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Category: Other Series Racing

Other series racing

  • DEREK THORN SHINES IN NASCAR WEST ACTION AT LAKE HAVASU CITY

    DEREK THORN SHINES IN NASCAR WEST ACTION AT LAKE HAVASU CITY

    [media-credit name=”Derek Thorn by LMP” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West made its inaugural appearance at the Havasu 95 Speedway, the quarter mile paved oval located in Lake Havasu City-Arizona, last Saturday, April 14th, in front of a SRO crowd who made it very clear that they liked what they saw that night.

    However, no one in Lake Havasu City on this night was happier than Derek Thorn who crossed under the checkers to win the Toyota-Napa Auto Parts 150, presented by Gene Price Motorsports. The impressive outing in this race marked the Bakersfield-California resident’s first West Series win in only eight starts.

    Thorn’s excellent Arizona evening began early in the day during qualifying when he won the Coors Light Pole after ripping off a lap of 15.277 seconds, (58.912 MPH), in his Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil/Eibach Springs Ford Fusion.

    While he made that qualifying lap look easy, winning this race was another matter. Thorn spent much of night racing hard with Dylan Kwasniewski and then having to fend off a late race challenge from eventual runner up David Mayhew.

    When the Toyota-Napa Auto Parts 150, presented by Gene Price Motorsports, received the initial green flag, Thorn jumped into lead and opened a three car length lead by lap 14. But his race rhythm was disrupted by a caution flag, on lap 22, due to a double car spin in turn four. Thorn quickly discovered that the evening was destined to be a case of multiple double file restarts. The yellow caution flag flew a total of eight times and consumed 45 laps of the race.

    The most prevalent of these caution flags came on lap 70 following a single car spin in turn three. Five laps, and another double file restart, later Dylan Kwasniewski was clearly aware that the laps were clicking off very quickly, the race was now at the half way point and it was go time.

    Thorn and Kwasniewski sailed under the green flag side by side and stayed that way until Thorn was able to regain the point on lap 84. The two hard chargers traded the race lead a few times during this side by side run with the margin often being the thickness of the paint on their front bumpers.

    This pattern was repeated two more times following caution flags on laps 87 and 98. All of this side by side action was much to the delight of the capacity crowd who completely abandoned the seats they paid good money to sit in.

    Following a turn two collision that involved three race cars, the final yellow flag of the race was presented on lap 114 with the restart coming five laps later. This time Thorn made very quick work of clearing Kwasniewski and the two potential race winners opened up an eight car length lead over David Mayhew who had now worked his way to third.

    Unfortunately, Kwasniewski’s Rockstar Energy Drink/Royal Purple Ford began to fade from the previous hard racing and, with only eight laps remaining in the race, Mayhew’s MMI/Ron’s Rear Ends Chevrolet took over second and began a last ditch effort the chase down Thorn. Unfortunately for that effort the time spent dueling for second, combined with the element of lapped traffic, allowed the race leader to pull away. Thorn sailed under the checkers with a margin of victory of 1.010 seconds. Michael Self, Golden Gate Meat Company/Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, and Eric Holmes, Napa Auto Parts Toyota, completed the top five.

    After parking his Ford in the Havasu 95 Speedway victory lane, a very happy race winner said: “I’ve got to pay tribute to the Sunrise Ford team, Bob Bruncati, (team owner), and Bill Sedgwick, (crew chief), as well as all of the guys at our race shop. It was really hard coming to this track, because no had raced here, (except  Kwasniewski). It’s hard to take something from practice and prepare yourself for a 150 lap race. It involved a lot of guess work but my guys did an awesome job of putting an awesome car underneath me.”

    Based on winning the season opening race at Phoenix, David Mayhew continues to lead the West Series’ point standings with a three point advantage over Thorn and a six point lead over Kwasniewski. The series returns to action on April 28th and will run the Utah Grand Prix, a challenging road course event, at the Miller Motorsports Park.

    The Toyota-Napa Auto Parts 150, presented by Gene Price Motorsports, was promoted by Bill McAnally Racing Promotions who leased the Havasu 95 Speedway. Judging from the intense competition of this race, combined with the SRO crowd, there are a lot of racing fans in Lake Havasu City-Arizona who are already hoping that this race will become a same time-next year annual event.

  • Briscoe Claims Toyota Grand Prix Pole, But Franchitti to start from first

    Briscoe Claims Toyota Grand Prix Pole, But Franchitti to start from first

    [media-credit name=”INDYCAR/LAT USA” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]At the end of the Firestone Fast Six 10-minute Shootout, Ryan Briscoe claimed the pole for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The record lap of one minute, 8.6089 seconds earned Briscoe his first pole of the season, one bonus point and $10,000. This is Briscoe’s first pole since Chicagoland in 2010.

