Gil de Ferran Brings Open-Wheel Spirit To ALMS

De Ferran Motorsports' debut in the American Le Mans Series is getting closer and closer each day. The newest member of the Acura Motorsports stable will make its highly anticipated first start at next week's Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by the Grand and Little America Hotels. Image Credit: Acura Motorsports

Gil de Ferran Brings Open-Wheel Spirit To ALMS

The only thing constant in life is change … and this saying applies to the recent commitments made by stand-out open-wheel racing champion Gil de Ferran.

Still known for being the driver that posted the fastest qualifying lap ever recorded on a closed course at slightly over 242 mph, California Speedway; Gil wants to bring his brand of competition to the discipline of racing team management as a driver/owner.

A little over three months ago, Gil announced the formation of his own team, De Ferran Motorsports, which will campaign an Acura ARX-01b in the American Le Mans Series. De Ferran confirmed details of the program in Long Beach over Grand Prix weekend, naming Frenchman, and CCWS refugee, Simon Pagenaud as his co-driver and Panasonic as the car's primary sponsor.

Gil de Ferran will make his American Le Mans Series debut as a team owner and driver with Simon Pagenaud next week. Image Credit: ALMS website

The team will be making its race debut at the next round in Salt Lake City at the Larry H Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels, May 16-18, 1PM MDT.

Unification in the open-wheel racing series has opened up additional opportunities for young good drivers that were not able to make the transition either because the team they were attached to couldn’t make it over to compete in the Indy Car Series, or due to the timing of the merger, just got caught out.

So where does one apply the unique talent and experience of driving really fast cars in competition and one does not have a ride at Indy? Why the American Le Mans Series, of course.

"These are really single-seaters with bodywork," Gil added. "They are high horsepower, high downforce cars. They're relatively light. The brakes have a very high capacity. For example at Sebring, we were pulling just over four Gs under braking through the hairpin, which is not dissimilar to what happens in an open-wheel car. To me, that's fascinating. To drive one of these cars quick is a huge challenge. And you can see it in the lap times. They are very close and sometimes faster than some open-wheel cars."

Here, at The EDJE, we will add the obvious ending tag to de Ferran’s statement … especially the IndyCar Series Dallara’s!

"It all came flooding back to me," de Ferran said of his first Acura test. "I ultimately had all those files stored up there and ready for retrieval." Image Credit: The Race Forums

This excerpted from The Race Forums -

De Ferran Motorsports gearing up for race debut
John Dagys, The Race Forums - 04-30-2008, 06:45 PM

Gil de Ferran has enjoyed a storied career behind the wheel of open-wheel machinery. But after retiring from driving in 2003, the two-time CART Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner sought a new challenge in sports car racing, also itching to get back in the cockpit.
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De Ferran's arrival adds yet another world-class name to the arsenal of stars that have made the transition to sports car racing. The likable Brazilian began racing in go-karts at age 14 before moving to England to race professionally. There, he won the British F3 Championship title in 1992 and was on the fast track to Formula One. De Ferran stepped into Paul Stewart Racing's Formula 3000 operation for two years. But in 1995, he moved to the U.S. to race in CART.

De Ferran claimed Rookie of the Year honors that year, winning his first of seven CART races. He also went on to claim two championships in his seven-year span in the series. De Ferran then moved full-time to the IRL IndyCar Series in 2002, following team owner Roger Penske. In his two seasons there, he pocketed five wins, including the 2003 Indianapolis 500 and his final IndyCar start at Texas Motor Speedway.

After spending one year in the announcer's booth helping call IndyCar races for ABC/ESPN, de Ferran moved back to Europe to serve as the sporting director for the BAR Honda F1 team. He held that position until 2007 before taking up his new challenge in the ALMS.
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"I was in the workshop last week and we had all our mechanics, engineers and technicians there.”, [said de Ferran]. We had more than 20 people working incredibly hard inside a facility, which didn’t exist a couple of months ago. The car was nearly finished, the new truck had arrived and it suddenly really hit me – wow, this is for real."
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De Ferran faces a unique situation in not only making sure the car is ready for action, but also confirming the team is up to par to contend in the highly competitive LMP2 category. With relatively short notice, De Ferran has assembled a high caliber organization, led by former Andretti Green team manager John Anderson. But there's still an unknown factor given much of the crew are new to the series' unique procedures and regulations.
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One of the new faces is Simon Pagenaud. While he may be a rookie to the ALMS, Pagenaud is no stranger to success. The 23-year-old Frenchman got his start in European karting series before making his mark in the open-wheel ranks. He competed in various Formula Renault championships, and then moved stateside in 2006 to compete in Champ Car Atlantics.

Pagenaud won the Atlantics championship in his rookie season and rocketed to the Champ Car World Series the following year. There, he picked up eight top-six finishes, driving for Derrick Walker's Team Australia squad. As 2008 dawned with a unified open-wheel series, Pagenaud opted to move to sports cars, joining de Ferran's squad.

