First "TTL" (Transition Team Legion) IndyCar Test Of 2009

KV Racing Technology have signed Mario Moraes for the 2009 IndyCar Series (1-13-2009). The 20-year-old Brazilian jumped straight from British Formula 3 to IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing last year and made steady progress during his rookie season, taking a best result of seventh at Watkins Glen, although several other promising performances ended in accidents (pictured here while competing in the Indy 500). /// "We are very excited to have Mario join our team," said team co-owner Jimmy Vasser. "Mario is young and extremely talented. He impressed us with his performances on both ovals and road/street circuits last year. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

First "TTL" (Transition Team Legion) IndyCar Test Of 2009

By all reports, the test was a success on almost every measure. Twenty-two cars (21 drivers) -- the most for a spring Open Test since 2002 -- turned 2,610 laps for a two-day total of 4,698 without incident.

Ryan Briscoe in the No. 6 Team Penske car topped the speed chart at 25.1984 seconds (212.156 mph), with reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon second (25.2378; 211.825). Andretti Green Racing's Marco Andretti with his car sporting the livery of a new sponsor (25.3036; 211.274) was followed by Andretti Green Racing teammate Tony Kanaan (25.3582; 210.819).

Mario Moraes, driving the car sporting the livery of the one driven by Oriol Servia in 2008, making his debut with KV Racing Technology (driving last year for Dale Coyne Racing/Sonny's BBQ), cracked the top five for the second consecutive day (25.3842; 210.603). KV Racing Technology was the highest placing team and driver in this test session from the merger transition of the CCWS into the IRL last year.

Transition teams from last year did not really fare that well in this first session of the first full year of unification. First off, the Transition Team Legion (TTL) lost one of its drivers to an established IRL team – Will Power, formally with KV Racing Technology, has been tapped by Penske Racing to drive the car normally driven by Helio Castroneves who has to take a leave of absence to deal with a legal challenge about the payment of taxes. Will placed 7th overall behind Moraes.

Pacific Coast Motorsports and their driver from last year, Mario Dominguez were noticeably absent with rumors involving PCM about the possible combination of two teams coming together to compete rumbleing in from Indiana.

Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing solider on without their chief namesake, Paul Newman who passed away at the end of September of 2008. This will be the first year around the paddocks of top level Motosports racing the figure of Paul Newman will not be seen. Justin Wilson (placing 20th) has moved on to race for Dale Coyne while T-Team Legion standout Graham Rahal (10th), maintains his seat and is joined on the team by Robert Doornbos (placing 12th), CCWS Rookie of the Year for 2007. For the test, established IRL driver Mila Duno drove as a test driver for NHLR (placing 17th) while she sorts out her sponsorship and team package for 2009.

Other "TTL" drivers from last year include EJ Viso/HVM Racing 14th, and Jamie Camara/Conquest Racing at 21 out of 22 cars.

"TTL" (Transition Team Legion) drivers and/or teams in *BOLD – A total of eight participants qualify to be listed as "TTL".

This excerpted from indycar.com -

Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway - IndyCar - 1.485
Report: Combined Results of Practice Sessions February 25, 2009
Event: Homestead-Miami Open Test – Open Test 1 of 2
As Of: End of Open Test

Rank Car Driver Name C/E/T Session Time Speed Total Laps
(C)hassis: D=Dallara | (E)ngine: H=Honda | (T)ire: F=Firestone | (R) Rookie

1 - 6 Briscoe, Ryan D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.1984 212.156 214

2 - 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.2378 211.825 282

3 - 26 Andretti, Marco D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.3036 211.274 212

4 - 11 Kanaan, Tony D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.3582 210.819 199

5 - 10 Franchitti, Dario D/H/F Practice 1 00:25.3842 210.603 240

*6 - 5 Moraes, Mario D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.3842 210.603 265

*7 - 3 Power, Will D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.3914 210.544 248

8 - 4 Wheldon, Dan D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.4085 210.402 115

9 - 24 Conway, Mike (R) D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.4299 210.225 276

*10 - 02 Rahal, Graham D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.4465 210.088 229

11 - 27 Mutoh, Hideki D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.4578 209.995 224

*12 - 06 Doornbos, Robert (R) D/H/F Practice 1 00:25.5077 209.584 256

13 - 14 Meira, Vitor D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.5210 209.475 219

*14 - 13 Viso, EJ D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.5356 209.355 130

15 - 7 Patrick, Danica D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.5383 209.333 231

16 - 3 Briscoe, Ryan D/H/F Practice 1 00:25.5479 209.254 14

*17 - 23 Duno, Milka D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.5809 208.984 222

18 - 20 Carpenter, Ed D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.5881 208.925 247

19 - 12 Matos, Raphael (R) D/H/F Practice 1 00:25.6165 208.694 247

*20 - 18 Wilson, Justin D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.6886 208.108 259

*21 - 34 Camara, Jaime D/H/F Practice 1 00:25.7790 207.378 161

22 - 98 Barrett, Stanton (R) D/H/F Practice 2 00:25.9180 206.266 208

Total Laps for Combined Sessions: 4698
Information provided by Indy Racing Information System - Copyright Indy Racing League, LLC 2009
Reference Here>>

... notes from The EDJE

ChampCar & IRL Rookie Moves On To 2nd T-Team

Mario Moraes - Indy 500, 2008-05-05 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway): Day two rookie orientation - Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

ChampCar & IRL Rookie Moves On To 2nd T-Team

The one thing that seems to be shaping up for the 2009 IRL season is that the transition teams (T-Teams) from ChampCar are bent on keeping their own in play.

Case in point, Mario Moraes jumps from one former ChampCar team, Dale Coyne Racing, to another … KV Racing Technology

Mario Moraes at Indy 500 raceday, 2008-05-25 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) - Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This edited and excerpted from autosport.com -

Moraes joins KV for 2009
By Matt Beer - autosport.com

KV Racing Technology have signed Mario Moraes for the 2009 IndyCar Series.

The 20-year-old Brazilian jumped straight from British Formula 3 to IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing last year and made steady progress during his rookie season, taking a best result of seventh at Watkins Glen, although several other promising performances ended in accidents.

"We are very excited to have Mario join our team," said team co-owner Jimmy Vasser. "Mario is young and extremely talented. He impressed us with his performances on both ovals and road/street circuits last year.

"We look forward to watching him grow and are confident he will be very competitive during the 2009 season."

Moraes believes he will make great progress with KV.