    However, he will be starting 11th because of a 10-grid spot penalty after changing his engine due to an advisory from Chevrolet.

    “We’ve only done short stints so far, but I feel like the first step is having the pace, and we know we’ve got that, so that’s definitely going to be a big help to us starting from 11th tomorrow,” Briscoe said yesterday. “Last year we started 12th, and through strategy ended up leading a lot of laps in the race. So we’re going to look at all of that. It’s going to be tough – it’s a really hard track to pass on, so we’re going to have to do our best and see what we can do to get to the front.”

    The pole for Briscoe gives Team Penske their third consecutive of the season and fourth consecutive pole at Long Beach.

    Briscoe’s Team Penske teammate Will Power qualified second, 0.0984 seconds behind Briscoe. However, he will be starting 12th due to also being effected by the penalty.

    “It was a battle in the Fast Six for sure, that was everything I had and we threw down a mega lap,” Power said. “Qualifying was important because we didn’t want to end up 15th or 16th, but yeah so I’m sure we’re going to make the best out of the situation and see where we can end up. Days like tomorrow will end up being really important for the championship, just trying to get as many points as possible and work hard at strategy.”

    Andretti Autosports Ryan-Hunter Reay qualified third, however will start 13th due to the penalty.

    “It was OK, I expected a little bit more grip out there today but with only one session and 2 laps at a time here and it was tough to know what we really wanted out of the car, but it was the same for everybody,” he said. “So tired of being that couple hundredths off of the Penske guys here, three years in a row now. Definitely wanted the pole despite the penalty we’re going to take, and that was as good a chance as I’ve ever had, and we’re going to start 13th I believe. So yeah it was a good day, but we wanted a lot more today and I’m pretty bummed about that.”

    The pole sitter for the event will be Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti, who qualified fourth will start on the front row as he was the first driver not affected by the engine rule change penalty.

    “In the Firestone Fast 6 we knew where we’d be starting regardless of what time we did, but we kind of wanted to earn it,” Franchitti said. “We didn’t quite have it in the car. So we’ll go back tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.”

    E.J. Viso and James Hinchcliffe qualified fifth and sixth, though will start further back due to both changing motors. Franchitti would be joined on the front row by Josef Newgarden, who qualified seventh.

    The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is set to take place on April 15th at 3:30pm EST. The race will be telecast live by NBC Sports Network. The IMS Radio Network will also carry the race live on XM Channel 94 and Sirius 212.

  • Ryan Reed works hard to promote JDRF and Ryan’s Mission

    Ryan Reed works hard to promote JDRF and Ryan’s Mission

    [media-credit name=”Venturini Motorsports” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]In February 2011, Ryan Reed was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and was told that he would never be able to race again. However, after getting in contact with a doctor through IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball, he was told that it was possible.

    Now a year and three months later, Reed finds himself behind the wheel of the No. 15 JDRF car for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series. After two races this season, he sits sixth in points after finishing 12th at Daytona and Mobile.

    When he’s not behind the wheel of a racecar, Reed is spreading word about JDRF and Ryan’sMission. JDRF is the world’s largest funding provider for research towards curing, treating and preventing T1D and its complications. Ryan’s Mission is a non-profit organization that Reed formed to help build awareness, become a role model and positively touch the lives of others.

    Reed spoke of both JDRF and Ryan’sMission, talking about events that he has taken part of so far this year and some future events…..

     

    Ashley McCubbin: How has it been for you working with JDRF?

    Ryan Reed: JDRF has been unbelievable to work with. We’ve done so many incredible events so far this year and the relationship couldn’t anymore organic and we’ve just both have enjoyed all the great things we’ve done together. I mean, I really feel like we not only have been achieved great things so far, but the things we’ll be able to do in the future are even better.

     

    AM: Why did you want to get behind JDRF to begin with?

    RR: It kind of really happen organically. We were testing for the ARCA race in Daytona in December, Advanced Auto Parts contacted us and said we have a little girl named Makayla who wants to meet you and just figure out how you’ve compete with the disease. I said absolutely, and we were trying talking about JDRF. I had been talking about it for 10 minutes and I wanted to figure out how to get involved. I had my foundation and all, but we weren’t getting far. So when I got the chance to meet this little girl, I thought it was great.

    So when we talked about JDRF, I thought it was pretty cool and wanted to learn more about them. Their headquarters are inNew Yorkand my dad was inNew Yorkin December and he said he’d stop in there and drop off my portfolio and see if they want to do anything with me. They were like so excited and ever since, it’s just been an amazing relationship and everything has been good and had good intentions.

