Honda Indy Toronto - Round 10 of 18, "Tweet"-By-LiveBlog Entry

After winning the pole in Toronto, @12WillPower talks with Versus. #indycarmobile. Image Credit: twitpic - Penske Racing


Honda Indy Toronto - Round 10 of 18, "Tweet"-By-LiveBlog Entry

Will Power's love affair with the Toronto street course continued after he snared pole position for Sunday's Honda Indy Toronto.

The Australian, who has claimed pole positions in the last eight IndyCar road race events, checked-in with a 59.577-second best lap on the 2.82km Exhibition Place street course for his 21st career pole.

But while Power is the defending champion in Toronto, taking top spot on the grid was a new highlight for him.

"Man, we really had to work hard for that," Power said after securing the Firestone Fast Six Peak Pole Award. "I've never won a pole here in Toronto and I love this place. When you turn a fast lap here, you're really just exhausted. This is such a physical track. It's a real driver's track with all the different surfaces and all the bumps, you really need to wring its neck out there and that's what I love about it."

Power goes into today's race trailing rival and two-time defending series champion Dario Franchitti by 20 points on the 2011 IndyCar Series championship standings. New Zealander, Scott Dixon sits between Power and Franchitti in qualifying and will start alongside the Australian in the front-row while Franchitti starts from P3.

"It's great to be on pole here but this is a track where you can really pass a lot of cars and move forward from the back," Power said.

Track Map - Honda Indy Toronto temporary street course. Image Credit: jamesjakes.com

The race started on time with the following entries, initially "Tweets" from Twitter, then direct, live blogging entries during the course of the race. The race transpired as follows:

Meeshbeer Meeshbeer - Green! Green! Green!!

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - We're green! http://racecontrol.indycar.com/

MoreFrontWing More Front Wing - Can't believe lap 1 was clean! Amazing.

Talked too soon!!! Briscoe and Kanaan make contact on LAP 3.

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Full course caution. Kanaan with a bit of contact.

SBPopOffValve PopOffValve.com - I am sure @TonyKanaan is going to unfollow me and never speak to me again after I picked him to win this week.

Meeshbeer Meeshbeer – RESTART - Green! Green! Green!!

MoreFrontWing More Front Wing - Awesome restart!

LAP 8 Danica and Taku get together … come to pits

LAP 27 – Franchitti pits.

LAP 30 – Tagliani and Castroneves get together in turn 3, spins Tags – Full Course Caution

Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey - Stop me if you've heard this before... Helio takes another driver out of the race and screws over his teammate.

SBPopOffValve PopOffValve.com - Helio NERFED Tags. Hmm. Unprecedented HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

After pitstops – Franchitti, Servia, Wilson, RHR, Hinchtown, Briscoe, Meira, Tracy, Andretti, Hildebrand, Jakes, then Power, Dixon, Conway, and Rahal.

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN double file RESTART LAP 36!

LAP 38 Tracy and Hinchcliff get together, damaged front wing on Tracy

Jakes has a problem, spins in turn 9 – Full Course Yellow LAP 39

RESTART LAP 43 - Franchitti, Servia, Wilson, RHR, Briscoe, Dixon, Andretti, Meira Conway, Power, Hildebrand.

LAP 44 cars dive into pitlane – Servia has a pick-up problem, gets passed by Wilson and RHR.

Andretti gets past Dixon and Briscoe to P5

LAP 46 sees Conway get around Meira for P7 then Briscoe for P6 followed by Power around Mreira for P7

LAP 47 Tracy clobbers Meira and takes him out of the race Full Course Yellow

LAP 48 everyone gets into the pits for tires and fuel … may be the last stop.

LAP 49 Graham Rahal leads the field due to an earlier pitstop – then Viso, de Silvestro, RHR, Beatriz, Franchitti, Wilson, Dixon, Power and Andretti round out the top 10.

RHR may be in the best position to go to the end without a pitstop for fuel.

RESTART LAP 52 side-by-side with lapped Tagliani gives Rahal all he can handle – passes Rahal to get his lap back.

Ryan Hunter-Reay gets past de Silvestro LAP 53 and now Power gets past several cars and runs in P6 ahead of Franchitti.

LAP 54 Power passes de Silvestro for P5 – Conway heads for the pits with damage.

Full Course Yellow – Will Power gets turned around by Dario Franchitti in turn 4 Power stalled.

Franchitti now in P5 behind Wilson on LAP 58 during the 5^th full course caution.

RESTART LAP 61 side-by-side with Rahal, RHR, Viso, Wilson, Franchitti, Dixon, Servia, Andretti … Power back at P16

Viso locks up his tires and causes a flat when Wilson tries to pass, Dixon now past Wilson.

Graham will need a 44 lap tank full in order to maintain position and win ... or just finish the race.

Top 5 are Rahal, Hunter-Reay, Franchitti, Dixon and Wilson.

Franchitti passes RHR on lap 64

Will Power gets booted into the tire barrier by Tagliani on LAP 66 – possible 45 points down to Franchitti

Yellow helps Rahal on his load of fuel with 18 laps to go.

