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Tag: Chip Ganassi Racing

  • Marshall’s Madness: Greg Biffle’s Options Heading Into 2015

    Marshall’s Madness: Greg Biffle’s Options Heading Into 2015

    While speculation increases about Greg Biffle, who’s  in his contract-year at Roush Fenway Racing, I’ve decided to compile a list of prospects that could be looking to land ‘The Biff’ following the conclusion of this season; keep in mind, Biffle will have loyal and long-time sponsor 3M Company funding him wherever he lands.

    Below (not in any order) are a few organizations that Biffle could be interested in and possibly sign with, after his current contract concludes.

     

    Joe Gibbs Racing

    Biffle – who was a former teammate with current Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Matt Kenseth – could enter a new atmosphere next season: the Toyota camp.

    PROS: Gibbs – which currently fields three drivers – could be interested in landing a seasoned veteran like Biffle, especially with funding behind him.

    CONS: Gibbs could be leaning towards signing another driver though, especially with Carl Edwards, Biffle’s current teammate, being on the market.

    Also, despite having the sponsor funding, Gibbs may be unable to ‘work in’ another competitor to a developing roster.

    Nevertheless, Gibbs will certainly be eyeing Biffle; however, the dominos might not land the right direction.

     

    Richard Childress Racing

    Maybe, though, Biffle takes a different direction and heads to a manufacturer that’s had endless success at NASCAR’s top level – the Chevrolet squad.

    PROS: Like Gibbs, Biffle could be a perfect fit for Richard Childress Racing – especially being a funded competitor.

    However, at this team, Biffle could offer limitless mentoring towards up-and-coming drivers Ty Dillon and Austin Dillon – two drivers almost guaranteed lifetime contracts at Childress’ team.

    CONS: After adding Ryan Newman, last season, three drivers – with Ty Dillon on the way to a Cup Series ride at Childress – then Biffle may not be even considered for the spot.

    Therefore, to me, this is a definite reason of why Childress won’t give Biffle a thought.

     

     Chip Ganassi Racing

    Biffle – which would make sense – could join Chip Ganassi Racing, a team that hasn’t been granted a Chase berth in seasons.

    PROS: Ganassi, who only fields two machines in the Sprint Cup Series, could be interested in adding a third competitor, at least until Dylan Kwasniewski – a current Ganassi development driver – reaches the Cup Series.

    Again, like all the other teams, funding could play a major role in landing Biffle as well.

    CONS: Biffle, if knowing he’d have to re-sign after Kwasniewski makes it to the Cup Series, may overlook this contract.

    Nevertheless, Ganassi may consider this; however, he’d have to really consider what lies ahead for his organization.

     

    Wood Brothers Racing

    Trevor Bayne, who just announced a full-time deal, won’t return to the Wood Brothers next season, allows Biffle an opportunity to hop into the No. 21 Ford – keeping him in the same camp he’s been most of his career.

    PROS: Like now ALL the other teams, funding could play a major role, however, that’s the only pro for the team and driver in this instance – the funding would also help the team run their intended goal of a full-season.

    CONS: However, this wouldn’t turn out good for Biffle, as the Wood Bros. haven’t scored a victory since Bayne’s heroic Daytona 500 triumph a few seasons ago.

    Nevertheless, anything is possible, right?

     

    ‘Comment’ below which team you believe would be best fit for Biffle, whether it be staying at Fenway or moving to another of the other teams.

     

  • The Sprint Media Tour – Day Two – Chip Ganassi Racing, Furniture Row, and Richard Childress Racing

    The Sprint Media Tour – Day Two – Chip Ganassi Racing, Furniture Row, and Richard Childress Racing

    Day two of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Sprint was Chevrolet Day. The NASCAR media met with Chip Ganassi Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Furniture Row Racing, and Hendrick Motorsports. First was Chip Ganassi Racing, newly renamed for this season. It was formerly known as Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.

    Ganassi was impressed with the way the season ended for the team, with Jamie McMurray winning at Talladega, and hopeful with the addition of Kyle Larson to the team, replacing Juan Pablo Montoya in 2014, but the most glowing report came from Felix Sabates who owns part of the team with Ganassi.

