Push To Pass Gives 100 Seconds And Excitement At Honda Indy Toronto

Crystal trophy to be presented to the IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto Champion. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via Twitter

Push To Pass Gives 100 Seconds And Excitement At Honda Indy Toronto

Push-to-Pass (P2P) will be re-introduced as a tool for the drivers to use in today's race in the streets around Exhibition Place in Toronto ON, Canada.

The Honda Indy Toronto will have a different version from the one that was introduced by the ChampCar World Series (CCWS) through the Panoz DP01 where a driver could push a button on the steering wheel and get 10 seconds of extra boost delivered to the turbo-powered engine. The driver's were limited to only ten 10-second boosts on the P2P for a total of 100 seconds.

The version that will be used on the DW12's on the 11 turn 1.75 mile track in Toronto will allow the driver to use as much of their 100 second allotment whenever, and however they choose.

If Takuma Sato, for example, wishes to employ the 100 second boost all at one push, all he has to do is keep the button down. Most drivers feel that P2P is best used as a tool saved for the final third of the race but this is not a guarantee of advantage. If the driver to be overtaken also saved his allotment of P2P, all he has to do is push-to-defend and the advantage is neutralized.

In a report at SPEED TV, Helio Castroneves shared another idea on how P2P should be modified to make it more exciting to the on-track action.

"We can see the revs increasing on the computer, but you don't feel it in the car," said Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, who echoed the comments of numerous IndyCar pilots. "It's about two-tenths [of a second] on lap time. The good thing is, Push-to-Pass is back again. But maybe we should plan ahead, especially when we have a two-week break to the next race at Edmonton."

At the behest of the engine manufacturers, the series has re-introduced the system with a modest and measured increase in power, but it's likely the power the button delivers will grow before the end of the season.

For now, and with such a soft increase in performance, Castroneves would like to see a unique anti-Push-to-Pass safeguard system established.

"Maybe we can do something like a delay, so if one guy presses the button, the guy in front or behind him cannot react right away," he suggested. "Then you can make a proper overtake. If I push my button, and the guy I'm chasing then pushes his button, you get nothing out of it. The bottom line is yes, this is for us as drivers, but it's also for the fans. If we can use the button to cancel each other out, maybe we should think about not letting that happen so easy."
[ht: SPEED TV]

Photo of Andretti Autosport - Ryan Hunter-Reay's steering wheel - At present, the Overtake button will not provide the rush of acceleration some where hoping for, but the series will likely tweak its impact in the coming races. Green "Overtake" button on upper-right. Image Credit: Marshall Pruett

The following entries about the Honda Indy Toronto come from “Tweet Deck” tweet-by-tweet with added comments from the author:

Jordan Irvine @IrvineF1
#HondaIndy atmosphere and paddock is just fantastic! What a day so far, and the race hasn't even started yet!!! #Indycar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Happy Race Day! Catch us on @ABC & TSN2 (Canada) @ 12:30pm ET! Look out for these hot spots at #hondaindy: indycar.com/News/2012/07-J… #indycar2012

Dale Coyne Racing @DaleCoyneRacing
If you see him around the track today, be sure to wish Dale Coyne a #HappyBirthday! #indycar #HondaIndy

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN - The Honda Indy Toronto with P2P begins!

Mouser Racing Team @MouserIndy
Toronto is green! Best of luck to @TonyKanaan and @kvracing! #GoMouser11 #IndyCar

Dario jumps to the front over Will Power - all cars get through the first turns side-by-side then settle into a single file.

Matthew Day @matthewnotmatt
Time for some #Indycar - maybe @dariofranchitti can save some pride for us Brits and win at Toronto

Marcoteers Andretti© @Marcoteers
@FollowAndretti cars are @RyanHunterReay p6 @Hinchtown p16 and @MarcoAndretti p21 #HondaIndy #Toronto #IndyCar2012

Justin Wilson gets past Will Power for a couple of laps ... Power grabs the position back before Franchitti gets to far away.

