Tag Archives: IndyCar

Through Six Practice Days…Who Has What?!

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97TH Indy500 LogoThrough six days of practice, the field for the Indianapolis 500 has left spectators with nothing to be disappointed about.  The weather has been cooperative allowing 9,000 some laps to be turned in six days with a full field of 33 cars all gracing the famed Brickyard with their presence.  Single car runs have dominated the early portions of the day while afternoons have seen packs of at least five cars running together.  The field in IndyCar for 2013 is so competitive that there is no clear favorite to win the Pole or the Race and the enigma that is the IZOD IndyCar Series grid in 2013 continues to grant no clarity.

Each weekend so far in the IZOD IndyCar Series has been a complete crap shoot of who will finish on top; a welcome problem for all of us fans who like to think that our favorite drivers have only a few other cars to worry about in a given race.  It used to be that though IndyCar Series races gridded at least twenty cars each weekend that only four or five drivers had a realistic opportunity to win the race.  Not so in 2013 as each member of the IndyCar grid has a realistic opportunity to find their way at the front and win the race.  The stats speak for themselves.

Go ahead and poll anyone who associates with INDYCAR and ask them if they predicted, going into the Indianapolis 500, that Takuma Sato would be leading the points standings and Will Power would be sitting in 18th position with only a single top ten finish in four races with left and right turns.  If they say they predicted such a situation they are lying their pants on fire.  The first four races of Power’s season are no indication of his competitive pace, but rather outside influences hindering his finishing positions.  This only further indicates that mistakes made in IZOD IndyCar Series races this season will cost you dearly because driving through the field is an order as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

Back to the Indianapolis 500, it seems that Chevrolet has the early jump on the speed chart but we’ve read this melodrama before.  Chevrolet easily had its way in qualifications snatching the Pole and eight of the top nine positions.  In fact, only Josef Newgarden was able to make the shootout at the end of Pole Day while the Ganassi operation was forced to start mid-pack.  While Chevrolet was basking in the Champagne of their gross outclassment of Honda in qualifying, their Japanese compatriots were licking no wounds as they had a plan in place when race engines were installed. Ganassi Hondas drove through the field taking it to Chevrolet in the race and captured INDYCAR’s crown jewel.

The bottom line is that through thirty hours of cars turning laps and practicing on track, we have no idea what anybody has stashed in the back of their DW12s for qualifying this weekend.  Teams get extra boost pressure in the turbo tomorrow so stay tuned as teams may, finally, show their hand in preparation for qualifying…but I doubt it.  Rest assured this will be the closest Pole Day qualifying show in the history of the Indianapolis 500 and Honda will certainly ensure they are not left out of the party as they were a year ago.

 

Open Letter from INDYCAR to NASCAR

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Dear NASCAR,

We’ve been watching your races over the last year and a half or so and, while exciting, your “Boys Have At It” mentality to let drivers settle their personal vendettas and scores is starting to push the envelope into the ‘danger zone’.

To begin 2013 you had a car impact the catch fence on the grandstands side of Daytona International Speedway injuring fans who paid their hard earned money to sit in those seats for an enjoyable afternoon of racing and, instead, found themselves in an ambulance on its way to a local hospital.  This crash was all caused by a block thrown by Regan Smith because he did not want to give up the position coming down to the finish.  First of all, we can’t remember the last time somebody was penalized for blocking in a NASCAR race.  The blocking issue will resurface later, but the inherent problem with your racing on circuits like Daytona and Talladega is the ridiculous pack racing that ensues on these tracks.  The fans may crave and scream for it but, eventually, they will pay dearly for it.

The race at Bristol opened a new can of worms when Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano took their Twitter feud to a new level when Hamlin nudged Logano into the wall which resulted in subsequent threats of “He’s got it coming” etc.  This past weekend’s race that ended in carnage, bleeped out post-race interviews, and a hospitalized driver is a prime example of how you are losing control of your sport’s atheletes.

