VICS 2018 At St. Pete - Funny Thing Happened On The Way To A Champion's Coronation

The nose graphic that appears on the wasp-like livery on the Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan - No. 18 Team Sealmaster Honda Dallara of the first winner of the first race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series today at Saint Petersburg -  Sebastien Bourdais. Image Credit Edmund Jenks (2018)

VICS 2018 At St. Pete - Funny Thing Happened On The Way To A Champion's Coronation

The tenth edition of the best carry-over (non IMS) race from the original schedule of the Indianapolis Racing League (IRL), the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, featured twenty-four very capable cars and drivers filling the field packed with seven past Indy Car champions representing thirteen season championships riding along side seven rookies where three of them made it into the 3rd Round Firestone Fast Six in Knock-Out qualifications is a really, really big deal. Last year's winner of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (replay) was 4-Time IndyCar season champion, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais.

The Verizon IndyCar Series, in order to make racing more competitive and in control of the driver in this top level of American motorsport, tightened up the body skin specification on the Dallara DW12 chassis by introducing the two year project now known as the Universal Aero Kit (UAK).Welcome the age of the UAK on the DW12 Dallara.

2017 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden describes the 2018 Universal Aero Kit on stage during the 2018 INDYCAR unveil at the North America International Auto Show in Detroit. Image Credit: Joe Skibinski

The past Verizon IndyCar Series season champions include Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012), AJ Foyt Racing driver Tony Kanaan (2004), Chip Gannasi Racing driver Scott Dixon (2003, 2008, 2013, 2015), Team Penske drivers Will Power (2014), Simon Pagenaud (2016), Josef Newgarden (2017), and the aforementioned Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan driver Sebastien Bourdais (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) - 7 series champions covering 13 season titles.

The rookies entering into the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season's first race are Firestone Grand Prix P1 Verizon Pole Award winner, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Canadian driver, 29 year old Robert Wickens, Firestone Fast Six P3 Qualifier AJ Foyt Racing Brazilian driver, 19 year old Matheus Leist, Firestone Fast Six P4 Qualifier Ed Carpenter Racing British driver, 24 year old Jordan King, Andertti Autospot American driver, 23 year old Zach Veach, Michael Shank Racing/Schmidt Peterson Motorsports British driver, 24 year old Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing Canadian driver, 19 year old Zachary Claman DeMelo, and Juncos Racing Austrian driver, 26 year old René Binder.

The traditional first race of the season, for nine years now (since 2009, the race has served as the season opener, with the exception of 2010, when it was the second race of the season), held around the airport, streets and harbor of Saint Petersburg, Florida proved to all what everyone had suspected. A different kettle of fish from most of the Dallara DW12 era racing - less downforce, great body strength, very fast in a straight line. The UAK is very pleasing to drive - from the opinion of most all of the drivers.

Most observers assumed that experience held within championship winning teams, the teams with the greatest financial backing, history, testing, and experienced drivers would hit this opening opportunity with suffocating domination.

To nearly everyone's surprise this was not the case when the rookies, took the Verizon P1 Pole Award (Wickens became the third rookie in 25 years to win the pole for his IndyCar debut), and two additional positions in the Round 3 Firestone Fast Six in road/street format Knock-Out qualifications. Left out to watch from the sidelines were such impressive champion drivers as Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Simon Pagenaud, and last year's champion Josef Newgarden.

Robert Wickens affixes the Verizon P1 Award emblem on his car after winning the pole position for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Image Credit: Chris Jones

The cars slip and slide ... the in-car camera shots show that the steering wheel gets as much a workout as peddles in a spinning class. More driving is required from all of the drivers in this series making the product on the track more entertaining than it has been in recent history. And, to be honest, the racing has been very good since the introduction of the first Dallara DW12 platform.

EXAMPLE - Opening Laps:

On the first lap of the race, Will Power attempted a Turn 1 pass and through Turn 2 became lose and spun without contact, Tony Kanaan gets lose in Turn 5 and as he straightens out, taps Zach Veach with wing parts flying. Lap 2 has RHR coming out of the pits ahead of traffic after a quick controller change because the one installed did not allow for accelleration and Charlie Kimball becomes unsettled after bouncing on the curb entering Turn 13 and comes to a stop off of the track at Turn 14 - Full Course Yellow.