Jeff Cunningham @Cowboy_Witch
This just in: Will Power is pretty good at Toronto. But you probably already knew that. #hondaindy #IndyCar

Power passes Franchitti for the lead on LAP 6

Deke Weinberg @Deke15
Chilly Willy with the lead! #hondaindy #IndyCar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Car No. 9 stopped in the runoff in Turn 1. #hondaindy #indycar2012

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Dixon has stopped. #IndyCar

This is big because Dixon was third in points and one of the biggest threats to Will Power maintaining his potential lead - engine broke and oil is spilling out

Simona de Silvestro has pitted and it is not known why ... except she is in a Lotus

Tony DiZinno @tonydizinno
Since it's not listed on T&S, those on reds: Dario, Will, Justin, Seb, Dixon, Helio, Conway, Hinch, Jakes #HondaIndy #IndyCar

Kent Barber @Thummper08
Who ever said that Team Lotus couldn't finish higher in a race than a Ganassi ?? #IndyCar

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Hinchcliffe and Kanaan made contact at turn four. #Indycar

Great in-car camera work - the cars solider on

LAP 12 - Viso in for REDS - stays on lead lap

IndyCar al día @indycaraldiaweb
Ernesto Viso se va a los pits en la vuelta 12. Tiene llantas negras #IndyCar

1 Racing Mind @1RacingMind
Grid position penalty means another confusing event ahead defining differences in driver qualifying results and grid position. #INDYCAR

More pit stops - Briscoe in for REDS

LAP 16 - Will Power tries to check out with a 3.3 second lead on Dario Franchitti

Tagliani in for REDS and fuel

Ryan Brothers @renegade_3
#IndyCar Will Power dominating #Toronto100 #hondaindy on lap17 Franchitti 2nd Wilson 3rd. Tight/skinny street circuit in Toronto

IndyCar Garage @IndyCarGarage
Hinch into the pits at lap 18 - still green #INDYCAR

LAP 18 - Sebastien Bourdais gest around Justin Wilson for P3

LAP 19 - Graham Rahal leaves no room for Charlie Kimball and Kimball is in the tires - backs out and continues

LAP 20 - Top 10 are as follows: Power, Franchitti, SeaBass, Conway (up from P16), RHR, Helio, Rahal, Sato, JR Hildebrand, and Newgarden

Ricardo Arcuri @FaleComCarioca
ow, o Graham Rahal tb nao foi la muito correto nesse lance viu.... #Indycar

Matthew Embury @MattEmbury
Ton of defensive blocking from Graham Rahal there, not a cool move on his own teammate. #indycar

Tony Kanaan is issued a drive through penalty for hitting a tire in the pits on previous pit stop

YELLOW Flag - LAP 22 - Rahal locks tires up and hits the wall - PITS Closed

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Full course yellow. Car 38 of Graham Rahal in the wall at exit of Turn 1. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Race Control: Car #11 has a walk of shame penalty for trying to stick a fifth tyre on his car. #IndyCar

Joshua Rogers @Joshua_Rogers
Is it safe to say that Graham Rahal is the Steve Wallace of #Indycar?

Sal'im McNeill @Salim1luv
Absolutely love the car design, and real racing#indycar

Top 7 cars have not pitted - this may leave Simon Pagenaud in a good position

Pit Lane is open - Dario Franchitti pits first - fuel buckeye gets stuck and gives hime a long pit stop

Tagliani replaces nose piece during pit stop

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
10-Franchitti needed to have his car jacked up and moved closer to pit wall in order to get fuel. That's gonna hurt him. #IndyCar #HondaIndy


 RESTART - GREEN Flag - LAP 29

KV Racing Technology @kvracing
Kanaan moves from 10th to 3rd at the restart!! Barrichello to 6th and Viso 12th #HondaIndy #Indycar2012

LAP 32 - Top 10 - Pagenaud, RHR, Kanaan, Briscoe, Sato, Barrichello, Wilson, Kimball, Servia, and Newgarden

Matt White @MattW1986
Hmmm, cheering for 2 Frenchmen in a series full of brits #indycar

