IMS Triple-Header & IMSA Daytona Has Team Penske's Attention July 4th Weekend

Tee shirt graphic from the first ever triple header race weekend held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The weekend features races by three racing series and two different sanctioning bodies - NTT INDYCAR & NASCAR. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via IMS Store screengrab (2020)

IMS Triple-Header & IMSA Daytona Has Team Penske's Attention July 4th Weekend

After an extended interruption off-season, Motorsports and Motor Culture gets a boost over the 2020 July 4th Independence Day celebration weekend - sans fans, in the stands.

ZOOM presentation where the flow is regulated - Edmund Jenks asks a question of all drivers - Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves, & Ricky Taylor - at 14:20 on the timeline.

ZOOM tile presentation - Will Power, Brad Keslowski, & Austin Cindric

WHAT:

Team Penske Zoom Media Conference Block – NASCAR, INDYCAR & IMSA Drivers

WHY:

The Fourth of July weekend promises to be a historic time in American motorsports with competition at two of the country’s most-iconic venues, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and Daytona International Speedway. Team Penske is the only team with entries in each of the four series competing during the weekend, including the much-anticipated NASCAR/INDYCAR tripleheader at IMS.

WHO:

Brad Keselowski – driver of the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang - Winner of the 2018 Brickyard 400 / 2012 IMS NASCAR Xfinity Series Winner

Will Power – driver of the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet - Three-time GMR Grand Prix winner / 2018 Indianapolis 500 Winner

Austin Cindric – driver of the No. 22 Menards / Richmond Ford Mustang - Two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series road course winner

Dane Cameron – driver of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - Three-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion

Juan Pablo Montoya – driver of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - Current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion / Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner

Helio Castroneves – driver of the No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner

Ricky Taylor – driver of the No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi - 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Champion / 2017 Rolex 24 and 12 Hours of Sebring winner

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: Pennzoil 150 At The Brickyard, GMR Grand Prix, Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 499, IMSA Weathertech 240, Daytona, IMS, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske Racing, Team Penske, The EDJE

At GP of INDY It's Rayhall vs. Rahal ('RAyHALl') ... Is There An Echo In Here?

Fans walk the frontstretch during the post-race track invasion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Image Credit: Joe Skibinski via VICS

At GP of INDY It's Rayhall vs. Rahal ('RAyHALl') ... Is There An Echo In Here?

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) during the final day of competition during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the only name heard, it seemed, was the sound made by the last name of a one-time Indy 500 winner (1986) - Bobby Rahal. In this case the name heard belonged to two different drivers in separate open-wheel series, although sounding the same, was spelled in two different ways.

Fans observe on track road course action on the mounds at IMS. Image Credit: Dana Garrett via VICS

The first session of the day belonged to a first-time driver in new IndyLights Series (that features a new Dallara racing platform powered by Mazda that looks like disturbingly like the ChampCar DP01 - down to the louvers in the sidepod) by the last name of Rayhall ... Sean Rayhall (8Star Motorsports).

Sean Rayhall leading IndyLights Race 2 at IMS. Image Credit: Tim Holle via VICS

He began the two race event by qualifying third and finishing second in Race 1 where he received a Podium trophy. on this final day of the event weekend, he began Race 2 in P2 along side of season series points leader and polesetter Ed Jones ... drafted his way down the front straight to put on a clean pass in Turn 1 and young Rayhall was never seriously challenged after the second GREEN Flag flew for the balance of the 35 lap race.

Sean Rayhall wins the IndyLights Race 2 at IMS. Image Credit: Doug Mathews via VICS

Post Race Quote:

Sean Rayhall  (#8 Bass Egg and Edvisors-8Star Motorsports): "In my head, that was longer than the six hours I've driven in endurance races! Jack was probably faster than me, but I was trying to save my tires for the end in case he got close. The restart had me nervous but I used a little trick I picked up driving Late Model (stock) cars to keep him back. After that, the only thing that was going through my head was to keep hitting my marks. I never expected this. Racing against guys like Max, RC, Ed, these guys have been doing open-wheel racing for the last five or six years, while I've done endurance racing. I'm inexperienced compared to them; it was an honor yesterday just to be on the podium with them so to be able to win, I'm just blown away. In the end, it's another race car. It's a switch in your head; you go from one to another, you drive different styles and push in different ways but you get to a point where you can flip it on and flip it off."

