May the Force be with you !

COURTNEY FORCE WINS SEATTLE


August 05, 2012





SEATTLE, WA --- Courtney Force won in just her third final round appearance of her rookie year today at the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Northwest NHRA Nationals. The rookie driver defeated three Funny Car world champions - Cruz Pedregon, john Force and Matt Hagan - as well as veteran driver Bob Tasca III en route to her first win.


As Force took the stage in the winner’s circle NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart introduced Force, she quickly explained why her Traxxas fire suit was completely soaked.

“They dumped a lot of Full Throttle on me at the other end. A cooler of it!” she said.

She is the eighth different John Force Racing Funny Car driver to win a Full Throttle Funny Car national event after John Force, Tony Pedregon, Eric Medlen, Gary Densham, Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood, and Mike Neff. She is the thirteenth different woman to win an NHRA National event in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Force struggled through qualifying throughout the weekend, making her victory on race day even more rewarding for John Force Racing and the Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car team.

“We struggled a little bit in qualifying, but we got in and that’s all that mattered and just to keep our car consistent and get this Traxxas Ford Mustang to the other end, that’s all we needed to do and we did it for all four rounds,” said Force.



Coming from the No. 14 qualifying position, her worst start of the season, the 24-year-old got his first round win over Cruz Pedregon.

“That was definitely a big run for me. Cruz Pedregon is a tough competitor. I grew up watching him race my dad. It is always exciting racing him. Getting that win light was huge for us. We want to get that No. 6 (points) spot back for this Traxxas Ford Mustang. We needed that run. We are trying to stay consistent,” said Force following her first round victory.

She moved closer to her third final in five races with wins over Bob Tasca III, her father and 15-time Funny Car World Champion, John Force, and Matt Hagan in the final round.

“Every guy worries about losing to a girl, but I don’t at all,” Hagan said after the final.

“She’s a great driver and doing a heckuva job. She’s driving the wheels off that thing,” added last year’s Full Throttle Funny Car Champion.



Force got her first national event win at Seattle in 2009 and suffered her most challenging race of her career here in 2010 when she managed to avoid an accident while racing Mike Austin. Force’s right rear tire exploded destroying a portion of her Ford Racing Top Alcohol Dragster’s rear wing.



Today Force is the national spokesperson for Ford Motor Company’s Driving Skills for Life initiative and “Rookie of the Year” frontrunner for Auto Club’s Road to the Future Award, a prestigious award handed over to NHRA’s top rookie for 2012.

“I honestly am still in shock. I think I’m still shaking. I mean, coming back out here to Seattle, there are some good memories and some bad. I had my first win out here in Top Alcohol Dragster which was such a huge accomplishment for me just to even have a Wally in my house. At the moment I was telling my dad, ‘I can’t wait to have a Funny Car Wally in my house,’ because you know what, dad has way more than enough so he can’t be mad at me for taking him out in the semis. It’s been an amazing day.

Force and her sister Ashley Force Hood have similar skills, but the reason people believe Courtney is more like their father is obvious beyond her driving abilities and her gift for gab. Force Hood got her first Funny Car win in April of 2008 during her 27th national event, her 23rd start in the Funny Car class. Courtney has accomplished the same in just 15 races.

“I’m definitely on a learning curve this whole season. I’ve been learning something new at every race track. This one was a little bit more familiar to me, but it’s tough. There’s a narrow groove and this car was trying to pull me over to the left in both lanes and (I was) just trying to keep it straight.

“My crew chief was telling me, ‘well, you kinda cost us a couple of the qualifying runs; you kinda drove it over to the left,’ and you gotta fix that as a driver. They gotta be brutally honest with you and you have to go back out there and do better and that’s exactly what I did and I’m glad. I need them to be honest with me, but I have a great team and great crew chief and my dad being an amazing teacher with me, being so patient with me; everyone this past season helping me learn about the Funny Car all last year so I really couldn’t ask for a better team with Robert (Hight), Mike Neff and my dad and Ashley’s been teaching me too. I wish she was here this weekend,” she added.



After the first NHRA event of the season Force was sitting in the No. 6 spot in the points standing. After a roller coaster of event finishes qualifying for all 15 in 2012 to date, and appearing in 6 semi-finals and 3 finals, Force moves around Cruz Pedregon and reclaims the No. 6 spot.

“There’s still a little bit of pressure there. You’re trying to stay in that top ten and I know I didn’t help my dad out when I took him out in the semis; he’s fighting to get in. I felt so bad, but I told him he’s the one who taught me how to race so I guess it’s his own fault. I told him I’m going to do my best to take Hagan out for him and help him gain those 20 points back.”

“I have an amazing team. This whole group of new guys that came on board with me this season, I’m sure they were hoping for a different John Force car when they joined our team, but they ended up with me; a rookie driver and a girl, but hey, I mean I got them a win and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” said Force.

"A big congratulations to Courtney, the TRAXXAS Ford Mustang Funny Car team and everyone at John Force Racing who has helped in Courtney's development," said Jamie Allison, Director of Ford Racing. "That apple did not fall far from the tree. With her talent and experience, we knew she'd celebrate her first win sooner rather than later. We and all Ford fans are delighted to see her win the Wally as a rookie."