Ashley Noelle @AshNoeModel
Watching #F1 on Fox and #IndyCar racing on ABC from my balcony over the ocean in San Diego.. Today is a good day ❤🏁☀ http://t.co/gr5QjFP

Niko @icthyes
Pagenaud is bossing it #IndyCar

Indy Racing Review @INDYracereview
@simonpagenaud has a 3.42 seconds lead over @RyanHunterReay #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Race with Insulin @racewithinsulin
Charlie makes a pass to reach 7th position on lap 35. #HondaIndy #IndyCar2012

Kai @AndersFinn
Stinks that Dario had that fuel buckeye issue in pit, but happy to see Pagenaud leading. #Indycar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Lap 35 update: Pagenaud leading, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Briscoe, Sato follow. #hondaindy #indycar2012

If the race would end with this order, Ryan Hunter-Reay would lead Will Power by 16 points by securing P2 over a P11 finish for Power

Hinchtown officially out of the race - broken engine - bowed out from a P4 position on the track

Niko @icthyes
Massive shame for @Hinchtown #IndyCar

LAP 41 of 85 - Race leader Pagenaud last pitted on LAP 14 - 29 laps on tires and fuel

Lewis Franck @LewisFranck
Got to consider the caution laps produced better mileage when making this next pit stop. @hondaindy #IndyCar

Cambyland @MarkCLynch
A little more yellow and those 7 will only have to stop once more. #Indycar

Martin Pinnau @martinpinnau
Why is Simon Pagenaud listed as a rookie? I remember watching him in Champ Car. #indycar

The merger betweem CCWS and the IRL did not account for a break for those drivers that were unable to make it through the transition - Simon Pagenaud went on to become a American Le Mans Series Champion driving along with teamate/co-driver Gil de Ferran in Gil's last competitive racing season

Great action with Josef Newgarden pulling a nifty move on Oriol Servia for P9 from P10

LAP 49 of 85 - Pagenaud comes in and may have a little problem with the car coming down on the air hose - awaiting to see if he gets a penalty

Power passes Sato in Turn 1 - for P7 and Bourdais gets past Sato as well

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Kanaan on pit road, scuffed reds for him. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Sato is the main target as Conway passes him with a slick move

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Lap 57 update: Top 5 -- Hunter-Reay, Wilson, Kimball, Newgarden, Power. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Power in the pits ... EJ Viso pulls in and he is out of the race with engine problems

LAP 58 of 85 - Will Power gets contact with Newgarden and has a flat front tire - possible damaged front wing but puts off change to stay on lead lap

DZ @HalfShaftBlues
Did I just hear someone honking a clown horn when RHR hit his pit? #IndyCar

Kashvinder Mann @kashwinner
Power's wing broke, which cut the tyre. How did that got damage in the first place? #IndyCar

Kev @ElusiveKev
Looks like Hunter-Reay really likes this leading thing lately. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Power comes out 20th, while Ryan Hunter-Reay leads Tony Kanaan by six-tenths of a second. New points leader on the way? #IndyCar #HondaIndy

LAP 60 of 85 - Top 10 - RHR, Kanaan, Pagenaud, Kimball, Wilson, Briscoe, Newgarden, Barrichello, Bourdais, and Servia

nascarcasm @nascarcasm
Roger Penske has just put Hornish on a plane to Toronto to fix Will Power's front wing. Just for the hell of it. #IndyCar #hondaindy

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
77-Pagenaud and 83-Kimball going at it hard for third place! #IndyCar #HondaIndy

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Big movers: Kanaan P2 (from 17th), Kimball P4 (from 13th), Newgarden P7 (from 20th), Barrichello P8 (from 18th). #hondaindy #indycar2012

Colby Martin @Goblowsoup
So saying no to Road America and Michigan is not what I wanted to hear. Phoenix sounds good, but replace Detroit with RA please. #IndyCar

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Third-placed Pagenaud has Kimball, Wilson, Briscoe and Newgarden on his tail tryingto pass. #IndyCar

