Category: Other Series Racing

[media-credit name=”http://www.westinsouthfielddetroitblog.com” align=”alignright” width=”137″][/media-credit]DETROIT, MI: Indianapolis-based Younessi Racing’s showed a great deal ofwinning potential as they debuted a two car effort at this weekend’s ChevroletDetroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. After continuous improvement throughout theweekend and a strong qualifying effort, the team was in a position to enjoy its first podium finish, but a crash on lap 13 of the Firestone Indy Lights™ race prematurely ended the runs of Ireland native Peter Dempsey and team owner /driver, Florida native Rodin Younessi. While battling for second place, Dempsey collided with Victor Carbone sending him hard into the wall of turn 8 on the 14-turn, 2.07 mile Belle Isle circuit. The horrific crash severely damaged the #15 Younessi Racing car and caused Rodin Younessi to immediately stop to ascertain the condition of his teammate. The final race results showed Dempsey in 11th place and Younessi in 12th place.

“Physically, I’m feeling good and everything is fine. I’m more upset for the team. My safety is good, but it’s the damage to the car that hurts us,” said Dempsey. “I was just coming down the back straight, (Victor) Carbone went to the left side, I went to the right, and Carbone just decided to cross to the right and I was already there. Got my front wheel and up I went.”

“The Detroit Grand Prix was bittersweet for my team,” said Younessi. “We managed, in a very short period of time in mid-season, to assemble a very talented and dedicated groupof professionals to enter the series and race against the veteran larger teams. We managed great starting positions in the grid and our car number #15 rapidly moved up from 5th place to 3rd place early in the race ahead of some of the very well-known veteran teams, while closing in for the first position. We certainly had a very competitive car and there is no doubt in my mind that if my driver and teammate, Peter Dempsey, had not been involved in the horrific accident, we would have not only had a podium finish, we would have very likely finished in first place. I saw the horrible accident

[media-credit name=”http://www.westinsouthfielddetroitblog.com” align=”alignright” width=”137″][/media-credit]DETROIT, Mi. – June 4, 2012 – KV Racing Technology driver Tony Kanaan finished sixth yesterday in the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix in Detroit, Michigan.  Teammates E. J. Viso and Rubens Barrichello placed 18^th and 25^th respectively.

The race, which was held on the .2.1-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit on Belle Isle, was shortened from 90 laps to 60 because of a two-hour red flag for crews to repair Three sections of patched asphalf and concrete.

Kanaan, in the No. 11 GEICO | MOUSER ELECTRONICS – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Firestone machine, started 18^th.  Stuck in traffic the team employed an alternative fuel strategy that saw Kanaan pit on lap 12, which dropped him to 20^th.  Kanaan started to work his way back through the field and when most cars pitted for the first time between laps 27 and 33 he found himself in third place.  Kanaan pitted for the second time on lap 38 and rejoined the contest in sixth.  Two laps later a yellow flag came out when James Hinchcliffe crashed after hitting a piece of rubber and concrete patch that had separated from the track surface.  Shortly thereafter, with Kanaan now in fourth after two cars ahead of him pitted, a red-flag came out stopping the race to repair three areas where large strips of patch had come up.  Once repairs were affected teams were informed that the race would be shortened to 60 laps and that they could change their tires, but had to remain on the same compound, either the primary “black” or alternate “red”, that they had on prior to the stoppage. This gave drivers who were on the alternate red an advantage since they would now be on brand new alternate tires, which are softer and have more grip, but go off optimum performance quicker than the primary tire, for a short 15-lap stint.  Kanaan was on the primary tire.  During the restart, Kanaan, who is considered one of, if not the best at restarts, was passed by two cars.  He dropped to sixth place where he remained until the end of the race.

“My team did a brilliant strategy and put me upfront with the other guys,” Kanaan said. “I think I was in a good shape for a podium, but when the decision was made that all cars could get new tires before the new start of the race it left me in a bad position, because I was already on my last set of primary tires and had nothing new to put on.  So as expected I got passed by the cars on new tires on the restart.”

Kanaan made his seventh appearance, but contested just his fifth race on Belle Isle (third time in the IndyCar Series).  In five race races, Kanaan has finished in the top-eight all five times with one win, in 2007 and a third in 2008.  In 2000 and 2001, Kanaan had qualifying accidents and did not race. The 37-year old Brazilian has earned three top-six finishes in the first six races this season.  In addition to today’s sixth place showing he finished fourth at Long Beach and third last week in the Indianapolis 500.  Kanaan earned 28 points today and remains ninth in the championship race with 141 points.