"I want to thank (team owners) Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser for this opportunity," he said. "I think KV Racing Technology provides me with the best opportunity to develop as a driver and advance my racing career. I am really looking forward to working with the entire KVRT organization in 2009."

There had been question marks over KV's IndyCar future during the winter due to the loss of the Surfers Paradise race, which had been key to their main backer Craig Gore's involvement with the series.
Reference Here>>

It is not known at the time of this post where last years drivers for KV Racing Technology, Will Power and Oriol Servia, will be driving or if any will be resigned by KVRT or another IRL team for 2009.

UPDATE: Will Power set to sign an agreement to ride for Penske in Helio Castroneves's seat as Helio concentrates on his upcoming legal trials on his potential of evading the payment of taxes. News conference to announce this T-Team crossover event is set to be held in Indianapolis at 2:30 PM, local Indianapolis time.

... notes from The EDJE

T-Time At The Detroit Grand Prix In Belle Isle

Justin Wilson claimed his first win in the IRL IndyCar Series in Detroit after Helio Castroneves was awarded to relinquish the lead by race control having allegedly blocked the Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver. /// Until the controversial late call by the officials, Castroneves looked set to take his third win at the Detroit street course and carve into title rival Scott Dixon's championship lead. With Dixon only finishing fifth, Castroneves has still reduced his deficit, but the title is now Dixon's to lose at Chicagoland next week. Image Credit: autosport.com

T-Time At The Detroit Grand Prix In Belle Isle

On a very tight street course and a former staple on the Champ Car Series, the race featured three of the "Transition Team" drivers in the final “Firestone Fast Six” shootout in the knockout qualifying format used for street/road courses.

At the end of the 12 minute session where the drivers are ranked by the fastest time they are able to post, Justin Wilson (NHL Racing) and Oriol Servia (KVRT) filled the second row in positions 2 and 3 on the grid. Graham Rahal, Wilson’s teammate was not able to improve beyond position #6.

Originally, the Detroit GP was held around the Renaissance Center downtown and the track was hard on both car and driver. The racing surface was very rough and included a railroad crossing! The circuit was also very narrow with concrete barriers surrounding the track with little run-off room. This resulted in a high level of attrition. By 1989, F1 had had enough and terminated the Detroit GP, but CART stepped in and raced at the current location, but not the current configuration, on Belle Isle. Michael Andretti won the pole of that innaugural race at Belle Isle, but at the end of the day it was Emerson Fittipaldi, winner of that year's Indianapolis 500, who emerged victorious. Belle Isle was also the location of Helio Castroneves first major open-wheel victory, finishing first in both the 2000 and 2001 GPs. 2001 was the last year for the CART races at Belle Isle, and racing didn't return until Roger Penske organized a complete revamping of the circuit in 2007. The area was made much more accessable and many of the fan areas and paddock areas were paved to avoid the mudpits that the paddock had become in previous years. Image Credit: IndyCar Garage

This excerpted from autosport.com -

Dixon beats Castroneves to pole
By Matt Beer Saturday, August 30th 2008, 17:07 GMT

Pos Driver Team Time:
1. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1:12.2861
2. Helio Castroneves Penske 1:12.7649
3. Oriol Servia KV 1:12.9618
4. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:13.0530
5. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1:13.1004
6. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:13.6464
7. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 1:12.9511
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 1:13.2339
9. EJ Viso HVM 1:13.5354
10. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 1:13.9158
11. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 1:13.9267
12. Will Power KV no time
13. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 1:14.1623
14. Vitor Meira Panther 1:13.6678
15. Darren Manning Foyt 1:14.2619
16. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 1:13.9010
17. AJ Foyt IV Vision 1:14.3486
18. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 1:15.0969
19. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 1:14.4841
20. Ed Carpenter Vision 1:15.3061
21. Alex Tagliani Conquest 1:16.6407
22. Jaime Camara Conquest 1:16.7047
23. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 1:19.0865
24. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:22.3955
25. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon no time
Reference Here>>

Lap Notation of the Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone:

Green Flag – The race starts on Belle Isle.

LAP 1
A clean start until Milka Duno tries to chop down on Bruno Junquiera, touches tires and is spun out of turn #3.

LAP 2
Officials rule the Bruno was guilty of avoidable contact and sent to the back of the grid. Thomas Schechter pulls in and un-straps to get out of the car – reports of a broken driveshaft.

LAP 3
Four cars at the back of the field peel off and top off on fuel.

LAP 4
Green Flag re-start – Dixon leads Castroneves, Servia, Wilson, Briscoe, Rahal, and Kanaan.

LAP 6
Dixon and Castroneves pull away from the field and have a two second cushion.

LAP 10
The lead has grown to seven seconds. If the race were to end this way, Dixon would capture the season points' championship over Castroneves.

LAP 12
The lead is now over 10 seconds from P2 to P3.

LAP 13
Dan Weldon pits early in order to put in place a different fueling strategy.

LAP 15
Bruno Junqueira has made the biggest move up the field so far moving six spots from 24th to 18th.

LAP 16
Everyone is holding station in the top seven positions mentioned before. The rest of the T-Team drivers are running Viso in 9th, Power in 10th, Moraes in 17th, Junqueira in 18th,

LAP 17
#34 Jamie Camara takes out #10 Dan Wheldon going into turn 9. Weldon is penalized for unavoidable contact for tapping Jamie Camara in the corner.

LAP 20
The field pits with Dixon in but Castroneves stays out to counter the strategy of Dixon. Most of the leading positions stay out.

LAP 21
Green Flag restart – Dixon back in position #18 behind Buddy Rice.

LAP 22
Dixon moves past Rice and now sets up behind Alex Tagliani in position #16.

LAP 23
All of the cars are bunched up after the restart, very tight single file racing.

LAP 24
Castroneves is turning two laps a second faster than Dixon who is stuck back in the field; Helio has a sixteen second advantage and growing.

LAP 25
Dixon gets passed by Ed Carpenter for P15. The lead pack of #3 Castroneves, #5 Servia, #02 Wilson, #11 Kanaan, and #17 Hunter-Reay have checked out from P6 #33 EJ Viso.

LAP 27
Castroneves and the leaders are expected to pit in four laps.

LAP 28
Race in the race has EJ Viso is just ahead of Will Power as the highest T-Team points leaders for rookie-of-the-year, if Power passes Viso, he will take the points lead.

LAP 29
Dixon down 27 seconds to leader Castroneves.