"I am really delighted to get this opportunity," Pagenaud said. "It is not every day that a two-time CART Champion and Indy 500 winner calls and says he wants you to be his co-driver.
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At age 23, Pagenaud becomes the youngest driver in the four-team Acura squad. He joins the likes of Adrian Fernandez, Christian Fittipaldi, Bryan Herta and Scott Sharp as ex-open-wheel stars turned Acura ALMS racers.
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"I think it is going to be a fantastic combination with Gil," Pagenaud said. "His is the type of person who doesn’t do anything less than 100 percent, so I think it is going to be great."
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"It is really big picture objective, but we have to keep our eye on the ball and concentrate on the issues we will have to face," de Ferran said. "We'll navigate those waters carefully. The road to nirvana is not always in a straight line. To walk that road well, you really have to be paying a lot of attention on the day-to-day and concentrating on each decision you make." Image Credit: ALMS website

"My old friends at Walker Racing spoke very highly of him," de Ferran said. "Once I met Simon, I found him to be very a very impressive young man.
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Simon is also a very young guy and has already had some good results. Hopefully, however, he is yet to reach his full potential."

Another factor, as de Ferran mentioned, was age. At age 40, de Ferran knows he isn’t going to race forever and wants to develop a new crop of drivers that will grow with his team.

"As a team, we can develop together," de Ferran said. "For de Ferran Motorsports, it is also important to have some young talent on board. I am looking forward getting back behind the wheel but I won't be driving forever.
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Another new element both de Ferran and Pagenaud will face is the co-driver aspect. Compromise is often the name of the game when it comes to car setup in endurance racing.
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"I think it is going to be important for Gil and me to get used to the car and develop a set-up that suits us both," Pagenaud said. "We are going to have to try and not be too selfish. It is not just about our own performance – it is what we achieve together. It will be vital to develop a good consistent race car. This is more important than just the qualifying pace."
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While de Ferran said he doesn’t have any specific goals for the team's first year in the series, the Brazilian is eyeing long-term success down the road. de Ferran hopes the team's debut in Salt Lake City in two weeks will only be a small part of things to come.
Reference Here>>

... notes from The EDJE

It’s All, Or ALL – "Nothing" Is NOT An Option At PCM

Mario Dominguez mastering the hairpin just before entering the Long Beach Shoreline Drive straightaway in his Pacific Coast Motorsports Panoz DP01 Image Credit: Andy Sallee - TSO Photographer (2008)

It’s All, Or ALL – "Nothing" Is NOT An Option At Pacific Coast Motorsports

… or, when the pure love of motorsport meets a strong management style.

This year, 2008 has been quite a year for Pacific Coast Motorsports. It started off smooth enough, the kick-off party at the Hard Rock Hollywood was a complete success. Members of the C-300 volunteer group in Long Beach, luminaries’ from the Grand Prix of Long Beach Association, card carrying Screen Actors Guild members, photographers, and fans enjoyed themselves under the guitar and beside the Atlantic racing cars before retiring inside for food and chat.

At that time, back in the middle of February, Pacific Coast Motorsports, under the management of team president, Tyler Tadevic, had plans to compete successfully in two major American open-wheel series. After all, in 2004, the team had put together a series championship winning campaign with Jon Fogarty and was looking to do the same in the ChampCar World Series after what the team had learned from completing its first season in 2007 with a two car, three driver effort with Alex Figge, Ryan Dalziel, and later, ChampCar veteran Mario Dominguez.

Frankie Muniz made a big improvement over his Long Beach debut last year by starting ten positions ahead in the field and finishing four over his 2007 result. “Frankie struggled initially, but by the end of the second qualifying session, he was less than a second off of the pole, and we think that is pretty good for a driver who is only in his third year of racing. It is a big improvement over last year when he was three seconds off of the pole. I am really proud of him.” said PCM Team Owner, Tyler Tadevic. Image Credit: PCM Website (2008)

In about the time it took the PCM transporter to leave Oxnard and drive to Sebring for the first at speed testing for the Atlantic series where Frankie Muniz (yes that, "Malcom In The Middle" star, Frankie Muniz), and Carl Skerlong were anxious to get the season started … an announcement came down that the CCWS would merge with the Indy Racing League starting immediately.

The investment in equipment and relationships that had been forged over previous years that were planned out and put in place, in order to compete at the highest levels of professional motorsports had to be totally re-assessed in a bizarre game of high-stakes 52 card pick-up.

What was once viewed as a 2008 sophomore season chase toward a championship title with American born driver (a dwindling breed) Alex Figge, just became a rookie motorsports competition effort with new equipment, new tracks, new rules, and no driver, no sponsor. All of this with the prospect of having to run one last race through the streets of Long Beach in about two months.

