth for a driver this season as Southern Californian Charlie Kimball joins the person he passed in the final laps at Mid-Ohio to take the lead, Frenchman Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports) who won the seventh race of the season - Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit Race 2, Former F1 driver Takuma Sato (A.J. Foyt Enterprises) for his win at the third race of the season - Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and Canadian James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport) - who has won three times this season - for his win in the first race of the season - Honda Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg. In the previous five seasons, there were five total first-time winners so this is a great trend.

The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing No. 83 driven by Charlie Kimball takes Turn 11 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach where he finished the race at P21 a couple of laps down to the leaders. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

This sophomore year of the Dallara DW12 chassis outfitted with either a turbo-charged Chevy or Honda engine has made for very competitive racing ... probably the most competitive in the whole of the 21st century. There have been nine different winners in 14 races,  four different teams are represented in the top five positions in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship points race, and a driver who has won the series' hallmark race three times - The Indy 500 - yet has never won the season championship, leads the points race through 14 of 19 races this season.

Helio Castroneves entered Mid-Ohio's Honda Indy 200 29 points ahead of his chief rival, Scott Dixon, in the IICS season points. He had a terrible time getting his Penske Racing PPG sponsored Dallara DW12 to work well on the track all weekend long and started the race at P14. Scott Dixon, who was second, and Ryan Hunter-Reay who sits at third, qualified for the race at P3 and P1 - 11 and 13 positions ahead respectively.

By race's end, Castroneves clawed his way through the field, passing nine cars for position, to capture P6 ... one position ahead of Scott Dixon at P7 and one position behind Ryan Hunter-Reay at P5 - so much for no passing. Helio Castroneves now leads all competitors by 31 points which is a net gain of two going into the last five races of the season. If Castroneves goes on to capture the season championship for 2013, without an additional win in the season (only the Firestone 550 in Ft. Worth), this would represent another couple of first-time occurrences - wouldn't it?

Charlie Kimball, and his Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team, raise the first place trophy in victory circle after posting their first-ever win in the IZOD IndyCar Series after winning the Honda Indy 200 auto race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013. Image Credit: Charlie Kimball via Twitter

Ultimately, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course echoed the claim expressed on a recent Facebook entry left at The EDJE - Geoff Gray Another good Indycar race ... its the best racing on TV bar none and they proved it again today ... Another first time winner the points are still relatively tight and Charlie Kimball proved that he can pull off a slide job going into Madness!

All of this adds up to a win for Charlie Kimball, win for Helio Castroneves, and most of all, a win for American open-wheel racing fans for a product and effort that is well worth watching in any year, but especially here at Mid-Ohio's Honda Indy 200. 

... notes from The EDJE

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Pirelli World Challenge driver Duncan Ende looks for rebound

Duncan Ende at the Toyota Grand Prix of Lomg Beach as he negotiates Turn 10. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Pirelli World Challenge driver Duncan Ende looks for rebound

Duncan Ende, driver of the Global Motorsports Group’s no. 24 STANDD / Merchant Services Audi R8 LMS, is looking for a rebound of sorts at this weekend's Pirelli World Challenge doubleheader at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by StopTech Brakes.

Struggling through the World Challenge weekend three weeks ago on the temporary circuit at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Ende would finish in sixth place but never quite came to grips with the bumpy circuit in his first real visit to the circuit.

"Toronto was like a bad first date," said Ende, who it must be said, is married. "I had such high hopes, but in reality, it was completely forgettable. I had actually driven there once before in ChampCar Atlantic, but we had a big crash in practice and didn't make the race. Perhaps, Toronto isn't my kind of circuit which is too bad because it produces some really great racing. However, Mid-Ohio has been much kinder to me over the years - in fact, I won an American Le Mans Series race there in a monsoon two years ago with my friend Spencer Pumpelly."

Mid-Ohio, however, may not be a circuit that suits the strengths of Ende's Audi R8 when it is compared to the Cadillac CTS-V.R's and the Volvo S60s that he has battled with throughout the season. Where the Audi may have a strength lays in its ability to conserve tires better than the competition - this may be the ticket if both races stay green for long periods of time. Double races equal double points for the weekend and a chance to make a double move.

"Mid-Ohio is definitely hard to pass on, but is also a very demanding circuit," said Ende. "So while we may not be able to be quickest from the standing starts and it takes a few laps for the Audi to get heat in its tires, if the race goes green for a long time we'll be looking good while everyone else will be starting to run out of tires. Once we are able to build heat, the Audis will be extremely quick around Mid-Ohio. If we can make it through Toronto with no yellow flags, I'm hoping we can do the same at Mid-Ohio."