James Jakes @JamesJakes
20 laps to go. JJ holding P17 PR #HondaIndy #IndyCar2012

Jacob Kraemer @StewCrew14
Pagenaud is in the way and holding up 4 other cars. Kimball is all up in his wing. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Jeff Cunningham @Cowboy_Witch
@armond_ealey There's so much racing going on that I sometimes have trouble keeping up. #NASCAR #F1 #IndyCar #GrandAm #ALMS

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Car 18 of Justin Wilson hits wall on front stretch. #hondaindy #indycar2012

PRN Motorsport Mag @prnmag
@justin_wilson out of race, engine problems #HondaIndy

17 Laps to go - RHR leads by 5.5 seconds over Kanaan, Pagenaud, Kimball, Briscoe, Newgarden, Barrichello, Bourdais, Servia, and Castroneves - Power is running in P19 and may loose the points lead today

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Wilson has retired due to suspension damage from contact with wall on frontstretch. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Indy Pro Sports @ProIndy
15 to go! We're predicting another win for @RyanHunterReay. RT if you're thinking the same! #hondaindy #indycar2012

Kimball passes two cars in one move on the end of back straight corner - now up to P2 - not bad for being fueled on insulin

AJ @ajslideways
That move by Charlie Kimball was siiiiiiiick. #IndyCar

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Pagenaud goes to the inside of Kanaan, locks up. Kimball sneaks by on the inside line. Heads-up pass by the American! #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Shane Rogers @shagers
You were looking at Kimball, but Newgarden's move on Briscoe was Balls with a capital B. #indycar #hondaindy

Peter Leung @BaronVonClutch
What Diabetes? @charliekimball is a Hella Better Driver. He's up to P2 now. #IndyCar

Ten laps to go and its RHR by 7.6 seconds over Kimball, Pagenaud, Newgarden, Briscoe, Barrichello, Bourdais, Servia, Conway, and Kanaan

Cecilia Rodgers @CeciliaRodgers3
#HondaIndy I truly enjoy this goo.gl/xUAya?FLt1eJ

Fake Charlie Whiting @charlie_whiting
Fantastic. @charliekimball and @racewithinsulin in P2!!!! Team is pumped. Now bring her home, lad. #IndyCar

Newgarden gets BLOCKED and pays the price as he goes into the tires

YELLOW Flag - Newgarden stalls out and this will bunch up the pack - SFR not happy with Sam Schmidt/Hamilton Racing's Pagenaud ... should be a penalty on Simon

Kim Wilson @daisy2gal
I didn't know @SarahFisher knew how to say that word! Not that I blame her! #IndyCar

Tim Blum @dbsdad
Newgarden is, of course, one word. But not to auto correct. #Indycar

Indy Racing Review @INDYracereview
Full course caution for @josefnewgarden into the tires. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Joaquín Candia @_chudox_
Bandera amarilla, faltan 5, cagó la ventaja de Hunter-Reay, va a estar buena esa relargada cuando falten 3 #IndyCar

Daniel Gazquez Tapia @dangaztap
Sato es 14º #IndyCar y Newgarden 18º

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Five laps to go. BIG RESTART COMING. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Eric Hamme @NegativeVORP
That might be the first recorded profanity of Sarah Fisher ever. #indycar #hondaindy

ZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Newgarden has continued. #hondaindy #indycar2012

Keyrazy LEDs @KeyrazyLEDs
Pagenaud should get a penalty! @IndyCar @hondaindy #HondaIndy

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN, Restart - LAP 82 - Carnage to Bourdais, Ryan Briscoe, Barrichello, & Franchitti

Pagenaud serves penalty

Ron @rrush59
Was Dario driving with his eyes closed ? WTF ! #HondaIndy

repT.O @repTdotO
Shit just went kray!!! #HondaIndy

James Jakes @JamesJakes
Full course yellow. So much just happened but JJ did a great job avoiding it! Currently P8! PR #HondaIndy #IndyCar2012

SCCGR & NNCGR @CGRTeams
Back to yellow with only 3 laps to go at #hondaindy. @racewithinsulin holds P2.