See you all on Shoreline Drive …

Mario Dominguez with outgoing Pacific Coast Motorsports Team Owner, Tom Figge during the Third Place Podium Finish Trophy presentation ceremony at the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Andy Sallee - TSO Photographer (2008)

This edited and excerpted from Racer Magazine -

SPECIAL: PCM - Poster Child of What’s Possible
Written by: David Phillips - Senior writer, RACER Magazine - http://www.racer.com - 04/29/2008 - 04:50 PM - Oxnard, Calif.

The situation is rather different at Pacific Coast Motorsports, where the IndyCar Series’ newest team owner – former team president Tyler Tadevic – has gone into hock up to (and past) his ears to field a pair of Dallara-Hondas for the coming season. And even that wouldn’t have been nearly enough but for the 11th hour arrival of the “Visit Mexico” sponsorship program, courtesy of driver Mario Dominguez and the Tourism Bureau of Mexico City.

Then again, the fact that a team is competing in the 2008 IndyCar Series thanks largely to sponsorship may be the most encouraging sign yet of the altered financial dynamics wrought by the reunification of Indy car racing.

“You look at the other teams and most of those other teams had some sort of investor to facilitate the move from Champ Car,” Tadevic observes. “But ours is one of the only ones that’s set up 100% on sponsorship, sponsorship derived from a driver who went out and sold the program. I like to think of us as the poster child of what is possible.”

Truthfully, PCM is already something of a poster child for the shifting sands of American racing in the 21st century. Founded in 2003 by banker Tom Figge in support of his son Alex’s racing career.
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PCM then ran the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am GT in ’05 before finishing the year in Daytona Prototypes. A full season of Daytona Prototypes followed with another one in the cards for ’07 until a chance meeting between Tom Figge and Kalkhoven led PCM down the Champ Car path.
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PCM entered into a partnership with Shane Seneviratne to bring the US RaceTronics Atlantic team under its wings [for 2008].
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[The CCWS/IRL merge agreement] spelled the end for the Figges’ cycle of investment, liquidation and re-investment . . . and the emergence of Tadevic as the new owner of the team.
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“I was able to put myself as far in hock as my creditors would allow me,” Tadevic continues. “I scraped up the sums necessary to buy the company out. Mr. Figge was gracious enough to allow me to do so, and when we parted ways I sort of went all in. As I explained to everybody, ‘I’m all in on a pair of twos!’ I’m either gonna get another two on the draw or I’m gonna have to fold and find something else to do!”

Fortunately, Dominguez arrived with that missing two with a three to boot – as in a third-place finish in the Champ Car swan song at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The deuce? That would be the Visit Mexico sponsorship.

Mario Dominguez at the announcement of the "Visit Mexico City" sponsorship in Mexico City. Image Credit: PCM Website (2008)

“All kudos go to Mario,” says Tadevic. “He’s been working on this program with Mexico City and he was good enough to give us the opportunity to meet with those people.
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“The program has a lot of potential going forward. We are extremely proud, not only to have Mario but to represent a city the likes of Mexico City.
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PCM will have to make due with two “used” cars that only arrived at its shop in Oxnard, Calif., the Wednesday before the Long Beach race. The team unloaded its two Dallara-Hondas from the transporter, loaded two Panoz-Cosworths and headed down the coast to Long Beach where Dominguez capped a highly competitive weekend with a fine third place.

Although Tadevic sees Long Beach as a sign of PCM’s growing maturity, he is also keenly aware of the monumental challenge that remains, one that includes not only the IndyCar Series but PCM’s continuing relationship with Seneviratne and US RaceTronics.

“I think our results at Long Beach really indicate we’re taking some significant steps forward,” Tadevic says. “We were really looking forward to running a Champ Car in ’08 as one of the teams to be contended with.”
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“First, we’re not exactly ‘newbies’ when it comes to doing something new and second, with the Atlantic program we’re proud to keep that going and we’re thankful to Mazda and Cooper Tires to keep that series up and running. Third, over the winter, we hired some really capable people with IRL and oval experience, including Didier Francesia a chief mechanic from Target/Ganassi, and we have (crew chief) Roy Wilkerson and (mechanic) Chuck Miller who were with us last year and have a significant number of Indy 500s and time in the IRL under their belts.