John Force kept a number of his pursuers at bay racing to the semi-finals before falling to his youngest daughter. Force opened up the day with a tough match-up against Alexis DeJoria. Force had a superior reaction time to the rookie and that proved to be the difference as his slower elapsed time, 4.254 to 4.185 seconds, still got him to the finish line first when it was combined with his stellar .035 second reaction time.

“When you go up against these kids like my own daughter Courtney or DeJoria. She has big money out there. That is a dog fight. I have Hagan breathing down my neck and Wilkerson is coming. This old man is trying to stay in the fight. I have a good race car right now. There is a lot of good stuff happening with our team it is called teamwork. If anybody fails at this it is probably me. My boys are doing good,” said Force.

In the second round Force faced his nemesis Jack Beckman from Don Schumacher Racing. He had dropped the last eight meetings to the former drag racing instructor and he was giving up lane choice. The wily veteran Force once again had a superior reaction time .051 to .111 and he took his second round win of the day and secured his position in the Top Ten for another event.

Going up against his daughter in the semi-finals was tough for Force but at the end of the day in the press room after she won the event the proud father and team owner was beaming.

“She really did it herself out there today. What amazes me the most about her is she really does talk. She is kind of wired up like me but she has that coolness like her mom. Before the final she said dad my helmet has a big old scratch down the middle of the visor. I went into full panic mode on the starting line. She said it was OK because she could see the tree to the right of the scratch. Me I would have been pulling my helmet off. I am just proud of her today. It is funny it took me 10 or 12 years to win my first race. It took Ashley two years and Courtney said at the top end it was the first time she beat Ashley to anything in the Funny Car. I finally did something ahead of her. We won’t even tell her. She is calling her mom but we are making her watch the ESPN TV show,” added Force, a seven-time Northwest Nationals winner.

“I was wired up and on the PA. I am yelling at her and I don’t even know if she can hear me. I stuck my head in her car and said he is the champion over there but you took the other champion out in the semi-finals. I told her she took me out she can take Hagan out. I was just trying to give her positive vibe. She doesn’t need it. The women know their drill. I am also really proud of Erica Enders to go out there and do what she did. Shirley started all this with a number of other women. These are the young kids they are our future. It is awesome where they are going to be in 10 years. I am really excited. It is a sport for the women. It has always been a sport for the men but the rules are changing.”

Even though Robert HIght dropped a first round match-up to last week’s winner Johnny Gray he will leave Seattle with the Full Throttle points lead. The Auto Club team is continuing to work on a tune up and clutch management system that will take them through the rest of the regular season and deep into the Countdown play-offs.

“We knew Johnny Gray would be tough. He has been running really well the past couple of weeks and really most of the season. I am not worried about the Countdown. We have clinched our spot and we want to hold onto the top spot. Hagan did us a favor today stopping Capps in the semis,” said Hight.

The biggest surprise of the day was not Courtney’s win over Hagan but more likely Mike Neff’s upset loss in the opening round to Bob Tasca III. Neff’s Castrol GTX Ford Mustang had qualified No. 6 and was looking like it was about to turn the consistency corner. Unfortunately the track did not cooperate with Neff’s tune-up and he surprisingly smoked the tires. He will most likely clinch his spot in the Countdown in two weeks in Brainerd.

The crew chief and driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang is eager to get some time off and prepare to defend his Mac Tools US Nationals title and make a run at his first Brainerd victory.

“This was a tough Western Swing. I would have liked to have picked up a win or go more rounds. Our focus is on the Countdown and the Mac Tools US Nationals. We have two more races in the regular season and then the Countdown starts. I feel really good about where we can be in the Countdown,” said Neff.

FULL THROTTLE POINT STANDINGS

FUNNY CAR – 1. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang,1143; 2. Ron Capps, 1112; 3. Jack Beckman, 1003; 4. Johnny Gray, 942; 5. Mike Neff, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 933; 6. Courtney Force, Traxxas Ford Mustang, 851; 7. Cruz Pedregon, 803; 8. Jeff Arend, 749; 9. John Force, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang, 746; 10. Bob Tasca III, 739

TOP FUEL – 1. Spencer Massey, 1236; 2. Antron Brown, 1231; 3. Tony Schumacher, 1109; 4. Steve Torrence, 1108; 5. Doug Kalitta, 902; 6. Shawn Langdon, 839; 7. Morgan Lucas, 829; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 766; 9. David Grubnic, 756; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 633

PRO STOCK – 1. Allen Johnson, 1324; 2. Jason Line, 1246; 3. Greg Anderson, 1236; 4. Mike Edwards, 1031; 5. Vincent Nobile, 1020; 6. Erica Enders, 941; 7. Shane Gray, 592; 8. V Gaines, 570; 9. Ron Krisher, 558; 10T. Ronnie Humphrey, 550; 10T. Jeg Coughlin, 550



