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

Oriol Servia Captures DRR Seat, Becomes One Of The Lotus Legion

Oriol Servia driving the #2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Dallara through the end of the left-sweeping turn #10 at the 2011 37th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Servia went on to finish in the top 10 at P6 while avoiding late race mishaps. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Oriol Servia Captures DRR Seat, Becomes One Of The Lotus Legion

ChampCar standout and leader in performance consistency, Oriol Servia secures the lead seat on the planned two-car effort at Lotus works powered (Judd) Dreyer and Reinbold Racing (DRR).

Last year driving the old Dallara in its final season for the now disbanded Newman/Haas Telemundo sponsored effort, Oriol finished every race registering three podiums. This performance netted the Spainard a fourth in points lead by season's end, ahead of Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves, and all four rides in the Andretti Autosport stable. Not bad for a one-year campaign on an understandably proud but fading team.

At the announcement, Oriol said this about the courtship with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing; “I couldn’t be more excited, for many reasons. DRR is a team that I raced against since 2008 and they’ve always shown to be very professional at the racetrack.”

“Although I knew the owners, I didn’t know them very well, to be honest. Before signing with the team, like everybody else, I did my research and I couldn’t find one individual that didn’t speak highly of Dennis or Robbie, which gave me a lot of confidence.”

“I went to the team’s sponsor summit last week and met all of their partners that they have been involved with for many, many years, which was another clear sign that they are good people.”

On Dreyer and Reinbold running the Lotus twin-turbo power-plant prepared by John Judd in the back of the new DW12 chassis ... Servia is really anxious to give it a spin.

“I started on the front row for the Indianapolis 500 and I want to improve on that. I’m at the best point in my career and it was very important to partner with the right team. When I visited the DRR facility in Indianapolis, I couldn’t have been more impressed.”

“We are starting with a new engine and chassis, and I have confidence in Lotus and our ability to develop a quality product in 2012. When you have everyone [four teams, and factory support from Lotus works] pulling in the same direction like we are now is when we can accomplish our goals.”
(ht: The Checkered Flag)

At this time it is not known who will be Oriol's DDR team-mate but the rest of the Lotus Legion is filling in quickly and holds some pretty substantial and recognizable names from the former ChampCar World Series (CCWS) and CCWS open wheel ladder step, Formula Atlantic Series.

Joining Oriol Servia - Spain - (8 years CCWS finishing season P2 in 2005) in fielding a Lotus-powered DW12 in its inaugural season are the recently announced Dragon Racing stable of Sebastien Bourdais - France - (4-time CCWS Season Champion for Newman/Haas) and Katherine Legge - England - (Toyota Atlantic won three races in 2005, becoming the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America - First woman to drive and lead a lap in CCWS 2006), Bryan Herta Autosport's Alex Tagliani - Canada - (CCWS standard-bearer in Atlantic and ChampCar for 12 years - 107 consecutive CCWS starts - finishing with CCWS co-owner Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports Racing team) ... still waiting for a team-mate, and HVM Racing's Simona de Silvestro - Switzerland - (CCWS Formula Atlantic race winner - Long Beach 2008, 2009 season P3) who is also waiting for a team-mate ... currently, the Lotus Legion for 2012!

... notes from The EDJE


- Article first seen as Oriol Servia Captures DRR Seat, Becomes One Of The Lotus Legion at Technorati -

Aussie’s Power & Briscoe In Spotlight At Surfers Paradise

Will Power (KV Racing Technology): Saturday qualifyingImage Credit: Chris Von Wieldt

Aussie’s Power & Briscoe In Spotlight At Surfers Paradise

In the final race of the 2008 IndyCar season, with the championship already determined, Surfers Paradise Australia saw a tale of two native sons play out in a way that summed up a most unique season.

The 2008 IndyCar Series brought with it the drama of a host of new drivers and teams when back in late February it was announced that the two open wheel racing series that have the majority of their races and management in North America would merge into one competitive series.

One racing series (IndyCar) raced primarily on closed circuit, oval shaped, banked venues in the United States, the other (ChampCar) held the vast majority of their races on temporary and closed course street, airport, and road locations - internationally. With the merge, it was hoped that one series that featured a blend of both types of challenges for the drivers and teams would make for a better product … and for the most part, it is.

Take the last race of the season as an example of both the competitive aspects and the frustration of a merge when two native sons, Will Power of KV Racing Technology and Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing squared off for the win at Surfers Paradise along the Gold Coast region in eastern Australia.

In the days leading up to the race held last night, North America time (mid-day Sunday in Australia) Will Power dominated the time trials during the warm-up sessions and captured the lead starting position in qualifying – a position he has captured twice before during the previous ChampCar races held at this venue.

But while Power has been unbeatable in qualifying at Surfers, his luck on race day has been abysmal, with collisions spoiling his races in every home appearance so far. A lapped 12th place in 2006 was his best Surfers finish to date.

"I've been in this position three years in a row, so we have to get it done," said Power

"I can't believe I have another pole start here. But, it's only the pole and the goal is to win the race on Sunday.

To win, Power would have to run a mistake-free race with New Zealander and 2008 ICS Champion Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Australian Ryan Briscoe of Marlborough Penske Racing.

Podium: race winner Ryan Briscoe, second place Scott Dixon, third place Ryan Hunter-Reay - Surfers Paradise, 2008-10-26 (Streets of Surfers Paradise): Image Credit: Chris Von Wieldt

This excerpted and edited from autosport.com -

Briscoe takes home victory at Surfers
By Matt Beer Sunday, October 26th 2008, 04:26 GMT

Ryan Briscoe fended off Scott Dixon to take a home win at Surfers Paradise, after Will Power crashed out of the lead having dominated most of the weekend.

For the third year in a row, Power's race ended in an accident after he had taken a commanding pole. But unlike his previous Surfers disappointments, this time Power's incident was a solo mistake rather than a collision.

The KV driver's crash on lap 16 left Briscoe (Penske) leading from Dixon (Ganassi), where he would remain until the flag.

Power immediately opened a four-second advantage at the start, as Dixon had to back off and hand second to Briscoe having cut the first chicane to hold the position on the opening lap.

