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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This excerpted from a Pacific Coast Motorsports Press Release –

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

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

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

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

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

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

This excerpted from Speed TV -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

… notes from The EDJE

Panasonic Toyota Racing & The Dark Knight at Silverstone

Batmobile Facts: The Batmobile is around 10 feet at its widest point, 15 feet long and 5 feet high. It runs on unleaded fuel and weighs 2.5 tons. The vehicle has six wheels - two in the front, outfitted with sprint car race tires, and four at the back, which utilize monster truck tires. The Batmobile has no front axle. The absence of a front axle enables the Batmobile to make extremely tight turns. It can jump 4 feet to nearly 6 feet and has jumped a distance of nearly 60 feet. Image Credit: F1-Live, DPPI

Panasonic Toyota Racing joined forces with The Dark Knight at Silverstone

Thanks to a partnership between Panasonic Toyota Racing and Warner Bros. Pictures, Hollywood came to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix weekend to celebrate the release of the event movie of the summer: The Dark Knight.

The much-anticipated film, which is set to release in cinemas across the USA this weekend on July 18 and throughout the UK, July 25, is the follow up to the 2005 action hit Batman Begins.

The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who again portrays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers, Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli pictured with the Batmobile and Bat-Pod vehicles featured in Batman: The Dark Knight Image Credit: F1-Live, DPPI

To mark the release of The Dark Knight, Panasonic Toyota Racing adopted a new look at Silverstone over the British Grand Prix weekend which coincided our 4th of July weekend here in the US. The Dark Knight artwork was featured on the TF108s and the overalls of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, as well as the team's motor home.

Batman logo image overlayed on black painted "winglet" aero package element on the F1 TF108 chassis. Image Credit: XPB

On show at Silverstone were the iconic Batmobile and Bat-Pod vehicles, while some very special media events brought the excitement of The Dark Knight to life.

The Dark Knight Batmobile (rear view) in for a quick, Formula 1 style pitstop with the team of Panasonic Toyota Racing at Silverstone. Image Credit: F1-Live, DPPI

... notes from The EDJE

German GP 2008 – A Home Run For Timo

Since the season began back in March, Timo has developed a great relationship with the team, who of course work hand in hand with him to get maximum performance from the TF108. Timo won at the circuit as recently as 2006, in his first season of GP2. He has already shown everyone at Panasonic Toyota Racing the talent which saw him crowned GP2 champion in 2007 and his ability and work rate has quickly impressed his team-mates. Image Credit: Panasonic Toyota Racing

German GP 2008 – A Home Run For Timo

Please excuse the baseball reference, but the fact that Timo Glock has had a history driving in ChampCar throughout North America it just felt appropriate.

This excerpted from Wikipedia –

In 2005, Glock shifted his racing career to the United States, racing in the Champ Car World Series with Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports team.

His best finish of the year was a second place finish at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on August 28, where he was defeated by Oriol Servia.

In the closing laps of the race Glock twice managed to retain the lead over Servia by missing the track's final chicane. As the rules require drivers who blatantly gain or retain a position by driving off the racing surface to give way, Timo was asked to move over by Champ Car officials, and let Servia take the lead. Timo obliged midway through the final lap, giving him enough time to try and take the lead back, but to no avail.

Glock went on to finish 8th in the final season points standings and win Champ Car World Series Rookie of the Year honors.
Reference Here>>

This weekend, Timo returns home for the Formula 1 German Grand Prix. Timo Glock (born March 18, 1982 in Lindenfels, Germany) considers Hockenheim a home race for him, and that means not only will he be on familiar territory, he will have plenty of familiar faces to cheer him on as he looks for another points finish. “A lot of friends are coming down and a lot of people I know,” he says. “That makes it quite a special race.”

Of course, the ambition for any racing driver is to win, so it is no surprise Hockenheim is one of Timo’s favorite tracks, with a victory and third place on his last visits, as a GP2 Series driver in 2006 and 2007, adding to an expanding collection of happy memories.

“Every time I’ve been to Hockenheim I have had really good races and I’ve won a few times,” he adds. “It’s one of the best races of the year for me, not just because it’s my local track but also because I have been strong there.”

Not only is Hockenheim a home race for Timo, it is the start of the second half of his first full season as a Formula 1 racer.

So far the balance sheet says nine races and five points, but bare statistics only tell a fraction of the story. Timo has shown strong performance since the very start of the season and only bad luck denied him points on his Panasonic Toyota Racing debut in Australia.

A points finish was also looking certain in Bahrain until gearbox gremlins struck but in Canada he got the break his consistent performances deserved, capping a battling drive with fourth place.

The fight for points is fiercer than ever this season, making it tough for a young driver to regularly finish in the top eight when he must compete against a grid filled with 10 Grand Prix winners, including his experienced and brilliantly quick team-mate Jarno Trulli.

That is a formidable challenge, but one which Timo has risen to since joining the team at the beginning of the year. Formula 1 is more complex than a driver simply sitting behind the wheel and letting his talent do the talking; much more work is required to compete at the top – and that suits Timo the “terrier”.
(ht: Toyota Motorsport GmbH)

... 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

Locked & Loaded - PCM Rejoins The Fray At Watkins Glen

Pacific Coast Motorsports' primary transporter parked alongside the Ventura County headquarters location getting filled with the tools for the rest of the 2008 ICS season. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Locked & Loaded - PCM Rejoins The Fray At Watkins Glen

Mario Dominguez and the team of Pacific Coast Motorsports Racing will return to IndyCar Series action for 2008 this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

PCM last competed at Texas Motor Speedway where Dominguez started 24th and finished 21st in the 28-car field. The team remained at their Southern California, Ventura County-based headquarters throughout the month of June to prepare for the remainder of their modified season. This activity included becoming more familiar with the Dallara chassis and building a back-up car for competition.

One of two Visit Mexico City Dallara chassis in the process of being put together piece by piece to compete for the rest of the 2008 ICS season. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

This weekend’s Camping World Grand Prix will be Mario’s first time on the historic track, but the PCM team is familiar with the venue, they raced there twice in 2006 while competing in the Rolex Grand Am series, and earned two top-ten finishes. They finished eighth in the sprint race and 10th in the six-hour event.

It is interesting to note that Dominguez scored 11 of his Champ Car podiums on road or street courses.

Michael Mihalka, Data Engineer and Tyler Tadevic, Owner and PCM Team President discuss the web of communications and on-track data options at the headquarters facility before resuming the 2008 ICS season at Watkins Glen. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Dominguez will arrive at Watkins Glen from Edmonton , Alberta , Canada on Thursday. A “transition” driver from Champ Car, Dominguez has two top-ten finishes, including a fifth Rexall Grand Prix’s at the Edmonton City Centre Airport and spent the day Wednesday promoting next month’s event.

"I am so excited to race at Watkins Glen. It is a track that I have always wanted to compete on and I always hoped I would get the opportunity.", said Mario Dominguez this week.

Mario Dominguez walking to his car in the pits, escorted by PCM Team Manager Michael Harvey at Texas Motor Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

"We’ve spent the last week strengthening our program and I’ve been training up to three hours everyday, so we are ready for our return to IndyCar action.", Mario continued.

"The last time we were on a road/street circuit we finished on the podium, which was at the Champ Car finale in Long Beach in April. Even though we’ve been racing on ovals most recently, I’ve logged hundreds of miles on my go-kart practice the road course techniques.

We are certainly hoping for and planning for a successful weekend in the Visit Mexico City car.".

So are we, here at The EDJE, Mario, so are we.

At Watkins Glen ... it is back to full strength for the "T-Team Ten"!

... 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.
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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