Top 5 shows Rahal, Franchitti, RHR, Dixon, and Wilson. Will Power out of the car unable to continue and will finish at P 24

LAP 68 Rahal chooses to start from the left on the side-by-side and the restart gets waived off – was this on purpose – for gas?

RESTART LAP 69 – waived off

RESTART LAP 70 – Rahal gets a leap and the GREEN Flag flies – 77 Tagliani goes up on it side as he gets together with James Jakes

Full Course Yellow - can you say destruction derby? Patrick hits Jakes which caused a chain reaction with Tagliani – lost in all of this is that Franchitti gets around Rahal in turn 3 for the lead

LAP 76 RESTART – Top 5 are Franchitti, Rahal, Dixon, RHR, and Wilson.

Three wide into turn 1, Wilson gets turned and collects several cars that include Servia, Hinchcliff and a couple of others. Rahal gets passed by Dixon but it was under Yellow and gets sent back. Andretti causes the chain reaction incident.

LAP 80 RESTART – Top 5 are Franchitti, Rahal, Dixon, RHR, and Andretti.

Rahal almost passes Franchitti through 1 and 2, gets spun by Dixon and Rahal gets booted back to P13.

Dixon charges on to Franchitti and if Dario wins it will be a 55 point lead from 20 before the race over Power going into Edmonton.

LAP 83 of 85 laps it Franchitti, Dixon and newlywed Ryan Hunter-Reay in 1-2-3!

Five car lengths separate Franchitti and Dixon who is closing. Both are pulling away from Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Checkered Flag, Dario Franchitti wins for the fourth time this season and the third time at the Toronto street course venue. 30 career wins gives him 9^th all-time and passes Rick Mears who posted 29 wins in his career. Further, Franchitti is now one win shy of tying Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais for eighth on the all-time wins list with 31.

Graham Rahal would have made it on fuel but he believes that if RHR did not hit him, he would have been on the podium. Maybe we should just call this a honeymoon gift.

Marco Andretti gained 16 positions in the race and moves up one position in the overall championship.

An exciting race to watch and listen to but a horrible race for the ChampCar proud fans of Will Power, Graham Rahal, and Oriol Servia. In the end, Sebastien Bourdais and EJ Viso were the only ChampCar transition drivers to make it into the top ten … and this, technically, is one of their tracks.

Dario Franchitti celebrates with his team in the winners podium at the Honda Indy Toronto - Before turning a lap, Franchitti issued a cautionary note about 26 cars squeezing through the narrow twists and turns of the 1.755-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street course in the Honda Indy Toronto. “Small mistakes will be punished, and in some cases, it could take out multiple cars,” the IZOD IndyCar Series championship points leader said. Image Credit: chipganassiracing.com

How they finished:

Pos - Driver - Team - Time/Gap

1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 85 laps
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 0.7345s
3. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti + 6.0144s
4. Marco Andretti Andretti + 7.5671s
5. Vitor Meira Foyt + 9.0117s
6. Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne + 9.3114s
7. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 9.8735s
8. JR Hildebrand Panther + 14.1750s
9. EJ Viso KV + 14.7843s
10. Simona de Silvestro HVM + 15.7603s
11. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold + 16.8992s
12. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas + 19.8736s
13. Graham Rahal Ganassi + 21.3123s
14. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas + 1 lap
15. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 2 laps
16. Paul Tracy Dragon + 3 laps
17. Helio Castroneves Penske + 4 laps
18. James Jakes Dale Coyne + 4 laps
19. Danica Patrick Andretti + 6 laps
20. Takuma Sato KV + 6 laps

Retirements:

Charlie Kimball Ganassi 77 laps
Mike Conway Andretti 76 laps
Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 71 laps
Will Power Penske 66 laps
Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 43 laps
Tony Kanaan KV 2 laps
(ht: autosport.com)

One final post-race Tweet came across the screen as this posting was being finalized ...

12WillPower Will Power -by toomuchracing - @dariofranchitti hey princess thanks for that nice tap today--appreciate it

The Edmonton Indy, Round 11 of 18 takes place at Rexall Edmonton Indy Speedway - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - on Versus at 2:00pm ET, July 24, 2011.

... notes from The EDJE


(Article first published as Honda Indy Toronto - Round 10 of 18, "Tweet"-By-LiveBlog Entry on Technorati)

Dan Wheldon ... Championship Winning Driver, 2-Time Indy 500 Winner, Motorsports Color Commentator, Ambassador to American Open Wheel Racing

Dan Wheldon when he was riding his wave of popularity at the beginning of the 2006 season (photo of 2006 Indy Downforce fan club promo, with signature - similar to the 2003 trade show handout). The previous year he had won the Indy 5oo and the 2005 IndyCar Series Championship over Tony Kanaan, Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti, and Scott Sharp. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Dan Wheldon ... Championship Winning Driver, 2-Time Indy 500 Winner, Motorsports Color Commentator, Ambassador to American Open Wheel Racing

There was a time, not long ago, that Dan Wheldon was just like any other aspiring driver with some talent, lucky to be associated with a young, but experienced racing team, stood in an exhibition hall, next to a nicely painted Jim Beam logoed car, to sign autographs on images of himself standing next to a race car printed on light cardboard. This image of Dan Wheldon happened at a trade show in Las Vegas a few years back (2003) before he became the championship winning driver, 2-time Indy 500 winner, motorsports color commentator, and ambassador to American open wheel racing Dan Weldon people have become familiar with over the last half decade or so.

