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INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005 – Felipe Giaffone picked the right spot to impress A.J. Foyt earlier this year, and it has paid off with a seat in Foyt’s famous No. 14 in the 90th Indianapolis 500. Giaffone will drive the No. 14 ABC Supply car for legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Foyt in the entire IndyCar® Series in 2006, including the 90th Indianapolis 500 on May 28 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Foyt’s team is switching to Honda engines for the 2006 season and will continue with Dallara chassis and Firestone tires. 2001 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Giaffone only made one series start in 2005, but it was a strong showing. He finished 15th after starting last in a Foyt entry in the 89th Indianapolis 500, the top performance by the three Foyt cars in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” last May. The performance was even more impressive considering Giaffone made the 33-car field on Bump Day with just 30 minutes remaining in qualifying. Giaffone was shopping that afternoon in Indianapolis with his wife, Alice, when Foyt called Giaffone’s cell phone and asked Giaffone to drive his car that day. “After working with Felipe at Indy last year, I was impressed,” Foyt said. “Coming in to qualify on Bump Day for the biggest race in the world in a car you’ve never driven before for a team you’ve never worked with before, well you’re either crazy or a real race driver. He proved to me that he’s a real race driver.” Giaffone, 30, has made five career Indianapolis 500 starts, with a top finish of third in 2002. He also qualified an Indy-best fourth that year. He has one IndyCar Series victory, in 2002 at Kentucky, and 13 top-five finishes in 53 career starts. “I am glad to be coming back to the IRL with a good team that has a good engine package,” Giaffone said. “The little time that I had to work with A.J. last year, we had a good race setup. And now that we will have a strong engine, I am excited about our chances for the season, especially Indianapolis.” INDIANA LAWMAKERS HONOR INDY WINNER STEWART IN U.S. CONGRESS INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005 – Tony Stewart fulfilled a lifetime dream by winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Aug. 7 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he also built his racing legend with his second career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series title. Stewart’s performance was so impressive in 2005 behind the wheel of the Home Depot Chevrolet that it inspired the U.S. House of Representatives to unanimously approve a resolution Dec. 6 from U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel of Indiana recognizing Stewart for his dream season. Sodrel, who sponsored House Resolution 587, was joined by other members of the Indiana delegation – Reps. Mike Pence, Dan Burton, Mark Souder, John Hostettler and Julia Carson – as co-sponsors. Stewart grew up and lives in Columbus, Ind., which is in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District that Sodrel represents. “I am proud to honor Mr. Tony Stewart for all of his accomplishments in NASCAR and the world of motorsports by bringing this resolution to the floor of the House of Representatives,” Sodrel said. “Hoosiers and racing fans around the world are proud of Tony and his team, and we look forward to his continued success.” The resolution praised Stewart for his five 2005 victories, particularly his victory in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. He also was honored for his two NASCAR titles in seven seasons, his eight other auto racing championships, including the 1996-97 IRL IndyCar® Series title, and his top-10 ranking in each of his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup seasons. The Congressional recognition follows Stewart being awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest honor, by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels on Aug. 29. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Oct. 11, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Medeiros ready for IndyCar Series debut: A year ago, Thiago Medeiros ran away with the Firehawk Cup, claiming the 2004 IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series on the strength of six wins in 12 starts. But unlike previous series champions, A.J. Foyt IV and Mark Taylor, Medeiros has yet to graduate to the IndyCar Series. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Oct. 10, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Wheldon hopes to run No. 1 next season: Newly crowned IRL IndyCar® Series champion Dan Wheldon hopes to run the No. 1 on his Klein Tools/Jim Beam Honda-powered Dallara in 2006. 3. Tight championship fight reaches final round: With just days remaining before the final Menards Infiniti Pro Series race of the 2005 season, point leader Wade Cunningham is keeping his plans to close to the vest. INDYCAR SERIES DRIVERS, TEAMS PREPARE FOR INFINEON INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2005 – The IRL IndyCar® Series continues 10th season of competition with the inaugural Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Aug. 28. The 2.26-mile, 12-turn natural terrain road course, with its elevation changes, blind corners and high-speed turns, will challenge IndyCar Series drivers and their cars. In the following first-person narratives, Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Ryan Briscoe provides a virtual lap and Marlboro Team Penske race engineer Tom German discusses what’s needed for a successful race at the scenic facility. “Infineon Raceway is a great track. It reminds me of Mugello, which is near Florence in Italy. Both tracks go through the hills, everything is green and it’s very scenic. They both have some very high-speed turns. “A lap starts on the flat on the start-finish straight. You get right up to fifth gear, and then you start turning left as the track goes straight up. You start braking for the blind first corner in second gear. It’s really spectacular because you are braking up the hill. I don’t think we’ll see much passing there. “After that corner, it’s a series of S-bends that really take you up and down before you come into a blind corner at sort of a medium speed. That gets you to Turn 5, which is a heavy braking corner. You are turning right, down the hill and up to a straightaway in the middle of the circuit that leads to what they call ‘The Carousel.’ “The Carousel corner is really unbelievable. It’s very fast and the corner falls away the whole time. You’re on the edge the whole way. It’s really an amazing corner, probably the best one on the track. It may be one of the better places to pass on the circuit, because a little mistake at the exit of The Carousel and you open yourself to getting passed at Turn 7, which comes at the end of the long, flat-out straightaway at the end of The Carousel that gets you up to sixth gear. “Turn 7 is a double right-hander at the top of the hill that puts you on a straight that’s downhill and leads to another high-speed turn. You’re running sixth gear, flat out and on the edge. That’s spectacular and very fast. You then go down an S-bend to the chicane, which is a heavy braking zone and a place where you use the curb. It’s a very quick change of direction, and I think it will be a good passing zone, too. That gets you to the final hairpin, which is the slowest turn before getting back to the start-finish straight. “I think there are places to pass at Infineon, but it all depends on how people will set up their cars aerodynamically. Some people may choose to run different downforce levels to help them get through different parts of the circuit. There should be some variation there, and it will be interesting to see.” THE ENGINEER: German has worked Gil de Ferran, Andre Ribeiro with Marlboro Team Penske and with Scott Pruett at Patrick Racing. Before becoming a race engineer, German worked with Bridgestone/Firestone as a race tire development engineer. “It’s a completely different car set-up than an oval, because you’re turning left and right. The downforce becomes much more important because you don’t have banking to help you through the corners. “The things like the aero balance, the differential change dramatically. All your alignment settings – cambers, toes – change quite a bit. Because most of the corners are considerably slower than a Pikes Peak or Michigan, you run a lot softer springs to try to enhance the grip to improve your low-speed performance. There are a lot of blind corners and pulling uphill at reasonably high speeds, so you need good power and good gearing. You have to choose the right gear to accelerate out of the corner and up the hill before you go into the next corner. “The testing (in April) helps tremendously because it gives the team and driver the opportunity to learn the track -- where to accelerate, where the bumps are and those things. We’re anxious to race there. In practice, we’re constantly working on the set-up, trying to improve the balance and grip of the car and getting the driver focused on what’s important.” WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD: According to Firestone engineers, the permanent road course at Infineon Raceway requires the softest Firehawk tires designed for road course racing. The tire used this weekend is similar to the tire used on the temporary street circuit in St. Petersburg, Fla. WHAT: WHERE: WHEN: DISTANCE: PAST RACE WINNERS: TV: RADIO: INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Aug. 24, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Unser, Rutherford remember last time at Infineon: When Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford start talking racing – especially about their competitive heyday – the banter is quick, often comical and always educational. You’d expect as much from legendary drivers who have seven Indianapolis 500 victories between them and now serve as Indy Racing League consultants. Broach the subject of the USAC Indy 150 (also called the Golden State 150 and the USAC Sears Point 150) – the first and only major open-wheel racing event at Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point) on April 4, 1970 – and memories flow through the conversation like a storm-swollen river. And the barbs are ever-present. Both were part of a stellar field that included 1969 Indianapolis 500 champion Mario Andretti, who started alongside pole winner Mark Donohue; Dick Simon, who started 13th and finished sixth; Gordon Johncock, who qualified eighth and finished fourth; Bobby Unser (finished 18th); Bill Vukovich (20th); Gary Bettenhausen (21st); and Jerry Grant (22nd). Donohue didn’t make it through the race and finished dead last (25th). Everyone was left in the road dust of Dan Gurney, who arted third on the grid in his final open-wheel race. Andretti was runner-up. The next month, the track closed for a year and USAC did not return when it reopened. “The car I drove was a ‘67 Gurney Eagle that we put a wedge-type body on,” said Rutherford, who started ninth and finished fifth in the race. “Mike Devin was my crew chief and Pat Patrick was the owner of the team in 1970. Al and I ran for the pole position at the (Indianapolis Motor) Speedway. We were a sleeper because we had this old car and Al had this state-of-the-art car, which was the Johnny Lightning car. We came very close – one-1,0000ths mile of an hour. They said if we started our runs together at the start-finish line and gone the four laps and ended at the start-finish line, Al would have been 2½ feet ahead of me. It was the closest run for the pole position in the history of the Speedway. “That’s the same car I drove at Sears Point, and Al was in the Johnny Lightning car. Al was the consummate road racer and I was the old sprint car hard head who charged the corners too hard. We had a good time. The area is beautiful, and I understand that with all the improvements that (Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman) Bruton Smith has done the facility is really something.” Unser, who qualified fourth and finished third in the race, visited the natural terrain track in April when IndyCar Series teams conducted an Open Test in preparation for this weekend’s Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix – the first road course event in series history and the first major open-wheel race at the facility in Sonoma, Calif., since 1970. He will be the grand marshal of the event. “It’s a very competitive racetrack,” said Unser, who the next month won the first of his four Indianapolis 500s and also won the 1970 USAC national championship. “It’s like any; you have to get your car working. We made some changes we shouldn’t have made for race day, and all it takes is just a little bit and you get off. We couldn’t outrun Gurney or Mario. “It was one of those days; I should have but I didn’t and Gurney says he should have and he did. That’s a course that is very demanding on you and your car. You have to make it handle well. All the ups and downs and the different types of corners; it’s a demanding place.” Rutherford, who didn’t attend the Open Test, concurred. “The intensity is the same anywhere you go,” he said. “You have to really concentrate and get into learning the course. There are many different ways around a racetrack like that, and you have to find the one that fits you and your car.” Gurney’s victory came in a car of his own design, the Eagle-Gurney, with Ford power. Andretti also had Ford power in his McNamara and neither was turbo-charged like the power plants run by most of the other road-course winners in the 1970 season. He also won the Belgian Grand Prix that year in a car that his All American Racers produced. Gurney retired from open-wheel racing in 1970, but his All American Eagle was the most successful Indy-style car of the ’70s. “In the end, I had the respect of my peers and I think that is most important,” he said. The 26-year-old native of Padua, Italy drove the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Toyota-powered Panoz that he will race at both Infineon Raceway this weekend and the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix Presented by Argent Mortgage on Sept. 25. He was evaluated by IndyCar® Series technical manager Kevin Blanch. Pantano, who stands seventh in the FIA GP2 Championship standings following a pair of points-scoring finishes during the Turkish Grand Prix weekend in Istanbul, will race in the U.S. for the first time since he competed in the 2004 U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sneva, who serves as spotter and driver coach for Bombardier Rookie of the Year candidate Tomas Enge of Panther Racing, was enshrined along with NASCAR champion Benny Parsons, road racer Hurley Haywood, drag racer Tommy Ivo, motorcyclist Jay Springsteen, powerboat racer Danny Foster, car owners/builders John Holman and Ralph Moody and 1952 Indianapolis 500 winner Troy Ruttman. Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IRL CEO Tony George presented the award to Sneva. Known as the “Gas Man,” Sneva won 13 Indy-style races during his racing career, including the 1983 Indianapolis 500. He earned 14 pole positions and was the first driver to crack the 200-mph barrier at Indianapolis. Sneva also was the first at the Speedway to eclipse 210 mph. Sneva won national championships in 1977 and 1978 driving for Roger Penske. Jeff Bucknum, who earlier this season competed in two oval races for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, will replace Foyt in the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone in the Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix at Infineon Raceway this weekend. Foyt will return to the seat for the race at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval on Sept. 11. “We didn’t test with Anthony at Infineon at the IRL Open Test in April, and I decided it wouldn’t be fair to run him since everyone else has tested there,” team owner A.J. Foyt said. “It’s a tricky course, especially running the (2.26-mile, 12-turn) long course. I think it’d be even harder for him than St. Pete where we struggled. “Jeff Bucknum called last week offering to help Anthony out there. But I decided it would make more sense to put Jeff in the car. Jeff’s familiar with the course, he’s run there quite a bit in smaller cars and was an instructor there for a couple years. Also, he did a half-day in a Dreyer & Reinbold car at the test there in April and impressed them. I’m looking forward to having him drive for me this weekend. I knew his daddy (Ronnie Bucknum) way back when, and I never thought his son would be driving for me. It’s a small world.” Foyt would have been Bucknum’s teammate in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, but Foyt was seriously burned in an Indy-style practice the week before at Milwaukee. Dick Hutcherson was called to team with Bucknum and they finished third. Bucknum was the first Honda factory driver in Formula One and competed in three Indianapolis 500s. He died on April 25, 1992, the year before his son drove in his first amateur race at the then-Sears Point International Raceway (Infineon). “I’m pretty excited to be driving the 14 car for A.J.,” Bucknum said. “It feels like things have come full circle for my family because my dad and A.J. raced together in the ‘60s. When I told my mom that I was driving for A.J., I think it brought back so many memories of my dad that it brought a tear to her eye and became really special for her, too. “As far as driving at Infineon, my first-ever racing experience was the Skip Barber School there. I’ve driven quite a few races at Infineon so I’m real familiar with the track. With my knowledge of the track and A.J.’s experience in setting up Indy cars, I think we’ll be able to get a good balance on the car and ultimately have a good weekend.” A.J. Foyt IV said he broached the idea of a replacement driver about a month ago. “At first he said no, but then I think he thought about it,” said Foyt, 21. “He didn’t say anything about it until we came home from Colorado (21st-place finish in the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak International Raceway). I’m actually relieved because it would have been hard to be competitive -- I’ve never even seen the track. I’ll learn a lot by watching and hearing the feedback between Jeff and the crew.” INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – July 29, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Jaques Lazier join Target Chip Ganassi Racing for Michigan: Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced that IRL IndyCar® Series veteran Jaques Lazier to drive the No.10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Toyota-powered Panoz in the Firestone Indy 400 on July 31 at Michigan International Speedway. “We were very glad that a driver of Jaques Lazier’s caliber was available to the Target team this weekend,” Target Chip Ganassi Racing owner Chip Ganassi said. “We look forward to working with him on a race-to-race basis and getting him to the front.” Lazier, who has made 45 career IndyCar Series starts, finished 16th in the Indianapolis 500 in May. Lazier, who won in the series at Chicagoland Speedway in 2001, is the younger brother of 2000 IndyCar Series champion and 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier, who also entered in this weekend’s event. “Being given the chance to drive for Target Chip Ganassi Racing is obviously a dream come true,” said Lazier. “Since the first day they joined the Indy Racing League, it was a team you looked at with a degree of envy. I’d always wanted to be part of a team like this, and I feel like the first 45 races of my career have been the testing ground for this kind of opportunity. It’s not often that I have been in a situation to be able to share information with teammates and be part of something bigger. I look forward to being a team player and hopefully I can help ignite a spark to get momentum back on the team’s side. I hope to make the best of this chance the team has given me here at Michigan.” Lazier is not new to the Panoz-Toyota combination. The Vail, Colo., native also competed with the Toyota engine and Panoz chassis earlier this season at Indianapolis should make for an easy transition into the Target team-prepared machine. “We’re happy to be able to add an American driver with a wealth of oval racing experience to our arsenal,” said team Managing Director Mike Hull. “The Target team is looking forward and we hope the introduction of Jaques into our racing program will help stimulate our team’s performance.” Lazier will be available to the media following the first practice session on July 30 at MIS. Toyota, Bridgestone/Firestone and CARA combined in April to produce the bracelet, or ‘racelet’ as they have become known in racing community. The bands, which are sold for $2 at most major open-wheel racing events, supports CARA Charities’ “Buckle Up Baby” program. “We are thrilled with the reception of the ‘Buckle Up Bracelet’ throughout the racing community,” said Barbara Butz, president of CARA Charities. “With the popularlity of the silicone bracelets around the world, we felt a checkered ‘racelet’ would be a great addition for racing fans, as well as creating more revenue for our successful Bridgestone/Firestone Trust Fund Buckle Up Baby program. We’re excited to give more money to needy families.” Since 1993, CARA Charities and the Bridgestone/Firestone Trust Fund have donated more $700,000 worth of child safety seats to needy families across the U.S. through the “Buckle Up Baby” program. The program donates safety seats to hospitals, medical centers and clinics across North America. CLEANEVENT 100 WHAT: WHERE: WHEN: DISTANCE: CARS: PREVIOUS RACE WINNERS: 2004 SERIES CHAMPION: TV: SCHEDULE: (all times local; subject to change) Friday, July 15 Saturday, July 16 2005 MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES STATISTICS Driver Points Entrant Points Wins Pole Positions Laps Led STORY IDEAS: Cunningham seeks first win: Cunningham, a former world karting champion, holds the series points lead on the strength of four consecutive second-place finishes. He is still seeking his first victory in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Cunningham’s qualifying efforts have improved in each of his last three races on ovals, including a fourth-place start at Texas on June 11. Cunningham is the first driver in IRL history to finish second in four consecutive races. In 2001, IndyCar Series driver Sam Hornish Jr. recorded three consecutive second-place finishes. Sam Schmidt drivers rank second, third and fourth in points: Sam Schmidt Motorsports established itself as the team to beat in 2004 when driver Thiago Medeiros dominated the Menards Infiniti Pro Series with six victories in 12 races. This year, the Schmidt camp boasts three drivers fighting for the series championship. Travis Gregg ranks second. Jaime Camara, winner of the Futaba Freedom 100 at Indianapolis, is third, and Chris Festa, an Atlanta native who recently completed his freshman year at Florida State University, ranks fourth. Sam Schmidt serves as inspiration: Team owner Sam Schmidt continues to serve as an inspiration to many people inside and outside of racing. A former IndyCar Series driver, Schmidt was paralyzed in a practice crash in 2000. He came back one year later as a team owner. Last year, his team dominated the Menards Infiniti Pro Series winning the championship with driver Thiago Medeiros. Medeiros led all 77 laps at Nashville in 2004. PRE-RACE QUOTES: JAIME CAMARA (No. 1 CELG-Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “The race at Nashville Superspeedway should be very good. Last year, Sam Schmidt’s car dominated the race, and I think everyone at the team is really excited to get back to the track. I’m hoping the weekend will be very successful for me and for the race team. Every track Sam had success last year, we’ve had really good cars this year. I feel we’ll all three be ready to go. “They’ve been giving me a hard time over going to a Southern racetrack but, hey, I’m the southernest Southerner in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Anybody from further south than Brazil or live further south than Miami? Hey, in my neighborhood (Miami), Nashville is ‘up North.’ Now all I need to do is figure out how to say, ‘Ya’ll’ in Portuguese.” WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 33 Visit New Zealand Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “We were really, really quick at Nashville when we tested there. We went there with a really good setup. The team did a reasonable job there last year. We went there and improved it some more. I was really happy with how the day ended up, and we’ve got a little bit more coming.” “There are no surprises coming up, which is really good. We’ve got two road courses, two tracks that we’ve tested at. Kentucky I’ve been to, and Chicago and California are just like the other mile-and-a-half, two-mile ovals, so the rest of the season is pretty panned out, which is good.” (About the importance of qualifying well) “I was really happy with how we qualified at Texas, which was fourth. We were so close to the front. If I would have run just slightly different we could have improved two positions, so to be on the front row would have made the race a lot easier. For sure on these small tracks, it’s going to be important to qualify really well.” CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “This weekend will almost be like a hometown race for me. It’s a short trip - it’s only about three and a half hours to drive from Atlanta. Maybe some of my friends will get to see me race so they’ll know what I’ve been trying to tell them all these years about why I like open-wheel racing better than stock cars. I’m looking forward to racing at Nashville. It’ll be interesting to deal with the concrete track surface and the high speeds. Sam (Schmidt) has had a lot of success racing at Nashville, so I know I’ll have a great car − that means I’ll be able to focus on racing the track and working on the best line around the track.” TRAVIS GREGG (No. 7 Lucas Oil Products Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Nashville Superspeedway hasn’t been around for a long time, but it’s already starting to build a tradition. I know the people in the area are great fans of motorsports, and that makes you feel pretty good. The racing in the IRL and Menards Infiniti Pro Series has been great all year. True, it won’t be like the old slam, bang stock car races they used to have at the track at the Fairgrounds, but I think the folks who come out are going to see a great race. The competition in the Pro Series and IndyCar Series is pretty stout – if you like passing, you’re going to see a lot of it. “I’m really looking forward to it. I was able to get a couple hours of track time a few weeks ago to familiarize myself with the track. Being a concrete oval, it has some bumps and a slightly different grip level than the asphalt tracks. Car setup is going to be key. I’m ready for the challenge, and I’m ready to fight to regain the points lead.” ARIE LUYENDYK JR. (No. 3 Karcher Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “I think the biggest thing about Nashville is the surface. It’s concrete, so it reacts differently to the cars. I think it will be a pretty challenging race, because it’s going to be late in the afternoon. It’ll probably be pretty hot. It differs a lot from the small tracks and the big tracks, because it’s kind of in between, so you can get flat there for qualifying, but for the race, it’s pretty difficult. You’re going to see a lot of cars going away towards the end of the race, so I think it’s going to be a question of how hot it is, and if your car is good enough to deal with all the conditions of the track.” BUSCH FASTEST IN ALLSTATE 400 AT THE BRICKYARD TUNE-UP INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, July 6, 2005 – NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series drivers Kurt Busch and Ricky Rudd improved upon their test speeds from July 5 during testing of race setups July 6, putting the wrap on a two-day Allstate 400 at the Brickyard test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reigning series champion Busch set the fastest lap of the test July 6 at 180.208 mph in the No. 97 Crown Royal Ford. Rudd’s fastest lap of the day in the No. 21 Motorcraft Genuine Parts Ford was 178.999, slightly faster than his July 5 top speed of 178.937. The second day’s higher speeds came despite more sunshine and higher temperatures and humidity. The drivers are testing in anticipation of the 12th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 7 at the legendary 2.5-mile oval. “We’ve got one car that we put away, and we’re pretty happy with it,” Rudd said. “We’ve been working with another car, just to have two good cars. We’ll figure out which one is best when we come back. We struggled a little bit today with it, getting it to stay where the speeds stay quick.” Busch and 1997 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Rudd took advantage of the two full days of testing at the Speedway while Busch’s Roush Racing teammate, Carl Edwards, tested only July 5. Edwards was fastest Tuesday at 179.165 in the No. 99 AAA Ford. Jimmy Spencer also joined the group July 5 in the No. 50 Arnold Motorsports Dodge, but crashed in Turn 1 in the afternoon, causing heavy rear-end damage to the only car the team brought to Indianapolis. While Busch said he’s antsy to see how his car and tires react in traffic on the Speedway’s newly repaved surface, he was content to take advantage of a day at IMS virtually to himself. “There’s pros and cons to (a small test),” Busch said. “It gives us more track time; you don’t have to worry about people blowing up motors or getting into accidents. It gives us plenty of track time, really. It’s so hot out; it’s hard for us to gauge the kind of speeds we’ll be able to obtain next month. We’re just fine and dandy all by ourselves.” Private testing continues July 11-12 at IMS, when 23 cars are scheduled to turn laps. Drivers schedule to test include current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points leader Greg Biffle, his Roush Racing teammates Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth, Rusty Wallace, and former Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winners Bobby Labonte and Kevin Harvick. More of NEXTEL Cup’s “heavy hitters” are scheduled to test July 18-19. A total of 17 teams and drivers will turn laps, including four-time Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon, fellow former race winners Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott, and Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Stewart and Gordon are scheduled to test only July 19. UNOFFICIAL SPEED REPORT, NASCAR NEXTEL CUP TESTING INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2005 QUOTEBOOK RICKY RUDD (No. 21 Motorcraft Genuine Parts Ford): “We’ve got one car that we put away, and we’re pretty happy with it. We’ve been working with another car, just to have two good cars – we’ll figure out which one is best when we come back. We struggled a little bit today with it, getting it to stay where the speeds stay quick. It’s one of those deals where you could use three days with it.” (What about qualifying setup work?): “The track’s going to be quite a bit different when we come back. The race setup tends to be much more consistent than your qualifying setup. One of the nice luxuries with the top 35 points is you can focus on things that are more important to the race. Qualifying is not quite as important, even though track position is very important here. I don’t think you’ll see track conditions change as drastically as they have in the past. The last time we were here (IMS) had a ground surface, and it seems to be more consistent than it was without a ground surface.” KURT BUSCH (No. 97 Crown Royal Ford): “There’s pros and cons to both sides. It gives us more track time; you don’t have to worry about people blowing up motors or getting into accidents. It gives us plenty of track time, really. It’s so hot out; it’s hard for us to gauge the kind of speeds we’ll be able to obtain next month. We’re just fine and dandy all by ourselves.” (You had cooler temperatures yesterday, and it’s more hot and humid today. So at least you’re getting a range of conditions): “You never know. Sometimes we come here and it’s 60 degrees in the mornings, and the track’s nice a cool, very fast. Then it goes to 100 degrees in the afternoon and the asphalt will go up to 140, so that’s when it really changes, when the asphalt temperature changes.” (At least you can keep the secrets all to yourselves?): “This is great. Normally when you come to Indy you’ve got a big group of cars, but this feels like we rented the place out for a private test all by ourselves.” (How are the tires reacting to the new surface?): “The track is a bit abrasive and that provides for great speeds, but right now it’s so hot out, it’s hard to get that speed out of it. The track is just so green; there’s not enough cars out here. When we show up for the race, we’ll have 55 cars out here trying to make the race. Then the track will fill in, and we’ll be ready to go.” SCHECKTER CLAIMS VICTORY IN BOMBARDIER LEARJET 500k; GREGG WINS SECOND RACE OF SEASON FORT WORTH, Texas, Saturday, June 11, 2005 –Tomas Scheckter claimed his first IndyCar Series victory since 2002, beating two-time race winner and IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. to the checkered flag by 0.0534 of a second – the 10th-closest finish in the IndyCar Series’ 10 years. Gregg, who leads Cunningham by four points in the series point standings, won by .0424 of a second – the third closest finish in Menards Infiniti Pro Series history. SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone), finished second: “It was a great race out there tonight. We didn't have quite enough power on our own so we kept trying to radio the No. 4 car and tell them we'll go wherever they go. We knew they were fast. Out here it's really tough to be able to pass on your own cause you got to go on the high side, so you need to have someone push you. So I said I'll push. We'll follow along. The whole Marlboro Team Penske crew did an awesome job. We had a car that we could run right in behind people, which is what you really need to have here. The pit stops were awesome as usual. We just kind of went about our day, and we were in the right place at the right time and worked with the right people." TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone), finished third: “I think it was exciting for you guys. We didn’t quite have the speed to win the race tonight. I think Scheckter deserved to win. He had the best car all weekend. He drove a smart race. You have to know how to lose if there is any good way. We did the best we could today.” SCOTT SHARP (No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone), finished fourth: “I am really ecstatic. We were pretty loose early in the race and for the first couple of stints. I really had to fight the car a bit in traffic. The Delphi Fernandez team just did an awesome job. They did a great job in the pits and that catapulted us forward. Chris (Finch) and John (Ward), our engineers, made some great changes on the car and really dialed us in. It was a great finish for us. I tried to get Tony (Kanaan) there at the end. I got a couple of runs up, but I just didn’t have enough speed to get around him.” HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone), finished fifth: “I’m really happy with our performance today. We definitely bounced back from a few tough races and I’m happy with our finish. We didn’t have the fastest car out there, but we did what we needed to do. The Marlboro Team Penske crew did a great job tonight. I wish we could have caught the lead pack in the end, but again I’m satisfied with fifth, and I can’t wait to go to Richmond in a few weeks.” DANICA PATRICK (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent Pioneer Panoz/Honda/Firestone), finished 16th: "It's one thing running by yourself, but you put a bunch of other cars out there in different elements. Like I've said all along all year, the car moves around a lot. You have to understand and have a grasp of what is going to happen. I'm still not used to it and still not sure always of what it's going to do. Practicing yesterday, I think we were running in front of people and the car was kind of oversteering. Then I went and filled up with fuel. I would get into a run and we would have understeer behind people. It was just changing all the time. We're still figuring things out." VITOR MEIRA (No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Menards Johns Manville Panoz/Honda/Firestone), finished ninth: “We had a good car tonight, but we lost contact with the lead pack in the middle of the race. We couldn’t get back in touch with that lead pack. The bigger pack was able to pull away from the smaller pack of Dan (Wheldon), Dario (Franchitti) and me. Tomas (Scheckter) had a very fast car tonight. He was pushing that lead pack too. I was surprised by so many green flag laps too. It wasn’t like a normal Texas race with yellow flags in the middle of the race. I think we ran the last 120 laps under green. That is very surprising. My car felt very good all race. In fact, I ran flat (on the throttle) for one and a half stints (fuel runs). Actually, my right foot was getting a sore from stomping on the throttle. But I don’t know why we couldn’t race with the leaders. Timing is something that happens in a race like that. We just had some bad timing. I was able to stay in fifth in points right now, and we are going to Richmond next. I was second there last year so maybe we can be better this time around.” KOSUKE MATSUURA (No. 55 Panasonic ARTA Panoz/Honda/Firestone), finished seventh: “It was an outstanding race for us. Except for the last pit stop, our strategy, our car, our setup, just everything was perfect. On the last pit stop, when I entered the pit lane, there was another car in front of me and I lost of couple of seconds there. On the out lap, I lost front wheel grip and nearly went onto the race track. It was really scary. The car was really good for the last stint. On the last lap, I was in sixth place but Dan Wheldon was a little bit quicker than me so I had to give up a position. I think we did a great race, and I am looking forward to Richmond.” ROGER YASUKAWA (No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone), finished 15th: “It sounds strange, but this was really our first decent finish for Dreyer & Reinbold. The car was quick at the start, but picked up a lot of push midway through the race, and we lost the draft. After that, we didn't get the yellows we needed to pack us up together again. We just needed to finish the race to show we could be in the hunt. Now, we have to keep the rhythm because we're capable of a top-10 finish and even a top-five." SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone), finished 11th: “It wasn’t too bad a race for us actually as the Target Toyota Panoz was very decent all race long, and we were able to race with the leaders and put in some really good runs. It was loose at first, but we put in a bit of front wing and it settled down. It was another good Texas race under the lights, and while we had hoped to be a bit stronger, we’ll take the result and build on it.” RYAN BRISCOE (No. 33 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone), finished 12th: “This is an unreal track and racing under the lights and in front of a great crowd was really something. It was definitely a tough race with not much time to take a breather. The car was loose in traffic at first, but we made changes in the first stop and the Target Toyota was much stronger but by then we had lost the lead pack and it was very difficult to make it up. The Target crew did a great job on the stops, and I feel like I’ve gained a lot of valuable experience today so I feel pretty positive about tonight’s result as a whole.” FIRESTONE 100 POST-RACE QUOTES: TRAVIS GREGG (No. 7 Lucas Oil Producs/Sam Schmidt Mspt Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone), Firestone 100 winner: “I’m really excited. Starting from the pole, I was going to make it really hard for people to pass me. That’s what my strategy was. Chris (Festa) and I were going to work together, and he’s was going to try make a run for it and get around me. I’m really happy for the Sam Schmidt team. They did a great job this weekend.” (About Festa’s move for the lead): “He got next to me, but it’s hard to make a high-line pass. We had to keep it low, and that’s what we did today.” CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 Western Union-CareCentric-SSM Dallara/Infiniti/ Firestone), finished third: “There was some good battles going on today. Our strategy Travis (Gregg) and I set up before the race, I would just tuck in behind him if I didn't get him at the start. He and I would just draft each other for most of the race. We tried to open up a little bit of a gap on them, but unfortunately the other guys had good cars too, so they were able to stay right with us and just battle the whole time.” WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 33 Visit New Zealand Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone), finished second: “I think one person would have always gone to the front down the inside, but two people wouldn't have gone around two Sam Schmidt cars on one go. He probably didn't want to help me and I didn't want to help him. We were kind of backwards and forwards through it swapping out the third for quite awhile. I was kind of hoping that Chris (Festa) would overtake Travis (Gregg) again, but he never got quite past them.” (About Indy next week): “It’s going to be great. It’s not going to be a big oval, so it’s going to give some of us other drivers an opportunity to do well over there. I think it will be a good race for sure. Some more drivers will come back. (Marco) Andretti and some others will be there, so it should be a good race.”