THE DRIVERS

JOHN FORCE, 63, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang

Final Qualifying: 10th at 4.193 seconds, 291.57 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

Race results: Beat Alexis DeJoria, Jack Beckman, Lost to Courtney Force

MIKE NEFF, 45, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang

Final Qualifying: 6th at 4.161 seconds, 297.16 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

Race results: Lost to Bob Tasca III

ROBERT HIGHT, 42, AAA Insurance Ford Mustang

Final Qualifying: 13th at 4.226 seconds, 292.27 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

Race results: Lost to Johnny Gray

COURTNEY FORCE, 24, Traxxas Ford Mustang

Final Qualifying: 14th at 4.237 seconds, 262.44 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

Race results: Beat Cruz Pedregon, Bob Tasca III, John Force, Matt Hagan


FOLLOW JOHN FORCE RACING AT www.twitter.com/jfr_racing


NEXT EVENTS:


Aug. 16-19 Lucas Oil Nationals, Brainerd, MN


Aug. 29 – Sept. 3 Mac Tools US Nationals, Indianapolis, IN

Image and story credits:  John Force Racing, Inc. (JFR).

Dave Densmore
Elon Werner
Sarah Adams

IICS Eleventh Round #EdmontonIndy Tweet-By-Tweet

 As cars were still in the process of finishing the race, Penske's Helio Castroneves celebrates his second win of the season ... Spiderman-Style. Image Credit: Sportsnet.ca


IICS Eleventh Round #EdmontonIndy Tweet-By-Tweet

Ryan Hunter-Reay's hot streak continued yesterday during Firestone Fast Six qualifications as the American edged Dario Franchitti by one one-hundredth of a second for pole at the Edmonton City Centre Raceway. However, because the Andretti Autosport driver will incur a 10-spot grid penalty for an engine change, Hunter-Reay will start 11th, with Franchitti leading the field to the green flag.

"It was great we picked up a championship point for the pole, but too bad we will be starting 11th instead of first because of the engine change," said Ryan Hunter-Reay after qualifications. "[The race] will be really interesting for everyone."

Ryan Briscoe, Takuma Sato, Alex Tagliani, and Helio Castroneves completed the Firestone Fast Six, while championship contenders Will Power and Scott Dixon were caught by a brief rain storm during round two, which kept them making the Fast Six round. Power will start P17, while Dixon will grid in 18th position after he too incurred a 10-spot grid penalty for changing an engine.

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

Edmund Jenks @TheEDJE

Pivotal #EdmontonIndy may prove P2P strategy key to winningexaminer.com/article /pivota… via@examinercom #indycar #dw12 #p2p#chevrolet #honda

Dario Franchitti and Ryan Briscoe lead the field into turn one at the start of the Edmonton Indy. Image Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN - This will be the last color of race control flag being waved the rest of the race!

The action of this 2012 #EdmontonIndy got going quickly as Dario Franchitti led off the initial start while Ryan Briscoe, who shared the front row, began falling back and dropped to fifth. Alex Tagliani, who started fourth, made an aggressive move to second and eventually took the lead from Franchitti as the field completed the first lap.

The first stint ran without incident with the only drama occurring on lap 13 as James Hinchcliffe missed his braking point in the final hairpin when he tried to pass Simon Pagenaud for 10th. He ran wide in the corner and fell to 13th. Will Power broke loose somewhat on corner exit and slightly brushed the wall - no major effect.

LAP20 of 75 - Top Ten - Tagliani, Franchitti, Sato, Castroneves, Briscoe, Rahal, Barrichello, Wilson, Hunter-Reay, and Pagenaud

LAP23 of 75 - Pitstops begin - Will Power overtakes Pagenaud for P10

LAP25 has Rahal, Wilson, Pagenaud, Newgarden, Kimball and more in for fuel and a change of tires - Briscoe and Power stay out - Castroneves, who started the race on black tires, changed to REDS during his first stop

The two Penske Racing drivers come in on LAP26 and Will Power comes out just ahead in contention on Turn #1 of Ryan Hunter-Reay to begin LAP27

LAP30 of 75 - Top Ten - Tagliani, Helio, Dario, TAKU, Briscoe, Rahal, Power, Kanaan, RHR, and Wilson

We pick up the addition of Tweet-By-Tweet commentary on LAP35:

Christopher Estrada @estradawriting
Takuma Sato finally gets past Dario Franchitti! Move him to third place.

#IndyCar #EdmontonIndy

Dominique Gelineau @dgelineau
Sato overtakes Franchitti - Sato now in 3rd. #edmontonindy

Rebecca F. @hermione278
Nice job by Sato! #EdmontonIndy

Meesh Beer @whatimthinking
GO TAKU GO!! #indycar #edmontonindy

Matt Archuleta @indy44
The P2P has definitely improved the racing today. Can't remember seeing this much passing at Edmonton. #EdmontonIndy

TCGR @TCGRTeams
Lap 38 @dariofranchitti reporting overtake assist is not working #edmontonindy

LAP38 of 75 - Top 10 - Tagliani, Castroneves, Sato, Briscoe, Rahal, Power, Hunter-Reay, Wilson, and Hinchcliffe

Team Barracuda - BHA @BHA
Great to hear so many messages of support from the fans! Tagliani continues to lead at #EdmontonIndy!

