Category: Other Series PR

[media-credit name=”ARCA Racing Network” align=”alignright” width=”180″][/media-credit]SALEM, Ind. (April 30, 2012) – Milka Duno’s race at the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway on Sunday ended on lap 39 after a dramatic full-speed broadside hit by the No. 82 driven by Sean Corr.

Duno took a direct hit right in the driver’s door of her No. 6 Chevrolet – an impact so severe that the car was completely destroyed in the process. Crew Chief Dave Leiner Jr. was able to speak with Duno on the radio immediately after the hit and knew right away that she was conscious. She was able to get out of the car on her own and walk away from the crash but is dealing with major bruising to her wrist and left side of her body. Even with a helmet on the hit was so hard that she chipped a tooth from contact inside the helmet.

“I’m really very upset and frustrated with what happened at Salem,” said Duno. “I race very competitively and very safely and yet this is not the first time that we’ve been caught up in action that we didn’t create or provoke. We started thesessions on Saturday and were doing exactly what we’re supposed to do – getting better in each session and then in qualifying, but then we lose four spots on the starting grid. It can be very discouraging. The hit was the hardest I’ve ever experienced and I’m bruised and sore – but I’ll be at Talladega and we’ll be ready to go.”

The lead-up to Sunday’s 200-lap race included two practice sessions and a qualifying session on Saturday. Duno bettered her times from one practice session to the other and in qualifying as well – but the day wasn’t without complications. An electrical issue with the car shortened her second practice session and during qualifying the car was not ready to qualify in the order to which it was assigned. Duno did qualify for the 20th starting position but due to qualifying out of order was moved back to 24th for the start of the event.

Early in the race, on lap 39, Duno was side-by-side with another car when a competitor from behind decided that he could carve into position between the two – but there was no way to do this and he hit both Duno andthe car next to her – spinning them both and putting the rear of Duno’s car into the wall. After hitting the wall her car came down perpendicular to the track and to a complete stop in the middle.

While several cars were able to slow and avoid contact with the disabled car, under caution the No. 82 of Sean Corr T-boned Duno at full speed – with no apparent signs of trying to slow down or avoid contact.

While a 31st place finish at Salem was not what Milka and her team hoped for heading to the next race, she and her crew will be at Talladega with a new car and hopes for a much better result.

“I’m disappointed with our results at Salem,” said Crew Chief Dave Leiner Jr. “The hit that Milka experienced was one of the hardest I have ever seen witnessed. I’m very happy and relieved that she made it through ok. We’re on our way to Talladega and will be doing all that we can for a good finish there.”

About Milka Duno

Duno has eight major race wins in the highest classes (Prototype) in the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Series and the highest finish ever by a female driver (2nd Place) in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the 48-year history of the race. Go, Milka, Go! – a book about her life and racing career, was awarded the Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book of 2009 at the 11th Annual International Latino Book Awards. In 2010, Duno became the first Venezuelan athlete inducted into the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame.

Please visit Duno at http://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialMilkaDunoFanPage

[media-credit name=”ARCA Racing Network” align=”alignright” width=”180″][/media-credit]No. 44 Ansell/ Menards Toyota Camry

ARCA RACING SERIES – RACE 4 OF 19 – Talladega Superspeedway

RUNNER-UP MEANS SUPERSPEEDWAY MOJO? Despite a hard charge to the finish in Sunday’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway, Frank Kimmel narrowly missed his long-awaited 75th ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards win. However, if stats tell a story, Kimmel has positive “mojo” going into this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. In 19 overall appearances, Kimmel has racked up one pole (2004), one win (2006), seven top fives and four top tens. Last year, he just missed the win by Ty Dillon – so victory seems close to the veteran driver.

THE BIG 5-0: Kimmel turned 50 years old Monday, just after his hometown race at Salem Speedway. Knowing the pressure was on in front of the Indiana crowd, he’s still happy about a second-place finish – even after nine wins for “nine time” at the local track. “I wanted to get to Alex (Bowman), but we just didn’t have it to get there. It was a great run for the hometown crowd, and everyone did an awesome job on pit stops. The car is spotless – when you can bring her home like that at a short track like Salem, it was a good day.”

TALLADEGA NIGHTS FOR AIDB: Kimmel and the No. 44 Ansell/Menards team will support the annual Race Fever dinner and auction held by Betty Jane France Award Recipient Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind while in Talladega. A supporter every year, the crew will donate signed crew items and a jersey as an “honorary member of the team” for one lucky bidder. All proceeds benefit the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind – for more information, visit www.racefever.org.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 44 team will utilize chassis No. A-5 this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. A new chassis for the team for the 2012 season, it made its debut in Daytona earlier this year. After an unfortunate unavoidable wreck and late race penalty, it finished 23rd. Rebuilt for Talladega, it rejoins the ThorSport Racing ARCA Racing Series No. 44 fleet.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Frank Kimmel

[media-credit name=”IZOD IndyCar Series” align=”alignright” width=”287″][/media-credit]Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:

1.      Streaking Power takes point lead to Indianapolis

2.      Sato scores first podium

3.      Inside the Box Score – Sao Paulo

1. Streaking Power takes point lead to Indianapolis: The champagne wasn’t flowing yet in Victory Circle when Will Power, winner of the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle for the third consecutive year, was speaking of his next objective.

“I’m very happy to get that third win (in Brazil) and third in a row,” said Power, who prevailed April 29 in the Chevrolet-powered No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car on the temporary street course by 0.9045 of a second over Ryan Hunter-Reay. “We need to make it four in a row. The most important race is next.”

That, of course, is the 96^th Indianapolis 500, and drinking from a quart of milk over a magnum of champagne in Victory Circle has been Power’s goal since early in his junior formula driving days.

Opening Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is May 12, and the May 27 race will mark to the date the 40th anniversary of Team Penske owner Roger Penske’s first Indianapolis 500 triumph when Mark Donohue drove the McLaren/Offy to victory. Penske-owned cars have earned 15 race victories and 16 poles – both records – in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Power has a best finish of ninth in four trips to the Speedway, but enters the first oval event of the season on a roll. The victories on the Barber Motorsports Park road course (from ninth on the starting grid), the Long Beach street circuit (from 12^th on the grid) and the Sao Paulo street course (from the pole) – coupled with bonus points for two pole starts and leading the most laps in Brazil – have staked Power to a 45-point lead in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings.

