Honda Indy Toronto's tale of two races with one result

TCGR's three-time IndyCar Champion wins race #32 in his career to mark a strong three race charge to challenge for the 2013 Championship. Image Credit: Honda Indy Toronto (2013)

Honda Indy Toronto's Tale Of Two Races With One Result

With a strong potential of a major points swing in the offing, the thrill of a first-time Standing-Start in IndyCar (ChampCar used them), Push-To-Pass (P2P), two tire compound (Reds/Blacks) strategy, and the 24 year history of exciting temporary street races as a backdrop, the double-header weekend of the 2013 Honda Indy Toronto did not disappoint.

Okay, so the first race of the weekend really was disappointing to not have the Standing-Start as advertised. Josef Newgarden's car failed on the grid sequence which created a 'called' ABORT of the Standing-Start. The cars were rolled off and the formation lap counted as a race lap with the Rolling-Start GREEN Flag which began Lap 2. It was ruled that the Standing-Start would replace the planned Rolling-Start for Race 2 for the second race on Sunday.

Honda Indy Toronto's Race 1, itself, was one of the most entertaining and competitive temporary street course races this season, and what seems to be happening more often than not, the driver to lead the most laps did not win. Marco Andretti comes to mind.

Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais, four-time ChampCar Champion, qualified in P2, right next to four-time IRL/IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti for Honda Indy Toronto Race 1. SeaBass eventually ended up on the podium at P2 next to the two Target Chip Ganassi drivers Scott Dixon in P1 and Dario Franchitti in a confusing P3. Image Credit: More Front Wing via Twitter

In Race 1, Will Power was able to take over control of the race after Power took the lead from Sebastian Bourdais on Lap 32 shortly after the first cycle of green flag stops ended. Bourdais had managed to keep his advantage through the cycle, but was unable to stop Power from pulling off a tail-twitching inside pass in Turn 1 on the 1.75-mile Exhibition Place street circuit.

A full-course yellow on Lap 35 for contact between Tristan Vautier and Graham Rahal erased a two-second edge for Power, but he was able to hold off Bourdais on the next restart at Lap 40. Will Power went on to lead the most laps in the race when he was able to keep the lead until Lap 60 when he gave it up during Green Flag pit-stops to Sebastien Bourdais.

Soon after the Lap 40 restart, Scott Dixon was able to pass Bourdais in Turn 3, moving to P2 on the course. Through the same round of pit-stops where Power gave up the lead, to Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon came in last, extending his fuel run ... and filed in behind Bourdais and ahead of both teammate Dario Franchitti and Will Power. With Bourdais on the softer Reds, and Dixon on the Blacks standard compound tires, the showdown of tire wear and P2P began. Bourdais had no P2P left and Dixon had about 3 or 4 pushes left. After a couple of set-up attempts, on Lap 78 using one of the two remaining P2Ps while Bourdais was powerless on used-up Firestone Reds and without a Push-To-Pass to use in defense of the Target Chip Ganassi Honda. Dixon overtook race leader and held off the four-time ChampCar champion on a Lap 84 single-file restart to earn his 31st victory to tie Bourdais, Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy for seventh on the all-time Indy car list.

"These doubleheaders are tough; we got through Race 1. Just a crazy day," said Dixon, who earned the Verizon P1 Award with the fastest lap in qualifications for Race 2 earlier in the day. "This is what we need to get the momentum going."

As far as the Championship race within a race - In Race 1, Helio Castroneves extended his championship lead from 23 points to 41 with a fifth-place finish in the 12th event of the season, combined with Ryan Hunter-Reay's 18th-place result. Hunter-Reay encountered a myriad of problems, including stalling the No. 1 DHL Chevrolet twice leaving his pit stall and making contact with the Turn 3 tire barrier on Lap 79.

Honda Indy Toronto's Race 2 saw a ruled 'do-over' of the Standing-Start with the caveat that if the first attempt did not take for any reason, there would be at least one additional attempt. This ruling was not the only change in the interpretation of the rules by substitute, and former, Race Control head, Brian Barnhart. In Race 1, Barnhart first assessed a late race penalty on Dario Franchitti for blocking on Will Power as Power attempted a pass causing Power to tap the inside wall and miss Turn 3. This post-race penalty ruling was then later rescinded and everyone then knew that Race Control was not being headed by the current IICS Race Control captain, Beaux Barfield (who was unable to attend the Honda Indy Toronto weekend for personal reasons).

Also, the Standing-Start came off without a hitch, in that every car got rolling but Dario Franchitti suffered front wing damage and came in at the end of the first lap, took off his minimum two lap Firestone Red alternative tires, and put on the standard Blacks which he used for the balance of the 85 Lap race. Barnhart was an influence to the end of this race as well. He ruled that due to the fact that this was a two-race weekend, and that Red alternative tires were in short supply, Dario Franchitti would not be penalized for using Reds for only one lap as opposed to the mandatory two lap minimum as stated in the rule book. Most are having trouble with this typical Brian Barnhart autocratically-interpretable Race Control attitude. Question: Why does this Race Control captain always seem to make the race become more about Race Control decisions than the race itself?

Back to Race 2 which ran without any full course cautions for 64 of 85 laps. This has to be a Green Flag running record for the tight and treacherous 1.7-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit. In 24 years, the Honda Indy Toronto has never seen a race without at least one Yellow Flag full course caution.

Scott Dixon went on to win a most convincing race and many would consider, save the Standing-Start, was just a continuation of the race ran the day before. The Target Chip Ganassi driver put on a clinic of driver and car domination in Race 2 that had him leading every lap except for Lap 24 and 25 when Helio Castroneves stayed out during the first set of Green Flag pit-stops. All other pit-stops, Scott Dixon kept the lead due to his lead on the track - that's domination.