     

    AM: If you could, talk about why it is important for you to spread the word about JDRF.

    RR: Well, I mean being a T1D (Type 1 Diabetic), it obviously hits close to home. It’s important to me because they’ve done amazing things up to this point – obviously there’s no cure yet, but the medical advances they’ve participated in are just unreal.

     

    AM: How did Ryan’s Mission come about?

    RR: That was actually very near after I was diagnosed – well, I was first told I wasn’t going to be able to race, but then was told I’d be able to. Right after that, I knew I wanted to do this. I know other kids are being told that they won’t be able to do things and only some are lucky enough to find doctors that are as supportive as mine and able to still chase their dreams. So Ryan’s Mission was formed almost immediately and I just wanted to show kids and spread that message and not be held back.

     

    [media-credit name=”Ryan Reed Racing” align=”alignleft” width=”266″][/media-credit]AM: I know you’ve been to some Checkers Hockey Games and some games in Bakersfield, California over the past couple of months. How has that experience been for you spreading word about Ryan’s Mission and JDRF?

    RR: That’s been so much fun. I was a hockey fan growing up, played road hockey growing up, and followed the local hockey teams. I’ve always been a fan of the sport so to combine the two, fan of one sport, passion for the other, it’s just really a lot of fun just to be there. Then to be able to have all these kids come up to me and tell them how I inspire them and how much whenever they don’t want to take their shot and their parents tell them but, ‘Ryan takes his shots. If he can do it, then you can’ and they say okay. It’s unbelievable to hear and such a motivation on-and-off the track to keep doing my part in my career not just for myself, but for those kids to continue watch and get inspired.

     

    AM: I noticed lots of kids wanted to come by, meet you, get your autograph. How is it for you talking to the kids?

    RR: Any time a driver has fans, it means a lot to them. Any driver will tell you how much the fans mean to them and how fortunate they feel to have fans. Espically with my group of fans, they’re so loyal. They have unconditional ties to me, whether I win, lose or draw, with the T1D and they’re so supportive and all they want to do is help and they want to learn. Anytime a little kid comes up to me to get an autograph, I have a connection with them, so I think in my case, it’s a little bit different. Whether it’s a Type 1 Diabetic fan or not, it means a lot to me.

     

    AM:  Last month, I know you met with Congressman Kevin McCarthy. Talk about that experience, but also how important it is to have his support with the Special Diabetes Program.

    RR: That was really cool. That was the first time I had done anything with the Remember Me Campaign. So when I got the call to do that, I was really excited. When I showed up there, Kevin was a great guy, really down to earth. First thing we do when I walked in, we talked about racing. So we talked about racing for a bit and then I started telling him all the great things that JDRF has done. He was so supportive; he really a great guy. It was a lot of fun and a good experience.

    I think there was three or four of us, myself included, kids with Type 1 Diabetes from all ages. There was a little girl, a little eight years old boy – it was great to watch the whole Diabetic community come together and raise awareness and hopefully find a cure. The funding from that is crucial to JDRF so we all felt it was a obligation to go there and perform and show Kevin why it is important.

     

    AM: This weekend, I know that the showcar will be at the Long Beach Grand Prix. It may seem odd to some to have it at an IndyCar event, but maybe talk why you would want to have it there.

    RR: Long Beach isn’t a NASCAR event, but it’s a beautiful car that gets a lot of attention and it’s just another tool to raise awareness for JDRF. That’s kind of one of my goals is to just to raise awareness for JDRF. It’s a cool looking racecar, they look at it, do a little research on JDRF and learn more about diabetes, it’s for the better.

    A lot about what Ryan’s Mission is about is I really want diabetes to not be taboo. It does have a stigma about it and I don’t want that. I want people to be educated; I want people to understand it. A kid reaches to try and take a shot at the dinner table, people want to freak out. It’s just something that you have to deal with; it’s not a big deal. I think any kid that they don’t want to be treated weird or different because of it. A kid has asthma – people don’t freak out when he pulls out his inhaler. I want it to be accepted and like I said, I don’t want it to have a stigma.

     

    [media-credit name=”Ryan Reed Racing” align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]AM: I know the LA. Car Connection Cool and Classic Car Show is coming up later this month. Talk about being involved with that and helping Alec Buckner with his quest to raise money.

    RR: That is going to be really fun. L.A. Car Connection is a really great group of people with some cool cars. I actually got to drive a Ferrari when I was hanging out with them in L.A. when I was hanging out with them in L.A. one day. So that’s going to be a lot of fun, as well as raising money for JDRF. Like I said, it’s going to be a fun and great all the way around. It’ll be great to have people come out, have fun and look at some cool cars.