An early yellow for a crash by Dale Coyne Racing's Mario Moraes, who had already tangled with Vitor Meira (Foyt) at the start, brought Briscoe and Dixon back onto Power's tail, but the Australian had little trouble pulling away again at the restart.

Although Briscoe began chipping away at his lead, Power was still two seconds in front when he misjudged the Turn 5/6 chicane on lap 16 and smashed his left-front suspension on the wall.

"I just clipped the inside wall," said Power. "Just a very bad mistake, very unfortunate. We were saving heaps of fuel, I wasn't pushing hard and it just caught me out."
----
Briscoe and Dixon dominated the second half of the race, with the Penske driver able to hold a steady two-second advantage over the current champion.

That gap was reduced to almost nothing with five laps to go, when Briscoe was badly held up lapping Patrick, but the Australian was able to resist huge pressure from Dixon and claim his third win of the year.

"What a way to finish the year and kick off 2009," said Briscoe. "It's a dream to win in my home country."
----
Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Justin Wilson, who had been a match for Power in practice, was forced to start at the back following pre-race gearbox problems. He carved through the field early on - making up 11 places in six laps - but would drop right out of contention after a tangle with Bruno Junqueira at a restart.
Reference Here>>

So, how did the Transition Teams and Drivers fare in this final race of the inaugural merged IndyCar open wheel racing series?

Pos Driver Team Time
4. Alex Tagliani Conquest + 19.9844
5. Oriol Servia KV + 20.4376
6. EJ Viso HVM + 33.7249
9. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 1:20.0592
11. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 1:31.9353
15. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne + 1 lap
19. Jaime Camara Conquest + 2 laps

Retirements:

Driver Team Laps
Will Power KV 16
Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 7

... notes from The EDJE

Sad T-Points End To Open Wheel Unification

Justin Wilson misses out on capturing the IRL's Bombardier Rookie of the Year for the 2008 IndyCar Series season championship by six points. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Sad T-Points End To Open Wheel Unification

Qualification for the Chicagoland oval race typified the fortunes of the teams transitioning into the IRL in the last points paying race for the championship of the 2008 IRL season.

Not one driver from a former ChampCar World Series team made it into the top ten on the grid. This represents the beginning to a sad end to the first year performance of transition team drivers during this unification year of open wheel racing in North America.

This excerpted from autosport.com -

Briscoe beats Dixon to Chicago pole
Saturday, September 6th 2008, 21:38 GMT

Ryan Briscoe helped his Penske teammate Helio Castroneves' chances of winning the IRL IndyCar Series title by beating points leader Scott Dixon to pole position for the championship decider at Chicagoland.

Ganassi driver Dixon, who had dominated practice, held provisional pole for most of the session, resisting strong challenges from the Andretti Green cars in particular.

But Briscoe, the last driver to take to the track, set a four lap average of 215.818mph to snatch pole away from Dixon, out-pacing the Kiwi by just over a tenth of a second.

Detroit winner Justin Wilson (Newman/Haas/Lanigan) struggled on the 1.5-mile oval and only qualified 22nd.

Ryan Briscoe will start in position P1 on the grid for PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Pos Driver Team Speed

1. Ryan Briscoe Penske 215.818
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi 215.553
3. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 215.548
4. Helio Castroneves Penske 215.372
5. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 215.368
6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 215.064
7. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 214.967
8. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon 214.855
9. Vitor Meira Panther 214.796
10. Marty Roth Roth 214.794
11. Will Power KV 214.583
12. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 214.444
13. Oriol Servia KV 214.441
14. Ed Carpenter Vision 213.875
15. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 213.523
16. AJ Foyt IV Vision 213.485
17. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 213.430
18. Jaime Camara Conquest 213.417
19. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher 213.389
20. Alex Tagliani Conquest 213.305
21. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 212.857
22. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 212.753
23. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 212.682
24. Darren Manning Foyt 212.406
25. Franck Perera Foyt 212.126
26. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 212.040
27. EJ Viso HVM 211.996
28. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 211.451

T-Team Tally In Qualifications

Will Power grids in position P11 for the final points paying race of the season. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Pos Driver Team Speed

11. Will Power KV 214.583
13. Oriol Servia KV 214.441
15. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 213.523
18. Jaime Camara Conquest 213.417
20. Alex Tagliani Conquest 213.305
22. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 212.753
26. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 212.040
27. EJ Viso HVM 211.996
28. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 211.451
Reference Here>>

Missing from the line-up is Pacific Coast Motorsports who have bowed out after entering the season late, showed good improvement but wanted to spend this time to build for a stronger campaign next year.

15:46:25 GMT-0400 All cars are away from the grid for the pace laps. Green flag is expected on the third time by.

Start waived off due to spacing, Briscoe slowed the field way down – too slow.

Green Flag!

Three wide racing gets the heart pumping at the start. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

LAP 1
The cars charge three wide into the first corner

LAP 3
Tony Kanaan is trying to pass Briscoe on the high side. Castroneves is already up to P21 from P28

LAP 5
Castroneves is moves up to P18 from P28

LAP 11
Helio Castroneves is up to P13 from P28

LAP 14
Dan Wheldon looks to take P5 from Danica Patrick

LAP 15
Marco Andretti gets moved back to P13 as Castroneves passes by for P12

LAP 25
Castroneves gets moved back to P11 as Rahal passes by to regain P10

LAP 32 of 200
It’s Briscoe, Kanaan, Dixon, Carpenter, Weldon, Patrick, Meira, Foyt IV, Hunter-Reay, and Castroneves in positions 1-10

LAP 37
Yellow Flag - Ed Carpenter smashes into the wall on Turn 2 – ON FIRE

LAP 38
In the pits – All cars take on fuel, tires, get adjustments, and try to advance position

LAP 39
After the first round of pitstops Tony Kanaan appears to have won the race off of pit lane with Dixon in tow - Castroneves moving past Hunter-Reay. It’s Kanaan, Dixon, Briscoe, Weldon, Patrick, Meira, Foyt IV, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, and Viso in positions 1-10

LAP 50
Green Green Green- Restart underway – Castroneves moves up another spot making that 20 positions in 50 laps

LAP 53
Positions 9-13 running almost on top of each other – Hunter-Reay, Viso, Power, Rahal, and Scheckter

