Edmonton INDY - Play By Play Via Tweet By Tweet

Race Start: Will Power, Team Penske leads the field to the Checkered Flag at the Rexall Edmonton INDY at the Edmonton City Centre Airport. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2009)

Edmonton INDY - Play By Play Via Tweet By Tweet

The Edmonton INDY is in the middle of a three-year contract to bring the race to Edmonton. It would be a shame to see this Canadian venue go by the way of, say, Vancouver. Edmonton has been one of the better temporary courses ever set up and is similar to the type of race that another defunct venue had in Cleveland Burke Lakefront airport.

Edmonton INDY is the 11th race of the IndyCar Series 2009 season and it has been another tough year for the fortunes of the Transition Players with only one consistent highlight ... flashes of brilliance from Will Power, Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, and Paul Tracy but little in the way of consistency.

Will Power, driving for Penske Racing, has been a consistent performer but due to contract issues with Penske ... has not been able to actually race consistently with only five appearances in races so far this season. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2009)

Order given to have drivers to the cars!

This excerpted and edited from Twitter, IndyCar Live Timing and Scoring, and various digital resources -

IndyCarNationDrivers introductions have begun at Edmonton City Centre Airport. Second of four Snowbirds flybys will be 15 minutes.
FuriousWedgewhat a concept, VS giving more coverage & explanation to the Dario-PT pit order issue than ABC did, and ABC were the ones covering that race
CrashGladysOh man, my Helio 'I love Canada' bit just cut out... hopefully it wasn't my DVR! I was wanting to hear that bit... #indycar

15:44:58 GMT-0600 Lap 0: All cars are away from the grid for the pack laps. Green flag 2nd time by.

15:48:55 GMT-0600 Lap 0: Mario Moraes has some damage after going off course.

IndyCarPRLap 1: #5 Moraes is off course in Turn 5 with damage to the car. #24 Conway off course in Turn 14.

Will Power leads the way on the first lap

luczodragonRear suspension was bent in the turn, he's coming in

15:53:36 GMT-0600 Lap 5: The lead has dropped to around one second.

VisionRacing10 laps in + Will Power is leader. Red car. Red car. Red car. (Normally) Red Car. But OH CANADA!! PT is P6 + looking to get in the mix!

16:00:00 GMT-0600 Lap 11: Will Power has a comfortable lead, but isn't pulling away.

Top five Will Power , Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, and Dario Franchitti - go figure. The good news is that Paul Tracy is on Dario's rear wing in sixth.

16:01:22 GMT-0600 Lap 12: Will Power just had his fastest lap of the race.

IndyCarPRLap 12: #12 Power leads #6 Briscoe by 1.5258 seconds.

Matos got his car fixed and is heading out on the track 14 laps down!

16:07:15 GMT-0600 Lap 18: Tomas Scheckter is back out after a pit stop. He appeared to have no damage.

VisionRacingI gotta say, the Luczo Dragon crew helmets and mirrored googles are awesome looking. Very Star Wars looking.
DRRIndyCarTomas reports rear suspension damage. Car looks ok.
VisionRacingEngineer Jeff Britton on radio: " Keep after it. You're catching him!" Refering to Ed hunting down Antinucci. Ed reporting understeer in 9.
IndyCarNationLap 17: #12 Power leads #6 Briscoe by 2.7540 seconds. Lap 20: #12 Power leads #6 Briscoe by 3.4230 seconds
pressdogdoes power pull over at the end to "accidentally" let Briscoe by since he's in the championship hunt?
lesleyworldTop five in Edmonton IndyCar race are all Penske and Ganassi. Ooo, how exciting! {YAWN}

16:10:44 GMT-0600 Lap 21: A battle for P10 is developing between Justin Wilson and EJ Viso.

16:11:49 GMT-0600 Lap 22: Richard Antinucci is in the pits for an extended stop.

pressdogfestival of lock step
VisionRacing8 laps to pitstop. Vision crew will try to get Ed a spot in the pits.
PlanetIrldotcom@pressdog Lockstep would be a compliment. That means they're close!

16:13:40 GMT-0600 Lap 24: The lead of Will Power is increasing with each lap.
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16:16:46 GMT-0600 Lap 27: The lead of Will Power has stabilized around four seconds.

DRRIndyCarFuriously working to repair the 24 http://yfrog.com/7gzg1zj
VisionRacingEd coming in this lap. Turn and a half front wingm taking reds off and putting black firestones on. And fuel of course.
luczodragonMoraes, Conway, Scheckter are now behind us. Shooting for 98 next
kvracingTracy now 6th after 29 laps. Still on red tires, not pitted yet. Race order, Power, Briscoe, Castroneves, Dixon, Franchitti, Tracy

16:20:27 GMT-0600 Lap 30: The lead cars are working their way through lapped traffic.
----
FuriousWedgedid Dixon just go over a speed bump coming out of the pits, he got some serious air!

Marco Andretti, Andretti Green Racing with the center of the city of Edmonton in the background. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2009)

Marco26WebDan's in - so Marco has a chance to make up some time on the track before his own stop.
luczodragonLeaders all coming in to pit, 61 laps left

Rahal and Doornbos pit - Tony Kanaan's car is on FIRE!
----
16:27:12 GMT-0600 Lap 36: The fire was in the cockpit of Kanaan's car, but it appears he is uninjured.
16:28:19 GMT-0600 Lap 37: Ryan Briscoe is working on the lead of Will Power as it continues to come down.

lesleyworldScary pit fire for Tony Kanaan, but great to see all of the other team's crews running out immediately to help.
VisionRacing@tonyKanaan waving to fans on his way to medical. He's okay. VERY wet. But okay.
IndyCarNationLap 33: Leader #12 Power and #6 Briscoe and #9 Dixon pit for four black tires and fuel. New leader is #3
IndyCarPRLap 34: Leader #3 Castroneves on pit lane for four black tires and fuel. #11 Kanaan exits pits with a fire on-board.