He improved all event weekend long at the IMS infield road course where he posted a P5 in Practice 1, a P6 in Practice 2, A P3 in Qualifications, A Podium P2 in Race 1, a P1 in Practice 3, and brought home the Podium hardware in Race 2 with the winner's trophy and bragging rights for next year if he is still driving IndyLights.

P1 Rayhall, P2 Enerson, P3 Chilton at IMS Race 2. Image Credit: IndyLights

As reported by IndyCar:

Rayhall crossed the finish line 4.9438 seconds ahead of RC Enerson (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian). Max Chilton (Carlin) finished third. After seven of 16 races, Ed Jones (Carlin) holds the provisional points lead (176), 14 ahead of Jack Harvey (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian).

After only two races, Sean Rayhall (8Star Motorsports) has P11 in the points (81) out of 14 drivers with points.

Leaders in for 1st pitstop leaving 15 - Graham Rahal to make up ground with light fuel tanks - 1 - Power, 22 - Pagenaud, 11 - Bourdais - no mishaps or changes in order #gpofindy #lndycar #indyrivals

A photo posted by Edmund Jenks (@the_edje) on May 9, 2015 at 1:21pm PDT

Which brings us to the main event of the weekend, the fifth race of the Verizon IndyCar Series - Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and the other Rahal ... Graham Rahal.

This excerpted and edited from The Columbus Dispatch -

IndyCar: Graham Rahal trying to make the best of slower car
By: Tim May - Friday May 8, 2015 10:44 PM

Coming off a stirring run to a second-place finish in the previous IndyCar race, Graham Rahal spoke of renewed momentum for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan race team headed into Saturday's second Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

He stuck with the momentum on Friday, but after qualifying he wasn't happy. Neither were most of the other 11 drivers in the 25-car field who are using Honda engines and aerodynamic devices.

Chevrolet drivers smoked them. Team Penske's Will Power led the way, taking the pole for the race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The "fast six" final qualifying was all Chevy; the top 12 who advanced to second-round qualifying included just one Honda, Jack Hawksworth from the Foyt Racing team, who wound up 11th.

It was like taking a "knife to a gun fight," said Rahal, who will start 17th.

This year, IndyCar moved from stock bodies for all of the cars to aero kits (the downforce-inducing wings and pods on the cars) designed and produced by the two engine manufacturers in the series. If a team uses Honda engines it also uses the Honda aero kit. The same with Chevy.

Through the first four races and headed into the fifth, all on road or street courses, Chevy aero kits routinely have produced the faster times.

"It's demoralizing," Rahal said. "There's nothing we can do; it's out of our control. Our team has done the best job, I think, of driving the Honda all year (he's eighth in points, up from 19th last season), but we've got to get the cars better."

The Chevy drivers know there is a disparity. There is a chance of rain for the race today, which could close that gap.

"If it's wet, absolutely," Power said. Honda has "a lot of good drivers in their camp. Right now, they just don't have their aero kits side of things together. ... I hope they bridge that gap. It is more competitive when it's an even playing field, which it isn't right now."
[Reference]


The race was run and it wasn't wet ... just a little messy at first, and fast (only one Full Course YELLOW Flag).

Seven cars were visibly involved in the Turn One incident, at race start, when the pack funneled down into the sharp first corner. Others got banged and bent. Third place starter, Helio Castroneves/No.3 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, rear-ended second place starter, Scott Dixon/No.9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. At least two cars stalled and had to be started - Jack Hawksworth/No.41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt and Josef Newgarden/No.21 Century 21 CFH Racing Chevrolet. Everyone else continued, eventually, but some had to pit for repairs. Image Credit: Eric Schwarzkopf

From IndyCar - ANGIE'S LIST GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS RACE RUNNING:

Lap 1: GREEN flag at 3:49 p.m. 1-Power leads the field into Turn 1. FULL COURSE CAUTION, contact in Turn 1 involving 9-Dixon, 3-Castroneves, 41-Hawksworth, 5-Hinchcliffe and 21-Newgarden. 3-Castroneves and 5-Hinchcliffe keep going. 9-Dixon, 41-Hawksworth and 21-Newgarden are stopped in Turn 1, assisted by the Holmatro Safety Team, restarted and return to the field.