LAP 57
Double pass on Weldon and Patrick by Castroneves to P4 … right behind Dixon

LAP 63
T-Team Driver, Jaime Camara of Conquest Racing is done for the day

LAP 64
Jaime Camara appears to have his issues resolved as he rejoins the race

LAP 67
Helio Castroneves passes Dixon to P3. Dixon shows maturity by not contesting the position

LAP 74
Yellow Flag – Full Course Caution – Vitor Meira of Panther Racing hits the wall in turn two. Vitor received an email earlier in the day telling him that he will not be racing for Panther Racing next season … he is expected to be replaced by Dan Weldon currently at Target Chip Ganassi Racing … who is expected to be replaced by IRL 2007 Series Champion, Dario Franchitti – and so goes the silly season here in the last points paying race for the IndyCar Series 2008 Championship

LAP 84
Green Flag – Helio Castroneves leads the field after a great pitstop. Behind him It’s Briscoe, Kanaan, Dixon, Weldon, Foyt IV, Patrick, Power, Viso, and Rahal in positions 1-10

LAP 92
1.1 seconds separates the top nine cars

LAP 93
Three abreast at 213 mph with Castroneves on the bottom, Ryan Briscoe in the middle, and Dan Weldon on top – Dixon drops to seventh

LAP 95
Mario Moraes of Dale Coyne Racing and EJ Viso of HVM Racing are in the top nine. Moraes is 19 years old with little oval experience has moved up from next to last P27 to P5

LAP 108
Over halfway and the Yellow Flag comes out for debris on the track. Dixon runs at P10 and this race is beginning to slip away. If the race were to end right now, Dixon would only win by two points (down 28 from 30) for a $1,000,000 season championship bonus

Sarah Fisher in her new Dollar General livery races along side, three wide, with Marco Andretti and T-Team driver, nineteen year-old Mario Moraes in the Sonny's BBQ sponsored Dale Coyne Dallara. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

LAP 109
Buddy Rice of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing gets tapped while in pit lane by Graham Rahal of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and is unable to continue in the race

LAP 113
Rahal in pits to replace mirror – penalized to restart from the back of the pack

LAP 117
Green Flag – Helio Castroneves leads the field after a great pitstop. Behind him It’s Briscoe, Weldon, Kanaan, Viso, Foyt IV, Patrick, Dixon, Power, Moraes, and Wilson in positions 1-11

LAP 118
Yellow Flag – Sara Fisher in the Dollar General Fisher Racing car hits the wall in turn #4 hard. She has stopped in the grass. Sarah Fisher is out of the car, but is limping to the safety vehicle

LAP 119
Where season points leader Scott Dixon is running right now … he would win by four points. If Castroneves were to get the bonus points for leading the most laps – Dixon would still win by one point

LAP 125
Green Flag – 75 laps to go. Justin Wilson passes Scott Dixon and pushes him back to ninth

LAP 127
Weldon drops back one position from P3 to P4 moving Kanaan up

LAP 128
Dixon is able to make some passes and is now up to P6 after passing Patrick

LAP 132
Kanaan passes Castroneves – not good for Helio … and Dixon up to P4

LAP 136
Announcers speculate if Dixon is applying the same strategy Dario Franchitti employed last year where Dixon Pressures Castroneves to use up more fuel and have him run out at the end – the same way Dixon ran out last year giving Franchitti the win and the championship

LAP 137
EJ Viso’s tire deflates and sends the car into the wall from P8

LAP 140
Leaders in the pits – Dixon may have a problem in that he looses a few positions because a tire got away from a pit crew member causing Dixon to hold a little longer

LAP 144
Milka Duno stays out to get some camera time for her sponsor CITGO Petroleum - Green Flag – Helio Castroneves is second after a great pitstop. Behind him It’s Briscoe, Weldon, Patrick, Kanaan, Dixon, Moraes, Hunter-Reay and Andretti in positions 1-10

LAP 158
The top eight have opened up a 1.8 second lead on the field

LAP 163
Hideki Mutoh is slow on the apron near Turn #1

LAP 167
Dixon is holding station at P4 – if he finishes there, he wins the series championship for 2008 by nine points.

LAP 168
Hideki Mutoh is in for an extended pit stop. This could cost him Bombardier Rookie of the Year

LAP 177
It’s Weldon, Castroneves, Briscoe, Dixon, Kanaan, Moraes, Hunter-Reay, Patrick, Foyt IV, and Manning in P1 through P10

Helio Castroneves and teammate Ryan Briscoe get a nudge at over 200 miles per hour while running ... three wide. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

LAP 182
Mario Moraes of Dale Coyne Racing scrapes the wall and brings out a Yellow Flag. Mario out – Castroneves has the bonus points (3) for most laps led

LAP 184
Pits are open and the leaders come in – this could turn the race if there is a problem for either Castroneves or Dixon

LAP 185
Dixon picks up three positions and passes Briscoe and Castroneves out of the pits – only about 13 to 14 laps of racing to the end

LAP 189
11 laps left and it’s Green Green Green RESTART! – Graham Rahal gets into the wall from P18 – Yellow Flag

LAP 194
Six laps to go, after two wave offs due to Helio trying to get a jump - they are going to the end

LAP 195
Castroneves is all over leader, Scott Dixon’s rear wing

LAP 199
Two laps remaining and it is side by side

LAP 200
On the bottom Dixon out stretches Castroneves for his seventeenth race win by one one-thousandth of a second. The video evidence would suggest that Castroneves noses out Dixon – we’re waiting for the announcement

It’s official!

Scott Dixon is the 2008 IndyCar Series Champion and is second to Helio Castroneves in this race here today in the closest finish ever in an open wheel motorsports race … still at margin of one one-thousandth of a second flying along at 213 miles per hour. Image Credit: indycar.com

Photo finish
By indycar.com staff

JOLIET, Ill. - Helio Castroneves made a exciting dash to the front of the pack - going from worst to first in 77 laps - but Scott Dixon did what was necessary to wrap up his second IndyCar Series championship.

Dixon, who needed an eighth place in the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway to clinch, finished second in the 200-lap race -- by 0.0033 of a second to Castroneves in the second-closest finish in IndyCar Series history. The closest finish is 0.0024 of a second in 2002.