16:31:35 GMT-0600 Lap 40: Dan Wheldon off course and continue in Turn 3.
16:33:42 GMT-0600 Lap 42: Will Power is looking strong as his lead stays around 2.5 seconds.

DRRIndyCarBoth our cars seem to be back running smoothly.
FuriousWedgeScary fire for Tony Kanaan with fuel splashing into the cockpit. he just can't catch a break at all this season
CrashGladysDamn I thought I was live with you all on the race, but you kept tweeting about a fire... just saw it... holy cow! Glad everyone is OK...
VisionRacingEd is P17 w/ Mutoh + Wheldon ahead. @ryanracing is P11. Elsewhere... Power leads (understatement!) Followed by parade of red cars + PT.
FuriousWedgemany kudos to all the indycar drivers this weekend for not taking out that Budweiser sign

16:35:42 GMT-0600 Lap 44: Helio Castroneves is running laps quicker than Will Power as the gap continues to go down.

We are nearly half of the way through, we've had off track excursions, bumping, scrapes, and fires but NO YELLOW FLAGS!

IndyCarNationLap 45: #12 Power leads #3 Castroneves by .6861 of a second.
luczodragonPitting on lap 46
PlanetIrldotcom@toomuchracing Not much to talk about. Will Power is dominating. No action. a Penske Parade
TheEDJE@PlanetIrldotcom - Parades are fun ... if you are a trombone player! #irl #ics #indycar
IndyCarNationLap 50: Working heavy traffic, #12 Power leads #3 Castroneves by .6265 of a second.
VisionRacingNext stop Vision crew will go to red Firestone tires. (Yes 4 tires. This is not NASCAR) Full tank of Ethanol. No wing adjustments.
kvracingPT just gone faster, now done 63.3452 on lap 52. Still P6, got 42 laps to go

16:44:32 GMT-0600 Lap 52: Will Power has had the strongest car all day.

FuriousWedgeIf Will is content to follow Danica & Marco, 2-8th will catch up by the pit stops #indycar
IndyRacingNewsKiss His Bricks: Jimmie Johnson Wins The Allstate 400 at The Brickyard: Bleacher Report On the restart second pl.. http://bit.ly/Q91Fn
pressdogProbably won't be any real racing here until after last pit stops. Wake me up when that starts.

16:51:37 GMT-0600 Lap 59: Will Power has every lap that he has been on the track and not in the pits.

pressdogmarco inhalation!
PlanetIrldotcom"If WP is so awesome, how come he can't pass a backmarker on a track that 150 feet wide? " lol, nice one
kvracingPT pitting again for red tires and fuel. Lap 61 or 95. Hitting a little bit of traffic but everything is good.

16:55:43 GMT-0600 Lap 63: Will Power gives up the race lead for what should be his last pit stop.

IndyCarPRLap 61: #10 Franchitti to pit lane for four black tires and fuel. #15 Tracy pits for four red tires and fuel.
DRRIndyCarGetting ready for a routine stop with Mike.
kvracingPaul just briefly went across the grass, but back on track

16:57:06 GMT-0600 Lap 64: Ryan Briscoe takes a pair of scuffed red tires.

lesleyworldAh, that's good, the cameraman couldn't figure out which one was Paul Tracy. And now Jon can't figure out where the cars are on the track.

16:59:13 GMT-0600 Lap 66: Ryan Briscoe gets around Dixon for P2.
17:00:10 GMT-0600 Lap 66: Helio Castroneves is the next driver to look at getting around Scott Dixon.
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VisionRacingPower in lead. P2 Dixon locked up his front brakes. Briscoe gets past Dixon. Mixes up order... Red car. red car. red car. Oh wait nevermind.
pressdogthat was it, kids. the excitement for the day, baring air strike. thanks for watchin.
mariomoraesindyHave a team mate like this for what ? better dont have any one ..
mariomoraesindypra que que serve o companheiro de equipe ? pra ajudar no desenvolvimento nao ? O MEU SOH TEM FUDIDO TUDO .... pqp
pressdogpower +6.7 wings back in the delta
IndyCarPRLap 62: #12 Power and #3 Castroneves on pit lane for four black tires and fuel. New leader is #6 Briscoe.
IndyCarPRLap 63: #6 Briscoe on pit lane for four red tires and fuel. New leader is #9 Dixon.
IndyCarPRLap 64: Leader #9 Dixon on pit lane for four black tires and fuel. #12 Power beats #9 Dixon into Turn 1
IndyCarPRLap 70: #12 Power leads #6 Briscoe 6.5675 seconds
TheEDJE70 Laps and still no full course caution YELLOW - #irl #ics #indycar
FilipCleerenBriscoe has more trouble with backmarkers than with Helio and Dixon...

17:07:10 GMT-0600 Lap 73: Scott Dixon uses lapped traffic to get by Helio Castroneves for P2.

Marco26WebL73: Lead cars make a strong move on Marco and he takes a trip across grass to avoid trouble. Lapped up to fourth, but holding P10.
FuriousWedgeUmm Jon & Robbie, you guys missed the fact that Dixon got by Briscoe as well
IndyCarPRLap 73: #12 Power leads #9 Dixon 8.8424 seconds. I missed where Dixon passed Helio.

Briscoe has dropped positions from 2nd to 4th - Scuff Reds are not working out for him.

17:11:02 GMT-0600 Lap 77: Ryan Hunter-Reay has some rear wing damage and is trying to make it to the pits.