Lap 2: Pits are open. Pitting are: 25-Wilson (replace front wing), 83-Kimball, 5-Hinchcliffe, 3-Castroneves, 7-Jakes, 9-Dixon (replace front and rear wings), 21-Newgarden (replace rear wing), 18-Huertas, 41-Hawksworth (replace front wing).

Lap 4: GREEN flag. 1-Power leads 22-Pagenaud. 15-Rahal has advanced 11 positions from the start to sixth place.

P1 Rahal in & out in 8 seconds - slots in after Power but before Pagenaud. #gpofindy #lndycar #indyrivals

A photo posted by Edmund Jenks (@the_edje) on May 9, 2015 at 1:47pm PDT

This excerpted and edited from NBC Sports Motorsports Talk -

Graham Rahal bridesmaid again in Grand Prix of Indianapolis
By: Daniel McFadin - May 9, 2015, 7:14 PM EDT

It never rained and Rahal didn't require its services. Thanks to a Lap 1, Turn 1 crash involving Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Jack Hawksworth and Josef Newgarden, Rahal was able to go from 17th to sixth before he made it to Turn 5 on the opening lap.

"I said I'll go as far left as they can, I'll have a great angle to cut to the apex," Rahal said of his plan for the first turn. "Worst comes to worse I'll do the shortcut. It'll be fine. Sure enough it worked perfect. I saw smoke everywhere. Next thing I know I see (Scott Dixon). I got (JR) Hildebrand into four. That definitely went our way."

Then a strategy of pitting a lap later than the leaders put Rahal into the top three and within reasonable distance of Power. He led nine laps during green flag pit stops, but afterward was never able to make up full deficit due to lapped cars.

"I feel good about it. We've come away from finishing first by like three seconds combined," Rahal said. "This tiny little one car team is fighting with Penske and that feels pretty good."

It should feel good, though finishing second is undoubtedly getting old.

Still, Rahal, now fifth in points with his single-car team, has multiple podiums in a season for the first time since the 2011 campaign when Rahal notched three with Chip Ganassi Racing.
[Reference]

Angie's List #GPofINDY Podium (middle - Will Power P1, right - Graham Rahal P2, left - Juan Pablo Montoya P3) - This is Will Power's first victory this season and 25th of his career, which ties him with Gordon Johncock for 15th place on the all-time list. It comes in Power's 144th career start. Power is the fifth different winner in as many races in the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season (following Juan Pablo Montoya, James Hinchcliffe, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden). The #GPofINDY race featured six different leaders (Will Power, Graham Rahal, Charlie Kimball, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliffe and James Jakes). None of the six led a lap in the inaugural 2014 Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Graham Rahal finished second for the second straight race, tying his season-best finish. Image Credit: Eric Schwarzkopf via FB

This Verizon IndyCar Series season now has had 5 races with the last two showing great promise for the rest of 2015. Some complaints about the lack of Mushroom Busting or Trailing Turbulence which reduces an ease in passing with one of the most vocal drivers in the on-air post race comments being Sebastien Bourdais (starting P7 and finished P4).

Don't tell this to Graham Rahal (race's most improved 15 positions - started P17 - Finished P2) or, Helio Castroneves (started P3, booted Dixon in Turn 1, dropped back to P23 or P24 on Lap 10 pitstop, finished P6), or for that matter, the Verizon IndyCar Series PR department who is boasting 192 passes for position on the track, 11 lead changes and six leaders in the 82-lap race.

Podium Press Conference >>>

No matter how it's spelled (Rayhall / Rahal) it all sounds the same and that "RAyHALl" sound heard throughout the paddocks, for most all of the day, Saturday, is the sound the of success few other names have at the 2nd annual Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

What a way to start the "Month Of May" at IMS. Next up ... practice for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 will begin May 11 (racecontrol.indycar.com).

Qualifications will be May 16 - ABC @ 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm ET and May 17 - ABC @ 1:00 pm - 3:00pm ET - includes V E R I Z O N  I N D Y C A R  S E R I E S - Q U A L I F Y I N G - F A S T 9 (racecontrol.indycar.com).

Coors Light Carb Day will be May 22 (racecontrol.indycar.com).

The INDY 500 race will be May 24 and televised at 12:00pm ET on ABC Networks and racecontrol.indycar.com.