     

    AM:  While you’re in Salem, I know the Walk JDRF Charlotte RIC Walk to Cure Diabetes will be going on. Talk about how important it is for you to have Ryan’sMissioninvolved with that.

    RR: The walks are great; they have all them all over the country. The walks are a great awareness tool, as well as a way to raise some funding to help find a cure. That’s always a fun experience. To have the Ryan’s Mission team involved with that, it’s going to be great. It’s really important to have Ryan’s Mission out there and show our support and how dedicated we are to JDRF.

     

    AM: Looking at the schedule with you racing and the appearances, it seems it never stops. How do you keep it all balanced?

    RR: That’s definitely tough – I’ve got my family, my girlfriend – I feel it’s such an opportunity and obligation to raise awareness and use the gift that God’s given me to do some good. I find time for it all, epically trying to work out and stay mentally right for the racecar. It’s just one of my challenges. I don’t have to wake up and go to an eight-to-five job. When I’m not traveling, I get to go to the gym in the morning and have a different lifestyle. I can deal with the bad – I’m not saying its bad at all, but it can be draining with all the travel, but it’s definitely so rewarding and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

     

    AM: Mid May, there’s the JDRF Celebrity Golf Tournament. Talk about the event and what fans can expect.

    RR: I got the call to do that and I was really excited. I had never picked up a golf club before so I was a little nervous. I actually found a new passion. I went down and got a lesson in golf and have been playing the past couple of weeks so hopefully I’ll be ready. It’s going to be a ton of fun playing on a beautiful golf course.

     

    AM: Thoughts going into Salem…..

    RR: I’m really excited. We had a couple weeks to prepare and I’ve been in the gym everyday getting myself ready. Everyone’s hungry – we’ve had a break these past five weeks. Everyone’s going to be hungry when we get out there to perform and no one wants to have this race and go there and struggle. I feel everybody at Venturini Motorsports, myself included, has worked hard over this break and we’re all going to go there with our guns loaded. If we can stay on all eight cylinders, we’re going to be tough to beat.

     

    Some of the future events:

    • The showcar will be on display at the Long Beach Grand Prix IndyCar event this weekend (April 14/15th)
    • April 22nd: L.A. Connection Cool and Classis Car Show
    • April 28th: JDRF Charlotte RIC Walk to Cure Diabetes
    • April 29th: JDRF Promotion at Salem Speedway Fan Zone
    • May 1st: JDRF Promotion at Birmingham Baron’s Baseball Game
    • May 16th: JDRF Celebrity Golf Tournament
    • June 14th: Ford-JDRF Promotion at Michgan Int’l Speedway
    • June 16th: JDRF 24 Hour Hockey Game – Skating for a Cure
    • July 21st: JDRF Music Concert Series Promotion – Chicago
    • July 26th: JDRF Indianapolis Promotion
    • August 4th: JDRF Promotion at Pocono Raceway Fan Zone

     

    To learn more about Venturini Motorsports, check out http://www.venturinimotorsports.com.

    To learn more about Ryan Reed, check out http://www.ryanreedracing.com.

    To learn more about JDRF, check out http://www.jdrf.org.

    To learn more about Ryan’s Mission, check out http://www.ryansmission.org.

  • IndyCar: Chevrolet Teams Change Engines For Long Beach, Incur Penalty

    IndyCar: Chevrolet Teams Change Engines For Long Beach, Incur Penalty

    [media-credit name=”INDYCAR/LAT USA” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Following the tear down and inspection of an engine, the majority of the Chevrolet team changed their motors on April 12th.

    “We are still learning the limitations of the new engine controls calibration,” Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing’s IZOD IndyCar Series program manager, says. “Through our testing in Sonoma, as indicated by an engine issue, we uncovered a problem that we believe could affect all engines. So, as a result, we feel it is prudent to change all engines prior to the start of the on-track activities this weekend.”

    As a result, the following drivers are effected by the decision:  Penske Racing’s three-some (Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Ryan Briscoe), Andretti Autosports’ three-some (Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe and Marco Andretti), KV Racing Technology’s threesome (Rubens Barrichello, Tony Kanaan and E.J. Viso), Ed Carpenter, and Panther’s Racing JR Hildebrand.

    As per the IndyCar rulebook, each driver will be given a 10-grid position penalty prior to the start of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The event is set to take on April 15th on the 1.986-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit.

    “We intently discussed the situation with our partners and our teams prior to determining that this was the best course of action to preserve the integrity of the racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series,” Berube continues.

    The engine inspected was that of Hinchcliffe’s No. 27 GoDaddy.com car of Andretti Autosport after it had an issue during a test on April 9th at Infineon Raceway.