A second Yellow Flag full course caution was called when Ed Carpenter lost it in Turn 5 and slammed the wall on Lap 77, this had another restart incident happen on Lap 83 where the driver who was the pre-race P2 in the Championship points, Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay try to make a three-wide pass on the outside of Turn 1. As the middle car, which squeezed down on the inside corner car of Will Power, cleared, Power applied the pedal and his rear end twitched, tapping RHR's car and this sent the Yellow DHL DW12 into the wall to finish the race in P19.

As far as the Championship race within a race - Helio Castroneves was able to finish Honda Indy Toronto's Race 2 on the podium in P2. Scott Dixon ended up by winning three races in a row with his win at Pocono, moving him up three positions in the Championship points to P4, the win in the Honda Indy Toronto Race 1 moving him to P3 ahead of Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti, and this last win in Honda Indy Toronto Race 2 moving him to P2 ahead of Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay.

In a post race interview, Dixon was informed that he had also won the $100,000 SONAX Perfect Finish Award for winning both races of the Honda Indy Toronto. Dixon Quote - "$100 Grand is good but I'd rather have the points. Points ... is why were here." 

Before the weekend, Helio had a 23 point margin between him and all other drivers. Helio Castroneves now leads all drivers by 29 points for a net gain of 6 points - not a huge shift. The biggest shift in the standings has to be the movement up the championship points ladder of Target Chip Ganassi's three-time IndyCar Champion, Scott Dixon who moves 5 point's positions in just three races.

The biggest loser for the Honda Indy Toronto double-header weekend was Andretti Autosport who have had chances to lock up the championship points race due to their qualification's performance in recent race weekends, but have not been able to convert their most laps led or front-row owning qualification performance by their drivers to Championship points.

More Front Wing's Stephanie Wallcraft caught up with Andretti Autosport's James Hinchcliffe and he let her know in no uncertain terms that he is not a fan of double-header weekends. Said Hinch:

“I don’t think anybody likes them. Scott Dixon gets 100 points. How come we don’t have two races at Iowa (where Hinchcliffe not only won but dominated in much the same way the Target Chip Ganassi driver did in Toronto this weekend)? That would have been awesome for us.

“You have to have double-headers at all of them or none of them. I’ve said that since they announced these things. It’s not a fair way to do it. We as a team didn’t have particularly strong cars here, and we get penalized twice as much. And we’re going to go to Houston, and somebody’s going to nail it and have a really good day. It’s unfortunate that that’s how it works.

” Nobody in the series will ever warm up to these. They’re too hard on the drivers, they’re too hard on the teams. You get so little practice, it’s so tough to get the car set up right.”

After 13 of 19 races in the 2013 season, it looks as though this season will end as many of the last several season's have ended (not 2012) with a shootout between a Penske Racing and a Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver for the season's driving Championship.

Two races in one road/street course weekend seems like the IZOD IndyCar Series might be stretching the performance rubber-band a little too far. This weekend, while being a crowd-pleasing event for those in Toronto, sucked all of the attention off of the supporting World Challenge and Road to Indy races.

In the end, the two days of races paid double points to Scott Dixon for what translated to be a single tour de force 170 lap race through the streets of Toronto.

... notes from The EDJE

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TAGS: Helio Castroneves, Andretti Autosport, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power, Dario Franchitti, Penske Racing, Sebastien Bourdais, The EDJE, Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dragon Racing,

Honda and Ganassi sweep the Podium at the Pocono Indy 400

Target Chip Ganassi finally breaks through with a win in 2013 at the modern inaugural (after 24 years) of the Pocono Indy 400 Fueled by Sunoco. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Honda and Ganassi sweep the Podium at the Pocono Indy 400

Who would have thunk it ... after Chevy-powered DW12s practiced and qualified in the major positions in the top 10 all 4th of July weekend long, and with Andretti Autosport starting with the first three places of the front row filled with their drivers, Chip Ganassi Racing stacks the podium after 160 laps in the Pocono Indy 400 Fueled by Sunoco race at Pocono Raceway.

Honda not only filled the podium, their cars took six of the top ten positions as compared to qualifications where only three Honda-powered cars qualified in the top ten (P7, P8, and P9) to start the race.

Chip Ganassi could not be more pleased after changing engines in Scott Dixon's and Dario Franchitti's TCGR DW12s and having these drivers start the race at P17 and P20 respectively after penalties.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda-powered driver Josef Newgarden (Hartman Oil) finishes the Pocono Indy 400 Fueled by Sunoco race at Pocono Raceway in P5. His best finish in IndyCar. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Josef Newgarden made it four Honda's in the top five and as he stated in a post race interview, "This (Pocono) is an IndyCar track. I don't know why we haven't raced here until now."

That may be just the reaction to almost anyone who watched the race play out from this oddly shaped super-speedway that, in speeds, rivals any on the schedule.

Fuel mileage and pitstop management was the key to Honda teams doing so well ... that, and keeping out of racing trouble on the track.

The race eliminate one Chevy-powered threat after another starting with a spin on Turn 1 at the drop of the GREEN Flag when P3 James Hinchcliffe jostled his Go Daddy car into the wall. Leaving many to use the following hashtag on Twitter - #WhatTurn1.

Later in the race, the #14 of Takuma Sato came into the pits HOT and side-swiped P2 Ryan Hunter-Reay and before the race was a little over 50 laps old, Andretti Autosport had two of the team's top three qualifying cars out of the race. Best Tweet: "@nascarcasm Sato Pearl Harbored RHR #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono."

