Sunday, May 29, 2011

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Danica Patrick is up to P7.

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

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

Lap 164 has Franchitti ducking in for fuel.

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

Graham Rahal passes Servia for the lead.

Lap 169 Dixon passes Servia for P2.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

... notes from The EDJE

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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

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

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

Planking is a social media phenomenon that got its start in England around 2009 and most recently is catching fire in Australia. The rules for planking are simple - planking takes its name from how players mimic a wooden board by lying rigid, preferably in a public place or on an unusual spot, such as a washing machine, a sign or a railing. The person planking lays down on the place to be planked, then stretches out stiff pointing ones fingers and toes, face down with no expression. The point is to post a wacky planking photo online.

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

Alex Lloyd

Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Amazing 2011 Win Streak Of Brandon Davis

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

The Amazing 2011 Win Streak Of Brandon Davis

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

(quotes ht: world-challenge.com)

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

... notes from The EDJE

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Tweet-By-Tweet Round #4 Race - The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

The winners trophy for Round #4 of the IndyCar Series - The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle. Image Credit: IZOD ICS (2011)

Tweet-By-Tweet Round #4 Race - The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

DRRIndyCar DRRIndyCar Larry to JW - "Coming to the green. Have a great start and a great race."

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN! Race start. Image Credit: IZOD ICS (2011)

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Green, green, green! #SaoPauloIndy300 #IndyCar

Big contact on the first start - Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Simona de Silvestro and Helio Castroneves all involved. Image Credit: IZOD ICS (2011)

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Yellow coming out. Multiple cars make contact. Hunter-Reay, Castroneves, de Silvestro

FemaleRacing Female Racing News - Oh No big wreck in the first turn @DanicaPatrick and @simdesilvestro involved..

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - RHR and DP both involved in lap one incidents.

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Let's see Danica and Simona go after Helio in the pits. #Indycar

Five drivers involved and the two race sponsored cars are involved.

ConquestRacing Conquest Racing - Caution on L1 for Hunter-Reay in the tire barrier. Several cars caught up in the incident including Castroneves, de Silvestro and Kanaan.

KennethHolland Kenneth Holland - RT @LewisFranck: Helio has hit everything this year but the lottery.

Three's company - Danica Patrick, Simona de Silvestro and Helio Castronves collide. Image Credit: ©2011, LAT USA via IZOD ICS (2011)

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - De Simona’s car ends up on top of Patrick’s car – we will leave you to come up with your own comment.

PCaporali Pat Caporali - WHY OH WHY do #IndyCar fans have to turn to back alley illegal video feeds on the internet?! Ridiculous. I'm f-ing over it.

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - I can remember races in Toronto where all the Canadian hopefuls were out early. It sucks big time. Sad for the Brazilian fans.

shagers Shane Rogers - Looked like Saavedra getting sideways is what put Danica in the wall. #indycar

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - 4 of 75 laps complete … this will be a 2 hour timed event – Top five are Power, Dixon, Rahal, Briscoe, and Franchitti with 1 to go to Green

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - GREEN, GREEN, GREEN – Restart of the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

The second restart and some spins. Very wet. Image Credit: IZOD ICS (2011)

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Green! And yellow again. Lots of slipping & sliding.

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Sorry, no yellow. Still green. Mike P5, Marco P12, RHR P20

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Bourdais, Wilson, Dixon and Hinchcliffe spin. No yellow. Cars back under power.

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Skies are black here... prob more rain coming. RHR needs new rear wing. Possible suspension damage.

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - YELLOW Flag full course caution … oops, RED Flag – race stopped due to rain.

jpmontoya Juan Pablo Montoya - Red flag in the brasil at the indy race

kart58 Paige - All this graceful spinning. Somebody play Swan Lake. #indycar

tracksideonline TrackSide Online - You can blame all of this on @TSO_Patrick - he's the one who said it wouldn't rain because he brought a jacket.

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - At the RED Flag, top five positions – Power, Briscoe, Conway (up from P9), Sato (up from P10), & Rahal.

DRRIndyCar DRRIndyCar - Team bonding http://twitpic.com/4s03vo

Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey - Just caught up with race. Yikes! This is a cluster! This looks like Bobby Unser rowing to his 1975 Indy victory!