Dan was working a promotional appearance at the Las Vegas Convention Center highlighting the fact that he had just became a member of the Andretti Green Racing organization (replacing Michael Andretti as a driver) in the Indianapolis Racing League (now named IndyCar Series) and there he stood next to his Jim Beam Special Dallara happy to meet and greet people as he shook hands and handed out signed promotional printed images of himself in a similar pose. Being a race car driver isn't all "rockstar" glory ... it requires a lot of hard work.

This year has seen a growth in the stature of the gentle, and unassuming British character (the public, promotional persona), who has not only won the 2011 Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but has taken to working races behind the microphone.

Last weekend, the IndyCar Series (ICS) visited the cornfields of Iowa to run the 9th race in a 18 race season. The Iowa Corn 250 is run on a very tight, banked turn, .875-mile oval that, at race speed, takes only about 19 seconds to lap, and through this very fast lap action, Dan Wheldon proved himself as capable an announcer as he is an accomplished driver.

To those who watched the broadcast, carried by VERSUS cable channel for a unique Saturday night-time presentation, Dan Wheldon embraced the fast paced, event-filled three hours as if he'd been doing this microphone stuff for years. The broadcast pre-race featured a Formula 1 style pit lane interview walk with famed auto-writer Robin Miller and Dan, each taking a row of the two-row staging of the cars along pit lane. On the broadcast, first Robin, and then Dan (back and forth) would walk up to drivers, car owners, and engineers and create a quick one or two question interview that proved to be extremely entertaining. It's always fun to be able to catch a Ganassi or Penske off guard, especially since they rarely ever are, but this was the feel and pace of the segment - fairly smooth and spontaneous. Dan was really in the commentator zone when he was interviewing Dario Franchitti, when he said "This is my job" ... Dario graciously retorted "Oh no its not. Ahhh, you know where your job is ... [on the track]!" It makes one ask, just who was caught off-guard now?

During the race, however, is where Dan Wheldon really shined. Even though the cars were going around the oval at under 19 seconds a lap, Dan had the uncanny knack of having the broadcast presence of almost slowing down the action at moments so that the viewer felt as though they were in the cockpit and had the control of the car while it circled the track. The action did not slow down on the screen, Dan did not talk slowly, but the explanation and engagement with the viewing audience in Dan's style, translated itself to a kinda' audio slower (not slow) motion.

Forces have a funny way of working their way into situations. The fact that Dan Wheldon isn't driving for another ICS season championship in 2011 is a tragedy and all American open wheel racing fans see this. Until this situation is rectified, the same American open wheel racing fans may at least be able to have more color commentary from Dan Wheldon in future ICS races this season.

... notes from The EDJE

(Article first published as Dan Wheldon ... Championship Winning Driver, 2-Time Indy 500 Winner, Motorsports Color Commentator, Ambassador to American Open Wheel Racing on Technorati)

From England to Iowa: It's Been a Great Week for Lotus

Nigel Mansell, Group Lotus ambassador and 1992 Formula One World Champion said: “What a joy it was to be reunited with my old 81B after 30 years. This is a very special place, Hethel, and it was wonderful to open the circuit today by driving alongside my sons Leo and Greg.” [ctrl-click photo to launch YouTube video taken at the event] Image Credit: Lotus Group (2011)

From England to Iowa: It's Been a Great Week for Lotus

Group Lotus has had a pretty great week for its brand and its addition to motor culture history.

Earlier this week, across the pond in England, Nigel Mansell officially opened Group Lotus’s revised and restored Hethel test track with a roar from the 1981 Essex-Lotus 81B in which he started his glorious Formula One career more than 30-years-ago.

Mansell led a convoy of seven stunning racing cars from the Lotus stable, including the innovative 1980 Type 88 twin-chassis car – which the rule makers never allowed to race; the Lotus Type 125 Exos Experience car driven by fellow F1 legend Jean Alesi; and a brace of Lotus Renault GP cars piloted by current F1 stars Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna.

This was the first time that modern-era F1 cars had blasted around the historic Hethel tarmac since the early 1990s. The layout of the 2.2 mile circuit had changed very little, with one extra corner added, but the new asphalt and larger run off areas are better suited to modern racing and performance car testing. Its mixture of corners, straight and braking zones makes it ideal for testing and optimizing every performance aspect of the new era of Lotus products, and evaluating car control at the Lotus Driving Academy.

