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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

... notes from The EDJE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Retirements:

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

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

... notes from The EDJE

Danica Patrick In 2010? Rick Hendrick, or Jack Roush?

Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing gets ready to qualify at Richmond International Raceway 6-26-2009. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

Danica Patrick In 2010? Rick Hendrick, or Jack Roush?

This item was found scanning the blogs and it seems to have some credibility on the rumor front.

If Danica were to jump to NASCAR, it would be a great loss for open-wheel racing ... not just in terms of the promotional value of Danica herself, but in terms of loosing a good driver who is finally hitting the consistency required to become a champion.

Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing passes Tony Kanaan, Andretti Green Racing at Richmond International Raceway 6-27-2009. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

We are here at the halfway point of the 2009 IndyCar Series Championship season and she is sitting at fifth in the points with nine races left ... this means that she is the driver that is the first in points behind a driver, driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing or Team Penske Racing!

Not bad!

Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing gets ready to qualify at Richmond International Raceway 6-26-2009. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)


Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing gets ready to qualify at Richmond International Raceway 6-26-2009. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

This excerpted and edited from Mike Mulhern.net -

Danica Patrick? The latest report puts her in a Rick Hendrick Chevrolet, instead of a Jack Roush Ford. But Hendrick spokesman says no way. And Roush's Geoff Smith says the field is still open.
Posted June 27th, 2009 by Mike

Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing gets ready to qualify at Richmond International Raceway 6-26-2009. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

The latest on the Danica Patrick/NASCAR saga is quite intriguing.

If the Indy-car star does jump from the Indy Racing League to NASCAR, as increasingly appears likely, the battle for her, according to sources close to the negotiations, is down to car owners Rick Hendrick, of Chevrolet, and Jack Roush, of Ford.

According to these sources, Hendrick and General Motors' Chevrolet division are now suddenly the heavy favorites to sign Patrick.

But hold on -- Hendrick's Jesse Essex, manager of media relations, is quick to deny the Patrick report: "It is untrue," Essex says.

Essex, when asked about any talks over the issue, declined to go any further on the point.

And Geoff Smith, head of Roush Fenway Racing, says he's got a meeting of his own with Patrick's people tentatively set for within the next week or so, and Smith certainly doesn't seem ready to concede anything.
----
Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing gets ready to qualify at Richmond International Raceway 6-26-2009. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

This much appears clear – That Patrick could probably generate as much as $60 million in sponsorship interest, if packaged correctly, which in these strapped economic times, is quite appealing. And that Patrick apparently wants to put together a racing package that allows her to keep running some IRL events.

It may be the IRL angle that stymies most NASCAR options, because only Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi currently have both an Indy-car and NASCAR operation.
----
Patrick has talked increasingly positive in the past few weeks about moving to NASCAR, as "a new challenge." But she has indicated she was not particularly interested in starting at a lower level of stock car racing and slowly moving up.
----
One interesting angle on the Patrick-Hendrick situation -- both have GoDaddy.com sponsorships. GoDaddy is the privately-owned internet website licensing company, which likes to use edgy advertising.
----
It is unclear what Patrick's own thinking might really be.
Reference Here>>

Wherever Danica Patrick lands in 2010 ... it will always catch the attention of the press. As for open-wheel motorsports though, she needs to stay put and the IRL needs to make their product more like the mid-ninties heyday of CART at its zenith - more left ... AND right turns placed through exciting venues similar to Long Beach, St. Pete, and Toronto - why not bring back Road America, Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, and Portland ... or Vancouver, B.C.?!

... notes from The EDJE

Richmond Racing At Night, IRL Style - Tweet By Tweet

Scenes from Richmond - Night racing is the best from the pit of Mike Conway (Ctrl-Click photo to launch trackside video). Caption & Image Credit: Jeff Olsen

Richmond Racing At Night, IRL Style - Tweet By Tweet

This race will be the second race in a row that the Transition Player hopeful will be disappointed. Last week saw only five drivers who merged into the IRL from the ChampCar World Series drive the short oval in Iowa, with dismal results - only Graham Rahal of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing was running at P11 in the end. The other four drivers, Robert (Bobby D) Doornbos - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, Mario Moraes - KV Racing Technology, Justin Wilson - Dale Coyne Racing, and EJ Viso - HVM Racing managed to get on the track, but only Rahal's teammate drove enough laps to gain one point in his charge to become Rookie-Of-The-Year in the IndyCar Series for 2009.

The hat The EDJE will be wearing throughout the race. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

Richmond is another short oval, but instead of being in operation for only three years as the track in Iowa ... Richmond has been a racing venue since 1953 and has seen some of the most fierce racing over the years from NASCAR. The IRL comes to this venue to race at night which at the end, will mark the halfway point in the IndyCar Series 2009 championship season.