VisionRacing20 laps to go in Edmonton. Power leads, Reds follow, PT chases. Nearly everyone else is at least a lap down.
----
luczodragonHunter-Reay spins and hits wall rear end first, we'll see what that does for him
VisionRacingRT @IndyCarPR: #14 made contact with the retaining wall in Turn 10
toomuchracingI don't like this idea of having back-to-back-to-back race weekends in IndyCar. How's a guy supposed to catch up?!

17:14:16 GMT-0600 Lap 80: The gaps between the top five are opening up.
17:15:49 GMT-0600 Lap 81: Dixon is getting slowed down by Ed Carpenter and Helio looks to try and pounce.

IndyCarNationLap 80: #12 Power leads #9 Dixon 4.5154
VisionRacingPower still in control in Edmonton #indycar race. We're going back to the Menards day-glo yellow next week. Yellow cars rule! ;)
IndyCarPRMedical update from Dr. Michael Olinger: Tony Kanaan has been checked and released from the infield care center.
VisionRacingRHR @ryanracing is back on track with new rear wing.

17:17:42 GMT-0600 Lap 83: Helio is within a couple car lengths of Dixon.
17:19:28 GMT-0600 Lap 84: Helio uses a nice split move on Carpenter to take P2 from Dixon.

FuriousWedgeWhat a great move by Helio, that effectively saves the point chase for both Briscoe & Dario who were about to lose some good ground to Scott
luczodragonDespite the early set back Rafa has kept racing.
pressdogum. ok, why didn't Ed just go about 10 feet wide in that huge area and let the two contenders go?

17:21:09 GMT-0600 Lap 86: Helio Castroneves used the lapped traffic to open the gap up to nearly one second.

IndyCarPRLap 85: #12 Power leads #3 Castroneves by 6.8821 seconds. @h3lio made a nice move to pass @ScottDixon9 and lap car of @edcarpenter20
luczodragon9 laps left, we may go entire race without full course yellow

KV Racing Technology's Paul Tracy locks up his tires as he approaches Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Bobby D, Robert Doornbos at the Rexall Edmonton INDY held at the Edmonton City Centre Airport. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2009)

FuriousWedge@pressdog because that would have been boring, he knew you were bored and wanted to give you something to tweet about
luczodragonWill Power is going unchallenged. Could be wire to wire win
Marco26WebMarco flying again - just a few hundredths off his fastest lap of the day. DP matches it though.
PlanetIrldotcomNEW AWARD "The Marty Roth Award for excellence in Chicanery" - Awarded to the driver that best exemplifies Marty's ability to get in the way

17:23:13 GMT-0600 Lap 88: Most of the drivers are really spread out around the course.
17:25:10 GMT-0600 Lap 90: With five laps remaining, it is Will Power's race to lose.

pressdogthis plays right into my idea to have the Lights cars on the track at the same time to provide some picks for when we are all are sleepy.
luczodragonHunter-Reay made it back out 8 laps down, just ahead of Rafa. Thought we might sneak up one more spot. Nice effort by his crew
FuriousWedgeyou know what would make this race fun, put some sweet jumps out in the grass; Wheldon would be ready for the X-games by now

17:27:06 GMT-0600 Lap 92: Raphael Matos goes off course and continues in Turn 3.
17:29:06 GMT-0600 Lap 93: Full course yellow for Tomas Scheckter

Full Course YELLOW with the WHITE Flag displayed at the same time.

17:30:39 GMT-0600 Lap 94: Will Power wins the Rexall Edmonton Indy!

Podium: Will Power, Team Penske celebrates his win of the Rexall Edmonton INDY at the Edmonton City Centre Airport. He brought it home on a YELLOW/WHITE Flag final lap. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2009)

TheEDJEWill Power's yellow Penske car with the wire to wire run gives a new meaning to the phrase ... Full Course Yellow! #irl #ics #indycar
IndyCarPRLap 95: CHECKERED: Will Power wins the Rexall Edmonton Indy.
FuriousWedgeHad Briscoe not had his little issue he could have just notched up his 5th 2nd in 6 races, still a Top 5 keeps him in the hunt #indycar
pressdogbeen fun, kids. ups to @kevinlee23 today. awesome job. Anyone miss Arute? Didn't think so.
PlanetIrldotcom@pressdog I missed his orange nuclear tan. Kevin shoudl have tried it.
kart58And good job to the Penske rent-a-crew :-) #indycar
VisionRacingCongrats to Will Power + crew. 20 car was okay on reds. Ran good times on last stint. Gotta take some positives home with us. P16
PippaMannCongratulations to Will Power and his guys! Great job!
Marco26WebSo after the Penske and Ganassi top four, the race is on for 5th place in the championship. DP - 5th/285pts, MA up one place to 6th/259pts
DRRIndyCarWe finished both cars. Days like today, that's all you can hope for! Congrats to our good friend Will Power on a much-deserved win!
END OF UPDATES

How the drivers fared (** denotes Transition Player)

Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Will Power Penske**
2. Helio Castroneves Penske + 1.0936s
3. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 1.3213s
4. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 1.8266s
5. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 4.4652s
6. Paul Tracy KV + 6.3941s**
7. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 26.5700s**
8. Justin Wilson Coyne + 26.9169s**
9. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 1 lap**
10. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 1 lap
11. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 1 lap
12. EJ Viso HVM + 1 lap**
13. Alex Tagliani Conquest + 1 lap**
14. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green + 1 lap
15. Dan Wheldon Panther + 1 lap
16. Ed Carpenter Vision + 2 laps
17. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt + 8 laps
18. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon + 10 laps
19. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold + 22 laps
20. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold + 32 laps

Retirements/not classified:

Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 34 laps
Richard Antinucci 3G 20 laps
Mario Moraes KV 0 laps**

Paul Tracy, KV Racing Technology at the Rexall Edmonton INDY at the Edmonton City Centre Airport. Image Credit: Covy Moore (2009)

So, five of the top ten positions in Edmonton were occupied by Transition Players, those drivers that have been merged into the IRL from the ChampCar World Series allowing only one Andretti Green Racing driver (Michael's son, Marco) to crack the top ten on a temporary race circuit.