The gap between Briscoe and Power is getting smaller ... may catch up and gain positions

Matt Archuleta @indy44
Lap 42 and no yellows. I hope I didn't jinx it by posting that. #EdmontonIndy

Rebecca F. @hermione278
Servia still has all of his P2P left. #EdmontonIndy

Ted Bauer @tedgbauer
Engine wise here how it looks only Ford in the top 5 is 2nd place - rest are Honda Engines. #edmontonindy

WHAT??

Dale Coyne Racing's James Jakes as he gets overtaken by an animated Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay. Image Credit: IICS

James Jakes @JamesJakes
JJ experiencing problems with the left rear. In the pits for the crew to exam. #EdmontonIndy #indycar2012

LAP45 of 75 - Power only .5 sec. behind Briscoe now ... passes Briscoe for position to P6 and now set sights on Rahal who is less than 2 seconds ahead

Keyrazy LEDs @KeyrazyLEDs
So Servia is the only driver that has not used ptp yet at the @IndyCar #Edmontonindy race. Pagenaud has almost used his up!

LAP 48 of 75 - Servia is in P21 and Pagenaud is in P11

CogitoErgoBibo @CogitoErgoBibo
Amazing that we're still caution-free in #edmontonindy Hope that holds. Great racing!

Rebecca F. @hermione278
Sato gaining on Helio. #EdmontonIndy

Final pitstops expected soon as we are on LAP49 of 75

Helio Castroneves is in the pits on LAP50 - REDS on in order to finish out the last stint - Wilson in as well!

LAP51 Taku, Tags, Dario, Briscoe, RHR, and more

Castroneves passes Tagliani on pitstop exchange for the lead

Power comes out in P4 in front of Rahal and more importantly ahead of RHR at P7

LAP55 of 75 - Top 10 - Helio, Tagliani, Sato, Power, Rahal, Dario, Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, and Wilson

Takuma Sato puts a pass on Tagliani for P2

Meesh Beer @whatimthinking
@therossbynum if anyone is insane enough to try it, it's Taku!! #indycar #edmontonindy

Sébastien Bourdais @BourdaisOnTrack
http://twitvid.com/RDDOK - Second pitstop // Deuxième pitstop #edmontonindy

Joe @WFOJoe
I'd like to see #IndyCar add 150hp for next year, good racing but the cars need to be faster! #Boost

Will Power passes Tagliani for P3 on LAP57 - Tags blocks Rahal but does not get away with it - spins and loses positions to P5

IndyCar al día @indycaraldiaweb
Alex Tagliani perdió hasta el 5to lugar, lo han pasado Power y Rahal. Gran estrategia del australiano #IndyCar

LAP 59 of 75 - Helio pulls away from Taku by 1.2 seconds

LAP 60 of 75 - Top 10 - Helio, Sato, Power, Rahal, Tags, Dario, Briscoe, RHR, Wilson, and Dixon

LAP 61 of 75 - Sato is cutting into the lap times of Helio and looks stronger and wants the lead of the race - He looks to be dropping deeper into the corners than Helio

Dan Brodeur @LumberingD
Good one! RT @SUNdvandiest As long as Helio Castroneves doesn't block anybody, he should be able to win this race. #edmontonindy

Shane Rogers @shagers
Bobby Rahal: "Helio starts blocking when he picks up his rental car from the airport." LOL. #indycar #EdmontonIndy

Top 5 DW12's are running on the REDS

Dominique Gelineau @dgelineau
Sato will have the pass in the next few laps. He's getting quicker. #edmontonindy

Rebecca F. @hermione278
Newgarden is the last car on the lead lap. #EdmontonIndy

Zachary Houghton @indycaradvocate
Honda vs Chevy. Who's got this? #edmontonindy

Gina Navarra @fastlifeofgina
I really wanna see Taku win especially after what happened at the #Indy500 #EdmontonIndy #IndyCar

Ten laps to go and it is still Castroneves and Sato for the lead with NO YELLOW Flags!

Rahal in P4 is challenging Power for position at P3 at .6 seconds back

Sarah Quest @leadtheway
I know I'm supposed to be cheering for the Rebel Alliance, but I want to see Helio win.... #EdmontonIndy

Victor Vallee @Victor_Vallee
Sato is hungry, but does he have enough to get by Helio? #IndyCar

Ian Court @iancourtracing
C'mon Taku, nail him #SatoForTheWin #Indycar #edmontonindy

Larry Collester Sr
With just a few laps to go. Castroneves was pushing his Push to not get passed button!