Race car drivers are passionate, emotional creatures that desperately want to win.  Especially in these times where sponsorship dollars seem to grow fewer and fewer, the pressure on drivers to win races and championships is ten fold of what it was a decade ago and, therefore, any fellow competitor who interferes in the pursuit of that goal will be the subject of at least verbal jabs if not worse.  What we are seeing is a complete lack of professionalism and respect on the drivers’ part and a lack of discipline from the sanctioning body of your sport and it must stop immediately.  Although there will be differences of opinion and words between drivers periodically, the racetrack is NOT the time or the place to settle any sort of score.  The drivers must respect each other on the track and, if they do not, the management of NASCAR must take swift and decisive action to discipline any driver that steps outside the bounds of what is acceptable behavior with fines, points deductions, vacation of wins, or suspensions if necessary.

In 2011, we had our own version of ‘Boys Have At It’ where poor choices by our series management allowed drivers to take matters into their own hands when it came to settling on-track melees because there was no clear line of what was acceptable behavior.  We paid for the shortsightedness of everyone involved in our sport with our dearest blood when one of our biggest stars lost his life in a race filled with insane pack racing absent of mutual respect between the competitors causing a 12 car crash.

The insanity of the ‘Boys Have At It’ must stop.  You may think it great for the sport as it allows the drivers to “show their character” but showing their character with 3,500 pound racecar circulating a two mile racetrack at 200 mph speeds will come back to haunt you in the deepest, most painful way possible if you do not change the culture.

Change it now before you endure the heartbreak that we did.

Sincerely,

INDYCAR

Danica Patrick and the 2013 Indianapolis 500

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As Danica Patrick winds her way through her first full season of competition in NASCAR, the native of Roscoe, Illinois is mulling the possibility of running both the Coca Cola 600 as well as the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend in 2013 thus marking a short lived return to IndyCar racing at the track where she gained notoriety and fame in 2005 when she became the first woman to lead the annual Memorial Day classic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Patrick is slated to drive a full 36 race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule next season which will be her priority in 2013.  Patrick gained fans in bunches in 2005 but her last two runs at the Indianapolis 500 saw her burn some bridges with fans due to comments made essentially throwing Andretti Autosport under the bus.  If Patrick elects to attempt the double-duty Sunday she has a long road ahead of her for a number of factors.

Who Will She Run For?

Undoubtedly, the entry for Patrick would be a partnership between Stewart Haas Racing and a current IZOD IndyCar Series team.  Stewart Haas’ alliance with Chevrolet would indicate that Patrick would run an IndyCar powered by the Bowtie and with Chevrolet likely powering half of the field for the Indianapolis 500 in 2013 there will be multiple options for Patrick to choose.  Patrick’s desire to have a competitive car will definitely play into her decision.  Team Penske is the most obvious choice of the Chevrolet powered teams given their storied history at the Indianapolis 500, but an effort with Team Penske is unlikely.  Team Penske will likely field entries for Will Power, Helio Castroneves, and probably a third car that might remain piloted by Ryan Briscoe.  Roger Penske will be hesitant to field a fourth car for the danger of putting too many cooks in the kitchen as their focus for the 2013 race will be on Helio Castroneves as the Brazilian tries to beat Ganassi rival Dario Franchitti to the four-time winner club.  So far in 2012, Andretti Autosport as shown renewed strength in the IndyCar Paddock with Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe in the top-5 in the points standings.  Andretti could take on Patrick, but the tumultuous relationship between Patrick and her teammates during the last years of her full-time IndyCar career would be  a deterrent given Andretti Autosport’s renewed mojo in 2012.  Beyond Penske and Andretti, Patrick is left with KV Racing Technology, Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold, Ed Carpenter Racing, and Dragon Racing as Chevrolet possibilities.  All of these teams probably don’t fit the bill that Patrick demands essential for the program to become a reality.

Sponsorship

In NASCAR, Danica Patrick is sponsored by internet conglomerate GoDaddy.com who also sponsors the Andretti family as well as James Hinchcliffe’s No. 27 Dallara.  GoDaddy would probably move forward and sponsor Patrick in the Indianapolis 500, but will she be allowed to utilize GoDaddy as sponsor if she were to run for a team other than Andretti Autosport?  If not, where would the sponsorship money come from?