“Then, engineering-wise, we brought on Gerald Tyler, who has a ton of oval experience in Indy Lights and Champ Car. It’s the same with our general manager, Michael Harvey. So I think we’re better prepared personnel-wise for the IRL than a lot of other teams. Can we be ‘best of the rest?’ I think we can and I think what we did in Long Beach displays that. As an organization we’re really matured and I think we’re ready to make that next step.”
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“I’ve become pretty good friends with Michael Cannon, race engineer at HVM,” says Tadevic. “Michael told me the other day, ‘You’re the most ambitious man in motorsports.’ I think what he was really saying was that I’m either the most ambitious man in motorsports – or the stupidest. But we’ll see. All I can say for now is that failure is not in the scope of things.
Reference Here>>

Mario Dominguez (center) and Tyler Tadevic (right, sunglasses) celebrates a third place podium finish with the team of Pacific Coast Motorsports at Long Beach. Image Credit: PCM Website (2008)

The key to Pacific Coast Motorsports and Tyler Tadevic's management style (and the absolute love of the competition provided through racing automobiles) can be found in this Tadevic statement, “Every off-season we liquidated what assets we had procured for the series for the season before and throw those funds back towards a new series.

We’d go backwards a bit every time, but not as much as you might think when we were able to take our capital investments and basically roll them into the next investment throughout that entire time.”

It is this tough but smart management strategy through the years at Pacific Coast Motorsports that has allowed Mario Dominguez, at this very moment, to pursue the lifelong dream of competing at the Indianapolis 500. The dream begins Sunday, May 4, with the gates at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track open for spectators from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. ... with the Rookie Orientation Program on track from noon-5 p.m.

We, here at The EDJE, are doubleing down on the success of Tyler Tadevic and the Oxnard, California based team at Pacific Coast Motorsports.

... notes from The EDJE

Z06 E85 Vette, Emmo - 2008 Indy 500 Pace Car Combo

2008 Indianapolis 500 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Cars - The convertable will pace the race from the start of the race until lap 100. The hardtop will pace the race from lap 101 until the end (presumed lap 200). Image Credit: automotoportal.com

Z06 E85 Corvette, Emerson Fittipaldi - 2008 Indy 500 Pace Car Combo

The Indy 500 has announced two Chevrolet Corvettes will serve as this year's pace car, with former champ Emerson Fittipaldi as the driver.

This is Chevrolet's 19th time serving as the race's official pace vehicle and the 10th time a Corvette has been used. To start the race, Fittipaldi will drive an ethanol-powered Corvette Z06 E85 concept car.

Emerson Fittipaldi honored to drive the concept E85 Corvette pace cars for the 2008 Indy 500. Image Credit: General Motors–Global via The EDJE

The next vehicle he will drive is a special edition Corvette, designed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1978 Corvette Indy 500 pace car.
[Source: General Motors – Global – via The EDJE]


Mad Max Papis Rides Shotgun In Pace Vette At 180 mph

... notes from The EDJE

Road Runner Turbo 300 at Kansas Speedway

Dan Wheldon celebrated after winning the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 on Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Image Credit: MIKE RANSDELL The Kansas City Star

Road Runner Turbo 300 at Kansas Speedway

The race broadcast was delayed due to a playoff in the LPGA Golf event in Miami being shown on ESPN2.

The broadcast begins with the race in its second Yellow Flag caution period brought about by T-Team Will Power KV Racing Technology driver spinning and hitting the wall. Not a great start for the Round Three winner of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the last ChampCar World Series event. The two open-wheel racing series are fully united beginning with this oval race.

Simon Morely of Luczo Dragon/Symantec Racing takes a hit, and keeps on ticking.
On the second yellow flag, brought about when last week’ race winner in Long Beach, Will Power spun and tapped the wall, which sparked a round of pit stops, Tomas Scheckter - Luczo Dragon/Symantec Racing, pulled in and was having his tires changed; Marty Roth locked up his rear wheels and hit the pit crew worker, Simon Morely, working on the right front of Schsckter’s car.

Marty Roth drops out after 57 laps with balance problems (the lack of balance probably helped with his spin earlier).

T-Team driver, EJ Viso - HVM Racing, of Caracas, Venezuela started 17th and climbed to 8th on lap 63 … 7th on 65

Green flag pit stops – lap 76 Milka Duno - Dreyer & Reibold Racing, spins car in pits.

Conquest Racing has had problems all race beginning with Ernesto Bernoldi spinning in the first laps and then on lap 84 Jaime Camara pulled into the pits with a problem.

Near halfway at lap 95, Target teammates are walking away from the field in lockstep. Dixon and Weldon, running about a quarter a second apart and at least seven seconds ahead.

Viso and Scheckter collect each other while Tomas was passing along the top. EJ’s right front notched in front of Tomas’s left rear at lap 99. EJ Viso solders on after a change of flat spotted tires. Tomas Scheckter is not so lucky - OUT.

Justin Wilson benefits from the yellow flag and makes up one lap.

Vitor Miera in the Delphi/National Guard car, while pulling out of the pits, taps one of Buddy Rice’s laid out tires and bends the left front suspension – OUT.

Green, Green, Green on lap 106 – Tony Kanaan - Andretti Green Racing, and Helio Castroneves - Penske Racing, get a jump. EJ Viso – HVM Racing, is one lap down but gets an impressive run as well.