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Sean Rayhall, Graham Rahal, Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Month of May, 8Star Motorsports, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, IndyLights, IndyCar, Will Power, Juan Pablo Montoya, RC Enerson, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Curb-Agajanian, Max Chilton, Carlin, The EDJE, Verizon IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway,

Inaugural Grand Prix Of INDY Road Course Event Pleases On Many Fronts

Gasoline Alley and the Pagoda at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - The inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis, by almost any measure, was a success. The month of May opened up with more than a few thousand people wandering the Speedway waiting for cars to get on track to shakedown. This second race added in the "Month Of May" wasn't a bad change at all. Image Credit: Helio Castroneves via Twitter

Inaugural Grand Prix Of INDY Road Course Event Pleases On Many Fronts

Last weekend, Speedway, Indiana hosted the first of two racing events that it hopes to package and fuse into an annual "Month Of May" motorsports celebration. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), famous for the endurance test and race that grew into the INDY 500 reworked the Formula 1 road course and the Verizon IndyCar Series held its first race on the 2.434-miles 14 turn infield road course that utilizes a portion of the famed IMS oval as part of the circuit with racers driving Turns 1 and 2 of the oval as well as the a long portion of the front straight ... in the opposite (clockwise) direction.

Racing on the road course in May went from being downright sacrilegious to highly anticipated. The track has received near universal praise from everyone who has walked, golf carted, or driven it. The typical response from drivers is that it will adequately highlight the abilities of the DW12 from an acceleration, braking, and cornering perspective. Image Credit: WFOpenWheel Network

When the race broadcast and venue is watched on phones, tablets, computers, and television screens one is struck by the unfamiliar familiarity. The Dallara DW12 cars belong here at this track but they look oddly different heading down the front straight with the famed Pagoda on the car's right hand side.

For those fans that have followed American open wheel racing over this last 10 years or so, this track layout plays on broadcast a little like the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The G.I. Joe's Grand Prix of Portland was a Champ Car World Series race that was last held through 2007 and this venue still holds the record for the closest road course finish in Indy car racing history.

The pace and feel of a race on the road course at INDY felt a lot like watching a race on the Portland track only much larger to scale (the race held a Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport also qualifies ... but not as tight). The long front straight flowing into a contentious right-hander, followed immediately by a left with some speed at the end and, of course, some dodgey esses to contend with.

Simon Pagenaud wins third race in less than a year at the inaugural Verizon IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Indianapolis and pulls to P3 ... within 6 points of VICS championship points leader Will Power. A member of the European press mentioned that the road course reminded him of Magny Cours. Simon agreed. Image Credit: Simon Pagenaud via Facebook

This excerpted and edited from Road & Track/Hearst Digital Media -

GP of Indy quiets the doubters
IndyCar's month in the motherland starts strong.
By Marshall Pruett May 11, 2014

According to the experts on the Internet, IndyCar’s inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis was destined to fail from the beginning. What some called an exercise in trampling more than 100 years of tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway—where Indy cars had only run on the 2.5-mile oval since 1911—the GP of Indy, run on a revised road course, was an unqualified success.

Fans, the Indy traditionalists maintained, would reject the event, but something north of 30,000 people turned out in beautiful weather to watch Simon Pagenaud put in a picture-perfect drive to claim the win. It marked the Frenchman’s third Verizon IndyCar Series win in less than a year, and proved that even in the huge shadow cast by IndyCar giants Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi, a modest operation like Pagenaud’s Honda-powered Schmidt Peterson Motorsports outfit can play the role of giant killer at any time.

Grand Prix Of Indianapolis race start from above (Image Credit: INDYSTAR via Twitter) ...

And Grand Prix Of Indianapolis race start 6-wide from below (Image Credit: Marshall Pruett/RACER via Twitter) ...

Pagenaud’s memorable finish was overshadowed by a frightening start to the GP as pole-sitter Sebastian Saavedra stalled when the lights went green and was clobbered twice from behind—by Colombian countryman Carlos Munoz and then by Russian rookie Mikhail Aleshin. All three emerged unscathed, but that couldn’t be said for a number of bystanders, including the Mayor of Indianapolis, who was hit in the shoulder by a flying chunk of carbon fiber.

More contact later in the race led popular Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe to pull off track and retire after he was struck in the helmet by a front wing endplate from a car he was trailing. Approaching 180mph on the long infield straight headed towards Turn 7, the hit was hard enough to cause a concussion, leading Hinch to sit out Sunday’s Opening Day for Indy 500 practice, if not longer.