    “I was already penalized the 10 spots before the decision to change out all Chevy engines,” Hinchcliffe says. “It’s a bummer, but now at least I’m not alone. There will now be some good racing happening mid-pack. The engine mileage rule is a tremendous engineering challenge and ultimately helps improve technology for the automotive industry.”

    Teams are allowed to change engines if they have reached a minimum of 1,850 miles. However, if they choose to change them before, they are subject to penalty on rules 15.3.1 and 15.6.1.1.

    Hinchcliffe says he’s proud to wear the bowtie (Chevrolet’s logo).

    “It would be easy to complain about how harsh (the penalty) is, but I think the attitude of everyone on the Go Daddy crew is that when the going gets tough, it’s time to nut up, buckle down and push hard for the best result possible,” he adds.

    Team owner and driver Carpenter says it’s going to make things interesting heading into this weekend.

    “It’s obviously not ideal, but we’re all playing by the same rules,” he says. “It’s the safest choice and, even though we’re starting at a disadvantage from the get-go, it’s better than potentially having an issue later on. It’s a learning process for all of us, and it’s not a decision they made lightly.”

    Despite the issues, Chevrolet has had success this year as they have recorded two wins and two poles in the first two races with Castroneves and Power scoring one each. Castroneves leads the points, two points over Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who is running a Honda powerplant.

    Along with the issues for Chevrolet, the No. 7 Lotus Dragon Racing car driven by Sebastien Bourdais will also suffer the same penalty due to engine change.

  • IZOD IndyCar Series Tests New Chassis at Indianapolis

    IZOD IndyCar Series Tests New Chassis at Indianapolis

    On April 4, nine IZOD IndyCar Series drivers took to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to test the new chassis and perfect it for the Indianapolis 500 in May.

    Topping the charts was Andretti Autosport driver Marco Andretti with a time of 41.1664 seconds.

    “On our own, it’s pretty similar (to the old car),” Andretti says. “But I think in traffic right now, their creating a lot turbulence and you lose a lot of grip so we’re trying to make that better.”

    Kanaan would end up second on the charts, 0.04 seconds behind Andretti. Kanaan had tested the previous version of the new car last year at Indianapolis and Auto Club Speedway, however says this test was much better.

    “It was more balanced than it was last year,” Kanaan says. “We worked on it, we talked about it. Some people criticized (the car) at the end of last year, but it’s a new car and we have to figure it out. Dallara did a great job, along with (IndyCar vice president of technology) Will Phillips and the people at IndyCar. It’s going in the right direction.”

    Kanaan added that he went out of the pits flat right away, saying the aero kits are much better.

    Teams can change the aero kits, but must utilize the new rear-wheel guards. These are both safety and they promote more downforce while creating less drag.

    Beyond that, they could experiment with the rear-wing mainplane angle, underwing stakes and sidewall extentions and the wickers on the front- and rear-wing mainplanes.

    “The configuration we have now is the one we intend to come back with in May,” Phillips says. “We need to look at what comes out of today and see if anything further needs to be changed. We’ll get some feedback from teams and drivers (regarding) what the car is like in traffic and what it’s like on their own.”

    Kanaan and Andretti joined fellow Chevrolet powered drivers Ed Carpenter, JR Hildebrand and Helio Castroneves. Driving cars powered by Honda were Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, Mike Conway and Justin Wilson. The group recorded a total of 495 laps on the day.

    Helio Castroneves says the test was important for his team to continue to learn the car.

    “Like anything else you have to develop it, and right now that’s what we’re doing,” the three-time Indianapolis 500 champion says. “Every time we are at this place it’s extremely important because you find out what to do and what not to do.”

    The final package that has been put together by Dallara for teams to work with was tested in both scale model and full size testing in the wind tunnel in an effort with IndyCar and Dallara. They put the package together based on the testing done by Kanaan and Dario Franchitti.

    Now it’s about perfecting that package to be the team to come out on top in May.

    “Springs, ride heights … just trying to get the aero to the right attitude of these corners,” Wilson says. “It’s just a steep learning curve the first time out on the track. Once you’re behind the wheel, it feels similar to the old car through the corners.”

  • Marco Andretti: Bad Luck Bites Early, Looking Forward to Long Beach

    Marco Andretti: Bad Luck Bites Early, Looking Forward to Long Beach

    [media-credit name=”LAT Photo” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Looking at the box scores, you could say it hasn’t been the best start of a season for Marco Andretti as he finished 14th at St. Petersburg and 11th at Barber. However, it doesn’t indicate how strong he has actually been.

    “I think so far we’ve just had a bit of bad luck,” Andretti says. “We’ve been on the wrong side of that.”