Restart on Lap 6 has three rookies leading in P1, P2, and P3 - King, Wickens, & Leist - Beginning Lap 7 Spencer Pigot spins going into Turn 1 bringing out a Full Course Yellow.

Restart Lap 11 has Jordan King leading the field to the third start of racing at St. Pete, followed by Wickens, Rossi, Leist, and Hinchcliffe ... not a champion in the bunch - and only one fully established driver of over three seasons in the series.

Wickens passes in Turn 1 as King goes wide ... Rossi loses a place back to P4. The first Champion is settled in at P7 with Scott Dixon  ... now at Lap 13.

So the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season begins on the temporary street circuit at St. Petersburg.

To give one additional insight on just how busy, or as Eddie Cheever on the broadcast put it ... CHAOS filled, the events of the Firestone Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg race were, just take a look at the video shot list released as a usable media asset by the Verizon IndyCar Series after the race.

Shot List:
Aerial of St. Petersburg
Fans
Grand marshal Helio Castroneves gives the start command
Green flag
No. 12 Will Power spins
Power replay
No. 14 Tony Kanaan spins
Restart
No. 15 Graham Rahal and No. 21 Spencer Pigot incident
Replay of Rahal and Pigot incident
No. 23 Charlie Kimball goes off track
No. 6 Robert Wickens leading
No. 4 Matheus Leist incident
Team owner A.J. Foyt reaction
No. 18 Sebastien Bourdais leading
No. 9 Scott Dixon and Sato incident
Replay of Dixon and Sato incident
Wickens passes Bourdais for the lead
No. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay on-board view of No. 60 Jack Harvey going off track
Harvey parked in the last turn
Wickens leading with No. 27 Alexander Rossi in pursuit
Wickens passes Rahal
Rossi gets wide in Turn 4
Slow-motion replay of Rossi wide
No. 32 Rene Binder incident
No. 59 Max Chilton incident
Final restart, Rossi and Wickens incident, Bourdais takes the lead
Replay of Rossi and Wickens incident
Checkered flag, Bourdais wins, crew reaction, Bourdais does donuts

Sebastien gives race winning TV interview before he exits the car in the Victory Circle. Image: INDYCAR (2018)

Bourdais pulls into pit lane and gets congratulated
Bourdais sound

Almost covers it except the race was really even more eventful than the shot list would indicate.

Image 1) Alexander Rossi cooks it in Turn 4 and hurts his attack - Robert Wickens in the foreground. Image 2) Rossi rejoins the hunt and passes Charlie Kimball in Turn 5. Images: INDYCAR (2018)

With the laps winding down, and Canadian driver Robert Wickens in the lead, being chased down by third year American driver and 2016 Indy500 winner Alexander Rossi, it looked as though the race was comfortably in hand, especially when Rossi, who was reducing the distance between Wickens and himself, slid and overshot the apex point at Turn 4, losing and attacking advantage (depicted above). 

"It was going to be pretty hard to reel him back in there," Alexander Rossi said - except the chaos wasn't over.

That is, until Rookie Rene Binder with 10 laps to go brought out a FULL COURSE Yellow (FCY) after his car went into the tires to set up one uneventful restart.

Max Chilton stalled moments later to set up a second FCY with two laps to go. Bourdais, sitting comfortably in third and happy to start the year on the podium, wasn't that happy; he thought someone would make a risky maneuver and wreck the field.

"Normally they don't allow push-to-pass on restarts," added Alexander Rossi at the post race media conference. "You'd normally have to do a timed lap before you did it, but because of the late call to go green that lap, they allowed it, and I actually got the call when I was in the middle of Turn 13 and 14. So I had a big jump on Rob (Wickens), and he got to the push-to-pass pretty late. The run was perfect for me going into Turn 1, and I knew there wasn't going to be many other opportunities. Obviously (Wickens) had a good car all day, and they did a great job. I made the pop. He defended the position, which he has the right to do, but in doing so, in moving the reaction, he put me into the marbles pretty late into the corner." Image: INDYCAR (2018)

Sure enough, Rossi contested the lead, hit Wickens going into Turn 1, and ended both of their victory hopes. Rossi recovered to finish third, while Rookie Wickens got stuck and finished 18th in the 24-car field.