LAP 32
Servia, Kanaan and others pit … Castroneves solders on.

LAP 33
Wilson and Castroneves pit.

LAP 34
Danica Patrick and Darren Manning get together and further down the track EJ Viso taps the wall … all three cars are out.

LAP 35
These incidents move Dixon up to P5. Helio, Justin Wilson were able to maintain P1 and P2 respectively … followed by Servia and Kanaan in P3 and P4.

LAP 36
Danica Patrick was able to come in and get restarted and rejoins the field.

LAP 38
Green Flag restart – If the race were to end right now, Dixons championship points' lead would be cut to just 20 from 43.

LAP 39
Hideki Mutoh’s car is off the pace and is getting passed and drops four positions to P15.

LAP 41
Castroneves and Wilson pull out a 2 second lead over Oriol Servia in P3. Junqueira is now up 12 positions to P12 from P24 where he started the race.

LAP 42
Bruno Junqueira of Dale Coyne Racing is now up to P10.

LAP 43
#3 Castroneves and #02 Wilson have checked out and opened a 5 second lead over P3 #5 Servia.

Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing prepares to run at the Detoit Grand Prix on Belle Isle. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

LAP 45
The Race is half way over and #3 Helio Castroneves has been in control for most of the race.

LAP 49
Castroneves has pulled away from Justin Wilson by a margin of three seconds.

LAP 52
Castroneves now leads Wilson in P1 by 5.4 seconds and Dixon in P5 by 16.3 seconds.

LAP 53
Rahal pits, giving Junqueira P8 up 16 positions from his start.

LAP 54
Power has contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay while battling for position and damages both cars. Dixon dives into the pits. Will Power stays out a couple of more laps while his wing flaps around

LAP 55
With Dixon pitting, Junqueira to P6. Wilson pits from P2.

LAP 56
Briscoe pits to leave room in the pit box for the expected pit in for Castroneves.
Dixon is 43 seconds behind Helio.

LAP 58
Helio Castroneves takes what he hopes to be his last pit stop. Servia was able to get past and this leaves Dixon 33 seconds behind P2 Castroneves.
This should be good to go till the end.

LAP 59
Servia comes in while P1 and comes out in P4 behind Kanaan.

LAP 63
Dixon short fueled at his last pit stop and has to throttle back in order to make it to the end. Dixon is behind Servia in position 5 and if the race ends now there will be a 20 point margin and the championship goes to Chicagoland Speedway.

LAP 65
Fourth Full Course Yellow of the race for #10 Dan Wheldon and #19 Mario Moraes in turn 8.

LAP 67
Pits open but none of the leaders come in.

LAP 68
Castroneves captures the three bonus points for leading the most laps in the race.

LAP 69
Green Flag restart and it is a sprint to the end of the race. Dixon is quagmired in P5 and still has to conserve fuel.

LAP 71
Wilson makes a move for the lead and gets blocked – Officials rule that Helio has to give up the position and drop to P2.

LAP 72
Castroneves begins to move out, gets space and does not let Wilson by.

LAP 73
Castroneves complies with the IRL ruling and gives up the lead to Justin Wilson. The Penske team states that the delay was tactical.

LAP 76
#02 Wilson is in control and it's his race to lose. With 14 laps to go P1 thru P3 have checked out from P4.

LAP 78
Race Control: This is now a 2 hour timed race. This means that the race will be shortened from its scheduled 90 laps.

LAP 84
Rahal pits for fuel. With under 4 minutes left in the race is #02 Justin Wilson's race to lose.

LAP 87
#02 Justin Wilson wins the Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone. He is the ninth different driver to win this year and the 41st to win an IRL race. Hats off to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.

After Wilson was P2 Castroneves, P3 Tony Kanaan, P4 Oriol Servia, P5 Dixon, P6 Ryan Hunter-Reay, P7 Bruno Junqueira … from P24, P8 Will Power, P9 Ryan Briscoe, and P10 AJ Foyte IV.

Justin Wilson sends additional congratulations to team owner Paul Newman. His dedication of this race to Paul is poignant in that team owner Paul Newman is suffering from cancer and the situation looks terminal.

The Championship moves on to the penultimate race of the season in Chicago (the final race is set for the streets of Queensland, Australia – Nikon Indy 300 - Sunday, October 26 aired at 10:30 p.m. ET, Oct. 25 ESPN).

Castroneves finishes the race 30 points behind Scott Dixon which means that all Dixon has to do is finish eighth at the PEAK Chicagoland Indy 300 next weekend (Qualifying: Sat, September 6 - Race: Sun, September 7).

This excerpted from autosport.com -

Wilson takes first IRL win in Detroit
By Matt Beer - Sunday, August 31st 2008, 21:44 GMT

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 87 laps
2. Helio Castroneves Penske + 4.4058
3. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green + 17.6815
4. Oriol Servia KV + 26.5468
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 27.7185
6. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman + 28.2688
7. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne + 28.6815
8. Will Power KV + 28.8776
9. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 35.5244
10. AJ Foyt IV Vision + 38.1040
11. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green + 38.3811
12. Darren Manning Foyt + 44.4662
13. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 47.8028
14. Ed Carpenter Vision +1:01.2770
15. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne + 1 lap
16. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 1 lap
17. Vitor Meira Panther + 4 laps
18. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 6 laps
19. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold + 11 laps
20. Dan Wheldon Ganassi + 23 laps
21. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon + 31 laps
22. Alex Tagliani Conquest + 33 laps
23. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold + 41 laps
24. EJ Viso HVM + 55 laps
25. Jaime Camara Conquest + 71 laps
Reference Here>>

... notes from The EDJE

On The Road, Again With The T-Team Ten

Infineon - Sear's Point Raceway, Sonoma, California - Image Credit: IndyCar.com


On The Road, Again With The T-Team Ten

At the twists and turns … the ups and downs … the straights and switchbacks of the vaunted Sear’s Point raceway, the final runs of the season take shape and soon, the transition season will be completed.

In the qualifying session of the 15th race in an 18 race season and the sixth of eight street/road courses, the class of the teams new to the old Dallaras and the preponderance of “Left-Turn” racing seems to be KV Racing Technology.

One of the biggest improvements in the T-Team growth and positioning can be found at Pacific Coast Motorsports and driver, Mario Dominguez. After transitioning to the IRL late in the game (soon after Mario drove to a third place podium finish at the final official CCWS race at the Long Beach Grand Prix) and failed to make the grid after getting bumped from the 33 car field at the INDY 500, PCM and Mario have been making steady improvements all along the trail to Infineon Raceway.