    “I watched this driver for a long time and I believe that he has what it takes to be very successful in this sport,” Sabates said. “Change makes things more interesting and change is inevitable. This kid will be great.”

    Larson, who admitted that most things don’t excite him too much, was quite reserved about 2014.

    “I don’t think too much is being expected of me,” Larson said. “I think you can look at other rookies and you can see what the story is. I think they expect me to be like any other rookie.”

    Richard Childress Racing entered the auditorium minus the owner at first. An accident on the road to the Charlotte Convention Center delayed him, but he got there late, knowing full well that his lectures to grandsons Ty and Austin about being on time would lead to some good-natured ribbing by the two drivers.

    RCR will have new sponsors for 2014, including Dow (Austin Dillon, No. 3), Yuengling Light (Ty Dillon, No. 3 in the truck series), and WIX Filters (company wide). It was also announced that Lucas Oil would become the official oil of Richard Childress Racing.

    Paul Menard stated that he was looking forward to 2014.

    “I’m really anxious to work with Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman,” Menard said. Menard is the senior member of the Cup group now, with Newman coming over from Stewart-Haas Racing this year. “We hired two new engineers and that should help a lot.”

    Newman felt like he was in the best position of his life with RCR, and it felt good to be with an established team.

    “When I started with Penske, it was a startup team and then I went to Stewart-Haas, and it was a startup team. It’s good to be with an established team.”

    Austin Dillon will be making his first start in the famed No. 3 Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway in three weeks. Dillon has already turned the fastest lap among his peers in practice there, and he knows that making “3 Fans” proud, with the car’s reputation means the whole team will have to be on its toes.

    “Things have been great,” Dillon said. “But I’m most excited with the group they put around me. I’m looking forward to learning from Ryan and Paul.”

    Brendan Gaughan will move from the truck series to the Nationwide Series with Ty Dillon. He will keep the No. 62—the same number he used in the truck series. Gaughan praised the RCR marketing department and said that very few unsponsored races are on the schedule for the team. “I teamed with Ty last year in the truck series and now I’m teaming with him in the Nationwide Series. It’s great. Who could ask for more?”

    Team Owner Richard Childress called 2014 the most exciting year he could ever remember.

    “We’ve brought in new engineers and feel like this is our best shot in years to win consistently,” Childress said. Then, he was asked about the No. 3.

    “It’s important that Austin run well, but we saw Austin and Ty in the 3 car or truck the last few years. The decision was made more thane 14 years ago before Dale got killed. We talked to Dale about retirement and what to do with the car and number when he did quit. We agreed not to put anyone in the car unless they were ready and we agreed it would be an Earnhardt or a member of my family. That happened a long time ago.”

    When asked about the new qualifying rules, Newman said it would get most interesting when the cars got to Daytona the second time. Menard still had questions about the new procedure. “It’s going to be a learning process for everyone,” Menard said.

  • The Final Word – The only 25 drivers’ names you need to concern yourself with this Cup season

    The Final Word – The only 25 drivers’ names you need to concern yourself with this Cup season

    When the 2014 Cup season begins, we will have new faces, old faces in new places, along with a cast of characters still where we last saw them. However, when they are done determining who is in and who is out each week, only 25 drivers on ten teams will actually matter. The rest will simply be hamburger helper sprinkled amongst the real meat.

    The steak that will sizzle is once again expected to be provided by Team Hendrick, led by 6-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Four-time king Jeff Gordon, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr, and 16-race winner Kasey Kahne will all be behind the wheel of Chevrolet SS models, but this quartet is all Corvette. 189 career wins and 10 championships between them. Enough said.

    After a 13 year absence, Dale Earnhardt’s old slant No.3 returns with his old boss, with the team owner’s grandson in the driver’s seat. All 23-year old Austin Dillon has done to deserve the opportunity was to show Grandpa that he can win championships, as he did last year in the junior series and the year before in the trucks. Okay, he looks rather goofy in a cowboy hat, I admit, but when he pops on a racing helmet the lad is solid gold. Add to the mix Ryan Newman and Paul Menard and this should prove an interesting season for this outfit.