Safety improvements are expected for next year’s race, including F1-style debris fencing on pit lane.

Racing aside, it was a welcome change to see IMS take a bold step to build new fans with a road course that some felt was little more than sacrilege. Thankfully, after seeing the positive reaction from curious fans and first-timers, IMS has a new tradition that should stand the test of time.
[Reference Here]

Track view from a position in the stands around Turns 5 & 6. Image Credit: Brandi Iaria via Twitter

The track plays well on television and if the powers that be (Drivers and Race Control) figure out how to frikken START and RE-START the dang race, some folks would be in the points and not have to spend so much time and money on car repairs.

To some, however, this is why they tune in. A venue and a race pleasing on many fronts.

... notes from The EDJE

Tony Kanaan Earns Lifetime Achievement Award Through 97th INDY 500 Win

For a decade, Kanaan was IndyCar’s reigning Best-Never, as in “best never to have won the Indy 500.” Sure, he’d won the championship in 2004, but make no mistake: in IndyCar, it’s all about the race that gives the series its very name. More than the Daytona 500 to NASCAR drivers, more than The Masters to golfers, more than Wimbledon to tennis players: This is the race that defines drivers; any second-place challenger isn’t even on the same lap. Caption Credit: Jay Busbee | Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Tony Kanaan Earns Lifetime Achievement Award Through 97th INDY 500 Win

It is understood that we humans are saps for happy endings – and for those who had invested their emotions in the 97th Indianapolis 500 race over the weekend, the payoff was anything but anticlimactic, even with the race ending under a full course YELLOW Flag caution.

Most of the easy money was on any one of five Andretti Autosport drivers taking the Borg-Warner Trophy inscription/sculpture prize and the lifetime of notoriety that comes with being “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” winner. In the final tally, Andretti Autosport had Columbian rookie Carlos Munoz riding P2 (voted Indy 500 Rookie of the Year), 2012 IZOD IndyCar Sreies Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay – P3, and the current 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series championship points leader Marco Andretti rolling along under the YELLOW Flag at P4.

The easy money did not win but the emotional money paid off big time … if the emotional money were on a deserving previous non-winner of the event, driving for a team that had never won either the INDY 500 or a series championship – 38 year old Brazilian Tony “TK” Kanaan.

TK even had an additional emotional story about luck that presented itself just days before the race.

The Handford Device was created as a way to slow the cars down and try and improve overtaking. The strip or plate was placed on the tailing edge of the rear wing and aided in reducing downforce, increasing drag, and generating a larger wake for the drivers of cars behind to use for a slipstream. Image Credit: f1technical.net

This excerpted and edited from NBC Sports -

Kanaan: Oval racing about “playing the game” given power levels
Tony DiZinno May 27, 2013, 2:30 PM EDT

A veteran of open-wheel’s top level since 1998, Indianapolis 500 champion Tony Kanaan is well-versed on the various “styles” of racing that have occurred in ovals in either CART, IRL or IndyCar iterations.

The second year of IndyCar’s new Dallara DW12 chassis at Indianapolis once again featured a plethora of passing thanks to the “slingshot” effect created by a tow. The cars punch such a big hole in the air that drivers catch up to each other fairly easily. Passing was as prevalent on Sunday as crushed beer cans in Indy’s new “Snake pit,” Turn 3.

But for Kanaan, who raced in the CART-era “Hanford device” period, the racing now isn’t as random or affected by the aero slingshots as it was then. The device, created by aerodynamicist Mark Hanford, was used in CART from 1998 through 2002 on high-speed ovals at Michigan and California Speedways.

“I’ve driven all types of IndyCars, I would say,” Kanaan said Monday at IMS. “I drove the Champ Cars with the thousand horsepower, a lot of downforce.  Then we went to the Hanford device, which was worse than this as far as drafting.  This car has a little bit less.”

The Dallara DW12’s powerplants have only 550 horsepower for ovals. What that has done is altered the racing, but away from the scary “pack racing” that plagued the IRL era, and made it about positioning compared to the CART days when cars could come from nearly a second back to pass [at will]  someone in one straightaway.

Kanaan would know, given his first major open-wheel win was a 500-mile CART race at Michigan in 1999, and he barely held off Juan Montoya after the Colombian hauled him in thanks to a monster tow.