The next largest Chevy-powered story was held by KV Racing Technology's Tony Kanaan and his pursuit of the Fuzzy's Vodka Triple Crown. On Lap 67, TK took the lead of the race giving hope that he might just have what it took to maybe win the second of the three races and win the $1,000,000 dollar prize at the end of the year. He had already banked the INDY 500 win, all he needed to do was pocket Pocono and then take the final race of the season at Fontana to take the super-speedway triple crown challenge put up by Ed Carpenter's team sponsor - Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka.

Tony tripped himself up when he didn't leave himself enough room when passing what turned out to be the eventual winner, Scott Dixon, and clipped his front wing on Dixon's left rear tire. Best Tweets - @estradawriting - And TK clips his front wing in the process of passing Dixon! How did that not break? #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 --- @mike_kuhns - Tony Kanaan kisses $1 million goodbye. Front wing damaged. Unplanned pit. #Indycar @PoconoRecord#pocono

James Hinchcliffe's car on the hook, the victim of a twitch and a spin on the first turn of the first lap. Image Credit: E.M.H via Twitter

Top 10 position progression throughout the race from Lap 125 forward via Tweets on Twitter:

@TheEDJE
Lap 125 of 160 - Power, Dixie, Marco, Simon, Kimball, Helio, Carpenter, Dario, Newgarden, and Justin R Top 10 #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@TheEDJE
34 to go and Marco is in the pits on a fuel strategy #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@michaelw2000
Dixon in with 29 to go!  #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@drewallennews
Ganassi 1-2-3. #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono and Honda with Pagenaud are in the Top 4

@TheEDJE
Lap 140 of 160 - Dixie, Kimball, Dario, Simon, Power, Marco, Josef, Helio, Justin, and Carpenter R Top 10 #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@DonMedia
Gaaaa! Ganassi gloating on my TeeVee. Mute depolyed! #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@EJVISO
#indycar Viso is back in the race after a few laps in the garage!!! By.AG

@ThePodiumFinish
Closing in on the final 10 laps of the Pocono #IndyCar 400 @poconoraceway - who's going to haul the mail home here?

@indycaradvocate
Marco will at least get bonus points for pole and laps led, but this one will sting. #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@TheEDJE
Lap 150 of 160 - Dixie, Kimball, Dario, Simon, Power, Josef, Helio,  Carpenter, Marco, and Justin R Top 10 #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@Racing_Daily
5 to go. #IndyCar

@emerald_229
Convinced its written in the stars that Helio wins this championship #WhatTurn4 #IndyCar #pocono

@TheEDJE
Power passes Pagenaud for P4 #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

@TheEDJE
Checkered Flag - Dixie, Kimball, Dario, Power, Josef, Pagenaud, Wilson, Helio, Carpenter, and Marco, R Top 10 #IndyCar #WhatTurn4 #pocono

This marked only the third time in the modern open-wheel era a team had swept the podium with its drivers - Andretti Green at St. Pete in 2005, Penske Racing at Sonoma in 2011, and now at Pocono's modern day inaugural with Chip Ganassi.

Honda-powered cars were all three podium Chip Ganassi Racing cars of Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing), Charlie Kimball (Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing), and Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) - The Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda of Josef Newgarden (Hartman Oil) with his best finish in IndyCar - The Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports Honda of Simon Pagenaud the weekend after tackling Pikes Peak for Honda - and the Dale Coyne Racing Honda of Justin Wilson (Boy Scouts of America).

As far as the business end of the event is concerned, the Pocono IndyCar 400 Fueled by Sunoco seemed to meet and exceed attendance expectations.

This excerpted and edited from a local Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania paper, The Morning Call -

Return of racing to Pocono was a people pleaser
By: Paul Reinhard - The Morning Call

[Fans said] They loved what they saw Sunday in Long Pond before the race ever began.

They said they hoped this would not be a one-and-done proposition. When told of the three-year contract between Pocono and IndyCar, they immediately said they'd be back.

That's the kind of talk Pocono Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Igdalsky wanted to hear.

Nick — who, along with his brother, Brandon, the chief executive officer, is the driving force behind the Raceway — wasn't announcing any attendance figures, but he said, "We exceeded our goals, for sure."

If what I heard early in the weekend is correct, the Pocono family hoped for a crowd in the 25,000 range and that those expectations had been met with the advance sale. So, anything gained by way of walkup on a perfect race day was bonus.

Pocono made it almost a must-buy by offering children 12-and-younger half-price tickets for any seat in the house. That worked, for sure, because the crowd included lots of families. And families are potential long-term fans.

"We want to build it over the years and we want this race to be a Fourth of July weekend for the next 20 years," Nick Igdalsky said.
----
Igdalsky said 60 percent of the prerace sales were to what Pocono calls "new people," who were either never in the track database or had been purged because they had not returned in a long time.
----
"What struck me is the atmosphere," Igdalsky said. "I don't know if it was because it was the first race back after so long, but I don't think so. This whole fan base makes it different than the other events we have."
----
"Action toward the end was fast and furious … so, next year, maybe the Fuzzy's Triple Crown will be comprised of three 500-milers," he said nonchalantly.
----
"That's what we really want," he said. "We think the cars are fast enough. But, it's up to [ABC]. Their call. We don't have a say. We want it to be a 500-mile race. IndyCar knows that, ABC knows that."

The bottom line ... Sunday was all good.
(Reference Here)

July 4th weekend, 500 miles, Pocono, anyone?