"A year ago we set out our plans to introduce a new model line up, ambitious motorsport plans and a revitalization of the iconic Lotus brand," said Dany Bahar, Group Lotus CEO. "A year in, we are meeting all the targets and milestones we set ourselves. One of the milestones was the opening of our test track. You might say this is just a refurbishment of a track and not a major achievement in itself, and I agree. However, mentally and psychologically seeing this project accomplished demonstrates that step-by-step our vision is becoming a reality. It shows our entire workforce and our partners that we are delivering on our promises."

In addition to a spacious new workshop, the Hethel test track will soon be accompanied by a new pit building and hospitality suite.

On this side of the pond here in little ol' Iowa, the crucible of motor culture, where the IndyCar Series (ICS) will be holding its ninth race in a 18 race season, former F1 Japanese driver, Takuma Sato notched his first pole position in the ICS and in his career.

In qualifying for the Iowa Corn 250 held at the .875-mile oval at Iowa Speedway, the KV Racing Technology-Lotus team No. 5 Dallara beat out Danica Patrick, driving the No. 7 Team GoDaddy car for Andretti Autosport. In keeping P2, Danica earned her first front-row start since Nashville Superspeedway in 2008.

"I want to say a big thank you to the whole team, the fans, the sponsors and everyone who has supported me," said Sato, who is coming off an eighth-place finish in the Milwaukee 225 (starting fifth). "It is a fantastic achievement. I knew we were going to be competitive because of last year (started seventh), and this morning I was truly comfortable in the car. I could feel where we needed to be with the setup for qualifying. Working so closely today with the three KVRT-Lotus drivers, working so closely with my engineers, we had a great answer."

The joy was short lived, however, when three hours later in the final practice session, the first Japanese driver to earn a pole position in IndyCar made contact with the No. 77 car driven by Alex Tagliani and the two cars slid into the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier. No one was injured but this may alter the starting order when the checkered flag drops at 8:00pm ET Saturday, June 25, 2011.

Regardless, Dany Bahar has to be happy with the successes this week - the unexpected delivery of promises here and those expected over there.

... notes from The EDJE

UPDATE from the Iowa Corn 250:

Takuma Sato raced upfront very well against Dario Franchitti but crashed out during the last round of pitstops. Teammate, Tony Kanaan was able to race hard to the end with Marco Andretti, swapping places P1 and P2 until Marco got the better of him.

KVRT-Lotus brought home a P2 podium finish and Tony Kanaan moves up to 4th place in the IndyCar Series season points championship.

(Article first published as From England to Iowa: It's Been a Great Week for Lotus on Technorati)

100th Anniversary INDY 500: A 95th Race For The Ages

,

100th Anniversary INDY 500: A 95th Race For The Ages

One could tell through the driver introductions that this first race ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the 100th year that the race track, located near the postal stop of Speedway, Indiana, was going to one for the ages.

It is not just because the 95th race since the track was established was marking a monumental milestone in time, but that this was quite possibly, the most experienced and talented group of drivers, ever, to be fielded for an INDY 500 race ... really!

Five former champions, two 48 year-olds (John Andretti and Davey Hamilton), and a hoard of drivers with multiple starts, in the Dallara that will be running in its final year of competition, at this track.

Scott Dixon took the lead from the Green Flag and the field settled down with little incident thoughout the first eight laps until Tagliani passed Dixon for the lead.

Simona De Silvestra pulled in after brushing the wall, changed tires, adjusted the front wing and rejoined the field one lap down.

At the end of 15 the top of the order which is lapping at around 221mph sees Tagliani, Dixon, Townsend Bell, Dan Weldon, Dario Franchitti, Oriol Servia, Will Power, Ed Carpenter, Bertrand Baguette, and Buddy Rice With Graham Rahal making the biggest move of 9 positions from 29 to 20

Lap 21, Paul Tracy and Takuma Sato hit the wall in separate incidents. Tracy pulls onto pit lane and Sato's off brings a Yellow Flag.

Pit Stops on Lap 23 - Will Power leaves without a left rear tire ... the tire rolls along the pit wall and ends up in another pit.

At the Gree Flag on Lap 28 its Tagliani, Dixon, Bell, Franchitti, Servia, Weldon, Carpenter, Miera, Kanaan, and Rice - EJ Viso clobbers the wall and brings out the Yellow Flag going three wide with Hinchcliff and Viso touch. Scott Dixon had passed Tagliani on the restart.

This should be "IT" for EJ Viso ... the most expensive driver in modern open-wheel history.

Lap 32 Green Flag has Dixon, Tagliani, Bell, Franchitti, Servia, Weldon, Carpenter, Miera, Kanaan, and Rice on the double file restart. Everyone makes it through with Townsend Bell dropping positions.

Oriol Servia is also dropping spots all of the way back to 9th with the top five being Dixon, Tagliani, Franchitti, Weldon, and Carpenter on Lap 37.

Lap 44, Franchitti passed Tagliani placing Target Chip Ganassi teammates at P1 and P2.