Scenes from Richmond - If I had a recliner and a cocktail, I'd never leave. Caption & Image Credit: Jeff Olsen

So we begin the day knowing that Dario Franchitti, the winner of the race last week in Iowa, is on the pole here tonight with the first four places on the grid being (sung to the tune of Ol' McDonald - Dixon, Castroneves, and Briscoe) Ganassi, Ganassi, Penske, Penske - E-I E-I Ohhhhhh! He leads a field of only 20 cars, with 25% of the field filled with Transition Players, lining up to qualify in P5 - Rahal, P7 - Viso, P12 - Doornbos, P15 - Wilson, and P19 - Moraes ... kind of a disappointing spread.

The championship points race at this point in the season for the first five positions as follows - Briscoe - 241 / Franchitti - 2 behind leader / Dixon - 15 behind leader / Castroneves (who missed the first race of the season) - 29 behind leader / Patrick - 52 behind leader.

The only Transition Player to make it into the top ten is Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Graham Rahal who is 9th in the points - 96 behind leader. The other TP's in this race and concieveably can gain points are 14, Wilson - 122 behind leader / 15, Doornbos - 122 behind leader / 16, Moraes - 133 behind leader / 19, Viso - 156 behind leader.

Arguably, the best Transition Player not driving in this, or any race in the predictable future, is Will Power, driving for Penske, who had to give up his ride when Castroneves came back to claim "his seat". The Penske organization ... to their credit, provided a ride for three races that included the month of May in Indianapolis and the INDY 500. Power sits at 17 - 142 points behind leader.

Well, that is the set-up for Richmond, the ninth race of the season ... let the tweeting begin!!!

Dario Franchitti, Target Chip Ganassi Racing gets a check for winning pole ... at this point in the season, he is only 3 points behind the leader. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2009)

TWEETS & Commentary:

VisionRacingRT @edcarpenter20: just getting ready for the race. it is a great night for a race!

PlanetIrldotcom@indy44 That's where I am usually. No Tv this time

MyNameIsIRL@VisionRacing The new site is very nice. In fact, I just learned I own the same breed of dog as Lauren George. Who knew?

SpeedJournal(Indy)6/27 :: SunTrust Indy Challenge Daily Trackside Report -- June 27- http://tinyurl.com/l8rb4f #autoracing

taglianiHeaded back to Vegas, gonna miss the race coverage, bummer!
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The half of the track that is open is pretty packed. 40 min to green. Image Credit: furiouswedge via Twitpic (2009)

FuriousWedgehttp://twitpic.com/8mjh6 - The half of the track that is open is pretty packed. 40 min to green

pressdogbeer, timing and scoring, note pad, Jenkins just said "markers" .... let's light this candle.

indy44Both laptops on,timing and scoring up,indycar race control standby,ready for the green! Please be smart drivers,patience patience patience!!

the500Join our live chat and follow all the action during tonight's IndyCar race with Race Tracker at http://www.indystar.com/rac....

MyNameIsIRLCan I get a filter on my TV that doesn't show Danica signing "man boobs"? Even P1, huge Fanica that she is, said "that was GROSS!"

DRRIndyCarCell phone battery fully charged - will do our best to keep you updated! Driver introductions over for our guys, now with their crews.
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MyNameIsIRLOK, I need to ask - Did any of the bloggers on site get one of these massages?

TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON: Mario Moraes made a wardrobe adjustment to honor Michael Jackson before the SunTrust Indy Challenge, and tweeted to let his fans know what he was doing.

His twitter posting: "Hey guys ! I have a SILVER right hand glove for the race ! hope have a good luck on this ! RIP Michael !" Maraes, who qualified 19th out of the 20 cars in the field, crashed in late practice Friday night and started in the back in the race.

PlanetIrldotcom@MyNameIsIRL If you could hear it over the sound of multiple tanning beds and the leagues of adoring fans.

VisionRacing"Drivers to your cars." Nice evening in Richmond. Sun is starting to set. Crews getting ready for the L+GSYE command under the lights.

20:36:17 GMT-0400 All drivers are in there cars.
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MyNameIsIRLWOW - SunTrust dude did a good job with the "Driver's Start Your Engines!"

20:41:21 GMT-0400 All cars have been fired.

IndyCarPRWelcome to tonight's Tweetcast of the SunTrust Indy Challenge from Richmond International Raceway.

20:41:48 GMT-0400 All cars are away from the grid. Green flag fourth time by.