    Joe Gibbs has his own trio of note, as Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin all have shown star quality on the track. Kenseth was the chief contender to Johnson last year, Kyle is always in the mix, and Hamlin was the last guy we saw in Victory Lane last year, despite what was for him a season of misfortune.

    Jack Roush drivers claimed three wins in 2013, even though 9th was the best season showing from a lineup that boasts Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. None have won a Cup crown, all are hungry to change that, and the pressure will be on to be succeed this season.

    2014 brings us Kyle Larson, as the 21-year old joins Jamie McMurray with Chip Ganassi. He won one of two truck races he ran last year, but still is best known for being sent up into the fence and spreading car parts into the stands during Daytona’s junior series opener last year.

    Roger Penske has a two car operation, with former champ Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano driving again for him. Richard Petty is back with Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola. Michael Waltrip had himself an annus horribilis, as Queen Elizabeth might say, in 2013. Still, while NAPA may be gone, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers remain. No sponsor, no Martin Truex Jr, but he wound up with Furniture Row, and along with the rest mentioned here should be more than relevant when they roll off the line.

    No, I have not forgotten about Tony Stewart, nor Gene Haas who made himself relevant by hiring his own boy, namely Kurt Busch, for the team. Along with the mending co-owner and the arrival of Kevin Harvick, this should be quite a team to watch, both on and off the track. Call this the good, the bad, and the ugly, but I will leave it to you to determine who is who.

    Did I miss anyone? Well, actually, no. I am with Kyle Petty when it comes to 31-year old Danica Patrick. She is a marketing machine but she has yet to prove she can race when there are others out there to compete against. Despite the quality equipment she has, and I am talking about that provided by Stewart-Haas not God Almighty, her results have been pedestrian, at best. A single Top Ten in 46 Cup races, 7 for 60 in the junior league, one win and 7 podiums in 115 IndyCar events does not a legend make. However, until another woman arrives on the scene, and I see none even close just yet, she will remain. At least she will until the novelty runs its course and she faces the same expectations as, say, 24-year old Landon Cassill, 22-year old Cole Whitt, 22- year old Trevor Bayne or 21-year old Ty Dillon.

    Ten teams, I say, but what about Tommy Baldwin? If you expect Michael Annett or J.J. Yeley to do something, then maybe. I just do not see it. Swan Racing is running two teams, but will Whitt or Parker Kligerman outlast even start and parker Joe Nemechek? There will be Front Row (with David Ragan and David Gilliland), BK and Daugherty teams attempting to qualify and even making it, but will they add to your race experience? I doubt it, but wouldn’t it be nice if someone made a liar out of me? Anyone?

    There will be a lot of story lines this season, such as Johnson’s quest to reach NASCAR immortality, Junior seeking a win, the rookie seasons of Dillon and Larson, Roush veterans seeking a title, the Stewart-Haas potential drama, if Furniture Row can maintain, and so much more. However, just as important will be the answer as to whether Patrick is the real deal or a 3 dressed up as a 9 and if Baldwin, Swan, or Front Row can make the jump to actually matter. We are down to just weeks before the results start trickling in.

    In the meantime, enjoy the Super Bowl.

  • NASCAR BTS: Jason Trinchere’s Journey From Racer to Penske Engineer

    NASCAR BTS: Jason Trinchere’s Journey From Racer to Penske Engineer

    Many racers realize along the way that another career may be awaiting them other than being behind the wheel.  This week’s edition of NASCAR BTS goes behind the scenes with Jason Trinchere to learn more about his journey from short-track racer to design engineer at Penske Racing.

    Trinchere started his racing journey early, in fact from the time of his birth. And, as with so many racers, his father also was involved in the sport.

    “Ever since the time I was born, there was a race car or a go kart in our garage,” Trinchere said. “My dad started racing when he was in high school.”

    “When I was born, he stopped driving and became a car owner,” Trinchere continued. “So, he always had cars around the whole time I was growing up.”

    Trinchere caught the racing bug from his father and set off in go karts. Initially it was just for fun but the competition soon drew him in, hook, line and sinker.