Gina Navarra @fastlifeofgina
Do either Helio or Taku have any P2P left? #EdmontonIndy #IndyCar

The biggest problem with P2P is that there is little way for the fans to know where the drivers are in relation to this tool and its use

LAP70 of 75 - It is still Helio holding off Sato - Power being challenged by Rahal for P3 - and RHR challenging Ryan Briscoe for P7

Racing all over the place on this weird counter-clockwise course - Lapped traffic may come into play

TrackVids.com @TrackVids_com
#IndyCar: Sato having difficulty getting the power down and falls back, then catches up under braking...every lap

LAP71 of 75 - Power has pulled a full second on Rahal - Servia at P24 pulls out of the way of the lead pack traffic - very professional

This may end up good for Helio, good for Power and, of course, Great for Penske

Shane Rogers @shagers
Championship quality drive by Power today. #indycar #EdmontonIndy

Three laps to go - RHR passes Ryan Briscoe for P7

Richard Griffis @RichardGriffis
Is there anything dumber in racing than push to pass used by #indycar at #edmontonindy? Please let the drivers drive without the gimics!

Castroneves has 27 seconds of P2P whereas Sato only has 15 seconds

Tony Stack @TonyStack1
Come on Tacu Sato great racing to the flag #IndyCar

Javi Martin @rubiodj77
2 laps to go, todo sugue igual en el TOP 5 liderando Castroneves #IndyCar

RacingNation Crew @RacingNation
Just think how good this battle would be between @h3lio & Sato if they had 200 more HP? #edmontonindy #IndyCar

Last lap it is all Helio Castroneves and Sato trails 10 car lengths

CHECKERED Flag - Helio Wins #EdmontonIndy and moves up to P2 in the points championship

Final Top Ten - Helio Castroneves, Takuma Sato, Will Power (makes podium after starting in P17), Graham Rahal, Alex Tagliani, Dario Franchitti Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ryan Briscoe, Justin Wilson, and Scott Dixon

Tony DiZinno @tonydizinno
That sound you hear is the collective groan from the #IndyCar fanbase as Taku finishes second.

Emma Buxton @EmBuxton
🏁#edmontonindyy!@h3lioo takes the win,@TakumaSatoRacerr &@12WillPowerr on podium.#indycar20122 WOOOOO HOOOO

Fernando Oliveri @olivierirokao
@h3lio wins! #IndyCar

Gabriel Marinho @marinho_gabriel
elio castroneves vence o gp d edmonton, a 11ª etapa da #formulaindy 2012; sato é o 2º, power 3º, barrichello o 15º e kannan 19º. #indycar

Linda @greenfield7814
Great race for Power and Sato #Indycar

Kassia @KassiaS10
@h3lio is the winner! Woohoo in your face! #indycar

Bruno Santos @_snatos
Parabéns ao @h3lio na #IndyCar

IZOD IndyCar Series @IndyCar
Checkered flag on the #edmontonindy! @h3lio takes the win! @TakumaSatoRacer & @12WillPower on podium. #indycar2012

Jennifer Coomer @jennifercoomer
@h3lio HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! HELIO! #edmontonindy #IndyCar

"Spiderman" Castroneves climbs the fence again as he did at the end of the first race of the season in St. Petersburg after his first win of the season. At the time of this expression of joy for his win, cars were still crossing the finish line to take the Checkered Flag. Image Credit: IICS via Twitter


1 Racing Mind @1RacingMind
Helio Castroneves wins the #INDYCAR series #EdmontonIndy.


Joan Boscà @sentoan
#IndyCar Ganó Castroneves, 2º Sato, 3º Power, Oriol último con problemas #IndyCar

Dan Takyi @D4NT4KY1
Castoneves wins! Sato P2, Power then Rahal, Tagliani, Frnachetti, Hunter-Reay, Briscoe, Wilson, Dixon, Conway Hinchcliffe, Kimball #Indycar

Basementball @basementball
Helio Castroneves wins at #Edmonton. That was a fantastic race with NO CAUTIONS. I wish every race could be like that. #IndyCar

Mazza @GPtee_
#edmontonindy #indycar2012 Great race - thanks for the action @TakumaSatoRacer & @h3lio now for the Spiderman ;-)

Jason Sharpe @jasonsharpe
That @TakumaSatoRacer is an awesome addition to this series...great drive today. #IndyCar #edmonton

SpeedFreaks @SpeedFreaks
Caution free @IndyCar race won by @h3lio... #EdmontonIndy Excellent run by @TakumaSatoRacer too! #IndyCar

Nikki Thompson @nikki_btcc
Great drive @h3lio! #IndyCar #EdmontonIndy

Four Chevy's (P1, P3, P7, P8) and six Honda's (P2, P4, P5, P6, P9, P10) in the top ten

SWO @Pudgey_Pete
@shagers Radio broadcast had it covered at least. T&S was great today with the P2P numbers and who was on it. @RBINDYCAR #indycar

Mark Johnson @MarkJ19960
@h3lio wins @ Edmonton and @RyanHunterReay holds onto a 23 pt lead over now P2 Castroneves & 26 over P3 Power. #IndyCar pic.twitter.com/y9QpLNnw

Podium celebration with (L to R) P3 RLL Racing's Takuma Sato, P1 Penske Racing's Helio Castroneves, and P3 Penske Racing's Will Power at Edmonton City Centre Raceway. Image Credit: IICS via Twitter