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN - We're racin' folks! On the shortest track that the IRL faces this season - just may be the shortest track in all of openwheel racing!

kvracingGreen Flag, for 300 laps of racing at Richmond

YELLOW Flag - Jaques Lazier spins by himself in the first lap! Hits wall.

FuriousWedgenot sure what you saw on tv but jacques engine didnt sound right as he passed the line

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN - We're racin' folks - again!

20:50:01 GMT-0400 Lap 8: Back to green flag racing!

TheEDJERahal and Viso - P6 and P7 #irl #ics #indycar

IndyCarPRLap 10: #10 Franchitti leads #9 Dixon by .4835 of a second.
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VisionRacingEd working on moving forward. Currently P13. He has @TonyKanaan in his mirrors. A red car is P1. Does it matter which? Okay Dario.

TheEDJEJaques Lazier interviewed - "It just snapped around on me!" #irl #ics #indycar

chunter16Looks like a good crowd but I don't like those empty seats in the back. #irl

MyNameIsIRLWhen's the last time Jaques Lazier got interviewed on camera? I'm thinking 2005.

YELLOW Flag - Briscoe by himself, puts power down and slides after banking.

DRRIndyCarLap 25: Tomas is 10th, Mike is 16th. The whole field is already getting spread out. Or it was - yellow for Briscoe crash.

20:59:26 GMT-0400 Lap 32: Ryan Briscoe appeared to get loose out of Turn 2, hitting the wall at the exit of the turn.

21:00:51 GMT-0400 Lap 34: Last available lap to pit.

RacingNationWell, looks like it could be one of those nights, attrition is adding up. This will mix up the points. #Indycar
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luczodragonMutoh and Danica stayed out so we will be 6th at restart

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN

kvracingBack to Green Flag racing, lap 39

21:03:11 GMT-0400 Lap 38: Dario Franchitti takes P2 from Danica.

indy44Marco and Graham introduce their tires to each other - Graham wins this one.

DRRIndyCar23 guys watching their stop. Always looking to improve! http://yfrog.com/0y2jioj

kvracingMoraes has moved to 17th

21:05:53 GMT-0400 Lap 47: Mario Moraes and Justin Wilson are off the pace at the back of the field.

21:08:13 GMT-0400 Lap 56: Dario seems to be waiting to make his move on Hideki Mutoh whose riding along at P1.

IndyCarNationLap 50: #27 Mutoh leads #10 Franchitti by .4112 of a second.

RacingNationHideki Mutoh is no "King Hiro" nice run by highest finishing AGR driver last week in Iowa, 3rd. #Indy car

21:10:56 GMT-0400 Lap 65: Justin Wilson is closing on Ryan Hunter-Reay for P16.

IndyCarPRLap 70: #27 Mutoh leads #10 Franchitti by .4112 of a second.

indy44Lap traffic,this will get interesting

VisionRacing75 laps of 300 complete at Richmond. No.20 Menards car is P12. Leader is Mutoh. He did not pit nor did Danica (P3). Dario is P2.

21:14:38 GMT-0400 Lap 77: Danica and Hideki Mutoh are on different pit strategies than the two Target cars.

luczodragonIf it stays green we will make it to lap 131 before we pit
-
indy44@MyNameIsIRL Women lining up at Mutoh's rig as we speak

IndyCarNationLap 81: #27 Mutoh leads #10 Franchitti by .3434 of a second

See pitstops for Mutoh and Patrick on Lap 105 or so

FuriousWedgedont know what it looks like on tv but follow the leader is boring as hell in the stands

TheEDJE@FuriousWedge Trust us out here in TV land - aside from the chatter, the images aren't much better #irl #ics #indycar

MyNameIsIRLLap 98: First "Michael Jackson" reference. From Arute, of course.

RacingNationMaybe Moraes should be working on set-ups a bit more than sequined gloves. Jimmy Bryan is whirling underground right now.

VisionRacingTeams (+fans) have big screen in infield that we watch. Watching cars go by on track makes you a little dizzy @ Richmond. 100 laps complete.

21:22:08 GMT-0400 Lap 102: Helio Castroneves is gaining some ground on the lead four.

21:23:08 GMT-0400 Lap 105: Hideki Mutoh gives up the lead to make his next pit stop.

IndyCarNationLap 110: #10 Franchitti leads #7 Patrick by 2.1780 seconds. Lap 111: #7 Patrick pits for four tires, fuel and added one turn of front wing.

21:25:02 GMT-0400 Lap 111: The alternate pit strategy doesn't pay off yet as Danica comes into the pits.

VisionRacingCarpenter is P10. Mutoh and Danica pitted on a different strategies. 115 laps complete. Decided against extra front wing on next 20 car ...