Viso, driving the No. 5 CITGO | PDVSA – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Firestonecar, who has been the team’s best qualifier so far this season, started a team-high fifth.  He held station through the first stint, saving fuel and battling a loose car that brushed the wall once and almost a second time.  Only Viso’s driving skill kept him from crashing.  Viso pitted for the first time on lap 27 and came back out in 18^th place, but lost valuable track position as several cars were able to go three to six laps further before making their first pit stop thus picking up valuable track position.  Viso was in 14^th place when the yellow came out and sat in 12^th when it went red.  He made a solid restart, avoiding the trouble that knocked two cars out, and was sitting in eighth place on lap 51 when he was punted from behind by Marco Andretti.  The contact spun Viso and his car stalled.  By the time he was restarted he was a lap down and in 18^th place.

“It was not a very rewarding race after a top five qualifying.” Viso said.  “Things didn’t really pay off.  I believe the first part of the race really hurt us, not being able to stay in contact with the top-three when I was running in fourth.  I was running with old tires and I believe the top-three were on new, which made a huge difference.  I did everything I could to keep the cars behind me, but was suffering from a big lack of grip.  After the red flag, I restarted from 12^th and managed to gain a lot of places.  However I then got punted from Marco Andretti, which pretty much ended my race.  It’s a real shame because I was having a very positive second half and would have had a great result.”

Viso, who made his second career start on Belle Isle earned his best finish here at Detroit.  In 2008, he qualified ninth and finished 24^th.  The 27-year-old Venezuelan, who has finished every race this year, has had two top-10 performances this season (St. Petersburg, eighth and Brazil, 10th). He scored 12 points and now sits 16^th in the championship standings with 106 points.

Barrichello, behind the wheel of the No. 8 BMC | EMBRASE – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Firestone machine, qualified 20^th, but started 24^th, after switching to his backupcar for the race.  He was in 20^th place by lap eight, but shortly thereafter developed a problem that is still being diagnosed.  The team tried to make repairs in the pits, but it quickly became apparent that Barrichello’s day was done.

“We had a problem with the car and we tried to fix it in the pits but unfortunately we couldn’t,” Barrichello said.  “I feel really sorry for the team, they worked so hard last night to change my chassis, I was going quite quick and saving fuel but then we had to stop.”

Barrichello made his Detroit debut yesterday.  This is the first time this season the 40-year-old Brazilian and Formula One veteran, hasnot finished a race.  He has earned three top-10 finishes this year (Barber, eighth;Long Beach, ninth; Brazil, 10^th) and finished 11^thlast week in his Indy 500 debut earning the Chase Rookie of the Year award.   Barrichello scored 10 points and is 14^th in the points race with 112,

Next up for KVRT is the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth, Texas.  The race will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network Saturday, June 9 starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.

KV Racing Technology was founded in January 2003 and joined the IndyCar Series in 2008.  The Indianapolis based team is owned by successful venture capitalist Kevin Kalkhoven and 1996 IndyCar Champion Jimmy Vasser.  Veteran Motorsports manager, Mark Johnson, is the team’s General Manager.  Johnson is assisted by Team Manager Tom Wurtz, Technical Director Eric Cowdin and Operations Manager Steve Moore.

For more information about KV Racing Technology visit: www.kvracingtechnology.com or follow us on Twitter:www.twitter.com/kvracing and Facebook: www.facebook.com/kvracingtechnology

[media-credit name=”Chris Jones” align=”alignright” width=”280″][/media-credit]Zach Veach Treats National Young Marine of the Year Recipient to An Exciting Memorial Day Weekend

BROWNSBURG, Ind (June 5, 2012) – Andretti Autosport driver Zach Veach hosted 17-year old Young Marine Sergeant Major (YM/SgtMaj) McCall Behringer, National Young Marine of the Year recipient, at Lucas Oil Raceway (LOR) last month in honor of her accomplishments. Veach’s race ran prior to the long-standing Memorial Day race tradition at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and before both took in the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500.

“The Young Marines has brought a group to Indy the past two years,” said Veach. “I had the opportunity to meet Young Marine Sergeant Major McCall Behringer at the Young Marines Adult Leaders Conference in May. To have YM/SgtMaj Behringer and her fellow Young Marines supporting me at my race was very motivating to me and my team. And then to host her and the Young Marines National Executive Director, Mike Kessler at the 500 was a great opportunity for me to show my commitment to the partnership with the Young Marines.”