DW12

The last time Danica Patrick competed at the Indianapolis 500 was in May of 2011.  The car she competed with was a Dallara IR07 powered by a V8 Honda engine.  In 2012, the IZOD IndyCar Series debut a new car, the DW12.  The DW12 is a completely different animal than the car it replaces.  The weight distribution is further to the rear of the car making it increasingly more difficult to drive around the four corners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The car is very difficult to dial in and even the best drivers in IndyCar have found difficulty getting a handle on it.  The DW12 is powered by turbocharged 4-cylindar engines and utilizes and hand clutch instead of a normal foot clutch.  The hand clutch has been a serious adjustment for drivers this season.  Patrick would hit the track more than a year behind her competition in a car that, admittedly, is tough to master.

Scheduling

The schedule for the Indianapolis 500 has been scaled back dramatically in recent years for financial reasons and track time is at a premium especially with the unpredictable weather conditions in Indianapolis in May that has a knack for cutting practice days short and washing them out completely in some cases.  Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 takes place on the weekend of the Spring All-Star Race in Charlotte, an event that Danica would certainly be voted in by the NASCAR fan base.  Patrick would need to try and qualify the IndyCar on Saturday before the All-Star Race or the next day where she would start no better than 22nd in the race.  Balancing her NASCAR commitments and the large amount of work that it will take to make an Indy 500 program a reality.

The big question for IndyCar in 2012 other than how to make the racing safer was how would the sport fare without their biggest name?  IndyCar has responded with some of the best racing across all Motorsport in 2012 and found new starpower in James Hinchcliffe and Rubens Barrichello.  For Danica Patrick, contrary to what many predicted, the sport of IndyCar has moved on with very little hiccup.  New cars, races, and stars have assisted IndyCar into its new, post-Danicamania, era.  Patrick decided that her brand would benefit from a career in NASCAR and that is where it should remain.

Indianapolis 500: Turbos and Lotus Remain Focus at IMS

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Two days of practice complete at Indianapolis and the young guns are blazing out of the gate.  Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing topped the speed chart on opening day on Saturday with rookie driver Josef Newgarden while AFS Andretti Autosport driver Sebastien Saavedra led day two.  Honda led opening day while Chevrolet topped the chart on day two.  The speed should not be read into on either day as it is the result of tows on the track so it is unknown what speed the cars are capable running by themselves.

Concern is mounting, however, about the performance of the two remaining Lotus cars in the field which are having difficulty meeting the anticipated minimum speed for the race.  Prior to the Indianapolis 500 Bryan Herta Autosport and Lotus Dreyer & Reinbold Racing severed ties with the European manufacturer and joined rival Chevrolet (DRR) and Honda(BHA) for the remainder of the IZOD IndyCar Series Season.  The fastest speeds are ranging from 218-221 mph brackets while the Lotus cars are just barely scratching 205-207 which is below the 105 percent threshold that the cars must achieve during the race to remain on the track…track time the Lotus engine desperately needs.  HVM driver Simona de Silvestro states that the cars a trimmed out like everybody else, but the engine, for one reason or other, just will not deliver the power to make the cars go fast.  Starting Monday, Lotus has just five days to find some speed.  The weather forecast looks favorable so at least that is in their favor, but it will be a huge mountain to climb in the time available.  A competitive Lotus package is very important to the Indianapolis 500 and INDYCAR in general so a solution is critical and they are running out of time and opportunitites as teams are, undoubtedly, running out of patience.

Dragon Racing has elected not to use the Lotus engine effective after Brazil leaving drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge on the sidelines without turning a single lap on the Speedway as they wait for severance from Lotus to become official and the approval to utilize Chevrolet power.  Legge needs to complete the Rookie Orientation Program while Bourdais must do a refresher course before they are allowed to continue with their programs to prepare for the race.  This is especially important for Legge, who carries the TrueCar sponsorship funding the No. 6 Dragon Racing car she pilots.  Time is running out for these drivers as well.

Behind the apparent parity amongst Chevrolet and Honda powered cars, there is a growing concern that come Pole Day on Saturday that the Turbo modification that Honda was allowed to make to give their engine more competitive horsepower on the road courses could allow them to dominate the starting grid for the Indianapolis 500.  It appears that Chevrolet has a good engine package for the race, however, the single turbo favored by Honda was predicted to be the favorable package on the oval tracks to begin with.  Add the newly approved turbo cover, and Honda could have a serious advantage when it comes to qualifying on Saturday.  The race should be evenly matched, but qualifying could be a landslide in favor of Honda.  Nothing is for certain, of course, but the drivers in the Chevrolet camp are concerned as they work diligently through the week.  Fast Friday is only three days away, but don’t expect any of the top teams to show their hand until then or even until their four lap qualifying runs on Saturday.