    “When I was about ten or eleven years old, he sold his modified team and we started racing go karts,” Trinchere said. “It was mainly just for fun but then we started racing competitively.”

    “We had fun, raced dirt and had three championships,” Trinchere continued. “Then we started racing in the dirt asphalt division in the early ‘90s.”

    “So, I started driving those and that was the whole time I was in high school,” Trinchere said. “I didn’t even have my driver’s license when I started racing.”

    Although he loved being behind the wheel of a race car, Trinchere also enjoyed the mechanical and engineering side of the sport.

    “My dad was an auto mechanic so I learned that side of the business from him,” Trinchere said. “When I was in high school, I took machine shop in Vo Tech so I could make a lot of the components for our race cars.”

    “I wasn’t’ too sure of what I wanted to do and I was thinking of coming to the NASCAR Tech School but was concerned it was more for people not involved in racing,” Trinchere continued. “My dad talked me into studying engineering since I was the kid sitting at home playing with erector sets all the time.”

    After high school graduation, Trinchere had to make a critical decision about going to college and also what to do about his racing career. Ironically, he initially wanted to follow the path of his now team owner at Penske Racing.

    “When I came out of school, I wanted to go to Lehigh to follow in the footsteps of Roger Penske but the reality of how much college costs set in,” Trinchere said. “So, I went to community college to do my electives and take their associates classes in engineering.”

    “Then I transferred to Penn State Harrisburg campus,” Trinchere continued. “It was far enough to experience college life but close enough to home to go there and race.”

    Trinchere also happened to find his soul mate in the racing business.

    “When I went to college, I didn’t have the time to race in one place, so I started going to upstate New York and raced at Oswego and all different kinds of tracks,” Trinchere said. “At that time, when I was finishing college, my girlfriend (who is my wife now) was also involved in racing as her dad raced at Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania.”

    “So, imagine that, I met my wife through racing as well.”

    Trinchere and his wife decided that they needed to consider heading south to Charlotte and the heart of racing country to make both of their dreams come true.

    “I got a phone call from Dave McCarty, who at that time was the crew chief at Spears Motorsports for David Starr,” Trinchere said. “So, I followed up on that opportunity and he liked the fact that I was a racer with a degree in engineering.”

    “Being a Truck team, they didn’t want to hire a Cup engineer because a kid coming out of college was much cheaper,” Trinchere continued with a chuckle. “We moved down, bought a house (the same one we are living in now) and went racing.”

    “I worked at Spears and the next year Aric Almirola came in as the driver,” Trinchere continued. “I learned a lot there with David Starr, Aric Almirola and Dennis Setzer.”

    “It was a very small team with about twelve employees,” Trinchere said. “It was a neat opportunity to go to a little team and run against the big boys and do well.”

    “That made me feel good.”

    Trinchere left Spears to go to CJN Racing with Jason Keller as the driver. But shortly thereafter, he headed to DEI where he stayed even through the merger with Chip Ganassi Racing.

    “I went to DEI to be the Nationwide engineer when they ran a car, which was only part-time,” Trinchere said. “We had Trevor Bayne and Jesus Hernandez as the drivers.”

    “I was also support engineer for the 01 Cup car when Regan Smith was driving it,” Trinchere continued. “Then I switched over to Martin Truex’s car.”

    “It was a very busy year, going to a third of the Cup races and the rest of the East races.”

    “At the end of the season, there were talks and then the merger with Chip Ganassi occurred,” Trinchere said. “Before Homestead they came around and told us what time the meeting was, all but me.”

    “I didn’t know if that was good or bad,” Trinchere continued. “But I learned that people with meetings were let go and people who didn’t have a meeting were being kept.”

    “That was a little bit of a hard time.”

    Post-merger, Trinchere worked for both the 1 and 42 teams.

    “It worked out pretty well working for Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya,” Trinchere said. “I did a program called ‘Dart Fish’ at the track where I would record qualifying runs.”

    “I did that for a year and at the end of the season, the engineering manager asked if I could do anything else to help the team and I was moved over to the design engineering team,” Trinchere continued. “It was fun to have the direct impact of what happened at the track.”