“I’ll just keep the head down, try to enjoy it, enjoy my race,” said Power, who has entered the Month of May the past four year with most recent finishes of first (Brazil), 12th (Kansas), second (Long Beach) and 27th (Kansas). “You need a bit of luck, good strategy, no mistakes, and that’s how you win races.”

Power recorded No. 18 of his career on the 2.536-mile, 11-turn street course in front of an enthusiastic crowd, and has won five of the past 10 races spanning two seasons to set himself up for another run at the series title.

“When I look at the last two seasons, the first one of the last two is definitely a weakness on ovals,” he observed. “But I would say last year that wasn’t the case. It was just bad results were really bad.”

One potentially bad Indianapolis 500 omen for Power though: In 95 races, car No. 12 has won once (Peter DePaolo in a Duesenberg in 1925).

2. Sato scores first podium: Two weeks ago at Long Beach, Takuma Sato was a few turns from potentially earning his first IZOD IndyCar Series podium finish. But a bump and run by Ryan Hunter-Reay, which didn’t escape the view of Race Control, dropped the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver to eighth.

Fast forward to the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle, where it didn’t appear Sato would have a chance at a podium spot after starting 25th of 26 cars because of an unapproved engine change after practice April 28 and incurring a drive-thru penalty for a pit lane speed violation on Lap 12.

But that’s exactly what the third-year IZOD IndyCar Series driver did over the course of 75 laps on the 2.536-mile, 11-turn street circuit.

“It is a fantastic feeling to finish third,” he said. “It was an eventful race starting from the back of the grid. I needed to fight back so hard to get the positions back. The first part of the race was really hard, not necessarily on the overtaking but to follow the strategy, and at one stage we had a pit speed penalty but we gradually moved up.

“Finally, after a difficult weekend, it is a relief to get this result and I am really pleased to bring the team a third place and see the first checkered flag of the season. It was a great day.”

3. Inside the Box Score – Sao Paulo: Numbers to note following the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle, the fourth of 16 events of the 2012 IZOD Indy Car Series season.

2 – Drivers who have finished in the top 10 in each of the first four IZOD IndyCar Series events: Will Power and James Hinchcliffe.

3 – Races in a row won by Power, the longest win streak in Indy car racing since Scott Dixon won three-straight races in 2007…Consecutive races won by Will Power in Sao Paulo…Drivers who have completed every lap of every race in 2012: Power, Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

4 – Different teams represented in the top five of the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

6 – Different teams represented in the top 10 in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.

7 – Different drivers to finish on the podium in the first four races of 2012.

12 – Consecutive races led by Will Power dating to 2011.

22 – Positions gained by Takuma Sato en route to his first podium in IZOD IndyCar Series and most of any of the 26 drivers.

39 – Positions gained by Oriol Servia in the first four races of 2012.

45 – Points separating Power (180) and Helio Castroneves (135) in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings.

109 – Top five finishes for Dario Franchitti in his Indy car racing career. Franchitti passed Gordon Johncock for ninth on the all-time list.

111 – Laps led by Will Power in 2012. Power has led 32 percent of the laps this season.

185 – Consecutive Indy car starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland.

52,000+ – Fans who attended the the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on race day, according to information released by the event promoter.

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Indianapolis 500 Mile on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised by ABC at 11a.m. (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Firestone Freedom 100 on May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised live by NBC Sports Network at Noon (ET).

[media-credit name=”IZOD IndyCar Series” align=”alignright” width=”287″][/media-credit]Welcome to the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle, the fourth of 16 races on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The INDYCAR and Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle media relations staffs are here to assist you.

***

TODAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):

8:30 – 9 a.m. – IZOD IndyCar Series Warmup

12 p.m. – Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle (75 Laps), BAND (NBC Sports Network in USA), (Live).

***

Qualifying lap times for the No. 18 Sonny’s BBQ car have been voided by INDYCAR following post-race technical inspection on April 28.

Pursuant to Rule 14.4.13.3 of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series rulebook: As requested by INDYCAR each Car must run either the cameras or dummy equipment as supplied by BSI/INDYCAR.

Justin Wilson, who had qualified sixth for the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle in the Dale Coyne Racing car, will start from the rear of the 26-car field April 29.

***

The following cars have been given 10-grid spot penalties for unapproved engine changes.

#6 Legge (Carryover penalty from Long Beach)

#7 Bourdais (Engine change after qualifying)

#15 Sato (Engine change after practice 2)

#22 Servia (Engine change after qualifying)

***

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES WARMUP:

Rain fell overnight in Sao Paulo and the track is wet. All teams have opted to use the rain tire for the session. At 8:30 a.m., the temperature was 64 degrees with light rain falling. The track temperature was 66 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

8:30 a.m. – GREEN.

8:36 a.m. – RED FLAG: #4 Hildebrand is off course in Turn 6.

8:40 a.m. – GREEN.

8:42 a.m. – RED FLAG. #6 Legge is stopped on the backstretch.

8:49 a.m. – GREEN.

8:53 a.m. – RED FLAG. #3 Castroneves is off course in Turn 6.

***

INDYCAR officials have given #15 Sato a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact with #11 Kanaan during the session. He will have to serve the penalty when the session resumes.

***

8:55 a.m. – GREEN.

***

Katherine Legge, driver of the No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing Lotus suffered a torn ligament in her left thumb in an on-track incident at Long Beach two weeks ago.

“It’s OK. The adrenaline of being in the car masks the pain,” she said.

REVISED SCHEDULE:

11:38 a.m. – All Cars to the Grid

11:53 a.m. – Driver Introductions / Driver Parade

12:10 p.m. – American National Anthem

12:13 p.m. – Brazilian National Anthem

12:17 p.m. – Drivers to Your Cars

12:23 p.m. – Drivers Start Your Engines

12:30 p.m. – Green Flag (2nd Time By)

ITAIPAVA SAO PAULO INDY 300 PRESENTED BY NESTLE RACE SPECIFICS:

•The race is 75 laps, 190.2 miles on the 11-turn, 2.56-mile street course. The time-limit of 2 hours, 30 minutes will go into effect in the event of rain.

•The pit road speed limit is 50 mph.

•Pole sitter Will Power has chosen to grid drivers’ left.

•The green flag to start the race will be shown the second time by the start-finish line.

•The E85 ethanol allotment for today’s race is 88.5 gallons.

•Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford will drive the Honda Safety Car.