Mutoh is currently pacing 1/2 second quicker on new tires but gives up the lead and a lap!

MyNameIsIRLArute's rolled up his sleeves, just dying to break out the gun show.

21:30:07 GMT-0400 Lap 128: Hideki Mutoh is running some of the fastest laps, but is down in the standings due to pit strategy.

21:30:37 GMT-0400 Lap 130: The lead cars are getting into some heavy lapped traffic.

luczodragonPitting lap 131, smooth stop

PlanetIrldotcomReady to nominate this for best oval race of the year! Can't wait til' Kentucky though.

VisionRacingCrew is setting up in pitbox. Coming in on next lap for green flag stop.

21:33:37 GMT-0400 Lap 138: Yellow for contact out of Turn 4 by Mike Conway. The damage doesn't appear to be heavy.

VisionRacingWe don't BEAT our fueler by the way. Yellow. That messes our strategy. Bugger

DRRIndyCarMike has brushed the wall. We're not really sure what happened there.

Franchitti comes in for a quick splash and out!

21:34:36 GMT-0400 Lap 140: Pits are open.

TheEDJERahal, Dixon, and Franchitti get pitstops under Yellow - they are 7/8ths of a lap ahead of all others at this point. #irl #ics #indycar
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IndyCarPRLet's catch up here: Lap 121: #10 Franchitti leads #9 Dixon by 1.1637 seconds. Lap 126: #06 Doornbos and #14 Hunter-Reay on pit road.

VisionRacingAfter the wave around 7 cars will be on lead lap. 11 cars one laps down (including 20 car in P13)

DRRIndyCarThis is not how we want to get airtime on Versus. Jack Arute about to interview Mike.

21:43:46 GMT-0400 Lap 153: One lap until back to green.

21:44:11 GMT-0400 Lap 154: Back to green flag racing!

kvracingGreen Flag, Moraes is now 17th, lap 156/300

indy44Go Mutoh!!!!

21:44:57 GMT-0400 Lap 156: Scott Dixon gets a great restart and already has a lead over 1 second.

chunter16Mutoh and Moraes driving like they care, very nice. #irl

21:47:33 GMT-0400 Lap 165: The Target cars are running some of the fastest laps of the race.

IndyCarPRLap 170: #9 Dixon leads #10 Franchitti by .8191 of a second. Lap 180: #9 Dixon leads #10 Franchitti by .7201 of a second.

TheEDJEDixon, Franchitti, Rahal, Mutoh, Patrick, Castroneves, Matos, Kanaan, Andretti, Weldon are the top 10 positions - LAP 173 #irl #ics #indycar

MyNameIsIRLSo...we're all done passing tonight. Thank you very much, red cars to the front please.

chunter16Castroneves hasn't had much face time tonight
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VisionRacingBTW those keeping up with baby count in the Indycar series, (Scott's) Emma Dixon is at her last race. She is due in 3 weeks. All our best!

pressdog@MyNameIsIRL only 115 more laps of lock step!

21:55:21 GMT-0400 Lap 191: Each driver should have to make one more pit stop.

FuriousWedgeWhy is this bad for ICS? I`m watching more than a few fans get up to leave with over 100 to go

21:57:06 GMT-0400 Lap 197: The lead cars are working their way through lapped traffic.

kvracing100 laps to go. Moraes is still 17th, fastest speed 155.336mph achieved on lap 159.

MyNameIsIRLRT: @FuriousWedge: Why is this bad for ICS? I`m watching more than a few fans get up to leave with over 100 to go

VisionRacing40 laps to our next pitstop at Richmond.

“It was a frustrating race, said Ed Carpenter - Vision Racing. You could run a decent pace on your own but this was like no Richmond race I have ever run before. The No. 20 Menards car was really affected by dirty air and loss of grip in traffic. We didn’t have much luck with cautions coming out of the pits either. Finishing in 13th place is nothing to be happy with, but we made it through in one piece when others didn’t. Caption & Image Credit: Vision Racing

Mutoh in the pits the same time Dixon leads about as many laps (73 laps) as he did.

22:00:44 GMT-0400 Lap 208: Dario Franchitti seems content to follow his teammate and wait until the end to make a move.

PlanetIrldotcomI can't wait til' we get to a road course. Never thought I would say that. We need passing and we need it now. #kyspeedwaysucks

kvracingMoraes just pitted, ties, fuel and also front wing taken out. Lap 218/300

22:03:57 GMT-0400 Lap 219: The top two cars will likely have to pit with around 50 laps to go.

TheEDJEDanica Patrick in and out on a Green Flag stop - Good to go to the end! #irl #ics #indycar

IndyCarPRLap 220: #9 Dixon leads #10 Franchitti by .4707 of a second. Lap 224: #7 Patrick pits for four tires and fuel and front wing adjustment.