Formula 1 veteran Rubens Barrichello is taking to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway successfully so far under the guidance of KV Racing Technology and teammate Tony Kanaan.  Barrichello will, undoubtedly, be methodical in his education on the track during practice and try and trim the car more and more each day gradually bringing the speed up until he attempts to qualify the car on Pole Day on Saturday.  Barrichello with KV Racing and Chevrolet power should qualify this car solidly in the field.  If he can complete all 500 miles don’t count him out as a contender for the Borg Warner Trophy!

DAY 1 PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS:

DAY 2 PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS:

IZOD IndyCar Series Diecast Preview

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As IndyCar begins to open the month of May at Indianapolis it is time to get excited about GreenLight Collectibles IndyCar diecast products!  After a two-year absence where IndyCar elected to partner with Hot Wheels to license their IndyCar diecast replicas, GreenLight returned in 2011 with a 1:18 scale collector grade IndyCar diecast lineup.  For 2012, they have been awarded the license to produce both 1:18 and 1:64 IndyCar DW12 replicas so these are exciting times for IndyCar and diecast collectors!

The first round of releases for 2012 are with heavy hearts as GreenLight will run two 2011 IndyCars that will be Dan Wheldon tribute cars.  The first is a re-release of Dan’s Indianapolis 500 winning car.  When Dan was lost, the original run sold out almost immediately so GreenLight is releasing a second run of this car and it will, undoubtedly, be very popular and the official IndyCar shop has already sold out so make sure to get your pre-orders into GreenLight distributors so you can collect this piece!  It will be a stunning addition to any collection!

The second Dan Wheldon release is a replica of the tribute car that was on stage of Conseco Field House for the public memorial service.  The difference, however, will be that it will be on the 2011 Dallara tooling to commemorate Dan Wheldon’s legacy and because when the release was ordered by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the DW12 was still being developed.  The official IndyCar shop is sold out of this car as well so get your orders in.  Both of these releases will differ from previous GreenLight IndyCar releases with the absence of a driver figure to honor the memory of the great Dan Wheldon.

Moving forward to 2012, GreenLight has tooled the new DW12 chassis for release in 1:18 and 1:64 scale giving collectors and fans alike variety and detail unsurpassed for the price point that they are offered.  These cars, 1:18 scale especially, are sure to fly off the shelves of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the Indianapolis 500!  The pictures speak for themselves.  The cars will not have driver figures this year and they will be released with the first speedway wing configuration instead of the new one that will actually be run at Indianapolis this May, but don’t fret because GreenLight is working on having interchangable parts for their cars in the future so it is possible that they could be updated later in the year so stay tuned.  The current release offerings are below!  If you don’t see a driver that you would like produced later this year, let GreenLight and the IndyCar teams know!

 

 

 

 

 

 

1:64 SCALE (3 inches long):

# 3 Helio Castroneves Shell V-Power Team Penske

# 4 JR Hildebrand National Guard Panther Racing

# 6 Katherine Legge TrueCar Dragon Racing

# 9 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing

# 10 Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Racing

# 11 Tony Kanaan GEICO KV Racing Technology

# 12 Will Power Verizon Team Penske

# 14 Mike Conway ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing

# 20 Ed Carpenter Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing

# 26 Marco Andretti RC Cola Andretti Autosport

# 27 James Hinchcliffe GoDaddy Andretti Autosport

# 38 Graham Rahal NTB Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing

# 83 Charlie Kimball Novolog Flexpen Chip Ganassi Racing

2012 Dallara DW12 Test Car

2012 Honda DW12 Test Car

2012 Indianapolis 500 Event Car

 

1:18 SCALE (11 inches long):

# 3 Helio Castroneves Shell V-Power Team Penske

# 4 JR Hildebrand National Guard Panther Racing

# 6 Katherine Legge TrueCar Dragon Racing

# 9 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing

# 10 Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Racing

# 11 Tony Kanaan GEICO KV Racing Technology

# 12 Will Power Verizon Team Penske

# 14 Mike Conway ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing

# 20 Ed Carpenter Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing

# 26 Marco Andretti RC Cola Andretti Autosport

# 38 Graham Rahal NTB Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing

# 83 Charlie Kimball Novolog Flexpen Chip Ganassi Racing

Chevrolet DW12 Test Car

2012 Indianapolis 500 Event Car

 

HAPPY COLLECTING!