A big storm in Sao Paulo - Rain, wind, lightning. Image Credit: IZOD ICS (2011)

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - Radar shows that this race may only be able to be run on “Wets” (wet grooved tires), so much for ChampCar tire rules.

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Standings at Red Flag P1 WP P2 RB P3 MC P4 TS P5 GR P6 DF P7 MA P8 CK P9 AT P10 OS P11 SS P12 EV P13 SD P14 JJ P15 JH P16 AB P17 JH P18 JW

indy44 Matt Archuleta - P19 RM P20 SB P21 VM P22 RHR P23 HC P24 SDS P25 DP P26 TK

IndyCarPR INDYCAR PR - Race Control: Cars have been released to the garage and teams can work on them. Red flag remains in effect.

RacingNation Steve Zautke - If this continues I might be busting out some old #Indy500 tapes, yes, ye olde VHS tapes LOL #Indycar

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - This delay is still going to screw up a lot of travel plans. Lots of people were due to fly out a few hours after the race. #indycar

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - At RED Flag, timed racing stopped at 30 min. - on RESTART, 90 min. will remain - 9 LAPS complete, will start at LAP 10.

The crew doing some work on Helio's #3. Image Credit: IZOD ICS (2011)

BaronVonClutch Peter Leung by indy44 Conway: 'The track was undriveable.... It's a bit annoying waiting here when we've done only 10 laps. I just want to get back out' #IndyCar

VersusIndyCar Versus IndyCar - RT @kvracing: @TonyKanaan car is being fired up in the garage, he will be able to resume racing!!

IndyCarPR INDYCAR PR - RT @NZRconsulting Track drying fast, removing standing water #SaoPauloIndy300

SBPopOffValve PopOffValve.com - You know, of course, that they're doing this on purpose to get us psyched up for Indy. #maybenot

DRRIndyCar DRRIndyCar - Bia and her crew chief Chris during the rain delay http://twitpic.com/4s17or

MoreFrontWing More Front Wing - [MFW Update] Trump at IMS: a public relations disaster http://bit.ly/ifRopZ @IndyCar

tomasscheckter Tomas Scheckter - People in brazil think that indycar drivers in rain is like watching front line of the football team playing twister #embaressing

openpaddock Openpaddock.net - over/under on Viso being the first out after restart?...

Newman_Haas Newman Haas Racing - If there were travel issues for some getting here, there are surely more to come. First bus is leaving for the airport in 2.5 hrs. Empty?

indy44 Matt Archuleta - For your rain delay entertainment http://youtu.be/NgI_ury1Rpg #PaulNewman #IndyCar

DRRIndyCar DRRIndyCar - We're hearing about 20 minutes until we go back racing - depending on the weather.

SpeedJournal SpeedJournal - (IndyCar) Power secures Penske's 200th all-time pole http://bit.ly/laWMAQ #autoracing

SpeedJournal SpeedJournal - (IndyCar) Sao Paulo circuit 'hot spots' http://bit.ly/mc0zKD #autoracing

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Sure sounded like it. RT @99forever: Wait -- did Dario just say that Helio's trip into the fence was Helio's fault after all? #indycar

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - Dario Franchitti says that they would love to go back to racing if it does not rain anymore! A vote to STOP the race. Radio is signing off.

VersusIndyCar Versus IndyCar - "I've never seen spray that bad" - Dario Franchitti #indycar

DRRIndyCar DRRIndyCar - This is why @VersusIndyCar rocks! RT @IndyCar: Versus will stay with us for the duration of the race. Listen in at http://bit.ly/9oshb1

Andretti26 Marco Andretti - Let's go!

indy44 Matt Archuleta - RT @Jbindy4: I wonder what the league is going to do? It gets dark in Sao paulo by 5:30. Its 3:30 there now. #IndyCar

SBPopOffValve PopOffValve.com - This has officially passed the CCWS Surfers race as the worst street race of all time.

VersusIndyCar Versus IndyCar - What we are hearing is that it will be about 15 minutes until the drivers will be to their cars #indycar

Andretti arruma carro de Danica Patrick, que sofreu acidente logo depois da largada da prova. Caption & Image Credit: @firestone_indy

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - A pic of the @GoDaddy car in the garage earlier, via @firestone_indy http://twitpic.com/4s0tvi

IndyCarPR INDYCAR PR - Race Control. Push out to pit lane. Cars will be start in their running order.