... notes from The EDJE

Pocono's elevated sprocket drive shape gives IndyCar traction

Marco Andretti, driving at his family's home track for the first time as an IICS driver hopes to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and notch a win at Pocono Raceway ... something team owner and father has never done. Image Credit: Chris Owens via motorsport.com

Pocono's elevated sprocket drive shape gives IndyCar traction

For the first time since 1989, American open-wheel racing comes back to an area of the United States that has become known as racing's Magic Triangle due to the location of Pocono Raceway to the population centers of New York and Philadelphia.

Pocono Raceway is about 90 miles away from both New York and Philadelphia with New York having the distinction of the #1 largest TV market and Philadelphia, the #4 largest TV market. This also places the super-speedway within 200 miles of 60 million people and when you consider that the average NASCAR Sprint Cup fan (the main fan base that have used Pocono Speedway these last 24 years) travels 300 miles, this race track is in the highest population density of almost any other popular racing destination.

Everyone loves to bring their own analogy to this uniquely shaped racing venue ... being a triangle, people call the 'Tricky Triangle' a tri-oval or 'roval' because of its asymmetric configuration - an oval with three corners that drives like a road course, The Devil's Triangle, and, naturally, the Bermuda Triangle because of the good driving careers that have been dashed here by drivers and teams that can best figure out the set-up for a car that will encounter very fast speeds around three very differently shaped turns.

The concept of an elevated sprocket for driving the track was first introduced in production as far back as 1917 when the Dayton-Dick Company of Quincy Illinois, introduced its Leader Model 25-40 tractor ... as described in the book, Caterpillar Chronicle: The History of the World's Greatest Earthmovers. This approach has become the most successful track design for heavy equipment. Image Credit: chinesewheelloader.net

The best analogy may come from the design of a continuous drive track of a bulldozer known as an elevated sprocket drive found on modern tractor vehicles. The shape delivers superior traction and allows the machine operator great handling performance and control of this earth-moving device.

Pocono Raceway's shape can be described as follows - The front/main straightaway (no-name) leading to turn one is .7083 of a mile or 3,740 feet which enters the Trenton Speedway shaped Turn 1 and catches the cars at 14° banking. The “Long Pond” (the second longest straightaway) stretches for .5786 of a mile or 3,055 feet between Turns One and Two and enters the "Tunnel Turn" (designed to be similar to the high-speed turns at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) at 8° banking. Lastly, the 'no-name' stretch from Turn Two to Turn Three is a mere .3371 of a mile or 1,780 feet and enters the final turn, the Milwaukee Mile Turn 3, at 6° banking.

The unusual triangular configuration is conducive to many lead changes since this track sports the longest and widest straightaway with the longest and widest Pit Road of any on the modern NASCAR circuit. This gives Pocono a uniqueness that will certainly be exploited by the IZOD IndyCar Series open-wheeled DW12s.

During practice and qualifications leading up to this first open-wheel race, the traction of the cars to this unique asymmetrical track layout proved itself. All of the cars that had practiced on Thursday's first day of track activity broke the last open-wheeled race car speed record set by Emerson Fittipaldi at 211.715 mph, with the slowest practice fast lap recorded being Sebastian Saavedra of Dragon Racing at 215.001 mph. Compare this with the fastest speed registered by the other leading racing series to use the track - NASCAR's Joey Logano at 179.598 mph - June 9, 2012. 

Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe fill out the three-wide start front row to make it an all Andretti Autosport front row for the first time 'home track' race in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Image Credit: Bret Kelley via motorsport.com

Qualifications had Andretti Autosport and Marco Andretti blister the track record by nearly 10 miles per hour with a 221.237 mph two lap average. Further, this 'home track' to the Andretti family, since the Nazareth, PA home base is only about a 20 minute drive from the "Tricky Triangle', had the three-wide starting front row filled with Andretti Autosport teammates of Ryan Hunter-Reay at P2 - 220.892 mph, and James Hinchcliffe at P3 - 220.431 mph. The only dark spot that could have had Andretti Autosport from filling the first four positions on the grid was that during his qualification run, EJ Viso's DW12 stepped out and hit the safer barrier wall ending his Lap 1 run at 219.952 mph.

Final Qualifications Results Here >>>

With the IZOD IndyCar Series visiting this Magic Triangle for the first time in 24 years, traction is the order of the day and the elevated sprocket drive shape of Pocono Raceway delivers on its promise of this nation's most unique super-speedway.

The Pocono Indy 400 Fueled by Sunoco race is set to take place at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 7, 2013 at Noon ET, televised on ABC, SiriusXM Channel 211 radio, IndyCar Timing & Scoring found at - racecontrol.indycar.com - , and mobile phone app INDYCAR 13.

... notes from The EDJE

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TAGS: Andretti Autosport, Ryan Hunter-Reay, elevated sprocket drive, Pocono Raceway, traction, Tricky Triangle, Magic Triangle, IZOD IndyCar Series, super-speedway, Bermuda Triangle, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Motorsport, The EDJE

Gale Banks And Mike Ryan Will Be Breaking Bad At Pikes Peak

The Freightliner Cascadia racing machine of Mike Ryan, seen here 'drifting' through Turn 1 at Irwindale Event Center, is truly like no other. It competes in hill climb and drift competitions and currently holds records in both the Pikes Peak “Race To The Clouds” and the Mount Washington “Climb To The Clouds” events. Image Credit: Dr. Pneu via Facebook

Gale Banks And Mike Ryan Will Be Breaking Bad At Pikes Peak

The 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), which got its start as the promotional brainchild of the developer/owner of the Broadmoor Hotel resort, has grown in stature over the years as one of the last remaining motor culture/motor racing events where people bring what they got to win fame, notoriety, and promote automotive technology solutions to the world.