Veach had the opportunity to share his unusual occupation with Behringer during her first visit to auto-racing’s most famous weekend. She received a first-hand glimpse into what it takes to be a racecar driver and the challenges that surround competing in a race event.

Behringer says she got a better idea of what racing is all about. “Zach applies many of the same values that Young Marines use every day to racing. From his discipline behind the wheel to his leadership on and off the track, Zach definitely deserves his honorary title as a Young Marine,” said Behringer.” Young Marines from the local area came out to support him and he was very generous in showing them around his car and answering questions. Zach’s commitment to the same values and ideas as the Young Marines makes our partnership special to all of us. Of course, watching him race and seeing our Young Marines logo on his car was a blast. I can’t wait to attend his next race.”

Veach and Behringer plan to continue using their national platforms to reach out to other youths and teens about their shared values of living a healthy drug-free lifestyle and anti-bullying efforts.

Easily a new race fan, Behringer hopes to attend a few more of Veach’s races, including his upcoming race on the streets of Baltimore later this year as Behringer is a resident of the city and member of the Hamilton Young Marines (MD).

Young Marines National Executive Director Mike Kessler was proud to announce that 17-year-old Behringer of Baltimore was the National Young Marine of the Year for 2012-2013 and would be traveling to Indianapolis for the special Memorial Day weekend. Behringer joined the Young Marines in 2006 when she was 10 years old and has since won over 120 awards with the Young Marines program including three Personal Commendations, the Meritorious Service award issued at the national level and is the 13th recipient of the coveted Young Marines Distinguished Order of Merit.

Kessler says Zach is a remarkable young man with incredible talent. “He has the qualities that are rare in many young adults. I am proud of our relationship with Zach and his family and hope that the trip to Indy becomes an annual event for the Young Marine of the Year,” said Kessler. “Naturally, we look forward to the day when our Young Marines logo is on his car going around the Brickyard on Memorial Day weekend at the 500″.

The month of May, long known as the lead-up to the famed Indianapolis 500, began with Veach serving as a guest speaker for the second year in a row at the annual Young Marines Adult Leaders Conference, in Reno, NV, before returning to the cockpit of his racecar. As a guest speaker, Veach spoke to over 350 adult volunteers of the program about the partnership with the Young Marines organization and the shared values of anti-bullying and living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The Young Marines have sponsored Veach’s race program for the past two years and they have partnered together to encourage youth to serve as leaders and remain drug-free. Veach is an honorary Young Marine.

The “Night Before the 500” race at LOR marked Veach’s first appearance on an oval in the Star Mazda Championship series. While making his first start in the USF2000 National Championship Series at LOR in 2010, Veach qualified third and put in a top-five result. During his second trip to Indianapolis in 2011 for autoracing’s most famous weekend, Veach finished where he qualified in the 2nd position, improving his previous finish of 4th. Upon his return to the track late last month, Veach boasted a third place finish marking his second podium result in the Star Mazda Series.

To view photos of the Young Marines with Veach at Indy, please visit, https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150931702808486.439618.238360968485&type=3.

Sanctioned by INDYCAR, the Star Mazda Championship is one of two series part of both the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system and the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver program. Andretti Autosport is currently the only INDYCAR team to compete in each level of the Mazda Road to Indy.

For more information, please visit www.YoungMarines.com, www.zachveach.com, www.AndrettiAutosport.com.

About the Young Marines youth organization:
The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501(c)3 youth education and service program for boys and girls ages 8 through completion of high school. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership,teamwork and self-discipline so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The national organization is comprised of over 10,000 youths and 2,800 adult volunteers in nearly 300 throughout the United States and overseas. For more information about the Young Marines youth organization, visit the official website:www.YoungMarines.com.