Will Power as Transition Player, notches his first win for the Team Penske organization ... they should give him MORE races to ride in.

Paul Tracy was the first driver not in a car fielded by Team Penske or Target Chip Ganassi, driving for KV Racing Technology ... another Transition Player without a ride for the near future - what in the heck is going on inside the thinking of the management of the IRL?

Jus' askin'!

... notes from The EDJE

Indy Toronto - Play By Play via Tweet By Tweet

Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon share a moment before tackling the streets of Toronto ... Scott for the first time - Dario, not so much since he has raced and won here in CART. Image Credit Andy Sallee (2009)

Indy Toronto - Play By Play via Tweet By Tweet

Honda Indy Toronto - Toronto Street Circuit - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Race 10 of 17 in IndyCar Series - Laps: 85 - Track length: 1.75 miles - Race length: 148.75 miles

This set up excerpted and edited from Autosport.com -A double pole winner at Toronto in his Champ Car days, Dario Franchitti posted a best time of 1m01.0249s to emerge comfortably fastest in the Fast Six session, beating Will Power in the third Penske Dallara-Honda by more than two tenths of a second.

With Graham Rahal, Alex Tagliani and Mike Conway rounding out the top six, names like Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon were conspicuously absent from the sharp end of the grid.
----
This set up excerpted and edited from Fresno Beehive - IndyCar makes its first foray into Toronto this week for the inaugural Honda Indy Toronto, the 10th event on the 2009 IndyCar Series championship schedule.

The last time racing took place in Toronto was for the Champ Car Series back in 2007, as Will Power finished ahead of Neel Jani to capture the checkered flag. Power finished seventh in his other Toronto start.

The Champ Car Series had raced in Toronto since 1986, when Bobby Rahal captured the first of 22 events. Michael Andretti owned the streets of Toronto, winning the race seven times. Paul Tracy and Al Unser Jr were two-time champions. Tracy had 11 top-10 finishes in his 16 races in Toronto.

Several current drivers have had modest success in Toronto. Dario Franchitti competed in six CART races, winning two poles and capturing the race in 1999. Alex Tagliani raced eight times in Toronto and posted seven top-10 finishes.

The racing begins and everyone on the track is serious about a good result. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

The following play by play gleaned from Twitter "Tweets", Comments from IndyCar Timing & Scoring, and The EDJE direct entry -

FuriousWedgeThat was a relatively normal command to start engines considering it was Gene Simmons... nice Honda shout out too #indycar

kvracingKV Racing are doing there warm up laps, Moraes is P13 and Tracy P15. Green Flag next

VisionRacingCars are on track and lining up for start. Green flag coming up.

MyNameIsIRLCanadian Air Force just buzzed Jack Arute's tower.

13:17:44 GMT-0400 Lap 0: Will Power is off the course in Turn 1.

13:18:07 GMT-0400 Lap 0: Graham Rahal has some front wing damage.

FuriousWedgePower off course after contact with Graham; Dixon, Conway and Doornbos on the move big time! #indycar

VisionRacingDamage to rahal's car. Came into pits and out again. Ed is p19.

kvracingAfter first lap PT had a great start at moved to P8, Moraes made P12

13:20:25 GMT-0400 Lap 2: Will Power and Ryan Briscoe had flat tires.

indy44crappy start should have been waved off

13:22:29 GMT-0400 Lap 4: Dario Franchitti is looking strong as the lead goes over 2.5 seconds.

RaceDriveHow could they throw the Green Flag for the Start for Toronto IndyCar race - That ? was lined up ?

13:26:01 GMT-0400 Lap 8: Full course yellow for contact in Turn 3 between Dan Wheldon and Richard Antinucci.

VisionRacingI got distracted for a second and all of a sudden there are two Penskes behind Ed. I'm not in Kansas anymore am I? Oh Canada right.

TheEDJE@VisionRacing Yes Virginia .... There is a Santa Claus - Ed is in front of 2/3irds of the Penske Team #irl

13:29:50 GMT-0400 Lap 10: Some drivers mid-pack come into the pits to play strategy.

13:31:15 GMT-0400 Lap 10: Back to green flag racing!

indy44AGR rolling the dice

VisionRacingEd will be p12 for the #indycar restart @ Toronto. (BTW Penske cars had flat tires + had to pit after a ping pong game broke out on track.)

kvracingPT is P9 and Moraes P11, KVRT have decided not to come in to pits. So move to P6 and P8 respectively

13:32:32 GMT-0400 Lap 12: Full course yellow for Ed Carpenter stalled against the wall in Turn 6. He made light contact.

VisionRacingEd stuck between 6+7. Never got to go green. Had crap on his tires. No damage to car. Just a flat spot on tires.

FuriousWedgeSo we're 0 for 2 on halfway decent starts; If I'm Barnhart I'm warning Dario for the 2 previous jumps and flagging him if he does it again

13:34:04 GMT-0400 Lap 12: Pits are open.

TheEDJEI guess this puts Ed behind ALL of the Penske Team - Dang!

13:35:26 GMT-0400 Lap 13: Green flag this time by.

kvracingGreen Flag next time by. PT and Moraes are side by side for restart, P6 and P7 respectively

GREEN Flag!