The Indianapolis 500, in the majority of its history, was structured in this way but has devolved into just an endurance race with specification vehicles through the refinement of technology and safety concerns.

The pressures of this kind of human control have yet to dampen the creative spirit of the challenge of taking the 12.42 mile, 156 turn, and in its second year of having a fully-paved course that begins at 9,390 feet and ends at the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, CO.. An international field of 157 competitors, 70 automobiles and 87 motorcycles will include a purpose-built, diesel-powered, Freightliner Cascadia racing machine of Mike Ryan and engineered by Gale Banks Engineering.

The Freightliner Cascadia racing machine is equipped with a 14.0L Detroit Diesel 60 series engine with a compression ratio of 15-1 and a fuel red line of 2700 RPM. The body is constructed entirely of fiberglass and carbon fiber, even still weighing in at just over 5 tons. Like any well balanced race vehicle, it is a mid-engine design. This truck truly tests the merit of each and every one of its systems. Good acceleration requires a responsive engine, high speed requires massive horsepower and cornering and handling require extreme braking capability. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

In a recent exclusive interview with Gale Banks, developer of the Straight-Shot Water-Meth (water and methanol) Injection System which is a high-tech application of a decades-old aircraft fuel technology, he exclaimed that this Water-Meth injection power enhancement to the diesel engine is addictive ... very addictive. Hence, the reference to the popular cable TV series 'Breaking Bad' where a down on his luck science teacher discovers making the drug Meth (speed) in the basement of his home allowed him to make a lot of money so he could help his family through its problems.

Replace the turbo-charger with a water-meth injected super-charger and gain top end red-line for a diesel. This injection technology is especially useful in turbocharged or supercharged applications, and often allows for ignition timing to be advanced for increased performance. The addition of methanol to the water contributes an anti-freeze property as well as including a combustible fuel in the charge which further increases power potential. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

To have Gale explain it, when the driver, Mike Ryan, steps on the fuel pedal - "So what we've done is we've done a super-turbo set up wherein I have a very large 8.3 liter super-charger and we turn it about four-times the speed of the crankshaft, which is, the red-line on the engine is 2,700 rpm, which is high for this 14 liter Detroit Diesel (engine). Basically, what the super-charger does is it kicks the turbo-charger in the tail, makes it respond! I eliminated one turbo-charger and replaced it with the super-charger. So as you come off the turns, the idea here is, he (Mike Ryan) pedals it and it rips off the turns.

The other thing we've done with this is overlaid it with - we've created a new technology for an old technology - Water-Methanol injection ... or as the Germans called it, Methanol-Water injection.

The idea of putting methanol and water into an aircraft engine is a very old idea. So we have nominally an 80 year old idea and nobodies really refined it much beyond what we did and the Germans did in World War II (when this technology was first used aircraft). In other words, have a nozzle, turn it on ... some mechanical reference and it blows water-methanol into the intake system.

What we've done is taken to a new technological level, in that we're sensing things. Automobiles are becoming just sensors on wheels - remember that because it's going to be incredible on what's coming because of 'autonomous driving' - so, essentially, we now modulate the flow of the liquid which chills the air after its been compressed in a super-charger or a turbo-charger,  makes it more dense so that every cubic foot of air that engine displaces has more oxygen and is capable of supporting more fuel.

In its most elemental form this is a power improving technology - we've just mapped it like you would map the injection on an engine. We have created our own injection controller for our diesel engines, so why not do this?"

Charge air cooler with water spray enhancement help to increase the overall power output through cooling. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Other benefits that come through this injection technology approach are, Gale Banks continues, "We are able to reduce emissions output, we are able to improve fuel economy, we are able to - with our auto-chiller, which is the same mechanism spraying water on the face of the charge air cooler or inter-cooler - we're cooling the brake rotors by fogging into the inside of the rotor ... they're slotted, you know, they've got slots through the inside, so the thing is really a fan ... it's already pumping air to cool itself. What we're doing is adding a water mist - so we've actually got three systems on the vehicle doing three different things all based on the same technology which was originally to improve power output."

Enhanced fan cooling of the brake rotors through spray injectors allows the Freightliner Cascadia racing machine to drive deeper into the 156 corners of the Pikes Peak challenge - giving another way to express ... 'Brakeing Bad.' Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Gale mentioned that since this 5 ton (10,000 pound, plus) Freightliner platform will encounter 156 turns that these three injection systems (Water-Methanol, fog-cooling action on the brake rotors and etc.) allow Mike Ryan to "go further, at speed, before he sets up for the turn, then as he comes off of the turn, we've given him another 'bout 500 horsepower that he didn't have previously. This is like a maiden voyage with this technology."

The Banks Straight-Shot Injection system offers the user an unprecedented opportunity to control the injection process. In its simplest form, a user interface provides control over a pump that operates at system pressures up to 300 PSI to inject the fluid through an atomizing nozzle. Control strategy features include the ability to select injection start point and ramp rate. Input signals may include boost pressure, exhaust gas temperature (EGT), intake manifold temperature (IAT) and even throttle position (TPS). Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

The record (for this type of vehicle) is about, nominally, 12 minutes and 39 seconds. If I can pick him up a tenth of a second per turn, and I can pick him up on maximum speed about 25 to 30 miles per hour - as we expect to, we'll be in the 11's!"

Gale shared that, while on with Adam Corolla on his internet radio show, he came to this revelation, "This Water-Meth set-up, and the way we are controlling it, is habit forming. To me, this is (equivalent of) automotive crack. This stuff is habit forming."