Super Aguri Fernandez Racing Post-Race Notes Matsuura Claims Seventh at Texas Bombardier Learjet 500™ Results: Kosuke Matsuura, #55 Panasonic ARTA Panoz/Honda/Firestone: KOSUKE MATSUURA FAST FACTS: This was his third appearance at Texas… was sidelined from finishing both 2004 Texas events due to mechanical problems (electrical and gearbox)… led the first laps of his IndyCar Series career at Texas last June… this was his 22nd IndyCar Series career start… best starting position to date this season was seventh in St. Petersburg… best finish to date this season was ninth in Japan… is in his second season of IndyCar Series competition… earned 2004 Bombardier Rookie of the Year honors… named Bank One Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500… recorded his IndyCar Series career-best finish of fourth at Kentucky Speedway last season, and claimed his career-best starting position of second at Michigan… 25 years old from Aichi, Japan… finished third in the 2003 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup Championship with three wins and eight podiums… finished second in German F3 competition in 2002 with two wins and six pole positions… won the 2000 Japanese Formula Dream Championship with six wins and eight pole positions… currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tom Anderson, Managing Director: IRL IndyCar Series Bombardier Learjet 500k Fort Worth, Texas - Results Saturday of the Bombardier Learjet 500k IRL IndyCar Series event June 11 at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any) and money earned: 1. (1) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 200, $121,400 2. (4) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 200, $83,650 3. (13) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, $69,600 4. (16) Scott Sharp, Panoz-Honda, 200, $58,500 5. (10) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 200, $51,600 6. (8) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, $45,600 7. (14) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz-Honda, 200, $44,400 8. (6) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 200, $43,300 9. (5) Vitor Meira, Panoz-Honda, 200, $43,300 10. (11) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 200, $42,000 11. (15) Scott Dixon, Panoz-Toyota, 200, $40,800 12. (12) Ryan Briscoe, Panoz-Toyota, 200, $39,600 13. (3) Danica Patrick, Panoz-Honda, 200, $38,500 14. (20) Alex Barron, Dallara-Toyota, 199, $37,100 15. (18) Roger Yasukawa, Dallara-Honda, 199, $36,000 16. (21) Patrick Carpentier, Dallara-Toyota, 199, $34,900 17. (9) Darren Manning, Panoz-Toyota, 199, $33,600 18. (22) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 198, $33,600 19. (2) Tomas Enge, Dallara-Chevrolet, 194, $32,400 20. (19) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Toyota, 63, Accident, $31,300 21. (7) Buddy Rice, Panoz-Honda, 25, Mechanical, $31,300 RICE CLEARED TO COMPETE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, June 1, 2005 – Rahal Letterman Racing driver Buddy Rice will be back on the track next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. HIT ROCK BAND 3 DOORS DOWN TO PERFORM ON INDY 500 RACE DAY INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, May 24, 2005 – Chart-topping rock band 3 Doors Down will perform two songs during pre-race ceremonies for the 89th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The band will play their hit single, “Let Me Go,” from their latest album and their 2000 smash hit, “Kryptonite.” 3 Doors Down has sold more than 12 million records since their debut in 2000, their third studio album, “Seventeen Days,” was released in February on the Republic/Universal label. “Let Me Go,” the first single from the new album, has earned top-10 status on most rock radio stations and has landed in the top 20 on the various Billboard rock charts since its release in December 2004. The national popularity of “Let Me Go” is yet another success for 3 Doors Down, which has had six No. 1 singles since 2000 – “Kryptonite,” “Duck & Run,” “Loser,” “Be Like That,” “When I’m Gone” and “Here Without You,” making it one of the most popular and consistently successful rock bands in recent history. 3 Doors Down was the first debut act ever to have had a No. 1 single at four different radio formats simultaneously with “Kryptonite,” according to Billboard magazine, and the quintet went on to win the 2003 Billboard Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Group and Best Hot 100 Single, as well as earning the distinction of seeing “When I’m Gone” become the most played song on the radio in 2003 according to the Nielson ratings. The band has gone on to win other awards including the 2005 BMI Songwriters Award for “Here Without You.” A mix of aggressive rock and plaintive ballads has helped 3 Doors Down become one of the top live concert draws in North America, performing more than 300 sold-out live shows per year. The band’s last release, the live EP “Another 700 Miles,” earned gold status in 2003. The band, from Escatawpa, Miss., consists of Brad Arnold (lead vocals), Matt Roberts (guitar), Todd Harrell (bass) and Chris Henderson (guitar). 89th INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT – MBNA POLE Tony Kanaan, Michael Andretti, Kim Green, Kevin Savoree Sunday, May 15, 2005 MODERATOR: If you could, Michael, talk about the entire day. You have four drivers, all talented. You have to balance the needs of all. Interesting situation. Q: Michael, Tony put up some pretty impressive laps earlier in the week. But it seemed all anybody was interested in talking about was Danica. Was that a situation you liked, having the spotlight on somebody else? Q: Michael, as Kevin touched upon, you came here so many times with competitive machinery, led a lot of laps. Now as co-owner of a top team, where does it stand ticking off one of the goals of having a pole? What does that do as an owner? Q: This hasn't been the easiest month for Andretti Green Racing because of the accident that occurred in San Francisco, with two of your longest-lived employees. How do you rally around this and how do you overcome these difficulties? Has this been something that's motivated the rest of the crew? Q: Michael, when you talk about, as others have, about Danica being good for the sport, being up there, good for the series, did that feeling extend to when you saw her car wiggle a little bit on that first lap and saw that it was going to be a flawed lap? Did that feeling extend to being disappointed a little bit for her or a little bit of a thrill of she's going to have a flawed lap? Q: Michael and Kim, this month we've seen a couple of flying cars. Obviously, for you that's pretty close to the heart because you've seen that before. A comment from you about the cars flying. Then also from Kim, if there's anything that can be done. Is it because the cars are so finely balanced now? Q: Michael, Kim talked about how the car stayed in a pretty good groove. How tough was that to do the last couple of days with the change in weather? And, Tony, kind of pick up on that, as well. What was your feeling when you realized you didn't have to go back on the track, you were able to take your helmet off? Q: Tony? Q: What was it like when you realized you didn't have to go back out? Q: Your resume now has the IRL series championship and an Indy 500 pole. Can you put this in perspective? Q: Tony, Bryan Herta said earlier this week that the race – this is a race where generally the fastest car finds its way to the front and it often wins. The key is to have the fastest car. After today, you've got the fastest car. Talk little bit about the advantage that is to be able to know that. Q: Tony, do you think things are coming together to the point, being on the pole, with a few years of experience here now, that this could be the year? What gives you the confidence to believe this could be the year? Q: Tony, to ask you what I asked Mike, what were your thoughts when you saw Danica's car wiggle a little bit in the first corner and realized she was going to have a flawed lap? Were you disappointed for her or was there a thrill there? Q: Was it a thrill? Q: Tony, you were joking you were going to have a beer while you waited. How did you actually kill your time for those five hours? Q: How much more intense would this format have been if they had been able to run yesterday, slugging it out with 11 cars instead of down to 22? Q: Michael? Q: Kim or Michael, after Dario's practice lap this morning, everyone seemed really happy and really excited. I kind of caught the feeling that you thought maybe he'd be the guy on the pole today. After he went out in that first attempt, had to come back in, he told us he had a fuel cell problem, did you feel going into that that he might have been the guy, perhaps not Tony? Q: Dario said going out three times today was nerve-wracking. During the day, Tony, did you have any desire to go out and practice and see what was missing? Were you bugging anybody on your team about going out and practicing? Q: Tony, come race day, what is the biggest advantage in your mind starting up front and starting from the pole? Q: For the owners, obviously you have a situation that we've talked about where you pulled together, it's been so important to your success. In any good organization, internal competition is also good. You have some very talented race car drivers. You appear to have a couple of race drivers, one that is very happy, one that's reasonably happy, and a couple that may not be so happy. How do you deal with that internally? That would strike me as something that is a little bit difficult to juggle. Q: We know nobody has ever picked on anybody else. INDIANAPOLIS - Qualifying Sunday for the 89th Indianapolis 500 IRL IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and four-lap average speed. Top 22 positions filled today; final 11 positions to be filled May 21-22: 1. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 227.566 2. (6) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 227.273 3. (8) Scott Sharp, Panoz-Honda, 227.126 4. (16) Danica Patrick, Panoz-Honda, 227.004 5. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 226.927 6. (27) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 226.873 7. (17) Vitor Meira, Panoz-Honda, 226.848 8. (55) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz-Honda, 226.397 9. (95) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Chevrolet, 226.353 10. (2) Tomas Enge, Dallara-Chevrolet, 226.107 11. (4) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 226.031 12. (36) Bruno Junqueira, Panoz-Honda, 225.704 13. (9T) Scott Dixon, Panoz-Toyota, 225.215 14. (5) Adrian Fernandez, Panoz-Honda, 225.120 15. (37) Sebastien Bourdais, Panoz-Honda, 224.955 16. (26) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 224.308 17. (24) Roger Yasukawa, Dallara-Honda, 224.131 18. (7) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 223.972 19. (10) Darren Manning, Panoz-Toyota, 223.943 20. (70) Richie Hearn, Panoz-Chevrolet, 222.707 21. (44) Jeff Bucknum, Dallara-Honda, 221.521 22. (51) Alex Barron, Dallara-Toyota, 221.053 KANAAN WINS MBNA POLE AWARD AT INDIANAPOLIS 500INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, May 15, 2005 – 2004 IRL IndyCar® Series champion Tony Kanaan went out early in qualifying, posted the best time and then waited. And waited. His patience was finally rewarded. Kanaan, third in the qualifying line, won the MBNA Pole Award for the 89th Indianapolis 500 after recording a four-lap average of 227.566 mph (2 minutes, 38.1961 seconds) on a cool and breezy day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr., who had the 10th-best speed through the initial round of qualifiers, withdrew the car per the qualifying rules and made a second run at 4:30 p.m. (EDT). Hornish improved to second after a four-lap average of 227.273 mph. That bumped Scott Sharp, who kicked off qualifying with a four-lap average of 227.126 mph, to third. “We made a couple adjustments to pick up more downforce so we’d have more grip around the track," said Kanaan, who posted qualifying laps of 227.821 mph, 227.771, 227.459 and 227.212. "I’m pleased with my run. I think I pushed too hard too soon, but I’m pleased with the run." The front row for the May 29 classic is comprised of IndyCar Series champions (Kanaan, 2004; Hornish, 2001 and '02; and Sharp, 1996 co-champion). It is Kanaan's sixth career pole, and his first for the 500-Mile Race. IndyCar Series rookie Danica Patrick also had consistent lap speeds -- on her final three (227.638, 227.623 and 227.860). But the first lap of 224.940 mph (she had to lift when the car developed a wiggle coming out of Turn 1) prevented her from challenging for the pole. She will start on the inside of Row 2. "We just missed it a little bit," Patrick said. Patrick, the highest-placed woman in “500” history, will be joined by two-time race winner Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti. Castroneves had posted the fourth-best time earlier in the session, but Marlboro Team Penske owner Roger Penske withdrew the time at 5:50 p.m. for Castroneves to make a run at the pole. Driving the No. 3 Toyota-powered Dallara, Castroneves started strong with a lap of 227.330 mph. But he fell off the pace and fell one spot to fifth on the grid. Twenty-two cars qualified under the new procedure, with the No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone driven by Alex Barron checking in at No. 22. Barron's time had been bumped by Franchitti's time, but he returned for an attempt with 35 minutes remaining. He posted a four-lap average of 221.053 mph. Rookie Ryan Briscoe's No. 33 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone made contact with the retaining wall between Turns 1 and 2 on his third warm-up lap. He climbed from the car without assistance and was checked and cleared to drive. RUBBERQUEEN QUALIFYING FOR THE MBNA POLE QUOTES Sunday, May 15, 2005 ALEX BARRON (#51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): (About qualifying time and conditions): “We were a little slow, but we backed up what we thought we were going to do, within half of a mile an hour. We hit the gearing right. Conditions changed some from what they were this morning.” (About his setup): “We have focused mainly on qualifying during practice, so we knew kind of what we had coming into today.” DARREN MANNING (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone): (About conditions): “(With) these cold conditions, there’s a lot of downforce and a lot of horsepower. These are pretty good conditions and pretty stable.” (About starting position): “This race is so long. Anything can happen from anywhere on the grid.” (About his run): “This was the best I could do at the moment with the downforce level that we have on the car. This was the first time I’ve been in the car since the accident on Thursday, so I just wanted to make sure I had a good, confident car underneath me – something that wasn’t going to put me in the wall again. I know we’ve got a bit of downforce we can take out of the car to go a little bit faster. So, we’ll just see if we need it. We’ve got two more attempts also if we need it. We were quite lucky to go out pretty early on. We can definitely get one or two more runs in that. This morning in the practice session, it took me a while to get up to speed, just getting back up to speed in qualifying trim. So we know we’ve got a lot of downforce to take out of the car. Maybe not as much as what Ryan (Briscoe) did. I think 2 mile an hour later on this afternoon might be something to go for.” (About going out after the accident): “Going through Turn 2 this morning, it took me a while to put my foot to the floor through there, I’ll tell you. That SAFER wall is definitely not soft. Whatever anybody tells you, it’s not soft, but it’s safe, so that’s good.” (About going out to qualify again): “I know there’s more time in the car. I know there’s a couple more miles per hour. We’ve got to sit down with Chip and the engineers. The only way to go faster for me now is to take downforce out of the car, and that’s obviously risky, given what Ryan’s just done. I’m in the show now, I think, pretty much guaranteed, I would say, in the top 22. So, is it going to be worth while taking another 2 mph to get two places further up the grid? We’ll have to wait ‘til the line’s gone through once.” SAM HORNISH JR. (#6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “We were not really happy with our run, but we’re glad to be back out there. It wasn’t very good. It wasn’t what we’d thought it could be. The weather has changed a little bit, and the wind’s picked up. It’s turned just a little bit. We were obviously much quicker on our fast lap. We ran around 226.6. I don’t know why we slowed down quite as much as we did. It’s a pretty big deal to pull a car out of the field. You never know. You could pull the car out and it could rain or hit the wall. We’re going to see where we’re at. We know we don’t have to be on the pole or in the first two rows to win this race. You just have to be patient and have a good-handling race car. We’ll just go out there and do the best we can. We’ll just have to make sure our race car is good. That’s about all we can do.” BRUNO JUNQUEIRA (#36 Newman Haas Racing Team Centrix Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “I’m happy. I knew that was the speeds that the car could do. We worked on the car a little. We ran really consistent laps. Maybe not the fastest position that we wanted, but we’re going to be ready for the race. I think the cooler track makes it really fast. It’s windy, but my car is good handling-wise, so we were flat all the way around for four laps. We tested race setup most of the week. We were going to go for the qualifying setup Friday, but we didn’t get much because of the rain. We didn’t have that great of qualifying knowledge, and that’s why we’re not that fast.” (About the new qualifying format): “I think it’s going to be a lot more exciting for the fans. With the rain yesterday and qualifying for three days, it’s going to be very exciting. Especially next weekend.” SCOTT SHARP (#8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “The cold air makes more downforce, but more drag on the car, so it’s pretty impressive. Really, unless the conditions change, I don’t see why we’d come back out. Historically, later in the day, sometimes the winds do die down, the sun peeks out and warms the track up a little bit. If we have a little window of being faster, unless that happens, I wouldn’t see us coming back out. We’ve all seen what other guys have done, we all saw the speeds this morning, a lot of those guys got those times by drafting. Everyone knows, pretty much, what they can do, and I think only if someone is a surprising amount off, maybe then they’ll come back out. The run that we’re running, the speeds that we’re running, the car’s pretty edgy. It’s a bit of a handful, so I don’t think people are dying to do that again.” TONY KANAAN (#11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “We had a chance to try the car this morning, and I liked it. We made a couple adjustments to pick up more downforce so we’d have more grip around the track. I’m pleased with my run. I think I pushed too hard too soon, but I’m pleased with the run. I don’t know if it’s going to be good enough to sit on the pole. I’m going for the pole, but you have to be realistic. I think the first two rows would be good.” (About new qualifying format): “I like it. It makes it exciting. I have two more chances right now. The car is running good, and I could go out two more times and go quicker.” TOMAS ENGE (#2 ROCKSTAR Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): “We found some small things to improve on the car this morning. Overall, I’m happy with the run, and happy for the guys. Now we can just focus preparing for the race.” (On the Chevy engine): “They have made a great improvement from last year. The engine is very strong and we are very happy to be with Chevy.” (On having veteran teammates): “They are great to work with. It helps us to improve our car even more. Buddy and Tomas are very knowledgeable. I try to gain as much information from them as possible.” KOSUKE MATSUURA (#55 Panasonic ARTA Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “I was pretty happy. This time, this is what we were expecting. We expected the same time. Low 226 (mph), which is not bad. I think we can be second or third row. My teammate Scott (Sharp), Tony (Kanaan), and Danica (Patrick)—those guys a little bit faster than me. I think we did our best. I don’t think will go back to the track in a little while. We are done today.” (Is there more speed in car?): “I don’t think we can have any speed.” (About his second year): “Of course, every race is getting comfortable and comfortable. The second time at the Indy 500 race is a lot comfortable. Very comfortable to get up speed. This year, the track surface is different. It is just a different drive, but the racetrack is good.” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (#37 Newman Haas Racing Team Centrix Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “This morning, we were faster than that, and we were a bit faster than Bruno (Junqueira) pretty much the whole time. I definitely said that the Centrix car #37 was going to put 25.8 or 25.7 as Bruno (Junqueira) did. We are going to be in the show. It is the most important thing for the Centrix car, but it is always disappointing when you don’t know why you are not fast enough.” (About qualifying effort): “It was flat all away around. Not much I can do. The Centrix car was good. It was just lacking some speed. Bruno Junqueira had a better package. Now we are in the show I think, hopefully.” (About weather): “It was very cold, so it gives you a bit more downforce. I don’t know quite what to say about all of that. I thought we were going to be a lot faster than that, but we are in the show.” (Are you satisfied?): “I am not satisfied with the speed. The Centrix car is in the field. I did five laps in a row. We took even more downforce out of the car than Bruno did, so I don’t really feel that we had anything left on the racetrack. We worked very hard on the race setup, and the Centrix car is pretty good. We were really able to follow nose to tail, and we will see if it is good enough. We spent three days on race setup and nothing on the qualifying setup, so we were not expecting to be on the pole.” TOMAS SCHECKTER (#4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): “It’s good enough as long as we’re in the field, but I’m not satisfied. Sometimes you go out on a hot and windy day, and you post some unbelievable times. Sometimes you go out on another day, and it just doesn’t come. Before we were a lot stronger. I expected a little bit more, but we’ll take what we can get. We don’t know why we didn’t go as quick. We’ll have a look at it. I’d like to maybe have another go at it, but I’m not sure. The Chevy’s done a great job. I’m a little disappointed with my time, but that’s the way it goes. I have to thank everybody at Panther, Pennzoil, and Chevrolet. They’ve worked very hard. Hopefully, we can be sort of stuck in the field and not have to worry about it and just concentrate on the race car.” (Regarding new qualifying procedure): “It is great pressure. You’re taking time off, so you’ve got the potential to go worse. And that’s the risk you’ve got to take. It’s the gamble you take.” (About Danica Patrick): “My sense is she’s very comfortable. She’s got her head screwed on straight. I think she can do well. She’s got a great package and good people around her. I think she’s going to be on top of it.” ROGER YASUKAWA (#24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “I thought it was going to take about 223 mph to be in the field, and we ran 224 mph so I am happy about that. Now we can focus on getting a setup for the race.” (About the track): “Indy is definitely my favorite track. I finished 10th both in 2003 and 2004, so I am hunting for a better finish than 10th this year.” (About the month): “Our week didn’t start off as well as we had hoped because we didn’t get to run much before qualifying. We just worked to get into the top 22, and hopefully we have accomplished that today. I have to thank Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for giving me this opportunity to run again at the Indianapolis 500.” PATRICK CARPENTIER (#83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “We still have all week. It was such a tough week for us, tough year so far. We’ve got no speed, but it was a joy to drive. I love this place and the track. The car was pretty much perfect. No push, no loose, just need a little bit more power. We need to bring the thing a little bit more forward. I was flat out the four laps, and that is all we can do.” (About confidence of staying in top 22): “No, I am not confident that it is good enough to keep me there. I know this is what we got. It is the fastest we’ve done this week by ourselves. It’s not very much, but we will leave it there. We are going to start preparing for the race. In the race, everything evens out. If we have a good car, we can keep it flat out around the track. We stand a chance, and that’s all we’re going to do.” (If he can get anymore speed): “Man, we’ve done everything, and even at one point, I didn’t even have to turn the steering wheel in the corner to go around, so you cannot do much more than that. The car was as free it could be, and that’s it. Power is key. It is a long track, two and a half miles and to push this thing in the wind you need some ground.” (On if he will qualify again today): “For us, we are not going to go back out there. The speed was pretty much it. We tried everything on the car. We even raced it really hard, and it is still going flat out around the track and gained .4 miles per hour. The wheels are straight. There is nothing else we can do. There’s nothing left on the car. We’ll go racing, and hopefully in the race everything will even out and we’ll be able to race with these guys.” (On not being able to get more speed): “It is unusual. It is the first time in my career. It is very difficult, but that is the way it is. I knew it coming here. I was hoping we could make it a little bit better, and I am still hoping we can make it a little bit better. We are going to keep working very hard, and maybe one of these days maybe we’ll go back up to th e front. If you stop working, then there’s no point doing it. Every time I go back, I’m hoping that we find a solution and find something and get a little bit here and there. I think we are going to get back to the front. If we get back on those tighter tracks, maybe we’ll start going out and the team will start getting a bit excited and try to get the wheel going. It is very difficult to do at this time, especially for the 500.” DANICA PATRICK (#16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent Pioneer Panoz/Honda/ Firestone): (About making another attempt): “We’re going to have to decide whether or not anyone goes any faster. Wheter or not it’s worth sacrificing a front row start or not. But I don’t know. I want to be on pole, so it is tough; it’s tough to decide.” (About the first lap of qualifying): “Just oversteer, the balance is a little bit off. Just got loose and almost spun. I was not expecting to turn right on my qualifying attempt. It’s a good car, but the balance is just one lap off. We’ll have to adjust that and work on it. But it was frustrating from me as I really wanted the pole.” (Did you know how fast you were going during those laps?): “Actually, no, I didn’t know how fast I was going. I had lap times set on my (steering) wheel rather than the speed for the first time on my dash. So I was just doing my best to keep my foot as far to the floor as I could and be smooth.”(What has been the Indy experience so far?): “I’m trying to stay focused, keep my head down and stay on the job. It means a lot that so many people are being supportive.” RICHIE HEARN (#70 Meijer/Coca-Cola Racing Special Panoz/Chevrolet/Firestone): “We’re pretty low on the speed chart, so we’ll have to see whether or not I survive the day. I’m pretty disappointed in how I ran. I ran faster earlier in the week with full tanks, and I just don’t know why. No one on our team knows why we lost so much speed. We’re going to wait and see if we need to go back out. I’ll only go back out if I get bumped. I don’t even really know what I’d do. It wasn’t like I had a problem to fix. I mean the thing is trimmed out, and I just don’t think I can go any faster than what we did, so we’ll see.” (About Chevy’s improvement): “They’ve run well this year. I know they haven’t had the finishes that they’ve wanted, but they’ve had some good runs. They qualified on the pole at Motegi, and a lot of guys are running really good here, just not us, so we’re going to have to figure out why we’re not and put together a good race car.” BRYAN HERTA (#7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone): (Will you go out again?) “I don’t know. If it’s up to me, we will.” (About the run): “It’s obviously a little disappointing, or a lot disappointing, but for some reason this month, we really haven’t ever really been able to get the speed out of the XM Satellite Radio car that we were hoping for. So we’re still searching for it. I didn’t have any particular problems during my run. Obviously, it just wasn’t quite as fast as Tony’s. So, at this point, we’ll probably have to evaluate what we’re going to do. I wouldn’t mind taking another shot at it. The team has to evaluate it and see where we’re going to go. We need to get the track open for practice a bit. We need to make a couple runs, make some adjustments and try to find some speed. We didn’t have a big imbalance in the car or anything that I know we could just put a turn of front wing in and go back out and go faster. So, we’d really have to probably put a whole new set up on and go out and try and see if we can find any more speed that way and that would require some practice time.” (Why are so many drivers disappointed with their runs?): “I don’t think we’ve had so many cars on the track at one time all month as we had this morning because obviously there was a short session, and we had a day off and the track conditions were a lot different. So, everybody was trying to maximize their track time, and the more cars you put on this track, the more draft there is even if there’s five cars on the backstraight. It seems like the wind just swirls and creates more speed.” HELIO CASTRONEVES (#3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): Had a slip-up on the second lap, otherwise we’d be in the second spot right now. You know you can’t get greedy. It could always be much worse so we are happy.” (You always seem to do well here): “When you respect this place, even when you know you are in good shape, you receive respect back. Suddenly it is a mutual thing here.” (About making another attempt at the pole?): “We’re close right now. I don’t think we can get more out of it the way the weather is right now, the way the weather is changing. We’re very surprised at the times. I know what happened during the last lap. Had a little trouble and unfortunately had to lift. That’s why our average was a little lower than we expected. I believe if we can keep this position we’re not going to go out.” (About Danica Patrick): “It’s all about history. When I was (trying) win my third one, but unfortunately, didn’t make it happen. A lot of people get into it and give me a lot of support because of history. Come on, it would be phenomenal, a woman getting a pole position. I know my buddy (Tony Kanaan) would be very upset. I don’t want to destroy that, but that would be great and I’ve said too much.” DAN WHELDON (#26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone): (About the run): “Since the start of the month, we just lost a lot of speed, and we have no idea why. Extremely disappointing. The Indy 500 is way too special for me to sit on a time like that, so, yeah, I’ll be back out. We need to do whatever we’ve got to do to try to go quicker because that’s an extremely disappointing speed for the team and for the engine manufacturer. The organization that I’m in and having the partnership with Honda, you’d certainly expect more. We have no idea, to tell you the truth, why we’re so slow. It’s extremely disappointing. The Indianapolis 500 means a great deal to me and to put in that performance is unbelievable. The guys are working hard. I feel bad for them because they’ve been working left and right. We started out the month with a very fast car, and it’s the same car, the same everything.” (Will you go back out?) “The Indy 500 is way too special for me to sit on a time like that. I love this place and I think I can drive around here quickly, and that’s not the case right now. My laps were pretty much flat out, but we’re just not getting any speeds on the car. Obviously, you’ve got another couple of attempts to beat it, but I think they just wanted a time in the bank just in case anything happened. Although it’s pretty dismal, it is what it is, and we can go out again and try to work on that. I’m normally pretty confident that they can work out what it is, but I don’t think anybody really knows why we’re so slow. If this was the old format, I can guarantee you I would have waved off after about the first warmup lap. I think it’s going to make the field a little bit more competitive because more people can have more attempts, and there’s perhaps not the risk factor that there was the last time. I personally believe you’ve got to stick with the history and tradition of the Indy 500. That’s what makes this race so special, and I personally don’t agree with some of the changes that they’ve made. I really liked it t he way it was. I think what you will see is some really close competition, like I’m going to go out again. People are not going sit on their times like they perhaps would have done before. Certainly for me, the pole is pretty special. I mean. this is the 500…The Indy 500 means a lot more to me than the championship. I’m desperate to win it, and I’d love to have my face on that trophy one day. Judging by today’s performance, I’m not gonna get the pole, so we’ll have to work on race stuff.” BUDDY LAZIER (#95 Panther/Jonathan Byrd’s/ESPN 950 AM Dallara/Chevrolet/ Firestone): “The wind caught me once in Turn 2. I circled 227 mph as a target but didn’t get it. For the conditions, it was a good run. I hate to get greedy, but I wanted a little bit more. The conditions really have a lot to do with it. This is really a rocket ship of a race car. We have a great engineer, Andy Brown, and a great race team. Come Race Day, I think were going to be tough. (About taking another shot at qualifying?): “We need to talk about that. We wanted to get our cars in (qualified), then sit back to see what the conditions change to. Humidity is a big factor. If it goes way down, then the speeds are going to go way up. I think the whole Panther team has cars that are potential front-row cars, so if the conditions are right, we may go for it. It’s up to the team owner. It’s kind of fun, it puts a whole new twist in it. With yesterday being rained out, it’s 22 cars qualifying vs. 11 cars. It’s neat to be able to re-enter a car that has already qualified.” (The Byrds are back. You’re back. Things seem to be going pretty well. How does it feel?): “It feels wonderful. I feel like I’m in the best shape in my life. I just love this place. I love Indy car racing. The big payday is just two weeks away, and we’re doing a lot of work this week in practice for Race Day. It’s all about the 500 miles. But the pole is pretty exciting, too.” VITOR MEIRA (#17 Rahal Letterman Menards Johns Manville Panoz/Honda/Firestone): (About qualifying attempt): “We actually had a very very slight leak, which got a just a touch worse during the attempt.” (What was the problem that pushed you back?): “It was a leak that was nothing. It would have been fine, maybe but we didn’t want to take any chances here. We decided to solve everything and come back again.” (Do you like this different way of qualifying?): “Yes, I like it. Right now I like it. If I was on pole, I would have to say a big NO. We get another chance if we decide to. The weather is changing again. The wind is going to change. So we have to look into it. It all depends on the forecast.” ADRIÁN FERNÁNDEZ (#5 Investment Properties Of America Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “It went better than I thought; I didn’t think we’d get 225 (mph). We just didn’t have enough time on the car this year. With a new car and a new team, it’s just tough. It takes time. We couldn’t catch (teammates) Kosuke (Matsuura) or Scott (Sharp) in that respect. We’re satisfied. We’re solid on the grid, and I don’t think there will be a problem if we bump out, so we’ll just focus on the month and try to have a strong car. It feels very good to be back in a race car. It feels very positive. Very positive after being in Mexico, in the NASCAR car. It’s like, ‘Whoa, this thing is fast!’ I think we’re fine in the field, though. I don’t think we want to go back out. We don’t want to risk, maybe crashing the car. Unless the conditions change a lot. We know we don’t have a shot at the pole, so we don’t want to be in the position of maybe putting the car in the wall. It’s not really worth it. We’ve got the car on the grid, so we’re just going to focus on the race and watch for who gets the pole.” SAM HORNISH JR. (#6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): (About new qualifying format): “I am liking it a little bit better than the old one. We knew we had good car. We just missed a little bit on whatever the first qualifying run we did, gearing or whatever it happened to be. We are just really happy with what we just got out of the car right there. Hopefully, it will be good enough to keep it for the first two rows. There are still quite a few of guys that could go and be fast. I don’t think we will be going out there and trying that again. I don’t know if we are going to take our third attempt.” (About decision to re-qualify): “We were just looking at it. We were like, ‘If we can get up to 226.5 mph average, that is going to move us up to, I think at that time, it was inside the top six or fifth.’ That is a big amount for what we had to gain. We had a lot to gain, and we only had a little bit of time that we really needed to get up there. It was a lot of reward that we had to get and not much as far as risk. After our first run, we were like, ‘We may be out there running again.’ We wanted to make sure that it was not raining. It actually brightened up for a little bit. We were like, ‘Hey, this is going to be good for us, we’re going to get out there and get some practice in.’ These guys just did an awesome job at getting the car turned around and everything. From the time we came in off the track to the time we went out, I don’t know, like five or six minutes for our qualifying run. I was fresh in the car and ready to go.” (About his last two laps being slower): “I think the wind started picking up a little bit, and we got too much push. We knew that we were going to get some push, but we wanted to go back out there and run. It looks like it could rain right now, we wanted to make sure that we got back out on the track and got that run. We knew that it might not be the optimum and might not be the pole run, but we can go out there and qualify ourselves up quite a bit.” SCOTT DIXON (#9T Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone): “It is not bad. We just took a bit of the front grip out of the car just to make sure we could make a good run. It was a little bit too far. We had quite a bit of understeer. We ended up going all the way to the left on the weight jack(er) and a lot stiffer on the rear. It was bad just to get the thing to steer on the last couple laps. At least it was a good, solid effort. The guys have been struggling big time this couple of weeks, so it was good to get it in for Team Target.” (About his year): “I don’t know. You seem to go up and down, up and down. It seems like we are right on the fence. They’re making the car pretty good; then it is not so good. I can definitely see that we are trying.” (About qualifying): “It’s not quite what we were expecting this morning. It was a little bit of a tailspin. We had a lot of understeer and couldn’t even go around the track flat.” (About team’s preparations after first attempt): “I think most of the time, it’s getting a little more confidence after you have a loose car or if you crash to that extent. You sort of go back a couple of steps and make sure that the car has got some understeer in it, and then start working forward again. That’s what we had to do. It doesn’t take too long. It’s a little hard out there when there are people jumping in line and the track is closing again and things like that. It takes a little bit of time. We were trimming out again and trying to jump a few more spots and we sort of sent ourselves in another tailspin. We just started being conservative and put a car in there considering we do not have a ‘T’ car.” (About struggling lately): “I think if we could point things out, then it would probably make things a lot more easier and we should know what to fix. We are trying everything. All of us are definitely putting it on the line as you can see with the occasional crashes that we do have. It is not something that we like to do, but we are working as hard as we can. There might be a couple key things to get on top of and move ahead, but we don’t know what exactly it is at the moment.” HELIO CASTRONEVES (#3T Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “Obviously, I’m not happy with the result, at least I can sleep nice tonight. I had to try. When we did a (practice) run, we did like 227 (mph) and then 228 (mph) all of a sudden. I said, ‘I think we’re gonna be close, but hey, it’s worth a shot.’ Suddenly, I tried and I was a little disappointed, obviously, but I would not sleep tonight if I had not tried. Roger (Penske) came to see me and said, ‘What do you want to do?’ Right there in the middle of the signing thing! He said, ‘It’s your decision.’ Great! It’s my decision! So, I said, ‘Hey, I want to try. I have to try.’ That was a good decision. We only lost one position, so it’s not going to hurt. I tell you they say drama is in NASCAR, I guess drama is here. I mean, this is drama.” (Are you happy with the result?): “With the result? I don’t think so, but I’m happy with me. No doubt about it, it was a tough call and at the last minute. I guess it makes it fun for the fans, but whew, thank God we made it. Qualifying is one thing, and the race is another thing. Now it’s over. The first race is over. Let’s put it this way and now we’re going to focus on the real deal.” (Was the T-car in line as insurance?): “Exactly. Makes sure that if something happened during our run, not a crash, but just like a wiggle or a lift-off or a problem, we wanted to make sure that everything is covered, and that’s why it took so long to go out there. Thank God we didn’t need that.” (What would it mean to win number three?): “If we believe in numbers, so far everything works to myself. I turned 30, my car is number 3, and I’m going for my third. So hopefully, it’s gonna happen.” JEFF BUCKNUM (#44 Investment Properties Of America Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “We just needed to get in that top 22, so we could just take this next week and concentrate on the race car. I guess it made it pretty exciting to have yesterday washed out and not get any practice time for me, which I only had one day (of practice) before this. And that is just a testament to the crew and the Honda engines, which clearly have an advantage. But now that we are in, we’re in, and that is it. We will get to concentrate this next week on the race car, which, to be honest with you, that was pretty much race trim right there doing 221 (mph) no problem. We already have a good race car.” (About possibility of getting bumped on Day 4:) “No, this isn’t the most cars ever trying to qualify for the Indy 500 this year. There’s only so many cars that are going to try, and there’s just a few that have the speed that we have with the Hondas.” (About getting into field): “It is super satisfying I have to say. I knew that we would be in this field. Coming in at the last minute like that was a little nervous for me. Although, it didn’t really hit me at first because I didn’t realize how close the time was at first. We’d just done a practice time that was actually right around where we were qualifying at. I just had to keep reminding myself that it is just another four practice laps, just keep that in my mind. Fortunately, it went really good and we just had a setup and turned out the car just enough to get in that top 22.” (About difficulty with past week): “It made it really easy, I guess. I was listening to Sebastien Bourdais say, ‘Man, we got a break yesterday’ from the rain. I’m thinking: ‘What are you talking about? I got breaks all the time.’ It was very comforting with the team, even with the sitting around. Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl obviously have been here just so many times. The engineers, Ben (Bretzman), all the guys in the crew, all the way down the board. I’m not even just saying this. They knew how to just talk to me, keep me at ease, and say: ‘We are going to be in the field. If it happens today, great. If it doesn’t, we have got next week. We are going to be in there.’ That was our approach the whole way. At the end there, once you are sitting there and you know that you are going to be the last car out there, you can’t help to get a few butterflies. Once you rolled onto the track, as soon as you launched the car up there and got on the track, now you’re just driving.” DARIO FRANCHITTI (#27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone): (On decision to withdraw and try again) “Our gamble paid off. Not a lot but we did move up one spot on the pole. Really, that was all the car had. I went flat out. The run before we made one change and made it a little bit worse. Glad we managed to make that last run. Pretty stressful, you hang out on the edge during qualifying. To do that for two and a half times, I’m ready for bed tonight.” (This format where you can go right back out and try it again is great fun for the fans. But I would think for the racer would be would be a great deal of stress?): “The first time I heard about it this is the exact scenario that ran through my head. Then it turns out that way. We took our full allotment run, and we didn’t quite have enough for Tony (Kanaan) or whoever might be up against us on the pole.” (How about having your teammate Tony Kanaan get the pole?): “I think he’s buying dinner for everyone tonight. I’m happy for him, and he deserves it!” (About day): “This morning the car was very quick. We went out, the first lap wasn’t particularly quick, and then we had a fuel pressure issue, basically we lost all the fuel pressure, so we had to cancel that run. So we came back in, did a bit of practice, and again, the car felt very good. We made one change, went back out and that made the car a little bit too nervous. It was scrubbing speed. So, we came back in. I wasn’t too happy, but I was going to take it. Then, I see Michael (Andretti) and Kevin (Savoree) and Kyle (Moyer) and all those guys huddled in the corner, and the next thing the car is headed down pit lane. OK, I guess we’re going for another one! By that point, Brian Barnhart was leading the car and he said, ‘I know.’ It was the third time I’ve seen him today…The car was good. I think we got the most out of it. I’m reasonably happy. It’s a good place to start.” (How did you like getting three shots to qualify today?): “I didn’t. I think it’s really good for the fans. It’s exciting. When they talked about t his new format, in my head, I’m thinking, I could picture myself, 6 o’clock, Pole Day, going on my third run and sure enough. For me, we improved. I think it’s a better system. I think it does make for more excitement.” (About the car): “It’s high pressure because the car is absolutely on the edge. It’s risky. To do it once is hard enough, but to do it three times, it takes a lot out of you, let’s put it that way. You have to be inch-perfect. You can run around here and do a half-reasonable lap time, but to be quick you have to be absolutely inch-perfect. One small mistake, and you’re going to be in the wall.” RAIN WIPES OUT MBNA POLE DAY; TWENTY-TWO SPOTS DECIDED ON SUNDAY INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, May 14, 2005 – Persistent rain forced MBNA Pole Day Qualifications for the 89th Indianapolis 500 to be moved from Saturday, May 14 to Sunday, May 15, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League officials announced. All on-track activity was canceled at 12:15 p.m. (local time) Saturday after rain fell on the Speedway throughout the morning, preventing any action on the historic 2.5-mile oval. Qualifying for spots 1-22 in the field will start at noon Sunday and continue through 6 p.m. Practice will precede MBNA Pole Qualifications from 9:30-11 a.m. In other news, Paul Dana remains hospitalized at Methodist Hospital. His testing and evaluation was completed Saturday and confirmed that Dana sustained a concussion and fractured T-7 vertebra. He will remain hospitalized until at least Sunday. MBNA POLE QUALIFYING RAINOUT QUOTES: BRIAN BARNHART (President and COO, Indy Racing League): “There were going to be some strategic decisions made by some good teams, and we lost out on a good opportunity for that today.” (About trying to qualify 22 cars on Sunday): “We may have to wait to see how it plays out. It may change the drama aspect about positions 8-12, since they now are going to be where they’re going to stay. You’re still going to have drama about the pole. That’s going to be running all day long, from 12 to 6, just like we did with Helio (Castroneves) a couple of years ago. You’ll still have the drama with the front row and pole, and you’ll have the potential of drama with positions 18-24 as they battle for the 22nd spot.” (About the option of running on Monday): “Monday is something we had as an option available to us. A lot of it is the weather forecast, and the fact that we just really wanted to come out of this weekend with 22 cars qualified. That was our original goal, and doing so means we have to qualify 22 cars in one day. The forecast for tomorrow, although cool, is dry for the whole day. One thing we are going to change because of the anticipated coolness and a high of 58 degrees, is that we are going to add an additional warmup lap. You’ll start and attempt on the third time by instead of the second.” (About decision to use the new format): “Qualifying has evolved every year since the Speedway opened. In 1911, the lineup was set by the order the entry was received, and it’s evolved every year since. It’s always a unique and interesting qualifying procedure. The other thing fans are attracted to is track records, and the days of track records are few and far between just because of the interest in trying to control the speeds, so the other aspect that they like is bumping. We tried to devise a system that saw bumping every day. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see it today.” (About decision to delay): “We decided to do what was in the best interest of the fans as well as the competitors. Even if it stopped raining right now , the conditions are not conducive to drying under the situation. It would take three hours to dry, an hour to practice and you’re not going to start qualifying at 5:30. It’s not fair to the fans or the competitors. We decided to call the day early, and run Pole Day in entirety and give everybody a fair chance under the same conditions.” TOM ANDERSON: (Co-owner and Managing Director, Fernandez Racing): “With the format changing to 22 cars on Sunday, we have a little bit more to think about. With three chances on the same day, though, I think I would still play our cards accordingly. The biggest thing is making sure everybody gets back in the rhythm because, obviously, rain disrupts rhythm. You would prefer rhythm going into qualifying rather than periods of hesitation, which the rain provides." SCOTT SHARP: (No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “It is a shame that we were not able to get qualifying in today particularly from the standpoint that today was supposed to be a bit warmer. From a driver's perspective, I think we all know pretty much where we sit at this stage. You certainly want some practice time to confirm where the car is, maybe do a couple of laps, make any changes and get yourself set for qualifying. As long as the IRL is willing to keep that and give us the time we need, I don't think it matters what day we do it." SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “The rain is unfortunate. Obviously, we were looking forward to getting back on the track today, especially after yesterday’s incident. Our plan was to run both the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske car as well as the backup to help us decide which one would be better for qualifying. We can’t change the weather, so we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to see where we stack up against the competition.” HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): "It's a shame we couldn't get qualifying in today, especially with the new format, but Mother Nature didn't let that happen. We'll see where we're at in the morning warmup, but overall, I feel good about tomorrow. The Marlboro Team Penske guys have been working really hard to make sure we're ready to put the car in the show so hopefully we'll have a good run." TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “I would have liked to have qualified today, but the rain wouldn't let us. So I'll just relax with my wife and look forward to hopefully getting on the track tomorrow. You try to focus on qualifying on a particular day, but you have to have the ability to ride out the weather if necessary.” DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “It seems like we're always dealing with the rain when we come to Indianapolis. The conditions are supposed to be much cooler tomorrow, and we'll have to change the setup for the ArcaEx car a bit for the conditions. I think there will be some added pressure to get in the show tomorrow, to be one of the 22 cars to qualify. Otherwise, you don't have much time to work on your race setup.” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 37 Newman Haas Team Centrix Panoz/Honda/ Firestone): “I woke up this morning and saw the rain and knew I was going to sit around all day. At least it gave us a chance to catch up on preparing the car. We were pretty behind. As a driver, it is frustrating because you prepare yourself mentally for qualifying, and then nothing happens. We have been able to make improvements to the car for the race setup, but we only ran one qualifying simulation. I guess it’s better than nothing, and we will give it our best shot. Realistically, we didn’t have much chance at the pole, but I would be really happy to be in the top-11, but the important thing is to qualify for the race since we will be in Mexico next weekend. Actually, this situation is probably better for us since we can concentrate on getting in the top 22 tomorrow instead of trying to get into the top 11 today and possibly have kept coming up short.” BRUNO JUNQUEIRA (No. 36 Newman Haas Team Centrix Panoz/Honda/ Firestone): “When it rains, there is nothing you can do. On ovals, you have to be patient. I hope I can put the Centrix car in a good starting position, but a top-10 start would be great. It will be tough to get pole, but we are going to go for it and see how close we get. It is supposed to be cooler tomorrow, but that doesn’t change anything for us since we didn’t really get a qualifying simulation in yesterday anyway. I feel really comfortable in Indianapolis. I haven’t run in an IndyCar since the race here last year and got on track on Tuesday and on the third lap we ran a good time. It’s more important for us to have a good race than get a good starting spot so we concentrated on getting a good race setup this week since we won’t be here next week. There is going to be a lot of action tomorrow, and it will be great for the fans. I hope the weather cooperates and a lot of people come out to see the action.” JOHN TZOUANAKIS (Team Manager, Newman Haas Racing): “We would have definitely liked to have seen two days of qualifying, today and tomorrow. It’s going to put a lot of pressure on the team to attempt to get both cars in the top 22 positions that are available, yes. We have a few ideas of what we would do if we don’t, but we’re putting a lot more effort and time into getting the cars into the race, and then if it doesn’t happen we’ll worry about those other options.” (If things don’t work in your favor tomorrow, are there any options for getting the guys back (from the Champ Car event in Mexico) next weekend?): “Some of those things have been discussed, but like I said, the biggest thing is (to) wait and see what takes place tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll get both cars in, and we won’t have to worry about those others options.” TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): “I’m not sure if (the rainout) makes us the favorites for sure. There are a lot of guys out there that are very, very fast. But, we’ve been working very hard. Chevrolet, Pennzoil – everybody has been doing a good job. Half the guys, I really tip my hat off to them, they are working day and night.” (About leading most laps vs. winning): “There’s a lot. This is one of the toughest races in the world, and it is for a reason. Sometimes it is easy to lead a couple of laps, but there is a big difference between leading and winning. I am learning that slowly. I think we had a good race in Japan where I showed a lot of maturity. We were two laps away from it, and I think we really come into this race with a good atmosphere and team and hope we can get it done.” PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “Tomorrow is like it would be today. I am going to go on the track and see if the car is any quicker. We have struggled a bit this week. It seems like anything we have done and no matter how free the car is we are stuck at 219 (mph). We are hoping that we get a little bit more speed and make the top 22 and go work on the race setup. If we have a good race car and stay on the lead lap, anybody has got a chance, so that is what we are going to do.” SCOTT SHARP (No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone): (About chance for the pole) “It would be tremendous. I think it has really become two different races. The race for the pole, then quickly everyone shifts gears and starts working on the important race on the 29th. This whole opportunity with Fernandez (Racing) and Delphi for me has been a tremendous rejuvenation. I would love to do it for all these guys. The opportunity I have with them, we have been working so well together and things have been going great this week. We have a lot of momentum right now. They have given me a lot of confidence. I am pretty excited to go out tomorrow and see just what we have.” RICHIE HEARN (No. 70 Meijer/Coca-Cola Racing Special Panoz/Honda/ Firestone): (About having the opportunity to race): “Yeah, it’s nice to be here at the beginning of the week. Things have gone well for us. It’s been a big chore for the team to get the Chevy and the Panoz together since it has not been done before. The car has run without a hitch, and we couldn’t be much happier, really. We’ve spent a long time working on the race setup, but have also tinkered with qualifying as well. Our main focus is to get in the top 11 and then focus on the race next week.” (About starting the week with a team): “One thing that makes this place different is that you cannot just go out there and cruise around. You must really tune your car for the race. I think that experience comes into play, and I think that sometimes when you are with a big team you can over think that process and almost engineer yourself out of it (the race). If you have a good tight group of guys, whether you have a lot of money or not, you can put together a good race car that will be there at the end.” BOBBY RAHAL (Co-owner, Rahal Letterman Racing): (About Buddy Rice): “I’m disappointed for him to not have a chance. I mean, he's doing a rain dance for tomorrow, but it won't take him long to get on top come Race Day. Danica and Vitor are going to do a lot of good work this week after qualifying. They've already done some full-tank runs. We're going to have good race cars and this is still a team and while we're disappointed, we're thankful that Buddy's okay, but it's a shame that he's not going to have a run at the pole tomorrow, but we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we give him the best race car next Saturday and have the best racecars out there the following Sunday. I think he'll be on a mission, there's no doubt about it.” (About Sunday's weather): “I don't think you're going to see too many runs until late tomorrow, in the old days, it would be because of the line would've been run through. Now, there will be some people who say, ‘Let's wait until Happy Hour.’ Which makes that five or six (o'clock) to qualify see what everybody can throw at you and if you wait all day and you can't get it done, well, you went out at the most ideal time and you get fourth or third or sixth or whatever. I think you won't see people qualifying cars early. They'll wait for Happy Hour. Then they're subject to, if they can't quite get it right and they think they can.” VITOR MEIRA (Rahal Letterman Racing Menards Johns Manville Panoz/Honda/Firestone): (About getting tires up to temperature on Sunday): “That's why they've added the third lap by, for tomorrow, it's an option, you don't have to take it, but you have the choice. Last year, we did have the third lap, last year it was cold, it was very cold, it was very cold on qualifying, and we did use the third lap. It's all a matter of how you approach the day. If you start your lap on the third lap by, you just have to be a little more patient with tires and not start to use them on your previous lap before the green flag. It's just a matter of how you approach it and everything. Last year it was difficult, but the more tires you have, the better.” DANICA PATRICK (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent Pioneer): “I'm not sure how we're going to be. We need to do a couple more full-tank race simulation out there with Buddy (Rice) and Vitor (Meira). See how the cars react a little bit faster than I'm used to, or what I have raced before and I'm sure that I'll have to learn a little bit, a lot a bit, maybe. I'm sure I'll have knots all over my body, and my fiancé (a physical therapist) will work them out. I think that maybe yesterday, if we'd ran the full day, I think that was the first day that people were really trying to be alone and really trying to do runs by themselves. I think if we would've had some towing going on, which would've happened in Happy Hour, no doubt, we would've seen, maybe 228. I think in qualifying, the first lap, you don't want to go out there and do something stupid and end your qualifying right away. And you don't want to do anything that makes you doubt the car. You have to have the most confidence in the world in your car and that you're going to keep your foot down and that thing is not too positive in the front, or you're going to slip in the front end and hit the wall trying to keep your foot in it. So I think the first lap has got to be a confidence builder and knowing where the car's going to be. The second lap, you've got to push it a little bit and go after it after that.” 89th INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT Roger Penske, Tim Cindric, Rick Mears, Helio Castroneves, Sam Hornish Jr. MODERATOR: We have quite a collection of racing talent with us here on the trackside media center. There's no question about that. Rarely do you get a lineup quite like this. Q: Roger, a year ago in the New York Times you had a piece that got people talking again in open-wheel racing about getting the two groups involved back together. There's been some meetings, including somewhat recently. Would you still vote to see one open-wheel series? Do you think there's been any progress in that direction? Q: Roger, along those same lines, this is the 10th running since the split. Do you feel that this race particularly has healed within the racing community and also do you feel that it's healed, as far as the American public is concerned, being involved with NASCAR, too, how much of an avalanche to get out from under does this race face with just the onslaught of publicity of NASCAR? Q: Roger, I hate to belabor the point, but you've got an awful lot invested in your move over here. You have a lot of reputation that you've staked in coming over to the IRL. Do you feel that there's a coherent direction with the way the series is trying to sell itself? From time to time, it seems there doesn't seem a real coherent plan to try to create interest in the other events throughout the series. Q: Helio and Sam, can you guys talk a little bit about what's going on out on the racetrack here this month as far as the speeds, the new surface, and just how you guys think you can stack up against those Hondas tomorrow. Q: Rick, contrary to popular belief, there's so many people who still keep talking in reference to the great old days which probably has been sweetened by memory. How do you feel about your victories as opposed to Helio's victories? Were yours tougher, the competition tougher? How can someone say that and come up to Helio and say, "You won against a bunch of guys who weren't as tough as when you were racing"? How do you address that? Q: Sam and Helio, earlier Roger touched on qualifying, that you don't have to worry about running into another car. You're getting 12 attempts in the same car. I heard they're not giving you more tires. Does that change your outlook on qualifying? If they're not giving you more sets of tires, what do you think of getting 12 shots in one car? Q: Last year at the end of the season when you sat down and reviewed things, were there a lot of things that you thought you needed to change for this year to be successful? Q: Helio, a couple years ago you played kind of a waiting game, went out on a miserable windy day and won the pole. With the new rules where you can pull your car out if you get an early run, then find somebody has passed you by for the pole, is there a chance now you would take that run and then pull the car out and go for it again? Q: Roger, the gap between Penske and the other Toyota-powered teams seems to have increased this year generally on the circuit. How much is your in-house engine build program the explanation for that? SCHECKTER FASTEST ON RAIN-SHORTENED “FAST FRIDAY” Scheckter, driving the No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone, lapped the 2.5-mile oval in 39.5076 seconds, 227.804 mph to claim the Argent Mortgage Fastest Lap award. Scheckter’s lap was the fastest recorded this month. IRL IndyCar® Series defending champion Tony Kanaan was second fastest with a lap of 39.6142 seconds, 227.191 mph. Danica Patrick, who paced the field May 12 in her No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent Pioneer Panoz/Honda/ Firestone, was third fastest at 39.6880 seconds, 226.769 mph. Shortly before the rain began, the yellow flag came out due to an incident involving Paul Dana and Sam Hornish Jr. Dana's car spun in Turn 2 and made contact with the SAFER Barrier. Hornish's car flipped after running over debris. Hornish walked away from the incident and was cleared to compete in MBNA Qualifying. Dana was awake and alert when he was transported to Methodist Hospital where he was listed in good condition after sustaining a spinal fracture and concussion. FASTEST SPEEDS OF DAY TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "We didn't get to run much before the rain came, but we're confident. We shook down the Team 7-Eleven car and everything ran well, which was good. It was a very short day for everybody. Now we'll see what tomorrow brings." DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "It was really warm and humid today, and we don't think this will be very representative of the conditions we'll have tomorrow for qualifying. We'll look to go back to what we learned yesterday, make an engine change, and hopefully the ArcaEx car will be strong for qualifying. It would have been nice to have had another couple of runs before the rain came." SCOTT SHARP (No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “We are excited for qualifying tomorrow. Like many teams, we didn't have a chance to fully do our qualifying runs due to the weather, so we know we have quite a bit of speed yet to show. With the anticipated condition changes that will happen with the storms moving in, everyone will have to rebalance their cars anyway so we will pick up in the morning and really see what we have for speed. I am pretty confident. It would have been nice to have a qualifying simulation with our present package in the bag, but we were working on race setup in the morning and had planned to focus on qualifying this afternoon. The speed of the storms surprised us." KOSUKE MATSUURA (No. 55 Panasonic ARTA Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “This is the day before Pole Day, and we were trying to work a little bit on race setup and then work on our qualifying setup. After our one-hour session on race setup, the rains came. I think we have quite a good setup for qualifying and shouldn't have a problem. I am just looking forward to qualifying tomorrow." ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (No. 5 Investment Properties of America Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “It was a short day. I think there is promise in what we found today and we'll see tomorrow. There is not much to say as we have very limited laps but at least with the laps we did, it does show promise for tomorrow. I am pretty optimistic." LARRY FOYT (No. 48 A.J. Foyt Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone): “We’re going in the right direction, but we were pretty far off on the setup when we started. We’re gaining on it, and we have a long way to go but the good thing is that all the changes were the right changes.” DARREN MANNING (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone): “Well the weather buggered us a bit today as I was hoping to run later in the afternoon. Losing the #10T Target Toyota back-up car in the accident on Thursday was a small setback, but we’ve gotten a lot of good work done and we’re looking forward to qualifying. With the new format it certainly will make things interesting for all involved.” SCOTT DIXON (No. 9T Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/ Firestone): “It’s been a productive week and the atmosphere has been more fun too. I think because there seems to be a lot more people this year probably because they are more excited with format in general. It will certainly make this weekend more intense. Hard to tell where we were at today as we found ourselves chasing the track a bit. We did make some really good gains this week, and the car is really decent. All three of the Target cars are pretty even so we do expect to make the top 11 in qualifying tomorrow. I think we’ll see the top speed in the mid-227 mph range.” RYAN BRISCOE (No. 33T Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/ Firestone): “It’s been a really good week. You can really feel the build up this week. It’s been fun to get to know the history of this place, meet some of the interesting characters and fans and hear the stories associated with this race. On track, the Target team has done a lot of work fine tuning the car for qualifying. I feel really confident with the car. I got to test it in all kinds of different conditions; hot, cool, wind coming at various directions and intensities. I certainly learned a lot, and it’s great to get all the time to test on the oval. I feel like I have a lot of the tools now to be much more comfortable out there. Working with Arie Luyendyk has given me lots of valuable information and has had the effect of keeping everyone on the crew a little more relaxed. The only expectations I have for qualifying is to exercise patience while waiting to qualifying, and maybe re-qualify, and then on track be smooth and fast. I’m confident that Toyota will provide us with a good engine so we just have to go out there and get the job done.” BRYAN HERTA (No. 7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “We didn't get everything accomplished today that we would have liked in the XM Satellite Radio car. We did get one full run and another half run in today before the rain came. I think we're a little better off today because we made some improvements, but we've still got some work to do for tomorrow." ALEX BARRON (No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “We got out there early and got some quality laps in. I felt like we were heading in the right direction, but we weren’t able to really tell because of the rain. We’re going to make some additional adjustments to the car tonight so we’re ready for qualifying tomorrow.” PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “It was a difficult day because we weren’t able to determine whether the adjustments we made have us going in the right direction. We’re just going to have to get the cars ready for qualifications, and hope the work we’ve been doing pays off.” BRUNO JUNQUEIRA (No. 36 Newman Haas Team Centrix Panoz/Honda/ Firestone): “I only ran three laps (at speed), and the car didn’t feel right, so we came back to the garage. We found some things that could explain why the car was acting the way it did and were fixing them then it started to rain. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to work on our qualifying setup because we had to concentrate on our race setup this week. It’s important that we learn as much as we can in the morning practice and then we can try to make a strong qualifying run.” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 37 Newman Haas Team Centrix Panoz/Honda/ Firestone): “We were only able to make one qualifying attempt before the rain came. Obviously, it wasn’t the kind of speed we expected, but the balance was good. Realistically, we took enough drag out of the car to expect a bigger improvement than we had. We should have been at least another mile and a half quicker, but we discovered something on the car that might explain why we were slower than we expected. Tomorrow is another day though. Today, we weren’t satisfied with P9 (position nine), so hopefully, we will be satisfied with a top-five tomorrow.” DANICA PATRICK (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent Pioneer Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “Since it is my first time here, I am not sure how all the rain will affect the grip level on the track. Maybe the track will be back to where it was for Rookie Orientation. We got most of the way through our program today. Although we didn't get a chance to try every trick, I still think we have a pretty good grasp of where things will need to be for tomorrow. This week has gone by so fast. I am still trying to take it all in. It still seems like a dream, but tomorrow, I will make my first qualifying run here at Indianapolis. I think we have a shot at the front row. My goal for tomorrow is to qualify. As a team we want to get both cars in the field tomorrow, and then, we can focus on getting ready for the race. TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/ Firestone): “I suppose this is the right time of the week where you want to pick up your speeds. The team’s done a great job. Chevrolet, they’ve really put a lot of work into it. We knew we had a little bit left, we didn’t know we had quite this much, it sort of surprised me on my first lap by. I thought my dash was a bit broken but, it just shows how much hard work these guys have put into it and I really appreciate it.” (Was there any sort of tow?): “I had four of them (laps) in the 227s so I don’t think there was much help at all. I think the car is very good. It’s an Indy-qualifying car where it’s on the edge and it’s from wall to wall, but that’s where it should be here, and that’s what it takes to qualify on pole and that’s what we’ll do.” (About his luck): “For sure, I think all that bad luck I’ve had before, if it comes right here then it will make up for it, for sure. Again, I don’t want to be speaking too much about luck, I want to be speaking about hard work and what the team’s done and what we have to do to ensure we win this race.” (About his maturity): “I suppose it’s with all ovals, but with this oval you really have to respect it, and it’s like you say, it’s a different level of respect. Each year you come back, again you learn a little more. This track changes by the minute, and you’ve got to be aware of that. Any time you think it’s easy or you think you’re getting on top of it, it catches you out so you’ve always got to be aware. I’ve got good people around me, and it’s helped in everything we develop and me also getting a handle on this track as well.” (About competition for the pole): “I think it's a bunch of guys, you know, it's not going to be easy at all. The Andretti guys are all very quick. I know they've worked very hard. The Rahal guys are doing a great job, so there's a whole bunch of them. And that's what it should be, that's what it takes. It shouldn't be easy to get a pole position at Indianapolis. It's going to still take a lot of hard work and it's still going to take four perfect laps to make it happen. So, there's a whole bunch of guys.” (Do you feel like a true threat for the pole?): “Yeah, I do. And I always have felt that way. You know we worked on our car, and I think that another thing that I've learned as well is how to approach the month and what to concentrate on. It's so easy to get here and then your first run or your second run the car's pretty good and you can not touch it at all and it comes the day before qualifying and you start messing with things. That's the biggest problem that I really tried in the beginning of this week to go back and forth and really find something that I'm comfortable with. So now I'm in the position that I don't want to touch the car at all now.” (Going into today, was everything positive when you made a change?): “Yeah, a lot of times, you step in the wrong direction, but then you know which is the right direction and we did that earlier this week, and we just slowly went at it and put things together and it slowly came together into a car I'm really happy with now.” (Did you do any major changes or just a lot of little stuff?): “In the beginning of the week, we did some major changes, just to see, we learned some stuff from Japan and we wanted to see, "Okay, what happens if we go in this direction?" That stuff didn't work and we had to revert back to it, but we tried to do longer runs and really just get a feel. Sometimes during qualifying runs around Indy, you do little laps and you're just driving on the edge. You don't really feel the change. We preferred to do a little bit longer runs, a little more downforce and get a feel for what's happening on the chassis and come up with a mechanical basis of what really works.” (About Danica Patrick): “Oh, it's great and she's done an unbelievable job. There's no doubt about it. This place really takes a couple of deep breaths to get around here quick, and she's really done a super job as a rookie. She's got great schooling. She's been aro und Europe for a while and I watched her there. Plus, hopefully in a press conference, she's a little bit cuter to sit next to than Tony Kanaan. (Laughter) It makes it a little bit better, but she's done a really great job and I take my hat off to her.” (Tomas, are you as curious as the rest of us as how this new format is really going to pan out tomorrow?): “I'm not sure, because I think you've seen from the times this week, they've sort of stabled out. It's not like they've just gone quicker and quicker and quicker and people have got loads left, and I think after someone's done their first run, considering the conditions don't change massively one way or the other, I'm not sure how many people will go back out again. One thing's for sure, the quickest guy's going to end up on pole and that's really what matters. I think what the Speedway's done with the surface, it's good, it's very consistent, it's good on the tires. I think it should be fine because tomorrow morning we'll do some running, we'll clean it off a little bit and get back to it, so I don't think there should be a problem.” (How far have things come with the Chevy engine, especially since you're in a good position given your great run at Motegi?): “Again, the Chevy guys have really worked hard, and that makes me very, very happy because a lot of people put them down and they've really, really worked very hard, and this is my month to try to convince Chevy to stay in this another year. That would be great. It's a great American company. I'm proud to be carrying a bowtie on my car and pushing me forward. They've worked very hard and it's showing now, but we still have a lot of work to do.” SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): (What was going through your mind?): “Um, this isn’t going to be fun. I came around the corner there, saw the yellow, I was on the brakes, trying to slow down. You don’t want to get on it too hard. Kosuke (Matsuura) got on it real hard the other day when Buddy (Rice) crashed and spun, so I was like, ‘Need to slow it down.’ One of the half-shafts came out of Paul’s (Dana) car and was cart-wheeling down the track. I thought, ‘That’s going to hurt a lot worse if I hit that,’ because you clip the bottom of that you don’t know which direction it’s going to go. It’s a long piece of steel rod that’s going to come back into the cockpit, so I thought I’ll go over there and as soon as I look over I thought, ‘Well, I’d better center that (piece of debris), whatever it is, and I hit it. I thought, ‘That’s going to tear up the bottom of the car,’ and I hit it, but I hit it hard enough that it shook my head so I was looking down, and I thought, ‘That’s going to hurt the car.’ Then I looked up and all I could see was the fence, so then I was like, ‘Maybe the car’s not that big of a deal right now.’ Definitely the wildest ride that I can say I’ve ever taken in one of these cars, but probably the least amount of injury you can have too.” (What was your visual sighting as you were in the air?): “Sky, fence, ground. And I was hoping I didn’t get caught up in the fence because that starts whipping everything around and it’s a lot easier when its (the car) like a piece of Styrofoam flipping through the air. You don’t want to get it … everything seems to jerk around and accelerate when you touch anything as far as the fence or whatever. I didn’t even realize I’d hit my knee until I was sliding upside down, and I thought, ‘That hurts just a little bit.’ Stopped, called the guys and told them on the radio I’m OK. They’re like, ‘What? Are you OK?’ ‘Yeah, I’m OK.’ I thought the antenna’s got to be gone because the one sidepod was ripped off and both antennas on top of the car were gone, so I threw that out, kind of braced myself because I’ve heard stories of people letting themselves go when the belts (release), so I just put one hand down, turned the other one (belt lock) and started crawling out. The safety guys were there.” (So you were out before the safety crew got there?): “I was unbuckled and starting to come out, but my HANS device, when I was trying to get out, kept getting stuck in the grass so I had to have them help me take that off. It was interesting.” (Was your helmet on the ground?): “No it wasn’t on the ground at all. The roll hoop bent a little bit but it was fully intact, but it was good as far as that goes.” Car Driver 89th INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES Brian Barnhart, Tom Anderson, Tim Cindric, Mike Hull BRIAN BARNHART (President and chief operating officer, Indy Racing League): “Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 has evolved throughout the years, beginning with 1911 when the starting order was determined by the date when the entries were received for the event, and has continued to evolve throughout the years, and that continues up to the 89th running this May. In addition to the excitement and drama of going for the pole, determining the starting order, and of course the drama of bumping, there is a new format in place this year that we think is going to add to the excitement and drama for the qualifying format for this year’s race, and that is that we are only going to take 11 cars –the 11 fastest qualifiers on each day – for the first three days. Pole Day will determine positions one through 11, second-day will determine positions 12 through 22, and the third day will determine positions 23 through 33. The fourth day will bump the slowest car regardless of the day it qualified. So what we are really trying to attempt to do (is) to increase the drama and excitement for the fans – and give them what they want – and that’s bumping on each day of qualifying. So once we have 11 cars that accept times on Pole Day, we’ll begin a bumping process on Pole Day. At the end of Pole Day, there will be only 11 cars in the field. So you’ll have the continued excitement and drama of going for the pole and the front row on Pole Day, but you’ll also have the opportunity for bumping on Pole Day. So we’re very excited about the format. We think it carries over a lot of the same traditions that exist. It also has some evolutions and twists. The cars will be allowed – in the past they were allowed three attempts to qualify, provided neither of the first attempts were run to completion. Now they have three attempts per day, even if they run an attempt to completion. If the first run takes the checkered flag, that car can come back either by being withdrawn by the entrant or by being bumped out of the fastest 11. That same car-engi ne combination can come back and run later in the day, up to three times a day. So theoretically, car No. 7 has three attempts on Pole Day, three attempts the second day, three attempts the third day and three attempts the fourth day. Obviously, that’s 12 theoretical attempts per chassis out there. We’re very excited; our thought process behind that is we’re extending the life of the equipment, making more equipment available to the teams to participate. Instead of putting the pressure on a team that has only one chassis and a couple of engines, now they’ve got three attempts on that chassis per day, even if they take the checkered flag, (then) get bumped out later, they can come back and try again. We think it’s going to give the fans what they want, and that’s some bumping on each of the four days of qualifying, returns us to our traditional four days of qualifying that we’ve had. In many ways it keeps the traditions alive but also it changes and adds some new twists and new challenges to the guys that sitting up here with me.” (After a qualifying run, I assume the cars will go through a post-qualifying inspection. How does that change? As you approach 6 p.m., in order for someone to have a chance if they’ve qualified second and want to go back out. Do they have to go through inspection or can they stay out and go back through the qualifying line?): “It brings up a detailed thought process by the (Indy Racing) League. In order for the drama and the strategies to play out that we have anticipated with this format, it’s important for the League to make equipment available to these guys as quickly as possible, especially in the last hour or so of qualifying. So what we’re going to do is a very traditional and normal post-qualifying technical inspection process for cars that qualify between noon and 4:45 p.m. Those cars will come down, if they’ve taken the checkered flag and they’re in the fastest 11 at that time, they will pull into the photo area as they’ve traditionally done, then they’ll go to the garage area and do a traditional post-qualifying inspection. We will notify the teams in the qualification meeting tomorrow that if they qualify between noon and 4:45 p.m. and go through this process, they will need to anticipate it will be between 55 and 70 minutes before the car is made available again. So a car that qualifies at 3 p.m., that owner needs to know he will not get his car back until 4:10 p.m. Any qualification attempts that take place between 4:45 and 6 p.m. that are completed runs, receive the checkered flag and move into the top 11 for that day, those cars will come down pit lane after completing their run, stop at the start/finish line in front of the Pagoda, and be immediately impounded. Those cars will then sit in pit lane right in front of the Pagoda, (and) once the driver gets out, the crew cannot touch them if they’re in that fastest 11. If they get bumped out of the 11, the owner and team can take that car immediately, go make changes and get back in line and start playing the game again. If they see they think they’r e going to get bumped and are sitting 10th after that run, and they don’t want to wait until that physically happens, they can sign a withdraw sheet, withdraw that time and get that car back immediately. If they want to keep that car in the impound area and stay in the top 11 as long as they can, and play the game with the “T” (backup) car at the qualifying line, then the same rules and procedures apply that have traditionally been in place. If Tim (Cindric) is in the impound area with car No. 3, and he comes across the tech line with car No. 3T, when that car gets to me at the head of the line, the same procedure that historically has been in place is still in place: I’m going to look at Tim and say: ‘You make a choice. Are you withdrawing the speed of the No. 3 car and going out with No. 3T, or are you pulling out of line with the No. 3T and standing on your line with No. 3?’ This is the same thing they’ve always been able to do. Once a car gets into that impound area in the last 75 minutes, the owners have multiple choices again, taking consideration where they’re at with the (fastest) 11 for that day, if they’re going to play the game with the spare car, if they want it back right away to go change gears, they can withdraw the time, and they’re out. If they want to wait to get bumped … that’s what we’re talking about. This thing’s going to have a lot of strategy and drama to it. That’s our procedure. Noon to 4:45 p.m. will be a fairly normal tech process. It will take 55 to 70 minutes for (teams) to get their cars back, from 4:45 to 6 p.m. we’ll have an impound corral where the cars will be immediately impounded. Any car that’s still in the top 11, when the 6 p.m. gun goes off, will then roll up quickly to do photos, then go through post-qualifying procedures after the track closes at 6 p.m.” (As long as you don’t take a checkered flag on a run, is that not an attempt at all?): “That rule also has not changed. An attempt is defined by taking the green flag. We’ll still do the same thing: an owner or team representative will go to the north end of pit lane with a yellow or green flag, second time by that team representative needs to hold up the green flag or a yellow. A green flag signifies the start of an official attempt, which they get three a day, a yellow flag or a ‘no flag’ is a non-attempt and they come back to the pit. So the definition of an attempt has not changed; it is taking of the green flag to start a qualification attempt.” (So even if you don’t finish that run, it is considered an attempt for that day?): “Correct. And is unchanged from previous years.” (This will provide some incredible drama for folks watching here in person, but for those folks watching at home, how do we (broadcasters) know when, say, Tim Cindric comes to you and says, ‘I’m going to withdraw that car.’ Is that something that’s going to come from you or Tiffany (Hemmer, IRL director of administration), or for us to be able to tell people at home that someone has just withdrawn a car and then for us to watch the drama of that car being pushed back in line? Will they make an announcement here? What is the protocol to release that?): “The capability of withdrawing a car’s time will be able to take place at two locations: at the impound corral, and at the head of the (qualifying) line, where I will be. If one of them (teams) fills out the form that withdraws that time, we will instantly announce that over our internal radios and we’ll make sure the p.a. announcement is made immediately that that happened. We’ll make the adjustment on all the scoreboards around the track to tell the fans what’s going on.” (What signs do you have to tell you that there will be anything left to do on Bump Day, given that, according to my calculations, it looks like we have 32 car-driver combinations right now, maybe a 33rd? And also, if more cars and equipment are available with the new format, do you really sense that teams will really make equipment available?): “The whole format creates a platform for increasing the likelihood of those scenarios developing. They’ve always existed in the past, but there was so much difficulty in getting people to use cars that are available, and I think the format will make that more likely to happen, to have the same traditional last-weekend deals come in play. As we’re sitting here talking, we haven’t even come to the first weekend yet, and we’ve got more car-driver combinations than we’ve had the last couple years. So I feel very good about the same historical last-minute deals coming in play. These rules make that easier for that to happen.” (If the weather on any of the first three days restricts attempts to less than 11, will that day carry over to the next day before you start the next day’s official qualifying, or how will that work?): “We’re capable of making a good decision with the officials of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I think we need to take into consideration that there are so many factors in that hypothetical. Have we had a break in the line yet? Have we not had a break in the line? The easiest way to say it is, if we’ve had a good-weather day and we’ve qualified for six hours from noon to 6 p.m. and we did not have 11 cars accept times, say we only had nine cars took a checkered-flag run, then two spots would carry over into the next day, and we’d qualify 13 cars on that day instead of 11. The other scenarios are difficult to get into. If you’ve had a full day of qualifying, for six hours, you’ll be hard-pressed to not have 11 guys complete runs.” TOM ANDERSON (Co-owner and managing director, Fernandez Racing): “The driver was definitely the center before, but now there’s an added situation for them. All of them understand bumping, but if you qualify second, and you think you’re better than the pole, do you withdraw a qualified second car and go back for the pole? That opportunity is there now. I think you could see that. These rules allow that come Saturday.” (What will we see on Saturday?): “I think the thing that’s going to happen, depending on weather and the 6 p.m. gun is we’ve all seen strange things happen. The 11th qualified car on Saturday could have a relatively slow time. He could also be the first car bumped come the fourth day of qualifying. The big thing here that everyone here is going to be fighting for on Sunday is that no one wants to be 23rd. You want to get in the first weekend of qualifying. That 22nd spot is going to be very important Sunday night. You want to work on race setup. There’s in tremendous drama added to the format this year.” (How different is the car that you race and the one you qualify?): “Technically, the car’s setup quite different. To get a car from qualifying trim to race trim is probably two-to-three hour job because the specification of parts. It’s easy to go from one to another.” (What’s the difference between this year and years previous?): “This time of the week, we’re normally looking at the pole. This year, we’re also looking at 11th. There’s quite a concern. Friday night, when we do the calculations, it’s going to be what’s it going to be to get the pole and what’s going to be 11th. I’m like Mike (Hull). I have three drivers in three different positions. So you have to look at both sides of the scales.” TIM CINDRIC (President, Marlboro Team Penske): (Does the new format allow you to really focus on a pole run on Pole Day now?): “I think it is pretty dynamic. The whole thing has four or five variables, some of them were here before, some of them weren't here before. The draw is something that definitely plays into your strategy depending on where your car is for a particular draw. The weather can have a lot to do with what to do in terms of qualifying days like it has in the past. What the teams are going to be faced with come Friday night is what is realistic for your individual situation. Are you going for the front row? Or are you going for the elite 11? Those are decisions that we are going to have to make on Friday night and Saturday morning. As Tom (Anderson) said, egos always get involved in this game. If you look back to the year that Tom Sneva had run a 200-mph lap, you saw that some guys made the right choice. (Jim) McGee will tell you how he went for too much and had to go the next day. You have seen things play out where a team withdraws a car and goes for the pole at the end of the day. That same situation can happen and is probably more likely to happen than in the past. It has a lot to do with being practical to what your individual situation is.” (How important is it to be in the top 11 on day one? How greedy would you be to take a car back out there to get into the top 11?): “I think everyone here knows that if you are in the top 11 you sleep a lot better on Saturday night. There is pride that is in there, but the bottom line is getting yourself in position to win the race. Most of the winners come from the top three or four rows. It certainly puts you in a much better position at the start so that you can get to the end.” (About withdrawing a time): “Any time you withdraw a time, it is a tough decision to make. I've had to do that myself. To have to talk to Brian and tell him that you are taking your time off the board is a tough decision to make whether you are eighth, seventh, second, third. It has a lot to do with the run you made. Was that run the best you could do or is there more that you hoped for. It's a risk-reward type of program here. Any time you take a time off of the board, you have to know that anything can happen. It all comes down to what is realistic for your situation and being part of that top 11.” MIKE HULL (Team managing director, Target Chip Ganassi Racing): "We've talked about it a lot, to be very honest. The last three or four weeks we've devoted some time to it, Chip (Ganassi) and the engineers, the managers. We talked about it. There's a lot of things that can happen. Probably the thing that we have to be very careful about and mindful of, even before qualifying begins, is the 35-tire rule. If you think about what a team is going to have to do to qualify for the Indy 500 – normally, what you do if you're not quite fast enough or you want to be faster is you always wait for the racetrack to re-open, and then you go out and make sure you're right. That's a set of tires. It might be two sets of tires. You get in line, that's another set of tires. You might have already made an attempt. That's another set of tires. So on the first day, you have an allotment of 35 sets of tires for the entire month, which to most people seems like an enormous pile of tires, you've used a good percentage of your tires just trying to get into the race, and you might not get in the first day. If you're not lucky enough to be one of the chosen 11 on the first day and you've got to start that process all over again for the second day, then you're into another five or six sets of tires at minimum. Not only on Race Day, you want to have a minimum of 10 or 12 sets of tires to support your effort for a 500-mile event. That's why this thing is really difficult to totally understand the scope of what we're trying to do here. If you're like Tom (Anderson) down there with Hondas, you're going to get in. Some of us, like Tim (Cindric) and us, we're thinking about what it is we've got to do with what we've got with tire allotment to do the best job to peak at exactly the right time and not screw up our chance on Race Day. That's really what this is all about for us." (About going back out late in the day to get into the top 11): "I think you have to be, at Indianapolis greed is never your friend here, to begin with. I think practicality and honesty and self-evaluation is what gets you in the race and helps you win the race, and that's really what we're talking about. Maybe that's the basis of your question. It's very important to analyze where you are. In our case as a team, we have one driver who has never been here before. For him to go through the qualifying process is going to be a massive, pressure-filled situation for him. In his case, we're going to make an attempt so that when he's ready to make an attempt, if the first one doesn't work for him, he'll be solid, and he'll be able to do it. The other two guys are going do it, because they want to read the racetrack, because that's how you get in the race. For us, I think the most important thing to do is to consider that there are two things that are important here in being at the front at the end of a 500-mile race. One is what Tim referred to in qualifying in the first three rows. Yeah, there have been winners come from there, but the second thing that you're qualifying for in this format is pit selection. If you're 10th, but that time ends up in pit selection putting you 20th in pit selection, you're going to reconsider that situation, because being toward pit out or being away from the drama that's created from pit in to pit center is something that's going to be critical in your decision-making process as you take that qualifying lap or whether you pull out and go again. So unless you're on the front row, unless you’re in the first three, four, five, six spots, I think you're going to think about that." (About possible pole speeds on Saturday): "We learned last year that Buddy Rice surprised us. That's probably a good lesson for non-tow laps during the week. Our guys from that have paid more attention to, these days we've got guys who specialize in specialized software, and we've got somebody who has worked for us all week long, or up to this point anyway, on non-tow laps. If you did the same, which is easy to do these days with the IRL Timing & Scoring program, if you just use that as a baseline, you'd be surprised at what you may see there. That's probably what you really need to look at as a legitimate answer as to what people might do on Saturday." (About tire wear and durability): "In terms of qualifying you would prefer not to make another qualifying attempt on the tires, but what Firestone has done a fantastic job of since we started with Firestone in 1996 really is work on not only durability but not having the performance of the tire degrade through the run. If you watch guys run out here, if you sat out there with a clipboard and watched the tires like the IRL, they monitor the tires every day by bar-coding and scanning what goes on, the performance of the tire doesn't really come off. We've run our tires, and I'm sure these guys have done the same, over 40 laps, and the performance hasn't really fallen off on the tires. That is something that they constantly work on. It'd be great if we could just have 35 sets of stickers and do nothing but qualify, but we can't do that here." INDIANAPOLIS - Practice results Tuesday for the 89th Indianapolis 500 IRL IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine and speed: Tuesday May 10, 2005 1. (26) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 226.808 2. (8) Scott Sharp, Panoz-Honda, 226.609 3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 226.062 4. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 225.629 5. (55) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz-Honda, 225.620 6. (27) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 225.296 7. (33T) Ryan Briscoe, Panoz-Toyota, 225.266 8. (4) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 225.189 9. (26T) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 224.998 10. (17) Vitor Meira, Panoz-Honda, 224.172 11. (70) Richie Hearn, Panoz-Chevrolet, 223.824 12. (16) Danica Patrick, Panoz-Honda, 223.694 13. (8T) Scott Sharp, Panoz-Honda, 223.664 14. (95) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Chevrolet, 223.443 15. (36) Bruno Junqueira, Panoz-Honda, 223.350 16. (55T) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz-Honda, 223.205 17. (10T) Darren Manning, Panoz-Toyota, 223.110 18. (15) Buddy Rice, Panoz-Honda, 223.077 19. (7) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 223.022 20. (6) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 222.896 21. (4T) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 222.485 22. (15T) Buddy Rice, Panoz-Honda, 221.671 23. (17T) Vitor Meira, Panoz-Honda, 221.484 24. (16T) Danica Patrick, Panoz-Honda, 221.322 25. (11T) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 221.304 26. (2T) Tomas Enge, Dallara-Chevrolet, 221.276 27. (6T) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 220.035 28. (51) Alex Barron, Dallara-Toyota, 220.016 29. (83) Patrick Carpentier, Dallara-Toyota, 219.693 30. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Toyota, 219.601 31. (7T) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 219.397 32. (14) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 218.964 33. (83T) Patrick Carpentier, Dallara-Toyota, 218.435 34. (24) Roger Yasukawa, Dallara-Honda, 218.387 35. (51T) Alex Barron, Dallara-Toyota, 217.604 36. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Toyota, 216.700 37. (5) Adrian Fernandez, Panoz-Honda, 184.140 38. (22) Jeff Ward, Dallara-Toyota, 96.467 MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES FAST FACTS & STORY IDEAS WHAT: WHERE: WHEN: DISTANCE: CARS: PREVIOUS RACE WINNER: 2004 SERIES CHAMPION: TV: SCHEDULE: (all times local; subject to change) Friday, April 1 Saturday, April 2 Sunday, April 3 2005 MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES STATISTICS Driver Points Entrant Points Wins Pole Positions Laps Led STORY IDEAS: • St. Petersburg marks first non-oval event in series history: The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the first non-oval race in Menards Infiniti Pro Series history. The temporary circuit is the only street circuit on the 2005 schedule, and is one of only four road/street course races on the 14-race schedule. The Menards Infiniti Pro Series also will join the IndyCar Series at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y., for road-course events on Aug. 28 and Sept. 25, respectively. The Pro Series drivers also will race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the United States Grand Prix weekend in June, becoming the first series to compete at IMS twice in the same year since 1916. • Festa, Simmons have St. Petersburg experience: Chris Festa and Jeff Simmons are the only two Menards Infiniti Pro Series drivers who have previously raced on the streets of St. Petersburg. The two competed against each other in 2003 in the Fran-Am 2000 series race. Simmons captured the pole position for the race. • Andretti, Luyendyk and Unser continue family legacies: Marco Andretti, Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Al Unser continue the racing legacy of their families competing in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Andretti, 18, is the son of IndyCar Series team owner Michael Andretti, and the grandson of Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti (1969). Andretti will make his Menards Infiniti Pro Series debut in St. Petersburg. Luyendyk, 23, has made 32 career starts in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series and was the series runner-up in 2002. He is the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk (1990, 1997). Unser, 22, is in his second season of competition in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. He is the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. (1992, 1994), and the grandson of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987). Unser’s great uncle, Bobby, also won the Indianapolis 500 three times (1968, 1975, 1981). The three families have not been represented at the same race since the 2002 Indianapolis 500 when Michael Andretti, Arie Luyendyk and Al Unser Jr. competed against each other. A.J. Foyt IV, grandson of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, won the Menards Infiniti Pro Series championship in 2002 and now races full time in the IndyCar Series. • Floridian is first woman to compete in Menards Infiniti Pro Series: Mishael Abbott of Coral Springs, Fla., is the first woman to compete in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Abbott, 23, began karting when she was 14. She also has competed in USAC Midget events, Formula Mazda competition and the SCCA National Runoffs. Abbott is studying elementary education at Florida Atlantic University. She qualified fourth and finished eighth in her Menards Infiniti Pro Series debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 6. • Sam Schmidt Motorsports defends title: Former IndyCar Series driver Sam Schmidt continues defense of his team’s 2004 Menards Infiniti Pro Series title with a three-car effort in the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Travis Gregg has won the pole position at both races in 2005, and has started on the front row in all five races in his career. He is second in points. Chris Festa, a freshman at Florida State University, finished second in the Phoenix 100 on March 19. He ranks fourth in points. Jaime Camara ranks fifth in points. He finished second at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 6. • Four drivers boast Florida ties: Four drivers in the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg live in Florida. Mishael Abbott resides in Coral Springs where she is a senior at Florida Atlantic University. Jaime Camara lives in Miami. Chris Festa is a freshman at Florida State University. Jon Herb lives in Orlando where he is the director of residential marketing for Aercon Industries. • Drivers graduate to IndyCar Series: The Menards Infiniti Pro Series continues to graduate drivers to the IndyCar Series. Menards Infiniti Pro Series champion A.J. Foyt IV (2002) and series runner-ups Ed Carpenter (2002, 2003) and Paul Dana (2004) are regulars in the IndyCar Series. Last year’s Indianapolis 500 featured five drivers who had competed in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. PRE-RACE QUOTES: MISHAEL ABBOTT (No. 91 Hemelgarn Johnson Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Being the first woman to compete in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series means the world to me. I’ve always been proud of my accomplishments, being the first female to win a professional shifter kart race in the United States, being the first to test the Infiniti Pro Series car at Las Vegas two years ago, and now the first woman to actually compete in the series fulfills one of my life long goals.” NICK BUSSELL (No. 21 JL West Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Given that my roots are firmly planted in road racing, it's only natural that I have anticipated the first road race of the season. After last week’s test at Indianapolis, I know who I’ll need to beat, and they know they’ll have to beat me. All bravado aside, it will be a fantastic race for both drivers and fans.” JAIME CAMARA (No. 1 CELG-Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “To a certain extent, a street course is a new thing for me as I am more familiar with proper road courses. But with more testing and time on that kind of race track, I am sure it will come to me right away, and we will be competitive in St. Pete. I do not want to create expectations, especially before a street race, as I do not know the track, and I understand there are a few tricky corners. But I am sure it will be a great race.” WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 33 Visit New Zealand Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “I learned enough (at the Indianapolis test), but not enough. I’m glad we had the test. I would have liked a couple more days, but most people are in the same boat. The car seems quite good. It has 200 more horsepower than what I am used to. Other than that, it’s very balanced. It seems to have a lot of mechanical and aerodynamic grip, so it’s reasonably good to drive.” JAY DRAKE (No. 20 Vision Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Well, (road racing) I’m definitely going to be a rookie at. I don’t have hardly any kind of road racing experience. I’ve played around with some go-karts here and there, but nothing to speak of. That’s going to be a huge learning curve for me. I did actually go out and do a Russell Racing School for three days and got a lot of laps on that road course (Infineon). So that was a big help right off the bat, but still, it’s going to take a lot of luck and a quick learning curve on my part to be able to compete with some of these guys that have run a lot of road course racing. But I’m confident that we’ll pick up on it fairly quickly, and I’m really looking forward to it because I had a blast when I went out there and did that driving school. It’s a lot of fun.” CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “That street course is a little bit better than most in my opinion because it’s a little bit wider, and you’ve got some longer straights than most street courses, so you can be a little bit more aggressive and race a little bit more. But it’s also a lot smoother than most street courses, so it’s much more road course like than it is actual street course. So that will be good from a fan perspective because they’ll be able to see a lot more racing going on and a lot more aggressive driving, I guess could you say. But it will be a good one also, because it’s a fun track for the drivers to drive, as well. TRAVIS GREGG (No. 7 Lucas Oil Products/Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “I’m looking forward to St. Petersburg. We’re going to be right by the bay. I think it’s going to be a challenge. I’ve never raced on a street course before, and it’s going to be different variations in pavement and concrete. I’m looking forward to it and just have to take it one step at a time.” JON HERB (No. 6 AERCON Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “St. Pete will be tricky, as none of us have gotten to test there, but I started out as a road course racer, so I’m not concerned about my ability to perform on a road or street course. Obviously, we’ll take the momentum we gained from winning in Phoenix into St. Pete and hope to run well there and continue to lead the point standings in our chase for the championship. I think we’re in a good position to do that.” JEFF SIMMONS (No. 24 Team ISI Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Some things are still a question mark going into (St. Pete). I know the track a little bit. I think only a couple of guys have been on track, so that will give us a bit of an advantage for the first 15 minutes or so until the other guys learn the track. Hopefully, we can keep that advantage for the whole weekend. This is a much different car than the last car I drove there, so we have some questions about what we need to do to optimize our setup for down there. Hopefully, we can take our data from (the test at Indianapolis) and correlate that with St. Pete.” Today’s IRL headlines 1. Bucknum passes rookie test: Jeff Bucknum passed his Indy Racing League rookie test at the Phoenix International Raceway on March 20, roughly 12 hours after winning the LTP2 class in the 12 Hours of Sebring. “I’ve driven a lot of miles at Phoenix, but this was my first time in an IndyCar (Series car), and it felt great to get the car up to speed,” Bucknum said. ”I’ve been racing for years, but the whole deal with pit stops was all really new. I’ve got a lot to learn with the stop and go’s in traffic, but I’m looking forward to working with the team.” Kevin Blanch, IndyCar Series technical manager, was the IRL’s official observer for Bucknum’s test. He had Bucknum complete the necessary phases for the rookie test on Sunday afternoon, working on speed, consistency, and his knowledge of the car. John O’Gara, DRR’s team manager was also pleased with Bucknum’s progress, as he observed most of the runs from atop a three-story staging platform in PIR’s third turn. “Roger did a good job of shaking down the car to get it ready for him, and Jeff stepped in and really exceeded our expectations,” said O’Gara. “His line through the turns was really smooth and in fact, we actually had to ask him to slow down just a little before we started the test.” Bucknum will test with the Dreyer & Reinbold team next week at Sebring, before stepping into the cockpit for his first race at Motegi. On March 24, Unser will drive a race car for the first time at the Brickyard when he tests the No. 3 Brian Stewart Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone on the 3.4-mile road course. On June 19, the Menards Infiniti Pro Series for the first time will compete on the road course as part of the U.S. Grand Prix. The test is free and open to the public. “I’ve never been around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track,” Unser said. “Well, actually I have in an Oscar Mayer wiener mobile, but that was a long time ago. I've never driven around the track. I'm excited to run the road course there. It's definitely a style of road course that will fit these cars, because of the monoshock. “It's a nice, smooth F1-style track. It's designed for the F1 cars, and the monoshock was designed in thought of an F1 car. It will tell us a lot on how the car is going to handle on a road course.” It also will give drivers, including Unser, some seat time with the 40-lap race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., coming up April 3. “Driving these cars, turning right, I haven't done that yet,” Unser said. “I hope to get down to Sebring (Fla.) though and test there, because St. Pete is a street course, and it will be bumpy, and Indy is not bumpy.” Another famous Indianapolis 500 name – Andretti – will be represented at the test. Marco Andretti will make his Menards Infiniti Pro Series debut at St. Petersburg. “I'm excited to see what he can do and what Andretti Green Racing can do,” Unser said. “If they can do the same thing they do in the IndyCar Series in the Pro Series, then we're in trouble.” Vision Racing’s Jay Drake also is looking forward to gaining experience on the road course. "By all definitions, I'm going to be a rookie there,” the former USAC driver said. “I'm looking forward to it. I took a three-day Russell Racing school out at Sonoma a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully that's going to benefit me and be a big help. I'm looking forward to running the road courses. It will be exciting to stay the least.” INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – March 22, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Nunn, Fernandez partner for Indianapolis 500: Motorsports veterans Morris Nunn and Adrián Fernández announced a partnership March 22 to contest the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500. The team will be known as Mo Nunn Fernández Racing. Fernández, a three-time winner in the IRL IndyCar® Series in 2004, will drive the No. 5 Honda-powered Panoz with primary sponsorship from Investment Properties of America. “I am thrilled that this program with Adrián has come to fruition,” said Nunn, whose accomplishments as a race engineer include an Indianapolis 500 victory with Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989. “We are going to one of the most prestigious races in the world with a powerhouse combination that includes the driving talents of Adrián, the proven Honda/Panoz combination and a progressive partner in Investment Properties of America. I don’t think you could put together a better recipe for success.” Fernández returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2004 after a nine-year absence. He qualified sixth in only his third IRL IndyCar® Series career start and finished seventh in the rain-shortened race – the highest finishing position by a Mexican driver in the history of the Indianapolis 500. “I am more than ready to get back in the saddle,” said Fernández, who has been focusing on his role as an IndyCar Series team owner of late. “This is a great opportunity to be able to partner with Morris, who I have known and respected for a long time, and put together a competitive program with Honda and with the support of Investment Properties of America. “This team will be run alongside Super Aguri Fernández Racing and Delphi Fernández Racing, and I am really looking forward to working with both Kosuke [Matsuura] and Scott [Sharp] as teammates. Kosuke and I were incredibly strong throughout the month of May last year, and Scott has already proven he knows how to win and did a great job in Phoenix this past weekend. One of my goals has always been to win the Indianapolis 500 – as a driver or as an owner – and between the three of us, I think that goal can be reached this May.” Indianapolis-based Investment Properties of America (IPofA) is a commercial real estate investment company that acquires commercial income properties and transforms them into stable, income-producing assets for investors of all sizes. The company operates as a 1031 Tenant-in-Common real estate sponsor that offers an alternative to sole ownership of real estate in that investors share in the ownership of an entire property. “We couldn’t be happier with this opportunity to partner with Morris and Adrián for the Indianapolis 500,” said Edward Okun, President and CEO of Investment Properties of America. “I am passionate about auto racing and am thrilled to align IPofA and our success in real estate with two proven winners. It is an expansion of our involvement within the IndyCar Series and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing program, and we are looking forward to giving our business associates a lot to cheer about this May.” “We are pleased to welcome Argent Mortgage to the IRL family of partners,” said Ken Ungar, senior vice president, business affairs for the IRL. “The partnership is an important component of Argent’s comprehensive 2005 involvement with the league that also includes our drivers, teams and tracks.” Argent is serving as primary sponsor of the No. 16 IndyCar Series entry driven by Danica Patrick and co-primary sponsor of the No. 15 IndyCar Series entry driven by 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice. Also, Argent was the presenting sponsor of last week’s IRL event at Phoenix International Raceway and will also be the title and presenting sponsor for three IndyCar Series races in 2005. In addition, Argent Mortgage