VisionRacingDo we need to tell you? Leader is a red car. You're going to make me aren't you. Okay. Fine. Only because we like you. Dixon leads Dario.

VisionRacingThere are 4 red cars in top 5. But one is not a regular: Dixon, Dario, @grahamrahal then helio and Kanaan. Ed is P11. 1 lap to pitstop

indy44Yellow for Helio,Ganassi gets race on silver platter!!!

YELLOW Flag Lap 242 - Less than 50 laps to go!

16AndGeorgetownPenske's not having a good day
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pressdogglad I didn't pay money to see this

kart58Another gift to Ganassi, tied up with a big red bow. Booooooo. #IndyCar

22:15:55 GMT-0400 Lap 252: The Target cars have the advantage as the yellow came out right before they had to pit.

MyNameIsIRLI'd say the Penske cars conspired to give this race to the Ganassi cars, but that would be ludicrous.

TheEDJE@MyNameIsIRL - No! It is a gift for having won the INDY 500 Ganassi thought he would win #irl #ics #indycar

22:19:22 GMT-0400 Lap 257: The entire field except Dixon, Franchitti, Rahal, Kanaan and Andretti are waved around.

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN Restart

luczodragonBlew by Wilson, now time to get after it with 40 laps, chasing Marco and Tony

indy44Dixon 162 Dario 160 BUBBYE!!!!!!!

22:21:40 GMT-0400 Lap 262: There are many cars between P3 - Rahal and P4 - Mutoh.

VisionRacingEd is stuck in dirty air (traffic) and uses some choice words. His choice of words is not as clean as the air he is stuck in.

22:22:29 GMT-0400 Lap 265: The two Target cars are easily pulling away from the field.
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FuriousWedgeStands are gonna be less than half of what we started with by the finish at least traffic wont be an issue

22:27:38 GMT-0400 Lap 283: Scott Dixon is getting into some lapped traffic with Dario looking to take advantage.

22:30:19 GMT-0400 Lap 291: No one has been able to work the highline very well tonight.

luczodragon8 laps left, could be another top 10 finish for Rafa and the team

CrashGladysI can't blame Dixon for being frustrated... this is just plain boring racing!! I just don't want him to leave next yr...

chunter16Did I hear "push to pass?" I don't like it, personally, but if it keeps people interested it's okay.

22:32:18 GMT-0400 Lap 299: White flag. Scott Dixon leads Dario Franchitti by .2422 seconds.

pressdogMercifully, it's over. White flag is a symbol of truce in this case. Emma has gotten more air in this race than anyone. Floyd is all over it

22:32:33 GMT-0400 Scott Dixon wins the SunTrust Indy Challenge! - This ties Dixon with Sam Hornish for ALL TIME WINS in the ICS!

luczodragonChecker flag, Rafa finishes 8th

chunter16Congratulations to Viso for breaking the streak - he finishes his first race of the season!

VisionRacingCheckered flag + congrats go to Dixon. Maybe we should consider painting our car red for a race. At the very least we might get some breaks.

kvracingMoraes finishes 16th at Richmond.

RacingNationMercy, Mercy, thankfully its over. Dixon over Franchitti, Rahal trails in 3rd. Mutoh and Danica round out the top-5. #Indycar

MyNameIsIRLAt least Viso finished. Congrats @HVMRacing!

indy44Thank God Dario didn't win,if I had to listen to his wife again my head would immediately burst

kart58Zzzzzzz. Wake me up when they get to Watkins Glen. G'night.

pressdog300 laps of Fail

FuriousWedgeafter race fireworks most exciting thing tonight at the track.

PlanetIrldotcomBREAKING NEWS! Danica is itching for a win.... #viewingenhanced

MyNameIsIRLDario says "I really apologize to fans because that was a dreadful race tonight."

alex_lloydA day of lots of pics with the rented lense. Very nice.. Will try to tweet a pic tomorrow. Just watched race.. Boring but still a cool track

On Versus right now - EJ Viso places 12th in fist finish of the season. Image Credit: hvmracing (2009)

HVMracing12th! 'Nuff Said! (EJ Viso)

SpeedJournal(Indy)6/27 :: Dixon wins- http://tinyurl.com/nk9vfk #autoracing

Road courses are next with Watkins Glen's 3.4 mile classic driving challenge! Can ... Not ... Wait!