Another IndyCar Series championship-deciding race came down to the final turn of the final lap at Chicagoland Speedway. This time, Scott Dixon came out on top. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

IndyCar Series champion celebrates with all of the members of his Target Chip Ganassi team. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Dixon won by 17 points. Castroneves' teammate, Ryan Briscoe, finished third (0.0778 of a second behind) and Tony Kanaan was fourth. Will Power finished fifth and Dan Wheldon was sixth.
Reference Here>>

The highest finishing Transition Team driver is Will Power of KV Racing Technology.

So, it is a sad T-Team points end to this open wheel unification season at the end. Justin Wilson and Will Power both had a chance to take the lead in the rookie of the points but came up short.

Oriol Servia, Will Power's KV Racing Technology teammate was the highest ranking T-Team driver, but since he raced at the Indianapolis 500 in a previous season, he did not qualify as a rookie.

Bombardier Rookie of the Year

Rank. Name – PTS. Behind Leader

1. Hideki Mutoh - 346 Leader – and a rookie driver for an established IRL team
2. Justin Wilson -6
3. Will Power -15
4. Graham Rahal - -58
5. E.J. Viso -60
6. Mario Moraes -102
7. Enrique Bernoldi -126
8. Jaime Camara -172
9. Mario Dominguez -234

Overall 2008 Championship Points Standings

Rank. Name – POINTS – PTS. Behind Leader
(T-Team in CCWS orange)

1. Scott Dixon - 646 Leader
2. Helio Castroneves - 629 -17
3. Tony Kanaan - 513 -133
4. Dan Wheldon - 492 -154
5. Ryan Briscoe - 447 -199
6. Danica Patrick - 379 -267
7. Marco Andretti - 363 -283
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay - 360 -286
9. Oriol Servia - 358 -288
10. Hideki Mutoh - 346 -300
11. Justin Wilson - 340 -306
12. Will Power - 331 -315
13. Vitor Meira - 324 -322
14. Darren Manning - 323 -323
15. Ed Carpenter - 320 -326
16. Buddy Rice - 306 -340
17. Graham Rahal - 288 -358
18. E.J. Viso - 286 -360
19. A.J. Foyt IV - 280 -366
20. Bruno Junqueira - 256 -390
21. Mario Moraes - 244 -402
22. Enrique Bernoldi - 220 -426
23. Jaime Camara - 174 -472
24. Marty Roth - 166 -480
25. Milka Duno - 140 -506
26. Townsend Bell - 117 -529
27. Mario Dominguez - 112 -534
28. Jay Howard - 72 -574
29. Franck Perera - 71 -575
30. John Andretti - 71 -575
31. Tomas Scheckter - 66 -580
32. Sarah Fisher - 37 -609
33. Paul Tracy - 32 -614 - honorable mention
34. Alex Tagliani - 30 -616 - honorable mention
35. Roger Yasukawa - 16 -630
36. Davey Hamilton - 16 -630
37. Buddy Lazier - 13 -633
38. Alex Lloyd - 10 -636
39. Jeff Simmons - 10 -636

... notes from The EDJE

It's Elation At Edmonton For CCWS/IRL Fans

The temporary race track at Edmonton City Centre Airport (from above) where the Rexall Edmonton Indy was contested. It was formerly called the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton and was a round of the Champ Car World Series. It was one of three Champ Car races added to the 2008 IndyCar Series following the merger of the two American open wheel racing series. Image Credit: Edmonton City Centre Airport

It's Elation At Edmonton For CCWS/IRL Fans

Welcome to Edmonton, Indy Racing League officials and race fans.

The IRL was treated to some fantastic crowds (estimate at over 200,000 for the time of the event) and a warm CCWS reception all during the three days that the IndyCar Series was in town to compete at the Rexall Edmonton Indy - the IRL's first ever race in Canada. This is what it will be like at all former ChampCar World Series venues next year under a truly unified series. All the best drivers and all the best teams with enough experience throughout the paddock to make the 2009 season fun and competitive.

Here is the transcript generated as an off-line live blogging effort at The EDJE. The weather is perfect, clear and in the low 80's, with winds between 10-20 mph from the SE.

After three warm-up laps the pace car pulls off and the Green Flag is waved to start the race.

Race Start for the race held in 2008. This race was held by the ChampCar World Series and was won by Justin Wilson. Wilson qualified in position six and finished the race the highest of all the T-Team Eleven driver competing in the race today. Image Credit: Rexall Edmonton Indy

LAP 1
Graham Rahal gets through the first couple of corners then goes off track with a broken right rear suspension. Says he was tapped by Mario Moraes started 10th but soldiered on at 22nd.

LAP 4
Briscoe baubles and Castroneves takes over the lead.

LAP 7
Will Power started 5th came into the pits while running 13th for adjustments, fuel, and tires.

LAP 9
Will Power retires – left front wishbone is bent. Rolled the car back to the garage to see about replacement.

LAP 11
Tracy moves up to 10th position after starting 16th. Paul Tracy is making his first start of the IRL season even though he did run at the Long Beach Grand Prix.

LAP 14
Castroneves leads Briscoe by 3.2 seconds

LAP 19
Vitor Meira slides into the corner tires in turn one – brings out a full course Yellow and pit stops.

LAP 21
In the pits, Dixon skunks Servia to take over third position.

LAP 25
Restart – The Red & White parade is disrupted when Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, and Buddy Rice stay out to assume the lead over Penske (Castroneves and Briscoe), and Target Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon.

LAP 28
Right Rear wishbone of Dale Coyne Racing’s Mario Moraes breaks.

LAP 29
Andretti Green Racing’s Hideki Mutoh spins and crashes badly – Full Course Yellow.

LAP 31
Buddy Rice and Tony Kanaan come in to pit – Marco stays out.
LAP 34
Restart, Paul Tracy pulls up to position 11 behind Bruno Junqueira. Helio jumps all over Andretti and passes for the lead in to turn one.

LAP 36
Paul Tracy also jumps up a few positions on the restart to position 9.