will sponsor the IRL’s year-end Fastest Lap Award, which will present $25,000 to the entrant of the driver who posts the most fastest laps during the 17-race IndyCar Series season. Argent will also offer $2,500 to the driver who posts the fastest lap on each day of practice at Indianapolis during the month of May. “We are proud to partner with the IRL as their Official Mortgage Company for the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500,” said Wayne Lee, president of Argent Mortgage Company. “At Argent Mortgage, we don’t just sponsor motorsports; we are inspired by the people who bring IndyCar racing to fans every weekend throughout the season. In the same way, we are building the most efficient and smartest company in the business and helping independent mortgage brokers provide the best possible loan products and service to homeowners across America.” THE BLACK CROWES TO HEADLINE MILLER LITE CARB DAY CONCERT INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, March 22, 2005 – The Black Crowes, “The Most Rock ‘N Roll Rock ‘N Roll Band In The World,” will headline the Miller Lite Carb Day concert on Friday, May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The concert is free to all ticket holders for Miller Lite Carb Day, which moves to Friday this year with a full schedule of exciting events on and off the track leading up to the 89th Indianapolis 500 on May 29. The Black Crowes have been one of the most popular rock bands in the world since its multi-platinum debut album, “Shake Your Moneymaker,” was released in 1990. The band has sold more than 19 million albums worldwide and has developed a huge following by performing more than 2,000 live shows from 1990-2001, holding the unique distinction as one of the few contemporary bands to share the stage with such legends as Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, AC/DC, The Who, Neil Young and The Grateful Dead. “There are few bands generating the excitement and buzz that The Black Crowes are right now,” said Joie Chitwood, IMS president and chief operating officer. “We are fortunate that their 2005 tour will include the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.” All six of the band’s critically acclaimed studio albums have reached the top 30 or higher on the Billboard charts, with “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion” reaching No. 1 in 1992. Among The Black Crowes’ numerous hit singles are “Hard to Handle,” “Jealous Again,” “She Talks to Angels,” “Hotel Illness,” “Remedy,” “Thorn in My Pride” and “Kickin’ My Heart Around.” “We couldn’t be more excited about Carb Day this year,” said Jeffrey Diem, marketing manager, Miller Brewing Company. “For Miller, it’s all about providing legal drinking age consumers with a unique experience. The Black Crowes at the Speedway is exactly that.” To add to the excitement generated by moving Miller Lite Carb Day from Thursday to Friday, Miller significantly increased its involvement and investment by bringing a top-notch band like The Black Crowes. Miller Lite is the official beer sponsor of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This concert will be part of a “15 Years of Cosmic Rock-n-Roll” spring tour for The Black Crowes, playing together for the first time since October 2001. The band's lineup includes founding members and brothers Chris Robinson (vocals) and Rich Robinson (guitars), and Marc Ford (guitars), Eddie Hawrysch (keyboards), Sven Pipien (bass) and Bill Dobrow (drums). The Miller Lite Carb Day concert, which takes place on the Miller Lite Stage in the Pagoda Plaza, is the final event of an action-packed day for fans at IMS. The final practice for the IndyCar® Series before the 89th Indianapolis 500 starts the day, followed by the Futaba Freedom 100 race for the Menards Infiniti Pro Series™. The fastest pit crew in the IndyCar Series then will be determined in the popular Checkers/Rally’s Pit Stop Challenge, followed by the concert. Nunn and Fernandez Partner for Indianapolis 500 INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (March 22, 2005) – Motorsports veteran Morris Nunn and Mexican driving talent Adrian Fernandez today announced a partnership to contest the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500. The team will be known as Mo Nunn Fernandez Racing. Fernandez will drive the #5 Honda-powered Panoz/Firestone entry with Investment Properties of America as the primary sponsor. “I am thrilled that this program with Adrian has come to fruition,” said Nunn, whose many accomplishments include an Indianapolis 500 victory in 1989. “We are going to one of the most prestigious races in the world with a powerhouse combination that includes the driving talents of Adrian, the proven Honda/Panoz combination and a progressive partner in Investment Properties of America. I don’t think you could put together a better recipe for success.” Fernandez returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2004 after a nine-year absence. He qualified sixth in only his third IRL IndyCar® Series career start and finished seventh in the rain-shortened race – the highest finishing position by a Mexican driver in the history of the Indianapolis 500. “I am more than ready to get back in the saddle,” said Fernandez, who has been focusing on his role as an IndyCar Series team owner of late. “This is a great opportunity to be able to partner with Morris, who I have known and respected for a long time, and put together a competitive program with Honda and with the support of Investment Properties of America. “This team will be run alongside Super Aguri Fernandez Racing and Delphi Fernandez Racing, and I am really looking forward to working with both Kosuke [Matsuura] and Scott [Sharp] as teammates. Kosuke and I were incredibly strong throughout the month of May last year, and Scott has already proven he knows how to win and did a great job in Phoenix this past weekend. One of my goals has always been to win the Indianapolis 500 – as a driver or as an owner – and between the three of us, I think that goal can be reached this May.” Indianapolis-based Investment Properties of America (IPofA) is a commercial real estate investment company which acquires commercial income properties and transforms them into stable, income-producing assets for investors of all sizes. The company operates as a 1031 Tenant-in-Common real estate sponsor which offers an alternative to sole ownership of real estate in that investors share in the ownership of an entire property. “We couldn’t be happier with this opportunity to partner with Morris and Adrian for the Indianapolis 500,” said Edward Okun, President and CEO of Investment Properties of America. “I am passionate about auto racing and am thrilled to align IPofA and our success in real estate with two proven winners. It is an expansion of our involvement within the IndyCar Series and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing program, and we are looking forward to giving our business associates a lot to cheer about this May.” Experienced team manager Peter Parrott will head the Mo Nunn Fernandez Racing program. Parrott was a long-time member of Team Penske, holding various roles including chief mechanic, prior to joining Mo Nunn Racing. Noted race engineer John Ward, who serves as co-race engineer alongside Chris Finch for the #8 Delphi machine piloted by Sharp, will handle engineering duties for Fernandez. Morris Nunn’s impressive motorsports career spans more than 30 years as a driver, car builder, race engineer and team owner in a variety of formulas including Formula 3, Formula One, CART and IndyCar Series competition. After engineering Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Montoya to four consecutive championships for Target Chip Ganassi Racing (1996 - 1999), Nunn founded Mo Nunn Racing in 1999. The team joined the IndyCar Series in 2002, and has fielded entries for Tony Kanaan, Felipe Giaffone and Tora Takagi. Adrian Fernandez, 41, of Mexico City, boasts an extensive resume at the top levels of open-wheel competition that includes 194 career starts, 11 wins and 25 podiums. He began carrying the dual moniker of owner/driver in 2001, when he teamed with motorsports veteran Tom Anderson to launch Fernandez Racing. The team has grown to include Super Aguri Fernandez Racing and Delphi Fernandez Racing, both of which compete in the IndyCar Series with drivers Kosuke Matsuura and Scott Sharp respectively. In 2004, Fernandez entered his first season of IndyCar Series competition and won three of the final six races (Kentucky, Chicagoland and Fontana). Fernandez finished fifth in the final point standings on the heels of six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. The 89th Indianapolis 500 will be held on May 29. Opening day is May 8, with practice beginning May 10. HORNISH REIGNS AT PHOENIX; HERB WINS FIRST PRO SERIES RACEAVONDALE, Ariz., Saturday, March 19, 2005 – Two-time IRL IndyCar® Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. held off a charge from Dario Franchitti and won the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 Presented by Argent Mortgage at Phoenix International Raceway. Hornish, who won for the second time at Phoenix and for the 13th time in his IndyCar Series career, took the lead from his teammate Helio Castroneves on Lap 190. After Tomas Scheckter brought out a caution on Lap 193, the stage was set for a green-white-checker finish. In the Menards Infiniti Pro Series Phoenix 100, Jon Herb captured his first career victory in a race shortened to 90 laps. Rookies Chris Festa and Wade Cunningham finished second and third, respectively. XM SATELLITE RADIO INDY 200 PRESENTED BY ARGENT MORTGAGE POST-RACE QUOTES: TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): “One of the Red Bull cars was pitting and the other Red Bull car came up and put me in the marbles. It's something we discussed in the driver's meeting." DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "I gave it my all on that last restart. I knew we only had two laps to go. I tried the move and it didn't happen. We got up in the gravel and touched the wall and that was it. Right now, I'm pretty pissed off that we didn't win, but at the same time, I definitely see the good side in that we managed to finish fourth.” SCOTT SHARP (No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “I'm really pleased. You've got to get points and that was the most depressing thing for me leaving Homestead. We got caught up in a racing accident, and that's going to happen, but there are times when you just have to - we were ready to finish third or fourth down there and grab some great points, and it got taken away from us - you have to get back on track, and that's what we were able to do today. We had a really good car at times. I think at one time, we were the fastest car on the track, or close to that, great pit stops by the guys. We got stuck in some traffic at times, and it just didn't all quite come together like it could, but we got a good top-five finish, and we'll go from there." DAN WHELDON (No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “The Klein Tools/Jim Beam car was pretty good today, but when you had to slow up for traffic, the car tended to bite between Turns 1 and 2 which gave it a very loose sensation. When you're competing for a championship, you have to keep scoring points, and I think we scored some good points today. It's certainly better to finish in the top 10 than not, so we'll just look forward to the Honda Grand Prix." BRYAN HERTA (No. 7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “The XM Satellite Radio car was good today, unfortunately it really wasn't as good as I needed it to be in the race. I was pretty fast, but I struggled to pass cars and then both times a yellow came out right after I pitted, so we lost several positions and a lap once by that happening. That dug us a pretty big hole, and we were never able to work ourselves out of it." DARREN MANNING (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/ Firestone): “We really had a great car, but we struggled with straight line speed and that made it difficult to make our way to the front. We were right there at the end, but when I dashed in for a splash of fuel at the end we had a slight problem, and that cost us few spots, but other than that it was a fun, good clean race and we’ll build on it. I’m really looking forward to hitting the streets of St. Pete in two weeks.” PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “I am very happy. I was so disappointed after the crash yesterday. Today we had a great day. We passed some people and moved up. Iain Watt, my engineer, had a fantastic strategy. We saved a lot of fuel and stayed outside longer. Two races in the top ten. We learned so much this weekend. We are going to move forward, and we will get it. Very happy with the timing of the last yellow. That's what happens. We saved so much fuel, I leaned it out. We saved a lot and ran very well so we were able to stay out longer than the other guys. It turned out pretty well." A.J. FOYT IV (No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “After the final practice, I thought the car was going to be better than it was, but at least we survived.” DANICA PATRICK (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “It’s a long day on a short oval when the car just isn’t right there. The car is more difficult to drive. I did what I came here to do this weekend and that was finish the race. I got a lot of experience today, and the team gave me a pretty good car for the conditions out there. They had to rebuild a new car for this race after the Homestead crash. It was good to do 200 laps, and I give the crew a lot of credit for getting everything ready for the weekend. That might have been the most difficult race of my life because of the length and the traffic. The short ovals are very difficult and take a lot of experience to get used to. This is beginning of the learning curve for me. I’ll still be learning at race 17 this year. We have a lot of different tracks too. It’s a big oval, then a short oval and then a road course. And then it’s Japan and then it’s Indy. All are new to me. The car is difficult to drive on a short oval by yourself but throw in a bunch of faster and even slower cars around you, that can make for a tough day. You don’t want to get in people’s way, but you want to stay as fast as possible and race. You don’t want to lose your momentum. And all of those things can make it hard. But it was character building today, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I just wanted to finish today, and we accomplished that.” SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “I just picked my lane and kept with it, just like you do on the high-banked tracks. I picked the bottom coming off the corner and took it right down the front straightaway. It’s hard to pass on the outside of Turn 1. I tried to go on the outside of Dario (Franchitti) a couple of times before, so I knew that when he went on the outside of me, he’d have a hard road to go. These Marlboro Team Penske guys did an awesome job for me in the pits today. We just had a lot of fun out there. We bided our time and made it to the end.” TOP 10 IN INDYCAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS: AL UNSER (No. 3 Brian Stewart Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "It was an unavoidable incident. Travis (Gregg) spun on that restart. We clipped him, and we had one of those weekends. I'm glad I got that one out of the way. I'm ready to move onto St. Pete, and let's go get them. I'm tired of this running in the back stuff." MARTY ROTH (No. 4 Roth Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "The car came around on me, and I lost it." JON HERB (No. 6 AERCON Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “I got a good start initially and got up to second before the caution. Then I got a good restart on Travis (Gregg), and we seemed to have a better car than those guys on the longer runs. Towards the end, lap traffic was an issue, but Chris Festa did a good job keeping behind me and making me stay on my game. It wasn’t as easy as I’d like to have it, but I’ll take it anyway I can get it.” CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “Once we got going, we were about a tenth of lap quicker than Jon (Herb) was, but I just couldn't quite get close enough to him in Turn 4. Once I got up to him, I'd lose him in Turn 4, and he'd pull away a little bit again. I'd spend the next five or six laps getting it back and than losing it again. All in all it was a good race.” TOP 10 IN MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES POINT STANDINGS: IRL IndyCar Series Point standings: Hornish Jr 90, Wheldon 84, Castroneves 70, Kanaan 70, Manning 52, Meira 51, Carpentier 48, Sharp 147, Franchitti 44, Herta 42. IRL Menards Infiniti Pro SeriesPhoenix 100 AVONDALE, Ariz. - Results Saturday of the Phoenix 100 IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series event Mar. 19 at the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed, reason out (if any): 1. (4) Jon Herb, Dallara-Infiniti, 90
Race Statistics 1. (7) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 176.612 mph AVONDALE, Ariz., Friday, March 18, 2005 – Bryan Herta claimed the first Marlboro Pole Award of his IRL IndyCar® Series career, winning the pole for the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 Presented by Argent Mortgage. Herta lapped the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway oval in 20.3837 seconds, 176.612 mph in the No. 7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone. It was the first pole position for Herta since he won from the pole at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1999 while competing in CART. Herta’s Andretti Green Racing teammate Dan Wheldon qualified second in the No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone entry. It was the fourth time AGR teammates have shared the front row. POST-MARLBORO POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES: BRYAN HERTA (No. 7 XM Satellite Radio Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “I'm really happy with the time we put up. This run is really for the guys on the XM Satellite Radio crew, because we had a huge crash with this car two weeks ago at Homestead, and they worked their tails off to put it back together. The car is running really well now, and they did a great job. This is fastest that we've run, so I'm happy with it." DAN WHELDON (No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “The Klein Tools/Jim Beam car is very strong. We put up a very good time and had a great Open Test here, so I'm looking forward to the race. We're all very competitive and have different strategies, but that will make it fun for the race, for sure." HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “I thought we had a shot at the pole, but unfortunately we fell a bit short. The Marlboro Team Penske car was good during the qualifying run, and I thought we’d actually be a bit faster. The key thing is that we’re starting in the top-three, so hopefully, we can avoid any problems early on. We focused on our race setup during the first practice session, and the car worked well in traffic which will be important tomorrow. We just need to be patient and conservative so we can be there at the end to fight for the win.” TOMAS SCHECKTER (No 4. Pennzoil Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/ Firestone): “That’s all we had for them today. There wasn’t much else that we could have done, but we’re happy starting from fourth. Our Pennzoil Panther Chevy is working great in race trim, for sure. My guys have been working very hard and have been doing a great job all weekend. We’ll just get our race car ready in our last practice session, double-check everything and get ready for the race.” SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “We’d like to have qualified a bit closer to the front, but it was the fastest we’ve been all weekend, so we’ll take it. The Marlboro Team Penske car handled well today, and I’ve got a great pit crew to keep me in the race tomorrow. We’ll have to stay out of trouble and execute on pit stops, and if we take care of those two things we should definitely be near the front on the final lap.” TOMAS ENGE (No. 2 ROCKSTAR Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone): “I’m very happy, and we’re still going to be OK for tomorrow. This is a challenging track, more so than those high-speed ovals like Homestead. For me and the ROCKSTAR team, it’s going to be important to get the mileage tomorrow. I hope tomorrow it doesn’t rain. I’ve run a lot of miles here, and I want to run some more. Our Chevy is very drivable in traffic, and that makes it exciting for the race.” BUDDY RICE (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda/ Firestone): “This track is a handling track, and we have to stay with the pack early, then we can make the right adjustments after the first tank load. That is what we were planning at Homestead before we had a mechanical problem. I think we have a good handle on our full tank package. We ran a lot of laps in practice with lots of fuel. I think that is pretty comfortable. Traffic will play a major role in the race but we need to have a good solid car early so we can be competitive. We need to score points this weekend and chase the championship. I think Dario (Franchitti’s) car is a tick better on the long runs right now, but we are not far from that. I did 50 laps this morning and I’m happy with the car. Sure, qualifying isn’t what we wanted, but I think we’ll have a good car in the race Saturday. This is an experienced team, and they know the game here at a place like PIR, so I’m confident we can run with the leaders. That is our goal.” A.J. FOYT IV (No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “We changed the gearing and just missed on it. I was on the rev limiter before the start-finish line. The car drove good, so I think we’ll have a good car for Saturday.” TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone): "Obviously I'm very disappointed to be starting the race from the back of the grid, but I am very happy that Bryan Herta and Dan Wheldon are starting from the front row. I've always said that I'm happy if the team does well, and today that is the case. Team 7-Eleven had an issue with overheating during this morning's practice session, and we changed the engine as a precaution. We have enjoyed a lot of success at PIR, and Andretti Green Racing had a very successful test here last month. Hopefully we have all our gremlins behind us, because we can win the race from the back of the pack.” PATRICK CARPENTIER: (No. 83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “I was pushing the car to the limit. Trying to make it very neutral so I wouldn't lose too much time mid-corner. We made it a little bit too neutral, and it just snapped. When I corrected it, it bit me and went straight to the wall. It is unfortunate. I am disappointed. We will keep pushing hard, but we will be a little more careful next time. I was amazed because I am used to hitting the wall without the SAFER barriers. I was expecting a much bigger hit than that, it was still big, but the barrier cushioned the hit. It does its job very well. I am just so disappointed. If it happens in the race when you are fighting that's one thing, but in practice it is so disappointing." MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES: CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): JON HERB (No. 6 AERCON Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “We lost a bit off of our last practice, obviously. I expected to do better. It was my fault. But we've got a good starting spot. The car was comfortable, but the track changed a bit with the few sprinkles we had just before qualifying. I've got a good crew, a good car, and I like this track, so we should do fine in the race." SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local Energy-Absorbing Wall To Debut Track Indy Japan 300 In April INDIANAPOLIS, March 18, 2005 – Twin Ring Motegi, the 1.5-mile egg-shaped oval built by Honda and located in Tochigi Prefecture about 60 miles of northeast of Tokyo, will have completed installation of 4,184 linear feet of the revolutionary energy-absorbing SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction system) Barrier in time for the IRL IndyCar® Series Indy Japan 300 on April 30, the series’ third visit to Japan. The SAFER Barrier, which consists of rectangular steel tubing backed by polystyrene foam blocks that is installed in front of the track's traditional cement walls, is designed to reduce forces incurred by a car in an accident and increase driver safety. The technology is tailor-made to address each track’s design and at Twin Ring Motegi, the barriers are being placed in turns 1 and 2 (2,568 feet) and in turns 3 and 4 (1,616 feet). At Twin Ring Motegi, the installation will feature the same second generation SAFER Barrier which is nearing completion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Version 2 SAFER Barrier features four major improvements: All the materials – 344 tons (or 4.64 miles) of steel tubing, 753 foam blocks and 19,500 pieces of hardware/fasteners – for the SAFER Barrier installation at Twin Ring Motegi were manufactured in the United States by Mooresville, Ind.-based Elrod Corporation. The materials took 26 days to ship after being trucked to Chicago and traveling by rail to Los Angeles and Seattle and loaded on the same vessel for Japan. The system will be installed by the Japanese under the supervision of two Elrod employees with extensive experience installing the SAFER Barrier. The SAFER Barrier was installed first on the four outside retaining walls of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s historic 2.5-mile oval in May 2002 after nearly four years of development by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League and University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility. NASCAR joined in the development of the project in September 2000. Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League CEO Tony George and the SAFER Barrier development team have won several prestigious awards for motorsports engineering and innovation. In 2002, they received the Louis Schwitzer Award, SEMA Motorsports Engineering Award and GM Racing Pioneer Award. George received the inaugural Pioneering and Innovation Award at the Autosport Awards Dec. 5, 2004, in London for his leadership in the development of the SAFER Barrier. Sam Hornish Jr. (Two-time IndyCar Series Champion/ Marlboro Team Penske) "Twin Ring Motegi is one of my favorite tracks, and it was an honor to be the first driver to run an IndyCar (Series car) there. The fact they are installing the SAFER Barrier will serve to make the circuit even better. It is great for our sport when a track is willing to take steps to improve driver safety. I look forward to racing there next month." Roger Yasukawa (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing): “I am very glad to hear that Twin Ring Motegi has decided to install the SAFER Barrier. I believe that this will enable more of the side-by-side battles on the track and will remarkably enhance the safety of the circuit. Twin Ring Motegi is a circuit with outstanding facilities within the Series and I think it will without any doubt be the top-class circuit after the installation of the SAFER Barrier.” INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – March 16, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Marco Andretti to make Menards Infiniti Pro Series Debut at St. Petersburg event: Marco Andretti, the 18-year-old son of Andretti Green Racing co-owner Michael Andretti and grandson of Mario Andretti, will make his Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ debut April 3 in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Marco Andretti, who won his first professional driving championship in 2004, will be behind the wheel of the No. 26 Vonage Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, which has been entered by Andretti Green Racing. The car is being prepared by Keith Duesenberg Racing and will be engineered by open-wheel racing veteran Tony Cicale. "I'm looking forward to it," Marco Andretti said. "I know it's going to be a big challenge, but it's a great opportunity. Hopefully, we'll have a good car and can put on a good show for everybody." Andretti, who won 11 races on his way to the 2004 Formula TR Pro Series title, will participate in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series Open Test on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on March 24 and also will test the car at Sebring International Raceway on March 29 in preparation for the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit in St. Petersburg, Fla. Michael Andretti, who co-owns Andretti Green Racing with Kim Green and Kevin Savoree, sees only positives in this opportunity for his oldest son. "This is a great opportunity for Marco, and I'm really glad that Andretti Green Racing can have a hand in it," said Andretti, who competed in 14 Indianapolis 500-Mile Races in a 20-year career. "Marco will get a chance to run a competitive car on a great circuit in front of a huge crowd of new fans in St. Petersburg." 2. Abbott ready to race at Phoenix: Mishael Abbott was in tune with the amount of preparation, data dissemination and media hoopla associated with her inaugural Menards Infiniti Pro Series race March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But the first female to compete in the series was temporarily awestruck. “The weekend was extremely exciting,” said Abbott, 23, of Coral Springs, Fla. “I couldn’t fathom that I’m not the one walking around with the T-shirt wanting autographs but am now the one distributing hero cards and giving my autograph to people.” Abbott, sitting in the shade of a large “Mishael Abbott” banner at Homestead, greeted young and old fans alike with a wide smile and friendly handshake during the twilight autograph session. She’ll undoubtedly be a fan favorite this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Abbott qualified fourth and finished eighth in her debut race on the 1.5-mile variably banked oval. She’ll take more confidence and information into the Phoenix 100 on the 1-mile relatively flat PIR configuration. “To qualify on the outside of the second row was unbelievable,” she said. “The (Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports) team gave me a great car. Our goal was to finish every lap, and we did. I got out of the car with a head full of information that I can apply to my next race.” Competing at PIR in the No. 91 Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone was not part of her five-race schedule, but results at Homestead-Miami Speedway changed the thoughts of team co-owners Ron Hemelgarn and Roger Johnson. “Based on my performance and the response from the fans, they wanted me to add Phoenix to our lineup,” Abbott said. “I am thrilled with their vote of confidence and look forward to the challenge of the Phoenix 100.” The past 10 days have included phone conversations between Abbott and team manager Lee Kunzman and other drivers about that to expect at PIR. “We’re going with the same approach that we used at Miami,” she said. “Our focus is to complete every lap and take it step-by-step, gaining speed as I get more comfortable with the car. Hopefully we will be right there at the end in the hunt for a podium finish.” 3. AFS to run Luyendyk, Mennen at PIR: Arie Luyendyk Jr. and G.J. Mennen will compete for AFS Racing in the Phoenix 100 March 19 at Phoenix International Raceway as the team returns to the Menards Infiniti Pro Series for its fourth season. Luyendyk, son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, will pilot the No. 5 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. “I’m very excited to race in Phoenix next Saturday,” Luyendyk Jr. said. “With support from Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Joan Hubbard, and ScaleCars.com, along with a few returning sponsors from last year, we are ready for the challenge.” Luyendyk, 23, is a Scottsdale, Ariz. resident who finished second in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series in 2002. Last year, he finished third in the point standings, splitting his season between Sam Schmidt Motorsports and AFS Racing. He recorded six top-10 finishes, including four of his final five starts. Luyendyk and team owner Gary Peterson tested the race cars at the 1-mile oval on March 10. “It was a very beneficial test,” Peterson said. “The information that we learned should definitely translate into better results on race day.” Peterson, who has started 22 races in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series, will not participate in the Phoenix 100 due to a concussion he sustained at the end of the test session. “Finding a replacement was easy,” Peterson said. “All I had to do was call G.J. and ask him to drive the car. He jumped at the opportunity. He loves driving for AFS, and he will give us a solid result. G.J. has a lot of experience in these cars, not to mention that he drove the No. 25 car for us in 2003.” Mennen, 32, made 14 starts in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series in 2002 and 2003, recording 12 top-10 finishes. “I am very excited about the opportunity to race for AFS Racing again,” Mennen said. “I don’t like that I won’t be able to be out there racing with Gary, but I am truly honored that he called me fill in for him.” INDIANAPOLIS 500 NOTEBOOK US Airways ramps up for Indy 500 race weekend; U.S. troops to ‘race’ in Mini-Marathon INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, March 16, 2005 – The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most popular travel destinations in the United States on Memorial Day weekend, and US Airways is doing its part to meet the demand of thousands of race fans traveling by air by expanding its Indianapolis flight schedule during Race Week. The airline announced last week that it will offer more inbound and outbound flights at Indianapolis International Airport on May 26-28 and May 30-31, all because of the increased traffic to the city for the 89th Indianapolis 500. US Airways will complement its five daily Charlotte, N.C.-to-Indianapolis flights with two additional inbound flights and three additional outbound flights May 27, 28, 30 and 31, as well as one additional flight May 26 and larger aircraft on select flights throughout the event. In addition, US Airways will operate extra nonstop service May 26, 27, 30 and 31, using additional 50-seat regional jet aircraft between Indianapolis and Boston, New York’s LaGuardia, Philadelphia and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports. For travel information on US Airways flights and fares, visit www.usairways.com.
U.S. troops to ‘race’ in Mini-Marathon: The field for the 29th OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon reached its 30,000-entry limit in December, but race organizers are expanding the field for the 13.1-mile race May 7 for a special group of athletes. A special remote version of the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, designed for troops who wanted to participate but cannot due to their tour of duty in Afghanistan, will take place Saturday, May 7. Soldiers in the Indiana National Guard 76th Infantry Brigade either have been deployed or scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan, along with additional troops from other forces that make up Coalition Joint Taskforce Phoenix III, leaving many soldiers unable to participate in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. More than 300 troops have registered to compete in a 13.1-mile race in Afghanistan, and their times will be included in the official Mini-Marathon results. Nearly 400 soldiers are expected to register. Registration was free due to support from Mini-Marathon sponsors, including OneAmerica, St. Francis Hospitals, Finish Line, Marsh Supermarkets, Corporate Express, WISH-TV, WFMS 95.5 FM, Main Gate and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “It’s important to them and for us that we provide them with the whole experience,” said Kirk Hendrix, president and CEO of the 500 Festival. “We’ve once again developed a complete Mini-kit, including an official start line banner and new timing-and-scoring chips, compliments of the 500 Festival corporate sponsors. We want the troops to feel as much a part of it as possible, short of being in Indianapolis for the Mini.” The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Food and Beverage Department has donated Brickyard Box Lunches and souvenir coolers for the troops’ Mini-Marathon kits, and the IMS Safety Department has donated hats for the kits. In 2004, the 500 Festival created a similar remote Mini-Marathon in Bosnia. The race was successful, with more than 500 participants who received everything from medals to new socks for the race, courtesy of Mini-Marathon sponsors.
Kanaans to chair 500 Fashion Show: Reigning IndyCar® Series champion Tony Kanaan and his wife, Daniele, have been named honorary chairpersons for this year’s CARA Charities Indianapolis 500 Fashion Show on May 26, at the Indianapolis Westin Hotel. One of the most popular social events surrounding the world’s largest auto racing event, the Indy 500 Fashion Show is named “Accelerate Your Fashion Senses” and will celebrate its 24th edition with many of the Indianapolis 500 starting drivers and their families assisting in raising funds for local and national children’s charities. Kanaan and his wife have been regulars at the annual fashion extravaganza for several years and also major supporters of CARA Charities’ fund-raising activities throughout the past decade. “Daniele and I are honored to be honorary chairpersons for this year’s Fashion Show,” said Kanaan, who has recorded two top-three finishes in the Indianapolis 500 in the last two years. “CARA is a great racing organization and has helped many needy people over the years. Dani and I have enjoyed the Fashion Show each year, and we are looking forward to this year’s event. It should be a lot of fun, and it is for a good cause, too.” The 24th annual fashion affair, featuring fashions provided by The Secret Ingredient, Day Furs and Chocolate Soup, will open with a social hour at 11 a.m., followed by a noon luncheon. The unique fashion show is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Kanaan and other Indy 500 drivers, including past champions like three-time winner Johnny Rutherford, two-time winner Helio Castroneves and 2004 winner Buddy Rice, will walk the runway. Tickets are now available, with individual tickets priced at $75 per person. For more information on tickets, corporate tables or event sponsorships, contact the CARA Charities headquarters at (317) 299-2277 or e-mail carachar@aol.com.
Festival seeks volunteers: Volunteers are needed to help with the 500 Festival and Indianapolis 500 Education Program leading up to the 89th Indianapolis 500 on May 29. The Education Program, in its second year, is designed for fourth-grade students. It provides students the opportunity to learn about the 500 Festival and the Indianapolis 500’s place in Indiana’s culture through a unique curriculum. The curriculum incorporates social studies, language arts, science, math and physical education and includes the chance to take a study trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in April and May. The 2005 500 Festival and Indianapolis 500 Education Program boasts 232 schools, equaling 15,263 students in 646 classrooms. These classrooms span across 137 Indiana communities and 76 counties, equaling 83 percent county participation in Indiana. Twenty-One IPS schools are participating along with 21 Indianapolis-area township schools. Volunteers are needed for study trip dates at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on these dates: April 13, 14, 19, 20, 26 and 27 and May 9, 10, 20, 25 and 26. Wednesday, May 25 is also American Family Insurance 500 Festival Community Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Volunteers are needed each day from 8 a.m.-2 p.m., and 50 to 80 volunteers are needed each day to guide and inform students of 500 Festival and Indianapolis 500 history at various interactive education stations positioned around the speedway’s grounds. All volunteers receive a variety of perks, including an exclusive invitation to the Volunteer Recognition Party at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 500 Festival volunteer event T-shirt, an official 500 Festival event credential, an official 500 Festival Volunteer Program pin, complimentary access and parking to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and complimentary meals and refreshments. Registration forms are available online at www.500festival.com and must be completed by April 15, 2005 in order to be eligible to attend the Volunteer Recognition Party scheduled for Saturday, May 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifications. Contact 500 Festival Volunteer Coordinator Mark Adler at (317) 614-6130 with questions or for additional information.