[Time: 12:00 PST]

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Thanks to all of our fans here in Sao Paulo for sticking with us in the rain... appreciate the support. Should be back out in 10-15 mins.

IndyCarPR INDYCAR PR - Race Control: Drivers restart your engines.

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - After nearly a two and a half hour rain delay – cars take to the track under YELLOW Flag – laps will count.

tomasscheckter Tomas Scheckter - Whooop whooop. Let's get this party started.

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Cars are leaving pit lane now. Yellow flag until conditions are acceptable according to the drivers.

CrashGladys Crash Gladys - But think about the new audience #IndyCar can attract w/ the first headline of the race, "Simona gets on top of Danica!" Girl on girl, baby

estradawriting Christopher Estrada by indy44 - IMS Radio: Barnhart says we'll run a bunch of laps in yellow. Davey Hamilton on pit road says that amount could be up to 20 laps.

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - IMS Radio speculation - If they run enough YELLOW Flag laps the race could be "called" final when they reach 38 laps.

DRRIndyCar DRRIndyCar - Red flag again

Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey - Damn... :-/

tomasscheckter Tomas Scheckter - No no no no no no no no no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CrashGladys Crash Gladys - Or postponed I should say... answer me this, tho... how come #F1 can race in these extreme wet conditions and not #IndyCar? Tire issue maybe

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Cars are back on pitlane. Drives climbing out. Stay tuned for updates.

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Covering cars. Race control says we can't work on the cars. Race postponed until tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. #indycar

VersusIndyCar Versus IndyCar - We are postponing the race until tomorrow. We will be on air at 1 p.m. #indycar

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Wait what, drivers not getting out of their cars. Guess they still want to race. #IndyCar

pressdog Bill Zahren - @spikerogan I'd vote for just starting over tomorrow, put everyone back on the grid and get 'er done.

IndyRacingNut Tony Wittrien - @pressdog @spikerogan It's supposed to be raining all day tomorrow too. Just pack it up and go home, I say. Come back in Sept/Oct.

indy44 Matt Archuleta - I bet they run the minimum amount of laps to get race in. Under yellow or not. Teams and drivers have spoken. #IndyCar

PantherRacing Panther Racing - Hildebrand has just suggested a drifting competition for the remainder of the day ..... race winner determined by fan vote. Whatcha think?

pressdog Bill Zahren - RT @lindythackston: RT @IndyCar: We have not postponed the race. We apologize for the confusion. Stay Tuned: We will have an update shortly.

TrackSide Online - Brazil - Sunday - Race postponed until Monday:

The 12 Verizon car and the 6 Penske Logistics car wait under the red flag in Sao Paulo. Caption & Image Credit: Penske Racing (2011)

Order for restart of race on May 2, 2011

Start Order | Car# | Driver | Laps | Comment

1 27 Conway 13 - Will be waived around before restart
2 12 Power 14
3 6 Briscoe 14
4 5 Sato 14
5 38 Rahal 14
6 10 Franchitti 14
7 26 Andretti 14
8 83 Kimball 14
9 77 Tagliani 14
10 2 Servia 14
11 34 Saavedra 14
12 59 Viso 14
13 9 Dixon 14
14 18 Jakes 14
15 06 Hinchcliffe 14
16 24 Beatriz 14
17 4 Hildebrand 14
18 22 Wilson 14
19 17 Matos 14
20 19 Bourdais 14
21 14 Meira 12
22 28 Hunter-Reay 12
23 3 Castroneves 5
24 78 de Silvestro 5
25 7 Patrick 5
26 82 Kanaan 5

'Till tomorrow, this is ...

... notes from The EDJE

Tweet-By-Tweet Round #4 Race - The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle - RESTART Day 2 - May 2, 2011

FirestoneRacing Firestone Racing -Remember, though, since #indycar race started wet yesterday, the alternate/primary tire rule been tossed out with the rain water.

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Cars are on the grid, drivers are strapped in. We're getting ready to go racing! Follow along here http://bit.ly/9oshb1

VersusIndyCar Versus IndyCar - Drivers have started their engines. That's a good sign. #letsdothis #indycar

IndyCarPR INDYCAR PR - RT @FirestoneRacing: All cars restarting race on @firestoneracing alternate (red) tires. All on new reds except 19, 28, 22, 06, 2 and 10.

