Project Yellow Light Video Contest Winners For 2013 Announced

Project Yellow Light is a scholarship competition designed to bring about change. As an applicant you have one clear mission: encourage your peers to develop and embrace safe driving habits. For both the high school and college contests, the first-place winner will receive a scholarship in the amount of $5,000. Second-place finisher will receive $2,000. Third-place finisher will receive $1,000. Mazda Motorsports is a major supporting partner. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Project Yellow Light Video Contest Winners For 2013 Announced

An important part of the process of being a participant in the Mazda Motorsports Ladder System for driver development is to be an advocate for safety in automobile operation.

Kenton Koch, an 18 year old Glendora High School student and Mazda Ladder race car driver, finds time to give safe driving education at high schools near race day locations throughout the country - as do many of the drivers associated with Mazda Motorsports. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

As a component of this outreach agenda, ladder participants/alumni Ben Albano, Kenton Koch, and Elliott Skeer acted as judges in the second annual Project Yellow Light scholarship contest supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Mazda Motorsports, the Ad Council and the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS).

Project Yellow Light is a film competition for high school seniors and college students designed to create compelling video stories that will convince their peers to develop safe driving habits.  The project was created by Julie, Lowell and Alex Garner in memory of their son/brother, Hunter who died tragically in a car crash in 2007. Each year the winner of the film competition receives The Hunter Garner Scholarship.  Project Yellow Light/Hunter Garner Scholarship is a non-profit organization that began in Hunter’s school, Riverbend High in Fredericksburg, VA, with aspirations to inspire and motivate youth all over America.  The program is designed to give young adults a voice and a role in reversing the number of car crashes — the number one killer of teenagers and young adults in the U.S.

Grand-Am Series GX Class race winning race car driver, Joel Miller enjoys sharing a moment with the media about the outreach activities of Mazda on behalf Project Yellow Light at the 2013 Mazda Motorsports media day last month. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

As part of Global Youth Traffic Safety Month, entrants were asked to develop and produce a short video that would depict for their peers the dangers of risky mobile behavior on our Nation’s roadways.  The high school grand prize was awarded to Brittany Devasure, a senior from North Carolina, for her video, and, for the first time, the contest was open to college students. Rachel Hall, who studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, was recognized as the grand prize winner for her video.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2011, eleven percent of all drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of driv­ers who were distracted.

"Distracted driving is a national epidemic, and our youngest drivers are particularly at risk," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We know that young drivers listen to their friends, which makes the Project Yellow Light ads so powerful.  Today’s scholarship winners have helped raise awareness of the dangers of texting while driving, and are potentially saving the lives of other teen drivers as well."

The ladder development racers Mazda Motorsports have dubbed the "MAZDASPEED 7"- with Bryan Hixon, Peter Portante, Patrick Gallagher, Matthew Brabham, Stevan McAleer and Yago Cesário along with the engineering and drivers of Sylvain Tremblay's SpeedSource. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

"As racers we know about driver safety and take the subject very seriously.  With our extensive team of teenage race drivers, and our longstanding partnership with the Skip Barber Racing School, active support of Project Yellow Light was a natural fit for Mazda Motorsports." said John Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations. "Everyone at Mazda was impressed with both the quality and quantity of entries this year, and we were happy that our support allowed the Project Yellow Light team to add a category for college students."

This year’s contest ran from November 2012 through March 2013 and received nearly 500 submissions. 

Second place prizes were awarded to high school senior Sophie Koorhan of Pennsylvania and Katherine Duffy, a student at the University of Southern California. Third place prizes were given to high school senior Joanne Ly of California and Rahul Sharma, a college student at New York University.

All of the winners will receive college scholarships and One-Day Teen Survival Skills Classes at the Skip Barber Racing School, provided by Mazda Motorsports. Additionally, the first place winners’ videos will be digitally distributed to air as Public Service Announcements (aka PSAs) by the Ad Council to their network of more than 1,500 TV stations nationwide.

... notes from The EDJE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This excerpted and edited from Aljazeera -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013) 

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

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

TAKU sports the ABC Supply Americana motif,

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

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

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Marco with RC Cola,

Image Credit: Richard Dowdy IICS (2013)

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

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

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

... notes from The EDJE

Mazda's New SKYACTIV-D Technology Sets First Racing Mark

Visit Florida Racing Mazda6 takes Grand-Am GX win at Road Atlanta as Mazda's SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine technology occupies P1 and P3 on the podium. Image Credit: Mazda Motorsports

Mazda's New SKYACTIV-D Technology Sets First Racing Mark

The fruits of real-time, in-season race development program become realized after only four races into the first Grand-Am GX Class season. The all-new Mazda6, powered by a production-based SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine, scored a win in the Rolex Grand-Am GX race at Road Atlanta.