About Zach Veach:
Zach “Ziggy” Veach is a 17-year-old autoracing driver who competes in INDYCAR’s ‘Mazda Road to Indy’ Star Mazda Championship Series, an important open-wheel stepping-stone to a career in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. In 2012, Veach captured the Formula Car Challenge Winter Series Championship and in 2011, he secured the USF2000 Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship and was voted the “Most Popular Driver in USF2000”. Named by ESPN The Magazine as a NEXT athlete in motorsports, Veach keeps an active pace both on and off the race track. In 2010, Michael Andretti signed Veach to his team, Andretti Autosport, while also being named one of CNN’s “Intriguing People” and being nominated for the Sports Illustrated “Sports Kid of the Year” award. In addition to his racing, Veach is an advocate for safer driving as the national spokesperson for FocusDriven, an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using their cell phones and has campaigned for Oprah Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone.” Veach designed a phone application through his phone-app building company, ZaAPP, releasing urTXT, in the Marketplace for Android to help consumers avoid dangerous text messaging while driving. Like most of his peers, Veach was bullied as a kid and works to combat the growing epidemic as part of the Cyber Safety Academy’s “No BULL Challenge” as a key ambassador. Veach has been a guest or profiled on a variety of national platforms including NBC’s The Today Show, CNN’s Headline News, ABCNews.com, Oprah Radio’s The Gayle King Show, The Los Angeles Times, AOL.com and is a blogger for RACER magazine and The Huffington Post. The son of a national truck and tractor-pulling champion, Veach is sponsored by Zakosi Data Backup, The Young Marines, Replay XD, Arai Helmets, OMP, ADS IT Solutions, andartrotondo.com. He entered his sophomore year of high school this past fall and released his first book, 99 THINGS TEENS WISH THEY KNEW BEFORE TURNING 16, in 2011. For more information, please visitwww.ZachVeach.com.

About Andretti Autosport:
Based in Indianapolis and led by racing legend Michael Andretti, Andretti Autosport fields multiple entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Andretti Autosport competes in Firestone Indy Lights, the Star Mazda Championship and in the USF2000 National Championship. The company boasts three IZOD IndyCar Series championships (2004, 2005 and 2007), two Firestone Indy Lights titles (2008 and 2009), one USF2000 championship (2010) and has won the Indianapolis 500 twice (2005 and 2007). For more information, please visit www.AndrettiAutosport.com.

About the Star Mazda Championship Series:
For 2012, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will again be a major part of the “Mazda Road to Indy”. The 2012 schedule consists of 17 races on 10 weekends, most with IndyCar. Rising stars from around the world will compete on road courses, street circuits and ovals in front of more than a million fans as they battle for prizes valued at $1.5 million, including a scholarship to move up and race in the 2013 Firestone Indy Lights series. Drivers 16 and older are welcome to compete and the Star Mazda Championship also features the Expert Series for drivers 30 and older. The Star Mazda Championship features standing starts, wheel-to-wheel racing at 160 mph and budgets a fraction of other top open-wheel ladder series. For more information on the Star Mazda Championship and its drivers, as well as the Mazda Motorsports ladder system, please visit www.StarMazda.com.

[media-credit name=”NASCAR Home Tracks” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]June 4, 2010. Mirabel, Que. – Rain and limited practice laps couldn’t hinder #21 Jason White’s confidence as he headed into Sunday’s NASCAR Canadian Tire Series ICAR Grand Prix at Circuit ICAR.

Saturday’s persistent rain showers only permitted a handful of practice laps and put a halt to qualifying, so racers were given Sunday’s starting positions according to the NASCAR rule book. Jason White was assigned the sixth starting position behind the wheel of his #21 Dodge.

Despite only driving limited laps in Saturday’s rainy practice, White still felt very confident about his #21Dodge even when completely different dry race conditions appeared for Sunday’s main event.  “I wasn’t worried at all” said White.  “I knew the team would make some handling changes, but knew they’d be on top of it” he added.

While several drivers suffered car difficulties on the dry track after practicing on the rain-slicked track the day prior, White was one of the fortunate ones who kicked off the ICAR Grand Prix with ease. “Early on in the race, I felt like I had a super fast car,” White said following the race. “I found my stride running with the leaders and was hovering around 6th place.”

As the race progressed, the aggression level among the drivers picked up and patience disappeared.  “Just about everyone was pushing to the limit and sometimes beyond” said White.  “As we got down to the end I knew that it would get pretty hairy” he added.

A final caution period set up a green-white-checker finish to the event and White appeared to be on track for at least a top ten result.  “Once the green came out though it got a bit wild, we were at least three-wide through corner one and beyond” said the driver.

White became a victim of the aggression on the final lap and was bumped aside and dropped several positions, crossing the finish line 13^th.  “I was having the ride of my life for a bunch of the race, and it’s too bad we got collected at the end.  I hate how it’s going to make a lot of work for the team to put the car back together” he stated.

Jason White and the #21 Dodge team will compete in the entire 2012 NCATS schedule that will take the team from coast to coast in Canada for the 12 events.  Next on the schedule is the first oval race of the season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park June 16^th.  For the latest off season news about Jason White and the #21 Dodge team check out the team website atwww.jasonwhiteracing.com and be sure to follow Jason on twitter for the latest updates @racinjasonwhite  You can get more information about the NCATS series at www.hometracks.nascar.com

[media-credit name=”NASCAR Home Tracks” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]June 4, 2010. Mirabel, Que. – Jarrad Whissell battled weather, an unfamiliar racetrack and collisions when he took his #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford around the track for the first time at Circuit ICAR in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series ICAR Grand Prix.