Mario Dominguez’s Dallara with the new one race sponsor, Moorefield Construction, Inc., on the sidepod. Image Credit: Ron McQueeney

This excerpted from a Pacific Coast Motorsports press notice –

Dominguez Breaks Into the Second Round of Qualifying with Top IndyCar Start
Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Grand Prix of Sonoma
Saturday, August 23, 2008

MARIO DOMINGUEZ, #96 Moorefield Construction/PCM/Honda/Dallara/Firestone

Session - Position Time Speed
Practice 3 - 16th 1:18.4632 105.665

Qualifying - 11th 1:18.3235 105.853

Mario on Qualifying: “I am very happy to have made the top 11 today. It is our best result in IndyCar and to make the second group was great. This result just shows what a hard-working team we all are. We didn’t have the budget to test here with the rest of the field last week, so this result is even sweeter because of that. We always put our best effort forward, and this time it paid off. I think tomorrow should be a good race and we will be shooting for a top-ten result in the Moorefield Construction car at the team’s home race here in California
----
Tyler Tadevic, Team Owner: “Hoorah! One of our goals this weekend, definitely, was to be part of the fast six from our group and we achieved that! We kicked the season off with a podium in Long Beach which was terrific, but it has been a really tough season. Today was sort of a moral victory for the team making the Firestone Fast 12. I think our performance all year has been a great example of the heart and soul this team has. Mario and the boys are showing it is possible to do a lot with a little.”

Further, PCM picked up a new sponsor for this race – This also excerpted from a Pacific Coast Motorsports press notice –

* Noteworthy: Pacific Coast Motorsports is proud to welcome Moorefield Construction to the team for the Grand Prix of Sonoma. Based in San Jose and Los Angeles , the Moorefield Construction logo will be featured on Mario Dominguez’s #96 IndyCar throughout the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

This excerpted from autosport.com/news –

Castroneves leads Penske front row
By Jeff Olson Sunday, August 24th 2008, 00:00 GMT

With the help of a backup car and the immense effort of teammates, Helio Castroneves won pole position for Sunday's IndyCar race at Sear's Point.

A Penske transporter caught fire on Wednesday on the way to the circuit, destroying Castroneves' primary road-course car, along with teammate Ryan Briscoe's.

Briscoe will start alongside Castroneves as both Penske drivers put their back-up cars on the front row.
----
Saturday's qualifying session also was impressive for KV Racing, who put both drivers in the fast six final qualifying session. Will Power will start third with Oriol Servia sixth.

"As a team, we're just trying to mingle with the big guys," Servia said. "We're showing we have the speed and we're catching up. Every race we're getting closer. To lead the transitional teams, we just want to take another step forward."

Pos Driver Team Time Speed
3. Will Power KV Racing 1:17.0875 107.551
6. Oriol Servia KV Racing 1:17.8377 106.514
7. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:17.0056 107.665
11. Mario Dominguez Pacific Coast 1:17.4614 107.031
12. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 1:17.5882 106.856
13. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:17.8306 106.524
14. EJ Viso HVM Racing 1:17.4189 107.090
15. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:17.9012 106.427
26. Jaime Camara Conquest Racing 1:19.4711 104.325
27. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest Racing no time no speed
Reference Here>>

Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske lead the field off of the last turn before the Green Flag to start the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County! Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (EDJE) 2008 - digital photo from television broadcast

The PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County!
Fair and 79 F (26 C) - Winds Southwest at 10 mph - Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:54:00 -0700 PDT - Forecast: Sunny, with a high near 85

LAP 1
Great start of the race, Servia gets pinched and looses a spot back to seventh. Junqueira gets passed into the dirt on the Esses by Weldon.

LAP 4
Paddle shifters increase shifts per lap at Sonoma from 37 shifts to 42 due to the ease of shift transition. Will Power is sponsored by the same sponsor as he had in Long Beach earlier this year – Smart & Final wholesale market stores.

LAP 7
Best race on the track at this time is between Oriol Servia and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

LAP 9
Pits open up on LAP 10 and some teams may come in early to get off sequence.

LAP 10
Vitor Meira comes in.

LAP 11
Dominguez, Weldon and Mutoh come in early.

LAP 13
Team Penske has opened up a 1.5 second lead on the rest of the field in their back-up cars.

LAP 15
Marty Roth off course in turn seven and this brings out a full-course caution

LAP 16
Most teams use caution to come into the pits. Split strategy by Team Penske with leader Castroneves coming in. Briscoe, Tony Kanaan, and Danica Patrick stay out.

LAP 19
Green, Green, Green! Race restarts. Rahal, Moraes, Carpenter, Camara, and Viso round out the list of those who have not yet pitted. Dominguez works his way up to the top 10.

LAP 21
Mario Dominguez passes Jamie Camara for ninth.

LAP 27
Danica Patrick takes to the pits for the first time along with Graham Rahal, and Ed Carpenter to get upon their sequence.

LAP 28
Ryan Briscoe pits and comes back into the field ahead of Scott Dixon in ninth. This move will help Castroneves in his points race against Dixon.

LAP 30
Still staying out and running up front are EJ Viso, Dan Weldon and Mario Dominguez running at the head of the field in 1-2-3!

LAP 34
Meira pits from fourth position, he is on the same strategy as the leaders.

LAP 35
Dominguez and Weldon pit … Weldon passes Dominguez at the pit stop by having a quicker stop.

LAP 37
Castroneves assumes the lead followed by teammate Briscoe, Dixon Wilson, Power, and Servia round out the top six.

LAP 39
Will Power takes to the pits to change up his fuel strategy.

LAP 42
Helio Castroneves is running about 15 seconds ahead of the field at this slightly over halfway point of the 80 lap race.

LAP 44
Penske’s Castroneves comes into the pits at 16.5 seconds ahead of his teammate. He comes out in 4th. Dixon, Wilson and Andretti come into the pits and comes out in 16th

LAP 47
Briscoe, Kanaan, Castroneves, Patrick, and Weldon round out the top five. Servia pits from third allowing to Helio to move up.

LAP 50
A great dice happens between 2nd position Tony Kanaan of Andretti Green Racing (who has just signed a five year extension on his AGR contract at age 38), and Helio Castroneves in 3rd.