FirestoneRacing Firestone Racing - As cars pull away, raindrops in pit lane @SaoPauloIndy300 #indycar

IndyCarPR INDYCAR PR -Cars are rolling on the grid. Conway has been waved around. We should be green next time by. Follow @indycar for in race action.

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks - GREEN, GREEN, GREEN – Restart of the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Green Flag! http://bit.ly/9oshb1

DRRIndyCar DRRIndyCar - Pit stop for @JustinWilson22 http://twitpic.com/4sc662

sidepodcast Sidepodcast F1 - indycar is go again, we're commenting here: http://sidepodcast.com

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Let the passing begin. Dario around Rahal. #IndyCar

shagers Shane Rogers - It's REAL low grip. Helio tippytoed less on Dancing with the Stars.

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - All 26 cars roll to pit lane to change to Wet tires

VersusIndyCar Versus IndyCar - the rain has began, everyone into pits

PCaporali Pat Caporali - Alright #IndyCar tweeps looking for a video fix... here's what I have: http://www.justin.tv/besweeet#/w/1153382704 #Brazil

SpeedJournal SpeedJournal - (IndyCar) Race resumes on streets of Sao Paulo http://bit.ly/iPuwJm #autoracing

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Will Power has a very close call with the outside wall. Gathered the car up, no contact.

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Sebastien Bourdais in the tires. Full Course Yellow

AllenWedge Allen Wedge - Bourdais slid but stopped in front of tires, but blocking course so FCY. looks like RHR spun by himself

Dale_Nixon Dale Nixon - So much for Sebastien Bourdais being a "master of wet conditions"

indy44 Matt Archuleta - RHR into barrier, has rear wing damage. #IndyCar

ConquestRacing Conquest Racing - Caution out on lap 21 for Bourdais in the tires.

PippaMann Pippa Mann - I picked Bourdais as being in with a chance of a good race yesterday... That probably makes his mistake my fault!! #CurseOfTheCommentator!!

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - #28 car coming in for a new wing... will most likely have to use one from #27 car. #sharing

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Current Top 10 - Power, Sato, Briscoe, Franchitti, Andretti, Rahal, Viso, Dixon, Servia, Wilson

pressdog Bill Zahren - Festival of Yellow Laps

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Bourdais out of car and in pits sipping a macchiato. #IndyCar

shagers Shane Rogers - People are going to stretch to one stop, you just don't know how long this race will go with Yellow and slow laps on wets. #indycar

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - We're coming to the green! Follow along at http://bit.ly/9oshb1

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Still on yellow flag... Marco 5th, Mike 17th, RHR 22nd, Danica 26th. About an hour left on the clock.

shagers Shane Rogers - RHR running with Conway's rear wing. Takes "runing teammate's setup" to a whole new level! #indycar

indy44 Matt Archuleta - P1 WP P2 TS P3 RB P4 DF P5 MA P6 GR P7 EV P8 SD P9 OS P10 JW P11 JR P12 AT P13 SS P14 JH P15 AB P16 RM P17 MC P18 JJ P19 CK P20 VM

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - Nice to see them behaving on the restarts. Sato takes the lead! #indycar

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Green flag!

IndyRacingNut Tony Wittrien

GO SATO GO!!! Use that F1 experience and win a damn race for once!!!!!

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Full Course Yellow

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Sato takes lead, huge rooster tails. Sato slides it, stays under control. #IndyCar

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Yellow for Rahal. Still quite wet out there on the track.

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Yellow for Rahal spin. #IndyCar

AllenWedge Allen Wedge - Wow Sato brilliant move to the lead on that restart, hope he can keep it through this next restart, shame they had to go FCY for debris

shagers Shane Rogers - You can't penalise Dario for that, Briscoe hit the kerb and Dario was taking avoiding action. #indycar

IndyRacingNut Tony Wittrien - @pjchesson Let's hope Sato can draw on his F1 experience and win this damn race!! :)

Themayor911 Steve Marengo - by AllenWedge If Sato holds the lead and wins he will make history today. Sato will be the first Japanese to win a Major Open Wheel Series Race!

shagers Shane Rogers - It was actually a good bit of driving by Dario, he saw Briscoe come across and moved over to avoid the accident. #indycar

AllenWedge Allen Wedge - ditto, they've been great all race RT: @indy44: That last double file restart was magnificent Didn't think I'd be saying that today #IndyCar

pressdog Bill Zahren - Should start a pool on how many laps til next FCY. 4?

indy44 Matt Archuleta - RT @Newman_Haas: 11 more laps to 1/2 mark (official race; full points). 1 to go at line. #IndyCar

AllenWedge Allen Wedge - Conway has very quietly made his wall all the way back to 14th in these few short laps since going down to 21st from 3rd, sound familiar?