Sao Paulo Recap: What Turbo Upgrade?

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If Honda was frustrated and scratching their heads coming out of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, they must be fuming after Brazil.  Prior to the race weekend, Honda won the ability to upgrade their turbocharger to the behest of Chevrolet.  The turbo upgrade was installed to remove a noticeable turbo lag on exit of slow corners and make the Honda engine more competitive on the road and street courses.  The race weekend began with the same story, however, as Team Penske’s Will Power snagged the Pole Position, his second in the first four races and fourth on the season for Team Penske, by .04 seconds over Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti.

The fast six, in general, was more balanced with Power being joined by James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay for Chevrolet while Franchitti was joined by teammate Scott Dixon and Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing representing Honda.  The pace overall of the Honda teams was much closer to that of Chevrolet which is a good sign.  A competitive Honda engine is important for the future of the IZOD IndyCar Series because manufacturer competition is imperative as the series continues to grow into the mainstream of sports in North America.  If Chevrolet was to come out and completely wipe the field with Honda, all of those Honda teams would run for Chevrolet at year’s end making IndyCar a spec series once again

The most amazing thing about this race, other than the fact that the rain failed to garner the race course with its presence, was that all 26 cars made it through the first turn without incident on the start.  The race ran caution free until Ryan Briscoe smacked the wall on his outlap following his first pit stop.  The ensuing restart saw Dario Franchitti punted by Mike Conway bringing out the yellow flag almost as soon as the green flew for the restart.  As is typical on street courses, strategy played a huge factor in determining the race winner.  The only driver able to touch Will Power in this race was Scott Dixon, however, Dixon was forced to make three pit stops to Power’s two thus sealing his fate.  A couple late incidents involving Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden brought out late restarts, one of which saw a 7-8 car pileup ruining many driver’s chances at good results.  Ryan Hunter-Reay gave it all he had, but was to no avail and Will Power captured his third straight win of 2012 and remains unbeaten on the Sao Paulo circuit.

Power’s Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves drove from a miserable 20th place starting position to finish 4th and Dario Franchitti rebounded from the incident with Conway to finish 5th salvaging a good points day.  Takuma Sato also finished 3rd, his best result to date in the IZOD IndyCar Series.  Overall, the Honda engines were more competitive, but Chevrolet still has the advantage as it seems through four races.  Also, Oriol Servia finished 11th in Dreyer & Reinbold’s final race with the Lotus powerplant.

The biggest question being asked through the entire Paddock:

CAN ANYBODY SLOW DOWN WILL POWER?  Some oval races on the horizon to, perhaps, bring the field right back to Power’s rear wing.  Keep tuning in as this story develops over the next 8 weeks.

CONGRATULATIONS TO WILL POWER AND TEAM PENSKE:  WINNERS OF THE SAO PAULO INDY 300!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UP NEXT:

After an open test at Texas Motor Speedway the IndyCars will load into the world’s greatest race course, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for the crown jewel on the schedule the Indianapolis 500.  This is destined to be a emotion-filled month as the series returns to the site of the late Dan Wheldon’s last win so the emotions will run high.  It is also the first oval on the schedule begging the question who, Chevrolet or Honda, will have the advantage when the engine spends all its time at high RPM.  Also, some entries are still to be filled and some still need engines so the drama will run high all month.  Make sure to tune in May 19-20 for Qualifying and the Race goes GREEN on May 27!

R.I.P. DAN WHELDON

IZOD IndyCar Series: Season Preview

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 IT IS ALMOST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!

Get ready IndyCar fans!  As of today there are 25 days remaining before the drop of the green flag on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Season!  It is TIME TO GET EXCITED!  The 2012 grid could be the most evenly balanced, talented, and competitive in the history of IndyCar racing.  From top to bottom, anybody in this field could pull into victory lane and stand atop the podium on any given weekend.