#70 Mazda6 with the SKYACTIV-D turbo diesel showcar where the two turbo assist devices are used primarily to cool the engine as opposed to directly add to the development of power or torque. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

In 2013, the Grand-Am racing series for full-bodied GT cars added a new class of racing platform to its field of formally pedestrian but hardened sedan cars that can be purchased from dealerships around the country. The GX Class will have 13 models from 12 different manufacturers to choose from, based on the list of cars eligible for the new GX class in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Eligible cars announced for the class include the Lotus Evora GX, Porsche Cayman, Mazda6 with the SKYACTIV-D turbo diesel, Audi TT, BMW 1 Series, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus (four door), Hyundai Genesis, Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, Nissan 370Z or Altima, and Volkswagen EOS.

SpeedSource engineering improvements to the factory SKYACTIV-D clean diesel engine include changes to the crankshaft, fuel intake manifolds and pistons. Images Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Joel Miller and Andrew Carbonell drove the #00 Visit Florida Racing Mazda6 to the win, with team-mates Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long finishing third in the similar #70 SpeedSource Mazda6 SKYACTIV-D.  It was a three-way battle for most of the race with a Porsche Cayman splitting the two Mazdas.

View slideshow: Mazda's New SKYACTIV-D Technology Sets First Racing Mark

SpeedSource Fan Page Photos>>

This win represented a day of firsts for Grand-Am competition and for Mazda Motorsports.  This is the first-ever win for a diesel-powered car in Grand-Am competition.  It also marked the first win for the all-new Mazda6 in any race series.  It was the first Grand-Am race win for drivers Joel Miller and Andrew Carbonell.  Miller is a former Mazda Motorsports Scholarship winner, having won the Skip Barber National Championship in 2007.  Carbonnell has been racing Mazdas with Freedom Autosport for many years, and was part of the team that delivered the 2011 Continental Tire ST Manufacturers Championship to Mazda.  Carbonell was substituting for Miller’s usual teammate, Tristan Nunez, who had a schedule conflict with another race in Long Beach.

GX Class Mazda6 driver Joel Miller (r) discussed how driving a diesel-powered race requires a different, "more loving" feel in acceleration and shifting than other gasoline fueled race cars. It is kinda like "hyper-miling" for the race track because the strongest power band on diesel performance is a little tighter with lower RPM at the top of the range. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

"The new Mazda6 prepared by SpeedSource ran perfectly," said Joel Miller, co-driver of the #00 Visit Florida Racing Mazda6 in a post race interview. "The torque of the SKYACTIV-D pulled up the elevation changes around Road Atlanta circuit strongly and the Mazda6 handled beautifully. During the course of the race we attacked when needed and paced ourselves when required. The event had only one caution during the two-hour and 45 minutes race, thus there was hardly any time to relax. The SpeedSource crew was in constant communication with myself and co-driver Andrew Carbonell as we worked through traffic. Bringing home the victory for the SpeedSource crew who worked so hard on this program brings great joy and I cannot wait to continue the [development] program. Over the past eight years Mazda has taken me from karting through their ladder program. I’m proud to be racing the Mazda6 and to be a part of Mazda history in gaining the first SKYACTIV Technology victory."

Joel Miller is the Southern California driver who's mother gave title to a 2011 documentary featuring the Star Mazda Series, an open-wheel driver development series that has since changed its banner to the Pro Mazda Series. "Driven To Race" was billed as a documentary film effort about what it takes to win which garnered several film festival awards when it was debuted.

Sylvain Tremblay, owner of SpeedSource Engineering, explains what changes were made to the Mazda6 SKYACTIVE-D clean diesel engine pistons for racing in the Grand-Am GX Class at the Mazda Motorsport 2013 media kick off meeting. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

The truth behind this new Mazda6 SKYACTIVE-D development and win in the Grand-Am GX Class can be summed up by the owner of SpeedSource Engineering (the engineering firm behind the race tuned Mazda effort), Sylvain Tremblay. "While Joel and Andrew sprayed the champagne, this win truly defined the expression, ‘team work.’ The victory is shared with everyone at SpeedSource, Mazda North American Operations and Mazda Motor Corporation, and is a tribute to the thousands of hours of hard work over many months," said Sylvain. "After that rough debut at Daytona, everyone stepped up to make sure we had a fast, reliable car as soon as was humanly possible. The normal plan with a new car is to spend the first year in development, the second year seeking race wins, and challenging for a championship in year three. We are already at our year-two status after four races. We can’t wait to get to the Belle Isle course in Detroit for round five."