LAP 53
The dice continues between Tony and Helio as Briscoe comes into the pits – Tony leads the race while Helio begins to back off knowing that Tony needs to pit.

LAP 55
Teammates Kanaan and Patrick pit.

LAP 56
Top ten are Castroneves, Weldon, Viso, Meira, Briscoe, Dominguez, Kanaan, Power, Dixon, and Wilson. Of these cars, only Briscoe is in the best position to make to the end on fuel if the race remains in a Green Flag condition.

LAP 58
Castroneves pits and comes back out in 2nd ahead of Briscoe. Dixon pits and comes back out in 14th.

LAP 60
Viso pits from first position for his final pitstop and re-enters 6th handing positions 1 & 2 to Penske teammates Castroneves and Briscoe setting up a possible “Hollywood Ending”!

Last Wednesday, Penske racing losses a transporter to a fire and it burns up both of the primary cars for this race and the back-up cars are leading the race.

LAP 63
If this race ends with the cars holding station … Dixon who leads the points race over Castroneves by 78 points would be cut to 41 points. The IndyCar Series Championship for the 2008 season does not appear to be over just yet!

LAP 66
Helio Castroneves will collect 3 points for leading the most laps at this point in the race.

LAP 69
Eleven laps to go and Buddy Rice, who started 22nd, is now running 10th. If this holds, it will be the biggest move by any driver in the race.

It is not expected that Junqueira will have to come in for fuel. This will allow Dixon to move up to 13th.

LAP 70
Dominguez spins and looses positions from 12th to 17th. Junqueira pits and comes back out 18th.

LAP 75
Dixon passes Mutoh for 12th and fixes his sights on Buddy Rice.

LAP 78
Three laps to go and the 11th place of Buddy Rice is being tightly contested by Scott Dixon and every point matters.

LAP 79
Will Power slides into a braking area and pulls to a stop after hitting the tires.

LAP 80
White Flag and Team Penske is leading the race. Dixon finishes in 12th. This means that he looses 35 points to maintain a 43 point margin in the Championship points race.

19:48:44 GMT-0400 Helio Castroneves wins the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County! This is his first win of the season. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (EDJE) 2008 - digital photo from television broadcast

T-Team Ten Finishes As Follows:

Viso – 6
Rahal – 8
Wilson – 9
Moraes – 10
Servia – 16
Dominguez – 17
Junqueira – 18
Bernoldi - 22
Power – 24
Camara – 25

The highest driver the T-Team Ten has placed 15 races in this Merge season is Oriol Servia at ninth in the points 263 points behind the leader. Do not look for any T-Team driver to overtake Hideki Mutoh of Andretti Green Racing for Rookie-Of-The-Year.

Next race is a venue known by the CCWS teams and that id the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle, Michigan.

… 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

Tale Of The Tape Through 11 Sessions – No Top 10

ORIOL SERVIA In The Pits (No. 5 KV Racing Technology): Quoted after the FIRESTONE INDY 200 at Nashville Superspeedway - "It was not really a great finish for the No. 5 KV Racing Technology car. Placing 16th is not what we were hoping for, but we definitely wanted to bring the car home. We had a little misfortune with our first pit stop, a gun failure, and lost any chance we had to do anything. I am looking forward to the next round of road courses where, hopefully, we will be performing up front again." Servia is in the lead on Championship points for the season – out of the top ten, in eleventh place with seven races remaining. Image Credit: Dana Garrett - IRL (2008)

Tale Of The Tape Through 11 Sessions – No Top 10

Nashville showed the weakness of the way the merger between ChampCar and IndyCar has been handled. It’s racing but not at its best primarily because the playing field has not been leveled enough to allow ANY of the former ChampCar teams to be competitive … not even where these teams would normally shine.

It all comes down to timing, equipment transition, and the desire to have a truly competitive series. What with the series through eleven races having primarily small ovals and little variance in the level of support (few aero parts for ovals early on, equipment settings for consistent and progressive speed runs) the very best the T-Teams can muster as it relates to the points championship is 11th .

Nashville was especially disheartening. Poor qualifying and only eight drivers competing with the best showing put in by Mario Moraes (Dale Coyne Racing) at tenth (his best oval race so far), one lap down in a rain shortened race on ESPN was anything but exciting for a longtime CART/CCWS fan. The “Elite Eight” were anything but elite.

Yes, there was some pretty decent driving and risky passes by the established team drivers … but this is to be expected when nothing has changed much in seven years in terms of tracks, top teams, and equipment. The winner did not listen to the radio communications from the team pit captain and won by rain default. The ESPN broadcast announcing team thought that the reason Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) won at Nashville for the third time (yawn) was due to great pit strategy, but the truth came out making the whole affaire just another “round-and-round” IRL small oval production.

The IRL had a chance to invigorate the BRAND … but through 11 races has done little to get the maximum benefit from the situation. If I were a driver from a T-Team, I would have wished I had the mumps like EJ Viso (HVM Racing) and pulled out, or had the guts not to show up at all as did Mario Dominguez (Pacific Coast Motorsports) if it meant going around in small circles while being placed at a disadvantage as it relates to having an improvement on the increase of speed (and limited set-up options) in the existing equipment. In this first transition year, there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel (on small ovals anyway).

Honestly, small ovals can be exciting … but NOT as a steady diet. Here is hoping that the final seven races get a little better for the T-Team Ten and that they are able to creep back into the top ten in the point standings by years end. Mid-Ohio can not get here fast enough.

MARIO MORAES (No. 19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q, 10th): Dale Coyne Racing also kept Moraes on track during the final yellow, allowing the improving rookie to leap ahead of the rest of the midfield and take 10th after his best oval race so far. Said Mario of the race, "I'm very happy with a 10th-place finish tonight. The car was great, and the team did an excellent job. I was able to improve 12 positions in the race, which shows how good we did tonight. This is my best oval finish of my career. It would have been interesting to see if the race wasn't ended early because I really think I could have passed a few more cars." Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

How the Elite Eight Fared:

Pos. Driver>Team +Time

10. Mario Moraes>Dale Coyne +1 lap

11. Will Power>KV +1 lap

12. Graham Rahal>Newman/Haas/Lanigan +1 lap

15. Bruno Junqueira>Dale Coyne +2 laps

16. Oriol Servia>KV +2 laps

18. Justin Wilson>Newman/Haas/Lanigan +28 laps

20. Enrique Bernoldi>Conquest +105 laps

21. Jaime Camara>Conquest +121 laps


T-Team Ten Point Standings Through 11 of 18 Races

Pos. Driver - - - - - - Points –Points Behind Leader

11. Oriol Servia - - - - - - 220 -200

13. Will Power - - - - - - 213 -207

16. Graham Rahal - - - - - - 201 -219

17. E.J. Viso - - - - - - - 190 -230

19. Justin Wilson - - - - - - 183 -237

20. Enrique Bernoldi - - - - - - 172 -248

21. Mario Moraes - - - - - - 160 -260

22. Bruno Junqueira - - - - - - 156 -264

24. Jaime Camara - - - - - - 98 -322

27. Mario Dominguez - - - - - - - 74 -346

... notes from The EDJE

Former ChampCar Driver Wins First IRL Race At Watkins Glen

“AN AMERICAN KID WINS, IN AN ETHANOL CAR RUNNING ON ETHANOL, DRIVING FOR AN AMERICAN RACING LEGEND: BOBBY RAHAL, WITH AN AMERICAN CLOTHING BRAND: IZOD, ON FORTH OF JULY WEEKEND IN NEW YORK ... DOESN'T GET ANY MORE "AMERICAN!" … than that. Caption Credit: Modified from quote given by Ryan Hunter-Reay after his well driven win. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Former ChampCar Driver Wins First IRL Race At Watkins Glen

No, it is not what one would think given a headline posted here at The EDJE. We have had a focus in our posts on the teams and drivers that have merged and transitioned into the Indy Racing League and the IndyCar Series from the ChampCar World Series season for 2008.

What with Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing qualifying so high on the grid at position #2 (just being bumped from the pole in the last minute by Penske’s Ryan Briscoe) for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen, and good a showing from KV Racing Technology’s Oriol Servia at position #5, one would think the headline would relate to them but, no … after competing for IRL established team Rahal Letterman Racing for the last part of 2007, and all of 2008, Ryan Hunter-Reay notches his first win.

As for the T-Team Ten (the transition teams and drivers from the CCWS) they managed to capture four of the top ten finishing positions. The big surprise came from teammates for the Dale Coyne Racing organization, with Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes notching in at positions #6 and #7 respectively (Graham Rahal of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing #8 and EJ Viso of HVM Racing #10 round out the places).

Bruno Junqueira - Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This excerpted and edited from IndyCar.com –

Newly-minted Coyne
By Dave Lewandowski - indycar.com

Junqueira, driving the No. 18 Z-Line Designs entry advanced five positions to finish an IndyCar Series career-high sixth in the 60-lap race on the 3.37-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International circuit.

The veteran open-wheel racing team owner and former driver [Dale Coyne] also put a headlock on series rookie Mario Moraes, who jumped six positions to finish a career-high seventh in the No. 19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q car.

Both cars in the top 10 - two weeks after Junqueira's car couldn't answer the bell to start the race at Iowa Speedway because of a practice crash and eight days after both cars were eliminated from the race at Richmond International Raceway because of contact?

"Being in the top six is better than being in the wall," Coyne laughed. "It's a compliment to all the guys on the team because we had four crashes in six days (at Iowa and Richmond) and to get all the cars ready and be here and be competitive."
----
Junqueira ran as high as third on Lap 38.
----
"The No. 18 Z-Line Designs car was great all weekend long. The team did a fantastic job. I love this track as it is a great course to drive on. I can't wait to go to Mid-Ohio in two weeks." [said Junqueira]

Mario Moraes - Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Moraes started a season-high 13th and overtook the No. 27 car of Hideki Mutoh on Lap 55 to score the seventh place.

"On the first lap of the race I was able to overtake six cars and jump to seventh," he said. "We ran up in the top five at times, but we lost a couple spots during a pit stop, which I think kept us from a higher finish. The car was fast all weekend and the team deserves credit for that. Hopefully we can get more top-10 finishes." [said Moraes].
Reference Here>>

Winners Podium: 1-Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2-Darren Manning, 3-Tony Kanaan. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This excerpted and edited from Speed Channel -

Hunter-Reay Triumphs at The Glen
Written by: Jeff Olson - Senior writer, RACER Magazine 07/06/2008 - 06:03 PM

Ryan Hunter-Reay took advantage of a rare mistake by Scott Dixon to score his first IndyCar Series victory.

Dixon was in second place and poised to win at Watkins Glen International for a fourth consecutive time when he spun under caution, collecting third-place Ryan Briscoe and putting Hunter-Reay and the No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Honda/Dallara in position to win.

Hunter-Reay, who narrowly missed the wreckage from Dixon’s spin, passed leader Darren Manning on the restart with nine laps remaining and went on to score Rahal Letterman Racing’s first win since Buddy Rice won at Michigan in 2004.

“For something to finally go our way is great,” Hunter-Reay said. “It didn’t land in our lap; we had to go out there and earn it. Then we just checked out at the end, which was the best. We put an exclamation on the end of that one. It was a beautiful deal.”
----
Hunter-Reay said he couldn’t see anything, just chose a spot and made it work.

“It was like a scene out of Days of Thunder,” Hunter-Reay said. “I couldn’t see where they were or where the opening was. I couldn’t see any cars, just a dirt cloud. I picked left, and luckily it was open. I got through there, and then I immediately thought, ‘This is the point where I get paid back for all the bad luck.’”
----
“This is vindication,” team co-owner Bobby Rahal said. “Some guys who have driven for us in the past said this team doesn’t have the will to win. It’s all about having the right driver.”

Manning held off Tony Kanaan for second place, scoring the best finish since he joined A.J. Foyt’s team two years ago.

“We’re a small team,” Manning said. “My only teammate is A.J., and he’s a tough taskmaster. He sets a high standard. It’s extremely difficult by ourselves, but with the resources we have, we’re doing pretty well. We validated ourselves with this drive.”
----
The results benefited Kanaan most, moving him to within 66 points of Dixon in the standings after 10 of 17 races. The other two drivers in the championship battle, Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon, also encountered trouble, with Castroneves falling behind early because of an electrical problem and finishing 16th, and Wheldon getting clipped by Manning on the first lap and breaking his rear suspension for a 24th-place finish.

The race began cleanly but ended otherwise. Aside from Wheldon’s opening-lap problem and Castroneves’ issues with his paddle shift on the sixth lap, the first 40 laps were uneventful, with Briscoe and Vitor Meira exchanging the lead. On the 40th lap, though, Meira was run off course by E.J. Viso, sending the No. 4 Panther Racing Honda/Dallara into the tires and leaving Meira fuming.