LAP 40
Marco Andretti in the pits. Castroneves, Briscoe, Dixon, Servia, and Wilson round out the top five. Weldon, Bernoldi, Tracy, Hunter-Reay, and Junqueira make up the top ten.

LAP 49
Townsend Bell hits the tire barrier; it’s a tow – Full Course Yellow

LAP 51
Field takes a pit stop – Full fill up leaves a car about 7 laps short of making it to the end on Green.

Scott Dixon skunks both Penske cars off pit lane. Tony Kanaan stays out and assumes the lead. Other that stayed out include Foyt IV, Rice, and Carpenter.

Mario Dominguez climbed up to 14th at one time in the Pacific Coast Motorsports/Visit Mexico City Dallara, but had to retire due to mechanical problems. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2008)

LAP 52
Mario Dominguez of Pacific Coast Motorsports looses a right rear tire as a result of an improper tire change.

LAP 54
Dixon ordered behind Castroneves before restart.

LAP 55
Green, Green, Green – Kanaan leads the pack with 25 laps since his last pit stop.

LAP 56
Briscoe spins and looses places to the leaders – Ed Carpenter taps Briscoe and sends him to 17th.

AJ Foyt IV, passes Tony Kanaan for the lead. Tony spins and opens the door.

LAP 57
Briscoe in the pits, gets topped off on fuel and check for damage – can make it to the end.

LAP 60
Kanaan regains the lead on a driving miscue by AJ Foyt IV. EJ Viso punts Graham Rahal into the tires after Graham rejoins the race. Full Course Yellow

LAP 61
Dixon, Castroneves, Weldon, Tracy, and Wilson round out the top five at restart by staying out during pit open. Kanaan pitted.

LAP 64
Green Flag. Viso called in to the pits for a 15 second stop and go penalty.

LAP 65
Bernoldi spins and drops a couple of places from 12th place.

LAP 67
The top eight places will need a splash and go to complete the race if it remains Green. Ryan Briscoe riding in position 9 can make it all the way. Tracy is up to position 4 followed by Wilson, Servia, and Junqueira.

LAP 70
Servia passes Tracy for fourth. There is speculation that some of the top seven might make it to the end … laps will tell. Briscoe passed Danica Patrick to break into the top eight.

LAP 75
Wilson passes Tracy for fifth place. Twenty laps to go. Who will make it on gas to the end?

LAP 77
Marco taps tires with Danica Patrick and pushes her off of the track. Danica has a flat tire, Marco has a hurt wing and drops back to 15th. Local caution only.

LAP 80
Briscoe passes Junqueira for seventh position. The race is announced to become a timed race – to be run less than the 95 original laps.

LAP 83
Wilson assumes 3rd, Weldon drops back to 6th. Fourteen cars on the lead lap.

LAP 85
Castroneves locks his brakes and looses time behind leader Scott Dixon.

LAP 86
Junqueira passes Weldon for 6th.

LAP 87
Bruno Junqueira sputters and drops back to 11th. Briscoe up to 6th.

LAP 91
White Flag – Dixon, Weldon, Wilson, Servia, and Tracy in the top five for the last lap. Paul Tracy passes Oriol Servia for 4th place on this last lap!

Major thanks has to given to Tony George for clearing the way for Forsythe Racing to race under the Vision Racing banner with a Forsythe prepared SubWay Restruants sponsored Dallara. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2008)

The T-Team Eleven is bolstered by the presence of Paul Tracy who raced his first ever race in a Dallara all the way to the end.

Here is how the transition team drivers fared:

Pos. Driver/Car No C/E/T S Qual Speed Laps XL LL Status Pts

3 Justin Wilson McDonald's Racing Team 02 D/H/F 6 0.000 91 0 0 Running 35

4 Paul Tracy Subway/ Vision 22 D/H/F 15 114.122 91 0 0 Running 32

5 Oriol Servia KV Racing Technology 5 D/H/F 3 116.710 91 0 0 Running 30

14 Bruno Junqueira Z-Line Designs 18 D/H/F 7 115.871 91 0 0 Running 16

15 E.J. Viso PDVSA HVM Racing 33 D/H/F 20 112.879 90 0 0 Running 15

16 Enrique Bernoldi Sangari Conquest Racing 36 D/H/F 11 114.519 90 0 0 Running 14

20 Mario Moraes Sonny's Bar-B-Q 19 D/H/F 10 115.015 85 0 0 Running 12

22 Will Power Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia 8 D/H/F 5 116.410 72 0 0 Running 12

23 Jaime Camara Sangari 34 D/H/F 26 111.229 68 0 0 Mechanical 12

24 Mario Dominguez Visit Mexico City/PCM Racing 96 D/H/F 19 112.500 51 0 0 Off Course 12

26 Graham Rahal Rexall-Oilers 06 D/H/F 8 115.573 44 0 0 Contact 10
Reference Here>>

A really good race in general - not a great race for the overall advancement in the Rookie-Of-The-Year points race due to the fact Will Power could not take advantage of a last place finish by Hideki Mutoh, the current points leader (moved from 31 to 29 points behind).

... notes from The EDJE

Transition Drivers Show Strong At Edmonton Quals.

KV Racing Technology's Oriol Servia inches his way into the third qualifying position on the grid. He nips season points leader, Scott Dixon by one ten-thousandth of a second to break up a lock on the first three positions by established team drivers over the first three places. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2008)

Transition Drivers Show Strong At Edmonton Quals.

If the equipment equation were a little more equalized or at least half of the venues were former CART/CCWS venues we believe the drivers edge would be with the ChampCar drivers having to be folded into the IRL.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone knows that Penske and Ganassi are the class of the established teams this transition year of 2008, but if the qualifying performance put on by the former ChampCar drivers with different equipment on a track they are exclusively familiar with is any indication, this would be a different looking season in the points chase at this point.

Six of the top ten qualifying positions on the grid for the Rexall Edmonton Indy are occupied by the T-Team Ten that have run most of this season. Actually, seven of the top eleven are looking to make a mark and move up in the standings.