It now can be said that Banks Power, Gale Banks, with Mike Ryan at The 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be ... due to this new application of injection technology - Water-Methanol fuel shot in the engine and cooling for brakes and other parts ... 'Breaking Bad' or Brakeing Bad, in a good way, on the pursuit of a new Pikes Peak climb world record.

If successful, there will be no 12-step program for the people at Banks Power ... as in, "Hello, my name is Gale Banks, and I'm addicted to Water-Meth injection!"

... notes from The EDJE

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Qualifications for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 requires cheat sheets

Defending Iowa Corn Indy 250 race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay: "The Iowa Speedway oval is one of a kind; a very unique track that makes for some of the closest racing of the year. Last year's race came down to the wire and I expect the same this year." Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Qualifications for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 requires cheat sheets

Let's be honest, changing racing formats up to create attention and increase fan interest sounds like a good idea until one recognizes that the elements that have changed will not be televised. That's right, for Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB, the three 50 Lap sprint races (150 Laps total) to be run Saturday evening, used to establish the starting order (with bonus points awarded for positions 1-12 earned) of the official points paying race on Sunday, will not be televised.

The lack of television broadcast options leaves real fans with IndyCar Race Control Timing and Scoring, Smart Phones (IndyCar 13 App) and ... cheat sheets.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB cheat sheet. Eighteen-second laps on the .875-mile Iowa Speedway oval -- 150 Laps for qualifications and 250 Laps in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB -- is a dizzying pace for IZOD IndyCar Series drivers ... and spectators.  Image Credit: IndyCar.com

This excerpted and edited from IndyCar.com -

The heat races include transfers to Race 3 for the top two finishers in the first two qualifying races.

Positions in the three heat races will be determined by single-car, single-lap qualifying (4 p.m. ET) on the .875-mile, variably-banked oval. A blind draw will determine the qualifying order. Practice  (11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. ET) and qualifying also are featured on indycar.com and INDYCAR 13 with Timing & Scoring and the IMS Radio Network call.

Here's the format, which adds the lure of bonus points – from nine points for the Verizon P1 Award winner and descending by one point each position to three points for seventh-eighth, two points for ninth and 10th and one point for 11th and 12th:

Race 1 -- Will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with position 8 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 1 shall determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 12. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 8 and 10.

Race 2 -- Will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with position 7 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 2 shall determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 11. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 7 and 9.

Race 3 -- Will consist of positions 1 through 6 from single-car qualifying plus the first- and second-place finishers from Races 1 and 2 to determine the pole winner and the first five rows of the starting grid.
(Reference Here)

As far as the race is concerned, IndyCar, with its patchwork of television broadcasting of points paying races will have Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB be presented by the network general broadcast outlet of ABC and its affiliates. Anytime IndyCar can appear on general broadcast versus cable only outlets increases access and should be the major consideration for fan base expansion going forward post unification.

The lack of televised coverage (Cable Only or General Broadcast) for the 150 Laps of qualifications racing (more than half of the number of laps to be run in the race itself on Sunday), seems really counter-productive to fan interest development, especially when one includes the complexity of the 3 Heat Race format.

The race will also be available on IMS Radio Network affiliates, XM/Sirius 211, indycar.com (IMS Radio Network and Timing & Scoring) and INDYCAR 13 (in-car cameras, Timing & Scoring, IMS Radio Network).

... notes from The EDJE

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**Article first posted as Qualifications For The Iowa Corn Indy 250 Requires Cheat Sheets at Motorsports Unplugged**

Rayhall revels in Mid-Ohio racing tradition and glory

A peek into the business end of Sean Rayhall's Mazda-powered Elan DPo2. Image Credit: Racelite Protection

Rayhall revels in Mid-Ohio racing tradition and glory

His first time at taking to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in anger gave the young driver with the familiar sounding name ... especially here, very familiar results.

The road course at Mid-Ohio will always be linked in motor culture lore as the home turf of the Rahal racing family, and more clearly, Bobby Rahal.

Bobby Rahal and his father, Mike, visited the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for its first-ever race in 1962, and throughout his motorsports career Rahal has been tied to the track and its former owner Jim Trueman.

In addition to other series, Rahal competed in 16 Indy car races on the road course, earning victories in 1985 and 1986 - on his way to the CART championship, six other podium finishes, and pole starts in 1983 and 1985.

Bobby Rahal, in a 2012 interview to IndyCar.com said, "In 1987, I made a mistake and tried to pass a guy I was lapping and he came down on me and flattened the tire with a few laps to go and (Roberto) Guerrero won instead and I had been well in the lead."

Sean Rayhall, for his first time experience, also contended with moves that may be common for the track layout at Mid-Ohio with its elevation changes, corner-leading-to-corner, and fast sections design.

Sean Rayhall in the #14 Robert Talbott Motorsports, Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports prepared Mazda-powered Elan DP02. Image Credit: Robert Talbott Motorsports®

Through the qualifications, young Rayhall had little trouble with cars 'coming down' on his car in the corners because, after all, this session was only for where one was to start the races for the weekend.

Qualifications for the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda ,at the Diamond Cellar Classic June 14-16, 2013, was interrupted by two RED Flags but through it all Sean Rayhall was able to prevail over his next closest competitor, Ryan Booth by a margin of 0.086 seconds on the 2.258 mile, 13 turn road course. Booth, in car #18, was able to post a fastest lap on LAP 6 of 1:18.530 only to have it eclipsed by Sean on the very next lap at 1:18.444 on LAP 7 of the qualification session. The other competitors in the field were in the 1:20.000's or beyond.