Lost in all of this was the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver and past winner of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (2008) Graham Rahal, who had one of the worst performances in Knock-Out Qualifications for a road/street race. Graham Rahal ended up starting the race dead last in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda, had a strong race with good strategy with clean pit stops and ended up on the podium in P2!

"The United Rentals guys did a great job out there," said Graham Rahal in a post race interview. "Certainly, yesterday wasn't what we expect of ourselves, isn't what we hoped for. Last night, what can you do. Put your heads down, you work hard. Even this morning the car wasn't phenomenal in practice. With Tom (German, engineer) and the boys, they made great changes. Our guys had good pit stops and frankly good strategy. We had the pace when we needed it, we could save a lot of fuel when we needed it, we could make passes if we needed to. It just kind of all played out for us. We will take second (place) any day. It's the best start to a season I have had since I won here in 2008. Thank you to all the fans, the turnout was great this weekend. I hope you guys enjoyed the new car. We are going to put on some great shows this year as you can see."

For a coronation to happen, one needed aggressive racing, sliding cars, just a bit of side-to-side bumping along the way - the crown is then served to a four-time series season champion and, to add insult to injury, repeat Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner, Sebastien Bourdais.

The Verizon IndyCar Series is beginning its Southwest United States spring swing with back-to-back races at ISM Raceway with the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix (Friday April 6 - Qualifications 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT / Saturday April 7 - Race 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM PT) and then the rites-of-spring 44th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Thursday April 12 - Long Beach Motorsports Walk Of Fame honoring Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves - 11:00 AM PT / Sunday April 15 - Race 1:00 PM PT).

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: Alexander Rossi, Sebastien Bourdais, Graham Rahal, #INDYCAR, Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, @StPeteFL, @IndyCar, #FirestoneGP, #VICS, Verizon IndyCar Series, The EDJE

IndyCar Off To A Shaky Start For 2015

Philip Lane ‏@Re1axinmood - According to reports Brazil is cancelled - @IndyCar could at least update the website. Do they know something we don't?

IndyCar Off To A Shaky Start For 2015

This last full week of January 2015 saw more damaging action in American Open Wheel Racing off the track in two days than most can remember here in the 2010's ... maybe longer.

On Wednesday, January 28, it was announced that the committee approach that was implemented last year, which effectively diluted the strong influence of Race Director Beaux Barfirld and prompted the aforementioned Mr. Barfield to resign before the end of the 2014 season and accept a Race Director position at IMSA's Tudor United Sports Car Championship, will remain in place with the once replaced Tony George confidant Brian Barnhart as Race Director.

On Thursday, January 29, a shorter season designed to avoid, at all costs, at having IndyCar races being run during American professional football games was made a little shorter with the announcement of the first race of the season set to be run March 8th, 2015, was being cancelled by the race promoter due to track improvement delays and a change of government in Sao Paulo Brazil.

In order of actual damage to the sport of American Open Wheel Racing at the highest professional levels, the second announcement was the greater threat, but the image of IndyCar and its professional stability has taken a perceivable step backwards.

Races scheduled and cancelled at the last minute tends to speak for itself as it relates to the decision-making powers of upper-management. Stable venues are everywhere and having races run on a consistent basis year-in-year-out helps to build an audience and tradition.

Sadly, losing Brazil is just another in a long line of situations that have trashed the year-in-year-out paradigm momentum that has proven to work but is shunned by IndyCar management throughout the years.

Further, the re-appointment of, the once replaced, Brian Barnhart as Director of Race Control, when this country has about 330,000,000 (that's 330 million, or 1/3 of a billion) additional human beings living here, shows a complete lack of evolution that would be critical to building and sustaining a sport at its highest professional standards.

Lastly, the elephant that still sits in the room (because very little allowable on-track testing has taken place) - the addition of add-on aerodynamic body parts (aero-kits) to the tested and appreciated Dallara DW12 platform which has proven itself to be the only durable element in American Open Wheel Racing.

Presentation given during the the season 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series finale held at Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California by engineers at Honda Racing HPD transport. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

This was to be the year of differentiation through the addition of aero-kits but the actual process has this competitive factor potentially diluted and equalized. All parts have to be manufactured exclusively by Dallara with the majority of the parts already deemed as standard. If the parts are standard to all cars, and manufactured by a single source, secrecy and variance are placed at a minimum. The jury has not even been formed on this season element.