Official #EdmontonIndy Results

Pos.     Driver             Laps     Running / Reason Out

1     Helio Castroneves     75     Running
2     Takuma Sato         75     Running
3     Will Power         75     Running
4     Graham Rahal         75     Running
5     Alex Tagliani         75     Running

6     Dario Franchitti     75     Running
7     Ryan Hunter-Reay     75     Running
8     Ryan Briscoe         75     Running
9     Justin Wilson         75     Running
10     Scott Dixon         75     Running

11     Mike Conway         75     Running
12     James Hinchcliffe     75     Running
13     Rubens Barrichello     75     Running
14     Marco Andretti         75     Running
15     Sebastien Bourdais     75     Running

16     EJ Viso         75     Running
17     Josef Newgarden     75     Running
18     Tony Kanaan         75     Running
19     Charlie Kimball     75     Running
20     Simon Pagenaud         74     Contact

21     JR Hildebrand         74     Running
22     Ed Carpenter         74     Running
23     Simona de Silvestro     73     Running
24     Oriol Servia         65     Mechanical
25     James Jakes         43     Mechanical

In two weeks, the IZOD IndyCar Series is back in the Midwest for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. The twelfth race of the season will take place on Sunday, August 5. An estimated green flag for the 85-lap competition is scheduled to drop at approximately 1 p.m. EDT. Fans can watch the live broadcast on ABC, or listen live on IMS Radio Network and Sirius (XM 94 and Sirius 212).

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as IICS Eleventh Round #EdmontonIndy Tweet-By-Tweet on Technorati **

Pivotal #EdmontonIndy May Prove P2P Strategy Key To Winning

Edmonton Indy race start last year - The secret to the IndyCar engine’s success is how its twin turbochargers boost performance and throttle response. With the ability to reach 12,000 rpm, the power plant is the highest-revving direct injection engine in current racing competition. Image Credit: Edmonton Indy (2011)

Pivotal #EdmontonIndy May Prove P2P Strategy Key To Winning

Going into the 11th race in a shortened 15 race season, the driver’s championship is as competitive as ever. Ryan Hunter-Reay has vaulted into first place after winning three straight races, while the Franchitti, who won his fourth drivers’ championship in 2011, has struggled. He’s in eighth spot, 13 points ahead of Briscoe.

The last two years ended in disappointment for the Penske driver, Will Power, who ended up in P2 on the last race of the season, and up until he lost his left front tire to a Josef Newgarden weakened broken wing section that came off and caused a puncture, he looked as though he would be able to retain the points lead built upon with three season wins of his own.

Last year, Will Power was behind Dario Franchitti and needing a win to get back into contention after loosing points in Toronto. This year, Power is pretty much in the same position but this time his chief rival is Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay who is ahead by 34 points by winning on two ovals and one road course. The Achilles heel for Penske and Will Power in securing a championship has always been ovals. Edmonton represents a must win situation as it did last year for Will Power but all things are not the same.

First off, we find ourselves in the infancy of the DW12 era with new engines. It appears that this new chassis outfitted with the Chevrolet engine, performs a little better than the Honda engine under racing conditions. Of the top five drivers in the points chase, four of the five are powered by Chevrolet engines (P1 – Ryan Hunter-Reay, P2 – Will Power, P3 – Helio Castroneves, P5 – James Hinchcliffe). The only Honda to spoil the “bowtie” party for the championship is Scott Dixon in P5.

Secondly, the IZOD IndyCar Series has decided to add another wrinkle into the mix for Street/Road courses – of which four of the last five races are to be contested. This driver controlled element to performance is called Push-to-Pass or P2P. These new engines are outfitted with a turbo-charger which boosts additional power through compression to the engine and the P2P gives each driver additional boost controlled by a button on the steering wheel for a total of 100 seconds.

Rexall Edmonton Indy Speedway - Edmonton City Centre Airport IndyCar race track configuration detail - pre-2011 in yellow / 2011 configuration in blue [ctrl-click image for "A virtual lap of the Edmonton Indy" video]. Image Credit: GrabBagSports.com (2011)

The reason P2P is very important to a driver’s strategy at Edmonton is because of the unique character of the new layout introduced just last year (so the contending drivers have seen the track before). The track is a 2.25 mile temporary road course set up on an airport runway/tarmac in Edmonton.

The course is unusual in that it tracks counter-clockwise and features 13 turns, a nasty hairpin turn that separates two long straights made from a landing/takeoff runway, and another slightly curved straight that dives into another situation similar to ” Turn 3″ at the end of the only high speed straight in Toronto.
Turn 1 out of the pits and at the end of the long straight past the Start/Finish line (the longest of the new layout). The corner is an unusual left hand power turn (120%) that leads to a speed section with a slight right-hand kink at Turn 2 and a high-speed left/right jig at turns 3 and 4.

The second kinked straight ends at Turn 5 in another hard left-hand turn (curved 180%) that tracks through a curvy section that was used in the previous layout.