Just a taste of what’s to come:

http://www.speedtv.com//video/auto-racing/indycar-penske-sebring-test-1432070750001/2#_vtop

The offseason in the aftermath of 2011 has been anything but quiet for the IZOD IndyCar Series.  The days since October 16, 2011 have been filled with pain, healing, testing, and major changes regarding those in charge of the series.  Danica Patrick has moved on to new opportunities driving stock cars in NASCAR,  Brian Barnhart has been removed from competition director and director of race control in favor of a man with the same initials, and the series has moved toward providing a safer, but still exciting, product.  Barnhart will remain technical director for the series but will no longer be making the decisions regarding how the races are officiated.  That task now falls to Beaux Barfield’s purview who promises to allow more protecting and harsher penalties for avoidable contact.  Double-file restarts have been eliminated from events and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Auto Club Speedway for safety reasons.  Texas returns to the 550k format instead of the Twin 275k run in 2011.  New event in Qingdao, China and the return of the Belle Isle Grand Prix are exciting new opportunities for IndyCar.  Hopefully, these changes will breed closer, and safer, competition in 2012.

On March 25, the IZOD IndyCar Series paddock can finally, mercifully, move on from the tragedy surrounding Dan Wheldon and get back to racing, ironically, in St. Petersburg, Florida…the city Dan Wheldon called home while driving a car that Wheldon that contributed to so much.  Dan Wheldon’s legacy begins on the 1.8 Mile road course and its 14 turns as the new turbocharged, faster, and safer  generation IndyCar, named the DW12 in Wheldon’s honor, hits the track for the first time in competition.  The car incorporates new safety measures to prevent cars from locking wheels and becoming airborne at the speeds in which they run.  The car came in being overweight  producing greater aerodynamic drag than anticipated or expected especially on the high-speed ovals, and the weight bias is more toward the rear creating a difficult handling condition.  All that being said, the car is anticipated to be at least one second faster than the 2011 model on the track with new aerodynamic components on the way to assist the car’s handling on ovals.  No big deal because the first oval on the schedule is the Indianapolis 500 which doesn’t come until May so there is time to sort this car’s deficiencies out.  Most importantly, the car is new for everybody which puts everybody on relatively equal footing as the individual teams will be charged with discovering and unlocking the cars speed and potential.

The car is not the only thing that is new for 2012 in terms of the equipment teams will be competing with.  March 25, 2012 will mark the return of engine manufacturer competition in the IZOD IndyCar Series for the first time since 2005 when Honda, Toyota, and Chevrolet were competing for the prestigious manufacturer’s championship.  Honda remains an engine supplier for 2012, but IndyCar welcomes the return of Chevrolet and the debut of Lotus to attempt taking the Honda brand down as top power plant in the series.  All three engine manufacturers have heavy hitters that all can produce wins in 2012 and the competition should be as fierce as ever.

Manufacturer competition and a new car are only part of the plot that will make the 2012 IndyCar Season the most competitive and dramatic to date.  The depth of the driver talent in this year’s field is incredible.  Composed of drivers with multiple Indianapolis 500 rings, championships, race wins, and former Formula 1 and Champ Car veterans, this field is DEEP!  The breakdown, with team and engine alliances, is below and is the expected entry list for St. Petersburg later this month with additional entries from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, MSR INDY, and Conquest Racing expected to be on the grid by the Indianapolis 500 on May 27.