FuriousWedgeConway taking looks inside Doornbos & Tracy trying to get by Conway, Doornbos using F1 style blocking but couldn't hold it off

13:37:13 GMT-0400 Lap 14: Robert Doornbos loses two places.

13:39:19 GMT-0400 Lap 16: Dario Franchitti is extending his lead.

FuriousWedge@PlanetIrldotcom theres a difference between falling asleep at the green and being brake-checked

13:40:01 GMT-0400 Lap 17: Will Power makes his way around Hideki Mutoh for P19.

PlanetIrldotcom@FuriousWedge Well they are professionals. They need to be ready for it.

MyNameIsIRLI bet Will Power is having some great battling for position right now while we watch the leaders go round and round. Guess I'll never know.

13:42:49 GMT-0400 Lap 20: Dario Franchitti is gaining around .2 seconds a lap on the field.

13:43:48 GMT-0400 Lap 21: Dario Franchitti has pushed his lead to over three seconds and continues to pull away.

VisionRacingOk. Top 5 is Dario Tag Dixon Conway Tracy. 2 Canucks, 1 Scot, 1 Kiwi and 1 Brit. It's the racing version of the Commonwealth games!

TheEDJE@VisionRacing That's the IRL - to bring American racing back to Americans! Well, at least we have some North Americans #irl

FuriousWedgeMoraes now around Doornbos, we don't need to see that though... am curious as to where Doornbos' speed has gone, he's dropping every few

13:47:25 GMT-0400 Lap 24: Robert Doornbos has switched to the primary tire.

13:47:58 GMT-0400 Lap 25: Local yellow in Turn 8 for Ed Carpenter off course.

VisionRacingLap 25 of 85. Dario still leads. Leaders will start to pit. Ed is a lap down but can make it up here. He radioed in that he is losing grip.

FuriousWedgeHoly $&*@ Marty Reid Paul Tracy does not look at all like any other car in the field, he was 3 spots ahead of Doornbos, how do to F that up?

13:49:21 GMT-0400 Lap 26: Dario Franchitti and Marco Andretti nearly touched out of the pits.

VisionRacingEd feeling a bit sheepish. Well at least we're getting a bit of TV time right. Engineer Jeff Britton tells Ed to settle down.

Paul Tracy would have made a good showing if he were not so aggressive with Helio Castroneves toward the end. For many parts of the race ... it was led by the two Canadian Transition Player drivers of Alex Tagliani, Conquest Racing and Paul driving for KV racing Technology. Image Credit Andy Sallee (2009)

13:50:23 GMT-0400 Lap 27: Paul Tracy is putting pressure on Mike Conway for P3.

kart58Tag in the lead! Tag in the lead! *happy dance*

13:50:41 GMT-0400 Lap 27: Paul Tracy gets by Mike Conway to take P3 going into Turn 3.

indy44Tag P1 nice,Dixon,Tracy,Conway,Moraes

TheEDJEThe Canadians want to own this first race of the IRL in Toronto! #irl

PlanetIrldotcomPT in P3. no, no, no. *headdesk*

13:53:22 GMT-0400 Lap 30: Paul Tracy is putting the pressure on Tagliani for P1.

TheEDJEThere is going to be a punchout trackside - sound familiar? #irl

13:54:46 GMT-0400 Lap 31: Scott Dixon is working Graham Rahal hard for P13.

VisionRacingCanadians are 1-2 when was the last time that happened? 2003? Never mind. .

Tagliani and Tracy in the pits together!

13:55:35 GMT-0400 Lap 32: Paul Tracy switches to red tires.

13:56:57 GMT-0400 Lap 33: Mike Conway make contact with the wall to blow his tire.

kvracingPT is in for tires and fuel. Moraes is now running P1 and PT is P10

13:57:44 GMT-0400 Lap 34: Alex Tagliani gives up the lead to take his first pit stop.

VisionRacingPT is on friggin' fire. He's putting on a drifting show on out there on the streets of Toronto. He IS the show right now.

TheEDJEPT is taking the IRL to temporary street course school! #irl

13:58:51 GMT-0400 Lap 35: Mario Moraes gives up the lead to pit.

kvracingMoraes just pitted from P1, fuel and black tires. Now PT is P7 after his stop and MM P11

tracksideonlineTracy is making a statement. It's called "I should be in a full-time ride."

Mike Conway retires after hitting the wall by himself. Meanwhile, back up front ...

14:02:03 GMT-0400 Lap 38: Helio Castroneves is closing in on Tomas Scheckter for the lead.

MyNameIsIRLTomas Scheckter leads on a street course?? Maybe there's something to that MonaVie stuff after all.

14:04:30 GMT-0400 Lap 40: Helio Castroneves has cut the lead to under .5 seconds.

14:05:15 GMT-0400 Lap 41: Tomas Scheckter comes into the pits, giving Helio Castroneves the lead.

RacingNationBTW, the Will Power car is based on Al Unser's cars circa 1983-1987, he usually had the blue trim, Mears had yellow with red trim.

14:06:27 GMT-0400 Lap 42: Will Power slid through his marks in the pits.

FuriousWedge"I get my red and wiht mixed up" umm Reid, just get up and walk out of the booth now, let Welch fill in, he knows his stuff; "

TheEDJEMarty Reid is a baffooooooone!

VisionRacingI'd qualify this as a pretty entertaining action packed street fight on wheels. Wouldn't you?! Top5 is Scheckter Helio Power Wilson RHR

tracksideonlineThere's a great battle between Kanaan, Power, and Viso while ABC watches the leaders trundle around.