    Trinchere had a very eventful New Year, however, as he was offered and accepted a job at Penske Racing.

    “Within three days of sending my resume in, I had an interview,” Trinchere said. “I’m doing the same stuff as a design engineer.”

    “Their group is a little larger and uses different software but I am working with the 2 and 22, “Trinchere continued. “It’s been exciting but scary changing jobs, especially after five years.”

    “So, this is the next chapter for me.”

  • Rahal returns home, looks to continue family success at Mid-Ohio

    Rahal returns home, looks to continue family success at Mid-Ohio

    [media-credit name=”indycar.com” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Graham Rahal will be returning home this weekend to compete in the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.  On August 5th the IZOD IndyCar Series will take to the track in Mid-Ohio for the sixth time, with 2007 being the first year IndyCar sanctioned a race at the venue.  The Columbus, Ohio born racer will be looking to have success on a track that has been a place of bad luck for him in the past.  In his four visits to the track, Rahal has landed only one top-ten finish (8th in 2009).

    Rahal however is coming off a 4th place finish at Edmonton, a result that is tied for his second best finish of the season to date.  The #38 Service Central Honda driver is looking to use that momentum from two weekends ago to translate into a great performance at his home track.

    “It feels good anytime you can build momentum at any point in the season. Particularly for us at this point, of course going to Mid-Ohio, which is my home race, a place that’s always kind of stumped me.  I’ve never really had a great result there,” Rahal says when speaking to IndyCar.com.

    The Rahal family knows what success feels like at Mid-Ohio with Graham’s father, Bobby, winning the event in 1985 and 1986.  Graham looks to mimic part of his father’s career and win at the road course in Lexington.

    “I love the racetrack.  There’s a lot of history there in Indy car racing. Certainly with the Rahal family.”

    Like any other sporting event, a driver always wants to win on his home turf.  Take Aryton Senna’s glorious victory in his home country of Brazil in 1991.  The tremendous roars from the crowd that day can only be derived from the hometown hero coming away the victor.  Or Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 British Grand Prix victory in the wet where he finished a whopping 68 seconds ahead of second place.  “It is definitely and by far the best victory I’ve ever had,” stated Hamilton in regards to winning his home race.

    Looking to the weekend, there can be more comfort found for Rahal than just the enthusiasm and luxury of being at home.  Of the five IZOD IndyCar races at Mid-Ohio, Rahal’s owner, Chip Ganassi, has won four of them.  He has a three-time Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio winning teammate in Scott Dixon and he has recently tested at his home track on July 26th.

    Graham Rahal has got momentum, experience, and a team capable of producing a successful result in Mid-Ohio.  At a track he loves and a venue he would embrace winning at, maybe this weekend Graham will etch his own history at a place already rich with the Rahal name.

  • Kyle Larson ‘Felt Like a Super Star’ With Top Ten Truck Finish

    Kyle Larson ‘Felt Like a Super Star’ With Top Ten Truck Finish

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: kylelarsonracing.com” align=”alignright” width=”157″][/media-credit]Making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway, one young driver just wanted to learn and finish the race.

    But Kyle Larson, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Mobile App, finished top ten and simply “felt like a super star.”

    “That was a big surprise,” Larson said. “I didn’t get much practice there so I didn’t really know how I was going to do.”

    “And with me blowing a motor up and not having much practice, as well as being a go or go homer, I didn’t push it too hard in qualifying,” Larson continued. “I just wanted to spend the first part of the race figuring out how the truck handled and how the air moved around.”

    “Once I learned some stuff, I could really race and I could start picking off people,” Larson said. “And then I found myself in the top ten, so I was really excited about it.”

    “I felt like a super star.”

    With a top-ten in his Truck debut, Larson also garnered a fair amount of attention, particularly from the media. But the young driver took it all in stride.

    “I don’t pay too much attention about it,” Larson said. “The spot light’s been on me for quite a while now.”

    “I just try to go out and race because that’s my job and I love doing it,” Larson continued. “I just want to go out and win. And if I keep winning, the spot light will be even better.”