# 2 Ryan Briscoe IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet

# 3 Helio Castroneves Shell V-Power Team Penske Chevrolet

# 4 J.R. Hildebrand National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet

# 5 E.J. Viso CITGO / PDVSA KV Racing Technology Chevrolet

# 6 Katherine Legge TrueCar Dragon Racing Lotus

# 7 Sebastien Bourdais Lotus Cars Dragon Racing Lotus

# 8 Rubens Barrichello BMC / Hyundai KV Racing Technology Chevrolet

# 9 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

# 10 Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

# 11 Tony Kanaan GEICO KV Racing Technology Chevrolet

# 12 Will Power Verizon Wireless Team Penske Chevrolet

# 14 Mike Conway ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing Honda

# 15 Takuma Sato Interush / Panasonic Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda

# 18 James Jakes ACORN Stairlifts Dale Coyne Racing Honda

# 19 Justin Wilson Sonny’s Bar-B-Que Dale Coyne Racing Honda

# 20 Ed Carpenter Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

# 22 Oriol Servia Lotus Cars Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Lotus

# 26 Marco Andretti RC Cola Andretti Autosport Chevrolet

# 27 James Hinchcliffe GoDaddy.com Andretti Autosport Chevrolet

# 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay DHL / SunDrop Andretti Autosport Chevrolet

# 38 Graham Rahal NTB / Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

# 67 Josef Newgarden TBA Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda

# 77 Simon Pagenaud Bowers & Wilkins Sam Schmidt Honda

# 78 Simona de Silvestro Entergy HVM Racing Lotus

# 83 Charlie Kimball Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

# 98 Alex Tagliani Barracuda Networks Bryan Herta Autosport Lotus

This makes up a healthy 26 car field for St. Petersburg and, more importantly, everyone can WIN in this field.  So pull the belts tight and fire the engines because this season is going to be epic!

IZOD INDYCAR Season Review: Dan Wheldon

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There is no better place to begin breaking down the 2011 IndyCar Season driver performances than with Dan Wheldon.

After a falling out with Panther Racing, Wheldon found himself on the outside looking in when it came to the 2011 IndyCar campaign…a situation that was, undoubtedly, difficult for Wheldon to endure.  Having become one of the most beloved drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series by its fans as well as his competitors, it was a difficult situation for everybody involved.  Although when the green flag dropped on 2011 Wheldon was sitting on the sidelines watching everybody else race, redemption was a mere eight weeks away.

Wheldon and former teammate Bryan Herta managed to scrape together an under-funded operation in conjunction with Sam Schmidt Motorsports for the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.  Wheldon entered the mecca of auto racing and qualified the No. 98 William Rast Bryan Herta Autosport car on the outside of the second row on pole day and ran in the top 15 the entire day.  The late stages of the race became a fuel mileage game and it looked to be rookie JR Hildebrand’s race to lose!  On the last lap, the unthinkable happened, Hildebrand slammed the wall on the final corner as Dan Wheldon, the 2005 Winner but underdog in 2011, whizzed by to take the victory and drink the milk!  This would be Wheldon’s final victory and in dramatic fashion.

After the dramatic Indianapolis 500 victory, Dan Wheldon was, once again, rideless for the duration of the 2011 season, or so it appeared.  Wheldon decided that he would, successfully, become a bigger draw for the series’ fans as he joined Bob Jenkins and Jan Beekhuis in the Versus broadcast booth for the Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speedway as well as the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway while broadcast regular Wally Dallenbach was fulfilling his TNT obligations to the NASCAR Spring Cup Series.  Wheldon was an incredible talent when it came to being a color analyst and might have had a career when he decided to hang up his racing boots.

Wheldon completed the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season by competing at Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he, eventually, lost his life!  A full article on the Las Vegas Race can be found here:

http://motorsportswelcome.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/the-race-that-never-happened-but-unfortunately-did/

Dan Wheldon’s biggest contribution to the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2011 was that he and Bryan Herta Autosport were tapped by the series to do the first round of testing for the 2012 Dallara IndyCar formula to be used in competition beginning in St. Petersburg in March 2012.  Wheldon was charged with putting the car through its paces to iron out design imperfections and what changes needed to be made to make the car better.  The new chassis will be dedicated in Dan Wheldon’s memory and will be known as the Dallara DW12 Safety Cell.  Much gratitude goes to Dan for his assistance in the development of this car.

 

2011 Race Results

Indianapolis 500 – Qualified 6th, Finished 1st

Meijer Indy 300 @ Kentucky Speedway – Qualified 28th, Finished 14th

IZOD IndyCar World Championships @ Vegas – Qualified 34th, Race Incomplete at Lap 12

 

Dan Wheldon was an incredible race car driver, competitor, father, and husband.  He will be greatly missed by the entire auto racing community.  His engagement of the fans is something IndyCar will have a difficult time filling without him.  He is remembered by everyone!

REST IN PEACE!

DAN WHELDON

1978 – 2011