Viso begins to block Ed Carpenter around lap 110, almost catches a black flag but is contacted on the radio and reminded of the rules.

Lap 120, Newman/Haas/Flannigan Racing teammates Graham Rahal and Justin Wilson run side-by-side at 13 and 14 on the lead lap about 7 seconds behind.

The compound of the tires is the same as they used at Homestead - Hard. The temperatures at Kansas being in the high 50’s to very low 60’s are having the tires take a while longer to heat up.

Danica Patrick – Andretti Green Racing, saves her car in a three wide racing incident when she was caught on the outside of Marco Annette while he was passing Mario Moraes. Patrick slid up the track missing the wall and saves the car.

Lap 148 finds Scott Dixon – Target Chip Ganassi Racing, leading teammate Dan Weldon by less than a half a second followed by Tony Kanaan of AGR.

Green flag pit stops are anticipated in 5-6 laps. Ed Carpenter - Vision Racing, reached fourth place and pitted, Buddy Rice – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, brings out a yellow flag at lap 153 by hitting the wall. EJ Viso pulled into the wrong stall (Vision Racing) and further messed up Ed Carpenter’s pit stop.

Pits Closed, Dixon was in when the Yellow Flag came out but took fuel only, other cars pull in while the pits are closed to get a splash of fuel which is allowed.

Patrick has a poor pit stop when the right rear tire could not get remounted. The mounting studs had been worn down when the previous mounting was placed on the axel mount plate, loosely. Danica Patrick – OUT.

Ed Carpenter looses a lap after being counted for the fourth position before the fourth caution and pit mishaps. Carpenter takes the restart on lap 173 of 200 at P9. Dixon has to restart in P7 because of the in pit Yellow timing.

An interview with Patrick has her mention that the close racing with Scheckter is to be expected. Asked about the racing closeness with Tomas Scheckter and EJ Viso, Danica stated: “I always expect Scheckter to drive like that. ...

... And that Viso, I don’t know who he is even. He’s new and he’s got a pretty fast car. He’s learning the ropes of this oval racing. He almost put me in the wall at one point. I was like, ‘Look dude, you’re new. You better be nice because we all know how to handle this a little better than you do at this point.’ It’s all right. You got some newcomers and they’re going to be trying to push it. They’re not going to know how. They’re not going to know what they can and can’t do. There’s a lot of etiquette to learn in oval racing. It takes a little time. Yeah, there was close racing out there, but didn’t end up racing close at the end."

Nine cars on the lead lap of seventeen cars still on the track. Dan Weldon gets a good start. EJ Viso gets a stop and go penalty for the pitstop mishap with Carpenter.

Dixon has trouble getting around AGR/Panasonic Rookie Mutoh on lap 178.

Scott Dixon catches up to the two Penske cars and he clears them in a one lap short order. Dixon now third and behind four seconds.

With fourteen laps to go its Weldon, Kanaan at .031 behind, with Dixon about one straightaway behind.

Dixon is catching up running at 212 mph but there is not enough laps left for him to change position.

Carpenter runs out of fuel at lap 194. In and out of the pits.
Kanaan looses ground to Weldon in the next to the last lap and Dan Weldon coasts on to win.

Interviews and Reactions:

The incident on lap 153 set the table for the end of the race.

Dan Weldon becomes the first repeat winner at Kansas Speedway in the history of the track. This is also a first win for Dan Weldon after he became a married man. “This is good leading into Indianapolis”, stated Dan. The win brings him to third in points after four rounds.

Tony Kanaan complains about being held up in the final laps and wonders why that has to happen while one is racing for the win. He said, “What comes around goes around.”

EJ Viso was happy with the car and the performance in the race. “I just got confused and made a mistake”, said Viso of the pit stall mix-up with the Ed Carpenter pit on lap 153.

Scott Dixon has three strong performances in four races and gets bit again when the yellow flag flies while he is in the pits … and looses position.

Pos. - Driver - Team - Laps Completed
1. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 200
2. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 200
3. Scott Dixon Ganassi 200
4. Helio Castroneves Penske 200
5. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 200
6. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 200
7. Ryan Briscoe Penske 200
8. A.J. Foyt IV Vision 200
9. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan 199
10. Ed Carpenter Vision 198
11. Oriol Servia KV 198
12. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 198
13. Jay Howard Roth 197
14. EJ Viso HVM 197
15. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 196
16. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 195
17. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne 193
18. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman 169
19. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 156
20. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 150
21. Jaime Camara Conquest 150
22. Vitor Meira Panther 101
23. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon 96
24. Darren Manning Foyt 76
25. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest 54
26. Marty Roth Roth 41
27. Will Power KV 22
(ht: autosport.com)

The “Fine Nine” faired as follows:

Justin Wilson, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, breaks into the top ten with a P9 - 1 Lap Down