“My most fun years were the years that we had the big horsepower cars and you just had to go flat out; it was pure racing speed,” Kanaan admitted. “You had the faster car, you’re going to take off and win this thing because you had a chance to lap the field.

“That’s not going to happen nowadays. Now you play the game we played yesterday.  You feel it out, what kind of car you have during the race, and you position yourself to win.”

Greater horsepower is a near universal desire of the field of drivers, but for now, Kanaan and others are playing with the resources at their disposal.

“So I would rather have more horsepower and do that.  But nowadays with the cost, it’s quite impossible for that to happen.”
[Reference Here]

TK drove the Hydroxycut KV Racing Technology-SH Racing (KVRT) prepared Chevrolet-powered second-year Dallara DW12 co-owned by Jimmy Vasser, Kevin Kalkhoven and Imran Safiulla.

KV Racing Technology team leader/co-owner Jimmy Vasser knows what it is to be a race car driver w/o INDY 500 recognition. He now has it as a team owner and joins a very exclusive group of drivers who turned to being a team owner to have this kind of success. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

“I never won this race as a driver and couldn’t seem to do so, so I had to hire a driver to do it,” said on-track team owner Jimmy Vasser in a post race interview. “Tony is the consummate professional and he’s been a long time coming here. Starting a year ago, we decided to focus on Indy by taking a chassis and putting it aside. A lot of credit goes to the boys, who have worked very hard over the winter. Tony was right, ‘the stars started lining up for us,’ and we didn’t really get a race set-up until last Sunday [one week before the race] with two hours to go and within 45 minutes, we hit on it. We knew we had the right guy and the right set-up for the race.”

While the race ended under a full course YELLOW Flag caution, everyone invested in the event were treated to a highly competitive, record-setting run for the first 197 laps.

Tony Kanaan celebrates with winners milk in front of team owner Jimmy Vasser (clinched-fists, arms raised) after winning the Indianapolis 500. The American Dairy Association released a milk preference poll for all 33 drivers in this year’s race. Sixteen of them are opting for 2 percent, eight are going for whole, four of them chose skim milk, and five couldn’t care less … so long as they get to drink it. TK signed up for a quart of 2 percent! Image Credit: IndyCar.com

Some numbers of note following the 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, including the top three positions at 20-lap intervals (ht: IndyCar.com):

Lap 20 — Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti (-.0077 of a second), Ed Carpenter (-.3487)
Lap 40 — Ed Carpenter (under caution), Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay
Lap 60 — Ryan Hunter-Reay (under caution), Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter
Lap 80 — Will Power, Tony Kanaan (-.3984), Ryan Hunter-Reay (-.6241)
Lap 100 — AJ Allmendinger, Tony Kanaan (-.0473), Ryan Hunter-Reay (-.4544)
Lap 120 — Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti (-.1399), Ryan Hunter-Reay (-.3720)
Lap 140 — AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Hunter-Reay (-.1390), Marco Andretti (-.3408)
Lap 160 — Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti (-.1167), AJ Allmendinger (-.4829)
Lap 180 — Carlos Munoz, Ryan Hunter-Reay (-.2866), Helio Castroneves (-.9251)
Lap 200 –Tony Kanaan (under caution), Carlos Munoz, Ryan Hunter-Reay

68 — Race-record lead changes, breaking 34 in 2012.

14 — Race-record different lap leaders — a third of the field — breaking 12 in 1993.

27 — Race-record cars running at the finish, breaking 26 in 1911.

133 — Consecutive green flag laps (from Lap 61 through Lap 193), the longest green flag period in Indianapolis 500 history since caution flag laps were recorded beginning in 1976.

21 — Caution flag laps, the fewest in an Indianapolis 500 that went the full distance since caution flag laps were recorded beginning in 1976. The 1976 race also had just 21 caution-flag laps, but that race ended after 102 laps because if rain.

187.433 — Average speed in miles per hour, a race record. Arie Luyendyk held the record of 185.981 mph since 1990. It was only the fourth time the race record has been broken.

13 — Positions gained by Simon Pagenaud, who finished P8 from P21, the most in the field.

6 — Drivers who led their first laps in the Indianapolis 500.

9 — Indy 500s led by Tony Kanaan in his 12 starts.