14:09:14 GMT-0400 Lap 44: Due to various pit strategies, Helio Castroneves has a five second lead.

kvracingPit window is opening up again for other cars. MM and PT did great fuel saving so staying out longer and moving up grid. PT is P4 & MM is P8

MyNameIsIRL"We've learned that Richard Antinucci's car has been taken behind the wall". Sounds like they're going to put it down. About time.

14:13:07 GMT-0400 Lap 48: Helio Castroneves gives up the lead for what could be his last stop of the race. He takes a set of red tires.

VisionRacingGet your popcorn ready. Tag + Tracy battle up front coming up... Ed coming in to pit next lap.

tracksideonlineWilson pits. They must think they can make it 35 laps on a tank of fuel. Castroneves is trying the same thing from one lap further.

14:15:41 GMT-0400 Lap 50: Tony Kanaan is in the pits to get some sticker red tires.

TheEDJEAlex Tagliani, Conquest racing leads the field again with Paul Tracy, KV Racing Technology 2.2 sec. in tow. #irl

kvracingPT is now P2 and MM is P4 now that everyone has pitted. Lap 51 of 85.

TheEDJEGotta' love the CCWS "Transition Player" influence in this race!

tracksideonlineHelio's 15 seconds behind Tagliani, but looks as though he will try to go 37 laps on this tank of fuel and reds. Hmm

14:21:33 GMT-0400 Lap 56: Paul Tracy switches from black tires to sticker

MyNameIsIRLDario is all up on Moraes and...they cut away. Is there a rule that we're not allowed to see any actual passing?

indy44That would be a shocker,if Tracy and Tagliani are battling for the win at the end

14:21:33 GMT-0400 Lap 56: Paul Tracy switches from black tires to sticker reds.

14:23:50 GMT-0400 Lap 58: Full course yellow for contact between Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter.

indy44YELLOW for Rahal

TheEDJERahal's fault #irl

VisionRacingYeah that was our car...airborne. And Rahal in the wall. Ed says car feels okay. He's staying out.

FuriousWedgeI love how ABC is so quick to blame Ed Carpenter for not seeing Graham make a very ill advised move where there was no space for it

14:26:34 GMT-0400 Lap 59: Pits are open.

PlanetIrldotcom@VisionRacing How? He was in the air! As in not on the earth!

FuriousWedgeWhy does it seem like ABC is still not paying attention to the fact that Helio is in a prime position for this race!?

TheEDJE@FuriousWedge - I'm hip, there is finally a story to tell in an IRL race, and ABC is asleep! #irl

14:30:42 GMT-0400 Lap 61: Back to green flag racing!

kvracingPT pitted just in time and remains P3, not so lucky with MM, he is P13 after having to pit on yellow. Both cars on red tires, lap 63 of 85

tracksideonlineMutoh getting inhaled on the restart.

14:32:27 GMT-0400 Lap 63: Paul Tracy got a little loose going into the turn.

indy44I'm expecting one more yellow coming up in a couple laps,drivers are going all Banzai

14:33:14 GMT-0400 Lap 64: Dario Franchitti takes the lead out of Turn 1.

indy44Tell em Jimmy [Vasser],like I said put on Dario's glass slipper

14:34:12 GMT-0400 Lap 65: Paul Tracy is looking to move into P2 and is all over Helio Castroneves.

14:34:58 GMT-0400 Lap 65: Full course yellow for contact in Turn 4 between Paul Tracy and Helio Castroneves.

MyNameIsIRLOMG! Of all the guys to take out PT it had to be Helio!

indy44Helio and Tracy dance into the concrete

chunter16Vintage Paul Tracy. They both deserve the damage though.

FuriousWedgeTracy's fault-Helio's fault? little of both but Helio was definitely blocking Tracy up until that turn Dario was getting away cause of Helio

TheEDJEREPLAY - Helio takes Tracy OUT ... In the wall! #irl

Crowd reaction to Helio Castroneves as he gets out of his Dallara, these stands are located just across the track from the Penske pits. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

14:38:28 GMT-0400 Lap 67: Pits are open.

kvracingCrowd booing Helio on the replay for taking @paultracy3 out. He now finishes race P18 after trying for P2 :(

Helio Castroneves hears the crowd reaction to the racing incident that took out Paul Tracy. The crowd was not happy. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

VisionRacingIf we have to replace a tow link, they'll have to shut the motor off. Coming in.

indy44Nice comments by Tracy, I was expecting something totally different

GREEN Flag - LAP 71

14:44:39 GMT-0400 Lap 71: Will Power moves into P3 after making a great move on Justin Wilson.

14:45:50 GMT-0400 Lap 72: Local yellow in Turn 3 as EJ Viso and Mario Moraes lock up the brakes going into the turn.

PlanetIrldotcomGet off the track and let the real drivers fight it out. Do not charge into a corner that late. You got what you deserved. Now, where was I?

14:46:43 GMT-0400 Lap 73: EJ Viso is restarted and returns to the race.

MyNameIsIRLThey need to be playing the theme from "Jaws" whenever Power is shown today. He's been devouring people all day.

YELLOW Flag

chunter16Everyone trying too hard at the end of the straight

14:48:39 GMT-0400 Lap 75: Mario Moraes continues on as Scheckter is in the tires and Tagliani is restarted.

14:49:23 GMT-0400 Lap 75: Pits are open.

indy44Right now I would suspect Barnhardt coughing up blood and mic blown on his headset,LMAO

14:50:53 GMT-0400 Lap 76: Mario Moraes gets a new front wing and returns to the race.

TheEDJEWell, this certainly isn't oval racing! #irl

kvracing8 laps to go, Moraes is now P10

14:53:51 GMT-0400 Lap 77: Back to green flag racing!

14:54:20 GMT-0400 Lap 78: Dario Franchitti gets a great restart and pulls away.