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Viso P6 +20 spots. #IndyCar

PippaMann Pippa Mann - This is turning into a pretty good race right now!!! Wish we were able to broadcast it live here in the UK!!! #Indycar

ConquestRacing Conquest Racing - No. 34 car improves to 11th.

AllenWedge Allen Wedge - Conway is up to 12th, can we please get a on-board camera on him already #IndyCar

pressdog Bill Zahren - Wonder if Bernard did some all caps German screaming that led to the good restarts or the drivers just saw the super fuggly tape of LB

shagers Shane Rogers - Looks like Penske went closer to all dry on the setup, KV closer to all wet. The story of the race. #indycar

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Current Top 10 [lap 30 of 75] - Sato, Power, Andretti, Franchitti, Servia, Viso, Briscoe, Dixon, Hildebrand, Tagliani

Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey - Aren't those curbs about 4" tall? Not sure how a driver would straddle one in these cars.

indy44 Matt Archuleta - P1 TS P2 WP P3 MA P4 DF P5 OS P6 EV P7 RB P8 SD P9 JR P10 AT #IndyCar

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Franchitti makes hard contact with the tires in the Turn 1 run off

PippaMann Pippa Mann -So Sato, Andretti, Viso and Saavedra have not stopped... This could get interesting!! Go @ConquestRacing currently in P4!!!!!

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - Viso passes Andretti for 2nd. KV Racing is 1-2!

briankelly_ Brian Kelly - Would be nice to see someone other than Will Power win a road race. #indycar

MVBN15 MVBN15 - Mike King can kiss my ass, Simona is 7 tenths a second faster than Marco. What else is she supposed to do? #Indycar

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Viso and Marco running second and third makes me nervous. #IndyCar

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Michael Andretti told race control Viso blocking. #IndyCar

LewisFranck Lewis Franck - Michael Andretti on the battle betweeen his son and "Viso was blocking." #IndyCar officials blackflagging Viso.

NeilHudson Neil Hudson - Ouch, black flag for EJ Viso #indycar

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - I actually agree with black flagging Viso. He was doing quite a bit of blocking -- was wondering why he was getting away with it. #indycar

IndyCarRules Scott Barton - Black flag for Viso for blocking. That's a punch in the gut! #IndyCar

IndyCarGarage IndyCar Garage - @12WillPower is charging , now up to p5 #INDYCAR

The_Lap_Times James - In any racing only driving serpentine down a straight is blocking - not defending - that's just defending #indycar

icthyes_f1 Icthyes - Hard luck for Viso, just hope nothing happens to Sato #indycar

shagers Shane Rogers - The Viso call is consistent with the past. Fair enough. #indycar

Wiresculptress Kristine Schroeder - Viso must have pissed in someone's Wheaties. Someone important. Black flag is heavy handed.

curtisboggs curtis boggs - I don't know what the answer is, but I hate #IndyCar's "blocking" rules.

ronfrankl Ron Frankl - For those not watching, #IndyCar race will be a timed race and will end in less than 20 min. It's been raining again & been a messy race.

estradawriting Christopher Estrada - WOW, that's a crushing blow for KV-Lotus. And this fuel gamble may not pay off for 5-Sato if it stays green.

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Marco: "My dash is out." Michael: "Hang in there without it." (Marco can't see any in-car info)

shagers Shane Rogers - The drying track is bringing this race back to @12WillPower.

damonsmedley Damon Smedley - I really don't like these twisty onboard cameras. One facing the front and one facing the back would be nicer.