“The IRL should do something about it,” Meira said. “He just took us out. He’s a guy who’s had a problem with every driver out there. It’s a shame.”
----
During [a] round of stops, Manning chose to stay on track and assume the lead, having pitted just four laps before. The decision, coupled with a rash of caution flags over the final 18 laps, proved to be a wise one.

“I was quick enough to hold my own,” Manning said. “It’s just a testament to the team.”
----
On the next restart on the 51st lap, Hunter-Reay passed Manning heading into Turn 1. Moments later, Jaime Camara crashed, bringing out the sixth caution flag of the race.

On the restart, Hunter-Reay pulled away to a large lead and held it to the checkered flag for his first IndyCar Series and a triumphant reprieve to a promising career that, at this time last year, appeared to have stalled in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
----
Rice also scored a solid finish, bringing the No. 15 Dreyer & Reinbold Honda/Dallara home fourth for his best finish of the year.

“The last two races we've had stuff falling off the car and I've screwed up,” Rice said. “We‘re just trying to wipe that stuff out, get back in the points and have a solid finish to the season.”

Marco Andretti finished fifth, Bruno Junqueira sixth and Mario Moraes seventh. Graham Rahal, Hideki Mutoh and E.J. Viso rounded out the top 10.

The IndyCar Series season resumes Saturday night at Nashville Superspeedway.
Reference Here>>

Mario Dominguez moves from an IRL best ninteenth starting position to finish at an IRL best position #13 in his third IRL start. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The final T-Team Ten Tally:

POS DRIVER NO DIFF BEST TIME BEST SPEED LAPS C/E/T STATUS

6 Bruno Junqueira 18 5.8084 01:32.1 131.661 60 D/H/F Finished

7 Mario Moraes 19 8.6248 01:32.9 130.586 60 D/H/F Finished

8 Graham Rahal 6 9.4563 01:32.6 130.962 60 D/H/F Finished

10 EJ Viso 33 10.8602 01:32.4 131.235 60 D/H/F Finished

13 Mario Dominguez 96 12.7773 01:33.1 130.258 60 D/H/F Finished

15 Will Power 8 1 lap 01:31.8 132.145 59 D/H/F Finished

18 Jaime Camara 34 9 laps 01:34.7 128.151 51 D/H/F Contact

21 Enrique Bernoldi 36 16 laps 01:34.0 129.044 44 D/H/F Contact

23 Oriol Servia 5 24.7973 01:32.0 131.824 38 D/H/F Mechanical

25 Justin Wilson 2 44 laps 01:32.1 131.758 16 D/H/F Mechanical

... notes from The EDJE

Destruction Derby On The Bullring At Richmond

Kanaan kept the Honda-powered Dallara clear of multiple mishaps to claim his first victory since Belle Isle last September and his first on an oval since Kentucky in August. He held off Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, who advanced 16 positions through a combination of furious driving and attrition for his fourth second place of the season, in the SunTrust Indy Challenge. Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon overtook teammate Dan Wheldon on the final lap for third. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Destruction Derby On The Bullring At Richmond

Tony Kanaan knew it would be tough to win on the Richmond International Raceway with 26 starters - half of whom were making their first appearance on the 0.75-mile oval. But this tough?

The race in Richmond was, let’s be honest … a destruction derby. The race felt as though it would run a couple of laps and have to go to yellow flag conditions (105 laps of the 300 run) to clear up yet, another car getting light in the rear (I believe the term Jaime Camara used was “neutral”), swing around, and hit the SAFER barrier.

The Fine Nine (the drivers fielded by teams transitioning into the IRL from the CCWS) did not do fine here in Richmond. The ones who finished, did well … but the rest of the T-Team field checked out early and/or often.

The three drivers who did finish the race all finished in the top ten with Oriol Servia of KV Racing Technology posting a personal best fifth out of twenty-six cars who were entered in the race.

The Fine Nine drivers checked out in the following order on this, the shortest oval the IRL competes on all season.

OUT - POS./Qual./Car# - Driver - Hometown - Car - Name – Entrant

Lap 6 - 25/26/36 - Enrique Bernoldi - Curitiba, Brazil - Sangari - Conquest Racing

Lap 8 - 24/16/8 - Will Power - Toowoomba, Australia - Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia - KV Racing Technology

Lap 78 - 23/9/18 Bruno Junqueira Belo Horizonte, Brazil Z-Line Designs Dale Coyne Racing

Lap 131 - 18/10/16/06 - Graham Rahal - Columbus, Ohio - Hole in the Wall Camps - Newman Haas Lanigan Racing

Lap 143 - 17/19/24/19 - Mario Moraes - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Sonny's Bar-B-Q - Dale Coyne Racing

Lap 217 - 14/20/21/34 - Jaime Camara - Goiania, Brazil – Sangari - Conquest Racing

In the final laps, only twelve of the 26 cars were running on the track. As far as Rookie Of The Year honors race is concerned, Heideki Mutoh of Andretti Green Racing (out on lap 220 and finished in position 13) still leads in the points but lost a little ground back to Servia, Justin Wilson of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (position 7) and EJ Viso of HVM Racing (position 10).

Out On Lap 78 - #18 Bruno Junqueira Belo Horizonte, Brazil Z-Line Designs Dale Coyne Racing - Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This excerpted and edited from Indycar.com -


Kanaan Prevails
By Dave Lewandowski - indycar.com
Kanaan kept the No. 11 7-Eleven car clear of multiple potential mishaps to claim his first victory since Belle Isle last September and his first on an oval since Kentucky in August. The pole sitter held off Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, who advanced 16 positions through furious driving and attrition for his fourth second place of the season.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon overtook teammate Dan Wheldon on the final laps for third and score valuable championship points. KV Racing Technology's Oriol Servia finished a career-best fifth on an oval.

"It was a tough night," said Dixon, who takes a 43-point lead over Castroneves into the race at Watkins Glen International on July 6. "TK definitely looked pretty strong tonight."

Wheldon is third in the standings (299 points) and Kanaan (269) is fourth.

A.J. Foyt IV of Vision Racing gets taken out by John Andretti early in the race at RIR. On lap 29, AJ's Lilly sponsored car hits the wall after his left rear tire comes in contact with John's unsponsored Roth Racing Dallara right front tire (series of four photos - #1). Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The 300-lap race (lengthened 50 laps from '07) under the lights was marred by 105 caution laps. The IndyCar Series record is 116 at Nazareth Speedway in 2002.