FuriousWedgeWave off the f'n start Barnhart that was absolutely ridiculous, f'n embarrasing #indycar

MyNameIsIRLMarty Reid just confused Tagliani's white car with Viso's grey car. Can we get a sobriety test in the broadcast booth?

indy44Officials scared of a crash on restart,so they allow this garbage

tracksideonlineReally? We need to play ask the analyst with six laps to go? Try again, ABC.

14:56:10 GMT-0400 Lap 80: Scott Dixon is looking strong as he is all over Will Power.

So it is Briscoe, being led by Franchitti and being followed by teammate Will Power then followed by Scott Dixon. More Ganassi, Penske, Penske, Ganassi racing. At least this wasn't an oval.

14:59:09 GMT-0400 Lap 82: Will Power and the train behind him have caught up to Ryan Briscoe.

PlanetIrldotcom@openpaddock You don't come from that far back and stick your nose in. But it is PT so sticking his nose where it doesn't belong is normal.

Dario Franchitti shows everyone that he had been here before - wins going away from the field at Toronto. Image Credit Andy Sallee (2009)

15:00:21 GMT-0400 Lap 84: White flag. Dario Franchitti leads Ryan Briscoe by 1.6048 seconds.

indy44I still don't like the call by officials to let Dario pit,BS!!!!

PlanetIrldotcomEveryone get your mute buttons ready. ASLEY JUDD ALERT!!!!

15:01:16 GMT-0400 Lap 85: Dario Franchitti wins the Honda Indy Toronto!

MyNameIsIRLGanassi, Penske, Pesnke, Ganassi. Then universal underdog Justin Wilson.

RacingNationDario Wins! Dario dominates today. Cue Ashley.

kvracingMoraes #5 Azul - Votorantim - KV racing technology car finished 11th, he drove a great race, did a lot of overtaking

indy44Will Power best of the rest,good job!

How hte IndyCar Series field fared (** denotes Transition Player)

Pos - Driver - Team - Gap
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1h43m47.1408
2. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 1.6745s
3. Will Power Penske + 2.1355s**
4. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 2.4803s
5. Justin Wilson Coyne + 2.9230s**
6. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 6.4095s
7. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt + 7.1837s
8. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 8.2552s
9. Alex Tagliani Conquest + 13.4745s**
10. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon + 16.0983s
11. Mario Moraes KV + 19.0141s
12. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green + 1 lap
13. EJ Viso HVM + 1 lap**
14. Dan Wheldon Panther + 1 lap
15. Ed Carpenter Vision + 3 laps

Retirements:

Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold 74 laps
Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 70 laps
Helio Castroneves Penske 65 laps
Paul Tracy KV 65 laps**
Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 57 laps**
Richard Antinucci 3G 41 laps
Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 32 laps
Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan 26 laps**
----
The next race on the IndyCar Series schedule is the Rexall Edmonton Indy, July 26th at Edmonton City Centre Airport. Scott Dixon is the defending champion of the 2008 Rexall Edmonton Indy.

... notes from The EDJE

Additional Video & Photo Assets

For The British Steam Car Challenge ... It's Base Camp Made, Course Laid!

The BSCC land speed car gets unloaded from its special shipping container and checked out at the base camp for the British Steam Car Challenge scheduled to begin July 13, 2009 and end July 24, 2009. Image Credit: BSCC

For The British Steam Car Challenge ... It's Base Camp Made, Course Laid!

The British Steam Car team arrived at Edwards Air Force Base on Monday 29 June.

Despite temperatures of over 100 degrees (that's dry heat) and a Fourth of July celebration, they have now established the BSCC Base Camp.

Team Manager, Matt Candy, says: "There's a lot of work to do before we can make the record attempts. We have to set up our communication system, check the radios, assemble the fuelling rigs, unpack the tools, obtaining the propane, get the fridge working and put the toilet in place. It's a bit like an Everest expedition but in baking heat rather than the freezing cold!"

One of the most nerve-wracking tasks was to check for any damage to the British Steam Car during transit. Fortunately, and this was largely because of the special shipping container which was made for it, the car arrived just as it had left the UK 21 days earlier.

The daily schedule the team has been working has been from before 5am. After 9am, due to the high temperatures. The heat , it is suspected, will affect the timing of the record attempts as well.

Candy says: "It can also get quite windy and by the afternoon it can get up to 20-30mph, we can't run the car if the wind is over 15mph."

Safety equipment to meet the regulations of the Southern Timing Association – the recognized body for Land Speed Records – has been fitted to the British Steam Car. Today the car will be inspected by representatives from the Southern Timing Association and the FIA (the international governing body of motor sport).

Tomorrow, the team's test driver, Don Wales, will arrive and dynamic test runs will start on Monday, July 13, 2009.

Candy says: "We then have a window until the 24th July in which to make the record attempts. Potentially, each run could be an attempt on the record but to qualify as an official record we have to turn the car around and make a run in the opposite direction within 60 minutes. Obviously, if a first run is not at the required speed we shan't attempt to go for the record. Instead, we'll wait and make another attempt to get a fast first run."

... notes from The EDJE

TAGS: BSCC, Don Wales, Edwards Air Force Base, July 13th, July 24th, Land Speed, Matt Candy, record attempts, Southern Timing Association FIA, The EDJE

To "Coyne" A New Phrase, It's "Justin" Time ... At The Glen

Transition Player team owner, Dale Coyne embraces his driver, 6'3" Justin Wilson, in the winners circle at Watkins Glen after Wilson wins his first race of the 2009 season and the first ever win for Dale Coyne racing. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

To "Coyne" A New Phrase, It's "Justin" Time ... At The Glen

From the Indy Racing League's Live Timing & Scoring webpage:

15:14:44 GMT-0400 Justin Wilson wins the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen! This is the first win for Dale Coyne Racing.