... notes from The EDJE

ALMS' David Calvert-Jones Gives Mid-Life Crisis A New Meaning

CJ's lid used for the pursuit of his newest machine environment to conquer. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

ALMS' David Calvert-Jones Gives Mid-Life Crisis A New Meaning

CJ, as David Calvert-Jones prefers to be addressed, took his first laps around the famed street course at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in preparation for the debut at his adopted "home" track for the second race of the 2013 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón season.

"It’s a home race," exclaimed CJ after a couple of test runs during open track sessions at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Media Day, April 9th. "At least Long Beach is the closest we get to Australia! But I’m really thrilled to race at Long Beach for the first time. It’s a challenging circuit – absolutely no margin for error. Not even a millimeter."

The Competition Motorsports 911 GT3 used by CJ to take his first laps around the 1.97 mile, 11 turn temporary street course during the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race media day. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Most race car drivers begin with a vision of being one of this rare breed of dreamers and technicians when they get behind the steering wheel of a tractor, then a car on a dirt farm road, and eventually by the ripe old age of 8 or 9, find themselves competing with others with go-kart platforms used to develop the skills necessary to eventually race cars at the highest of professionally sanctioned levels.

Not so with CJ - his life took a decidedly different path. Growing up around Melbourne, Australia beginning August 12, 1969, CJ became a pilot because around the land down under, the territory is so large (as with the United States' Alaska), if one wishes to get around and be useful to others, one needs to fly. Along the way CJ developed the talent and business acumen to manage large scale flying service operations and international investments.

**SLIDESHOW>>

In 2004, CJ decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he flew helicopters outfitted as camera platforms and was able to deliver memorable action images used in films with recognizable titles of “Transformers,” “Secretariat,” “Domino,” “Horrible Bosses,” and “We Are Marshall” among many others. He became CEO of of Helinet Aviation Services, a best-in-class provider of helicopter flight services to a broad range of markets, including film, executive transportation, hospital patient transport, etc.. CJ was responsible for the successful management of Helinet's aerial coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  As the only commercial operator cleared by the FAA to fly in the restricted airspace above the hurricane's affected areas and as a result, Helinet's aerial video footage was shown on all the networks in the United States and across the world.

CJ is currently the owner and president of Helifilms, an aerial production company with offices in the United States, Australia, England and South Africa.

This would be good enough for most folks but CJ's core passion is to be able to push the limits of man and his machines. He found his way to placing his physical command sensibilities to automobiles on a bit of a lark when a friend of his asked him to attend a Vintage Auto Racing Association event at Auto Club Speedway. While there, he was invited to drive a racing prepared BMW and was bitten to become focused driving automobile platforms at the greatest of speeds and limits.

CJ (right) closes out another successful race weekend with a runner-up result. He finished at least one race on the podium in all but one of his five IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge doubleheader weekends in 2012, and all of those trophies came on racetracks he hadn't driven on prior to the week of each race event (ctrl-click here for video). Image Credit: Competition Motorsports (2012)

Last year, he decided to devote his driving attention to the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama and came away with one class race victory and achieved the runner-up position (P2) in the season points championship. He was invited to try his hand at the final American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race of 2012 at the Petite Le Mans in Atlanta in a GTC Class Porsche and liked the experience.

CJ now finds himself at the age of 43 in the troughs of a mid-life crisis of opportunity ... the opportunity to challenge man and his machines at the highest levels in American sports car racing. CJ expects that the crisis he will be delivering (not having) at mid-life is at least a podium finish against a field filled with drivers 75% his age, or less, who began driving four wheeled automotive platforms before the age that CJ took to the skies in Australia.

Look for David Calvert-Jones ... CJ ... as he joins another Australian race car driver, IZOD IndyCar Series Will Power - who began being a race car driver by racing karts, racing the concrete lined streets at the 39th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach April 19-21, 2013. You'll find CJ driving the second race of his rookie season in the ALMS GTC Class driving the No. 99 Competition Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 for two hours on Saturday, April 20.

... notes from The EDJE

Irwindale Event Center To Host NASCAR Event April 6, 2013

The West end of the one-half mile oval at Irwindale Speedway. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013) 

 Irwindale Event Center To Host NASCAR Event April 6, 2013

NASCAR is back at Irwindale Speedway. After a year "dark" of NASCAR stock car racing, the nationally-known Southern California area short track will bring back the action and excitement of professional stock car racing to the "up close and personal" confines of the facility that many have called one of the best in the nation for fan accommodations and racing competition.