"This didn't come easy." - Ryan Briscoe, after taking the pole for the IndyCar Series Rexall Edmonton Indy, Friday. "I did all I could just to get in (to the final session). Going in, I wasn't so confident! It was all I could just to stay in the game. If you would have told me 15 minutes ago that I would be on pole, I would have been dreaming." Image Credit: Covy Moore (2008)

This excerpted and edited from Motorsport.com –

Briscoe flies to Edmonton pole
By Tony DiZinno - Motorsport.com - Racing series, INDYCAR – Date: 2008-07-25

Ryan Briscoe was part lucky and part good in winning last week's IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio. The same description applied to the Australian's pole-winning effort for tomorrow's Rexall Edmonton Indy, marking his second pole of the season and Team Penske's fourth consecutive overall.

A water leak nearly derailed any chance of success in the final session, which Briscoe fought into with a last-ditch lap right at the end of Q2.
----
Briscoe's teammate Helio Castroneves completes a Penske front row sweep. Castroneves led the day's lone practice session as the first driver to cross the timing line in under 61 seconds. At day's end, the top four were all in the one-minute bracket.
----
After the Penske pairing, Oriol Servia, Scott Dixon and Will Power completed the top five. Servia and Power trap series points leader Dixon in a KV Racing Technologies sandwich coming to the green flag. Servia edged Dixon for third by the slimmest of margins, one ten-thousandth of a second.

The "Fast Six" group was trimmed to five beforehand as Justin Wilson suffered upper and lower left-side suspension damage to his Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing entry. The Briton swapped ends, caught his car the first time but contacted the barriers in the turn seven complex. He starts sixth.

"I just tried to push it too hard," Wilson said. "The second time I lost it, it bit me. The impact damaged the suspension. Our car's been quick and always gaining lap times, but it's been right on a knife's edge the whole weekend."
----
Completing the top ten are Bruno Junqueira, Graham Rahal, Dan Wheldon, and Mario Moraes.
----
Junqueira and Moraes give team owner Dale Coyne two top-ten starts, but despite their speed each of the team's drivers has given the crewmembers extended hours of labor after accidents. Junqueira's Thursday shunt saw the team go to a backup car, while in the waning moments of Q2, the rapidly- improving Moraes lost control out of turn seven and walloped the wall.

Tracy was bitterly disappointed to not advance having been in the top ten in each practice. He blamed his lack of speed on carrying extra fuel and its subsequent additional weight. A late full-course caution for Marty Roth's spin left drivers scrambling during Tracy's group's session. While Tracy notched a lap quick enough to advance, he started it after the checkers, nullifying any potential gain.
Reference Here>>

Conquest Racing's Enrique Bernoldi hangs in to place eleventh on the grid making 7 of the top 11 qualifying positions owned by the drivers of the T-Team Ten. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2008)

How the T-Team Ten (now Eleven counting Paul Tracy) Fared

SP/Car Driver Hometown Car Name Entrant Time Speed

3/5 Oriol Servia Pals, Spain KV Racing Technology KV Racing Technology 1:00.8584 116.710

5/8 R Will Power Toowoomba, Australia Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia KV Racing Technology 1:01.0154 116.410

6/02 R Justin Wilson Sheffield, England McDonald's Racing Team Newman Haas Lanigan Racing no time no speed

7/18 Bruno Junqueira Belo Horizonte, Brazil Z-Line Designs Dale Coyne Racing 1:01.2991 115.871

8/06 R Graham Rahal Columbus, Ohio Rexall-Oilers Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:01.4573 115.573

10/19 R Mario Moraes Sao Paulo, Brazil Sonny's Bar-B-Q Dale Coyne Racing 1:01.7552 115.015

11/36 R Enrique Bernoldi Curitiba, Brazil Sangari Conquest Racing Conquest Racing 1:02.0227 114.519

16/22 Paul Tracy Scarborough, Ontario Subway/Vision Vision Racing 1:02.2387 114.122

20/96 R Mario Dominguez Mexico City Visit Mexico City/PCM Racing Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:03.1359 112.500

21/33 R E.J. Viso Caracas, Venezuela PDVSA HVM Racing HVM Racing 1:02.9242 112.879

27/34 R Jaime Camara Goiania, Brazil Sangari Conquest Racing 1:03.8572 111.229
Reference Here>>

Let's just hope these guys can hold, and even advance position in the race tomorrow. Up for grabs will be Rookie-Of-The-Year points and it looks that Will Power will have a chance to gain on points leader Hideki Mutoh of the Andretti Green Racing stables.

... notes from The EDJE

T-Team Silver Lining In The Clouds At Mid-Ohio

The pit lane at Mid-Ohio during the rain shower just before race start. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

T-Team Silver Lining In The Clouds At Mid-Ohio

Seven lead changes from seven different drivers – not a bad display in open wheel racing for a road course. Heck, we even had some of the “T-Team Ten” take a legitimate turn at leading the parade.

Ryan Briscoe leads Ryan Hunter-Reay and Buddy Rice. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

T-Team Ten race leaders included Justin Wilson (11), Mario Moraes (1), Will Power (3).

At the end, however, in Mid-Ohio it was a Penske parade with Ryan Brisco and Helio Castroneves at positions 1 and 2.

Team owner of KV Racing Technology, Kirk Kalkoven, pats driver, Will Power on the back for a good drive at Mid-Ohio. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Will Power was looking at a podium finish but got passed in the closing laps, on the track, at race speed by Scott Dixon. This left the teammates of KV Racing Technology together rounding out the top five finishers. A similar move by Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing was placed on Danica Patrick of Andretti Green Racing bringing his finish position at 11 after a mid-race spin incident on a restart placed his car back in the field.

The racing trooper award of the day has to go to Mario Dominguez and the team at Pacific Coast Motorsports. An honorable mention needs to go to Jamia Camara of Conquest Racing for starting at position 25, racing clean and moving up eleven positions to finish at 14.

Mario Dominguez and Marty Roth run side-by-side at Mid-Ohio. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This excerpted from a Pacific Coast Motorsports Press Release –

Dominguez Stays in the Race Despite a Wild Day at Mid-Ohio
By Katie Brannan - PCM Public Relations - Honda Indy 200 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - Sunday, July 20, 2008

Lexington, OH – Thunderstorms soaked the Mid-Ohio circuit minutes before the scheduled start of the race, it delayed the green flag and wreaked havoc with race strategies.