•There will be no tow-ins or returns from the garage within the final 15 minutes of the race.

***

All cars except for #28 Hunter-Reay, #26 Andretti, #4 Hildebrand, #77 Pagenaud, #19 Jakes, #3 Castroneves, #25 Beatriz, #78 De Silvestro, #7 Bourdais, #22 Servia, #6 Legge, #15 Sato and #18 Wilson will start on the alternate (red) tires. All cars must run at least two green flag laps on a new set of alternate tires in the race, unless the race is declared a wet race.

***

ITAIPAVA SAO PAULO INDY 300 PRESENTED BY NESTLE RACE RUNNING:

At 12:15 p.m., the ambient temperature was 69 degrees. Skies were cloudy. The track temperature was 71 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

12:23 p.m. – Journalist Johnny Saad gave the command “Drivers, please start your engines.” All cars are running.

Lap 1: GREEN. #12 Power leads the field into Turn 1. #38 Rahal went from sixth to fourth and #67 Newgarden went from 8^th to fifth on opening lap.

Lap 3: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by .9375 of a second.

Lap 5: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by .5606 of a second.

Lap 8: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by 1.2749 seconds.

Lap 10: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by 1.9526 seconds. #3 Castroneves on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 11: #77 Pagenaud and #15 Sato on pit lane for four tires and fuel.

***

IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #15 Sato with a drive through penalty for a pit lane speed violation.

***

Lap 12: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by 2.2831 seconds.

Lap 14: #26 Andretti on pit road for four red tires and fuel.

Lap 15: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by 2. 5291 seconds. #18 Wilson pits for four red tires and fuel. Wilson stalled on exit.

Lap 17: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by 3.0867 seconds. #4 Hildebrand on pit road for four red tires and fuel.

Lap 18: #27, #25 #6 on pit lane for four tires and fuel.

***

IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #25 Beatriz with a drive through penalty for a pit lane speed violation.

Lap 19: #12 Power leads #10 Franchitti by 3.0671 seconds.  9, 11, 83 on pit lane for four tires and fuel. #18 returns to pit lane.

Lap 20: #19 Jakes and #22 Servia pit for four tires and fuel.

***

IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #22 Servia with a drive through penalty for a pit lane speed violation.

***

Lap 21: #10 Franchitti, #38 Rahal, #5 Viso, #8 Barrichello, #7 Bourdais on pit lane for four tires and fuel.

Lap 22: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by 18.2322 seconds.

Lap 23: #12 Power and #28 Hunter-Reay on pit road for four tires and fuel. #2 Briscoe makes contact with the wall in Turn 10. FULL COURSE YELLOW. #12 Power maintains the lead under caution followed by #10 Franchitti, #28 Hunter-Reay, #9 Dixon and #14 Conway.

Lap 26: GREEN. #12 Power leads the field into Turn 1. #10 Franchitti spins after contact with #14 Conway in Turn 1.FULL COURSE YELLOW. Leaders under caution are: #12 Power, #28 Hunter-Reay, #9 Dixon, #3 Castroneves, #8 Barrichello.

Lap 27: #67 Newgarden on pit lane for four tires and fuel.

Lap 28: #14 Conway, #19 Jakes, #7 Bourdais on pit road for four tires and fuel. Pit Report: #14 Conway also changing nosecone after contact. #10 Franchitti on pit lane for four tires and fuel.

Lap 29: GREEN. #12 Power leads the field into Turn 1. Multi-car accident in Turn 3. FULL COURSE YELLOW. Cars involved are: #67 Newgarden #78 De Silvestro and #19 Jakes. Cars of #7 Bourdais. #14 Conway, #83 Kimball were slowed by the track blockage.

Lap 31: #3 Castroneves, #4 Hildebrand, #27 Hinchcliffe, #26 Andretti, #38 Rahal, #77 Pagenaud, #15 Sato, #20 Carpenter, #14 Conway all pit for four tires and fuel. Contact between #14 Conway and #26 Andretti. #26 Andretti must fall behind the #15 Sato because of a pass under yellow.

***

IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #38 Rahal with a drive through penalty for a pit lane speed violation.

***

Lap 33: GREEN. #12 Power leads the field into Turn 1.

Lap 35: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by .5730 of a second.

Lap 36: #77 Pagenaud on pit road for new nosecone after damage on course.

Lap 38: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by .9316 of a second.

***

#12 Power has clinched the two bonus points for leading the most laps in the race.

***

Lap 40: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by 1.5156 seconds.

Lap 42: #11 Kanaan on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 45: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by 3.0910 seconds.

Lap 46: #9 Dixon pits for four red tires and fuel.

Lap 47: #5 Viso pits for four black tires and fuel.

Lap 48: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by 2.5304 seconds. #8 Barrichello pits for four red tires and fuel.

Lap 49: #22 Servia pits for four red tires and fuel.

Lap 50: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by 2.5487 seconds. #25 Beatriz on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 52: Leaders #12 Power and #28 Hunter-Reay on pit road for four tires and fuel. New leader is #10 Franchitti.

Lap 53: Leader, #10 Franchitti, on pit road for four red tires and fuel. #38 Rahal also on pit road for four tires and fuel. New leader is #3 Castroneves.

Lap 54: #5 Sato, #4 Hildebrand, #20 Carpenter, #14 Conway, #7 Bourdais, #77 Pagenaud pit for four tires and fuel,.

Lap 55: Leader #3 Castroneves on pit lane for four red tires and fuel. New leader is #27 Hinchcliffe.

Lap 56: Leader #27 Hinchcliffe and #11 Kanaan on pit lane for four tires and fuel. New leader is #9 Dixon.

Lap 57: Green flag stops complete: #9 Dixon leads #12 Power by 2.5386 seconds. #5 Viso on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 60: #9 Dixon leads #12 Power by 3.1037 seconds.

Lap 63: #67 Newgarden stopped on course in Turn 5. #20 Carpenter also off course in Turn 11. FULL COURSE CAUTION. Leaders under caution are #9 Dixon, #12 Power, #28 Hunter-Reay, #10 Franchitti, #3 Castroneves.

Lap 64: Leader #9 Dixon on pit road for fuel only. New leader is #12 Power.

Lap 67: GREEN. #12 Power leads the field into Turn 1. Behind there is multi-car incident in Turn 1. FULL COURSE YELLOW. Cars involved are: #14 Conway, #26 Andretti, #38 Rahal, #77 Pagenaud, #11 Kanaan,#9 Dixon, #25 Beatriz and #19 Jakes.