LewisFranck Lewis Franck - Hey tv just caught up with my comment on Simona's speed. If you have racecontrol you can watch this, too.

moon089 Marcos Arancibia - #IndyCar: EJViso had a drive-through. Andretti is 2nd and Sebastian Saavedra is 3rd!

tonydizinno Tony DiZinno - Never thought I'd say this but want a yellow to preserve the current top 3 [Sato, Andretti, & Saavedra]. Just for the shock result.

Krustylicious Taras Dhedhi - Between Sato and Andretti, with Saavedra with a chance

trill100 Sara Gruber - Marco, there's less than 20 minutes, and you're 2nd. Keep that up, at least. But maybe pass Sato? Please?

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - Sato.. Andretti.. Saavedra.. how ticked are you guys going to be if strategy leads to Will winning it anyway?

sentoan Aficionado al Motor - a 15 del final: 1 Sato, 2 Andretti, 3 Saavedra, 4 Power, 5 Rahal, 6 Briscoe, 7 Franchitti, 8 Servia, 9 Viso, 10 Conway

whatimthinking Meesh Beer - true dat RT @tonydizinno: Can't wait for the bitchfest to begin after that call on Viso ... Mikey's Fine Whinery prevails.

Krustylicious Taras Dhedhi - typical will power takes 3rd spot .

estradawriting Christopher Estrada - OK, apparently there's just enough time for six laps...14:30 remaining. 12-Power to P3

shagers Shane Rogers - Will Power is getting faster and faster relative to Sato. If this stays green, he's P1

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks – Fuel strategy will put the nail into the KV Racing Technology coffin - it’s Power, Rahal, Briscoe on the podium – bank it!

SkittleCar1 Jeremy Carpenter - Will Power seems to be working his way through the field.

RacerDudes Diana @RacerDudes - wow - Twilight Zone! RT @ALMSChicks: Top five are Sato, Andretti, Viso, Saavedra, and Jakes

EJGoose Evan Jones - Marco coming in to pit.

Corvettettops Derek Harkema - Drive hard and listen to radio communication kid RT @IndyCar: Marco Andretti has lost all data on his dash

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Here comes Power P3

melanie8771 Melanie Mizenko - Marco's in pit. Change tires to slicks. Let's go #26

EJGoose Evan Jones - Slicks. This won't end well for Marco.

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - Reds on Andretti?! Now that's VERY interesting!

mjweinstein Michael Weinstein - Thanks to lindythackston for the twitter updates as I take the train to work. Sounds like I'm missing a great #IndyCar race!!

Racing_Observer Matt Weaver - Taku will not have enough fuel - coming down pit lane soon. Will Power will lead.

BrunoTarulli34 Bruno Tarulli - #IndyCar Sato en pits. Power toma la punta.

estradawriting Christopher Estrada

12-Power last pitted on Lap 36. He takes over the point with just 10 minutes to go.

craig_steele Craig Steele - - 1:49 for Andretti on first full lap on slicks. Bad call.

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Bummed for Sato, ran hell of a race. #KV #IndyCar

brownie9999 Andrew Browne - @12WillPower @penskeracing go power! 8 minutes to go.

Racing5 Racing5 - P1 Power P2 Rahal P3 Briscoe.. quedan 7 minutos.

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks – BANKED … this should last until the end unless a cloudburst or … blocking happens!

barbar3la Barbara AJ Ramathon - Is Danica still running?

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Less than 10 mins left in timed race... Conway 6th, Andretti 15th, Hunter-Reay 18th, Patrick 23rd

shagers Shane Rogers - 5 laps to go unless we get yellow.

ambercleveland Amber Cleveland - RT @indy44: Top 10 P1 WP P2 GR P3 RB P4 DF P5 OS P6 TS P7 MC P8 JW P9 JH P10 JR

hunt_james Jaime Lalinde - 5 more minutes for the checkered flag

indy44 Matt Archuleta - Sato off track in turn one. Back on.

SkittleCar1 Jeremy Carpenter - @TJIngerson Wow....good strategery by Team Penske.

estradawriting Christopher Estrada - Sato goes into the T1 runoff, loses a few spots but stays in Top 10.

f1fanatic_co_uk F1 Fanatic - Power leading, Sato down to eighth after his pit stop, no doubt wondering why KV didn't pit him when everyone else came in.

craig_steele Craig Steele - - Three laps to go.