Dominguez passed for position at the start of the Honda Indy 200 and made his first pitstop for dry tires just four laps into the event. He looked set for a strong first stint challenging for positions when he made a move to pass Ryan Briscoe, the eventual race winner. Briscoe blocked Dominguez forcing him to brake late which led to an off-track excursion and contact with the barrier. Dominguez returned to the pits for an inspection and fresh tires, and the car was deemed intact.

Several laps later, again on a charge for position and after having just set the fastest lap of the race, Dominguez suffered a rear wing failure; the rear wing detached itself from the car at 180 mph which sent Dominguez spinning into the gravel trap, causing a full course caution. The IndyCar Safety Team quickly removed Dominguez from the gravel and he was back on track headed for the pits. The PCM crew jumped into action, they replaced the rear wing and tires and refuelled the Visit Mexico City IndyCar. They proved they are some of the best in the business, as Dominguez lost just two laps through the entire incident.

Dominguez returned to the track and continued to tick off laps at pace with the leaders despite the off-track excursions earlier in the race. He finished 19th.
Reference Here>>

Visit Mexico City sponsored driver, Mario Dominguez, signs an autograph to a budding fan around the Mid-Ohio track before racetime. Image Credit: Pacific Coast Motorsports

This excerpted from Speed TV -

INDYCAR: Sunday Notebook
Written by: David Phillips - Senior writer, RACER Magazine - 07/20/2008 - 07:46 PM - Lexington, Ohio

HE SAID/HE SAID
Not surprisingly, there were two different versions of the incident involving Justin Wilson and Mario Dominguez that triggered the four-car crash eliminating Marco Andretti from the race and knocking Wilson out of contention for a possible win.

What is indisputable is that, as the field funneled around the Carousel into Turn 12 coming to a restart on Lap 43, Wilson and Dominguez made contact. Although Dominguez made it through unscathed, Wilson spun and Andretti, Darren Manning and A.J. Foyt IV collected one another in the ensuing melee.
How it started, though, is under some dispute.

“We had one backmarker who that said he was going to let me by on the restart,” said Wilson. “So when it went green, I thought he was going to let me by at the last corner and (he) just punted me around.”

Dominguez -- who was a couple of laps down after first spinning into the tire wall at the Keyhole and then taking a wild ride through the gravel trap at Turn Four when his rear wing fell off at 185 mph -- readily concedes that he agreed to let Wilson past. It’s just that he was waiting for the start/finish straightaway to do it.

“I was going to let him pass on the straightaway, he said. “Justin went on the outside and I just understeered and touched him. It was not my intention, but he left no room for me.”

FOR THE RECORD
Ryan Briscoe’s win made is a doubly successful weekend for Team Penske at Mid-Ohio, coming on the heels of yesterday’s ALMS LMP2 win by Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard in a Porsche RS Spyder.
Reference Here>>

Mario Moraes battles to get past Graham Rahal on the outside of the corner (just ahead of Danica Patrick) while on grooved dry tires in the early laps of the race. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

On the HE SAID/HE SAID on-track restart incident touched off by Justin Wilson, it is the opinion of The EDJE that the incident was clearly the fault of Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver, Justin Wilson. The replay from the ESPN on ABC broadcast showed clearly that Wilson chopped down on Mario Dominguez (Pacific Coast Motorsports) driving line, touched tires, and spun out causing the incident.

How the T-Team Ten Fared at Mid-Ohio:

Qual./Pos. Driver Team Time
12./4. Will Power KV +12.7569
8./ 5. Oriol Servia KV +13.4713
4./11. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan +28.8880
9./13. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne +39.7940
25./14. Jaime Camara Conquest +51.5572
14./16. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan +1 lap
16./19. Mario Dominguez Pacific Coast Motorsports +2 laps
17./22. EJ Viso HVM +5 laps
19./24. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne +24 laps
18./26. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest +77 laps

Silver linings for the T-Team Ten include KV Racing Technology’s Oriol Servia return to the top ten in season points with his 5th place finish while teammate Will Power’s 4th place improved his position in the Rookie-Of-The-Year point standings by moving within 31 points of Andretti Green Racing’s Hideki Mutoh.

… notes from The EDJE

The Fine Nine Gets A Taste Of Richmond Short Track

RIR Logo on trackside wall. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The Fine Nine Gets A Taste Of Richmond Short Track

The rookie run of the Fine Nine continued its ninth start at qualifications in fairly good style. The short track yielded a few surprises along the way and a blend of drivers started to make a showing that even surprised some of the established teams.

Bruno Junqueira in an unhappy moment befor qualifications. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

First off, Bruno Junqueira, read the riot act to his Dale Coyne team after not being able to compete last week in Iowa. His car crashed in Iowa and the team worried whither they would have it ready for Richmond or not. When they hit the track in Virginia, the rebuilt Z-Line sponsored car ran well and was able to qualify in the top ten at position 9.

In a special Rookie practice held on Thursday, the current leader in the Rookie Of The Year point chase, Heideki Mutoh from the established team, Andretti Green Racing, elected NOT to participate. This didn’t bother his qualification though as he was able to clock in at position seven.

The biggest surprise was delivered by the driver from Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing who won the second race of the season by qualifying in position 3, right behind Andretti Green Teammates Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti.

Tony and Marco discuss events of the day at Richmond. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This Excerpted from Indycar.com -

Family Matters
By Dave Lewandowski - indycar.com

RICHMOND, Va. - Tony Kanaan, the senior member of the Andretti Green Racing quartet, called a family meeting before the race earlier this week at Iowa Speedway. He wanted to clear the air, get everyone on the same page and communicate like the "old days."

Aside from his mistake late in the 250-lap race after leading 71 laps, which resulted in a Turn 1 single-car crash, the team scored its best cumulative result in quite a while (rookie Hideki Mutoh was second, Marco Andretti third and Danica Patrick sixth).

Tony Kanaan on the button at Richmond International Raceway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Five days later, the vibe continued at another short track - the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway. Kanaan posted a four-lap cumulative time of 1 minute, 04.333 seconds (167.876 mph average) in garnering the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by Advance Auto Parts - his first on an oval since last August (1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway). Andretti will start next to the No. 11 7-Eleven car in the 300-lap SunTrust Indy Challenge.