Lap 50 has Dixon, Franchitti, Weldon, Tagliani, and Bell in the top 5 positions. Kanaan is up to P6 from P22. Rahal is up to P6 from P29. The biggest surprise is that NO Penske is in the top 10!

The top Penske team driver after 50 laps is Castroneves in P13, followed by Briscoe in P21, and Power in P26.

Pit Stops were just beginning when the Yellow Flag flew with 61 laps - Jay Howard was just coming out of a pit stop and loses a wheel and smacks the wall. Danica Patrick comes in for a quick fuel stop with the pits being closed.

Can't anyone tighten a single lug nut? Can we get a NASCAR wheel guy in there?

Andretti Autosport is also having its troubles with Danica Patrick being shown in P13, Marco Andretti in P16, and John Andretti in P24.

Green Flag Double file restart on lap 71 sees the top five as Franchitti, Dixon, Tagliani, Weldon and Bell.

Some of the tires that came off in the last round of pit stops were worn down to the cord (fabric) layer.

Lap 80 has P24 Ryan Hunter-Reay as the last car on the lead lap. He brushed the wall three laps earlier. Top five cars are pulling away - Dixon, Franchitti, Tagliani, Weldon, and Bell. P6-P10 ... JR Hildebrand, Servia, Carpenter, Graham Rahal, and Tomas Scheckter.

After 98 laps, Graham Rahal is in the top 10 at P8 ... Dixon, Franchitti Weldon, Tagliani, and Bell are the top 5. Marco Andretti breaks into the top 10 at P10 and Ryan Broscoe is the top Penske at P13.

Lap 100 has pit stops by many of the leaders - CRASH, Franchitti wins again as he just entered the pits ... that is twice in one race.

Oriol Servia's Newman Haas teammate, James Hinchcliff, gets high and skids into the wall Yellow Flag pit stops begin on lap 102.

On Lap 107 Green Flag drops with the top 10 being reset with Franchitti benefitting from his good fortune followed by Oriol Servia, Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Scott Dixon, Dan Weldon, Alex Tagliani, Townsend Bell, JR Hildebrand, and ...... Ryan Briscoe. Four wide down the front straight with 18 cars on the lead lap.

Helio just passed Dario Franchitti to get his lap back on Lap 109 and is now using the rosary to get a Yellow Flag called so he can go around.

Lap 112 Oriol Servia uses P2P for the first time and gets by Dario Franchitti for P1!

Servia is using Helio Castroneves to draft for speed and stay away from Franchitti. Danica Patrick breaks into the top ten while Alex Tagliani is slowing and has dropped back to P13.

Servia dispatches Castroneves on lap 120 which gives him a temporary cushion as Dixon passes Marco Andretti to secure P3.

Two of the three Penske Racing cars are one lap down. Ryan Briscoe is in the top 10 at P8.

Dario Franchitti passes Servia for the lead on lap 130 placing him in a Ganassi sandwich.

Tagliani gets placed one lap down on Lap 134 at P17 due to poor handling. Dan Weldon pits from P5.

Dario in at Lap 136, Green Flag stops are in full swing. Rookie JR Hildebrand takes the lead.

Lap 148 and the next to last pit stops have been made. Top 10 are Dario Franchitti pulling away by about 10 seconds from Scott Dixon, Servia, Weldon, M.Andretti, Bell, Kanaan, Hildebrand, Patrick and Rahal.

Yellow Flag - Alex Tagliani, the pole sitter, slams the wall and this ends the day for Sam Schmidt Racing's best hope for a win.

Helio Castroneves and the rest of the lap down cars come back in to the pits for fuel and tires.

At this point the race looks as if it is Target Chip Ganassi's to win with his cars running P1, P2, and P8 (Rahal) running in the top 10.

Danica Patrick is up to P7.

Lap 155 Green Flag Restart has three abreast, and running two aside for most of the first lap.

Lap 157 Yellow Flag - Townsend Bell and Ryan Briscoe take each other out. Helio Castroneves is running without a tire on the rim. Bell chops down on Briscoe in a corner and the tangled mess slides into the wall. Penske Racing and Sam Schmidt Racing are having a horrible 500.

Lap 164 has Franchitti ducking in for fuel.

Lap 165 Green Flag leads with Servia, Rahal, Dixon, Kanaan, Weldon, Scheckter, Hildebrand, Patrick, Carpenter, and Franchitti round out the top 10.

Graham Rahal passes Servia for the lead.

Lap 169 Dixon passes Servia for P2.

Lap 172 Dixon passes Rahal for the lead. Kanaan passes Servia for P3.

Lap 176-178 Kanaan and Rahal duel for P2 with Kanaan on top for now ... no Rahal ... no Rahal pit Stop.

Patrick takes the lead with 20 laps to go ... needs about 4 extra laps of fuel to make it to the end.

Lap 185 - 15 to go - Patrick, Baguette, Scheckter, M. Andretti, Franchitti, Hildebrand, Dixon, Weldon, Kimball and Kanaan.