62 — Temperature in Fahrenheit at the green flag, tying the 1930 race for the third-coldest in the race’s history.

226.940 — Fastest overall lap in miles per hour by Justin Wilson (the highest placing Honda-powered DW12 at P5) on Lap 185.

223.651 — Fastest lap in miles per hour by a race leader, Carlos Munoz, on Lap 184.

168 — 2013 series championship points for Marco Andretti after five races. Takuma Sato is 11 points behind.

226.176 — Field qualifying average in miles per hour. It’s the fourth-fastest field in Indianapolis 500 history, exceeded only in 1995, 1996 and 2002. The 2002 field averaged 228.648 mph, the fastest in history.

228.762 — Four-lap average speed by pole winner Ed Carpenter, the fastest since 2006 by Sam Hornish Jr.

Favorite post race Tweet:

E.M.H @elmondohummus
Yes This! No gimmicks in Indycar. RT @TonyJWriter: Oh, and hey, screw green-white-checker finishes. #Indy500orBust #IndyCar #dw12

Longtime American open-wheel writer, SpeedTV’s Marshall Pruett Predicted: He’s come close before and has, in my estimation, another legitimate shot at winning this year. The most popular driver in the field without his likeness on the BorgWarner trophy will likely put on more displays of bravery and miraculous passes—but can his team get his No. 11 car just right for the sprint to the finish? That’s the only thing I see holding TK back from Victory Lane.

Well, they did, Marshall!

Results – 200 laps:

Pos  Driver               Team/Engine        Time/Gap

1.  Tony Kanaan          KVRT/Chevy
2.  Carlos Munoz         Andretti/Chevy     + 0.1159
3.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti/Chevy     + 0.2480
4.  Marco Andretti       Andretti/Chevy     + 0.3634
5.  Justin Wilson        Coyne/Honda        + 0.8138

6.  Helio Castroneves    Penske/Chevy       + 3.0086
7.  AJ Allmendinger      Penske/Chevy       + 4.0107
8.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt/Honda      + 4.2609
9.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi/Honda      + 5.6864
10.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter/Chevy    + 6.8425

11.  Oriol Servia         Panther DRR/Chevy  + 7.8633
12.  Ryan Briscoe         Ganassi/Honda      + 8.9216
13.  Takuma Sato          Foyt/Honda         + 10.2602
14.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi/Honda      + 11.3858

15.  Ana Beatriz          Coyne/Honda        + 12.2657

16.  Tristan Vautier      Schmidt/Honda      + 15.3045
17.  Simona De Silvestro  KVRT/Chevy           + 15.7201
18.  EJ Viso              Andretti/Chevy     + 17.8056
19.  Will Power           Penske/Chevy       + 22.5403

20.  James Jakes          Rahal/Honda        + 1 lap

21.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti/Chevy     + 1 lap
22.  Conor Daly           Foyt/Honda         + 2 laps
23.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi/Honda      + 3 laps*
24.  Alex Tagliani        Herta/Honda        + 4 laps
25.  Graham Rahal         Rahal/Honda        + 7 laps*

26.  Katherine Legge      Schmidt/Honda      + 7 laps
27.  Townsend Bell        Panther/Chevy      + 8 laps
28.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher/Honda       + 9 laps

* Not running at finish

Retirements

Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon/Chevy       178 laps
Pippa Mann           Coyne/Honda        46 laps
Buddy Lazier         Lazier/Chevy       44 laps
Sebastian Saavedra   Dragon/Chevy       34 laps
JR Hildebrand        Panther/Chevy      3 laps
(ht: autosport.com)

As Tony was overheard to say during the ceremony at race’s end, “This is it … man, I made it. Finally they’re going to put my ugly face on this [Borg-Warner] trophy.” This inscription and facial sculpture will become a well earned award for a lifetime of achievements.