    The last race at Barber Motorsports Park is a perfect example as the team played it conservatively in qualifying, not getting as much speed as they would’ve liked to out of the car, qualifying 13th. In the race, Andretti looked strong in the middle of the race, before contact with EJ Viso caused the front wing to break.

    With this year marking the first year with the new chassis, it is a learning experience for everybody, but the 25-year-old says he likes the new chassis so far.

    “The racecar, driving it itself, has been a lot of fun,” the Nazareth, Pa. native says. “So far, we’ve been quicker every road course and it’s got a lot of more downforce. As a driver, a lot more grip, you like that. You can carry more speed so on the road courses; we’ve been quicker everywhere we’ve gone so it’s been a lot of fun.”

    From road courses to ovals, it has been all about making sure the cars drive well for the drivers while producing solid racing. That diversity of types of tracks is something Andretti enjoys about the series.

    “The beauty of the IndyCar series is it is that diverse – small oval, big oval, road course, street course,” he says. “I like the diversity and I think the diversity is key.”

    In continuing to work on tweaking the cars, IndyCar Series drivers took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for some testing.

    “On our own, it’s pretty similar (to the old car),” Andretti says. “But I think in traffic right now, their creating a lot turbulence and you lose a lot of grip so we’re trying to make that better.”

    At the end of testing on April 4th, Andretti topped the chart of nine drivers that took the track. Being victorious in this year’s running of the Indianapolis 500 is already on Andretti’s mind after previous success there.

    “That’s been my goal,” he says. “I’ve been on every step of the podium there, except the top one. So winning Indy would be great.”

    To go along with a win at Indy this year, Andretti added that he would like to stream together a couple of wins together.

    Beyond having a new chassis for this year, Andretti has a teammate as Andretti Autosport added James Hinchcliffe to their driver line-up for 2012. Andretti says so far working with Hinchcliffe has been fantastic.

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignright” width=”149″][/media-credit]“A solid guy like him, you just hit the ground running,” he says. “As far as the camaraderie goes, it’s just made it better. The three of us (Andretti, Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay) have been on the same page with one goal in mind, and that’s winning.”

    Hoping to find his way to victory lane, Andretti heads to Long Beach, a track that has been very good to the Andretti family.

    “My thoughts are to just show up and hopefully be competitive off the truck,” he says. “I’d love to bring home there for the team, but also for the family as it would mean a lot to us. I think it’s where dad (Michael Andretti) had his first and last win, so they’ve been very successful there. So I’m looking to show up to win.”

    Success there has been definitely evident for the Andrettis through the years as Mario Andretti won there four times while Michael Andretti won there twice. Andretti Autosport also looks for their third win in a row as a team there as Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2010 while Mike Conway won last year.

    Coming from a family with as much success in the series as the Andrettis, it is very easy for Marco to call both his father and grandfather his racing heroes.

    “They are both my heroes and they were both the ones to beat in their eras,” he says. “So it’s tough to pick between the two of them.”

  • Erik Jones: Youngest Driver to Start an ARCA Racing Series Race

    Erik Jones: Youngest Driver to Start an ARCA Racing Series Race

    For the 2012 racing season, ARCA Racing Series officials made the decision to lower the age limit from 16 to 15. The new rules would allow drivers that were 15 years old and older to run short tracks, while waiting till they turned 18 to run the bigger tracks.

    Last month at Mobile International Speedway, 15-year-old Erik Jones took advantage of that as he drove the No. 55 Paragon Corvette Reproductions Chevrolet for Venturini Motorsports.

    “To be able to go and take advantage of the lower age limit, definitely was a cool experience to be able to be the first one to do that,” Jones says, adding that it’s great to be able to start young and do well.

    The day didn’t work out as Jones would’ve planned as mechanical issues would result in a 29th place finish.

    “It was a great learning experience to get used to working with Venturini Motorsports,” Jones, who qualified third for the event, says. “We learned a lot. I personally learned a lot about what I want personally in a racecar and this is a new style of racecar that I haven’t driven before. Just a lot of good experience, had a good run going before we broke. Definitely thought we were going to finish in the top three.”

    Jones is hoping to take what he learned at Mobile and apply it to Salem at the end of the month.

    “Salem is going to be a good race,” he says. “Venturini has always done well there so I’m hoping to go there and continue their tradition of doing well at Salem.  I’ve never been to Salem personally; I’ve heard a lot about it. It sounds like it’s got a lot of character so I always like going to a new race track and we’re really looking forward to it.”

    In years past, ARCA left the age limit at 16 as many felt letting drivers younger race was a bad idea. However, Jones says it works due to how they set it up.

    “There are definitely some drivers out there at (age) 15 that aren’t going to be ready to move into an ARCA car,” he explains. ”But they’ve got specific qualifications on that so I think they did a good job on lowering the age limit, but not allowing just any 15 year old to hop in these rides.”