***

IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #25 Beatriz with a drivethough penalty for avoidable contact with #20 Carpenter on lap 63.

***

Lap 71: GREEN. #12 Power leads field into Turn 1.

Lap 72: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by .6922 of a second.

Lap 74: WHITE: #12 Power leads #28 Hunter-Reay by .8420 of a second.

Lap 75: CHECKERED: #12 Power wins the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle by .9045 of a second.

ITAIPAVA SAO PAULO INDY 300 PRESENTED BY NESTLE POST-RACE NOTES:

· Will Power won the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle for the third consecutive season. He is the only driver to win here on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

· It is Power’s 18^th career Indy car victory and his third victory of 2012 and his third consecutive win in 2012. He is the first driver to win three-straight races since Scott Dixon won at Watkins Glen, Nashville and Mid-Ohio in July 2007.

· This is Team Penske’s third win at Sao Paulo. It has won all three races with Will Power.

· Ryan Hunter-Reay finished a season-best second place. It is his second podium finish of 2012.

· Takuma Sato finished third, his first podium finish in the IZOD IndyCar Series. His previous best finish was fourth (Mid-Ohio in 2011).

· Helio Castroneves was the highest-finishing Brazilian driver in fourth place.

· Dario Franchitti finished fifth, his first top-five finish of the season.

· James Hinchcliffe finished sixth, Hinchcliffe has yet to finish outside the top-6.

ITAIPAVA SAO PAULO INDY 300 PRESENTED BY NESTLE POST-RACE QUOTES:

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, winner Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented By Nestle):“”Very happy to get that third win here and third in a row. We need to make it four in a row at the most important race next. (The final restart) was the key to winning. Ryan (Hunter-Reay) got a really good jump. I knew I just had to go like you wouldn’t believe through the first complex of corners because I knew he could get a run on me. Ryan is one of the hardest guys you will ever race; he never gives up. Full credit to the Verizon guys, Chevy and Team Penske. These guys make it possible. We did it three for three.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Coastal.com Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports): “”It was a long day but the good point was that we were able to get the car right for the race. We had a really strong race car. It was our first time here in Sao Paulo and it took us a little while to understand what was needed but I was really, really happy in the race car. We were making progress until I had to go through the run off and basically lose a lot of positions. Everything went down hill from there. We got hit. I lost my wing twice. Then in the end, we lost a lap when we were collected in that last wreck. If there is a wreck in front of you in the chicane, there is no way to avoid it. It’s a shame and that’s why we need to start ahead of the pack.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished sixth): “It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, I’d say. We had a decent starting position but the first stint was shocking. We didn’t have the right car for the really slick conditions in the beginning and we fell like a stone; we had a bit of a slow first stop and it set us even further back, so we were really struggling. It’s a credit to these Go Daddy guys, ya know, we just never give up. As the track dried out the car really came to us and we had the car back that we had yesterday – we set the third quickest lap and the car was hauling. We were able to bring home another top six. It’s all perspective. If you had told us before the race started that we were going to finish sixth I would have been pretty disappointed, but if you told me after the first (pit) stop that we were going to finish sixth I probably would have been pretty pleased with that. We’ll take the finish and take the points – if we’re not thrilled with a sixth-place finish that means we’re doing something right.”

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Itaipava/GEICO/ Mouser Electronics KV Racing Technology Chevrolet): “Unfortunately, our strategy didn’t work out the way we wanted because of the number of yellow flags. That is racing. If everything had played out the way we envisioned we would have been in the top-five. It’s a shame, but it is always fun to race in front of the Brazilian fans. I want to thank them and my sponsors for supporting me. From here we go to Indy, which is the most important race of the season and we looking for a good result in a race I have been close to winning, but never have.”

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet, finished seventh): “I’m stoked for the guys because I had left something on the table during qualifying this weekend, and I really wanted to get out there and hustle it and pick off some guys and get us up to the front. And through some good strategy calls and a good National Guard Chevy we were able to do that and it was a lot of fun. This track, especially now with the different engine manufacturers – and the car is more sensitive when you take downforce out – lends itself to being able to make some passes out there. You combine that with the difference between the red and black Firestone tires and it made for a really exciting race. It certainly was for us. I know all of us at Panther are happy to come away from here with a solid Top 10 and head into the month of May in the top 10 in the points standings.”

TAKUMA SATO (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, finished third): “It is a fantastic feeling to finish third. It was an eventful race starting from the back of the grid. I needed to fight back so hard to get the positions back. The first part of the race was really hard, not necessarily on the overtaking but to follow the strategy, and at one stage we had a pit speed penalty but we gradually moved up. One-by-one we overtook cars which was very exciting. In the end, the restart got me into a great place; it was very exciting for me. There is always opportunity on a restart but you never know until you hit the brake because there is no plan basically. When Helio and Dario were in front of me, two wide, initially I thought there was no chance but when I saw their braking point was earlier than I expected I saw a little opportunity to dive inside. I was confident that I would make the corner so I was very excited. Finally, after a difficult weekend, it is a relief to get this result and I am really pleased to bring the team a third place and see the first checkered flag of the season. It was a great day.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Chevrolet, finished second): “The weather had been so up and down, so we didn’t know what to expect. (On final restart) I really challenged (Will Power) on the outside. I tried to get him but he had the inside and he raced clean. We’ve been right there on the podium three of the four races so we’re really happy going to Indy.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “I guess that just wasn’t our day. The Target car definitely had some speed but we just couldn’t put it all together.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Lexar Media Honda): “Our Lexar car was very fast and we were pretty quick out there. We got hit on that restart and spun out but we kept fighting and it was a great job by the Target boys on pit lane. It just didn’t work out today. We were up there and didn’t get the mileage we needed. We almost got back up to the front but the last two restarts weren’t the best for us.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing Lotus): “It was difficult for sure. I think we ran pretty good in practice this morning and we were looking forward to having a good race. The guys on the team have been doing a great job and working really hard. I feel bad for them that we couldn’t finish the race. Now we just have to go back and work hard to get everything working right for Indy.”

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): “Today was a tough day to swallow. We had a great race going and, then to get spun out, just made it look like a bad day. There is no use being upset with the result. We will just focus on the progress and start getting ready to go win at Indy.”