On Brian Barnhart:

Second-year steward system to support race director Brian Barnhart. Image & Caption Credit: IndyCar via Twitter

This excerpted and edited from Oilpressure - 

Brian’s Song: The Return & Other Tidbits
By: George Phillips

Since the news broke less than forty-eight hours ago that Brian Barnhart would be named as Race Director for the Verizon IndyCar Series, there has been nothing but hand-wringing on social media for the past two days.

Wednesday morning – John Oreovicz, of ESPN, tweeted out a tease that Wednesday afternoon, IndyCar fans would be told news that would make us think it was either April Fool’s Day or Groundhog Day. I had no idea what it was. I surmised that either the aero kits were going to be delayed or else the opening race at Brasilia had been cancelled.
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An hour or so after the teasing tweet, Curt Cavin broke the news about Barnhart. I’ve been on Twitter since 2009, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a (bleep)-storm as I saw that day. The Legions of the Miserable were out in force. One thing was apparent – IndyCar fans are still very passionate; even in January.

I will admit, my initial reaction was not much different from those I was reading – it just wasn’t as strong. I wasn’t horrified like some, but I wasn’t particularly overjoyed either. Like everyone, I’ve taken my share of shots at Barnhart – some cheaper than others. Let’s face it – he’s a very easy target.

Most people associate Barnhart with a quick trigger for penalties and a very rigid and inflexible stance. He’s been given nicknames like The Iron Hand of Justice and TGBB (The Great Brian Barnhart). Those detractors are not incorrect in that association, but my bad taste comes from a slightly different direction.

Lately, I’ve referred to this current administration as returning to the “bunker mentality” of the Tony George administration. That is what I most associate Barnhart with – that bunker mentality. In the Tony George regime, my perception was that Barnhart was Tony George’s right-hand man and that he really enjoyed being that close to the throne. The two of them pretty much made all decisions, and if no one liked it – tough! To me, it seemed that their viewpoint was “this would be a great series, if we didn’t have all these fans we had to deal with”.
----
When Tony George was ousted in 2009 and subsequently replaced by Randy Bernard in 2010, Brian Barnhart was operating alone without his main supporter. I am not a psychologist, so I don’t know if George’s absence exacerbated Barnhart’s behavior – but it sure seemed that Barnhart’s race officiating became a lot more visible…and more horrendous.

To make things worse, the more Barnhart was criticized – the more he dug in. His word was final, and he knew it. If anyone questioned his calls, his resolve strengthened and he turned a deaf ear to the criticism. Fans, owners and even drivers were scoffed at. They knew nothing and should not even be listened to – at least that was my perception.

After the debacle at New Hampshire in 2011, it was reported that Randy Bernard had fired Barnhart during the offseason. As it turned out, that wasn’t quite true. He was removed as Director of Race Control, but was still head of Racing Operations. Last year, he was in the rotation to serve as one of three stewards at IndyCar races.
---
[Barnhart's] new title effectively makes him Chief Steward of the total three stewards at any given race. It’s unclear to me if he is one vote of three or the deciding vote. Whatever the case, he no longer has the last word. That now belongs to Derrick Walker, his boss.
----
Once the penalty has been enforced, they can’t really give the positions lost back to the driver. I suppose that remains to be seen.
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I believe in second chances and all, but I also think that it’s pretty tough to change your core personality. To quote coach Bill Parcells – “You are what you are”.
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The other night on Trackside, Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee made it a point to mention that even though this is not popular with fans, no one in the paddock is complaining. Barnhart is well-respected there – which is where it counts. I always questioned the integrity of a Chief Steward that had a Twitter account and wanted to be popular.
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So while I think it’s tough to change your core personality, it can be controlled with hard work and discipline. People do learn from their mistakes. Over time, it becomes easier to control your emotions and resist your natural instinct.
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Now that Barnhart has returned and we lost the Brazil race, I’m hoping the aero kits are still on deck for St. Petersburg. Stay tuned.
[Reference Here]

Beaux Barfield steps aside as he sends off Justin Wilson for his MAVTV qualifying run during the season 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series finale held at Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

And this excerpted and edited from Racer - 

PRUETT: Holding judgment on Brian Barnhart
For Racer - Viewpoints: Marshall Pruett

I was hoping for Unicorn Jesus. Instead, according to the Internet, we got Osama bin Hitler.