Sneva, Ruttman honored by Hall: Indianapolis 500 winners Tom Sneva and Troy Ruttman are among nine drivers who will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on Aug. 18 at the State Theatre in Detroit. 1983 Indy winner Sneva and 1952 winner Ruttman will join Indianapolis 500 veteran and sports car great Hurley Haywood, NASCAR champion Benny Parsons, drag racer Tommy Ivo, motorcyclist Jay Springsteen, powerboat racer Danny Foster, and car owners/builders John Holman and Ralph Moody in the Hall’s class of 2005. The Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame is located in Novi, Mich. Today’s IRL headlines 1. Cutaway Car Adds To ABC Sports’ And ESPN’s Innovative Coverage of IndyCar Series: ABC Sports and ESPN will add to their innovative coverage of the 2005 IRL IndyCar® Series with the debut of a cutaway IndyCar Series car beginning with ABC’s coverage of the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 Presented by Argent Mortgage on March 19. The car, which will be the first such tool used during season-long telecasts of Indy-style racing, is a full-sized IndyCar Series machine featuring cutouts along its vertical axis. It will give viewers a closer look at the inner workings of an IndyCar Series race car, showing everything from the cockpit and footbox to the aerodynamic and mechanical characteristics unique to IndyCar Series racing. “I think it will afford us the opportunity to do the ultimate in show and tell,” said ABC Sports pit reporter Jack Arute, who along with ESPN’s Jerry Punch will utilize the car from its position at pit out during the race broadcasts throughout the season. “It’s one thing to talk about a failed CV joint, it’s another to show where it is and how it affects the performance of the car and driver.” IndyCar Series crew chiefs and engineers will be used with the cutaway car as needed by the telecast team. ABC and ESPN featured a number of innovative production approaches as part of the IndyCar Series’ partnership during the Toyota Indy 300 on March 6 including: • Continuous coverage of race action through all national commercial breaks with “Side-By-Side,” a split screen of the race and commercials. ABC Sports will utilize “Side-By-Side” on the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 presented by Argent Mortgage from Phoenix International Raceway on March 19. Patrick, driver of the No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda/Firestone, sustained a concussion in a multi-car accident during the Toyota Indy 300 on March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Patrick was in 10th position at the time of the crash, which began when Kosuke Matsuura spun in front of Tomas Scheckter. Patrick, 22, nearly avoided the melee, but made contact with the car of Ed Carpenter, before making heavy contact with the SAFER Barrier. Practice and qualifying for the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 is scheduled for March 18. One of the most popular social events surrounding "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the Indy 500 Fashion Show is named “Accelerate Your Fashion Senses” and will celebrate its 24th edition with many of the Indy 500 starting drivers and their families assisting in raising funds for local and national children’s charities. Kanaan and his wife have been regulars at the fashion extravaganza as well as major supporters of CARA Charities’ fund-raising activities throughout the past decade. Kanaan finished second in last year’s Indianapolis 500 and produced one of the most impressive runs in IndyCar Series history by completing every lap in the 16-race season. “Daniele and I are honored to be honorary chairpersons for this year’s fashion show,” said Kanaan, who drives the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone. “CARA is a great racing organization and has helped many needy people over the years. Dani and I have enjoyed the fashion show each year, and we are looking forward to this year’s event. It should be a lot of fun, and it is for a good cause too.” The show will open with a social hour at 11 a.m., followed by a noon luncheon. The unique fashion show is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, March 15, 2005 – Installation of the second generation of the revolutionary energy-absorbing SAFER Barrier is nearing completion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Speedway crews have replaced the original Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) Barrier on the outside retaining wall of the Speedway oval’s four turns with a “Version 2” of the barrier. The total length of the SAFER Barrier on the outside retaining wall is 5,056 feet. The Version 2 SAFER Barrier features these four major improvements: ●The barrier sections, which were straight in Version 1, are slightly rolled, or curved, to provide a smoother impact surface. ●A universal Styrofoam shape was created that is compatible with IndyCar Series cars and stock cars. ●Improved attachment points anchor the barrier to the existing concrete retaining walls. ●An increase of five steel tubes welded together form the barrier’s exterior instead of four used in the Version 1 barrier. The Speedway also permanently lengthened the SAFER Barrier by 200 feet from the entrance of Turn 1 – also Turn 13 of the road course – northward into the main straightaway to add protection for drivers competing in the United States Grand Prix Formula One race. Inside retaining walls exiting Turns 2 and 4 each received 616 feet of the Version 1 SAFER Barrier that was removed from the outside walls. With the additional 1,232 feet on the inside walls, the total amount of concrete retaining wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway covered by the SAFER Barrier is 6,288 feet, or 1.19 miles. Kevin Forbes, the Speedway’s director of engineering and construction, said the original SAFER Barrier performed very well since its installation in May 2002, and Version 2 is the next step in its evolution. Data collected from accidents at Indianapolis in 2002 involving both Indy Racing League® IndyCar® Series cars and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series stock cars allowed project engineers to find areas for improvement. “Version 2 is a result of understanding exactly how Version 1 performed in the real world, being attached to the walls at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway versus the test facility in Nebraska,” Forbes said. “There are things in the real world that occur when a car impacts a wall that we can’t replicate in a laboratory. The lab gave us a model that we knew was going to be a vast improvement over bare concrete walls.” The most visible improvement is the addition of a fifth tube to the exterior of the barrier, adding strength to the area where the gearbox of a backward-sliding IndyCar Series strikes the barrier. “(Added) strength means the entire assembly will move like it did before, but it won’t gouge or gash the (steel tubing) like it did,” Forbes said. “The primary goal there is to reduce repair time so the track can go green much more quickly after an accident.” Drivers sometimes encounter a secondary impact along the inside retaining wall, after making the harder initial contact with the SAFER Barrier lining the outside wall. So the Version 1 SAFER Barrier removed from the outside walls was installed along the inside wall to provide even more protection for drivers. The SAFER Barrier first was installed on the four outside retaining walls of the Speedway’s historic 2.5-mile oval in May 2002 after nearly four years of development by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League and University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility. NASCAR joined in the development of the project in September 2000. Since SAFER’s debut in time for the 2002 Indianapolis 500, nearly every major oval racing facility in the United States has installed the system. INDY 500 FAN TOUR TAKING ‘GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING’ STATEWIDE INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, March 10, 2005 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is taking the excitement and pageantry of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on the road in spring 2005 with the Indy 500 Fan Tour. The tour, designed to take the thrill and anticipation of the 89th Indianapolis 500 to the fans, will visit numerous communities across Indiana and surrounding states from now until the 2005 Indianapolis 500, scheduled for noon (local time) on Sunday, May 29. “The citizens of Indiana and neighboring states have played a key role in the success of the Indianapolis 500 since 1911, and the Indy 500 Fan Tour is our way of taking the excitement, tradition and history of the race to a new generation of fans,” said Joie Chitwood, IMS president and chief operating officer. The Indy 500 Fan Tour will travel the state in style: A 35-foot Jayco recreational vehicle emblazoned with the 2005 Indianapolis 500 logo and images and icons of the race’s storied history will be the centerpiece of the Indy 500 Fan Tour. The tour also will include: -- A full-size Indy Racing League® IndyCar® Series simulator -- Memorabilia from the Speedway, including an actual brick from the track’s legendary oval surface, drivers’ helmets and fire suits, and the traditional American Dairy Association bottle of milk presented to the race winner -- Photo opportunities with a life-size cut-out of the Indianapolis 500’s famous Borg-Warner Trophy -- Promotional giveaways such as magnets, hats, posters, brochures and other items The Indy 500 Fan Tour kicked off March 4-6 at Lang Chevrolet in Beavercreek, Ohio, part of the Dayton Auto Racing Fan’s “Toys For Kids” Charity Race Car show. The schedule already includes more than 20 appearances across Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. Check back regularly for schedule updates by clicking on the “Indy 500 Fan Tour Schedule” link on www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. For more information on the Indy 500 Fan Tour, contact IMS Public Relations at (317) 492-6780. INDY 500 FAN TOUR SCHEDULE Date March 12 March 12 March 15 March 16 March 16 March 17-24 March 31 April 1 April 2 April 9 April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 15-16 April 18 April 20 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 28 April 29 April 30 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 16 May 20 May 20 Indy 500 tickets: To purchase tickets, camping or parking for the 89th Indianapolis 500, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – March 10, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Indy Racing League, Marathon Coach announce Official Motor Coach Partnership: The Indy Racing League and Marathon Coach, the motor coach of choice of many race teams, drivers and corporations, have announced a partnership that makes the Coburg, Ore.,-based converter of motorhomes and corporate coaches the Official Motor Coach of the IRL IndyCar® Series. The partnership includes Official Motor Coach status of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IRL’s development series, the Menards Infiniti Pro Series™. Marathon Coach is the world’s largest bus converter and represents the highest quality, most luxurious bus conversions available in the world today. Marathon’s custom coaches contain all of the technology and conveniences needed to conduct business or entertain guests at the racetrack. “We are pleased to welcome Marathon Coach to the IRL family of partners,” said Ken Ungar, senior vice president, business affairs for the IRL. “The partnership between our two companies is a natural since we both offer leading-edge and innovative products.” Marathon conversions are primarily built on Prevost 45-foot bus chassis. Prevost “LeMirage” and “H3-45” chassis, powered by Detroit Diesel Series 60 515 horsepower engines, provide the highest level of reliability and durability that coach owners desire. Marathon’s coaches present owners with all of the amenities found in a custom designed, luxury home. Marathon coaches feature plasma and LCD televisions with in-motion satellite television, satellite radio and Internet reception. When it’s time to entertain, spacious galleys and advanced audio/visual systems make the coach a lavish hospitality suite. Exterior hospitality tents and underbelly audio/visual systems allow for extended entertaining. The retail prices for new coaches range from $1,400,000 to more than $2,000,000. High quality pre-owned coaches are also available starting at $200,000. In addition to its main headquarters, Marathon also maintains full sales and service facilities in San Antonio, Fla. and Grand Prairie, Texas for customer convenience. For additional information about the company or to view available inventory, please visit www.marathoncoach.com. The IndyCar Series family of partners includes Bombardier (official business aircraft solutions provider), Firestone (official tire), Chevrolet (official safety car and truck), Delphi (official safety technology supplier), Featherlite (official trailer), Holmatro official supplier of rescue tools), K&N Filters (official air filter), Klein Tools (official airshow), Lincoln Welders (official welder), Marathon (official coach), MBNA (official affinity card), Perkin Elmer (official instrument supplier and fuel certification), TAG Heuer (official timekeeper and watch) and XM Satellite Radio (official satellite radio partner). INDYCAR SERIES TOYOTA INDY 300 SEASON-OPENER SHOWS KEY DEMOGRAPHICS RISE FOR INNOVATIVE ESPN/ESPN2 SIMULCAST; 13 PERCENT INCREASE IN MAJOR MARKETS INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, March 9, 2005 –ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage of the IRL IndyCar® Series season-opening Toyota Indy 300 from Homestead-Miami Speedway had a delivery that surpassed last year's opening race on ESPN by at least 36 percent among the key demographics according to Nielsen Media Research. ESPN showed significant growth across many demographics, including the key male demographics of 18-34 and 18-49, which were both up 36 percent compared to last season. The male 25-54 demographic showed an increase of 54 percent and females 18-49 were up 35.5 percent compared to last season. ESPN’s coverage of the Toyota 300 earned a 0.6 cable rating with the ESPN2 simulcast earning a 0.2 cable rating with the two combining for an average delivery of 739,000 viewers according to Nielsen Media Research. “We are thrilled with the efforts of ESPN and ABC Sports to enhance the look and feel of the IndyCar Series to television viewers,” said Ken Ungar, senior vice president, business affairs for the Indy Racing League. “With the new on-air commentator team, aggressive promotion and continued innovative advances we are confident that the IndyCar Series’ pure-speed and all-out competition will draw more viewers.” According to Performance Research, the two networks combined for a 13 percent rating increase in the top 55 metered markets with 26 of those markets having an increase and 30 of the 55 being equal or increasing from last year’s race. Further Performance Research analysis shows that nine markets showed increases of 100 percent or better, Dallas/Ft. Worth (200 percent), Las Vegas (200 percent), Phoenix (171 percent), Indianapolis (130 percent), Hartford/New Haven, Conn. (125 percent), San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (120 percent), Detroit (100 percent), Nashville (100 percent) and Philadelphia (100 percent). The weekend featured a number of innovative production approaches as part of the IndyCar Series’ partnership with ABC Sports and ESPN including: • Continuous coverage of race action through all national commercial breaks with “Side-By-Side,” a split screen of the race and commercials. ABC Sports will utilize “Side-By-Side” on the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 presented by Argent Mortgage from Phoenix International Raceway on March 19. • The weekend also featured ESPN2 providing viewers with a unique look at IndyCar Series racing with a live telecast utilizing only in-car cameras during the Toyota Indy 300 serving as a simulcast of ESPN’s coverage of the race from Homestead-Miami Speedway. Utilizing a separate announce team, ESPN2 used in-car cameras in the cars of Patrick Carpentier, Scott Dixon, Bryan Herta, Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Tomas Scheckter and Scott Sharp. • Commentator Todd Harris and analyst Gil de Ferran made their debut in the booth with long-time IndyCar Series analyst Scott Goodyear and pit reporters Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little and Vince Welch. • In addition, ESPN360, formerly ESPN Broadband, provided a live split screen simultaneous display of ESPN and ESPN2's coverage, allowing users to see ESPN’s side-by-side concept and ESPN2’s unique in-car camera perspective at the same time. FORMER WINNERS HEMELGARN, CHEEVER FILE INDY ENTRIES INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, March 9, 2005 – Indianapolis 500-winning teams Hemelgarn Racing and Red Bull Cheever Racing each filed entries March 9 for the 89th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” 1996 winner Hemelgarn filed one entry, while 1998 winner Cheever submitted two entries. Rookie Paul Dana was named as the driver of the Hemelgarn entry, while 2002 Indianapolis 500 Bank One co-Rookie of the Year Alex Barron and rookie Patrick Carpentier were named as drivers of the Red Bull Cheever Racing entries. The 89th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Entries must be postmarked by midnight Wednesday, April 6. Dana, from St. Louis, will drive the No. 91 Ethanol/Remy/LifeFitness Dallara/Toyota/Firestone as he attempts to make his first Indianapolis 500 start. A backup car has been entered. Dana is a veteran of the Menards Infiniti Pro Series™, winning in 2004 at Milwaukee and racing in the Futaba Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2003 and 2004. Pat Jordan is the chief mechanic, and Lee Kunzman is the team manager. Barron, from San Diego, will drive the No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Toyota Dallara/Toyota/Firestone, with a backup car entered. He will attempt to make his fourth career Indianapolis 500 start. Barron has finished in the top 12 in each of his three starts, with a best result of fourth in 2002 when he was named co-Rookie of the Year with Tomas Scheckter. Craig McCain is the chief mechanic. Carpentier, from Ville Lasalle, Quebec, will attempt to make his first Indianapolis 500 start in the No. 83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Toyota Dallara/Toyota/Firestone, with a backup car entered. Rhodri Griffiths is the chief mechanic. Max Jones is the team manager for both Cheever entries. 2005 INDIANAPOLIS 500 ENTRIES (as of March 9) Driver Entrant Car C/E/T Entry Date Tomas Enge (R) Tomas Scheckter TBA Paul Dana (R) Alex Barron Patrick Carpentier (R) Key: C/E/T-Chassis/engine/tire; D-Dallara; P-Panoz; C-Chevrolet; H-Honda; T-Toyota; F-Firestone; (R)-Indianapolis 500 rookie; TBA-to be announced. ENTRY SUMMARY DRIVERS (5) CARS (11) INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – March 9, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. Patrick resting following Miami accident: Bombardier Rookie of the Year candidate Danica Patrick is resting at home following a March 6 accident during the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Patrick, driver of the No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda/Firestone, was running 10th in her IRL IndyCar® Series debut when she was caught up in an eight-car accident on Lap 159. Patrick sustained a concussion and is scheduled to see a Phoenix area doctor for a follow-up evaluation. “I had a lot of fun while I was out there,” Patrick said. “The car was great, but I was just trying to be patient and get a feel for the race. Sunday was the longest race of my career, and since it was only my 12th day in an IndyCar (Series car), I wanted to gain as much experience as possible and increase my comfort level. Going into the race, I just wanted to finish. Every lap I run in an IndyCar is experience, and that experience is going to pay benefits later in the season. I really don’t remember the accident, but I know we were having a pretty decent race for our first time out. I just wish I could have finished.” “We ran up in the top five, and were running as well as anybody on the track,” team co-owner Dennis Reinbold said. “Things would’ve worked out fine had we been able to get through that mess. We’d have been back to fourth or fifth and had a good car to the end. But the main thing is that we can now consider ourselves a front-running car at this point and that’s our plan. All of our off-season changes are very exciting at this point because we know now that we can compete with anybody anywhere.” New driver Roger Yasukawa ran as high as fifth position and spent the majority of the day in the top 10 in the No. 24 Honda-powered Dallara. Yasukawa’s day ended with an accident not of his doing on Lap 159, taking away any hope for a solid finish. “Roger did everything he could’ve to try to avoid that incident,” team co-owner Robbie Buhl said. “He was having just an outstanding run (Sunday). He proved that we’ve got a guy that’s willing to drive our race car.” Yasukawa was running sixth and gaining ground, but he missed the pit road entrance on Lap 148 during an attempted green flag stop. As he slid through the edge of the grass in Turn 4, a small fire broke out which caused a yellow flag. Several cars pitted, and the crash occurred as the race went back to green. He was racing in the 11th position “I’m not sure what happened. All I saw was flying parts going by,” Yasukawa said after the race. “I had to go to the high side, but there was no where to go. But man, we had a great race car.” Racing stars from NASCAR and the IRL will compete in a high-stakes poker tournament with $50,000 going to the winner's charity of choice. The runner-up will receive $10,000 for his favorite charity, and every participant will earn $4,000 for the charity of his choice. Although both team and driver recorded their best-ever result with a third-place finish at the 2005 season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway March 6, the team wants to accomplish even more. “I think this is about what we expected, at least out here,” said Herb, 34, whose team debuted in the series at three races last season. “I mean, obviously the (Sam) Schmidt (Motorsports) team has been strong, has a history of winning races and championships. That's the team to beat out here.” Herb, who qualified fourth at the 2004 season finale at Texas Motor Speedway, qualified fifth for the Homestead-Miami 100 with a quick lap of 185.821 mph (28.7696 seconds). His effort was more than a half-second and 3 mph slower than pole sitter Travis Gregg’s top lap. Gregg and Sam Schmidt Motorsports teammate Jaime Camara started on the front row and were 1-2 for the entire 67-lap race on the 1.5-mile oval. “Obviously, we didn't have the speed those guys had,” Herb said. “We're going to have to go back and work on it so we can come back and deserve it next time we get back up there.” While Gregg and Camara raced to a comfortable lead, Herb found himself in a pack competing for third place. He passed rookies Nick Bussell and Mishael Abbott, who had qualified third and fourth, respectively, and took over third place on Lap 3. Herb battled Bussell, Al Unser and P.J. Chesson for third position for the next 17 laps, relinquishing the position to Chesson on Laps 13 and 15, but securing the spot for good on Lap 16. He held off Wade Cunningham, who moved into fourth on Lap 57, by 1.1629 seconds to finish on the podium. “You know, we're not going to sit and be happy with that,” Herb said. “It's time to move on and try and work on the next one.” Herb’s opportunity to improve comes March 19 on the 1-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway. WHELDON STARTS SEASON WITH WIN AT MIAMI HOMESTEAD, Fla., March 6, 2005 – Dan Wheldon opened the 2005 IRL IndyCar® Series season with a dominating victory in the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Wheldon, driver of the No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Honda-powered Dallara, led all but two of the final 129 laps and beat defending race winner Sam Hornish Jr., by 3.6936 seconds. Defending IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan was third, recording his 16th consecutive top-five finish, dating back to the Phoenix race in 2004. Wheldon averaged 142.033 mph en route to the victory, the fourth of his IndyCar Series career. The race was slowed seven times for 35 laps, the most serious accident occurring when eight cars were involved in an accident on Lap 159. Tomas Scheckter, Kosuke Matsuura, Ed Carpenter, Danica Patrick, Bryan Herta, Scott Sharp, Scott Dixon and Roger Yasukawa were all involved in the crash. Patrick was the only driver injured. She was examined by doctors at Baptist Hospital in Kendall, Fla., and released in good condition with a concussion. In the Menards Infiniti Pro Series Miami 100 held before the IndyCar Series event, Travis Gregg captured the first victory of his career by leading all 67 laps. Gregg’s teammate Jaime Camara was second, followed by Jon Herb. TOYOTA INDY 300 POST-RACE NOTES: TOP 10 IN INDYCAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS: DAN WHELDON (No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “It was pretty tough. It was a fantastic result for the team. They worked very hard on it. It's going to be a tough season. You could see how competitive it was. I'm very, very happy with the result. It's a really, really good way to start a competitive 17-race season.” TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “(Sam Hornish) was setting me up for a long time. What can I do? It's racing. He had a faster car. I took the opportunity to pass him when he kind of hesitated, and he got me back. He's been a good guy. We have to work on it and have a faster car.” SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “We weren't very fast out by ourselves, we couldn't run very good, but we could run well in traffic. We always like to win. We got that restart, we did exactly what we needed to do. We stayed right on them on the restart. We got a little bit of a push when we got behind him. We had a good car. We could run wherever we were on the track, but just not quite fast enough.” KOSUKE MATSUURA (No. 55 Panasonic ARTA Panoz/Honda/Firestone): “I had a really good race car today. I was able to drive inside and outside. On the last restart, I was overtaking (Tomas) Scheckter outside Turn 1. I think we were three-wide, and at that time, I was driving on the outside and got up into the tire marbles and dust. I spun and hit Scheckter. I am very sorry for the other drivers that crashed. It was a tough day.” VITOR MEIRA (No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Menards/Johns Manville Panoz/Honda/Firestone): The main thing is that the team did their best, and I certainly did my best today. I certainly could not do anything better. It's good because it's the start of the year, like last year, with a good result. Now we have to carry it on and do the job that we have to do. Honda certainly did their job, they won the race again. We'll just carry on working." (About Buddy Rice going out early) "I don't know which problem he had, but I know I came into the pits and he was already there with a problem. Overall for the team, it wasn't a very good day, but I had a fairly good day. I don't think we had a top-five car, but with the work, doing the right things, we could accomplish that.” HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “It was awesome, incredible. This place is fantastic. They did a hell of a job. That's we got, fifth place. We tried to be consistent, and it paid off. Championships are won as well with fifth place.” (About the end of the race): “That was incredible. It wasn't for the lead, but it was for second through fifth. It was a hell of a race. Everybody seems to respect each other well, and that's what we need.” PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “I really had to stick on Manning’s car there at the end. We did the best we could with what we had. It was a difficult weekend. We had some problems, and we need to improve the car for the next race. Today's goal was to finish, and to finish in the top 10. We did that. An accident would have been hard on the team and put us back even further, so we are in a good place to work hard for Phoenix.” (About multi-car accident late in race:) “I saw Scott (Sharp) go sideways, then a couple of other cars with Danica (Patrick). I guess they touched, and they all started coming towards me. It was close." ALEX BARRON (No. 51 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/ Firestone): “We had really good balance after the first pit stop, and the car stayed pretty neutral from then on out. We didn't have the speed we needed and playing defense the whole race is not the way to go racing. A top-10 finish is not a bad way to start the season." ROGER YASUKAWA (No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Honda/ Firestone): “I don't know what happened. All I saw was Bryan Herta spin in front of me, and I had no where to go. I had to stay on the high-side, so I hit the wall and then got into Bryan's car. I really didn't see what happened up front. I heard Tomas (Scheckter) and Kosuke (Matsuura) got together and that caused everything. Just one of those days, I think we had a great car. We were looking for a great finish, but it’s unfortunate, so we have to work on it for the next race." TOMAS SCHECKTER (No 4. Pennzoil Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/ Firestone): "Stupidity of drivers once again on a restart. A driver tries to go three-wide, I think it was the 55, cut down on me and took half the field." SCOTT SHARP (No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone): "Kosuke and Scheckter spun in front of me and there was no where to go and then someone hit me from behind.” PAUL DANA (No. 91 Ethanol/Remy/LifeFitness Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “We finished, which was our goal. We made the top 10, which was beyond our expectations. It's not how we wanted to get there. Obviously, we were not up to speed all weekend, and we got run over out there a few times. It's not what I'm about, and it's not what the team's about, but we're here. Hopefully, we'll do better next time." A.J. FOYT IV (No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone): “Overall, the car was good, but once I lost the draft it was really slow. It was my best finish but I didn’t really deserve ninth. I was really lucky two times today. First was the pit fire, and then, we had to pit again for fuel. By the time we caught up to the field on the restart, they finished crashing. I feel sorry for the guys who were racing really hard and crashed. Hopefully, no one got hurt. But we go to Phoenix ninth in points.” DARREN MANNING (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/ Firestone): “Sixth place is a solid result for the No. 10 Target Toyota and crew. We didn’t quite have the speed, but we did manage to avoid most of the accidents out there today. I did have some slight contact with Vitor Meira during that whole melee, but that caused some minimal damage to the front wing. We’ll just look forward to Phoenix where we’ll definitely look to be strong.” (Top 3 and story of the day transcript are available at indycar.com/media). MIAMI 100 POST-RACE NOTES: Medical update from Dr. Henry Bock, IRL senior director of medical services: Chris Festa and P.J. Chesson have been checked and released from the infield care center. They are cleared to drive. MIAMI 100 POST-RACE QUOTES: AL UNSER (No. 3 Brian Stewart Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “The car felt great out there. We were hauling. We got by a lot of people running for fourth and fighting with the No. 6 for third, and we were going to get him. But all of a sudden, the right front wheel bearing went bad on us. It was really hard to steer and something was going wrong. It was great. I loved the fight. I love the Stewart team and the 3 car. My dad (two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr.) won a championship in the 3 car.” CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): "We were side-by-side, and I got a little bit loose and then pushed up into him. At that point all I could do was hit him and there was nothing that could be done. He forced me down too low and gave me no room to do anything." Toyota Indy 300 Results HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Results Sunday of the Toyota Indy 300 IRL IndyCar Series event March 06 at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any) and money earned: 1. (11) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, $110,400 2. (8) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 200, $83,650 3. (14) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, $69,600 4. (2) Vitor Meira, Panoz-Honda, 200, $56,500 5. (7) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 200, $51,600 6. (12) Darren Manning, Panoz-Toyota, 200, $45,600 7. (19) Patrick Carpentier, Dallara-Toyota, 200, $46,400 8. (17) Alex Barron, Dallara-Toyota, 199, $43,300 9. (18) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 196, $43,300 10. (21) Paul Dana, Dallara-Toyota, 192, $42,000 11. (1) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 158, Accident, $50,800 12. (15) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz-Honda, 158, Accident, $39,600 13. (6) Scott Sharp, Panoz-Honda, 158, Accident, $38,500 14. (13) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 158, Accident, $37,100 15. (9) Danica Patrick, Panoz-Honda, 158, Accident, $36,000 16. (16) Scott Dixon, Panoz-Toyota, 158, Accident, $34,900 17. (10) Roger Yasukawa, Dallara-Honda, 158, Accident, $33,600 18. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Toyota, 154, Accident, $33,600 19. (4) Buddy Rice, Panoz-Honda, 92, Mechanical, $32,400 20. (22) Ryan Briscoe, Panoz-Toyota, 61, Accident, $31,300 21. (3) Tomas Enge, Dallara-Chevrolet, 41, Mechanical, $31,300 IRL Kicks off Season at Homestead Weekend Schedule Fri. Mar. 4, 2005
Sat. Mar. 5
Sun. Mar. 6
INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – March 3, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. IRL, XM Satellite Radio announce multi-faceted partnership that includes broadcast rights, marketing and entertainment initiatives: XM Satellite Radio and the Indy Racing League today announced a multi-faceted, multi-year agreement to broadcast IRL IndyCar® Series races live and nationwide on XM, beginning with the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway at 2 p.m. (EST) on March 6. IRL programming will be heard on Extreme XM (XM Channel 152). As the exclusive satellite radio partner of the IRL, XM will transmit the IMS Radio Network’s pre-race, race and ancillary programming on the Extreme XM channel, plus IRL news updates and additional programming heard on a variety of XM talk channels. In addition, XM Satellite Radio will be an associate sponsor of the IndyCar Series Fan Experience, a one-of-a-kind, interactive mobile entertainment experience at IRL events designed to bring fans closer to the excitement of the IndyCar Series. The Experience’s live performance stage will be known as the “XM Satellite Radio Live” stage, offering up live entertainment at each and every race across the country. The Experience is divided into four properties – Pole Position, Tech, XM Satellite Radio Live, and Pit Stop. XM will host top music acts to perform at the XM Satellite Radio Live stage at various events during the 2005 season, such as Velvet Revolver at the upcoming XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 19. XM is the title sponsor of the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 and the primary sponsor of the Andretti Green Racing car driven by Bryan Herta in the IndyCar Series. The XM agreement with IRL is the latest joint effort between the nation’s leading provider of satellite radio and the league’s drivers, teams and tracks. “The IndyCar Series boasts some of the most exciting competitions in professional sports, and we know that XM Satellite Radio fans and IRL fans alike are going to love hearing every minute of the action on XM,” said Steve Cook, executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer operations, XM Satellite Radio. “Like the IndyCar Series, XM Satellite Radio is an industry leader using cutting-edge technology to thrill and entertain its subscribers,” said Ken Ungar, the IRL’s senior vice president, business affairs. “We are thrilled that our fans can find the IndyCar Series on XM Satellite Radio wherever they live or travel from coast to coast.” In addition to being the exclusive satellite radio partner of IRL, XM is the official satellite radio network of Major League Baseball, with games for every team all season long; the exclusive satellite radio network for NASCAR, with every race in all three national championship series, and the official satellite radio service of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, and Pac-10 college sports conferences, offering college football and basketball games for more than 30 schools. The latest models of XM radio receivers, such as the portable Delphi XM2go MyFi radio, the Delphi XM SKYFi2 radio, and the Audiovox XR9 radio, have sports tickers that display the current scores for professional and college sports teams on the XM receiver’s display screen. The starting grid for the first of a series-high 14 races features two former race winners, eight rookies and the first woman to compete in the series. Jeff Simmons and P.J. Chesson, who have combined for five victories, hope a strong start at Homestead-Miami translates into a run for the series championship. “This is certainly the best chance I’ve had so far to try to get multiple wins and try to run for the championship,” said Simmons, 28, who will drive the No. 24 Team ISI Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. “We expect to be competitive right off the bat, and obviously we’re looking for a championship. We’re not here to run second. We want to win races and win a championship.” Simmons’ two wins came in 2003 while Chesson earned three consecutive victories last season. “I’ve never been to Homestead-Miami Speedway before, but I think I’ll be able to adapt pretty quickly,” said Chesson, 26, who raced on pavement for the first time last year after four years of World of Outlaws competition. “We had good results last year in our first visits to a lot of tracks.” Chesson joins Genoa Racing, which earned race victories in both 2002 and 2003. Sam Schmidt Motorsports will field four of the eight rookies entered for the Homestead-Miami 100 as it begins defense of its championship. Jaime Camara, Chris Festa, Travis Gregg and Scott Mayer aim to pick up where 2004 champion Thiago Medeiros left off. Medeiros won six of 12 races in 2004, winning the championship by a 134-point margin. “I think the series is going to be really tough this year,” said Festa, 19, who has been racing open-wheel cars for two years after five years of karting. “You’ve got a third-year veteran with Jeff Simmons, and the other guys on this team are really good as well, and you’ve got some other drivers coming into the series that are pretty talented, so it’s going to be a tough year for us. But the Schmidt team has won the championship, and fortunately I’m in one of their cars, so that makes things a little easier, but I’m going to have to work hard. It’s definitely a realistic view for us. If not me, then the other guys on this team as well.” Gregg, 26, competed in three races last season for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, capturing a pole position and earning two top-five finishes. Other rookies entered include: Nick Bussell, 21, a World Karting Association champion; Wade Cunningham, 20, the 2003 world karting champion; Jay Drake, 35, the 2004 United States Auto Club sprint car champion; and Mishael Abbott, 23, a karting and Formula Mazda veteran who will be the first woman to compete in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. “Being the first woman to compete in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series means the world to me,” Abbott said. “I’ve always been proud of my accomplishments, being the first female to win a professional shifter kart race in the United States, being the first to test the Infiniti Pro Series car at Las Vegas two years ago, and now the first woman to actually compete in the series fulfills one of my lifelong goals. “I’ve driven the Homestead-Miami road course more times than I can remember and now to compete on the oval fulfills a lifetime dream, especially in my own back yard. I can’t wait for the race to start.” Abbott will drive the No. 91 Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports entry. The Menards Infiniti Pro Series, the premier ladder series for the IRL IndyCar® Series, also makes stops at Phoenix International Raceway (March 19), St. Petersburg, Fla. (April 3), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (May 27 and June 18), Texas Motor Speedway (June 11), Nashville Superspeedway (July 16), The Milwaukee Mile (July 24), Kentucky Speedway (Aug. 13), Pikes Peak International Raceway (Aug. 21), Infineon Raceway (Aug. 28), Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 11), Watkins Glen International (Sept. 25) and California Speedway (Oct. 16). ETHANOL FUELS INDYCAR SERIES Ethanol is an alcohol derived primarily from grain. As a clean-burning and renewable fuel that is non-toxic and 100 percent biodegradable, it reduces harmful air pollution and improves racing’s environmental footprint. Its high octane rating delivers strong engine performance by helping engines resist detonation so they can run higher compression ratios. The announcement was made today at historic Union Station on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where Tony George, the chief executive officer of the Indy Racing League, along with IRL President Brian Barnhart and Senior Vice President of Business Affairs Ken Ungar teamed with several high-ranking ethanol industry leaders and political figures, including Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. The target for the 2006 season is a maximum blend of 90 percent methanol and 10 percent ethanol for the IndyCar Series. This percentage of ethanol corresponds with ethanol blend commonly available to consumers at gas stations. Blend specifics will be determined in cooperation with the league’s 2006 engine manufacturer partners. Beginning in 2007, the fuel will be 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in IndyCar Series cars, the same fuel that has the potential to replace at least 10 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply. In his February State of the Union address, President George W. Bush recognized ethanol fuel as a reliable supply of affordable, environmentally responsible energy. “My budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology – from hydrogen-fueled cars, to clean coal, to renewable sources such as ethanol,” he said, during the Feb. 2 address. “We are proud to partner with the Ethanol industry to showcase a great American fuel source," Ungar said. “We feel a commitment to the environment and our country's energy security is consistent with our sport’s legacy of race-bred innovation and leadership.” The Indy Racing League has been in discussion for several years with a coalition of ethanol industry companies led by the major ethanol facility engineering and construction firms IMC Inc., Fagen Inc., and Broin Companies. Other groups involved in the discussion were the ethanol trade and advocacy groups including the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, D.C., the American Coalition of Ethanol in Sioux Falls, S.D., the United States Senate Biofuels Caucus and the Governor’s Ethanol Coalition. Race car engines operating on ethanol have demonstrated excellent performance due to the fuel’s high octane content. IndyCar Series cars have run on methanol fuel since the late 1960s, and will continue to do so during the 2005 season. Internal dynamometer testing has shown that there are no technical barriers to replacing methanol with ethanol. “The transition between methanol and ethanol in our cars should be very smooth,” said Phil Casey, the Indy Racing League’s senior technical director. “Our cars won’t sound differently, smell differently or run differently than they have in the past. There will be a seamless transition from methanol to ethanol in our cars.” “Ethanol has long been common in many Midwest markets, and over the last several years it has succeeded in meeting market demand in California and the Northeast,” said Dave Vander Griend, president of ICM, Inc. “Production capacity for ethanol is keeping pace with the increased demand for quality fuel additives, and we are partnering with our petroleum customers as we move into new markets. We are extremely proud of this partnership with the IndyCar Series, and are eager to demonstrate the quality and performance of our product on the