RACE ENDS under YELLOW Flag

Ryan Hunter-Reay gets his third win in a row here in the middle of the season - up 34 points for the championship over Will Power

Jozef Colomy @JozefColomy
Damnnn 3 in a row? Go @RyanHunterReay #IndyCar

Dayna Winslette @UCTaillights
Three in a row for @RyanHunterReay AND takes over the points lead! WOW!!! #IndyCar

F1 Fanatic Live @f1fanaticlive
Hunter-Reay leads home Kimball, Conway, Kanaan, Servia, Castroneves, Hildebrand, Jakes, Sato and Tagliani. #IndyCar

Daniel Gazquez Tapia @dangaztap
Que gran carrera de #IndyCar se ha perdido @Javigarv Oriol Servia finalmente 5º !!

IndyCar al día @indycaraldiaweb
Ryan Hunter-Reay gana el Honda Indy Toronto 2012. Tercera consecutiva del año, nuevo líder del puntaje #IndyCar

Tammy_Madsen @tamiramadsen
Really, #IndyCar? Finish under yellow? Change that rule!

Andy Young @AndyYoungF1
That's a Ryan Hunter-Reay Hat-Trick!! #Indycar

Matt Soleyn @soleynm
#Breaking: Ryan Hunter-Reay wins the #HondaIndy in #Toronto, giving him three straight IZOD #IndyCar wins!

Jenna Fryer @JennaFryer
Second race in a row that ends under yellow. Just feels so flat to me. #IndyCar

Hunter Gunnell @HunterGunnell
#indycar Congratulations RHR!

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Tony Kanaan finishes fourth, Oriol Servia comes up fifth. #IndyCar #HondaIndy

Austin @Zappatista
At least the idiots didn't ruin the class of the field. Hunter-Reay with a well deserved win. #IndyCar

Chris Cunningham @CunninghamCE
How about absolutely not? RT @rsanchez4577: @JennaFryer How bout some G W C #IndyCar

TCGR @TCGRTeams
Checkered flag @dariofranchitti p17 @scottdixon9 p25 @hondaindy #IndyCar2012

Fox Sports 1230 WMML @WMML1230
RT @IndyCar: Race ends under yellow. @RyanHunterReay wins third in a row! Kimball and Conway on podium! #hondaindy #indycar2012

Blayne Pereira @Blaynos14
Well most of it was pretty dull, but glad I woke up for the frantic end to the #IndyCar race

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Incident on the restart, several cars involved. Among them Pagenaud, Carpenter, Briscoe. Back to yellow. #hondaindy #indycar2012

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Race ends under yellow. @RyanHunterReay wins third in a row! Kimball and Conway on podium! #hondaindy #indycar2012

Ben Turner @BLT77
Looks like AJ's car will get a podium. I guess that means Supertex won't throw any laptops today or beat on a car with a hammer #indycar

Joaquín Candia @_chudox_
Ganó Hunter-Reay en Toronto, había ganado la última en Iowa también #2AlHilo #IndyCar

Antoine L. @TonioF1
Hunter-Reay wins the race at Toronto #IndyCar

John Haywood @JHay97
Congrats to @RyanHunterReay and @FollowAndretti on the win!!! 3 in a row!! #Epic #IndyCar

Dustin Long @dustinlong
#IndyCar …Ryan Hunter-Reay wins Toronto for 3rd victory in a row. ABC says he'll have take points lead & have a 34-point lead on Will Power.