KATHERINE LEGGE (No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing Lotus): “The Lotus teams were struggling to find speed down the long straightaways here, so we were simply focusing on the areas of the car we can control. We managed to fix a braking issue that’s been plaguing us, as well as some other improvements to keep us competitive with the other Lotus teams. We are working well together as a team and really starting to gel. I am very happy to be working with Brandon and the rest of my crew.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO (No. 8 BMC/ Embrase – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet, finished 10th): “When you are in 16th place and at the end of the race you gain six positions you have to feel better. However, I have to say I did not understand the race. I was running third or fourth and all of a sudden I was 17th. We did have a few problems with the pit stops, but strategy was such a big factor this afternoon. In fact, when I saw Dario (Franchitti) after the race I stop to talk to him and asked him when you should spin so you can come in a take fuel. I just want to thank all the Brazilian fans for coming out to the race. I gave my very best today. Unfortunately, because of all the cautions flags our strategy didn’t work out today but it will out some other day.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Penske Logistics Chevrolet, finished fourth): “It was an awesome day in the Penske Logistics car. I received many messages on Twitter yesterday when people saw my frustration after qualifying inspiring me and they were the ones really driving me today. It was a great call today by John Erickson on the pit strategy and the car was good. I didn’t know how much damage was done to the front until I got out of the car, but it was a great race and I have to thank all my guys, Ron Ruzewski, John Erickson, and all the guys on my crew.”

E.J. VISO (No. 5 CITGO/PDVSA – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet, finished ninth): “Another top-10 finish is always a good thing especially when I am looking for championship points.   It was a bit of a sweet and sour weekend. We were not as fast as we expected in qualifying, however we had a strong race. Unfortunately, there were several strategies used today and ours didn’t pay off the way we hoped. We all acknowledge that it was a difficult situation with the weather constantly changing and the number of yellow flags due to accidents. I think we had a car that was good enough to finish in the top-five and want to thank the crew and my engineer for doing a great job.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team RC Cola Chevrolet): “We were there in the end and were coming for Hinch (James Hinchcliffe) and got caught up in wreck and dropped back to 20th and managed to get back up to 14th by the end. We were slow on the straights anyway and that’s where I lost all my time. There were guys I couldn’t see yet in my mirrors and then they were by me by the end of the straight – there was nothing I could do. If we had finished sixth or seventh it wouldn’t have been terrible – another bummer day for the RC Cola boys but we’re coming ready for Indy.”

ANA BEATRIZ (No. 25 Team Ipiranga Chevrolet): “The race result didn’t show our potential. We ran in the top 10 and were consistent. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the beset speed on the straights and were being beaten by the other guys. But we were good on the corners so I’m happy to accomplish running in the top five. It was a shame being penalized twice and being involved in that last accident because I’m sure we had a great chance to finish in the top 10 with the Ipiranga car.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Honda, finished eighth): “What an interesting race. No corner went without some sort of contact. The Novo Nordisk team did a fantastic job today. Great pit stops and I’m thrilled to have a career-best finish here in Brazil. On to Indianapolis.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 38 Service Central Honda): “Overall it was a tough day for the Service Central team. We couldn’t catch a break today and things just did not go our way. We had a fast car but I guess it wasn’t our day.”

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS

Will Power       180

Helio Castroneves        135

James Hinchcliffe        123

Ryan Hunter-Reay       121

Simon Pagenaud          118

Scott Dixon      109

Takuma Sato    83

Ryan Briscoe   83

JR Hildebrand  83

Dario Franchitti            82

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Chevrolet        36

Honda 24

Lotus   16

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

Simon Pagenaud          118

Josef Newgarden         54

Katherine Legge           46

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Indianapolis 500 Mile on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised by ABC at 11a.m. (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Firestone Freedom 100 on May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised live by NBC Sports Network at Noon (ET).

[media-credit name=”ARCA Racing Network” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit](SALEM, Ind. – April 29, 2012) – Alex Bowman led by as many as 11 seconds after the halfway point of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway, but still had to keep nine-time Salem winner Frank Kimmel at bay to score his third ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards win in five career starts.

Bowman, driving the No. 22 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Dodge for Cunningham Motorsports, led 146 of 200 laps and won by a final margin of 1.276 seconds over ThorSport Racing’s Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota), who was in contention for his first ARCA win since September 13, 2008.

Standing in Victory Lane, Bowman’s focus extended beyond his short track victory and into the full 20-race ARCA schedule.

“I don’t know what to say,” Bowman said. “The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/Cunningham Motorsports/Penske Dodge was awesome all day. I’m just really hoping we get to put together a full season for these guys. I’ve never met a group of guys that works as hard and close together as these guys. We’re one big family. We hang out off the race track and at the race track, and we have a ton of fun. I just can’t thank everybody at the shop enough.”

Bowman’s previous two ARCA victories came in his first two career starts, at Madison International Speedway and Kansas Speedway last year.

Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell winner Chris Buescher (No. 17 Roulo Brothers Racing Ford) and Bowman drove away to start the race, but Tom Hessert (No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet) moved past Bowman and into second place on Lap 22.

Bowman took back second place five laps later, and tracked Buescher down for the race lead on Lap 40, just before a caution period. Buescher drove to the pits and gave up his track position, and Bowman led out of the Lap 52 green flag.

After falling back to 17th on pit road, Buescher started to charge through the field on fresh tires. After leading the final practice and earning the pole Saturday, Buescher had talked about the race-worn Salem Speedway’s added “character” this spring, explaining that tire preservation would be exceptionally important.

He moved to 13th by Lap 54, to eighth by Lap 58, and to seventh two laps later, using Turns 1 and 2 to coast by cars in front of him. Still, Bowman controlled the top of the leaderboard, moving to a 1.494-second advantage as Hessert, Chase Elliott (No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet), and Kimmel battled behind him.

Buescher drove to third by Lap 69, at which point Bowman led Hessert by 3.672 seconds. Bowman’s lead had nearly doubled 10 laps later, when Will Kimmel (No. 68 Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Ford) and Charles Evans Jr. (No. 09 RoushYates.com Ford) crashed to force another caution flag. Bowman pitted, handing the Lap 81 lead to Clint King (No. 66 Warehouse Design Chevrolet).

Bowman did not wait long to take back the lead, moving past King in the second turn on Lap 91. With King, Hessert, and Elliott battling for second, Bowman started to drive away. Another caution slowed Bowman’s progress, but he truly started to dominate after the Lap 102 green flag. Buescher, who seemed like Bowman’s top competition given the way he had charged through the field so quickly, had pitted again, and struggled to stay in the top 10.