world stage.” The IndyCar Series continues to set the standard in technological leadership in automobile racing. Over the past several years, the IRL has been on the forefront of many advances in auto racing, including the introduction of the SAFER Barrier in 2002 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the use of three Delphi IRL Chevrolet Safety Trucks, which travel to all races, and are equipped with video cameras in the front and rear; and the use of a device on IndyCar Series cars that measures and communicates the impact of a crash to rescue and safety workers on the scene. Controlled by Delphi's accident data recorder (which also is required on all cars) a light illuminates when a crash reaches or exceeds a pre-set threshold, informing safety workers that an injury is more likely. To help build anticipation and awareness for this significant milestone among the IndyCar Series’ dedicated fans, the ethanol industry is sponsoring one entry in this year’s IndyCar Series lineup. The No. 91 Ethanol Hemelgarn Dallara/Toyota/Firestone entry will be driven by Paul Dana. Team owner Ron Hemelgarn was one of the founding members of the Indy Racing League, and his cars won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 IndyCar Series Championship. Beginning in 2006, Indianapolis 500, IndyCar Series will use ethanol WASHINGTON, D.C., Thursday, March 3, 2005 – Continuing its technical leadership in the world of automobile racing, the Indy Racing League’s IndyCar® Series has partnered with the Ethanol industry to become the fuel supplier beginning with the 2006 season. Ethanol is an alcohol derived primarily from grain. As a clean-burning and renewable fuel that is non-toxic and 100 percent biodegradable, it reduces harmful air pollution and improves racing’s environmental footprint. Its high octane rating delivers strong engine performance by helping engines resist detonation so they can run higher compression ratios. The announcement was made today at historic Union Station on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where Tony George, the chief executive officer of the Indy Racing League, along with IRL President Brian Barnhart and Senior Vice President of Business Affairs Ken Ungar teamed with several high-ranking ethanol industry leaders and political figures, including Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. The target for the 2006 season is a maximum blend of 90 percent methanol and 10 percent ethanol for the IndyCar Series. This percentage of ethanol corresponds with ethanol blend commonly available to consumers at gas stations. Blend specifics will be determined in cooperation with the league’s 2006 engine manufacturer partners. Beginning in 2007, the fuel will be 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in IndyCar Series cars, the same fuel that has the potential to replace at least 10 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply. In his February State of the Union address, President George W. Bush recognized ethanol fuel as a reliable supply of affordable, environmentally responsible energy. “My budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology – from hydrogen-fueled cars, to clean coal, to renewable sources such as ethanol,” he said, during the Feb. 2 address. “We are proud to partner with the Ethanol industry to showcase a great American fuel source," Ungar said. “We feel a commitment to the environment and our country's energy security is consistent with our sport’s legacy of race-bred innovation and leadership.” The Indy Racing League has been in discussion for several years with a coalition of ethanol industry companies led by the major ethanol facility engineering and construction firms IMC Inc., Fagen Inc., and Broin Companies. Other groups involved in the discussion were the ethanol trade and advocacy groups including the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, D.C., the American Coalition of Ethanol in Sioux Falls, S.D., the United States Senate Biofuels Caucus and the Governor’s Ethanol Coalition. Race car engines operating on ethanol have demonstrated excellent performance due to the fuel’s high octane content. IndyCar Series cars have run on methanol fuel since the late 1960s, and will continue to do so during the 2005 season. Internal dynamometer testing has shown that there are no technical barriers to replacing methanol with ethanol. “The transition between methanol and ethanol in our cars should be very smooth,” said Phil Casey, the Indy Racing League’s senior technical director. “Our cars won’t sound differently, smell differently or run differently than they have in the past. There will be a seamless transition from methanol to ethanol in our cars.” “Ethanol has long been common in many Midwest markets, and over the last several years it has succeeded in meeting market demand in California and the Northeast,” said Dave Vander Griend, president of ICM, Inc. “Production capacity for ethanol is keeping pace with the increased demand for quality fuel additives, and we are partnering with our petroleum customers as we move into new markets. We are extremely proud of this partnership with the IndyCar Series, and are eager to demonstrate the quality and performance of our product on the world stage.” The IndyCar Series continues to set the standard in technological leadership in automobile racing. Over the past several years, the IRL has been on the forefront of many advances in auto racing, including the introduction of the SAFER Barrier in 2002 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the use of three Delphi IRL Chevrolet Safety Trucks, which travel to all races, and are equipped with video cameras in the front and rear; and the use of a device on IndyCar Series cars that measures and communicates the impact of a crash to rescue and safety workers on the scene. Controlled by Delphi's accident data recorder (which also is required on all cars) a light illuminates when a crash reaches or exceeds a pre-set threshold, informing safety workers that an injury is more likely. To help build anticipation and awareness for this significant milestone among the IndyCar Series’ dedicated fans, the ethanol industry is sponsoring one entry in this year’s IndyCar Series lineup. The No. 91 Ethanol Hemelgarn Dallara/Toyota/Firestone entry will be driven by Paul Dana. Team owner Ron Hemelgarn was one of the founding members of the Indy Racing League, and his cars won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 IndyCar Series Championship. Beginning in 2006, Indianapolis 500, IndyCar Series will use ethanol WASHINGTON, D.C., Thursday, March 3, 2005 – Continuing its technical leadership in the world of automobile racing, the Indy Racing League’s IndyCar® Series has partnered with the Ethanol industry to become the fuel supplier beginning with the 2006 season. Ethanol is an alcohol derived primarily from grain. As a clean-burning and renewable fuel that is non-toxic and 100 percent biodegradable, it reduces harmful air pollution and improves racing’s environmental footprint. Its high octane rating delivers strong engine performance by helping engines resist detonation so they can run higher compression ratios. The announcement was made today at historic Union Station on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where Tony George, the chief executive officer of the Indy Racing League, along with IRL President Brian Barnhart and Senior Vice President of Business Affairs Ken Ungar teamed with several high-ranking ethanol industry leaders and political figures, including Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. The target for the 2006 season is a maximum blend of 90 percent methanol and 10 percent ethanol for the IndyCar Series. This percentage of ethanol corresponds with ethanol blend commonly available to consumers at gas stations. Blend specifics will be determined in cooperation with the league’s 2006 engine manufacturer partners. Beginning in 2007, the fuel will be 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in IndyCar Series cars, the same fuel that has the potential to replace at least 10 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply. In his February State of the Union address, President George W. Bush recognized ethanol fuel as a reliable supply of affordable, environmentally responsible energy. “My budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology – from hydrogen-fueled cars, to clean coal, to renewable sources such as ethanol,” he said, during the Feb. 2 address. “We are proud to partner with the Ethanol industry to showcase a great American fuel source," Ungar said. “We feel a commitment to the environment and our country's energy security is consistent with our sport’s legacy of race-bred innovation and leadership.” The Indy Racing League has been in discussion for several years with a coalition of ethanol industry companies led by the major ethanol facility engineering and construction firms IMC Inc., Fagen Inc., and Broin Companies. Other groups involved in the discussion were the ethanol trade and advocacy groups including the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, D.C., the American Coalition of Ethanol in Sioux Falls, S.D., the United States Senate Biofuels Caucus and the Governor’s Ethanol Coalition. Race car engines operating on ethanol have demonstrated excellent performance due to the fuel’s high octane content. IndyCar Series cars have run on methanol fuel since the late 1960s, and will continue to do so during the 2005 season. Internal dynamometer testing has shown that there are no technical barriers to replacing methanol with ethanol. “The transition between methanol and ethanol in our cars should be very smooth,” said Phil Casey, the Indy Racing League’s senior technical director. “Our cars won’t sound differently, smell differently or run differently than they have in the past. There will be a seamless transition from methanol to ethanol in our cars.” “Ethanol has long been common in many Midwest markets, and over the last several years it has succeeded in meeting market demand in California and the Northeast,” said Dave Vander Griend, president of ICM, Inc. “Production capacity for ethanol is keeping pace with the increased demand for quality fuel additives, and we are partnering with our petroleum customers as we move into new markets. We are extremely proud of this partnership with the IndyCar Series, and are eager to demonstrate the quality and performance of our product on the world stage.” The IndyCar Series continues to set the standard in technological leadership in automobile racing. Over the past several years, the IRL has been on the forefront of many advances in auto racing, including the introduction of the SAFER Barrier in 2002 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the use of three Delphi IRL Chevrolet Safety Trucks, which travel to all races, and are equipped with video cameras in the front and rear; and the use of a device on IndyCar Series cars that measures and communicates the impact of a crash to rescue and safety workers on the scene. Controlled by Delphi's accident data recorder (which also is required on all cars) a light illuminates when a crash reaches or exceeds a pre-set threshold, informing safety workers that an injury is more likely. To help build anticipation and awareness for this significant milestone among the IndyCar Series’ dedicated fans, the ethanol industry is sponsoring one entry in this year’s IndyCar Series lineup. The No. 91 Ethanol Hemelgarn Dallara/Toyota/Firestone entry will be driven by Paul Dana. Team owner Ron Hemelgarn was one of the founding members of the Indy Racing League, and his cars won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 IndyCar Series Championship. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Feb. 24, 2005 Today’s IRL headlines 1. ROCKSTAR Enegy Drink to sponsor Enge’s car: Two-time IndyCar Series champion Panther Racing announced that ROCKSTAR Energy Drink will be the primary sponsor of the No. 2 Chevrolet-powered Dallara driven by Tomas Enge. “We are looking forward to our partnership with ROCKSTAR Energy Drink,” said John Barnes, CEO and co-owner of Panther Racing. “ROCKSTAR is a high-energy, cutting-edge, innovative brand making its mark on the U.S. landscape – much like Panther Racing and the IndyCar Series. Together, we are going to make a positive impact.” ROCKSTAR founder and CEO Russell Weiner and other ROCKSTAR executives and guests attended the IndyCar race at California Speedway in 2004 and decided the excitement of the IndyCar Series represented the philosophy of the ROCKSTAR brand and would be an ideal avenue to increase exposure for ROCKSTAR. In addition to its sponsorship of the Enge’s car, ROCKSTAR Energy Drink will have an associate sponsor position on the No. 4 Pennzoil Panther entry driven by Tomas Scheckter. “ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is excited to be involved with IndyCar Series,” Weiner said. “We’re certain our association with Panther Racing, Tomas Enge and Tomas Scheckter will rock the sport and the marketplace. We’re looking forward to having our partnership with them reach fans of open-wheeled excitement personified by this winning team and the league.” Enge will debut the car March 6 at the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After the initial day of testing on the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway in January, the three Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers huddled with a software engineer for 90 minutes to study each other’s driving style. Ryan Briscoe, the newcomer to the group, was in the spotlight. Aside from some ribbing and feigns of pain, teammates Scott Dixon and Darren Manning gave the former Formula One test driver their seal of approval -- and maybe took away some information, too. Data gathered at such sessions – and on the tracks – is invaluable in the ultra-competitive IndyCar Series. It’s one of the reasons the team expanded to three cars for the 17-race 2005 season. “So we have one additional driver that we can study,” team managing partner Mike Hull said. “We can take his aspect of driving a particular corner completely apart against the other two guys. We hope that it helps accelerate the growth of all three drivers. In turn, it helps accelerate the growth of the team.” Team owner Chip Ganassi, who has experienced a lion’s share of success in motorsports, already has seen positives. Briscoe was fast out of the gate on the road-course portion of the test, and held his own during two days of oval testing in Florida and Phoenix International Raceway. It allowed Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar Series champion, and Manning to test a number of different setups. “When you have the mechanics on the team excited, you really know you’ve done something because those are the guys that are hard to get a rise out of,” Ganassi said. “When they’re excited about it, it’s a good thing.” Excitement waned in 2004 when Dixon did not come close to matching his electric first year. He had two top-5 finishes and led only three laps in 15 starts. Manning, in his first full IndyCar Series season in the Toyota-powered Panoz, posted four top-fives and led 12 laps in 14 starts. Both missed races because of injury. “Obviously, the 2004 season was not the kind of year that Target Chip Ganassi Racing is used to in terms of level of performance,” Ganassi said. “We needed to make changes. By augmenting our IndyCar Series count to three and with the addition of Ryan Briscoe, we expect to bolster our engineering platform and strengthen our relationship with Toyota and transform all our hard work into success in 2005. “Given all the right tools, any one of our three drivers can vie for victories this season.” That’s what all three want – and expect. “There’s no point in looking back on 2004,” Dixon said. “It’s pretty much old news. It’s given myself especially more drive to push harder this year and try and get more out of the program than what we did. I think this year everybody’s a lot more focused. Toyota is pushing extremely hard. They’ve had some great products come out already. So we’re looking forward to that. “As far as the team, with the addition of Ryan and a third car, it has been huge so far in the testing that we have done. We’ve been able to gain a lot more information out of what we had and maybe what we would have had in the past. So far, I think we’ve achieved a lot, especially with the team working out all the people and logistics to get everything going smoothly. You can definitely say that hasn’t hindered the two-car team, it’s just made it stronger with the third.” Capsule look at Target Chip Ganassi Racing Car numbers: 9 (Dixon), 10 (Manning), 33 (Briscoe) Owner Chip Ganassi’s viewpoint About Manning: “Darren made a great transition to the IndyCar Series and has shown flashes of brilliance throughout the 2004 season. I’m not sure we gave him all we could to win with last year but we certainly expect to change that this season.” About Briscoe: “In pre-season testing he has shown that he has speed and the technical knowledge of cars that many other drivers lack. Ryan is a very strong addition to this team and I expect him to have the same success the Target team has had with other drivers with F1 experience.” “We have had the privilege of working with Remy in the past, and we are proud to have them back as a sponsor on the No 91 car,” team owner Ron Hemelgarn said. “This is the chance of a lifetime to compete in the IRL with a winning team and a great group of sponsors. Together we can achieve new performance levels, both on the track and in the marketplace,” Dana said. Tracing a charter membership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which began in 1909 with the Remy Brassard trophy runs, a predecessor to the Indianapolis 500, Remy joins a dynamic group of environmentally conscious companies bannered under the Ethanol title sponsorship. Team Ethanol was created within the fast-growing fuel ethanol industry. The program is led by the major ethanol plant design-build firms Fagen Inc., ICM Inc., and Broin Companies, and includes a host of suppliers dedicated to alternative fuels solutions to meet escalating U.S. energy demands. “We are very impressed with the team’s track record and the alternate-energy sponsors committed to an aggressive marketing campaign which has dedicated millions of promotional dollars to feature the IRL Ethanol car as its centerpiece for trade ads, billboards and commercials,” said Remy CEO and President Thomas J. Snyder. “Toyota and Remy are world leaders in hybrid technologies and offer great sponsor alliances for the team. The Remy brand will get international exposure with prime-time race-fan audiences of 20 million people in 198 countries…and growing -- an exact marketing focus for our products,” he added. The J.L. West Motorsports team was in a celebratory mood Feb. 23. After months of planning and preparation, the No. 21 Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone Menards Infiniti Pro Series entry and driver Nick Bussell took the track for the first time for a private test at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “We had a fantastic day,” team owner Jeff West said. “Nick passed the rookie test with flying colors and got up to speed in only 10 laps. If this test is any indication, we should have a great season ahead. Really, we just want consistency here in our first season.” West formed the team and took delivery of the Dallara chassis in late November. He had Bussell hired by mid-December. “Jeff has put together an outstanding team,” Bussell said. “These are good, solid guys with extensive experience. And Jeff has so much experience as well, so I’m confident we will have a rock solid car all season. I’m comfortable in it, so I expect to be very competitive.” Bussell, 21, grew up in Michigan where he began riding dirt bikes at age 9 and competing in karting events when he was 12. In 2002, Bussell won the World Karting Association Triple Crown, claiming points championships in three classes. He advanced into open-wheel cars in 2003. “My background in karting helped me gain the fundamentals of racing, including the knowledge to work with the mechanics and engineers,” he said. “Ovals present a new set of challenges, like actually racing in the turbulence of the other cars on the track, but I know we will work it out quickly.” The team will return to Homestead-Miami Speedway March 6 for the opening race of the 2005 season. Capsule Look At J.L. West Motorsports Driver Viewpoint An interview with Todd Harris, Gil de Ferran, Scott Goodyear, Jamie Little & Tony Kanaan MODERATOR: Welcome everybody to the Indy Racing League’s weekly teleconference. We’ll be joined by five guests on the call this afternoon. Our 2004 Indy Car Series Champion, Tony Kanaan, will be along with us in a few minutes. First we’re going to start the call with four members of our ABC/ESPN broadcast team. The broadcast lineup is being announced today, and sitting in the broadcast booth will be Todd Harris, who will be doing the play-by-play, Gil de Ferran and Scott Goodyear who will be providing the color commentary, and Dr. Jerry Punch and Jaime Little will cover the pits for both networks, while Jack Arute will be in the pits for the ABC broadcast, and Vince Welch will be in the pits for ESPN. And last week, of course, it was already announced that Brent Mussberger will be hosting ABC’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500. Just a little reminder, the Green Flag Tour with Jack Arute kicked off yesterday and Jack is in Denver today as part of that tour taking the Green Flag which will be used to start the race at Homestead Miami March, so 13 cities over the next 14 days. So joining us on the call right now from the ABC/ESPN team are Todd Harris, Gil de Ferran, Scott Goodyear and Jamie Little, and welcome all of you. Thank for taking some time to join us. Q. Todd, let me start with a question for you, as you’re going to be kind of anchoring the broadcast in that play-by-play role. You joined the team last year as a pit reporter, just tell us a little bit about the fact that you have been moved up into the color role, and the transition that will take place for you to be to being the play-by-play man. TODD HARRIS: Well, with one year under my belt, so to speak, in the pits, I’m probably somewhat of a rookie here. But I’ve surrounded myself or they have surrounded myself with a lot of great people, like Terry Lingner and Conrad Piccirillo who will be producing and directing, and Curt Gowdy, up at ABC will keep a close eye and make sure I don’t mess things up too bad. But surrounded by two formers drivers in Gil de Ferran and Scott Goodyear is fantastic. I have got great pit people, and some of the best camera and technical people in the business. So I really kind of feel like it’s a no-lose situation because the racing is going to be fantastic. We have some good road courses this year, and we have a fantastic schedule this year both on ABC and ESPN. Q. Gil, you are also making a transition from driver to broadcaster. Obviously last year you got your feet wet with a handful of broadcasts, but this is going to be your first full season in television. Tell us a little bit about the expectations you have about the experience ahead of you. GIL DE FERRAN: Obviously, I have a lot to learn. I think there’s one thing knowing what is going on, on the racetrack, which I think I’ve got a pretty good idea; and the other thing is being able to talk about it in a format that people can understand and relate to very well. Like Todd, I feel that I’m surrounded by probably the best teachers I could hope for, including my friend here, Scott Goodyear, and you know, so far, I have enjoyed the experience tremendously. It’s really been a lot of fun working with these guys. I’ve particularly enjoyed interacting with all of them off the air, believe it or not and I’m looking forward to this year. Q. Now, Scott, you’ve made that transition before, you’re coming back for your fourth season with the network since retirement as a driver. Any advice for Gil as he makes the transition? SCOTT GOODYEAR: Actually, you know, we are here in Bristol, Conn. right now just doing some rehearsal work, and I can see Gil going through a couple of things that I went through when I first got on board, and there is a transition time. I think one of most difficult things that anybody would find, and I think that I found it and I’m sure that people at home don’t realize what goes on in a broadcast booth is that, you know, while we’re talking, there is generally some chatter going on in our headset from the truck or from some other things that’s happening. And what ends up happening is that, you know, you have to learn to be able to talk past that; and I’ve only done this for three years and I’m not even used to it. It’s just a very, very difficult thing to be able to speak when somebody is talking into your ear without making an interruption on yourself. So I still feel like a rookie at it, and, you know, I’m learning as we go and I think that we’re going to have a great season. Q. One of the things, obviously, that’s a key to successful broadcast is for the three of you in the booth to have a good rapport. Can you tell us a little bit about how well the three of you know each other and the rapport that you’ve developed so far? GIL DE FERRAN: We love each other. TODD HARRIS: I think this might be the first tri-international booth that we’ve had on the network ever with Gil from Brazil; Scott, our neighbor to the north; myself being the lone American. But I think we have great rapport in that we bring something different to the table. Gil’s personality and Scott’s are, I don’t want to say polar opposite, but they are opposite enough that it’s really going to be fun in the booth. Oscar Madison and Felix Unger come to mind; I won’t say who is who, but I think it will be very fun and I think we’re provided with some great racing. I think, just with our rehearsals and our time together at ABC New York and up here in Bristol, there’s good chemistry. I think we have good flow in the booth. Q. Todd, obviously, you touched on it earlier about the pit reporters that you’ll be relying on, obviously Jerry, Jamie, Jack and Vince, they all have been covering motorsports for a long time and have a lot of experience; that really has to be an asset for you guys. TODD HARRIS: Oh, no question about it. The fans have said in focus groups that they like to hear from the pits. They like to hear strategy from the pits. And having been in the pits for a year, I think it’s one of the most exciting places to report from. I had the chance to work the National Championship sideline this year with USC and Oklahoma at the Orange Bowl and the Rose Bowl, but I tell you what, to be on the pit row for the Indy 500 in the waning moments when Buddy Rice is out front and there’s a yellow flag, it doesn’t get much more exciting than that because you see the culmination of so much work and time and effort go into it. And the people in the pits are sharing the same passion and the same stress that the drivers are, maybe not to the same physical degree, but they certainly they have a lot on the line there and we have some great pit people reporting for us. Q. Jamie, you’re down there in the pits, did Todd capture the essence there of what it’s like in the pits? Describe what it’s like for you during a race down there. JAMIE LITTLE: Very intense is a word that comes to minds. I just had the time of my life last year. I come from motorcross and supercross background, and although it’s intense, it’s not live TV like IndyCar (Series) racing. And the speed that these guys carry, the intenseness of being around what happens at any given moment; when those guys come into pit road, you have to be ready for anything, like we saw last year. And I was just hooked from race one at Homestead last year. I’m just so happy to be back this year. Q. And yourself as a pit reporter, you obviously talk about rapport. You have to develop a rapport with all of the team officials down in pit lane, so that you can get that information. And I see you working hard usually all weekend, not just on race day. Tell us a little bit about that. JAMIE LITTLE: It does take a lot of work, especially being the only female on board last year, and this year as well, and being the new face. You have to make the rounds. You have to let everybody know that you’re there because you’re passionate about what you do. You love the sport, you’re covering and you’re there just to add to the show and make it better in any way possible. So I think that you have to gain trust from everybody you’re working with, and as you gain trust, you get better information; and the better you are, and the better the broadcast is, so it all works. Q. Todd, I noticed you’ve been doing a lot of calling the play-by-play for the motorcross events. Has that been good practice for what you’re preparing for this year? Was that kind of planned or was that already in place before you found out about this gig? TODD HARRIS: I’ve been calling the motorcross, the supercross, this is my third year doing that. And absolutely, I think any time you can call racing of any kind, it’s going to help you. It’s kind of a different animal in that supercross and motorcross, you can have 20 riders on the track at different spots on the track at one time, and a lot of times, it’s out of view of you and the camera, especially in the motorcross season, the outdoor circuit. But at Indy car racing, it seems like the drivers, the battles are at much closer quarters and the speeds are, you know, tenfold on what the motorcross is. But I think the essence of racing and the essence of anything dangerous can happen at any time, really, I think is my job is to convey that to the audience. Yeah, to answer your question, supercross and motorcross has been absolutely beneficial in my move up to play-by-play for the Indy Racing series. Q. For Gil and Scott, you guys in the booth there, have you developed kind of a go-to guy to help you out when things get tough? GIL DE FERRAN: What do you mean? I don’t really understand your question. Q. Well, when things are happening so fast in broadcasting, you have somebody that you kind of rely on to maybe give you a key into? GIL DE FERRAN: I think -- this is Gil speaking, by the way, if you can’t make out the accent, Canadian.You know, I really don’t have a hard time understanding what’s going on on the racetrack, because like you said, it’s obviously happening quite fast, but I don’t really struggle with doing -- with understanding what’s going on and really picturing in my mind about how the race is developing. I think what we’ve been working on on these winter months is really coordinating with the producers and the directors and everybody that’s involved in the broadcast so that we can actually put that picture out to the public, and it’s really been an interesting concept. Obviously, it’s the first time we’ve all worked together and I’m sure we’ll get better as the year goes on. But, you know, there is not one person that you sort of go to. I guess I feel like it’s a big team and we all rely on each other’s experience and expertise to make everything better and better. SCOTT GOODYEAR: This is Scott. I would echo that in its entirety. We have so many good people here between ABC and ESPN that we have an opportunity to speak to them. And the thing that I always ask even -- throughout even my third year last year is that, you know, you always need some guidance and some help and some assistance, especially when you don’t have a background in television. We sort have got under the seat in retirement, and then getting into television, you sort of ask all the time to have some input and constructive criticism on just really how you can be better from the experts that we are surrounded by, because as Gil mentioned, it’s just a very large team. Q. We saw over this past weekend just how good television can be in conveying a race with NASCAR. I wonder what you guys can do, and girls, can do to promote the personalities, to show how interesting all of these people are and how darned good they are in the car and convey that, because I really don’t think it’s been done as well as it could have been in the past. Do you have any concrete programs in mind? GIL DE FERRAN: I guess that’s more of a question for the producers and the directors and everyone that is going to be there. But, you know, I feel like obviously this is a priority. I think we are going into the year trying to convey the excitement, the danger and the personalities that are involved in the series, and I guess we’ll do the best we can. JAMIE LITTLE: I can add to that. You know, last year I hosted a show called "The Fast Life" and we did five specials on that, showing the drivers with their helmets off, showing them in their natural environments, at their houses, out having fun and playing. We got great response. Problem is nobody knew when they are going to be on. But this year we are going to do that again, but we are going to have eight half-hour shows and they are going to air on the race weekends, and I believe it’s going to start around the Indy 500. But that’s a great way, the best way that we can convey who these drivers are, what their personalities are like and get people to latch on and want to watch them race. Q. Jamie, you’re stuck down there in the pits. Do you think they will ever let you up in the booth there? JAMIE LITTLE: Oh, geez, that’s a great question. I’m not even thinking that far ahead. You know, honestly, I have so much fun being a reporter. I don’t even know if I would like it up in the booth. I like being in the middle of the action and the excitement, things always happening around you. I think when you’re in a booth, you’re more isolated and you actually have to work harder to convey the excitement and what’s really happening. So I’d love to get there maybe one day, but right now, I love being where I’m at. Q. It’s a great passion to be down there. It’s a great feeling. JAMIE LITTLE: Nothing like it. MODERATOR: That looks like all of the questions that we have for you guys, Todd, Gil, Scott, Jamie. Thank you so much for taking a few minutes out of your day to join us, and we look forward to seeing you throughout the season on the broadcast. TODD HARRIS: It will be a great season, thanks for having us. MODERATOR: I believe we have Tony Kanaan on with us now. How are you today? TONY KANAAN: Good. And you? MODERATOR: We’re doing great. Thanks so much for calling us. Gosh, it’s been a while since we’ve had the chance to talk to you since you took the Championship there in October. Why don’t we just start with the off-season, the last couple of months. How did you -- how did you take the time to unwind and kind of recharge your batteries for the new season? TONY KANAAN: It’s busier than I have ever been. It’s been crazy. Obviously it’s a good thing but I’ve done a lot of, you know, media tours, and I had a lot of invitations to the races. I went to France, we did our go-kart race in Brazil that we ended up winning that one, too, that’s 500 miles. Just it’s been great. I mean, I have enjoyed the time off, which wasn’t really off because I’ve been going everywhere, and just, you know, try to take advantage of winning the Championship; trying to promote the series, as well. We are growing every year. So working hard, just trying to -- you know, we set the standards pretty high last year, so we’re working twice as hard to be able to at least do as good as we did, which I think is going to be very difficult for us this year with all of the records that we broke last year. But Championship -- defending the Championship is going to be definitely the goal. Q. Since you were so busy with all of those activities, busier than you’ve ever been, as you said, do you feel like you’re refreshed? Are you coming into the season kind of feeling refreshed and ready to go? TONY KANAAN: Oh, sure. Obviously it changed my lifestyle a little bit, my habits, all of the stuff, the routine that I had, I don’t have it anymore, just because I’m busier. I was not expecting anything to be different. I think when you do such -- we accomplished such a good thing, you’ve got to be prepared to change a little bit. So, yeah, I’m not spending as much time as I wanted to at home, but the workout is still going great. I still have time to do that, but just need to be smart with my time now and plan my vacations and stuff, which is something that I could have done more easier in the past. Right now, I just have to really watch and plan because the requests are coming every week to do different things, sponsors and all of the appearances that I have to do. Just getting used to the new lifestyle. Q. You mentioned of course it’s going to be tough to improve on last year and you set the bar so high, but obviously the results from our first two tests down at Homestead Miami and Phoenix for yourself, they went well and it looked like for the Andretti Green Racing team went pretty well. What do you guys -- what are the expectations there on the team for 2005? TONY KANAAN: Well, we’re still strong. We’re still working together as a team, the four of us, and the expectations, they are high. We are not expecting to match what we did. I think it happens once in every so many years, I mean, finishing every race, every lap, leading most laps, 15 Top-5. But I think we’re a Championship contender, so we want to keep the Championship in the team again. I think our team, the whole Andretti Green, we are able to win another one, not just with me, but with all of my other teammates. So that’s the goal, I mean, win more races and just go out there and defend the title. Q. You guys have been so close, the group of drivers there on the team, when you’re out on the track competing, trying to win the race, and you’re in the cockpit, do you have a sense that you’re up against 21 other drivers, or is it more the sense that you’ve got three teammates and you’re really only up against 18 other drivers? TONY KANAAN: When we’re racing, we’re racing. But obviously I feel a lot more comfortable when I’m around my teammates than when I’m around anybody else, because I know them, we respect each other. We race hard, but, you know, the integrity and the respect, it’s always higher than any race in any championship that we can ever race against. But, obviously, I raced against 21 guys. Because once we drop the green flag, my teammates would just take care of each other, try not to do silly things, but we are all there to win. But, you know, again, if I can do anything to help my teammates, if I’m in a position that I can help, I will, and I don’t hide that from anybody. I mean, if whatever I have to do to make my team win this championship, if I’m not the contender, I will, I will do it. Q. I’m just wondering if you’ve had any chances to do any half-marathons or marathons or if you media has pretty much scratched that over the winter. TONY KANAAN: No, not really. I haven’t had a chance. My life has been a marathon lately. (Laughing.) So, no, I haven’t. I’ve been training pretty hard, but, you know, there is no -- I have no time right now to do any of them. And then when it was one of them, I wasn’t ready because I spent the off-season very busy. So now I feel ready to do it, but there is none, and the ones that they are, they are around my race weekend. So not yet, but I’m planning to do a couple. I haven’t checked the schedule yet but, for sure I’m doing the Half-Ironman in Florida after the season ends at the end of the year. But maybe in the middle of the season we’ll find something, and for sure I’ll let you guys know. OFG:. You’ve got the race coming up at Homestead but you’ve got the St. Petersburg coming which is a street course. Do you prefer street or oval? I know you’ve done a lot of oval but what do you think? TONY KANAAN: I never hide that I love road courses, so obviously I’ve been very successful in the oval. I like them, but if you ask me to choose, definitely road course for a win. What’s the latest news on the new Honda engine? Is it putting out a lot more power? TONY KANAAN: They are doing a lot of work. I think we’ve definitely made improvements from last year, but it’s hard to say how much. I mean, they don’t tell us, either, but I feel confident that we still have a good engine. But for sure, other people are working really hard to catch us, so we’ve got to be careful. We’ll see, as soon as the season starts, winter testing has been going great, but I want -- I would not discount any of the other engine manufacturers, because they are all very capable to beat us. We’ve just got to keep working, keep working. Q. As long as the engine holds up with reliability, it’s what you need, and speed is whatever the drivers can put into it. Thanks very much indeed. TONY KANAAN: For sure. Thank you. I was very fortunate to have that last year, and you know, finishing every race, so hopefully we’ll keep the same thing this year. Q. You’re going to have a lot of road races this year. Are you prepared for that? TONY KANAAN: Oh, yeah. I can’t wait. I’ve done a lot of go-kart, I always did, a lot of go-karting through the through the winter, a little bit of car racing in Brazil, we have the 1,000 miles there back a month ago, I finished second there. I think I’m ready; a couple tests that we did with the IRL, so, you know, you never know how ready you are until you get there. But I feel ready, more than ready, I can’t wait. Q. Are you actually concerned about that, sometime that streak is going to end when you’re not going to finish on the lead lap or you’re going to fall out of a race; is that in the back of your mind, hanging out there all the time? TONY KANAAN: It’s’ there, it’s going to happen. I mean, it’s like a bomb; it’s just a matter of time. (Laughing). That’s racing. I was very fortunate. Probably I’m very spoiled because it’s been more than a year that I finish every race, but I know it’s going to happen. It’s happened to me a lot in the past and I know it’s coming, and whatever, you know, it comes, we need to take it and just move forward. I cannot expect to finish every race from now until the end of my career. I mean, if it happens, I’m going to be disappointed, but, you know, that’s life. Q. How much will past experience on road courses, maybe just have an overall positive attitude about taking on that challenge, how much of a factor will that be when it comes to those road courses, and will guys who approach it that way have a bit of an advantage? TONY KANAAN: I think so. I mean, obviously, I’m a lot more confident than some of the guys that didn’t race road courses at all. So I do think it’s a little bit of an advantage at the back of your head, but good drivers are good drivers all the time. They might take a little time to adapt. But you know, I came from road course; I had to adopt to the oval. It took me a little time, but here I am, I won a championship in a series that’s just ovals. So I think we’ll have an advantage in the beginning, and then after that, it’s going to be pretty much as competitive as the oval racing. OFG. You have a new lady driving for you or against you, is it ladies first or first one to the corner takes it? TONY KANAAN: Well, when you have a woman -- when she’s wearing her helmet, you can’t tell if it’s a girl. So I guess no ladies first at all. She’s very competitive. I saw her, she knows what she’s doing. She’s very talented. It’s up to us now to work really hard, and I think, you know, she’s going to give us a lot of work. Like I said, when she’s wearing the helmet, I can’t tell if she’s a girl or a guy. So same treatment. MODERATOR: Thanks a lot for taking the time out to join us today, and we certainly wish you the best of luck this season. TONY KANAAN: Thank you, guys. Hope to see you guys soon. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Feb. 11, 2005 Today’s
IRL headlines 1. Open Testing By The Numbers: It’s hard to judge results at test sessions, as teams and drivers concentrate on different aspects of performance besides pure speed. Some teams work on aerodynamics. Some focus on race setups and make long runs using full fuel tanks, which in turn, slow the car. But looking at statistics, Dan Wheldon was the top overall driver during five days of Open Testing, Jan.19, 20 on the 2.21-mile road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jan. 22 on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval and Feb. 9-10 at the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway. Three drivers, Wheldon, Helio Castroneves and defending IndyCar Seires champion Tony Kanaan, ranked in the top-10 on each day of testing. Andretti Green Racing was the most consistent team in the preseason, with Kanaan, Wheldon, Dario Franchitti and Bryan Herta each ranking in the top five, in their Dallara/Honda/Firestone entries. Rankings were determined by adding each driver’s position on the final speed chart each day. The driver with the lowest score prevails, though it may not be the most accurate indicator of performance. Scott Dixon was the most consistent driver in testing in 2004, but was never a factor in the championship. Buddy Rice, who recorded three wins, including the Indianapolis 500, didn’t even crack the top-10. The top 10