Peter Leung @BaronVonClutch
.@RyanHunterReay takes the chequered Flag! 'Make sure you wave to the fans!' Mitch Davis tells RHR. #IndyCar @FollowAndretti

Covsupport News Serv @CovsupportNews
Great drive Mike Conway #indycar

AJFoytRacing @AJFoytRacing
YES @Mikeconwayindy !! what a run! Way to go!#hondaindy #indycar

Matt White @MattW1986
Actually, not a bad top 3 #indycar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Race ends under yellow. @RyanHunterReay wins third in a row! Kimball and Conway on podium! #hondaindy #indycar2012

ENDS

Following his final service stop with 30 laps remaining in the Honda Indy Toronto, Ryan Hunter-Reay was enjoying his Sunday drive on the Exhibition Place street circuit. Hunter-Reay, in the No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda car, inherited the lead on Lap 57 when JR Hildebrand pitted and upped his margin over Tony Kanaan from .6040 of a second to 4.0794 seconds in the matter of five laps on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn course. Charlie Kimball replaced Kanaan as the protagonist on Lap 72, but the challenger didn't matter. Hunter-Reay pulled away by 7.6 seconds with 10 laps left and -- staying ahead of restart pileups in Turns 1 and 3 with three laps left -- went on to his third consecutive victory. Caption and Image Credit: IICS

An American driver leads in the points for the first time in ... forever! Hats off to Andertti Autosport and Ryan Hunter-Reay for completing a "hat-trick" with three mid-season wins in a row to pull into the points lead for the IICS championship over Will Power.

In the post-race interview, Sebastien Bourdais claims that Charlie Kimball does not deserve to be on the podium because it was Kimball that took Bourdais out of the race with poor driving.

Push-to-Pass had an effect on the race but not as many imagined. Some of the best passing moves on the track happened when those using the P2P came in too hot into a corner and leaving the apex open for following cars to sneak through. Charlie Kimball's pass on two cars was just such a pass.

Unofficial Results - Honda Indy Toronto

Pos.     Driver     Laps     Running / Reason Out
1     Ryan Hunter-Reay     85     Running
2     Charlie Kimball     85     Running
3     Mike Conway     85     Running

4     Tony Kanaan     85     Running
5     Oriol Servia     85     Running
6     Helio Castroneves     85     Running
7     JR Hildebrand     85     Running
8     James Jakes     85     Running
9     Takuma Sato     85     Running
10     Alex Tagliani     85     Running

11     Rubens Barrichello     85     Running
12     Simon Pagenaud     85     Running
13     Josef Newgarden     84     Running
14     Sebastien Bourdais     84     Running
15     Will Power     84     Running

16     Marco Andretti     84     Running
17     Dario Franchitti     84     Running
18     Ryan Briscoe     84     Running
19     Ed Carpenter     84     Running
20     EJ Viso     81     Running

21     Justin Wilson     67     Contact
22     James Hinchcliffe     28     Mechanical
23     Graham Rahal     23     Contact
24     Simona de Silvestro     9     Mechanical
25     Scott Dixon     7     Mechanical

Five more races remain on the schedule - four road/street courses and one super speedway oval - Edmonton Indy, Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Grand Prix of Baltimore, and the season finale at Auto Club Speedway.

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as Push To Pass Gives 100 Seconds And Excitement At Honda Indy Toronto on Technorati **

IZOD IndyCar Series Sets A Social Media #hashtag Agenda

This photo is evidence of a fan led social media involvement through Twitter. The photo was posted at IZOD IndyCar Series blog pages on May 5, 2010 and urged fans traveling to Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama to log in to, and follow tweets on Twitter through the account set up presumably by the cable media outlet (VERSUS) carrying the race that weekend. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series Admin (2010)

IZOD IndyCar Series Sets A Social Media #hashtag Agenda

Here in 2012, this will not be your father's IndyCar ... or CART/ChampCar for that matter.

Last year (2011) was the last year for a bunch of IndyCar-ism's, not the least of which was the continued running of a tired and old formula that utilized an old Dallara chassis that was optimized to work well on ovals and adapted for use (with many engineering and driver complaints) on road and street courses with all teams using the same naturally aspirated engine from Honda. The first year of the new DW12 Dallara chassis has a frame that has been designed to be more balanced for use on road and street courses and the teams will run turbo-charged engines manufactured from three manufacturers of Honda, Chevy, and Lotus.