Lap 187 Bertrand Baguette passes Patrick on the back straight but both cars can not make it to the end on fuel. Tomas Scheckter pits for fuel so Franchitti moves to P4.

Patrick in for fuel on Lap 190. Franchitti in P2 behind Baguette.

Three laps to go and Rookie JR Hildebrand passes Franchitti for the lead as Baguette comes in for fuel.

The Panther Racing's National Guard sponsored Dallara receives the White Flag. The rookie hits the wall coming out of turn #4 giving Dan Weldon his second win of the INDY500 ... the 9th driver to do so. JR Hildebrand crosses the line with three wheels in P2. Ganassi's Service Central Sponsored Dallara driven by Graham Rahal sneaks in at P3 to finish the podium.

Brian Herta Motorsports William Rast sponsored Dallara WINS THE INDY 500.

The final finishing top 10 places - P4-P10 - Kanaan, Servia, Dixon, Baguette, Scheckter, M. Andretti, and Patrick.

What a beginning to the Centennial Era of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

... notes from The EDJE

Millennials "Peer" Into Ride-Sharing Transportation Service

Image Credit: Getaway.com

Millennials "Peer" Into Ride-Sharing Transportation Service

In a tough economy, especially one where one might find themselves living in a high-density metropolis, car-ownership may not strike one as ownership at all. Most cars are purchased on time (so the finance company actually owns the car), it gets parked during the day at a parking structure near ones work (so a parking lot service takes possession of the car for a fee for this time), the insurance company owns an interest stake which the person who maintains the title on the vehicle pays in order to even out the potential for a catastrophe, and so on, and on, and on!

So here is an idea that is catching on with Millennials who are beginning to realize that if one owns a car, they actually have an asset that can help pay for itself. By renting the car when it is not in use, it can provide a temporary solution to a transportation problem for people who find themselves in need of a short-term, self-directed, closed-loop ride.

Enter Getaround - Getaround specializes in providing a seamless, peer-to-peer car-sharing experience by using smartphone technology to empower people everywhere to share vehicles and utilize smarter transportation options. For as little as $6 an hour, users can conveniently rent cars from people nearby … by the hour, day, or week and save hundreds of dollars on car payments, auto insurance, and maintenance. Car owners, while making a positive impact on the environment, can make money by renting out their cars to help offset the high costs of car ownership. Through building a community founded on trust and technology, Getaround can make it easy to, well … get around!
(description ht: Getaround website)

How it works - people who have a car they want to share can make them available by setting the price per hour or day for their car when they’re not planning on using it. People who need a car are able to sign-up for the vehicle. The owner maintains the final say in who can rent their car. When a rental is confirmed, a user gets a key on the Getaround iPhone app to unlock the car.

Getting access to cars is provided through a remote car kit that an owner installs easily in their car. A renter then uses the digital key found in the Getaround iPhone app to unlock the car when they arrive. The physical car key is left inside. Renters insurance is handled by Berkshire Hathaway, which provides liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage that supersedes the policies of both owners and renters during the rental period.

Getaround’s founder, Sam Zaid, outlined that the service uses a reputation management system with review and ratings so owners and renters can get a sense of who they’re dealing with. The start-up makes money by taking a 40 percent cut of each transaction.

Image Credit: Getaway.com

This excerpted and edited from Sustainable Industries –

Rent your neighbor's ride
By Sara Stroud - Sustainable Industries, May 2, 2011

San Francisco has emerged as the test bed for new peer-to-peer car sharing services like Getaround, RelayRides and Spride Share that hope to turn a profit while reducing the impact of carbon-spewing vehicles by eliminating the need to own one. These startups are betting that there are thousands of people like Prager and Lee in San Francisco, home to a population of techno-savvy, environmentally conscious early adopters already accustomed to sharing on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks born in the Bay Area.

And so Getaround and its competitors are using the city’s hilly streets to try out business models that could make borrowing your neighbor’s car only slightly more difficult than borrowing a cup of sugar.

But the companies aren’t just competing with each other. They’re going head-to-head with the idea of what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours, banking on seemingly un-businesslike concepts of trust and sharing, and hoping to create community along with profits.

The idea for Getaround was hatched in 2009. Two of its three founders, Jessica Scorpio and Sam Zaid, were among the inaugural class at Singularity University, a Silicon Valley interdisciplinary postgraduate program aimed at using technology to solve social, environmental and humanitarian problems.
----
While many companies are focused on revamping transportation through electric vehicles, biofuels and other disruptive technologies, Scorpio and her colleagues wanted to focus on something that could have a more immediate impact.

Getaround’s founders decided they wanted to upend conventional ideas about car ownership. Established car sharing companies like Zipcar were a great start, as they saw it.
----
Shelby Clark came to a similar conclusion in his own car sharing experience, which inspired him to start RelayRides, a peer-to-peer car sharing startup that was born in Boston and is now headquartered in San Francisco.