How the field of 20 fared - (** denotes Transition Player)

Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Scott Dixon Ganassi 300 laps
2. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 0.3109s
3. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 2.4085s**
4. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green +13.5302s
5. Danica Patrick Andretti Green +14.1111s
6. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green + 1 lap
7. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 1 lap
8. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon + 1 lap
9. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 1 lap**
10. Dan Wheldon Panther + 1 lap
11. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold + 1 lap
12. EJ Viso HVM + 1 lap**
13. Ed Carpenter Vision + 1 lap
14. Justin Wilson Coyne + 2 laps**
15. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt + 2 laps
16. Mario Moraes KV + 3 laps**

Retirements:

Helio Castroneves Penske 245 laps
Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 135 laps
Ryan Briscoe Penske 26 laps
Jaques Lazier 3G 0 laps

Unlike the race last week on the short track in Iowa, NO Transition Players retired.

All former ChampCar drivers finished the race in rolling fashion ... even EJ Viso!

... notes from The EDJE

Fans, Anarchy, VERSUS TV ... FANARCHY! 'Nuff Said!

Fanarcy on VERSUS is a place where fans take over the message ... the message that's in THEIR head, and share it with you (Ctrl-Click photo to launch video). Image Credit: VERSUS TV

Fans, Anarchy, VERSUS TV ... FANARCHY! 'Nuff Said!

Ever wish, when you were watching a program of sports (any sports competition) on television, that when you started shouting at the screen when the action in the program was going dreadfully wrong, it could be shared with other like minded, opinionated nuts just like yourself?

It would have been great this last weekend, for example, to vent when EJ Viso bumped with Robert Doornbos and Ryan Hunter-Reay and all three cars had to retire to the pits (Doornbos was able to return and gain a point in his rookie of the year quest) from the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer, and ask - Hey, EJ, why can't YOU finish a race?, and - Why did you have to damage the chances of the field of five (that's right, only five in Iowa) Transition Players entered in this race (so much for the merger - Viso, Doornbos, Moraes, Wilson, and Rahal - only Rahal was running at the end, five laps off of the pace at 11th position)? - See?

Well there is a program of sports psychosis on VERSUS TV (check cable or satellite for listing and will air regularly on Tuesday nights at 10:30 p.m. ET, beginning June 16) headed up by Zach Selwyn named FANARCHY. Selwyn is uniquely qualified to host this program because he beat out a potential crowd of over 20,000 in his effort to appear on the first season of the ESPN's reality show Dream Job. Selwyn debuted on the show in its second episode back on February 29, 2004. He went on to finish third - Tony Kornheiser later apologized for not picking Selwyn to actually be on his popular show "Pardon the Interruption" and admitted he had made a mistake leaving him at third place.

Charles Barkley says that high school basketball players should have to spend two years in college before being drafted. Do the fans agree? Find out on FANARCY, Tuesdays at 10:30ET on VERSUS.

FANARCHY is a show by the fans for the fans, bringing the robust online world of sports banter to life on television. Each FANARCHY episode will feature seven very opinionated sports fans appearing on-air via their personal webcams (in a kind of a Brady Bunch face-box grid layout). From on-the-field and off-the-field athlete/star antics and bogus referee calls to what they, the fans, would’ve done if they were the athlete, coach or owner. FANARCHY guests will be giving their unvarnished take on anything and everything from the outrageous and controversial to what might be currently happening in sports in a frenzied back-and-forth style.

Think of it as kind'a a Best Damn Sports Show ... without all the basketball, comedy, and professional announcer drive-by stars and guest hosting ... after all, FANARCHY features you, the fan, and that can't be all bad, can it? OK, OK, OK, we will at least have Zach Selwyn to bail us all out ... with a song, maybe. Did you know he was also an accomplished band leader and musician?

Now is the time for Zach to bump us out with a tune! Queue the band ... fade to black.

... notes from The EDJE

British Steam Car In Los Angeles For World Land Speed Record Attempt

Following the two runs at Thorney Island on April 1st, the UK test program is now complete. It is a sobering thought that the car now has to go twelve times as far, at double the speed, twice, in one hour to achieve the record. We have much to learn, test and achieve on the lake bed in California. Image Credit: BSCC News

British Steam Car Arrives in Los Angeles in Preparation of its World Land Speed Record Attempt

The British Steam Car arrived this morning (5.00pm GMT) at Long Beach Port, Los Angeles in preparation for its World Land Speed Record Attempt. The vehicle departed Felixstowe last month via the Panama Canal on route to California.

The team has since been granted its entry license to Edward’s Air Force Base for the attempt to officially take place and the FIA confirmed. The team will commence further testing and subsequent attempts from 10th – 24th July 2009.