Won & Done is headed to the airwaves of MAVTv, a cable network owned and operated by Forrest Lucas the the team at Lucas Oil, on Thursday evenings beginning this April. Image Credit: MAVTv via Dragzine.com

Irwindale Speedway is the oval track "department" at re-opened Irwindale Event Center that also features the NHRA Street Legal Irwindale Dragstrip (home of MAVTv's wild new "Won & Done" drag racing reality show that debuts on April 4), the Advanced Driving Dynamics street safety driving school, the LA Racing Experience stock car racing school, and the new fun karting center.

"Many of the top ten drivers from our 2011 season will be back along with a number of new drivers many of whom are destined to be fan favorites before the 2013 season is in the books," assured Event Center GM Bob Klein - pictured above. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

"There's a renewed attitude, a great sense of adventure. Drivers, crews and fans all telling us that they can't wait for this coming Saturday night," said track GM Bob Klein. "We're very excited to be back in the stock car racing business, everyone on our staff is ready to get back to what Irwindale Speedway was built to do; and that's put on a short track racing show that's second to none. We had a great final open practice this past Saturday, and everything is in place for the fans."

The new Irwindale operating team has pegged ticket prices at the same amount as when the track opened in 1999: only $15 for adults and $5 for kids 6-12. "We want to keep the NASCAR experience affordable for all families," Klein said. "We've got over 6,000 great seats and 14 action-packed nights of NASCAR from now until October. We want our fans to come back many, many times during the season."

Spectator gates will open at 5pm on Saturday night April 6 with the track's famous "On-Track Autograph Session" first up on the night's agenda at 5:45pm. This personal opportunity for fans to meet the drivers, get a close-up look at their cars, and walk on the banked racetrack, is something that should be a part of every fan's experience at Irwindale. It's free with event admission and it sets the pace for a great night of stock car speed and excitement.

"We're very proud to be a NASCAR Home Track, and we take that description to heart. Our drivers are all always available to our fans right on the racetrack before our races," said Klein.

2013 Opening Ceremonies will take place at 6:30pm with a tribute to the fourteen driving champions from the last year of NASCAR and NHRA competition at the track (2011) who've been named the co-opening night Grand Marshals. Hot new recording star Paul Scott will sing the National Anthem as well as his hit single "NASCAR Crazy" (right from the starter's stand where he'll flag off a race), and police and fire vehicles will be on track to accept the track's thanks for their work in public safety.

Saturday night's line up of NASCAR races will kick off with the Lucas Oil Late Models, and feature Super Late Models, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, and a wild Demolition Derby to end the night with a little friendly fender-crunching fun. Racing will begin at 7pm and run until 10pm, and there will be a special fireworks show to celebrate NASCAR's return to Irwindale Speedway.

... notes from The EDJE

2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Season Predictions Using The 'More Front Wing' Format

Takuma Sato has a lot to prove in this break out season for the former F1 stand out. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Season Predictions Using The 'More Front Wing' Format

It is common for those who follow the American open wheel racing scene to make predictions just before a season starts and the silly season becomes officially over.

More Front Wing, an IndyCar news and views website, had the simplest approach to this prediction issue and it serves as a good template and baseline upon what to expect for the 2013 season.

View Slideshow: 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Season Predictions

This year is the second, or sophomore, full year the new chassis that was tested by the late Dan Wheldon, and is numerically attached to his memory through the Dallara designation of DW12, will be used to contest the IZOD IndyCar Series season championship. The fact that the series ran a shortened season left the teams with a lot of time to work toward their strategy on how they will choose to compete and win with the familiarization of the turbo-powered and more robust DW12.2.

Will Ryan Hunter-Reay repeat in 2013 for Andretti Autosport? Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012) 

The original frame delivered one of the most competitive seasons in about 20 years ... so, many wonder, now that the standardization of the push-to-pass, which was introduced to the new engine-chassis package last July on the streets of Toronto, if this type of close competitive performance be expected for 2013?

After reading many predictions as to how the 2013 season will play out with the first race of the season - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - to be run this weekend, March 22-24, through the streets of St. Petersburg, here are the predictions from The EDJE to get things started.

More Front Wing had the simplest approach to this prediction issue and it serves as a good template and baseline upon what to expect for the 2013 season. 

2013 IICS season predictions using the More Front Wing format:

Five different teams were represented in victory lane last season. Will that number be higher or lower this year?

Lower - investments by established teams in their subtle ways of development will show themselves in the DW12 sophomore year - so sophomore developments will rule the day.

Who will surprise everyone by winning a race?