Rayhall, for his part, after the first RED Flag stoppage posted a lap of 1:18.474 on LAP 13, just before the second RED Flag stoppage just to make sure that his car would beat the best qualifying time laid down by the #18 car of Booth's.

Round 5, however, saw the following mechanical event that effected the outcome of the first race of the weekend.

The Diamond Cellar Classic In Round 5 Rough For Rayhall ... After leading for 14 of the eventual 18 laps (timed 30 minute race session), posting the fastest lap time of the race - 1:19.326 (as opposed to the next fastest - 1:19.780), and creating as much as a 4 second lead gap before the first of two YELLOW Flags that led to thirteen minutes of the timed 30 minute race to be run under caution. Sean Rayhall finishes Round 5 in P2 to end up being tied in the points championship at 76 points with #18 Ryan Booth.

Round 5 podium with Ryan Booth P1 (c), Sean Rayhall P2 (l), and Daniel Goldburg P3 (r). Image Credit: imsalites.com

In an exclusive post race interview, Sean Rayhall shared what happened on the second restart that led to being passed by car #18 - "Left rear (brake) caliper ceased up. It was completely locked when I stopped in the pit (at race's end), went down off the back-straightway into the braking zone and the car just turned sideways before the corner, saved it from an off, got passed, and wasn't able to achieve over 500 lbs. of brake load without the car coming out from under me. Definitely not the result we were hoping but I salvaged what I could."

So five races into a 14 race season have the points race tied largely explained through two race-time equipment failures on the #14 Comprent Motorsports Elan DP02. The first race of the season netted zero points out of a possible total of 20 for the young Rayhall due to a transmission linkage failure.

Round 6, contested the very next day, Sunday June 16, 2013, Father's Day, saw the kind of move (twice) that had happened to Bobby Rahal late in the race where he lost his bid to 'three-peat' at the famed Mid-Ohio road course when the eventual winner was Roberto Guerrero. In this case, the outcome was dramatically different.

Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series grid for Round 6. Image Credit: imsalites.com

Rayhall Regains Luster in Diamond Cellar Classic Round 6 ... In what could be a bit of deja vu for a race car driver with the same sounding name at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Sean Rayhall survives a car 'coming down' on his car twice in the Round 6 of 14 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series.

The race went GREEN Flag after the Keyhole Turn 4 which allows the cars to sort themselves out along the back straight through Turn 5. In this case, according to Rayhall in a post race phone conversation, the #18 car of Ryan Booth 'came down' on me, we touched and spun. "I re-entered the track at P15 and was able to make up two positions by the end of the first lap (no YELLOW Flag full course caution).

One corner leads to another flow at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Image Credit: imsalites.com

The following Tweets from the Prototype Lites twitter account (@imsalites) and entries from @TheEDJE -

Prototype Lites ?@IMSALites
Contact between @seanrayhall and @RyanBoothRacing on lap one. Rayhall has continued, Booth is off driver's left in the gravel trap Turn 4.

@seanrayhall dropped back to P10 after the incident and has now moved up to P7 on lap 4.

@TheEDJE
P5 on LAP 6

@seanrayhall working his way back up, eight minutes into the race and is now P5. #CooperLites

P4 LAP 7

@seanrayhall passes @ChrisPoto22 entering Lap 7 to take fourth position. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

12 minutes in @seanrayhall gets around Jon Brownson on lap 7 to take P3. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

P3 LAP 10 - @seanrayhall rapidly catching the top two and just turned the fastest lap of the race: 1:19.524. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

P2 LAP 11 - @seanrayhall's nose is right on the tail of Goikhberg as he battles for the second position. #CooperLites

Daniel Goldburg remains the leader, @seanrayhall now P2. #CooperLites

LAP 13 - Rayhall - 1:19.357

@seanrayhall pressuring Goldburg now for the lead entering Lap 14 at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

19:29 - left @seanrayhall has been putting pressure on Daniel Goldburg for five laps now, but Goldburg hanging onto the lead entering lap 17.

@seanrayhall and Daniel Goldburg side-to-side contact made, but both continued. Goldburg still leads heading into Lap 18. 20 mins to go!
- break in tweets-

Here is where Sean recounts that Daniel Goldburg 'came down' ("door-slammed") on his car while having the inside position in the Carosel Turn 14 by no less that 3/4th of a car length after Goldberg drove in a manner that could be characterized as very fat for several laps. In this case, unlike what had happened to Bobby Rahal in the 1987 passing of a back-marker, Sean Rahall went on in a very strong way putting additional time distance between him and the next closest competitor, #10 JDC Motorsports Mazda of Mikhail Goikhberg, on each sucessive lap.

- resume tweets -
@seanrayhall is the new leader now on Lap 18 after getting past Daniel Goldburg at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperTires #DiaClrClassic

Daniel Goldburg is now off the track, driver's left Turn 4. Mikhail Goikhberg is now P2.

15 mins remain at @FollowMidOhio! @seanrayhall P1, Mikhail Goikhberg P2, Jon Brownson (M) P3, @ChrisPoto22 P4, Lamont Harris (M) P5.

13 minutes left LAP 23 - @seanrayhall is 10.213 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg

LAP 25 - @seanrayhall is 11.544 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - turning laps in the 1.20s

7 minutes left - LAP 27 - @seanrayhall is 14.185 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - still turning laps in the 1.20s

5 minutes remain - LAP29 - @seanrayhall is 21.508 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg - 1:19.778

The white flag is out. Last lap here at @FollowMidOhio. #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic

1 minute remains - LAP 32 - @seanrayhall is 27.828 seconds ahead of P2 Mikhail Goikhberg

@seanrayhall sees the checkered flag first and takes Race Two at @FollowMidOhio! #CooperLites #DiaClrClassic
- end of tweets -

Image Credit: Robert Talbott Motorsports®

The race ended with the #14 Robert Talbott Motorsports, Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports prepared Mazda-powered Elan DP02 having a 30.088 second lead.