Bowman led Ryan Reed (No. 15 RaceHard.com/JDRF Chevrolet) by 1.291 seconds at Lap 104, and improved that lead by three seconds just six laps later. Ten laps after that, he led by more than seven seconds. At Lap 129, Bowman’s lead was 11.302 seconds and seemed safer than ever, considering the tight pack for second through fifth that seemed to be losing ground. That group, featuring Mason Mingus (No. 32 811 Call Before You Dig Toyota), Reed, Erik Jones (No. 55 C.J. Solar Band Chevrolet), and defending Salem spring winner Brennan Poole (No. 25 Adcetera Chevrolet), started to make a move, and another caution flag at Lap 133 erased Bowman’s advantage totally.

Mingus took a brief lead when Bowman drove to the pits to close Lap 135 under caution, but Bowman easily took it back shortly after the Lap 140 restart. Not only did Bowman pass Mingus, but Kimmel followed to set up a 1-2 battle between rising racing star and home track legend.

Bowman could not escape Kimmel as easily as he had other contenders in the previous laps, at most extending his lead to approximately two seconds. Though Kimmel closed Bowman’s advantage to under a half-second with just under 40 laps to go and again with 10 laps remaining, Bowman held his lead. In the end, Bowman had led the final 61 laps and 105 of the last 110 to deny Kimmel his 75th ARCA victory – despite feeling like everything could go wrong at any moment.

“We were just up there cruising,” Bowman said. “That was the best race car I’ve ever had in my life and there toward the end, something started breaking or going wrong in the right front. I was actually worried we were going to cut our right front down. Frank started catching us, and I was like, ‘Man, you’re going to lose this in the last 10 laps.’ Those last five laps were an eternity, but the car held up and we brought it home.”

Poole finished third to take the ARCA Racing Series points lead. Elliott, making just his second ARCA start in a car owned by his father Bill, earned his second top-10 by finishing fourth. Jones, just 15 years old, edged his 16-year-old teammate King for fifth, giving Venturini Motorsports three of the top six positions in the finishing order.

Buescher finished seventh after leading the race’s first 39 laps. Tyler Reddick, another 16-year-old competitor new to ARCA, finished eighth. Josh Williams was ninth and Mingus finished 10th, having led five laps.

Six caution periods slowed the race for a total of 45 laps. The race ended in one hour, 38 minutes, and 57 seconds, at an average pace of 67.312 mph.

[media-credit name=”ARCA Racing Network” align=”alignright” width=”180″][/media-credit]No. 44 Ansell/ Menards Toyota Camry

ARCA RACING SERIES – RACE 3 OF 19 – Salem Speedway

Salem, In. (April 29, 2012)-  Although Alex Bowman led by as many as 11 seconds after the halfway point of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway, he still had to keep nine-time Salem winner Frank Kimmel at bay to score his third ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards win in five career starts.

Bowman won by only a final margin of 1.276 seconds, roughly three car lengths, over ThorSport Racing’s Kimmel, who was in contention for his first ARCA win since September 13, 2008.  The veteran driver proved at his “home” track with his new team, that he had the car to beat all afternoon at Salem Speedway.

[media-credit name=”IZOD IndyCar Series” align=”alignright” width=”287″][/media-credit]Welcome to the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle, the fourth of 16 races on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The INDYCAR and Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle media relations staffs are here to assist you.

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TODAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):

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The IZOD IndyCar Series will compete in the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle, a 75-lap race at Noon (local) Sunday.

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Live timing and scoring reports from the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle are available on the Internet at racecontrol.indycar.com.

Feature stories, reports, driver quotes and notes will be posted on the INDYCAR media website at media.indycar.com. More detailed information, including media advisories and VNF coordinates are also posted on the media website.  Hi-resolution images are available to media at www.indycarmedia.com. Media updates will also be provided on Twitter by following @indycarpr

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IZOD INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE #1:

At 8 a.m., the ambient temperature was 60 degrees. Skies were cloudy. The track temperature was 68 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

8:05 a.m. – GREEN. Track is open to rookies and all drivers outside the top-10 in IZOD IndyCar Series point standings. All cars will be allowed to run in the first five minutes.

8:20 a.m. – RED FLAG. #22 Servia is stopped on course in Turn 6. Car is towed back to pit lane by Holmatro Safety Team.

8:26 a.m. – GREEN.

8:30 a.m. – Track is open to all cars.

8:35 a.m. – IZOD IndyCar Series officials have given #4 Hildebrand a drive-through penalty for leaving his pit box too early.

8:45 a.m. – RED FLAG: #38 Rahal makes contact with the tire wall in Turn 6. Rahal climbs from his car without assistance from the Holmatro Safety Team.

8:53 a.m. – GREEN.  #5 Viso has been given a drive-through penalty for leaving his pit box too early.

9:20 a.m. – CHECKERED.

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New tire specs, used already: The Firestone primary and alternate tire specifications are new for Brazil, but both specs have already seen race action this year at St. Petersburg and Long Beach. The specs feature updated tread compounds applied to the same Firehawk street course tire construction used throughout 2011.

The Firestone rain tire for this weekend is the same rain spec used in the last half of 2011.

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Chevy seeks to make strong impression: Chevrolet’s Agile and Prisma are favorites of taxi operators in São Paulo. It’s no coincidence as Brazil boasts one of the strongest global retail markets for the General Motors brand.

The race weekend on the street circuit will be the first for the IZOD IndyCar Series engine manufacturer.

“With Chevrolet’s strong presence in Brazil, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase the relevant technology in the Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 engine in front of thousands of fans,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing IZOD IndyCar Series Program Manager. “We are looking forward to giving them something to cheer about as our teams and drivers take to the streets of São Paulo.”

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Promoting the Mazda Road to Indy: Raphael Matos may not be racing at the Sao Paulo Indy 300 but he is busy promoting Indy car racing in his home country.

Matos, who hopes to secure sponsorship to return to the IZOD IndyCar Series, represented the Mazda Road to Indy during a press conference at the Sao Paulo street circuit.

“I am working with Mazda to help promote the Mazda Road to Indy here in Brazil,” Matos said. “I am the only driver to win on every step of the ladder, and I think having my speak on behalf of ladder and INDYCAR can help bring more Brazilian drivers to Star Mazda, Indy Lights and USF2000.”