Two drivers top my list ... well maybe three - 

Simona de Silvestro is poised to make a statement with her stable team and engine set-up this year - KV Racing Technology / Chevy. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

1) Simona de Silvestro who has won in a strong open wheel field before in the Atlantic series race at Long Beach - good on the streets. 

Takuma Sato at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach last year when he was driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan in a one car team. Sato will be moving to the team that fields the car that appears here tracking right behind him ... AJ Foyt Enterprises. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

2) Takuma Sato - if AJ can finally deliver on the promise of good equipment.

James Jakes after he he went off-roading at Sonoma's turns 9 and 10 in the IndyCar configuration. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

3) James Jakes - he is with a team - Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - that can really challenge the establishment three of Penske, Ganassi, and Andretti ... and Jakes really is a winner.

Who will have a disappointing season?

Takuma Sato - for the same reasons that he can be a surprise ... AJ Foyt prepared equipment.

Who will win the Indianapolis 500?

Graham Rahal between set-up laps at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach while racing for Chip Ganassi. New team, new stablemate in James Jakes, and same old boss ... Bobby Rahal. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012) 

Graham Rahal - the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew knows how to win this thing and is hungry to drive like they stole it. Graham has the experience and I believe they will have the set-ups come race day.

Who will be the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series champion?

Will Power starts this year being the odds on favorite to win it all and his speeds at the final test at Barber Motorsports Park stand as the marker. He was fastest by 1/4 of a second and nearly 1/2 mph at the end of four sessions. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012) 

Will Power - 'Nuff said.
ENDS

Here is the NBCSN schedule for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:

Saturday, March 23: IndyCar Qualifying at 2:30 p.m.

Broadband: IndyCar.com

Sunday, March 24: Indy Lights: Streets St. Petersburg at 11 a.m.

Broadband: IndyCar.com

Sunday, March 24: Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at Noon - ET

Broadband: IndyCar.com also NBCSports.com

Radio: IMS Network and SiriusXM Radio

Tuesday, March 26: Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Re-Air at Midnight

... notes from The EDJE

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Lefty’s Reading Challenge Merges Motor Culture & Learning Skills For A Win

Kyle Larson, 20-year-old Yonese - fourth generation Japanese - is a California native.  He is not going to miss college at this time of his life but last week, he was back to school to present cash prizes to schools who complete Auto Club Speedway's youth initiative known as Lefty’s Reading Challenge. Image Credit: Albert Wong

Lefty’s Reading Challenge Merges Motor Culture & Learning Skills For A Win

More than 110,000 elementary school students from San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties are on track to read over 700,000 books during Lefty’s Reading Challenge for a chance to win thousands of dollars for their school libraries.  The challenge, named after Auto Club Speedway mascot Lefty, is part of Auto Club Speedway’s Youth initiative.

 Oakmont Elementary Schools with enrollment up to 600 students won a cash prize of $2,000. Here Kyle Larson presents the cash prizes and membership cards to students who completed Lefty’s Reading Challenge. Image Credit: Albert Wong

All students who successfully complete the challenge receive a Certificate of Completion and free admission for themselves and their parent or guardian to NASCAR Qualifying Day on Friday, March 22 and the NASCAR Royal Purple 300 on Saturday, March 23.  In addition, each student receives a free membership card to Lefty’s Kids Club which provides great benefits such as free admission to NASCAR and INDYCAR races at Auto Club Speedway and much more!

Ted Porter Elementary School with enrollment of 601+ students won a cash prize of $3,000. Here Kyle Larson presents the cash prizes and membership cards to students who completed Lefty’s Reading Challenge. Image Credit: Albert Wong

Kyle Larson will be racing on Saturday, March 23 in the NASCAR Nationwide Royal Purple 300.

Larson winning record in racing's minor leagues is turning heads throughout the sport.  He is one of the hottest prospects in American motor racing with his eye toward joining NASCAR's best driver.

Larson made over 500 Outlaw Sprint Kart starts in eight years, collecting a total of 27 championships, 129 A-main wins and four Rookie of the Year awards.

After making his first start in a midget car at 13 years old, Larson became the youngest driver to participate, and win, in a dirt Sprint Car in the state of California in 2007 at the age of 14.That same year, continuing his streak of young successes, Larson became the first driver under the age of 16 to compete in a World of Outlaws Sprint Car.

*2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion in his first full season of stock car competition

*Collected three top-10’s, including a runner-up finish;led 91 laps in four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts

*One of two drivers to sweep USAC 4-Crown Nationals, Winning in Silver Crown, Sprint Cars and Midgets in one night

*Finished second in his Daytona International Speedway debut in the ARCA Racing Series in February 2013
(ht: Albert Wong)

... notes from The EDJE