Clark turned to car sharing after a cross-country move in 2007. His car broke down, and after dragging his muffler across the state of Nevada, the car struggled across the Bay Bridge, collapsed in San Francisco and never started again. Clark signed up for Zipcar to tide him over until he bought a new car. A year later, he was still car free, and hadn’t missed the burdens of ownership.
----
Since the cars in the peer-to-peer services are people’s personal vehicles, there’s a much wider range of rides available than there is through a typical car rental or a traditional car sharing service. There’s also likely to be personal touches, like random CD collections, or in Prager’s case, a little dog hair – call it the fuzzy-dice-in-the-rearview-mirror factor.

Cars range from Toyota Corollas and late- 90s Volkswagen Beetles going for $5 and $6 an hour to more exotic cars like a smart fortwo and a bright yellow 2007 Hummer, which rents for $13 per hour.

For anyone willing to shell out $50 an hour, Getaround also offers a Tesla Roadster. Getaround administers the rental and keeps the car in a garage in the city, on loan from its owner who wants people to have the experience of driving an electric car.
----
The face-to-face interaction of the key swap is something Ishmael Riles says he likes about lending his car through Getaround. A web developer who shares a flat with roommates in San Francisco’s Mission District, Riles and his 2009 Subaru belong to both Getaround and RelayRides.

Riles was a longtime Zipcar member but bought his car when he got a job that required commuting. Now, with a different job, his car sits idle most of the time – Riles estimates he uses it himself only about once a week.

In the three months since he started his car sharing experiment, he’s lent out his car about once a week, and has made about $600 through both services combined. He’s also made a shift in how he thinks about his vehicle.

“It was definitely a change in my attitude towards my car,” Riles says. “I went from thinking of it as an expensive thing that loses value to something that can pay for itself.”
[Reference Here]

As more Millennials identify themselves with a sharing culture, the burgeoning social and business movement of collaborative consumption, people are trading ownership for access.

From power tools and children’s clothes to finance and housing, it’s a movement that’s taking root in a wide swath of markets. Personal transportation through services like Getaround are just examples of this social collaborative approach … but can one really achieve the desired ideals of needs-satisfaction while having to rely on the time, availability, and resources of others?

… notes from The EDJE

To Plank, Or Not To Plank? ... That Is The IndyCar Question!

Planking has just hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This pose, which got its start in Australia became the perfect activity for a down weather day at the famed race track ready to celebrate its 100th year. Arie Luyendyk Jr. posted up this example calling it "The highest plank at IMS" ... taken at the spotter's perch. Image Credit ariejr

To Plank, Or Not To Plank? ... That Is The IndyCar Question!

Planking is a social media phenomenon that got its start in England around 2009 and most recently is catching fire in Australia.

The rules for planking are simple - planking takes its name from how players mimic a wooden board by lying rigid, preferably in a public place or on an unusual spot, such as a washing machine, a sign or a railing. The person planking lays down on the place to be planked, then stretches out stiff pointing ones fingers and toes, face down with no expression. The point is to post a wacky planking photo online.

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, today, the practice was called of due to inclement weather. A lot of drivers and team support personnel were keyed up with nothing to do so Alex Lloyd decided to lay down a challenge with the following "tweets".

alex_lloyd Alex Lloyd

After seeing @scottdixon9's tweet on PLANKING, I decided to give it a go myself. http://t.co/4VCUPIu

alex_lloyd Alex Lloyd

50 bucks to any driver than 'planks' during driver intros.

Then former Vision Racing PR person Pat Caporali started keeping tabs on who was joining in on the planking mayhem!

Examples:

Scott Dixon's second ... and best attempt. Image Credit: scottdixon9

Bookended Aussies from Penske Racing - Will Power and Ryan Briscoe. Image Credit: PenskeRacing

Leading rookie, James Hinchcliff in the Newman/Haas garage. Image Credit: hinchtown

KV Racing Technologies' Tony Kanaan gives it a good stiffing. Image Credit: PCaporali

James Hinchcliff posing plankstyle on a pole. Image Credit: Jalopnik via hinchtown

Rafa Matos planking across the buiness end of his AFS Dallara. Image Credit: PCaporali

All four drivers on the KV Racing Technologies team. L to R - EJ Viso, Takuma Sato, Tomas Scheckter, and Tony Kanaan. Image Credit: PCaporali

The "Yard Of Bricks" planking photo featuring Sam Schmidt Motorsports' Wade Cunningham. Image Credit: Jalopnik via wadecunningham

This excerpted and edited from CNN -

'Planking' death puts spotlight on bizarre Web craze
By Mark Milian, CNN - May 18, 2011 1:21 p.m. EDT

Apparently lying face down is all it takes to create an Internet phenomenon.

An obscure activity called "planking" is garnering international exposure after an Australian man fell to his death last week while attempting to take part in the online fad.
----
Acton Beale, the 20-year-old Aussie who fell seven stories while planking on a high-rise balcony, upped the ante to fatal consequences, police said.
----
All the recent attention has sparked a flood of fresh planking photos, as well as YouTube clips of television-news anchors face down on their desks.