Matos, who competed in endurance sports car races earlier this year, was joined by Firestone Indy Lights driver J.V. Horto of Juncos Racing, who has been in his home country promoting the event.

“It’s a big thing to be involved in this event,” Horto said. “I want to help the (Mazda Road to Indy) and hopefully helping the series will help me and other Brazilian drivers. The more  we can get the media and sponsors interested in the ladder series, the better it can be.”

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE #2:

11:05 a.m. – GREEN

11:13 a.m. – RED FLAG: #2 Briscoe has spun at the exit to Turn 11 and stopped on front stretch. Car is restarted

11:16 a.m. – GREEN.

11:21 a.m. – RED FLAG: #3 Castroneves makes contact with the barrier between Turns 2-3. Castroneves climbs from the car without assistance from the Holmatro Safety Team. Car has front wing and suspension damage on the left side.

11:33 a.m. – GREEN. #14 Conway has been given a drive-through penalty for pit speed violation.

11:42 a.m. – RED FLAG: #25 Beatriz is off course in Turn 5. #6 Legge and #15 Sato are in the runoff area in Turn 11. Reports of a small fire on board #15 Sato, which is extinguished by corner workers.

11:54 a.m. – GREEN.

12:02 p.m. – RED and CHECKERED. #67 Newgarden does a half spin and makes left side contact with the tire barrier in Turn 11. Car is restarted by the Holmatro Safety Team and returns to pit lane under its own power.

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A.J. Foyt will miss the Sao Paulo event: “I’m still not 100 percent (staph infection following knee in January surgery) and I felt with Indy coming up I didn’t want to put myself through that long trip to Brazil,” Foyt said.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES POLE QUALIFYING:

IZOD IndyCar Series Pole Qualifying consists of three segments. In Segment One of qualifying, each group receives 15 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Segment Two, while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13-26. Group One drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions (13, 15, 17…) while Group Two drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions (14, 16, 18…) based on their fastest lap times.

During Segment Two, the 12 advancing cars receive 10 minutes of track time. The fastest six advance to the Firestone Fast Six Shootout while the remaining six cars are ranked in positions 7-12 based on their fastest laps.

During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive 10 minutes of track time, with a guarantee of five minutes of green flag time. Each car receives one additional set of Firestone Firehawk tires for use during this final segment. At the end of the session, the cars are ranked 1-6 based on their fastest laps.

Any driver who causes a red flag during any of the groups will lose their two quickest laps.

The time line for qualifying today is at the exit of Turn 11.

At 2 p.m., the ambient temperature was 74 degrees. Skies were cloudy. The track temperature was 90 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

Track record: Will Power, 1:21.8958 (April 30, 2011). Fastest lap today: #10 Dario Franchitti, 1:22.2611 (Practice 2).

2:05 p.m. – GREEN. Round 1. Group 1.

2:20 p.m. – CHECKERED. Advancing are: #12 Power, #9 Dixon, #27 Hinchcliffe, #18 Wilson, #11 Kanaan and #26 Andretti. Power’s lap of 1:21.6133 is the fastest lap recorded in Sao Paulo.

2:25 p.m. – GREEN. Round 1. Group 2.

2:40 p.m. – CHECKERED. Advancing are: #10 Franchitti #28 Hunter-Reay, #67 Newgarden #14 Conway, #2 Briscoe, #38 Rahal. Franchitti’s lap of 1:21.5667 is fastest lap recorded in Sao Paulo.

2:45 p.m. – GREEN. Round 2.

2:55 p.m. – Advancing to Firestone Fast Six are: #12 Power, #27 Hinchcliffe, #9 Dixon, #10 Franchitti, #18 Wilson, #28 Hunter-Reay. Power’s lap of 1:21.2718 is fastest lap recorded in Sao Paulo.

3:05 p.m. – GREEN. Firestone Fast Six.

3:10 p.m. – Five minutes into the session, fastest is Franchitti at 1:22.1814.

3:12 p.m. – 10 81.5407 then #12 betters the lap 81.4045.

3:15 p.m. – CHECKERED. #12 Will Power wins the pole for the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES POLE QUALIFYING NOTES:

· This is Will Power’s second pole of 2012 and his second consecutive pole at Sao Paulo. It is the 26^th pole of his Indy car career tying him with Dario Franchitti for ninth on the all-time list.

· Dario Franchitti qualified second. It is his second consecutive front row start. He started on pole at Long Beach.

· Scott Dixon qualified third, matching his best start of 2012 and his best start in Sao Paulo.

· James Hinchcliffe qualified fourth. He is the only driver to qualify in the Firestone Fast Six in every race this season.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, IZOD IndyCar Series Pole Award winner): “It’s good to put the Verizon Chevrolet on the pole. It was satisfying, especially knowing that Honda seems to have an advantage on the straights at the moment, so being on pole is a good start to the weekend. I have a feeling it’s going to be wet, or maybe wet-dry for the race so it will mix things up a lot.”

DARIO FRANCHITI (No. 10 Lexar Media Honda, qualified second): “It’s been a pretty good weekend so far for Team Target. We’ve obviously had a difficult start to the season and a lot of things go wrong in the last couple weeks. We off-loaded with a good car of the truck and made some improvements to it. I’m a bit disappointed in qualifying, especially because the time is in the car. On the first lap, Justin (Wilson) was in the runoff in the hairpin so I took it a bit easy there. And then the next lap I just messed it up to be honest, and I actually made up all of the time back again. The time was in the car, I didn’t put it together. I’m a little disappointed in myself but at the same time I feel a lot more happy than I have in the last few races.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, qualified third): “We had a pretty good car. It was fairly loose, which is a bit odd actually for this year.   Q2 was OK. We ended up second or third there and thought we could go for the top spot in Q3. Went out and went straight through the run-off in Turn 1 and couldn’t slow the car down; the brakes were a bit strange. Then went down into Turn 11 and the left-front locked straight away with a big flat spot and went into the run-off. I had to get turned around and then take a lap to get going.   We got back to third. I was lucky that some of the other cars were a bit slower to get up to speed.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, qualified fourth): “I guess four is the number of the day: fourth place, fourth time in the Firestone Fast Six. It’s certainly not a bad starting spot to be on the first two rows, but we had a competitive car in (the second qualifying session) and were hoping for a little bit higher up. I need to get a better handle on how to make these tires work better on the second run. We seem to be good on sticker (tires) but in the second run (on the set of tires) in the Firestone Fast Six we were struggling a little bit. With the compressed schedule and limited track time the Go Daddy guys did a great job getting the car better every single session. We were 11th in the first practice, sixth in the second and now we qualified fourth. We’re steadily improving and if we can keep that trend up for the race we’re looking good.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Chevrolet, qualified fifth): “It’s great having all the local DHL people here today to represent and support us. This historically has been a great track for us and we’re disappointed to qualify fifth – but anytime you are disappointed with fifth it’s good news. The DHL/Sun Drop guys did a great job preparing the car; we do need to make some changes for tomorrow but that’s what it’s all about. We’ll be ready to tomorrow rain or shine.