The business end of the no. 24 STANDD / Merchant Services Audi R8 LMS driven by Duncan Ende through Turn 7 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

While Toronto was the racing equivalent to a first date that ends with the comment 'It was so nice to meet you', it did have the benefit of helping Ende move up in the GT class of the SCCA sanctioned Pirelli World Challenge championship. Ende now sits seventh in the standings, with 727 points.

The first race of the Mid-Ohio World Challenge GT/GTS doubleheader will be Saturday, August 3 at 11:40 AM ET, with the second on Sunday, August 4 at 1:35 PM ET. Both races will be streamed live at world-challengetv.com. A television broadcast from Mid-Ohio will air on Sunday, August 18th at 2:00 PM ET.

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Rayhall revels in Mid-Ohio racing tradition and glory

A peek into the business end of Sean Rayhall's Mazda-powered Elan DPo2. Image Credit: Racelite Protection

Rayhall revels in Mid-Ohio racing tradition and glory

His first time at taking to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in anger gave the young driver with the familiar sounding name ... especially here, very familiar results.

The road course at Mid-Ohio will always be linked in motor culture lore as the home turf of the Rahal racing family, and more clearly, Bobby Rahal.

Bobby Rahal and his father, Mike, visited the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for its first-ever race in 1962, and throughout his motorsports career Rahal has been tied to the track and its former owner Jim Trueman.

In addition to other series, Rahal competed in 16 Indy car races on the road course, earning victories in 1985 and 1986 - on his way to the CART championship, six other podium finishes, and pole starts in 1983 and 1985.

Bobby Rahal, in a 2012 interview to IndyCar.com said, "In 1987, I made a mistake and tried to pass a guy I was lapping and he came down on me and flattened the tire with a few laps to go and (Roberto) Guerrero won instead and I had been well in the lead."

Sean Rayhall, for his first time experience, also contended with moves that may be common for the track layout at Mid-Ohio with its elevation changes, corner-leading-to-corner, and fast sections design.

Sean Rayhall in the #14 Robert Talbott Motorsports, Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports prepared Mazda-powered Elan DP02. Image Credit: Robert Talbott Motorsports®

Through the qualifications, young Rayhall had little trouble with cars 'coming down' on his car in the corners because, after all, this session was only for where one was to start the races for the weekend.

Qualifications for the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda ,at the Diamond Cellar Classic June 14-16, 2013, was interrupted by two RED Flags but through it all Sean Rayhall was able to prevail over his next closest competitor, Ryan Booth by a margin of 0.086 seconds on the 2.258 mile, 13 turn road course. Booth, in car #18, was able to post a fastest lap on LAP 6 of 1:18.530 only to have it eclipsed by Sean on the very next lap at 1:18.444 on LAP 7 of the qualification session. The other competitors in the field were in the 1:20.000's or beyond.

Rayhall, for his part, after the first RED Flag stoppage posted a lap of 1:18.474 on LAP 13, just before the second RED Flag stoppage just to make sure that his car would beat the best qualifying time laid down by the #18 car of Booth's.

Round 5, however, saw the following mechanical event that effected the outcome of the first race of the weekend.

The Diamond Cellar Classic In Round 5 Rough For Rayhall ... After leading for 14 of the eventual 18 laps (timed 30 minute race session), posting the fastest lap time of the race - 1:19.326 (as opposed to the next fastest - 1:19.780), and creating as much as a 4 second lead gap before the first of two YELLOW Flags that led to thirteen minutes of the timed 30 minute race to be run under caution. Sean Rayhall finishes Round 5 in P2 to end up being tied in the points championship at 76 points with #18 Ryan Booth.

Round 5 podium with Ryan Booth P1 (c), Sean Rayhall P2 (l), and Daniel Goldburg P3 (r). Image Credit: imsalites.com

In an exclusive post race interview, Sean Rayhall shared what happened on the second restart that led to being passed by car #18 - "Left rear (brake) caliper ceased up. It was completely locked when I stopped in the pit (at race's end), went down off the back-straightway into the braking zone and the car just turned sideways before the corner, saved it from an off, got passed, and wasn't able to achieve over 500 lbs. of brake load without the car coming out from under me. Definitely not the result we were hoping but I salvaged what I could."