Oriol Servia, KV Racing Technology – P11 – 2 Laps Down

Graham Rahal, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing – P12 - 2 Laps Down

EJ Viso, HVM Racing – P14 – 3 Laps Down

Bruno Junqueira, Dale Coyne Racing – P15 - 4 Laps Down

Mario Moraes, Dale Coyne Racing – P17 - 7 Laps Down

Jaime Camara, Conquest Racing – P21 - 50 Laps Down

Enrique Bernoldi, Conquest Racing – P25 - 146 Laps Down

Will Power, KV Racing Technology – P27 - 178 Laps Down

Starting with the Indianapolis 500, Pacific Coast Motorsports with Mario Dominguez will become the tenth T-Team driver to join the 2008 season.

A good first truly unified race going into the month of May and the ramp-up to the INDY 500. Rookie orientation (which means most of the Fine Nine) will begin in one week and 14 cars are expected on the track.

... notes from The EDJE

INDY Road Runner Turbo 300 - Kansas Qualifying

Kansas Speedway seats nearly 82,000 spectators in the grandstands, but will eventually expand to 150,000. The facility has fan friendly access to 65 rows of seating, with a unique ground level concourse that allows spectators to walk down 30 rows (on grade) or up 35 rows (on structure). Image Credit: Kansas Speedway

INDY Road Runner Turbo 300 - Kansas Qualifying

Round Four of Eighteen - Kansas - Oval Track

Final grid:
(ht: Atlas F1 Bulletin Board)

SP Car Driver Team Time Speed

1 9 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:42.3014 213.956

2 10 Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:42.4521 213.641

3 7 Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing 1:42.6519 213.225

4 12 Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon Racing 1:42.8753 212.762

5 2 A.J. Foyt IV Vision Racing 1:43.0132 212.478

6 20 Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 1:43.0503 212.401

7 25 Marty Roth Roth Racing 1:43.1568 212.182

8 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 1:43.2072 212.078

9 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 1:43.2556 211.979

10 4 Vitor Meira Panther Racing 1:43.3219 211.843

11 11 Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing 1:43.3409 211.804

12 17 Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman Racing 1:43.4008 211.681

13 27 R Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing 1:43.5646 211.346

14 26 Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing 1:43.6088 211.256

15 24 R Jay Howard Roth Racing 1:43.9230 210.617

16 14 Darren Manning AJ Foyt Racing 1:44.0597 210.341

17 33 R EJ Viso HVM Racing 1:44.1730 210.112

18 8 R Will Power KV Racing 1:44.1833 210.091

19 34 R Jaime Camara Conquest Racing 1:44.2671 209.922

20 6 R Graham Rahal Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:44.3284 209.799

21 15 Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 1:44.3448 209.766

22 2 R Justin Wilson Newman Haas Lanigan Racing 1:44.5248 209.405

23 5 Oriol Servia KV Racing 1:44.6076 209.239

24 23 Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 1:44.9702 208.516

25 36 R Enrique Bernoldi Conquest Racing 1:45.0075 208.442

26 18 Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing 1:45.2198 208.022

27 19 R Mario Moraes Dale Coyne Racing No speed No time

Grid Notes:

- Ganassi Racing strong

- Penske Racing 8th and 9th?.....

- Vision Racing continues their strong showing this year

- Kanaan sounded severely pissed off during live streaming, saying the team really needed to notch up a gear or two as the car was just SLOW. Danica in third when the other three Andretti Greens trail behind in 11th, 13th and 14th.

- Roth Racing's Marty Roth in 7th. What the heck?

- Healthy grid number

- Transition teams from ChampCar do no better than 17th after posting a high of 12th at Homestead (17,18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, … 27 may be out due to repairs - crash)

But as Scott Dixon told the pit reporter: "Qualifying doesn't mean a lot at Kansas, you can start last and still work your way up the field and win."
Reference Here>>

... Notes from The EDJE

Pacific Coast Motorsports To Join The IRL Frey

Pacific Coast Motorsports To Join The IRL Frey

Fresh off of a podium finish at the last and final ChampCar World Series race held on the streets of Long Beach April 20th, 2008, Mario Dominguez and Pacific Coast Motorsports appear to be on the verge of pushing the chips to the middle of the table for a run at the IndyCar Racing League 2008 Championship season.

At Long Beach, the team showed its potential and Dominguez spoke of possibly returning to race at the Indianapolis 500.

"Knock on wood, we'll be there with Pacific Coast Motorsports and myself as a driver by the Indy 500," he said. "Every since I can remember, I've always wanted to race in the Indy 500."

"It is a sad moment for me because I will miss Champ Car, I loved Champ Car and I will always be so proud to have won in Champ Car. But, there has to be one series; that is very clear.

"The future is bright, I am sad but at the same time happy, in the end, the fans will be the winners and that is terrific and I hope to be part of that. This is where I made my name and this is where I made my career, but my future starts right now."