Peak Pole award winner Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green 7-11 Team. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

They are separated by three 10-thousanths of a second -- less time than it takes to snap your fingers or blink. Don't blink on race day, whether you're watching from the grandstands or on ESPN, or you might miss just about anything. Andretti posted a four-lap average of 167.795 mph (1:04.3642) in the No. 26 Blockbuster car.

It's the seventh time AGR cars have started 1-2 and the 36th overall in IndyCar Series history.

Graham Rahal will start third (1:04.5740; 167.250) and IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon fourth (1:04.6242; 167.120). Buddy Rice recorded his first top five and top 10 starting position of the season (1:04.7467; 166.804) in the No. 15 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car and will share Row 3 with Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon (1:04.7606; 166.768), the winner at Iowa Speedway.
----
Vision Racing's A.J. Foyt IV, who posted his first top five of the season at Iowa, will start eighth in the No. 2 Lilly Diabetes car (166.126) and Bruno Junqueira grabbed his best starting spot (ninth; 166.032) in the No. 18 Z-Line Designs car for Dale Coyne Racing. He'll share Row 5 with Oriol Servia (165.815) in the No. 5 KV Racing Technology car.

John Andretti continued to post positive results for Roth Racing and will start 12th (165.275) - next to Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe (165.643) on Row 6. Helio Castroneves' streak of 11 top-10 starts came to an end. Castroneves, a two-time pole sitter at Richmond and second in the standings, will start 18th in the No. 3 Team Penske car.

"Qualifying certainly is an experience," said Andretti, who has made more than 20 stock car starts at Richmond but none in the IndyCar Series. "I like the four-lap average thing. You've got to make it happen four times; you can't hold your breath for one lap and make it in. Richmond International Raceway doesn't even look the same when you're going around in an IndyCar instead of a stock car. We'll see how we race."

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who topped the combined practice chart (166.664; 16.2003) in the No. 17 Ethanol car for Rahal Letterman Racing, will start 25th after not making a qualifying attempt because of an issue related to the electrical loom to the gearbox. Enrique Bernoldi, whose No. 36 Sangari Conquest Racing car sustained damage in a morning practice crash, went through a systems check and will start 26th
Reference Here>>

Oriol Servia of KV Racing Technology and Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing confer with IRL official before qualifications begin. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

How The Fine Nine Fared:

SP Car Driver Hometown Car Name Entrant Time Speed

3 06 R Graham Rahal Columbus, Ohio Hole in the Wall Camps Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:04.5740 167.250

9 18 Bruno Junqueira Belo Horizonte, Brazil Z-Line Designs Dale Coyne Racing 1:05.0477 166.032

10 5 Oriol Servia Pals, Spain KV Racing Technology KV Racing Technology 1:05.1330 165.815

16 8 R Will Power Toowoomba, Australia Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia KV Racing Technology 1:05.7251 164.321

19 33 R E.J. Viso Caracas, Venezuela PDVSA HVM Racing HVM Racing 1:06.1887 163.170

20 19 R Mario Moraes Sao Paulo, Brazil Sonny's Bar-B-Q Dale Coyne Racing 1:06.4344 162.566

23 02 R Justin Wilson Sheffield, England McDonald's Racing Team Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:07.6470 159.652

24 34 R Jaime Camara Goiania, Brazil Sangari Conquest Racing 1:07.9741 158.884

26 36 R Enrique Bernoldi Curitiva, Brazil Sangari Conquest Racing Conquest Racing no time no speed
Reference Full Grid Here

... notes from The EDJE

Video: Mario Dominguez & Pacific Coast Motorsports Dialing In On Bump Day

The Mexico City Tourism Board is beckoning fans to "Visit Mexico City" in festive lettering on the sidepods of the No. 96 PCM car. The tourism board has made a two-year commitment to sponsor the car. This sponsorship will be displayed on Oriol Srevia's KV Racing Technology #5 Dallara for the 2008 Indy 500 in a one-race arrangement. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Mario Dominguez and the Pacific Coast Motorsports team dialing in on qualifying for a spot in the Indy 500 starting grid

This video was put together by Derek A. Platts, Associate Producer, ESPN - International Production from the events that transpired on Bump Day. Derek was able to borrow a Pacific Coast Motorsports team scanner which was able to tune into the audio insights and the drama that IS … Bump Day.

UPDATE:

This from a press release issued by Pacific Coast Motorsports -

Oriol Servia to Carry the “Visit Mexico City ” Colors at the Indy 500
For Immediate Release - Oxnard, CA (May 23, 2008)

Pacific Coast Motorsports and the Mexico City Tourism Board announced today that they have entered into an agreement with KV Racing Technology for Indy 500. Oriol Servia, driver of the #5 Angie’s List Special will carry the Visit Mexico City logo at the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.

Pacific Coast Motorsports and the Mexico City Tourism Board announced their program just one month ago. The rookie team and driver missed the 33rd starting spot in final qualifying last Sunday after a remarkable performance, which placed Dominguez “on the bubble” Sunday afternoon.

Team Owner, Tyler Tadevic commented, “I have to thank Jimmy (Vasser), Kevin (Kalkhoven) and Mark (Johnson) for offering their help. We gave it our best shot this month, but at the end of the day; despite Mario’s impressive performance, we just did not have the track time and preparation time to get into the show. It is very important that our partners, the Mexico City Tourism Board participate in the event and receive the additional exposure they deserve. We are very grateful and honored that Oriol will carry their colors.”

Oriol Srevia in his KV Racing Technology #5 Dallara durnig qualifications at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Oriol Servia will make his first Indy 500 start from the inside of row nine, in the 25th starting position on Sunday.

Although he is a rookie in the IndyCar Series, Servia is currently ranked eighth in the Series points standings, “I am proud to carry the Visit Mexico City colors for my friend Mario Dominguez. Mexico City is one of my favorite places to visit. I love the city and the people, plus some of my closest friends are from there. I hope to give everyone in Mexico City a result they will be proud of on Sunday.”

"This is not just a [sponsorship] project of this team any more," Dominguez said. "This is the project of a country."

Mexico City is installing more than 90 Jumbotron television screens at sporting venues and parks around the city just for the race.

... notes from The EDJE