Dale Coyne (and Dale Coyne Racing co-owned with his wife, Gail) has had to wait a long time to visit victory circle in his career in American Open Wheel Racing, but today, at the Camping World Grand Prix At The Glen, Justin Wilson was the class of the field and beat Ryan Briscoe by nearly five seconds to the Checkered Flag for his first win of the 2009 IndyCar Series (ICS) season.

It has been 25 years, as a team owner that Dale Coyne suffered as a backmarker but it was never without trying or without heart ... but this year things began to gel. Here in the sophomore year of unification between ChampCar and the IRL, Dale Coyne had the driver and engineering team he brought together that was able to get the most out of the nine year old Dallara chassis design and formula Honda engine to win against the most dominate two teams in the Indy Racing League.

Podium: race winner - Justin Wilson, Dale Coyne Racing, second place - Ryan Briscoe, Team Penske Racing, third place - Scott Dixon, Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

If it wasn't Dale's first win in 558 open wheel racing starts that made this win important, it was the fact that this was the first "non" Team Penske or Target Chip Ganassi Racing win in ten races dating back to last ICS season in September of 2008. Funny thing, it was Justin Wilson driving for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing at Detroit's Belle Isle street circuit that has the effect of "Justin" Time bookending this two team dominance of the IndyCar Series Championship.

Z-Line sponsored Dale Coyne Racing Dallara driven by Justin Wilson at Watkins Glen. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

It makes one ask, is there anyone else but this Transition Player driver that can beat a Penske or Ganassi establishment team effort? Problem is, the other best driver to transition from the ChampCar World Series is already a Team Penske driver ... Will Power, and he is currently sidelined as a test driver after holding down Helio Castroneves's seat while Helio was defending himself against tax evasion charges (aquitted).

As far as the other Transition Players are concerned, well, they struggled against Yellow Flags, miscues and accidents throughout the 60 lap race. Great hopes were riding with Paul Tracy and the Geico sponsored KV Racing Technology Dallara after Paul returned to the IndyCar Series competition since his one-time ride with AJ Foyt's ABC Supply team at the Milwaukee Mile as a warm-up to the hometown race for this Canadian champion, Toronto. Paul managed to dash his own hopes at completing a full race at Watkins Glen (the first time he has ever competed at this venue - surprising!) when he applied the accelerator a bit too aggressively on lap 29 on the off-camber turn #7 while running 11th.

The middle stages saw a rash of yellows and problems for several major contenders. Paul Tracy's KV Racing Technology teammate, Mario Moraes, had a promising weekend to begin with, qualifying fourth on the grid, saw it go awry when he scraped against Ed Carpenter's Vision Racing car at the Bus Stop while trying to make up the ground he managed to loose in the pits. Mario Moraes brought the Dallara home in fourteenth position.

Ryan Briscoe's Penske acts as a hood ornament to Justin Wilson's Z-Line sponsored Dale Coyne Racing Dallara in turn one on lap one! Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal, for a time was looking pretty good as he was able to climb up to P2 behind Wilson, after having been penalized after the Firestone Fast Six P5 qualifying position down ten spots to start the race at P15, before the final round of pitstops but yellow flags caught him out as well and he became out of cycle and finished just ahead of Moraes at P13.

Robert Doornbos, Graham Rahal's Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing teammate and CCWS 2007 Rookie-Of-The Year, posted his best IRL finish in his rookie season breaking into the top 10 at P9.

The surprise finish for a Transition Player after Justin Wilson was HVM Racing's EJ Viso who completed his second race in a row and of the season. Viso, who has had trouble finishing races this season, started the race at P10 and remained in the top ten by completing the race at P7.

But the real story of the day will remain with Dale Coyne and his wife, Gail who entered into racing and team management in 1985 with the PPG CART championship season and waited until this day for their first open wheel racing win.

Said Justin Wilson of his winning drive to the finish, "It's fantastic to get Dale's first win and also Gail's. The two of them put a lot into this, their heart and soul. It means a lot to me. I think this is the most important victory of my career.

"I got here early", Justin continued, so we're down in Watkins Glen walking around, and you see all those names on the pavement [outside the Watkins Glen Motor Racing Research Library], the guys that have won here. That's pretty cool. It's fantastic to get your name on the board of winning at Watkins Glen up there with some of the best."

We hope to see more "Coyne-d" phrases throughout the 2009 season ... winning in "Justin" time.

In the end, the contest boiled down to the fact that Wilson had managed to save two sets of fresh Firestone option tyres for the race while Briscoe only had one. On the final round of stops, Wilson donned his second set of options while Briscoe only had Firestone's harder primaries left. Caption Credit: autosport.com / Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

How the field of 21 cars fared (** denotes the six Transition Players):

Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Justin Wilson Coyne 1h48m24.1947s**
2. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 4.9906s
3. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 5.1632s
4. Helio Castroneves Penske + 7.0755s
5. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 8.5595s
6. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold + 9.3646s
7. EJ Viso HVM + 11.3804s**
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green + 13.0020s
9. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 13.2633s**
10. Dan Wheldon Panther + 18.0412s
11. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 18.5656s
12. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon + 18.9342s
13. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 23.0413s**
14. Mario Moraes KV + 23.3821s**
15. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 1 lap
16. Ed Carpenter Vision + 1 lap
17. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold + 2 laps
18. Richard Antinucci 3G + 13 laps

Retirements:

Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 51 laps
Paul Tracy KV 29 laps**
Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt 0 laps

Live Blogging of the race from "My Name Is IRL" here>>

... notes from The EDJE