    Jones started racing at the age of seven in quarter midgets, before moving to Street Stocks when he turned 12.

    Getting him started in racing was his grandfather as Jones says his grandpa, “built a lot of motors, drag raced himself, and he is kind of a gearhead. My mom and dad helped get me into quarter midgets and still help me to this day. They’ve been a big part, too, in getting me started.”

    At the age of 13, he moved up to Late Models and continues to race at that level well racing in ARCA.

    “Late Models definitely teaches you a lot,” the 2011 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion says. “It teaches you to race with a higher horsepower car, and definitely a lot more experienced drivers. Racing with those guys, you learn a lot about how you need to race people, how to be aggressive and how to save your stuff when you don’t need to be aggressive. There are so many things you learn in Late Models that I don’t think you could learn in other places.”

    It seems only fitting that it would be Venturini Motorsports being the first team to take advantage of the new rule based on their driver development program that has helped develop many drivers. Jones is well aware of the team’s history as Venturini Motorsports enters its 30th year of competition.

    “It’s cool to drive for a team that has as much as success and been around as long as Venturini Motorsports,” Jones says. “It’s definitely an honor to say the least.”

    Jones adds that working with Venturini Motorsports is a good learning experience as he gets to learn about working within a big organization and having teammates.

    “To come into a program like that and be able to learn so much, so quick, it’s very beneficial to my racing career,” he adds.

    Going down the road in the future, Jones hopes to be at the Sprint Cup level.

    “I think every driver would say that they’d like to see themselves in a Sprint Cup racecar racing for somebody,” he says. “Obviously I would like to see myself there. I believe we’ve put ourselves in the right situation to have a good shot at that. Hopefully we can get myself up to the Cup Series and be able to race for a living.

    Outside of racing, Jones enjoys listening to music, scuba diving and playing guitar.

  • IndyCar: Scott Dixon off to Solid Start in 2012

    IndyCar: Scott Dixon off to Solid Start in 2012

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”266″][/media-credit]When it comes to developing the new car, Team Penske looks to have upperhand as they have won the first two races of the season.

    However, Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi isn’t downplaying his team’s effort as he feels they’re pretty strong too. After all, he has finished second in both races to start the season and sits second in points, two points behind Helio Castroneves.

    “Every race pays the same amount of points,” Dixon says. “My issue has been the start of the season, so we’ve tried to start strong. We’ve tried to be consistent, maybe not take as many risks as we should, but also emphasize qualifying in a good position and making the most of it.”

    Looking historically over the past four years, it is the best spot Dixon has sat since his 2008 IZOD IndyCar Series title run. In the opening races of the 2008 season, he won at Homestead-Miami, followed by a victory at Indianapolis.  That season saw Dixon score six victories and 14 top-five finishes in 17 races.

    Last year, he finished third and second in the opening races on his way to finishing third in points. In 2010, he finished sixth and 18th to open the season, which saw him finish third in points. Two years ago in 2009, he finished 16th and 15th in the opening races to finish second.

    “Points championships are so tough,” Dixon continues. “(We’re trying to) sort of taking out a page of Dario (Franchitti’s) notebook from the last few years and being consistent. He hasn’t won as many races as some others, but he’s always there on a bad day and a good day. We have to try to do the same thing.”

    Dixon feels he could’ve won at Barber Motorsports Park this past weekend, if not for some pit road issues.

    “I believe the middle stop and the last stop we had a bit of a fumble on one of the tires,” Dixon notes. “The middle one took a lot longer. Tires are done normally about the same time as fuel. You feel the fuel pull out and you’re still on the air jack.

    “On the out lap I would say Will gained two or three seconds just because he wasn’t in traffic. Then I think they were maybe a little bit quicker on their stop as well. Between that and trying to get out of the pits behind (E.J.) Viso, I’d say we lost three or four seconds in that, which gave Will the advantage.”

    Dixon says that made the difference in Team Penske driver Will Power winning as having the lead was a big advantage.

    “If you get out front, it’s very hard to stay close,” Dixon continues. “There’s so many high-speed corners. Eventually you burn the tires off. To have a dominant race and a car I think definitely if we were out front at the end would have led to the same thing and pulled away from Will. It’s frustrating when you’re in a scenario like that and you don’t collect on the win. I’d say the last two years that was probably kind of as good as we were going to get.”

    Dixon knows though that his team does need to step their game up a little bit if they want to catch Penske.

    “With our package, I don’t think we’re there yet,” he says. “But I think once we get a few things figured out on the car and the engine package, I think we’re going to be strong. If we can put points in the bag at the moment, try and gain on that later in the year, we should be in a good position.”