Pacific Coast Motorsports would join KV Racing Technology, Conquest Racing (with consulting services from Forsythe Performance Research - a redirected Forsythe Racing effort), Dale Coyne Racing, Newman/Haas/Lanigan and HVM Racing as former ChampCar teams who have made the transition.

With three race weekend races in the can, Mario and PCM will be starting out not as far behind as one might think.

Now, if only they can get credit for the points earned by the third place showing at the Long Beach Grand Prix!

Details to follow ...

UPDATE - April 23, 2008:


Image Credit: PCM (2008)

Pacific Coast Motorsports is pleased to announce their entry into the IndyCar Series, with Mario Dominguez driving the #96 Visit Mexico City/PCM/Dallara.

The Mexico City Tourism Board is the primary sponsor of the PCM entry and the program will commence with the 2008 Indy 500. PCM team owner Tyler Tadevic joined Mario Dominguez and representatives of the Mexico City Tourism Board at a press conference in Mexico City this morning.

Mexico City ’s Vice Minister of Tourism, Flavio Abed commented on the program, “For the city of Mexico City , this motorsports project represents an extraordinary opportunity to promote another face of our city and to show the world everything this great city has to offer. Mexico City is one of the more important destinations in Latin America , not only for business, but also for pleasure. Mexico City is rich with history and features beautiful parks, theatres, museums and cultural destinations. Mario is very important to this city and we are excited to promote our city to the IndyCar audience through this program.”

Dominguez drove for the Southern California-based team in the Champ Car finale last weekend at the Long Beach Grand Prix and awarded the team with their first Champ Car podium, “We are very excited, and proud to announce our partnership with the Mexico City Tourism Board and Mario Dominguez. We see this much more as a partnership than typical sponsorship,” said Team Owner Tyler Tadevic. He continued, “With our recent success at the Long Beach Grand Prix and with Mario giving me my first podium as a team owner, we couldn’t be more excited, and we can’t wait to get started. This program is an extension of our belief in the Hispanic market and of our belief the Hispanic fans have for Open-Wheel racing and Mario in-particular. This Hispanic demographic is the fastest growing market in the United States and a very important fan-base for the IndyCar Series.”

Mario Dominguez, 32 is a native of Mexico City . He was honored with the title of “Official Driver of Mexico City” last fall by Mayor Marcello Ebrard. Dominguez will make his rookie debut in the IndyCar series at the world’s most famous motorsports event, the Indy 500.

“I am very excited about this new project. Racing in the Indy 500 is a childhood dream of mine. I understand I have a big responsibility since I will be driving the Mexico City car. I will be representing the colors of my city and my country in the most important racing series in North America,” said Dominguez. “I am very excited to continue my efforts with PCM. We just finished on the podium this weekend and that shows that we are competitive and can be champions together. Antonio Morron my manager and I have been working on this for a long while and we are very grateful the Mexico City Tourism Board saw the potential in this opportunity to promote Mexico City as the great tourism destination that it is. I also want to thank Mr. Alejandro Rojos, the Minister of Tourism of Mexico City, and Mr. Flavio Abed for the confidence they have placed in me. I will work as hard as I can on and off the track to give Mexico City the results that it deserves.”
Pacific Coast Motorsports has received two Dallara chassis. The team will debut the #96 entry with Dominguez at Rookie orientation at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 4, 2008.

Formed in 2002 and based in Oxnard, California, Pacific Coast Motorsports are champions on the track and in the marketplace. The 2004 Toyota Atlantic Champions have competed in a diverse array of motorsports challenges, from open wheel to sports car racing and succeeded in every discipline. Off the track, PCM has been sponsored by some of the countries most recognizable names, from Imperial Capital Bank ... to Menards, TECATE and Vonage ... to Uniden --- and now, Mexico City D.F.

OLE'!

... notes from The EDJE

Grand Prix of Long Beach 2008 – An International Podium

Race winner Will Power gets doused with a victory magnum of champagne by runner-up Franck Montagny and third place finisher, Mario Dominguez on the podium of the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Grand Prix of Long Beach 2008 – An International Podium

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was a good race and a nice parade lap for the final event of the American open-wheel racing series known simply as ChampCar.

In this video taken from the press conference that featured the podium finishers of this final race featuring the rules, equipment, teams and drivers of the ChampCar World Series (CCWS), Australian Will Power, Swiss/Frenchman Franck Montagny, and Mexican born Mario Dominguez share their reflections and insights. The CCWS was an American rules sanctioning motorsports series which stressed racing in venues that optimized driver skill on temporary street courses, airport runways, closed road circuits, in North America and international localities.

Fred Nation, Executive Vice-President of Communications, Indy Racing League. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

The press conference was conducted by the Fred Nation, Executive Vice-President of Communications of the now ruling sanctioning organization, the Indy Racing League. The IRL will stage the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2009 and beyond for at least the next ten years.