So five races into a 14 race season have the points race tied largely explained through two race-time equipment failures on the #14 Comprent Motorsports Elan DP02. The first race of the season netted zero points out of a possible total of 20 for the young Rayhall due to a transmission linkage failure.

Round 6, contested the very next day, Sunday June 16, 2013, Father's Day, saw the kind of move (twice) that had happened to Bobby Rahal late in the race where he lost his bid to 'three-peat' at the famed Mid-Ohio road course when the eventual winner was Roberto Guerrero. In this case, the outcome was dramatically different.

Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series grid for Round 6. Image Credit: imsalites.com

Rayhall Regains Luster in Diamond Cellar Classic Round 6 ... In what could be a bit of deja vu for a race car driver with the same sounding name at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Sean Rayhall survives a car 'coming down' on his car twice in the Round 6 of 14 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series.

The race went GREEN Flag after the Keyhole Turn 4 which allows the cars to sort themselves out along the back straight through Turn 5. In this case, according to Rayhall in a post race phone conversation, the #18 car of Ryan Booth 'came down' on me, we touched and spun. "I re-entered the track at P15 and was able to make up two positions by the end of the first lap (no YELLOW Flag full course caution).

One corner leads to another flow at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Image Credit: imsalites.com

The following Tweets from the Prototype Lites twitter account (@imsalites) and entries from @TheEDJE -

Prototype Lites ?@IMSALites
Contact between @seanrayhall and @RyanBoothRacing on lap one. Rayhall has continued, Booth is off driver's left in the gravel trap Turn 4.

@seanrayhall dropped back to P10 after the incident and has now moved up to P7 on lap 4.

@TheEDJE
P5 on LAP 6

@seanrayhall working his way back up, eight minutes into the race and is now P5. #CooperLites

P4 LAP 7

@seanrayhall passes @ChrisPoto22 entering Lap 7 to take fourth position. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

12 minutes in @seanrayhall gets around Jon Brownson on lap 7 to take P3. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

P3 LAP 10 - @seanrayhall rapidly catching the top two and just turned the fastest lap of the race: 1:19.524. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

P2 LAP 11 - @seanrayhall's nose is right on the tail of Goikhberg as he battles for the second position. #CooperLites

Daniel Goldburg remains the leader, @seanrayhall now P2. #CooperLites

LAP 13 - Rayhall - 1:19.357

@seanrayhall pressuring Goldburg now for the lead entering Lap 14 at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

19:29 - left @seanrayhall has been putting pressure on Daniel Goldburg for five laps now, but Goldburg hanging onto the lead entering lap 17.

@seanrayhall and Daniel Goldburg side-to-side contact made, but both continued. Goldburg still leads heading into Lap 18. 20 mins to go!
- break in tweets-

Here is where Sean recounts that Daniel Goldburg 'came down' ("door-slammed") on his car while having the inside position in the Carosel Turn 14 by no less that 3/4th of a car length after Goldberg drove in a manner that could be characterized as very fat for several laps. In this case, unlike what had happened to Bobby Rahal in the 1987 passing of a back-marker, Sean Rahall went on in a very strong way putting additional time distance between him and the next closest competitor, #10 JDC Motorsports Mazda of Mikhail Goikhberg, on each sucessive lap.

- resume tweets -
@seanrayhall is the new leader now on Lap 18 after getting past Daniel Goldburg at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperTires #DiaClrClassic

Daniel Goldburg is now off the track, driver's left Turn 4. Mikhail Goikhberg is now P2.

15 mins remain at @FollowMidOhio! @seanrayhall P1, Mikhail Goikhberg P2, Jon Brownson (M) P3, @ChrisPoto22 P4, Lamont Harris (M) P5.

13 minutes left LAP 23 - @seanrayhall is 10.213 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg

LAP 25 - @seanrayhall is 11.544 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - turning laps in the 1.20s

7 minutes left - LAP 27 - @seanrayhall is 14.185 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - still turning laps in the 1.20s

5 minutes remain - LAP29 - @seanrayhall is 21.508 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - 1:19.778

The white flag is out. Last lap here at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

1 minute remains - LAP 32 - @seanrayhall is 27.828 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg

@seanrayhall sees the checkered flag first and takes Race Two at @FollowMidOhio! #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic
- end of tweets -

Image Credit: Robert Talbott Motorsports®

The race ended with the #14 Robert Talbott Motorsports, Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports prepared Mazda-powered Elan DP02 having a 30.088 second lead.