Sean Rayhall shared that the team entered the weekend short handed given that the team race engineer, Mike Davies could not be physically at the track for the weekend which left the duties to Sean and the Crew Chief who usually provides the data analysis, Brandon White, to ... multitask!

Quite a charge and brilliant luster (from P15 to the win in Round 6) that capped a weekend that saw mechanical failure, followed by tough driving and 'coming down' tactics result producing a seven point lead in the series championship at The Diamond Cellar Classic run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

... notes from The EDJE

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**Article first published as Rayhall Revels In Mid-Ohio Racing Tradition And Glory on Technorati**

Sean Rayhall visits the cusp of Rahal racing history at Mid-Ohio

Sean Rayhall leads Ryan Booth around Andretti Hairpin in Turn 2 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Image Credit: Emily Rogers via Motorsport.com

Sean Rayhall visits the cusp of Rahal racing history at Mid-Ohio

While not directly related to the Bobby and Graham wing of this racing racing family, Sean Rayhall shares the Lebanese DNA, speed, and racing passion the more familiar Rahal family share in automobile motorsport.

This weekend, Rayhall will be racing in the 2013 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series at Mid-Ohio ... a venue that has a long and storied history with the Ohio-based Rahal family that started out over 50 years ago when Bobby attended his first race as a kid with his father.

Bobby grew up and with the early support of Jim Truman, the one-time owner of the track at Mid-Ohio, won several times with a pair of wins in IMSA GT, IROC and of course CART. The Ohioan won the Indy 500 as driver in 1986 for TrueSports, a team sponsored and built through the efforts of Jim Truman, on the way to capturing three CART championships to his Rahal name.

Graham Rahal, Bobby's son, has always considered the Lexington, Ohio-based track a home track due to his father's history running there but Graham is frank about being stumped at doing well at Mid Ohio. Last year, he shared before a Mid-Ohio IndyCar test teleconference, "I've never really had a great result there. We've always been fast there. We've had some really strong runs, but we always have contact, I made a mistake in 2009, 2010. We were kind of charging through the field, made contact with Danica. Things have not been quite what we want."

Sean Rayhall's Comprent Motorsports Robert Talbott Mazda as it negotiates the flat corners of Sebring. Image Credit: Eric Gilbert via Motorsport.com

Sean Rayhall currently leads the points championship, in a very tight grouping, as the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series heads into Mid-Ohio for two races - Rounds 5 and 6 of a 14 Round series season. Sean has 58 points followed closely by four drivers that are all within 13 points of each other (Mikhail Goikhberg - 57, Ryan Booth - 56, Daniel Goldburg - 52, and Scott Tucker - 45).

If Sean is able to have the same success as he did at the last two race venue of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (where he captured the pole starting position and won the 2 races), he would be able to take command of the championship and make the kind of statement few drivers are able to make at near mid season.

With the pressure on, and starting out the year in the first race at Sebring not scoring any points at all, Sean Rayhall answered a few questions going into the weekend at this famed road race course ... not looking at the Rahal family history, but to set a tone at making his own Rayhall history for his first time run at Mid-Ohio.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course track map. Image Credit: The Free Radical

START
No points were scored in Round #1 ... did you race, and if so, what were the circumstances that led to not scoring a single point?

The circumstances were a failure with the shift mechanism in the car.

Have you ever driven Mid-Ohio in a race car, a track car, ... or even walked the course - how familiar are you to Mid-Ohio (general reflections)?

We tested at Mid-Ohio a few weeks ago. I have a lot of confidence in the car and the team after how the test went.

With two races, again, over the next couple of days, what do you see are the critical sections of the track and what do you intend to be on the look-out for?

Every corner at this place is critical, because most of them lead into another. So, consistently having a smooth flow is key from a driving standpoint.

Pre-Race - What are the team's thoughts on the upcoming weekend's races (Rounds #5 & #6)?

Teams thoughts are always to win, but we are really focused on making our car even more consistent for the race. Yes, we hope for the pole, but a long race on this course with an ill handling car can lose races.

Additional thoughts on the season so far - racing in Prototype Lites from previous experiences - and what you are looking forward to after this weekend in the heartland of "Rahal" country?

The prototype Lites championship is going extremely well, I am fortunate to be a part of it and wear Robert Talbott's name in every event! I am looking for a smooth weekend in Ohio behind the wheel of this Robert Talbott Mazda, and looking forward to making Racing Radios, Race Lite Protection, Comprent Motorsports and Jerry Peters proud as well!
ENDS

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda title chase resumes this weekend (June 15-16) with a doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The teams and drivers first roll on-course at Mid-Ohio today, Thursday (June 13), taking part in three track test sessions. The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda doubleheader officially commences Friday (June 14) with a morning practice session, followed by the lone qualifying run after the lunch break. Round Five is scheduled to take place on Saturday (June 15) at 9:10 am local time, while Round Six is slated for Sunday (June 16) at 12:55 pm local time. Live timing and scoring will be available at http://prototypelites.com/timing/html

... notes from The EDJE

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**Article first seen as Sean Rayhall Visits The Cusp Of Rahal Racing History At Mid-Ohio at Motorsports Unplugged**