Before we fall into familiar, time-honored roles of painting Brian Barnhart as evil incarnate—the fire-breathing hellspawn sent to earth to destroy IndyCar from high atop the Race Control tower, let’s steer the conversation in a direction that involves fewer pentagrams and scribblings of 666.

The lows from Barnhart’s tenure as IndyCar’s Race director are well known. From holding an oval race in the rain at Loudon to assigning penalties based on his ability to read minds and judge the intent of the offending driver, Barnhart’s mistakes—and limitations—have been the source of countless columns.

In the three years since Barnhart was taken off the frontline, he was retooled as a steward serving the Race Director, and by all accounts, his experience and attention to detail impressed everyone involved. Call it a private, internal career and image makeover, and with those inside IndyCar experiencing the best side of Barnhart, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see him elevated to his former position.
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Do I believe, on a personal level, that he has been unfairly targeted and blamed for many things that weren’t his fault? Absolutely.
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If the best referee is one who acts in the best interest of the game and rules fairly once all the facts are known, you’re left with two more examples of how not to referee. You have the guy who swallows the whistle and calls nothing or, in the case of Barnhart through 2011, the ref who carries a few extra whistles in his pocket because they explode from over-use.

That’s Barnhart’s reputation as Race Director. Penalties, penalties, and more penalties, no matter how small the crime, and to compound the problem, his past body of work involved attempts to judge the mindset of the drivers who ran afoul of his sensibilities.

The classic case was at Long Beach in 2011 when numerous drivers spun cars from behind in the hairpin leading onto the front straight, but only some were penalized due to the Race Director’s amazing ability to divine intent from genuine error.
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This little walk down memory lane wasn’t to rehash Barnhart’s checkered past in Race Control, but rather, to illustrate the clear and easily defined pros and cons associated with IndyCar’s new chief steward. Applauded for his body of work from 2012-2014, and worrisome in the latter stages of his first go-round in the position through 2011.

It leads me to one conclusion: IndyCar knows exactly who and what they are getting, and if Barnhart is at the center of more controversy due to his trigger-happy shortcomings, blame the series.
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Simply put: This dog has a history of biting, yet its owners are confident he’s been rehabilitated and no longer needs a muzzle. If they’re wrong and the paddock ends up with more puncture wounds, don’t get mad at the dog for the owner’s bad judgment.
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IndyCar president of competition Derrick Walker knows Barnhart, spent time on the receiving end of Good Brian and Bad Brian as an entrant, and will play an active part in making sure Race Control is a more balanced officiating environment than the one Barnhart previously led.

If I’m wrong, and IndyCar’s officiating safeguards aren’t properly implemented, stockpile all the holy water and crosses you can find.
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Until we get to the point where Barnhart has done something new to warrant a digital lynching, it might be worth putting your faith in Walker to place his new Race Director in a position to succeed.​
[Reference Here]

What is the definition of … INSANITY?

We all will be treated to MORE WILLFUL EGO from Race Control as opposed to less.

So, so stupid this IndyCar Series decision is:

A definite step backwards!

Lack of evolution and competitive maturity of the IndyCar sport – I contend, the only real aerodynamic effect that will matter in this 2015 season will be the HOT AIR of penalties emanating from the Race Control tower … not the monolithic nature found in the DW12 aero-kits manufactured exclusively by Dallara, the requested kits by Chevy and Honda (also manufactured exclusively by Dallara), and lastly, the team modified suggestions that are then fed and discussed with Chevy and Honda (also manufactured exclusively by Dallara)!

The Utah Data Center is one of the U.S. Defense Department’s largest ongoing construction projects in the continental United States. This Intelligence Community facility will host the power, space, cooling, and communications needed to support specialized computing. The center sits on approximately 247 acres, includes 1.2 million square feet of enclosed space, and is completing acceptance testing. Image Credit: TechCrunch via popularresistance.org

Anyone have an “in” at the NSA?

The depth of the point being made centers around the minor variances in the nature of the aero-kits (the vast majority of the aero-kits will be standard and dictated by Dallara as per Honda engineers during the VICS finale at ACS). More races will be decided by Race Control with this latest appointment (based upon a well known history) than will be decided by the potential and perceived advantages provided through variances of the added aero-kits.