JUSTIN WILSON (No. 18 Sonny’s Bar-B-Q Honda, qualified sixth): “It’s great to make into the Firestone Fast Six for the first time this year. We’re really pleased with that. I was hoping to get a bit more once we got in there. We made the right changes to get the Sonny’s Bar-B-Q Honda into the Fast Six, but we messed up on the last change and the car was a bit of a handful. But that’s how it goes sometimes. We’re starting sixth, we’re in a good spot and we’ll see what happens in the race.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): “It’s disappointing to just miss out on the top six by a couple hundreths of a second, but the balance wasn’t quite there in Q2 and I just couldn’t pull out a good enough lap time. But if there’s a track where you can pass, this is it. So I’m looking forward to the race.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Penske Logistics Chevrolet): “The Penske Logistics car did well today, we needed just a little bit more. The braking felt inconsistent during qualifying but the Penske crew did a great job fixing the car after practice. We just couldn’t put it together today but we will be ready for a good performance tomorrow.”

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet): “The National Guard Chevy was good, and the Panther guys did a good job improving it over the course of the day. During qualifying, between overshooting a few corners and some other guys doing the same thing causing some local yellows, I don’t think I did a great job of putting a lap together until the tires were worn off. We were less than a tenth from transferring, and I think that tenth was out there for us, but I just needed to go out there and get it. It’s frustrating on my part because I think the car was there, but that bodes well for tomorrow’s race because we typically race well at these types of tracks and the weather feasibly being a factor doesn’t hurt our chances at all.”

E.J. VISO (No. 5 CITGO-PDVSA KV Racing Technology Chevrolet): “I am disappointed with how the day went. It was not the qualifying run we expected. I truly thought we were going to show the speed and performance that we did during qualifying in the previous races, but we couldn’t do it this time. We need to address a couple of things to get us back to where we belong. This series is so competitive that a little change, a little detail, can put you at the top or way down the grid. We have a strong team with a great group of drivers, so I think we can address the problems we have. As far as tomorrow, rain is predicted and that is a big variable that will affect the race strategy.”    

KATHERINE LEGGE (No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing Lotus): “It’s really nice to be here in Sao Paulo. It is a new experience for me and the track is really good. We are struggling [to find speed] down the long straightaways. We are about 12 mph down versus Honda and Chevy on the back straight. It’s another new circuit to learn, but we are making improvements. We had a braking problem in practice, but the team fixed that. So, good job by the team getting that problem sorted quickly. We have a few other improvements to work on now, but we believe that by tomorrow we will be competitive with the other Lotus cars.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO (No. 8 BMC | Embrase – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet): “I enjoyed qualifying. For five laps I pushed the car hard. I didn’t want to give away any small percentage. I just learned the track this morning and I am still learning about the red (alternate) tire. I think it was a good qualifying. It is just so close and I am still working my way up to get into the top-10.”

TONY KANAAN (No.  11 Itaipava | GEICO| Mouser Electronics – KV Racing Technology w/SH Chevrolet): “We have been chasing ourselves since the first practice… We made a ton of changes from the first to the second practice and then again from the second practice to qualifying. The car kept improving, but during qualifying we made one change that did not go our way. We will keep working on the car overnight to get it ready for warm-up tomorrow and hopefully put on a good show for my fans and sponsors here in Brazil.”

TAKUMA SATO, No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It wasn’t a good day for us unfortunately. The first practice session was cut short because the engineers weren’t happy about some parameters and we had to stop early to check the gearbox. Everything ended up okay but the session was cut short which didn’t help us in terms of setting up the car. And then in the second practice I only ran a few laps before we had an engine problem which led to us not being able to take part in qualifying because of the amount of time it took to change the engine. The long straight with heavy braking here means you can overtake but starting from the back it is going to be tough. We will fight back to gain positions tomorrow and hopefully we will have a strong package. We will see how the car will be in the warm-up tomorrow. I don’t mind whether it is a dry race or a wet race. To go from the back of the grid in the wet would be quite difficult in terms of visibility but there is more of a chance to go forward. In a dry race, realistically it would be very difficult to get a top result but nothing is impossible. It will be an exciting race for sure.”

ANA BEATRIZ (No. 25 Team Ipiranga Chevrolet): “It was a good day; we just worked on improving time and getting back into the car again. I didn’t get much time on red tires before qualifying but they seemed quicker than the black tires and with more time on them I think we could have been faster. We are just looking to be consistent in the race tomorrow and move up where we can and do well. I’m happy today with the Ipiranga and Andretti Autosport team and looking forward to tomorrow.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No 38 Service Central Honda): “Overall the day ended better then it started. I’m still not really happy with the car. I’m just so bummed that we were so close. But tomorrow is another day and we will do better.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing Lotus): “It’s a bit disappointing. I think we have a pretty good car. We just need to do a couple of tweaks for tomorrow and hope it falls our way a little bit like it did in Long Beach. Then we should be alright. The car is feeling pretty good. We just need to find a bit more speed down the straightaways and on acceleration. We’ll work on it. I’m sure we’ll get there.”

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen Honda): “We had a pretty good qualifying session and I think our best on a road course so far this year. Our lap time was so close to the top 12 and that was our goal. We are making good progress and getting there. Looking forward to tomorrow with the Novo Nordisk team here in Brazil.”

***

The following cars will receive 10-grid spot penalties for unapproved engine changes:

#6 Legge (carryover penalty from Long Beach race)

#15 Sato (engine change after Practice 2)

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE:

8:30 – 9: a.m. – IZOD IndyCar Series Warmup

12 p.m. – Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle (75 Laps), BAND (NBC Sports Network in USA), (Live).