Lastly, starting at turns 10 and 11, a long 150 mph straight made from a landing/takeoff runway that ends in a nasty hairpin at turn 13 that starts the process over again with the longest straight (3/4th of a mile – nearly 200 mph) in this course.

Whoever has the best strategy to manage and where to engage the 100 seconds of P2P just may end up having the advantage on this course.

Again, turns #1, #5, and #13 are pivotal to the fortunes (or lack thereof) of these teams and drivers and the  Edmonton Indy is uniquely situated in the season, with just 5 races left, to set the tone to the end – 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

Event Information:

Edmonton Indy, Edmonton, AB, City Centre Raceway, Knockout Qualifications, ending with the Firestone Fast Six – 2:00 to 3:15PM ET Sat. July 21, Race Coverage – 11:00AM to 4:00PM ET Sun. July 22 on NBC Sports

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 **

Route 66 NHRA Nationals.

(Image credit: NHRA Media)

NHRA Pro Stock Class Makes History. (Story and Image Credit: NHRA Media)

Erica Enders becomes the first woman in History to win an NHRA Pro Stock Final.

Results for Final Round

JOLIET, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of final, round 4 eliminations in Pro Stock at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 15th annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries:  W/L  Driver                                     R-Time    E-Time  Speed

 (W) Erica Enders (GK Motorsports Cobalt)        0.034      6.627 207.40

 (L) Greg Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Camaro 0.036      6.641 208.36

 Weather conditions: air temperature 84 degrees, relative humidity 67 percent, and barometer 29.22 inches, adjusted altitude 3,462 feet.

Anderson is 8 - 1 against Enders in prior events and Anderson is 2 - 0 against Enders in prior final rounds. Enders with the slight starting line advantage and never trailed to get win. She is the first woman to win a Pro Stock Wally. Erica Enders' MOV: 0.0160 seconds (approximately 5 feet).

(Image credit: NHRA Media)

A John Force Racing Team Funny Car does make it to the final round.

First Final Round for Courtney Force ! ! !

Results for Final Round

JOLIET, Ill. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of final, round 4 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 15th annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries:  W/L  Driver                                     R-Time    E-Time  Speed

 (W) Jeff Arend (DHL Camry)                      0.083      4.131 309.20

 (L) Courtney Force (Traxxas Mustang)            0.071      4.454 272.67

 7:46 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 84 degrees, relative humidity 67 percent, and barometer 29.22 inches, adjusted altitude 3,462 feet.

This is the first time Arend and Force have faced each other in eliminations and Arend comes into the finals with lane choice. The lanes have been close, so anyone can win. Force is looking to join Enders in getting her first final round win.

Force gets a 0.012 advantage off the line and stays out in front until about two hundred feet out, where the engine starts to mix up the cylinders and loses the momentum.

(Story and Image credit: NHRA Media)

"Cars Land" at California Adventure Opens this week.

If you haven't seen the Movie "Cars", none of this will make any sense. Go get a copy of the DVD today, and watch it at least once, but two or three times will help you understand the story, and all the work that Disney did to build this wonderful town in Orange County, CA. Remember to watch all the way through the credits, even when the screen goes black for a second, keep watching, there is one more scene.

The Way into "Cars Land", this is the way we walked into "Cars Land".
Image credit: DisneyMediaWebsite.

The Cozy Cone, Flo's, Ramone's on Main St. of Radiator Springs.
Image credit: DisneyMediaWebsite.

It’s like stepping right into the “Cars” movie!  Route 66 leads guests at Disney California Adventure Park into Cars Land, a fully detailed, immersive re-creation of Radiator Springs, the setting for the hit Disney - Pixar animated film “Cars.” Guests will be awed by the panoramic vistas of Ornament Valley, experience the thrills of three new attractions and even get to interact with some of their favorite fuel-driven friends.

The debut of Cars Land marks the completion of a five-year expansion at Disney California Adventure, bringing more characters, more adventures and more Disney magic into the park, both day and night.

Get your kicks in Radiator Springs

• The re-creation of Radiator Springs captures the authentic feel of Route 66 with three-dimensional versions of familiar landmarks from the film, including Cadillac Mountain Range in Ornament Valley, Luigi’s Casa Della Tires and Flo’s V8 Café.
• Only in Radiator Springs do guests learn dance moves like the Overdrive, the Reverse and the Hairpin Turn, all part of the fun at “DJ’s Dance and Drive,” one element of the Route 66 entertainment. DJ spins auto favorites such as “Life in the Fast Lane” and “Car Wash.”
• When night falls in Radiator Springs, 16 neon signs in bright, luminous colors light the way along Route 66.
• Signs help tell the story in Radiator Springs, adding humor and life to the town’s four-wheeled residents.
• The “car-acters” of Cars Land welcome guests at three new attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Flying Tires.
• The historic Route 66 runs 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Route 66 in Cars Land is approximately 525 feet long and 23 feet wide, rich with inspiration from the actual American highway.
• Cars Land also treats guests to food and merchandise locations inspired by the Radiator Springs landmarks in the film: Flo’s V8 Café, Fillmore’s Taste-In, Cozy Cone Motel, Radiator Springs Curios, Sarge’s Surplus Hut and Ramone’s House of Body Art.
• The fun of the “Cars” theme extends even to the menus of the Radiator Springs roadside restaurants. Flo’s V8 Café serves old-fashioned, breakfast dishes and home-style rotisserie classics for lunch and dinner, including such specialties as a breakfast chicken tamale with scrambled eggs, entrees such as the Veggie-Tater Bake and house-made Pie-O-Rama pies including strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry-peach and apple-cheddar. At Cozy Cone Motel, each food item is a different “cone-coction,” such as “Pop-cone” and “Chile Cone Queso.”