Diplo, a popular electronic-music DJ, wrote on Twitter: "planking right now." A spokesperson for Honey Bunches of Oats (yes, the cereal) promoted safe planking in a message on its blog Monday.

"It's the most fun you can have being still," Sam Smith, from Australia, wrote on Facebook.
----
Among the gems: a woman lying on a bar, a man planking across the humps of two live camels' backs, a group face-down on an escalator, a woman on Kmart shopping carts, and a guy prone across the shelves of a convenience-store refrigerator.

The concept has been around for at least a decade, according to an English duo which takes credit for its invention and was profiled in a 2009 column in the Toronto Star. Then, it was called the Lying Down Game. (Not exactly a catchy name.)
----
Plankers say the activity is generally harmless fun -- though that idea was challenged last week. Some even refer to it, tongue-in-cheek, as a type of alternative sport.

"Planking is an extreme sport which requires years of constant training to perfect the complex technique," wrote Jake Mason on the Planking Facebook page.

The game hasn't won over everyone, and those opposed are especially vocal. A bunch of anti-planking pages have sprung up on Facebook.
----
Steve Molk, a radio personality in Brisbane, Australia, declares that planking has "jumped the shark."

Hopefully that won't give anyone ideas about planking an actual shark.
[Reference Here]

Gotta add Tomas Scheckter's "Yard Of Bricks" plank. Just imagine what Tomas Scheckter and the rest of the male IndyCar field would look like if they take up the suggestion made by teammate Tony Kanaan below. Image Credit: PCaporali

One last "tweet" by Tony Kanaan puts this exercise in boredom relief in perspective:

TonyKanaan Tony Kanaan

Under control bro RT @tomasscheckter Tomorrow is every driver has to take viagra and plank naked.

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: IMS, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, Planking, The EDJE

The Amazing 2011 Win Streak Of Brandon Davis

This season's designated NASCAR national championship division is back at the Toyota Speedway on Saturday night 5/21/2011 with young Brandon Davis on a roll and sporting a perfect 5-for-5 record in the Auto Club Late Models. Davis is pictured here answering questions at the Pirelli World Challenge Championship post race press conference - he won this race as well. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

The Amazing 2011 Win Streak Of Brandon Davis

Last night, 25 year old Brandon Davis won his sixth 2011 Southern California race in a row.

Davis easily won the 50-lap main event, his fifth consecutive victory in the NASCAR sanctioned Automobile Club of Southern California Late Model series races held at the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale driving his Applied Computer Solutions No. 55 High Point Racing Chevy Monte Carlo .

"I did not think I could [win five consecutive 2011 series races] in my wildest dreams," Davis said. "Now that we've done it, let's see if we can make it six in a row."

Davis' victory tied an Irwindale record for most victories (5) to start the season in the series (Chris Holloway was second and Dylan Lupton third). In fact, Brandon Davis hasn't lost a race in the track's Automobile Club of Southern California Late Model series since last September, when he won the final points-paying race - so, bridging 2010 and 2011, Davis has won six in a row at Toyota Speedway.

Travis Irving, who plans on leaving the series competition (for, as he puts it ... political reasons) raced to a fifth place position after proclaiming at the beginning of the evening's NASCAR sactioned Automobile Club of Southern California Late Model series event, "We're going to have a little bit of fun and try to end one guy's (Brandon Davis') win streak. There are no other cars that can beat him."
(quote ht: pasadenastarnews.com)

Last month, Brandon Davis also notched a win in the only race he competed in the SCCA's Pirelli World Challenge GT Class series. This series features modified cars manufactured by Porsche (current manufacturer points leader), Cadillac, Volvo, Dodge Viper, and Corvette driven by as prestigious drivers as James Sofronas, Johnny O'Connell, and factory Porsche driver, Patrick Long. Davis, the 2009 Drivers’ Champion was making his first SCCA sanctioned Pirelli World Challenge start since a podium finish a season ago at Long Beach, started second in the No. 10 Applied Computer Solutions Express/Sun Micro Ford Mustang Cobra.

“It was great,” Davis said. “I’ve tried so hard in the Mustang to run up there the last few years. One of the issues we’ve always had with the Mustang is it’s been really hard on tires. It was one of those races that it just seemed like it was destiny. We started behind Pat Long and just assumed that we were going to be looking for who was coming from behind us because he had been so quick all weekend. Fortunately for us, he rolled on the start and went to the back."

"We started to see Sofronas [in another Porsche] coming late in the race and we were luckily able to hold him off, we got some help in traffic. Just coming back to Long Beach and getting the win, we’re very happy.”
(quotes ht: world-challenge.com)

The next opportunity for Brandon Davis to travel in from Henderson, Nevada (or Huntington Beach) to extend his streak comes next weekend on May 21, 2011 - Armed Forces Appreciation Night. Saturday night will also feature Echo Equipment Night Sponsored by USG $1 Hot Dog, $2 Beer, and a Seidners Collision Centers SKID PLATE RACE!!

... notes from The EDJE