Saturday’s practice was limited due to rain, and since it was Whissell’s first visit to this particular track, he had difficulty finding his way around in the inclement weather. Whissell was only able to log limited laps during practice, but spent the evening running several laps around the track in a golf cart to get a better idea of the racing line. Scattered showers over the track cancelled qualifying, so racers were given starting positions according to the NASCAR rule book. Whissell and his #44 SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford were assigned a 22nd starting position, but due to a wiring malfunction which forced a last minute repair was forced to start at the back of the field according to the rules..

On Sunday, Whissell headed into his rookie race on this particular track with a simple strategy – take it easy, stay back and collect positions later on in the race once more aggressive drivers burned out.

“It was absolute chaos out there,” Whissell said after the race. “I had a mostly successful day laying low and keeping the car out of trouble.”

But as much as Whissell tried, trouble still followed.

As the race continued, incidents on the track caused the race to be slowed four times for 10 laps. The race was eventually concluded under a green-white-checker finish, and on the last restart, Whissell decided to amp up his aggression in an attempt to move up in the rankings in the final laps. As they rounded the track three and four cars wide at times, Whissell was wedged in the middle – the meat in a car sandwich. His aggression paid off and #44 picked up about a half dozen spots in a lap and a half.

Unfortunately for Whissell, he quickly lost the ground he had gained heading into the hairpin turn when another competitor lost control slammed into Whissell spinning out the #44.  The last lap crash resulted in a 20th place finish for Whissell..

This season Jarrad Whissell will participate in the five NASCAR Canadian Tire Series road course events plus the two western Canada stops at Motoplex Speedway near Vernon, BC & Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon, SK.  Follow the progress of the team and help support the Children’s Miracle Network through the team website www.jarradwhissell.com  You can also follow Jarrad on twitter, @JarradWhissell and also check out the team fan page on Facebook. Fans can watch all of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series races again this year on TSN.

[media-credit name=”NASCAR Home Tracks” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]June 4, 2012.  Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Noel Dowler took a significant step forward in his young career piloting the #5 EMCO Dodge showing continued improvement and poise in round number two of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season this past weekend at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec.  With only minimal practice due to rain and the race taking place in dry conditions Dowler ran in the top ten for much of the afternoon.

Persistent rain showers hampered the team acquiring information and Dowler only completed a handful of laps in the #5 EMCO Dodge.  Weather also forced the cancellation of qualifying and the field was set according to NASCAR rules putting Dowler in the tenth starting spot on the grid.

Dry conditions greeted the teams for the main event Sunday afternoon.  With the drop of the green flag to begin the race Dowler was looking to settle into a comfortable rhythm in the #5 EMCO Dodge.  “Not having much practice and in very different conditions I just wanted to take it easy at the beginning of the race” said Dowler.

While he did drop several positions Dowler knew he had a strong race car.  “Some of the guys were pretty aggressive right from the start of the race” stated Dowler.  “I didn’t want to get too assertive right away” he added.

While continuing to be patient and await his opportunity for advancement Dowler began to take advantage of the openings presented to him on the track.  He made steady progress forward in the #5 EMCO Dodge and cracked into the top ten of the running order.  “It was great to really be able to show what we’re capable of” said Dowler.  “I still wasn’t pushing the car too hard knowing we had a long way to go”.

As the laps ticked down Dowler continued to run very competitive lap times and hovered around the top ten.  A late race caution period would bring about a green-white-checker finish.  While running under the yellow, the #5 EMCO Dodge inexplicably slowed and then stopped on the front stretch.  Following a push start from a wrecker Dowler tried to catch back up to the field and get into position for the restart of the race.

In the final laps everyone got even more aggressive and Dowler pushed as hard as he could in the #5 EMCO Dodge.  The 18^th place finishing result however doesn’t indicate how well the team performed during the event.  “It’s really disappointing to have that kind of issue bite us” said Dowler.  “The car felt absolutely fantastic and it was exciting to be up racing near the front of the field.  I know we’ll be back and have better results at the next race”.

The 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series resumes June 16^th on the oval at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, ON and features 12 events from coast to coast including races during the Edmonton Indy weekend and the NASCAR Nationwide event in Montreal.  For more information about Noel Dowler Jr. log onto www.apollomotorsports.ca and follow him on twitter, @noeldowler.