IndyRacingNut Tony Wittrien - How is Dario in 4th after spending so much time in the tires???

indy44 Matt Archuleta - 3 min left disregard white flag

damonsmedley Damon Smedley - Takuma Sato has thoroughly disappointed me tonight. I really thought he could win it! :(

R_D_Manning Roger Manning - @simdesilvestro Wow what if you had not been punted on the start, amazing run today ;)

IndyRacingNut Tony Wittrien - Drive of the race goes to BOTH Sato & Viso. If this wasn't a timed race, Sato might have pulled this one off... #IndyCar C'est la vie. :(

TheEDJE Edmund Jenks – Drives of this race (both editions) to Will Power, Graham Rahal for surviving the wet and the crashes, and … Mike Conway to 6th from 20th.

Scott_Joslin_F1 Scott Joslin - I used to consider #Indycar a viable alternative to top level racing to #F1, but now it's more like WWF Wrestling.

Dale_Nixon Dale Nixon - #RaceControl "#Deathstar has repelled the rebel forces; which are retreating in disarray"

xemafuentes Xema Fuentes - Crazy #IndyCar race. That's racing!

ronfrankl Ron Frankl - Wow. Fastest lap of race turned by Simona DeSilvestro.

estradawriting Christopher Estrada - The strategy backfires for KV-Lotus and 12-Power is heading to Indy with the championship lead.

AllenWedge Allen Wedge - This race was the polar opposite of Long Beach, highly entertaining race, boring end/result; still good Monday morning though.

riiseuk Carl - I don't like American commentators, time too turn off the #IndyCar stream, Just saw Bourdais' name and chuckled slightly.

_alanstewart Alan Stewart - Will Power wins his fourth pole and second race of 2011 at São Paulo Indy 300. Now let's head to @IMS and the 100th running of the #indy500!!!

andhesonit Johnny Montona - wham-BAM @GrahamRahal @SC_Racing & @CGRTeams finish P2 in the #IndyCar #SaoPauloIndy300.

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - Well, that kinda went in with a bang and out with a fizzle, didn't it? Ah, well. :)

lookingspiffy lookingspiffy - Meh. MEH MEH MEH. *waves Taku flag forlornly*

BrunoTarulli34 Bruno Tarulli - #IndyCar Will Power gana por segunda vez en Sao Paulo. Rahal queda segundo y Briscoe finaliza en tercero.

ronfrankl Ron Frankl - Will Power wins rain-plagued IndyCar race in San Paolo. Rahal 2nd, Briscoe 3rd.

AustMotorsports AusMotorsportNews - #IndyCar: Australian @12WillPower crosses the line to win IZOD Brazilian IndyCar 300 race. Aussie @RyanBriscoe6 drove home in 3rd spot.

djcraske David Craske - Well ... I was entertained. Yes, Power won, but it was a good drive staying outta trouble. Lotta good #IndyCar stories in this one

pressdog Bill Zahren - ZING! RT @KelseyUSA: First interview without a major complaint from Graham Rahal.

WilliamMazeo William Mazeo - @pressdog this race will shut up many #IndyCar haters, won't it? Good race!

KelseyUSA Kelsey - @whatimthinking @pressdog there has to be a complainer every race, right? lol

IndySoupdotcom Chris Sheridan - Power and Dario are walking away with the championship...again - #INDYCAR live on http://livestream.com/INDYCARRadio

99forever Steph@MoreFrontWing - That pass by Sato was worth watching the entire race for. What a beautiful move! He seems to be coming into his own this year.

wolkenjaeger Tristan Hauser - Congrats to the HVM team and Simona for the 1:39:823

Mistyuk11 Karen Barrett - Great race from @Mikeconwayindy starting at the back & finishing 6th - well done to @dariofranchitti for solid points in 4th :-)

Shu1T Shu - なんか良く分からないけどWillPowerトップか。。 #indycar

estradawriting Christopher Estrada - Top 10: Power, Rahal, Briscoe, Franchitti, Servia, Conway, Wilson, Sato, Hinchcliffe, Hildebrand.

All in all, the top 10 are nothing but survivors with luck and a good strategy for the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle!!

Of the top ten in Brazil, only Briscoe & Franchitti are long-time IRL drivers. God bless rookies, transferees from other racing series and, of course, the former ChampCar contingent (Power, Rahal, Servia, and Wilson).

Full Finishing Order

... notes from The EDJE