Sean Rayhall shared that the team entered the weekend short handed given that the team race engineer, Mike Davies could not be physically at the track for the weekend which left the duties to Sean and the Crew Chief who usually provides the data analysis, Brandon White, to ... multitask!

Quite a charge and brilliant luster (from P15 to the win in Round 6) that capped a weekend that saw mechanical failure, followed by tough driving and 'coming down' tactics result producing a seven point lead in the series championship at The Diamond Cellar Classic run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

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**Article first published as Rayhall Revels In Mid-Ohio Racing Tradition And Glory on Technorati**

Sean Rayhall visits the cusp of Rahal racing history at Mid-Ohio

Sean Rayhall leads Ryan Booth around Andretti Hairpin in Turn 2 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Image Credit: Emily Rogers via Motorsport.com

Sean Rayhall visits the cusp of Rahal racing history at Mid-Ohio

While not directly related to the Bobby and Graham wing of this racing racing family, Sean Rayhall shares the Lebanese DNA, speed, and racing passion the more familiar Rahal family share in automobile motorsport.

This weekend, Rayhall will be racing in the 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series at Mid-Ohio ... a venue that has a long and storied history with the Ohio-based Rahal family that started out over 50 years ago when Bobby attended his first race as a kid with his father.

Bobby grew up and with the early support of Jim Truman, the one-time owner of the track at Mid-Ohio, won several times with a pair of wins in IMSA GT, IROC and of course CART. The Ohioan won the Indy 500 as driver in 1986 for TrueSports, a team sponsored and built through the efforts of Jim Truman, on the way to capturing three CART championships to his Rahal name.

Graham Rahal, Bobby's son, has always considered the Lexington, Ohio-based track a home track due to his father's history running there but Graham is frank about being stumped at doing well at Mid Ohio. Last year, he shared before a Mid-Ohio IndyCar test teleconference, "I've never really had a great result there. We've always been fast there. We've had some really strong runs, but we always have contact, I made a mistake in 2009, 2010. We were kind of charging through the field, made contact with Danica. Things have not been quite what we want."

Sean Rayhall's Comprent Motorsports Robert Talbott Mazda as it negotiates the flat corners of Sebring. Image Credit: Eric Gilbert via Motorsport.com

Sean Rayhall currently leads the points championship, in a very tight grouping, as the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series heads into Mid-Ohio for two races - Rounds 5 and 6 of a 14 Round series season. Sean has 58 points followed closely by four drivers that are all within 13 points of each other (Mikhail Goikhberg - 57, Ryan Booth - 56, Daniel Goldburg - 52, and Scott Tucker - 45).

If Sean is able to have the same success as he did at the last two race venue of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (where he captured the pole starting position and won the 2 races), he would be able to take command of the championship and make the kind of statement few drivers are able to make at near mid season.

With the pressure on, and starting out the year in the first race at Sebring not scoring any points at all, Sean Rayhall answered a few questions going into the weekend at this famed road race course ... not looking at the Rahal family history, but to set a tone at making his own Rayhall history for his first time run at Mid-Ohio.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course track map. Image Credit: The Free Radical

START
No points were scored in Round #1 ... did you race, and if so, what were the circumstances that led to not scoring a single point?

The circumstances were a failure with the shift mechanism in the car.

Have you ever driven Mid-Ohio in a race car, a track car, ... or even walked the course - how familiar are you to Mid-Ohio (general reflections)?

We tested at Mid-Ohio a few weeks ago. I have a lot of confidence in the car and the team after how the test went.

With two races, again, over the next couple of days, what do you see are the critical sections of the track and what do you intend to be on the look-out for?

Every corner at this place is critical, because most of them lead into another. So, consistently having a smooth flow is key from a driving standpoint.

Pre-Race - What are the team's thoughts on the upcoming weekend's races (Rounds #5 & #6)?

Teams thoughts are always to win, but we are really focused on making our car even more consistent for the race. Yes, we hope for the pole, but a long race on this course with an ill handling car can lose races.

Additional thoughts on the season so far - racing in Prototype Lites from previous experiences - and what you are looking forward to after this weekend in the heartland of "Rahal" country?