A.J. Foyt IV of Vision Racing gets taken out by Roth Racing’s John Andretti early in the race at RIR. On lap 29 (series of four photos - #2). Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Andretti Green Racing's Danica Patrick finished sixth and Justin Wilson moved up 16 spots to seventh (tying his career best on an oval). Townsend Bell in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car finished eighth and Marco Andretti was ninth. Andretti completed 135 laps (many under caution) on one 22-gallon load of ethanol.
----
A.J. Foyt IV of Vision Racing gets taken out by Roth Racing’s John Andretti early in the race at RIR. On lap 29 (series of four photos - #3). Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

"What a crazy race," said Wilson, who started 23rd. "There was some really good driving and some really bad driving out there. I was just trying not to get caught out and stay out of trouble and bring the car home. The McDonald's car wasn't the quickest car out there today but we managed to salvage some good points and hopefully that will help us out in the championship."
Reference Here>>

A.J. Foyt IV of Vision Racing gets taken out by Roth Racing’s John Andretti early in the race at RIR. On lap 29 (series of four photos - #4). Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Final Results

Finally, next week the former ChampCar teams get some meat to chew on and they will be at full strength. Pacific Coast Motorsports will be re-joining the competition for the rest of the season. Mario Donimguez driving the Visit Mexico City Dallara will be backed by a group of PCM team members that have experience racing at Watkins Glen.

This, from a recent press release; Veterans of Champ Car and Sports Cars, PCM looks forward to their return to road courses. The historic Watkins Glen track is familiar to PCM; they raced there while competing in the Rolex Grand Am Series in 2006.

Next weekend, the T-Team Ten will be looking to score points and show that they are the measure of any driver/team combination competing in the ICS in 2008.

… 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.
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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

The T-Team Ten Whittled Down To The Elite Eight

Bruno Junqueira of Dale Coyne Racing will sit on the sidelines in Iowa after hitting the turn two SAFER barrier. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The T-Team Ten Whittled Down To The Elite Eight

The eighth race of the 2008 season is proving hard to make for a couple of drivers from teams that are transitioning from the ranks of the ChampCar World Series to the IndyCar Series.

Mario Dominguez of Pacific Coast Motorsports and Bruno Junqueira of Dale Coyne Racing will not be able to make it into the field of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer, both for different yet similar reasons.

It is no secret that the teams that are new to the series do not have the same availability of parts, especially oval track aero parts, as do established teams that have been working with this Dallara chassis now for the better part of seven years. Heck, some of the teams may even have extra parts they have forgotten about that the kids are playin’ with in the backyard at home (more about kids, later).

Resource management and preparation kept the Pacific Coast Motorsports team at their headquarters here in Southern California whereas Bruno will join Marty Roth on the sidelines due to accidents each driver had in separate incidents in the morning practice session on the 0.894-mile Iowa Speedway tri-oval. Bruno Junqueira, after the car was hooked-up and brought bach to the pits, speculated that he hoped the car would be ready for the next race in Richmond, Virginia.

The yellow signal light glows for moisture on the track at Iowa Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Furthermore, the qualifications were rained out after only two qualifying runs by Ryan Briscoe - Penske Racing, Dan Weldon - Chip Ganassi Racing, and a third partial run by Helio Castroneves - Penske Racing was waived off. After that, the session cancelled.

Scott Dixon's special Commit sponsorship race livery. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

So, by virtue of his superlative season so far, Scott Dixon - Chip Ganassi Racing will start from the pole in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer based on entrant championship points accrued so far at this point in the season - Starting Grid.

This excerpted from IndyCar.com –

Junqueira, Roth Out
By Dave Lewandowski - indycar.com

Both cars sustained parts failures, which led to the cars spinning into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2.

Click it: Timing & Scoring reports for practices

"It's a major disappointment," said Roth, the owner/driver of the Roth Racing car. "We worked so hard to get a good race car, and I think we made a really good one. It was a struggle at first, but I think we had a really good race car. We had a rear pushrod break going into corner 1, and it was all over at that point. The damage is pretty extensive. We can't fix it for the race. We'll be looking for Richmond now, and we'll have our eyes on John Andretti for the weekend." VIDEO

Junqueira was on a full-tank run on sticker tires when the car got loose and spun, collecting the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car driven by Dan Wheldon. VIDEO

"We had some steering rack problems in the run before and had someone vibration," Junqueira said. "I'm OK. Unfortunately, the car's not OK. It's very damaged. The left-rear wishbone broke, which is what made me spin. Hopefully we can get everything together for Richmond."

The Target Chip Ganassi Racing crew prepared Wheldon's back-up car for qualifications for the second race in a row.
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Milka Duno, who crashed during the Open Test on June 20, also will compete in the No. 23 back-up car.

The Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer is the first of six consecutive weekends of IndyCar Series racing. The SunTrust Indy Challenge at the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway oval is under the lights June 28.
Reference Here>>

Jaime Camara talking with his Conquest Racing team engineer. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Speaking of kids, Jamie Camara of Conquest Racing will have the first increase in his family planned to be delivered June 25 … it’s a BOY!

Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing is expecting two newborns in the near-term as well. Race Engineer, Mike Talbott is expecting his second within the next few days and will be replaced in Iowa by Senior Engineer Craig Hampson, who will return home after the race to receive the coming of his family’s second.

Oriol Servia being assisted into the cockpit of his KV Racing Technology Dallara during practice at Iowa Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

As for the grid of the Elite Eight, the highest position on points going into the eighth race of the season goes to Oriol Servia at 10th position.

POS./Car# - Driver - Hometown - Car - Sponsor Name - Team

10/5 - Oriol Servia - Pals, Spain - No Sponsor - KV Racing Technology

11/8 - Will Power - Toowoomba, Australia - Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia - KV Racing Technology

13/33 - EJ Viso - Caracas, Venezuela - PDVSA - HVM Racing

16/06 - Graham Rahal - Columbus, Ohio - No Sponsor - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

17/36 - Enrique Bernoldi - Curitiba, Brazil - Sangari - Conquest Racing

20/02 - Justin Wilson - Sheffield, England - McDonald's - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

21/34 - Jaime Camara - Goiania, Brazil – Sangari - Conquest Racing

24/19 - Mario Moraes - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Sonny's Bar-B-Q - Dale Coyne Racing

... notes from The EDJE