The conference opens with third place finisher, Mario Dominguez – Pacific Coast Motorsports. Mario discusses the car, the team and the fact that he had not been in an open-wheel racing machine in over six months.

Second place finisher, former Formula One driver Franck Montagny, in his first Champ Car start … and finish reflects on why he chose this series to compete in.

Race winner, Will Power, who started third in the 20-car field discussed the importance of his start.

Full Post-Race Transcript>>

The DP01 of Paul Tracy in Technical for specification check. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

This excerpted from the Press Telegram –

Will Power wins Grand Prix
By Mike Harris, AP Auto Racing Writer - Article Launched: 04/21/2008 06:58:30 AM PDT

Will Power led most of the way Sunday in the streets of Long Beach, winning the final race of the Champ Car World Series, the last remaining remnant of the 12-year rivalry between the newly unified American open-wheel series.
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Danica Patrick reaches for a drink of water during press conference at the Long Beach Grand Prix venue.Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Less than 24 hours after a historic IRL victory by Danica Patrick, the first woman to win an IndyCar race, the final race for the series that began as CART in 1979 was run before a large, appreciative crowd. That included Patrick, who arrived after a 12-hour plane ride looking refreshed and very happy midway through the event.

Power, who started third in the 20-car field, spoiled the show a bit, though, jumping into the lead with a great start and leading most of the 83-lap, 1-hour, 45-minute timed race.

"Yeah, it was a very nice day, really good start, good pit strategy and we were very quick," Power said. "I just want to thank (my team owners and team). I feel really happy for them and the team to win the last Champ Car race."

He added, "We had problems all weekend, just little problems. But we fixed everything for the race. My engineer did a great job, the car was nice and it all came together in the race. I was just cool in the car, relaxed. When it comes together, it just comes together nicely."
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Post Race Timing & Scoring display in the press room at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Twelve of the drivers in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach do not currently have rides in the IRL, but two of them, former Formula One driver Franck Montagny, in his first Champ Car start, finished second, followed by longtime Champ Car star Mario Dominguez.

Rookie Enrique Bernoldi and Oriol Servia, both transitional drivers, finished fourth and fifth.

Graham Rahal, the 19-year-old son of longtime racing star Bobby Rahal, who became the youngest driver ever to win a major open-wheel race two weeks ago in the IRL event in St. Petersburg, Fla., spun twice and finished 13th on Sunday.

The youngster had moved back up to seventh when he spun trying to pass Franck Perera, another transitional driver, for position on the last lap.

Justin Wilson, the driver who replaced Sebastien Bourdais, who won the last three Long Beach races for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, started from the pole but lost the lead to Power moments after the green flag and wound up completing only 12 laps before going out with a mechanical problem.

Jimmy Vasser in the pits. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Former CART champions Jimmy Vasser, who came out of a two-year retirement to drive here, and Paul Tracy, who didn't have a ride until earlier this week, finished on the lead lap in 10th and 11th.
Reference Here>>

The “Fine Nine” is what we, here at The EDJE, have dubbed the drivers who were able to secure seats with teams that were formed to compete in the now merged ChampCar World Series.

The current standings after three race weekends in the Indy Racing League are as follows:

Position. Fine Nine Driver / Team / Season Championship Points / Pts. Behind Leader

5. Will Power / KV Racing Technology / 87 / -25
7. Enrique Bernoldi / Conquest Racing / 74 / -38
8. Oriol Servia / KV Racing Technology / 74 / -38
10. Graham Rahal / Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing / 70 / -42
12. EJ Viso / HVM Racing / 67 / -45
16. Franck Perera / Conquest Racing / 56 / -56
19. Justin Wilson / Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing / 49 / -63
23. Bruno Junqueira / Dale Coyne Racing / 42 / -70
26. Mario Moraes / Dale Coyne Racing / 28 / -84

So the transition drivers account for four of the top ten positions in the chase for the series championship after only three races. Not bad for all of the sad predictions of how well ChampCar teams and drivers would fair in the new, bigger, unified Indy Racing Series.

This will be the first and only season where the term Merge and Transition will make any difference at all. T-Teams and Established Teams (or E-Teams) for this season are a statistical side-bar and a study in motivation dynamics for those who enjoy the “inside baseball” nature of motorsports.

Special message written on the back of pit crew uniform at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

The final ChampCar sanctioned Long Beach Grand Prix by any measure was a grand success ... from the large, enthusiastic crowds, competition for a podium position at the end of the race, an international podium, a surprise appearance by the first female to ever win a major professional open-wheel racing series race in Danica Patrick, plus positive wishes from the ChampCar drivers, teams, and fans for a great IndyCar Racing Series championship in the unified season ahead for 2008.

… notes from The EDJE