for 2005: “We’re real pleased with the Delphi Fernandez team,” said Sharp, who will race the No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone. “It was a great couple of days and we really worked through a lot of stuff today. We’re just trying to concentrate on things we can learn to help us here and at other tracks. Some improve the car, some don’t, but you learn. We got a little bit race running in, so it was a good test.” Sharp was one of the top performing drivers during the oval portion of Open testing. He was second-fastest on the only day of oval testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway and ranked in the top-five both days at Phoenix International Raceway. The results have left the 1996 IndyCar Series co-champion anxious to start the season. “I haven’t
slept well in a couple of weeks because I am so excited every night, and
I can’t quit smiling,” he said. “I’m just so excited
to start the season. I think we’re going to go to each track and
be contenders. I think we’re going to get better and better as the
year goes on.” Schmidt and Ida Cahill, president of the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, will meet with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and John Ensign, the two senators from Schmidt’s home state of Nevada. They also will meet with Rep. Jim Gibbons, as well as other senators, congressmen and staff. The meetings are part of an effort coordinated by the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology “There
are issues coming before Congress which are vitally important to those
with spinal cord injuries,” Schmidt said. “We lost a powerful
spokesman last year with the tragic death of Christopher Reeve, but the
movement to find help hasn’t had time to slow down. We need to pick
up the torch and move forward.” MUSBURGER TO HOST ABC TELECAST OF 89TH INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005 – ABC’s Brent Musburger, one of the most talented broadcasters in the industry, will serve as host of the network’s coverage of the world’s greatest auto race, the prestigious Indianapolis 500, on Sunday, May 29. ABC’s telecast of the 89th Indianapolis 500 starts at noon Eastern time. “Brent Musburger is one of the most well-known and highly respected announcers in sports television,” said Joie Chitwood, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president and chief operating officer. “He is a fitting host for the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’ and his knowledge and enthusiasm will help bring the tradition and thrills of the event to millions of viewers.” One of the industry’s most recognized voices, Musburger handles play-by-play for ABC’s college football and NBA telecasts, as well as for ABC and ESPN’s coverage of college basketball. Musburger served as the pre-game and halftime host on ABC’s coverage of Super Bowl XXV, the 16th time he has participated in the coverage of the nation’s most popular sports spectacular. He covered the World Track and Field Championships and U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1995, hosted the 1992 Pan American Games from Cuba and also has served as host of ABC’s golf telecasts. “We are delighted to have Brent as our host for this marquee event,” said Mike Pearl, senior vice president, executive producer of ABC Sports. “He is one of the hardest-working and most versatile announcers in the business. Brent helps to accelerate the excitement of the event and will be a great addition to the broadcast team.” Prior to joining ABC Sports, Musburger was a member of CBS Sports’ broadcast team. He anchored “The NFL Today” pre-game, halftime and post-game National Football League broadcasts. Additionally, he was the lead play-by-play announcer for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and Final Four, hosted “CBS Sports Saturday/Sunday,” the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, the NBA Finals, the Masters Tournament and the Pan American Games. INDY RACING LEAGUE CELEBRATES 10 HIGH-SPEED SEASONS WITH 13-CITY “GREEN FLAG TOUR” INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005 – In celebration of the start of the 10th season of IRL IndyCar® Series racing, the Indy Racing League announced it will launch a 14-day, 13-city “Green Flag Tour.” The tour, which will carry the green flag that will be used to start the season-opening Toyota Indy 300, will begin Feb. 21 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 6. Along the way, the flag will travel some 7,500 miles, visiting nine of the country’s biggest cities and 10 markets that will host IndyCar Series events. “For the past nine seasons, the IndyCar Series has delivered some of the most exciting racing on the planet,” said Brian Barnhart, president and chief operating officer of the IRL. “The Green Flag Tour will help build even more excitement and keep our millions of fans nationwide on the edge of their seats.” During the two-week event, select drivers from the league will tour the country along with a Chevy SSR safety vehicle and an Indy Racing Experience two-seater designed to provide passengers with the rare opportunity to ride in a real IndyCar Series vehicle. Additionally, TV and radio personality Jack Arute will travel with and report from the “Green Flag Tour.” Arute is ABC Sports’ top pit reporter and has been a member of the Indianapolis 500 broadcast team since 1984. “The Green Flag Tour is an incredible opportunity to showcase the high technology, excitement, spirit and fan-friendliness of the IndyCar Series and its drivers,” said Ken Ungar, senior vice president, business affairs for the IRL. “This tour will engage our fans and help introduce even more people to this cutting-edge sport.” Drivers scheduled to participate include 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick (from Rahal Letterman Racing), 2003 IndyCar Series Bombardier Rookie of the Year Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti (Andretti Green Racing), 2003 IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, Darren Manning and Ryan Briscoe (Chip Ganassi Racing), Tomas Scheckter (Panther Racing), Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier (Red Bull Cheever Racing), Scott Sharp (Delphi Fernandez Racing), and A.J. Foyt IV (A.J. Foyt Racing). Team co-owners Michael Andretti and Adrian Fernandez, plus four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Indy Racing League special projects coordinator Johnny Rutherford also will participate at select stops. Sponsors of the Green Flag Tour include Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota, Target, Jim Beam, Delphi, Firestone, Pennzoil, 7-Eleven, Pioneer, TAG Heuer and Red Bull. Beginning with the March 6 race and concluding on Oct. 16, the 2005 IndyCar Series season includes 17 races in the United States and Japan, including the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing,” the Indianapolis 500. The series, which is known for its hallmark, wheel-to-wheel excitement at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour, debuts its all-out competition on street and road events later this year with three brand new events on its schedule. The Chevy SSR will serve as the official pace vehicle for all 2005 IndyCar Series events, with the exception of the Indianapolis 500 in May. This marks the second-consecutive season that a truck-based Chevrolet will lead the charge to the green flag, while continuing General Motors’ tradition of leading the IndyCar Series field, which began with the League’s first race in 1996. The IndyCar Series Green Flag Tour will be managed by Ignition, Inc., an Atlanta-based company that is known for creating unforgettable branded experiences through experiential marketing, strategic marketing and marketing innovations to help make lasting, emotional consumer connections around the world. Ignition, Inc. has managed the IndyCar Series Fan Experience since its inception in 2003. The Green Flag Tour will race into the following locations on the path to the regular season opener: Date City
CAMARA LEADS MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES TEST AT PHOENIX AVONDALE, Ariz., Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2005 – Jaime Camara recorded the fastest lap of the day to lead the first Open Test of the 2005 Menards Infiniti Pro Series season on Feb. 8 at Phoenix International Raceway. The Brazilian rookie lapped the 1-mile oval in 23.2496 seconds, 154.841 mph in the No. 1 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. Jeff Simmons was second-fastest with a lap of 23.3017 seconds, 154.495 mph in the No. 24 Kenn Hardley Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. In all, eight cars recorded 1,363 laps during the testing session. FASTEST SPEEDS
OF SESSION POST-PRACTICE QUOTES: JAIME CAMARA (No. 1 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “I’m very happy because in the beginning of the day, we were good, but we had some problems. The track is pretty difficult, so I thought we were not going to be the fastest. But we made adjustments, and we went out on new tires and there it is. (About what he learned during the test): “I learned a lot. It’s a technical track. I needed to lift, and when I lifted, I transfered weight from the back of the car to the front of the car. That unbalanced the car, and it’s very hard to control the car on this oval, especially for me because I have only really driven on road courses, so I learned a lot.” JEFF SIMMONS (No. 24 Kenn Hardley Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “It's good to have a chance to test before the season starts. I've never had that opportunity before in the Pro Series. We had a productive day. We struggled a little bit in the morning and probably should have made the changes we made at lunch time a little earlier, because we picked up a bunch of time after that. We had a pretty good car for quite a while. I think if we really wanted to go for it, that we could have gone a bit quicker." CHRIS FESTA
(No. 19 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “We’re
not as happy as you’d think. We started the day with things looking
really good, but we went off in another direction and tried to work with
that. We never really found anything we liked after we set our quick time
in the morning. It just didn’t work the way we thought it should,
so we’re probably going to go back to the way we started the day
the next time we come here.” INDIANAPOLIS 500-WINNING CAR OWNER ZINK DIES AT 74 INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, Feb. 7, 2005 – John S. Zink, the Tulsa, Okla., industrialist whose cars won the Indianapolis 500 in 1955 with driver Bob Sweikert and 1956 with driver Pat Flaherty, died Feb. 5 in a Tulsa hospital. Zink, who was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame at a dinner in May 2004 in Indianapolis, was 74. Only 23 years old when he entered a car in the “500” for the first time, “Jack” Zink had at least one car in the lineup every year between 1952 and 1967. Somewhat following in the footsteps of his father, John S. Zink Sr., who had sponsored a car driven by Cecil Green in 1950 and 1951, Jack Zink arrived with his operation in 1952 and with a driver even younger than himself – 22-year-old Jimmy Reece. They finished seventh. John Zink Specials won 13 National Championship races between 1955 and 1966, four each with Jud Larson and Jim McElreath, two each with Sweikert and Flaherty, and one with Lloyd Ruby. Zink also partnered with Bob Wilke of Leader Cards, Inc., to field the car with which Jim Rathmann won all three heats of the 1958 500-mile race at Monza, Italy. The victories by Sweikert, Flaherty, Larson and Rathmann came with A.J. Watson as chief mechanic, while the victories of Ruby and McElreath were wrenched by Denny Moore. Never satisfied with “status quo,” Zink entered a revolutionary car in 1961 for 1952 winner Troy Ruttman. Not only was the car rear-engined, but it was supposed to have been powered by a gas turbine. Built in Tulsa by Moore, it arrived late and without the turbine. After testing briefly during the early part of the summer, and with an Offenhauser engine in place of the turbine, it was decided to start again from scratch. A second rear-engine car was readied for 1962, this time based on the 1961 Cooper and the Lotus 18. Powered by a Boeing gas turbine, the driver this time was American road racing standout Dan Gurney. Required to take a “rookie” test, Gurney did so with the very front-engine “roadster” that had been driven to victory by Flaherty in 1956. Although the turbine was tested extensively by Gurney, Chuck Hulse and Bill Cheesbourg, it was withdrawn without a qualifying attempt being made. In 1964, Zink partnered with Jack Brabham, who had already won two of his three Formula One World Championships and who had recently become an F1 car constructor. Although Brabham only lasted for 77 laps in the 1964 “500” with his rear-engine Brabham/Offy, McElreath drove it with great distinction during the next 2 ½ seasons. More importantly, this was the car which was virtually duplicated as the Brawner Hawk series, driven to so many victories in the mid- and late 1960s by Mario Andretti. Arrangements for Zink are pending. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Feb. 4, 2005 Today’s
IRL headlines 1. Lucas Oil Products to sponsor Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry: Lucas Oil Products will be the primary sponsor of the Sam Schmidt Motorsports car driven by Travis Gregg in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series in 2005. “We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, which began at the 2004 Indianapolis 500,” said team owner Sam Schmidt. “Lucas Oil is known worldwide for its high quality line of additives and we are proud to represent the company’s first sponsorship in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. We will work very hard to make it productive for them both on and off the track through new business relationships.” Based in Southern California, Lucas Oil Products is one of the fastest growing additive lines in the consumer automotive industry. It offers a premium line of oils, greases and problem-solving additives that have firmly established the company as a prominent figure in the heavy duty, agricultural, marine, automotive and racing industries. Through innovative product research and development, along with aggressive marketing programs, Lucas Oil Products has established itself as the top-selling additive line in the auto part retailers and American truck stop markets. “Growing up in Indiana and actually racing a few times myself, I never would have dreamed I would be able to be a primary sponsor of a team at this level of American open-wheel racing,” said Forrest Lucas. “We focus a great deal of our marketing and advertising efforts towards motorsports. This avenue has proven highly successful for our company and with this new involvement with last year’s championship team and Travis Gregg, Lucas Oil Products will be brought to a whole new level of accomplishments.” Gregg, who competed in three races for the team in 2004, started his first-ever race in the series from the pole and finished second in the season finale at Texas. Lucas Oil also will be an associate sponsor on the team’s other entries driven by Chris Festa and Jaime Camara. 2. Drivers split on Super Bowl picks: Sam Hornish Jr. was backing the Indianapolis Colts to advance to the franchise’s first Super Bowl. The New England Patriots – again – stalled the drive in the AFC playoffs. So the Marlboro Team Penske driver in the IndyCar Series, having seen the Patriots’ latest convincing victories over the Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers, is picking New England to blow out the Philadelphia Eagles 34-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX on Feb. 6. “I have to go with the Patriots as they’re a solid team with championship experience,” Hornish said. “Most of the players already have two Super Bowl rings.” Rahal Letterman Racing’s Buddy Rice, a Phoenix resident, also is picking the Patriots. “I think it would be cool to have another dynasty like the Steelers or the 49ers,” he said. “No one has won back-to-back Super Bowls in awhile. The Patriots are a true team. They play well together; they don't a lot of superstars. Just a good, solid team.” Travis Gregg, driver of one of the Sam Schmidt Motorsports entries in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series, said the Patriots know how to win big and win the close ones. “The Pats are the returning champs, with two rings in the last three years,” he said. “They are very well-coached and have great fundamental play. The addition of running back Corey Dillon makes their running game more physical and will move the chains for them. Tom Brady isn’t the most talented QB in the league and has to work extremely hard at making his game better. He’ll do what it takes to win the big game like he has done in the past. “However, there are some factors that will make this game interesting on the Eagles’ sideline. If Terrell Owens suits up and is able to play and if Donovan McNabb can effectively run the ball out of the pocket the Eagles can keep it close.” On the other side of the ball (so to speak) is A.J. Foyt IV. “I’m going with the Philadelphia Eagles,” he said. “I’ve got my Eagles jersey and gear ready to go." Finally, Helio Castroneves will root for the Eagles based on proximity to his team’s base of operations. “It is hard to go against the Patriots as they have won two Super Bowls in three seasons, but the Eagles are the hometown team for Penske Racing based in Reading, Pa., and I think Donovan McNabb is going to play the perfect game,” the Sao Paulo, Brazil, native and Miami resident said. “I also got to meet Donovan at ESPN - The Magazine’s “Next” Party when we were both featured in the 2000 issue, and he was a great guy so I wish him the best this weekend.” 3. Buhl visits Firestone Technical Center: Former IndyCar Series driver and current team co-owner Robbie Buhl visited Bridgestone Firestone’s Akron Technical Center on Feb. 4 to participate in a ceremony honoring employees of the center’s Advanced Technology Workshop (ATW), which is responsible for the manufacture of tires used in IRL competition. Buhl was joined by Al Speyer, executive director of motorsports for Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC, and by Hank Hara, Executive Vice President, Tire Development & Technology. During the presentation today, Speyer presented a trophy to ATW employees to commemorate their hard work and dedication in making the Firestone Racing program a success. The trophy was a replica of one presented to IRL CEO Tony George last season, to commemorate the 100th event of the IndyCar Series. “Our racing program has a lot of moving parts and requires a lot of coordination between many Firestone teammates,” said Speyer. “But the foundation of everything we do is the ATW employees. They are the ones who put together each IRL tire and their attention to detail and commitment to excellence has made our program the success it is today.” Buhl, a veteran of the open-wheel racing industry, has first-hand knowledge of the quality of work carried out by ATW employees. He won an Indy Lights championship in 1992 on Firestone tires and competed for nine seasons in the IndyCar Series in a Firestone-equipped car. After retiring from the driver’s seat in 2004, Buhl now commits himself full-time to his role as a co-owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “I'm glad to be here on behalf of the IRL drivers and team owners, to say how much we appreciate ATW's dedication and contribution to our sport,” said Buhl. “I was actually involved with Firestone's development work and its re-entry back into open-wheel racing in 1991 with Indy Lights. From that point to where they are now, they can all be very proud of producing such an excellent tire. It’s a great product from a performance standpoint and remarkably consistent week in and week out. That constant performance is something that drivers today take for granted, and each one of these employees makes that confidence possible. We’ve driven a lot of miles on Firestones, and we’re truly thankful for that reliability.” Firestone is entering its 10th season as a tire supplier to the Indy Racing League. Since 2000, Firestone has been the league’s sole tire supplier and in 2002 was named official tire of the IRL and the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Throughout that time, the employees of the Akron Technical Center and the Advanced Technology Workshop have been tasked with the research, design and manufacturing process for Firestone tires used in IRL competition. In honor of Buhl’s longtime support of the Firestone Racing program, a contribution to “Racing for Kids” was presented to him on behalf of ATW employees during today’s ceremony. 4. Drivers appear at Indiana Ice game: Tomas Scheckter headlines a group of Indy Racing League drivers who will appear at the Indiana Ice’s game with the Des Moines Buccaneers on Feb. 5 at Conseco Fieldhouse. Joining Scheckter will be fellow IRL IndyCar® Series drivers Tomas Enge and Paul Dana. 2004 Menards Infiniti Pro Series champion Thiago Medeiros and Menards Infiniti Pro Series newcomer Nick Bussell. The drivers
will sign autographs and participate in intermission activities. Selected
fans will have the chance to compete against the drivers during those
ice intermission activities. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Feb. 3, 2005 Today’s
IRL headlines 1. Hemelgarn returns to IndyCar Series with Dana, Ethanol: Ron Hemelgarn, who won the 2000 IndyCar Series and 1996 Indianapolis 500 as a team owner, returns full time to the IndyCar Series with Paul Dana behind the wheel of the No. 91 Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone for the 17-race season. “I got a feel for how they run their shop and what the attitude is in the shop last year when we had a good season in the (IRL Menards Infiniti) Pro Series,” said Dana, who was runner-up in the 2004 standings. “The 2000 championship that they won seems like a long time ago, but a lot of the same guys are in the shop. They remember what it’s like to win, and they’re hungry to do so again. I like being surrounded by people who are hungry and motivated, and the Hemelgarn guys definitely are.” Hemelgarn, an entrepreneur in fitness and financial industries, has been involved in racing since sponsoring the cars of Dick Simon (1978-79), Spike Gelhausen and Josele Garza (1980). He purchased the Primus team in 1984 and created Hemelgarn Racing. The team made an immediate imprint on the IndyCar Series, with Buddy Lazier starting from the pole position in the inaugural race on Jan. 27, 1996, at Walt Disney World Speedway. Lazier also was behind the wheel for the victory in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” later that year and the IndyCar Series title. The team was runner-up in the series standings in 2001. “I take pride in being one of the sort of founding fathers of the IRL,” said Hemelgarn, a Dayton, Ohio, native, who ran Lazier in the 88th Indianapolis 500 last May in a joint business venture. “I’m very pleased and honored to carry that on.” Dana follows in a line of successful drivers who have competed under the Hemelgarn banner, including Scott Brayton (1985-89), Gordon Johncock (1988-89, 1991-92), Tom Sneva (1988), Stan Fox (1991-95), Billy Vukovich III (1989-90), Arie Luyendyk (1987), Rich Vogler (1987), Davey Hamilton (1991, 1995), Stephan Gregoire (1996), Lyn St. James (1997), and Johnny Unser (1997-99). “It’s a dream come true,” said Dana, a St. Louis native who turns 30 on April 15. “It’s what I’ve worked 10 years to be able to do, and to take the last step and reach the top level of the sport is just an unbelievable opportunity. “It’s a little surreal right now; I think I’ll believe it when the green flag drops at (the opener March 6 at) Homestead. The parity in the IndyCar Series is unreal with how competitive it is. You have to be hungry for every little possible gain you can find because it will move you right up or down the grid. I don’t have any illusions of how intense it is at the top level; I’m just anxious to get started.” Dana started either on the front or second row in 10 of the 12 Menards Infiniti Pro Series races in 2004, including a pole starting position in the opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He had one victory (The Milwaukee Mile) and seven top-5 finishes. He recorded six top-10 finishes in 10 starts in 2003 with Kenn Hardley Racing and Brian Stewart Racing. Ethanol is
a high-octane, high-performance fuel that is clean-burning, renewable
and made in America. As a growing component of the United States' gasoline
supply, it delivers improved vehicle performance while reducing emissions
and improving air quality. “I am really honored to be associated with the ethanol group,” said Hemelgarn, who noted the sponsorship agreement is for four years. “Not only for the racing, but this country has to find an alternative solution to petroleum, and we as American farmers have the ability to generate an alternative fuel as ethanol.” Team Ethanol
was created through the cooperation of a group of companies within the
fast-growing ethanol industry, led by the major ethanol design-build firms
Fagen Inc., ICM Inc. and Broin Companies. “There
are so many people in the industry and companies around the country that
are excited," Dana said. "There’s a buzz about the program Highlighting the rule changes is a modification to the scoring system. For the first time in the series’ four-year history, the winner of the pole position will receive one point in the championship point standings. “There’s no trophy or prize given for sitting on the pole,” said Butch Meyer, technical director for the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. “A lot of these guys work real hard to be able to sit on the pole, so we felt they should be rewarded for that effort.” In addition, qualifying procedures have been expanded to incorporate road- and street-course competition. At such events, the driver with the fastest practice lap during the previous day’s sessions will choose whether the qualification order proceeds from fastest practice driver to slowest or from slowest to fastest. Each car will receive one timed lap of qualifying. Other changes are designed to increase the level of safety at the racetrack. The speed limit on pit road will be dropped to 45 mph from 60 mph; only three crew members will be permitted over the wall during a pit stop; and no one will be allowed over the wall during a race, except during a pit stop. Teams will no longer be permitted to add or remove fuel from their cars in the garage area. “We’ve
never had a fire in the garage area, but since there are no safety personnel
permanently stationed there, we want to eliminate the risk of an accident,” Meyer said. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Jan. 31, 2005 Today’s
IRL headlines 1. Dixon “Bops To Top” for charity: Like any race car driver, 2003 IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon wasn’t pleased with his time. Of course, after climbing the 37 floors (515 feet) of the OneAmerica Tower in Indianapolis – 806 grueling steps – any time should be considered passable. Dixon, driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone, and Super Aguri Fernandez Racing’s Kosuke Matsuura were among the nearly 700 participants in the 22nd Bop to the Top on Jan. 29. Dixon, 24, finished 23rd in 5 minutes, 1.5 seconds. Matsuura, 25, finished in 7:10.7. Their trainer, Jim Leo of PitFit Training in Indianapolis, finished in 5:06.4. “I was kind of disappointed actually,” said Dixon, who is preparing to compete in the Rolex 24 Hours this week with teammate Darren Manning. “I was looking for a 4:30, but I didn’t break 5 minutes. Maybe next year.” It was the second consecutive year Dixon participated in the event that raises funds for Riley Hospital for Children. “We just do it for fun,” he said. “It’s a way of measuring your fitness.” Dixon and Matsuura, like other IndyCar Series drivers, have been stepping up their cardiovascular and weightlifting workouts in preparation for the season that begins March 6 with the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. They’ll also participate in an Open Test next week at Phoenix International Raceway. “Our
workouts now are weightlifting four or five times a week and then we do
quite a bit of running, cycling on trainers and spinning classes,”
Dixon said. “Typically during the week we do cardiovascular things
in the morning and lifting in the afternoon." Simmons, 28, competed in the final four races of the 2004 season with the team, capturing a pole position and a second-place finish. He also competed for A.J. Foyt Racing in the Futaba Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, finishing in second. “I’m ready for the season to start,” said Simmons, a native of East Granby, Conn. “I want to win the series this year, and I feel I’ve got an excellent chance with Kenn Hardley Racing. This is a solid team, and I’m glad to be a part of it.” Simmons made history in 2004 when he and Marty Roth became the first drivers to compete in both the Futaba Freedom 100 and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year. Simmons qualified 29th for the Indianapolis 500 with Pioneer Mo Nunn Racing and went on to finish 16th, the second-highest rookie in the field. Later in the 2004 season, Simmons got an opportunity with Patrick Racing to drive in the IRL IndyCar® Series race at Kansas Speedway where he finished 19th. Simmons was runner-up in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series as a rookie in 2003. Driving for Keith Duesenberg Racing, he won at Gateway and Kentucky while recording three second-place finishes. Simmons is the only two-time winner of the Barber Dodge Pro Series championship, earning titles in 1998 and 1999. Kenn Hardley
Racing enters its third season in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series in 2005.
Team owner Kenn Hardley owns Integrated Services Incorporated, a transportation,
warehousing and logistics company, headquartered in Kokomo, Ind. Menards Infiniti Pro Series cars will test on the 2.605-mile road course on March 24, and on the 2.5-mile oval on May 2. The Menards Infiniti Pro Series will be the first series to compete on both circuits at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The series will hold the Futaba Freedom 100 on the oval on May 27, and will hold a race on the road course in mid-June as part of the United States Grand Prix weekend. To accommodate
the tests at Indianapolis, the Menards Infiniti Pro Series will no longer
hold tests at Infineon Raceway or Watkins Glen International. “I am very happy that the tradition of the Golden Wheel goes on,” said Enge, who will drive the No. 2 Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone in the 2005 IndyCar Series season. “I am naturally pleased from the trophy because it is clear that my performances have not been unnoticed at home despite the fact that I do not many chances to race in the Czech Republic. I am now at the beginning of new and exciting season. There will be a new challenges and starts in legendary Indy 500 and 24 Hours Le Mans. I will do my best for a good representation of the Czech motorsport around he whole world.” The Golden
Wheel is voted on by Czech motorsport journalists. Enge won the Golden
Wheel 2004 for the best circuit racing driver. The Liberec native received
the Speed Award for the fastest average lap speed in a race. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Jan. 27, 2005 Today’s
IRL headlines 1. Stewart Earns Hall of Fame Honors: Brian Stewart has lived and breathed racing for the last 40 years, winning championships as a driver and as a team owner. His passion and success in motorsports will culminate in his induction into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame on Jan. 29. The Indy Racing League Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ team owner will be recognized with 12 others at the Mississauga Convention Centre in Toronto. “If you take the names out of Canada, the Villeneuves, the Carpentiers, the Tracys, Brian Stewart is probably one of the best-known Canadian personalities in motorsports,” said Roger Bailey, executive director of the Menards Infiniti Pro Series, who has known Stewart for more than 20 years. “And he’s certainly one of the best ambassadors Canadian motorsports has ever had.” Stewart’s story has humble beginnings. Born in Port Glasgow, Scotland during World War II, Stewart’s family immigrated to Canada in 1948 to seek opportunities away from an area that had been devastated by the war. Stewart soon fell in love with cars. “I liked cars, liked to get my hands dirty working as a mechanic,” Stewart said. “I was a mechanic on foreign cars, in particular German foreign cars, and a guy that was a good customer and eventually became a good friend, he bought a Formula Vee. He said, ‘Would you like to come out and work on it?’, and I did. “It turned out that I could drive it faster than he could. I had no racing history. I just played hockey. I could drive it faster than he could, and the guy just walked away on the deal, just walked away from the car and said this is your sport. Once you start winning in racing, it’s hard to walk away.” Winning is something Stewart did a lot of. “I was on the pace the whole time that I raced. There was never a race where I would be mid pack or last or anything like that. The only time I wasn’t on the podium was if I crashed the car, which I did sometimes. For me, it was just a mental thing. I used to say, ‘If I’ve got the same engine and the same tires as all these other people, how could they possibly beat me?’ That’s the way I looked at it. Formula Ford was like that, Formula Vee was like that. Everything I ever did was what I would call a spec series. Same tires as everyone else. Same motor as everyone else. The rest of it is just putting the car together. The driver has to drive the car.” He started in Formula Vee, winning the Canadian national championship in 1969 and competing at the world championship at the Nürbergring in Germany. After that, Stewart raced Formula Ford, claiming the Canadian championship in 1972. “I went to the Formula Ford world championships in Brands Hatch (England), and I finished 12th (out of 200). Of course if you’re a race driver, you’re devastated by finishing 12th. It’s only years later that you realize that it wasn’t too bad.” At 30 years of age, however, Stewart realized that his dream of competing in Formula One was getting out of reach. He turned his focus and ‘can’t be beat’ attitude to the ownership-side of racing where he’s continued his winning ways for more than 30 years. “I owned some Formula Fords, owned a Super Vee, owned Vees. I went and grabbed some young guys and put them in there, made them win, insisted that they win. I did the car myself, coached them on the driving. Over the years I had this line of young guys. When you take a young guy, and you give him a good car, and he has confidence that nothing is going to fall off of it, then he’s prepared to drive it to the nth degree.” Stewart campaigned drivers such as Danny Burritt, Burke Harrison, Tom Kristoff, Scott Maxwell and Marty Roth, winning championships in several Formula series. In 1988, Stewart made the decision to enter Indy Lights, a series which his teams dominated for the next 14 years. Stewart fielded British Formula 3 champion Tommy Byrne in 1989, winning four races. The next year, Paul Tracy drove Stewart’s car to victory lane nine times. “You do something like that, and the next year I had Parnelli Jones phone me up. It’s weird as anything for a guy like me – you’re growing up and Parnelli Jones is on this pedestal, and then you’re sitting across a desk from him and behind him on his wall are the Vel’s/Parnelli Jones Formula 1 cars, the Vel’s Indy cars, just one thing after another, and Parnelli is sitting there, and you’re negotiating with him. Of course, he’s a hard negotiator, as am I. Anyway, bottom line is we did a deal for P.J. (Jones), and I ran P.J. “The next year I did Frank Freon and Bryan Herta. From then on, you just had all these drivers coming to you.” The list of drivers included Airton Dare, Cristiano da Matta, Jaques Lazier, Sergio Paese and Luis Garcia. In total, Stewart’s teams won 31 races, 27 pole positions and two championships. When Indy Lights disbanded, Stewart considered joining his long-time friend Bailey in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. A chance encounter with Roth sealed his decision. “I was out at Mosport, at a club race, and Marty was out there spectating, I was spectating, and he said, ‘I want to get back into racing.’ I said, ‘Well, I’d like to go to this Pro Series with the IRL.’ He said, ‘Good, because I want to go to Indy.’ I said, ‘OK, it’ll work hand-in-hand.’ Marty came to my house, we did a deal, bought a car, started running it.” The two paired up for 12 races in 2002 and 2003 before Stewart “graduated” another racer. Roth formed his own team in 2004, and achieved his dream by qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. “It’s my job to get the drivers to the next level,” Stewart said. “If they stay with me for one year and go to the next level, then I did my job. That’s the way I look at it. I don’t want to keep them forever, because if I do that, I didn’t do my job.” Stewart’s dedication to developing winners hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’ll be forever enshrined in the Hall of Fame. 2. Hornish Helps With Tsunami Relief: Two-time IRL IndyCar® Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. has done his part to aid the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Hornish signed autographs at Cabin Fever, a coffee house in his hometown of Defiance, Ohio, in exchange for $5 donations to help aid tsunami victims. Cabin Fever donated all sales earned on coffee, cappuccino, and lattes sold during business hours on Jan. 24 to the effort. “We’re
very impressed with Sam,” said Cabin Fever owner Lisa Spyker. “We
just can’t believe that he was so willing to help us with our relief
fundraiser. He and his family have been so wonderful to work with, we’re
just so happy he was committed to helping the Tsunami victims. INDY RACING LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES – Jan. 24, 2005 Today’s
IRL headlines 1. Newcomers Make Grand Opening At Open Test: Rookies Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick made a big splash in their first Open Test as IRL IndyCar® Series drivers. Briscoe, who will drive a Toyota-powered Panoz as part of Chip Ganassi Racing’s three-car team, posted the top time on the opening day of road course testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also turned the most laps of any driver during the oval portion of the test, recording 208 laps on the 1.5-mile oval. “I've had a great test here,” Briscoe said. “I seem to be adapting quite well to the car on the road course. It's not so difficult to adapt to. It's a good car to drive. It's really responsive to setup changes. We've been able to get through our entire program and make some good improvements. That's been really good.” Patrick, who will be the third female driver to compete in the IndyCar Series, recorded the fifth-fastest lap during the oval portion of the test in her Honda-powered Panoz. She recorded more than 200 miles of testing on both the road course and oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “We have a fast car, but I am inexperienced at running in the pack and with pit stops,” she said. “That will holds us back right now. The day went really well for our crew. I wanted to get up to speed and learn the different grooves. I know I have a lot to learn with the Indy car but the Rahal Letterman team is a great organization and work well together.” Patrick and Briscoe will compete with fellow rookies Tomas Enge and Paul Dana for the 2005 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Award. Patrick said her performance in the preseason tests will help her confidence for her first season. “Overall, it was a very good start for me with the team,” she said. “I have been with the operation for several years, and that helps me in knowing the crews. Now, we will go back to the shop and look over all of the data. Then we’ll get ready for the test in Phoenix. I hope the next test goes as well as today.” 2. Panther Racing To Compete In Copper World Classic: Panther Racing team members will be in Phoenix this week, but not because they’re heading to the IndyCar Series’ Phoenix Open Test. Instead, Panther’s USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown team will field a car for Tyler Walker in the Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway on Jan. 29-30. “I’m really excited to work with Panther Racing and Davey Jones,” Walker said. “They are such an amazing organization, and I’m thrilled to be a part of that.” Walker, a 23-year-old from Los Angeles, Calif., recently signed with Akins Motorsports for the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series. Walker will share duties with NASCAR Nextel Cup standout Kasey Kahne, who Walker drove for in selected USAC events. “I’m
really, really excited about running Tyler this weekend,” said chief
mechanic Davey Jones, who also serves as a mechanic on the No. 2 Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone
entry driven by Tomas Enge in the IndyCar Series. “He and I go way
back, and Tyler’s as good as any driver out there in a Silver Crown
car. The first time he ran with me in a Sprint Car was back in the late
1990s at Eldora and we finished fourth, so we know we’re working
with a helluva driver. We’re both looking forward to some good things
at Phoenix this weekend.” CARSON DROVE MEMORABLE, QUICK LAPS AROUND SPEEDWAY IN 1967 INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, Jan. 24, 2005 – As the legendary host of “The Tonight Show,” Johnny Carson was renowned for being quick with a witty one-liner either in his monologues or while interviewing guests. Less well-known was that Carson also was pretty quick in a race car around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Carson, who became an American icon as host of “The Tonight Show” from 1962-92, died Jan. 23 at age 79. Among the many celebrities whose careers he helped launch included comedian Dave Letterman, who has gone on to similar fame as a late-night talk show host and co-owns the car that Buddy Rice drove to victory in the 2004 Indianapolis 500. In 1967, STP President and Indianapolis 500 team owner Andy Granatelli invited Carson to the Speedway to drive the famed turbine-powered “whooshmobile” race car. STP was a major sponsor of “The Tonight Show” at the time, and Granatelli said he was a guest on the show “seven or eight times.” Granatelli and famed drivers Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and Rodger Ward welcomed Carson to the track. The drivers showed Carson the racing line in a few trips around the historic 2.5-mile oval in a passenger car. Andretti asked Carson during the laps, “Now, you see where those tire skid marks go up into the wall?” “Yes,” Carson replied. “That’s NOT the groove!” Andretti then told Carson, in a story that Carson shared with his “Tonight Show” viewers during an ensuing monologue. Then it was time to let Carson loose on the track in the STP Turbine that Jones drove to sixth in the Indianapolis 500 that year, leading 171 of the 200 laps before a bearing failed. Carson then drove three or four laps around the oval, with a top lap speed of 138 mph, Granatelli said. “He adapted very well,” said Donald Davidson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian. “That doesn’t seem that fast now, but it took 162 mph to make the race those days.” The slowest qualifying speed among the 33 starters in 1967 was 162.543 mph. Carson’s speedy hot laps didn’t surprise Granatelli. “That car was so good and easy to drive,” Granatelli said. “All you had to do was point and steer.” Granatelli said he stayed in touch with Carson until only a few months before his death. “He was a cool guy,” Granatelli said. ROOKIE BRISCOE TOPS SPEED CHART AT HOMESTEAD TEST INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005 –Rookie Ryan Briscoe saved his best lap for last on the opening day of the IRL IndyCar® Series Open Test on Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 23-year-old Australian, who was officially introduced as a Chip Ganassi Racing driver on Jan. 17, topped the speed chart in his No. 33 Toyota-powered Panoz with a lap of 1 minute, 10.4423 seconds, 112.944 mph, on the 2.21-mile road course. Defending IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan was second fastest at 1:10.8136, 112.351 mph, in his No. 11 Honda-powered Dallara. Kanaan’s Andretti Green Racing teammate, Dario Franchitti was third with a lap of 1:10.9647 in the No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Rice, Castroneves To Participate In IROC: 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will represent the IndyCar Series in the Crown Royal International Race of Champions. &# |