… notes from The EDJE

**Article first posted as "Tony Kanaan Earns Lifetime Achievement Award Through 97th INDY 500 Win" at Motorsports Unplugged**

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

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

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

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

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

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

alex_lloyd Alex Lloyd

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

alex_lloyd Alex Lloyd

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

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

Examples:

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


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


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


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


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


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

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


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

This excerpted and edited from CNN -

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TonyKanaan Tony Kanaan

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

... notes from The EDJE

LA Auto Show 2010 - Lotus Enters Into A New Era Agreement With The IRL

The competition language just increased with the signing of an agreement to have Group Lotus/Lotus Motorsport supply engines and body aerodynamic parts to teams competing in the IndyCar Series starting in 2012. Pictured from left to right: Famed Indianapolis driver, Parnelli Jones, Randy Bernard, CEO of the Indy Racing League, Dany Bahar, CEO of Lotus Motorsport and Group Lotus. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

LA Auto Show 2010 - Lotus Enters Into A New Era Agreement With The IRL

On Thursday, November 18, 2010, the second day of the LA Auto Show Press Days held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Group Lotus announced an agreement with Randy Bernard, CEO of the Indy Racing League, to supply engines and aero body kits for the IZOD IndyCar Series beginning with the 2012 season.

The deal that was put together by Dany Bahar, CEO of Lotus Motorsport, is for a duration of five years and has Lotus also creating a motorsport facility in Indianapolis that will give the company a base in the thick of the action for this unified, exciting, and adrenalin filled race series and make them easy to find by potential IndyCar engine and aero body kit customers.

This announcement closes out a great week for Randy Bernard, Brian Barnhart - President, Operations & Competition, and the future fortunes of the Indy Racing League for the level of competition on many levels starting in 2012. Lotus joins Chevrolet (USA), which also announced an agreement this week, and Honda (Japan) the current and exclusive engine supplier, making available a choice of three manufacturers engines to run in this new and unified era. The IndyCar Series is no longer a "Spec-Series" anymore!

Randy Bernard said: “Lotus is a renowned name in racing, with a long association with some of the greatest names of motorsports. We’re honored Lotus has chosen to serve as an engine manufacturer for the first time.” Randy shared that the number one concern of the fans after unification was that American open wheel racing did not take the easy route and become a pure specification series where every car was basically the same and all had parts and engines supplied from the same factory.

The speculation is that since Kevin Kalkhoven is the team owner of the car driven by Takuma Sato, and sponsored by Lotus, also owns Cosworth - this Lotus engine just might be produced by the Cosworth organization and have a Lotus name be placed on it which will give Lotus the instant "gravitas" and history of Cosworth ... and why not?!

The Lotus IndyCar engine will follow the agreed rules, namely 2.4 litre, up to 6 cylinders and turbo charged and producing between 550 and 700 horsepower to suit the diverse set of tracks on which the IZOD IndyCar Series competes. All engines will run on E85 with additional details on the fuel platform to be announced at a later date.

Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus said: “Lotus is unique in the automotive world, no other car company has been more successful in such a wide variety of motorsports discipline, whether it is Le Mans, World Rally, Sportscars, F1 - of course, and IndyCar. This year we teamed up with KV Racing for IndyCar and we will significantly increase our participation next year. However in 2012 IndyCar competitors will have the exciting opportunity to choose an IndyCar with a Lotus engine and aero body kit, immediately become part of a legacy that is Lotus: one of the most innovative and successful sports and racing car brands in the world.” Dany also let loose during the announcement that Lotus would like to make its own chassis and offer this up to other teams as well - ummmmm, interesting.

Lotus announces an agreement to supply engines and aero body parts to the IndyCar Series beginning 2012. Pictured from left to right: Famed Indianapolis driver, Parnelli Jones, Randy Bernard, CEO of the Indy Racing League, Dany Bahar, CEO of Lotus Motorsport and Group Lotus, Claudio Berro, Director of Lotus Motorsport, and Brian Barnhart, President, Operations & Competition of the Indy Racing League. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

The announcement in the booth and on the show floor of this 2010 LA Auto Show helped to lend an excitement to their proceedings. Rand Bernard, Brian Barnhart, and Dany Bahar were joined at the podium set up next to Takuma Sato's IndyCar by none other than the person who first drove and won in a Lotus at Indianapolis ... Parnelli Jones. New traditions do not get any better than when one reaches back and brings some of the original traditions forward to form the traditions of this new era.

Claudio Berro, Director of Lotus Motorsport said: “The history and DNA of Lotus is all about extracting the most performance out of a car in return for maximum efficiency and we are delighted to offer our engine and aero body kit to the 2012 IndyCar series.

Long live the IndyCar Series and its agreement with Group Lotus and Lotus Motorsport - may it spur others to step up and compete in this series at every level.

... notes from The EDJE