One of the strongest changes, however, concerns itself with the communications medium of New Media and the sub-set known as Social Media. To illustrate the change of visibility and understanding from the top when, during the announcement that F1 standout driver Rubens Barrichello was joining KV Racing Technology's three car team for the 2012 season, IZOD IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard went to one of Barrichello’s test sessions to meet the Brazilian. He said last Thursday it was an exciting day for the series ”and a positive step to start” the year.

“There’s not a person in the world who knows racing that wouldn’t tell you that Rubens Barrichello is one of the greatest drivers of all time,” the series CEO said in a statement. “That will create great competition and expands our international platform.”

What Randy Bernard was alluding to was that Barrichello brings with him an ardent and strong New Media fan base … his 1.47 million followers on Twitter is one million more than Kanaan’s ... who leads all IndyCar Series drivers with 448,000 Twitter followers.

So basically, as was written in the article titled "Brazilian Changing Of The Guard, Barrichello In As Meira Leaves IndyCar", what we will expect to be hearing from the PA speakers in the stands, at every 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series venue during the season is – "Ladies and Gentlemen … start your 'Tweets'!"

The IZOD IndyCar Series has set an agenda to utilize the Social Media platform of Twitter that allows fans to communicate to one another in 140 character (or less) messages known as "Tweets". If one were to use their smartphone, iPad, tablet, or laptop to post the messages, and wanted to follow what others who were following the comments and on-track action of a particular race, all one would need to do is employ the search method of locating messages through the use of a "HASHTAG". A HASHTAG takes the form of an indexing tool utilized in real-time to send messages and look at messages on Twitter ... it opens the door to the discussion room of that IZOD IndyCar Series race so socially, we all can participate in the process.

Mario Andretti, always in command, three generations of Andretti get a kick out of Tweet'n on Twitter. Image Credit: More Front Wing

This excerpted and edited from Pressdog -

IndyCar Sees More Twitter Integration, Hashtags, Driver Engagement in 2012
Pressdog - March 05, 2012

IndyCar fans can expect Twitter handles on race broadcasts, much stronger at-the-track Twitter presence and a set of event-specific hashtags in the 2012 race season.

The series is also trying to provide teams with resources and expertise required to engage fans through expanding social media avenues including Twitter.
----
Kate Guerra (@kateguerra4), public relations coordinator and manager of social media for IndyCar (@IndyCar), said last week NASCAR (@NASCAR) may have made a big social media splash in Daytona, but IndyCar also recognizes the value of social media like Twitter to engage fans and has been building its Twitter efforts since late last season.

Guerra said last fall IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard (@RBINDYCAR) and COO Mark Koretzky “said to me we want you take over our social media and we really want you to just go for it. We want you to do anything you can to help us out. We want you to reach out to everybody in our atmosphere -- teams, drivers, sponsors, tracks, local social media influencers and more. We set goals where we want to be every month.”
----
IndyCar has four primary social media thrusts planned for 2012.

First, more integration of Twitter handles into race broadcast. Guerra said after she saw how SPEED integrated Twitter handles into graphics during the Rolex 24, she met with producers for ABC and NBC Sports who were very willing to do something similar on all IndyCar broadcasts.

Second, Guerra hopes to create “hashtag communities” for each race.
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For example, leading up to and during the IndyCar race at St. Petersburg, tweets that include the event hashtag -- #gpstpete – will be collected under that tag. By clicking on the hashtag in your Twitter stream, you’ll go to a listing of all tweets that contain that hashtag.

“They really create a sense of sense of community,” said Guerra. “People who click on a hashtag see everything anyone is sharing on it and at the same time see who is

sharing their opinions. It’s really a great place for IndyCar fans to interact with each other about whatever certain event we have going on. Hashtags were something that were asked for and demand by our fans. They are out there now and have been shared with our teams and drivers and tracks. It’s almost like creating a forum, but it’s on Twitter which is such a user-friendly medium.”

Third, IndyCar and Guerra continue to offer help and guidance to teams and drivers who want to up their game on Twitter. In that regard, Bernard invited Omid Ashtari from Twitter to speak to teams and drivers during the State of IndyCar meetings last month.