The primary aim of British Steam Car project is to establish an FIA sanctioned Land Speed Record and break the 103-year-old FIA record of 127mph achieved by American, Fred Marriott, driving a Stanley steam car in 1906. The FIA is the sanctioning body and now recognizes a land speed record as the average speed of two passes made across the same measured distance in opposing directions within 60 minutes of each other. The time of the two runs is then averaged to obtain the official recorded speed. While the mile in which the attempt is being made cannot move during the attempt, there is no limit to the runup or braking distance for the vehicle as well or location that the event must take place.

The car and all the ancillary equipment has been cleaned prepared and packed. The car, 6 support rigs, eight pallets of plastic boxes containing all the spares and essentials, including teabags, have found a home inside our two 40ft containers and the 20ft workshop container. Image Credit: BSCC News

The team acknowledges the achievements of the "Barber-Nichols Team". Their vehicle 'Steamin' Demon' is currently the fastest steam car in the world. In 1985 The Barber-Nichols Team carried out three successful passes and achieved an American National Record at 145.607mph. There was no attempt to establish an FIA record. However, the British Steam Car Challenge recognizes this speed as the record to exceed.

Image Credit: BSCC News

From its inception, the British Steam Car was designed to achieve an FIA record. This is reflected in many of the design decisions and also greatly affects our choice of venue.

The car, on its trolley and trailer is a tight fit, but it has gone into the container. Image Credit: BSCC News

The British Steam Car has fixed gearing between the turbine and the wheels. When the car starts it is in top gear and only manages to pull away because of the incredible torque available from a stem turbine. Weighing 3 tons and starting in top gear means that the car accelerates very slowly toward its top speed. The team need a minimum of 6 miles to make the record attempt, 2.5 miles to accelerate, measure 1mile then decelerate for 2.5 miles, to allow room to accelerate on the return run so, for the record attempt, we required six miles of smooth, flat ( less than 1% gradient) which immediately preclude a record attempt in the UK.

Matt Candy, Engineering Administrator/Strategic Planner, BSCC says: "There are no runways or man-made flat surfaces six miles long - it has to be a natural feature. Beaches, lake beds or salt flats are often chosen for speed record attempts, including the well-known Bonneville Salt Flats. "We have chosen Rogers Dry Lake Bed in southern California as our venue for the record attempt, as it is a suitable surface with sufficient length. Rogers Dry Lake Bed is within the huge 308,000-acre Edward's Airforce Base site and is where the Space Shuttle lands if conditions in Florida are unsuitable. It is steeped in aviation history, and there has never been an official FIA land speed record achieved on site.

"It has another advantage for us - low altitude. Being only 2300 feet above sea level, the air at Rogers Dry Lake Bed is denser than at higher altitudes providing more oxygen for the car's burners"

Unfortunately as Edwards is an active top secure military base, people are unable to turn up to watch the attempts take place.
(ht: Rebecca Nicholls - Director, Eventageous PR Ltd for The British Steam Car Challenge)

The BSCC Team

Several members of the original ThrustSSC team have been brought back together to work on this project. With the previous success of the ThrustSSC team in the desert at Black Rock there is every faith that the project will proceed to set the record at 200 MPH without incident.

There are some additional roles that will have to be cast such as support crew, operations support and general support of the efforts at Thorney Island and Rogers Dry Lake Bed, Edwards Air Force Base. These roles will be partly dependant on the number of sponsors that attend the record attempts.

Driver - Charles Burnett
Test Driver - Don Wales
Engineering Logistics Coordinator - Frank Swanston
Team Coordinator and Administrator - Lynne Angel
Team Administrator - Kirsty Redfern
UK Liaison Officer - Elly Dalby
PR Liaison Officer - Pam Swanston
PR Manager - Rebecca Nicholls
Car Build Technician - Peter Prove
Technician - Clive Hawkins
Technician - Stuart Bailey
Engineering Administrator/Strategic Planner - Matt Candy
Wireman - Peter Dickerson
Electrical, Wiring and Computer Technician - Matthew Warr
Electric and Electronic Technician - Nick Bass
Composite Body Work - Mike Horne
Fabricator & Welder - Chris Yates
Fabricator Technician - Wilbur Day
Student Placement - Adam Tye
Design Draughtsman - Chris Lack
Transport - Nigel Leppard
Newtown Park Estates Manager - Richard Channell
Newtown Park Estates Logistics Manager - Rob Gray
Designer - Glynne Bowsher
Consulting Engineer - Peter Candy
Team Inspiration Chairman - Bill Rich
Webmaster - Martin Swanston

Welcome all from the British Steam Car Challenge to sunny, Southern California. Great success and Godspeed!