  • Pole to Victory Lane: Sebastian Saavedra wins Grand Prix of America

    Pole to Victory Lane: Sebastian Saavedra wins Grand Prix of America

    [media-credit name=”IndyCar.com” align=”alignleft” width=”333″][/media-credit]After starting on pole, Sebastian Saavedra remained strong throughout the day to win the 40-lap Grand Prix of America at Barber Motorsports Park. It marks his fourth victory in the series, his first on the season.

    “I think we did an incredible job,” Saavedra says. “The car was great in the beginning, we were able to manage a very good gap on Tristan (Vautier), and at some point we started saving tires. It didn’t work very well. I think when I needed the tires to help me out when Tristan was getting close to me, they were not there. Fortunately it was only five laps to go. They threw me a curve ball over there with that restart but I think we kept a very cool head, very calm, and we did it perfectly.”

    Last week’s race winner Trisan Vautier finished second to keep the points lead, eight points over Saavedra.

    “I’m quite satisfied about the race,” he says. “Second is very good, of course, you love to win, but the Andretti guys were very strong in the open testing, we knew they were the ones to beat and we got very close at the end of the race. I tried at the start, when I saw Sebastian pulling away, to save my tires and try to do a move at the end and catch him at the end and it almost worked. Then we got the yellow flag, which cost us a few laps and it was quite close between us three on the restart, but then another yellow flag. So it was just you know, I have to thank the Sam Schmidt guys, it was a consistent car today.”

    Vautier’s teammate Esteban Guerrieri rounded out the podium as he finished third. Gustavo Yacaman and Victor Carbone rounded out the top five.

    The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 15. The race will be televised by NBC Sports Network at 5 p.m. on April 19. NBC Sports Network covereage of the Grand Prix of Alabama will be televised at 5 p.m. on April 5.

  • IndyCar: Will Power Victorious in Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

    IndyCar: Will Power Victorious in Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

    [media-credit name=”Team Chevy” align=”alignleft” width=”292″][/media-credit]On the final restart with 16 laps to go, Will Power held Scott Dixon off to win the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama for the second year in a row.

    This marks the 16th career IndyCar victory for Power and the first of the 2012 season.

    “That was an awesome race,” Power says. “(Team Engineer) Tim Cindric kept putting me in such a good position so we could use our speed. That last restart was kind of hairy. I knew Scott (Dixon) was going to be really quick and hounded me for a couple laps there. It’s good to get the Verizon 12 car in victory lane with a Chevy engine. It was awesome.”

    Power started the race in the ninth position, making a daring three-wide pass on lap one. He consistently worked his way through the field, getting the lead from Dixon following a round of pit stops.

    “(My crew was) on the money today,” he says. “Without these guys, there’s no way we could have won today.”

    Power’s win kept the Team Penske seal on Barber Motorsports Park going as Penske has won all three races there. They won the last two years with Power and won in 2010 with Helio Castroneves.

    Dixon would come second for his 27th second place finish of all-time after leading the most laps.

    “I think today we did a good job,” Dixon says. “We got caught up there in some traffic in the pit, the pit sequence kind of got us there. All in all, Team Target did a fantastic job with Honda, I think we’re starting to get on something with this car, so hopefully in the next few races we might be looking at the top spot on the podium.”

    Pole sitter Castroneves would finish third to keep the points lead.

    “First I want to thank AAA, Shell/Pennzoil, Verizon, SKF—those guys give us great support,” Castroneves says. “To be honest it was very difficult. Those are my tires from qualifying. Unfortunately, I locked a little bit too much, I used them a little bit too much. I mean it paid off starting from the pole position, but certainly hurt me a little bit, actually a lot, in the race. That’s why (Scott Dixon) was able to go off of Turn 2, good run but I was just staying in the middle and not do too much. But in the end, I thought it was a great battle, I think that’s what [racing’s about], and I want to apologize as well to (James) Hinchcliffe. My car was already bad with those reds and as soon as we restarted the race it pushed so bad that we kind of squeezed him and I felt terrible. We were having a great race, hopefully we’ll have a better one next time”

    Graham Rahal would finish fourth for his first top five finish this year, while Simon Pagenaud finished fifth for his best IndyCar finish since a fourth place finish at Edmonton in 2007. Pagenaud now leads the Sonoco Rookie of the Year Standings, 26 points over Josef Newgarden. Newgarden finished the race in 17th.

    After starting on the front row, James Hinchcliffe would finish sixth, followed by Mike Conway, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Bourdais and Dario Franchitti.

    Castroneves now leads the points leading, two points over Dixon and nine points over Power.

    With back-to-back wins to start the season, Chevrolet leads the Manufactures Championships six points over Honda.