Revving through Cars Land and Ornament Valley

• Cars Land construction began in July 2009.
• The impressive Cadillac Mountain Range in Ornament Valley stands approximately 125 feet tall at its highest peak, the Pinnacle.
• The peaks of the mountain range, from left to right, represent Cadillac tail fins from 1957, 1958, 1959 (the Pinnacle), 1960, 1961 and 1962.
• At nearly 300,000 square feet, the mountain range is the largest rockwork construction in any domestic Disney theme park.
• More than 4,000 tons of steel were used to erect the mountain range and Radiator Springs Racers attraction.
• The team of Walt Disney Imagineers devoted more than 28,000 hours to designing the structural system for the rockwork and Radiator Springs Racers show building.

It’s like stepping right into the “Cars” movie!  Route 66 leads guests at Disney California Adventure Park into Cars Land, a fully detailed, immersive re-creation of Radiator Springs, the setting for the hit Disney - Pixar animated film “Cars.” Guests will be awed by the panoramic vistas of Ornament Valley, experience the thrills of three new attractions and even get to interact with some of their favorite fuel-driven friends.

The debut of Cars Land marks the completion of a five-year expansion at Disney California Adventure, bringing more characters, more adventures and more Disney magic into the park, both day and night.

Get your kicks in Radiator Springs

• The re-creation of Radiator Springs captures the authentic feel of Route 66 with three-dimensional versions of familiar landmarks from the film, including Cadillac Mountain Range in Ornament Valley, Luigi’s Casa Della Tires and Flo’s V8 Café.
• Only in Radiator Springs do guests learn dance moves like the Overdrive, the Reverse and the Hairpin Turn, all part of the fun at “DJ’s Dance and Drive,” one element of the Route 66 entertainment. DJ spins auto favorites such as “Life in the Fast Lane” and “Car Wash.”
• When night falls in Radiator Springs, 16 neon signs in bright, luminous colors light the way along Route 66.
• Signs help tell the story in Radiator Springs, adding humor and life to the town’s four-wheeled residents.
• The “car-acters” of Cars Land welcome guests at three new attractions: Radiator Springs Racers, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Flying Tires.
• The historic Route 66 runs 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Route 66 in Cars Land is approximately 525 feet long and 23 feet wide, rich with inspiration from the actual American highway.
• Cars Land also treats guests to food and merchandise locations inspired by the Radiator Springs landmarks in the film: Flo’s V8 Café, Fillmore’s Taste-In, Cozy Cone Motel, Radiator Springs Curios, Sarge’s Surplus Hut and Ramone’s House of Body Art.
• The fun of the “Cars” theme extends even to the menus of the Radiator Springs roadside restaurants. Flo’s V8 Café serves old-fashioned, breakfast dishes and home-style rotisserie classics for lunch and dinner, including such specialties as a breakfast chicken tamale with scrambled eggs, entrees such as the Veggie-Tater Bake and house-made Pie-O-Rama pies including strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry-peach and apple-cheddar. At Cozy Cone Motel, each food item is a different “cone-coction,” such as “Pop-cone” and “Chile Cone Queso.”

Revving through Cars Land and Ornament Valley

• Cars Land construction began in July 2009.
• The impressive Cadillac Mountain Range in Ornament Valley stands approximately 125 feet tall at its highest peak, the Pinnacle.
• The peaks of the mountain range, from left to right, represent Cadillac tail fins from 1957, 1958, 1959 (the Pinnacle), 1960, 1961 and 1962.
• At nearly 300,000 square feet, the mountain range is the largest rockwork construction in any domestic Disney theme park.

(Did you watch the Movie? What does Filmore ask Sarge about the way the traffic light blinks?)
Image credit: DisneyMediaWebsite.


• More than 4,000 tons of steel were used to erect the mountain range and Radiator Springs Racers attraction.

Image credit: DisneyMediaWebsite.

Image credit: DisneyMediaWebsite.

Remember the traffic light in the movie, it does the same thing here at "Cars Land".
Image credit: DisneyMediaWebsite.

The Real Lizzie's (Hackberry General Store) on Route 66 in AZ.

Image Credit: Dicken Wear

• The team of Walt Disney Imagineers devoted more than 28,000 hours to designing the structural system for the rockwork and Radiator Springs Racers show building. (Press release and above images except where noted, credit to Disney Media).