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Barber-Nichols Team, British Steam Car Challenge, BSCC, Matt Candy, Rogers Dry Lake Bed, Southern California, The EDJE

Survey Sez?! ... Ford Is A winner For Standing Alone

In Los Angeles last November, Ford showed off the latest Mustang in standard and GT forms. (Click here to see our video interview with one of the designers responsible for the terrific 2010 package, filmed in LA.) In Detroit, we get the first look at the newest GT500. The car will be available in coupe and convertible forms in spring 2009. Caption & Image Credit: AutoPacific

Survey Sez?! ... Ford Is A winner For Standing Alone

If life were a game show and that game show were Family Feud, Ford would be the "go to" answer, if the survey answer concerned itself about the level of respect a consumer would have for any automobile manufacturer.

The credit crisis brought about through the fall-out of the greater sub-prime mortgage loan market collapse that has shown itself over this last full year exposed the whole of the American automobile manufacturing community. General Motors and Chrysler accepted the Bush Administration's offer to utilize a loan of Federal money in order to weather the storm and fight off bankruptcy.

Ford elected not to accept the offer and therefore maintained control over the way the company would manage itself and we all now know what has happened to the other two competitors. General Motors is owned by the Federal Government and the Auto Workers Union and has declared bankruptcy while Chrysler's ownership, through bankruptcy, was transferred to the Auto Workers Union while the balance of the company was sold off to the Italian auto manufacturer, Fiat in order to bring it out of bankruptcy more quickly.

In both cases, American contract law was over-run as the Federal Government declared that the primary investors and Bond holders were to be honored last as opposed to first as it related to the control of the assets of the company ... both companies.

Ford Fiesta Poised for USA Launch in 2010 - The Fiesta has been on sale in Europe since August 2008 and about 117,000 have been sold to date. With the assistance of the EPA, Ford has been able to bring in 145 into the states for testing and evaluation purposes. Caption & Image Credit: AutoPacific

In a recently released survey of consumer attitudes conducted by AutoPacific, Ford has surged ahead by a margin of 3 to 1 ... of both GM and Fiat/Chrysler in the "Not concerned at all" response to the level of confidence about the viability of purchasing or leasing from a specific manufacturer.

In the coveted "likely to buy" category, Ford equaled the attitudes held for the top Japanese manufacturers.

The survey proves that consumers want to purchase from Automobile manufacturers that have their corporate structure firmly planted in Capitalism and not a structure born from another route.

Image Credit: AutoPacific

This excerpted and edited from Vehicle Voice -

Survey Indicates Ford Benefits From Troubles Of Others And Not Taking Bailout
Public Responds Positively to Ford's Actions, but Some Still Have Reservations
Vehicle Voice - June 17, 2009

American consumers' opinions about Ford Motor Company have been positively influenced by the company's decision not to accept government bailout funds, and by the bankruptcy filings of rivals General Motors and Chrysler. Automotive research and analysis firm AutoPacfic conducted an online survey of more than 900 U.S. consumers regarding their purchase intent and opinions of individual car companies. Highlights include:

* Asian and European manufacturers scored highest when the survey asked "How concerned are you about buying/leasing a vehicle from" a particular maker, with an average of 61% "Not concerned at all." Ford scored 48%, far ahead of GM's 15% and Chrysler's 14%.

* Ford matched or scored higher than its Asian and European competitors to the question "How likely are you to buy/lease a new car" from a specific manufacturer:

o Toyota -- 43% Likely/Very Likely

o Ford -- 43% Likely/Very Likely

o Honda -- 41% Likely/Very Likely

o Volkswagen -- 33% Likely/Very Likely

o Hyundai -- 22% Likely/Very Likely

o General Motors -- 15% Likely/Very Likely

o Chrysler -- 7% Likely/Very Likely

* Skepticism was also revealed:

o 39% Agreed/Completely Agreed that Ford Motor company was simply lucky to have "cleaned house" before the economic downturn

o 39% Agreed/Completely Agreed that Ford has yet to prove it won't ask for a bailout in the future

"Ford's restructuring, which started months before the current economic downturn, has clearly helped position it more closely with its Asian and European rivals than its domestic competitors, in terms of public perception," said George Peterson, president of Tustin, CA-based AutoPacific. "Some don't think Ford is out of the woods but, overall, consumers view Ford quite favorably verses their cross-town rivals and on par or better than most imports. All brands will be significantly challenged if the downturn continues into 2010."
Reference Here>>

Ok, so Ford is not out of the woods just yet, but all one has to ask themselves when one is considering the purchase of a new automobile ... Would you buy a car manufactured by a car company that is owned by the Federal Government, and/or a labor union, or would you buy a car from a company run by a management team that grew up creating cars from the ground up that address the needs of the consuming public?

... notes from The EDJE