Guerra said Ashtari’s talk stirred many inquires of her from teams looking to increase the effectiveness of their use of Twitter. Guerra expects Ashtari to be involved in talks with IndyCar's television partners on ways to best optimize the use of Twitter during broadcasts.
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Teams and drivers are also starting to incorporate their Twitter handles into their uniforms, car paint schemes and more. Examples include the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing hauler that features a HUGE “@SFRHindy” on the side to EJViso (@EJViso) doing things to rapidly increase his Twitter followers.

Fourth, IndyCar is trying to increase its at-the-track Twitter presence. “I feel like the second people step onto a track they should be absolutely surrounded by everything social media,” said Guerra. “Whether in our fan village or at autograph sessions when there are massive lines and people playing on their phones. All the name plates we have and use for autograph sessions will have the driver’s twitter handle right underneath the name. It’s little things like that that people tend to underestimate that I feel like could make a huge difference.”
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The newness of IndyCar this season also gives drivers an opening to reintroduce themselves to fans. “It’s almost a new sport,” she said. “There’s so much new -- with the car, with the engines, with some new drivers -- they may want to rebrand themselves and really make this a reintroduction to the sport this season. Nobody has said that specifically, but I really feel they really want to grow and help us grow.”
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Race car drivers' nature may also help fuel Twitter growth. A driver who has half the followers of another may feel the need to pick up the pace. "As you well know, drivers are a very competitive breed," Guerra said. "So, yeah, it's even a little bit of that I feel. I haven't heard any Oh, man, let's see who can get to 50,000 followers first,' but maybe it's something I could push needle on."

Guerra said she and others are determined that IndyCar will also ride the wave of Twitter s well. “It’s definitely something I am working very hard on,” she said, “something that is very important to me. It has always been a dream of mine ever since I realized I wanted to work in sports that I handle a league’s social media.”
[Reference Here]

Over the last three years or so (2009), we at The EDJE pioneered posting race action blogs that featured selected comment and reaction "Tweets" with posts labeled "Tweet-By-Tweet". Using Twitter, Facebook, twitpic, Pinterest, YouTube, and any other New Media communications platforms that allow people to have free access to words, photos and action in realtime, of events as they happen, can only expand ones interest and fanbase knowledge with the result of a stronger experience and racing series.

People experienced in using Twitter have expanded their access to message input through the use of "TweetDeck" which allows the user to set up and follow several #hashtag streams ... check it out on Chrome (download application) and a laptop.

2012 IndyCar Series Official Race Event Hashtags (16 races) = #name

RACE *** (TWITTER ACCOUNT - @name) *** = #hastag

1) Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (@GPSTPETE) = #gpstpete

2) Honda Indy Grand Prix of AL (@BarberMotorPark) = #higpa

3) 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (@ToyotaGPLB) = #tgplb

4) Sao Paulo Indy 300 (@IndyemSaoPaulo) = #saopauloindy

5) Indianapolis 500 (@IMS) #indy500

6) Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (@DetroitGP) = #detroitgp

7) Firestone 550K (@TXMotorSpeedway) = #texas550

8) Milwaukee Indy Fest (@MKE_IndyFest) = #indyfest

9) Iowa Corn Indy 250 (@IowaSpeedway) = #iowa250

10) Honda Indy Toronto (@HondaIndy) = #hondaindy

11) Edmonton Indy (@edmontonindy) = #edmontonindy

12) Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (@followmidohio) = #midohio

13) Streets of Qingdao, China = #Indychina

14) Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma (@InfineonRaceway) = #igps

15) Baltimore Grand Prix (@BaltimoreGP) = #bgp2012

16) Auto Club Speedway (@ACSupdates) TBD - Suggestion = #fontana

Again, what we will expect to be hearing from the PA speakers in the stands, at every 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series race venue during the season is – "Ladies and Gentlemen … start your 'Tweets'!"

Happy tweeting.

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as IZOD IndyCar Series Sets A Social Media #hashtag Agenda on Technorati **