As seen on Facebook - a short dialog between one fan to another:

Laura Malone‎ to Beaux Barfield
· Des Moines, IA ·
As IndyCar goes absolutely nuts over the new race director AND has its first race for 2015 canceled, I can only imagine that you are smoking a cigar and laughing and laughing and laughing (you will be missed!)

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Beaux Barfield to Laura Malone
· Houston, TX ·
I love IndyCar. And I have a lot of friends there whom I wish all the best. But none of what's happening is dire - sad and frustrating - but not dire. I am comfortable with the decisions I have made. And yes, I am smoking a cigar

    ** Erin Campbell - Said perfectly, babe.
 
... notes from The EDJE
 

Pre-Season, Pre-Race Interview With 2013 IICS Champion Scott Dixon

Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon shares a first-time "Chevy engine" team moment with fellow team member Penske Racing's Will Power. Too weird to think of these two very competitive teams being linked together through an engine program ... especially since Dixon won the 2013 Championship with a Honda. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

Pre-Season, Pre-Race Interview With 2013 IICS Champion Scott Dixon

We are sitting down for a brief conversation with open wheel race car driver and 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series Champion, Australian born, New Zealand native Scott Dixon. Welcome to the program.

The occasion finds Scott preparing for the first race of an 18 race season - the temporary street course at The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - that will showcase for the first time, points modifications for hitting milage marks, and later in the season, double points awarded for the three 500-mile events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway.

With the Dallara DW12 going into its third year and coming off of one of the most competitive years in recent memory some fans who had turned their back on open wheel racing in North America may be missing out on some of the most competitive car racing on the planet. It is not the same bunch of 3 or 4 drivers winning all the time. 2013 not only witnessed Scott Dixon’s third series championship, it saw 10 drivers from seven different teams climb the podium over the 19 races — four drivers for the first time.

Juan Pablo Montoyoa explains the difference between driving a 'Cup' car and a Dallara DW12. Dixon's TCGR team-mate Charlie Kimball and Penske Racing team-mate Will Power enjoy the exchange. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

Juan Pablo Montoya is returning to open-wheel racing for the first time since he left Formula 1 for NASCAR in 2006, this time with Team Penske. Coincidentally, 2006 was the last year Roger Penske Racing claimed an IndyCar Series Championship title.

New Dixon team-mate Ryan Briscoe studies the information displayed on the DW12 steering wheel. Briscoe and Tony Kanaan bring considerable Chevy engine experience to the four car Ganassi team. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

At Chip Ganassi Racing, Franchitti’s seat has been filled by reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Tony Kanaan. A fourth car has been added to the team to compliment you, Scott Dixon – with Kanaan and Kimball - for the return of Australian driver Ryan Briscoe, who parted ways with Team Penske at the end of 2012 and spent 2013 picking up rides between IndyCar Series and sports-car series.

Ganassi has also changed engines — from Honda to Chevrolet.

With this as a background going into the first race of the season …

 Interview Audio File >>>

1. Does the combination of a four car team and an engine manufacturer switch to Chevy at Fontana last season make it harder to defend your title in 2014?

2. It appears as if you have a combination of team-mates in Kanaan, Kimball, and Briscoe who have relatively calm personalities, does this make intramural sharing easier or is it more competitive under the surface?

3. Obviously, Juan Pablo Montoya is back with a ride in open wheel racing …. the early money says that while he will be getting a grip on things, his nature will see him in a controversy … mainly with a Ganassi car … are you guys keeping an extra eye on him at St. Pete?

4. What do you think of the complexity of the new rules for double points at the three big 500 mile oval races scheduled for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway?  Should the Verizon IndyCar Series awarding more points for particular races or mileage marks?

5. Michele Rahal, our Motorsports Unplugged president and Formula One expert, says that the IndyCar Series, right now, is the best open wheel product in the world, given all the confusion in GP and the close lap-times being shown at the IndyCar test at Barber … what is your opinion?

Come on out to see reigning AND 3-time IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon compete, who, of course, will be hoping to repeat this year, as the Verizon IndyCar Series kicks off on Sunday, March 30 … with the opener at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla. … followed by the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13.

For those following the Verizon IndyCar Series on Twitter, use #VICS #spgp #tcgr #indycar #DW12 to index the conversation.

... notes from The EDJE