The prototype Lites championship is going extremely well, I am fortunate to be a part of it and wear Robert Talbott's name in every event! I am looking for a smooth weekend in Ohio behind the wheel of this Robert Talbott Mazda, and looking forward to making Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports and Jerry Peters proud as well!
ENDS

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda title chase resumes this weekend (June 15-16) with a doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The teams and drivers first roll on-course at Mid-Ohio today, Thursday (June 13), taking part in three track test sessions. The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda doubleheader officially commences Friday (June 14) with a morning practice session, followed by the lone qualifying run after the lunch break. Round Five is scheduled to take place on Saturday (June 15) at 9:10 am local time, while Round Six is slated for Sunday (June 16) at 12:55 pm local time. Live timing and scoring will be available at http://prototypelites.com/timing/html

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**Article first seen as Sean Rayhall Visits The Cusp Of Rahal Racing History At Mid-Ohio at Motorsports Unplugged**

No Magic For Power In Round 11 Of 17 At Mid-Ohio

Scott Dixon preparing for warm-up session on race day. Dixon went on to win the Honda 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Dan Helrigel via IZOD IndyCar Series

No Magic For Power In Round 11 Of 17 At Mid-Ohio

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Round 11 of 17 delivered a fatal blow to Will Power's chances at getting his first IndyCar Series (ICS) season championship. The Verizon Penske Racing Dallara driver, who was on track to get the ICS championship last year up until the final race of the season when Dario Franchitti was able to eclipse Power's season points total, was looking to climb back into the challenge at 38 points behind and a perfect track for his talents, was caught out twice in pit stop strategy by full course cautions.

"We were making great fuel mileage and we were going to go a lap or two longer than the leaders on the second stop, which would have put us in great position to challenge for the race lead in the last stint," said Power of the Lap 58 incident involving contact between the cars of Graham Rahal and Danica Patrick. "Basically, today we suffered for doing a great job of driving a smart race. We just got caught out by that last yellow flag.”

Will Power as he is being followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

This dropped Power to P16 and allowed Target Chip Ganassi team-mates to duke it out for the win with Scott Dixon passing Dario Franchitti on a restart to eventually take the win. It may have been doubtful if Will Power had anything for the Scott Dixon Dallara because of how well the driver and car had been hooked up all weekend long (fastest Lap - 1:09.1271 / 76), but to finish so far down in the order with a competitive car (set 2nd fastest lap late in the race - 1:09.2376 / 85), placed a stake through the heart (a loss of 24 points against Franchitti - at 62 points behind) of Will Power's chances for a ICS season championship. In fact, with the points Scott Dixon gained with his win (he is now just 29 points behind Power with six races left), Will Power may not even become a repeat "bridesmaid" (runner-up) at season's end in 2011.

The Penske Racing fleet of Dallara cars had a terrible outing at Mid-Ohio. After qualifying Ryan Briscoe at P2, Will Power at P4, and Helio Castroneves at P15, the three drivers end up with Power at P14, Briscoe at P16 and Castroneves at P19.

Newman-Haas's Oriol Servia runs nearly side-by-side with replacement driver for Dreyer & Reinbold's Simon Pagenaud. at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series

KV Racing Technology ended up having a fair showing with two of their three cars placing in the top five. Takuma Sato missed the podium for the second time this year, repeating his finishing position at the street course in St. Petersburg at P4 (qualified P9) followed by Tony Kanaan at P5 (qualified P16) ... a good outing for E.J. Viso who finished the race running, and came in just behind Will Power at P15 after qualifying in P12.

Last note: Justin Wilson had an off in turn one and compressed his back but at this point, it does not look like he will need surgery as Vitor Meira required when he suffered a similar injury. He was replaced by former ChampCar World Series driver and ALMS Champion, Simon Pagenaud, in the Dreyer & Reinbold #22 Roll Coater Dallara and delivered a steady performance coming in ahead of Power at P13 after taking the Green Flag at P18.

Said Pagenaud after the race, “Considering that I was thrown into the car yesterday morning, I think that it was a good weekend. Obviously qualifying was a bit of a roller coaster for me with getting in the car quickly and trying to do my best. We started at the back in 18th position. It’s difficult to pass here, so we finished 13th. We had a really good racecar, but it’s just frustrating because I didn’t have the chance to run by myself and show the pace of the car. I think that the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Roll Coater car was one of the fastest out there today. We just needed to qualify up front and we would have been okay. All in all, considering the bad luck that the team had all weekend, the team should be glad about that. Bia did a great job and we should all be proud. We will see what happens next.”

Round 12 of 17 sends the teams off to the oval at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where the race is set to be run August 14, broadcast at 3:30pm ET on Versus.

... notes from The EDJE


[Article first published as No Magic for Power in Round 11 of 17 at Mid-Ohio on Technorati]