    Although Larson seemingly sprang onto the NASCAR scene, he has been driving since the age of seven. And he has an extremely impressive racing resume.

    “I started racing outlaw karts when I was seven,” Larson said. “They’re 400 pound go karts with 500 cc engines. So, they have way too much power for how much they weigh.”

    “I did that for about seven or eight years and moved into 360 and 410 sprint cars on dirt when I was 14,” Larson continued. “I won a couple races the first two years and my fourth year I won the championship and last year was my first year racing nationally in USAC in all their divisions.”

    “I also ran some outlaw races and I’m the only other driver besides I think Tony Stewart to win in all the open wheel national touring series all in one year,” Larson said. “I swept the four crown last year at Eldora Speedway and I did it my first try. That was cool to do.”

    “Last year I won a lot of big races so last year stands out to me because of that.”

    Larson has also been part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, running in the K&N Pro Series East under the auspices of Rev Racing. And the young racer credits much of his success so far to that program.

    “It’s helped me a lot,” Larson said. “My mom’s Japanese so that’s how I’m in the diversity program.”

    “I run for Rev Racing and we’ve been pretty good all year,” Larson continued. “We got a win at Gresham a couple weeks ago.”

    “We just got to make the right calls for the race,” Larson said. “That’s our biggest problem we’ve had this year, not keeping up with the race track because it changes so much.”

    “I think if we work on that, we’ll be better and win some more races.”

    While Larson enjoys driving all types of race cars, his favorite being the winged sprint car, he sees himself racing in NASCAR’s highest levels. And ultimately, he would like to own his own race team.

    “Hopefully the route I’m going will take me to the Sprint Cup Series some day,” Larson said. “That’s my goal and that’s what I want to do.”

    “I want to race with Stewart and Gordon and Kahne and all those guys every week,” Larson continued. “And I’d like someday to own my own team like Kahne and Tony do.”

    “That’s my goal is to get to the Sprint Cup Series so I can help young kids coming up.”

    Larson aspires to be like two drivers in the Cup Series currently, but for very different reasons.

    “As far as a driver, I’d like to be like Kyle Busch because he wins, not a whole lot this year, but he’s a talented driver and he always gives 110%,” Larson said. “As far as off the track goes, I think I need to be like Jimmie Johnson.”

    “He’s really good with the fans and really good with the sponsors too,” Larson continued. “I’d like to be a driver like Kyle and like Jimmie off the track.”

    But for now, the young up and comer just hopes he can do some more truck racing, which of course is dependent on sponsorship.

    “Yeah, sponsors mean a lot as far as getting rides,” Larson said. “I’ve been lucky being with Chip Ganassi Racing and he helped out a lot with this year and also with the truck race at Kentucky.”

    “He has been a great help to me and hopefully we can find some more sponsors to get some more races,” Larson continued. “It’s tough to do with the economy being so bad.”

    “They’ve talked about a few more races but it all depends on if we get a sponsor,” Larson said. “If it were up to me, I’d be racing every weekend in that truck.”

    “I had a lot of fun.”

    Larson’s family also had a great time watching him race in his first ever Truck race. Although his parents still live in his native California, they have taken off this summer to watch their son and to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

    “Right now, my mom and dad are with me at these races, hanging out,” Larson said. “My dad just retired so he has some time now to come watch me.”

    “They were really happy after the Truck race,” Larson continued. “My dad’s a crier so he was up in the stands tearing up.”

    “They were really excited and happy that I did good in my first start.”

    For fans who want to get to know the young Larson, he has two surprises to share. The first is his passions off the track and the other is his interesting exercise regimen, or lack thereof.

    “These past few weeks, I raced every day,” Larson said. “I don’t get a lot of free time but when I do, I’m out fishing.”

    “During the winter, I like to go snowboarding when I can,” Larson continued. “I’m not good at it but I like going down the mountain.”

    “I’m also really skinny but I love to eat,” Larson continued. “And no, I don’t work out at all.”

    “I worked out a few times this year with Rev Racing but then I started racing so I didn’t have time,” Larson said. “I don’t get tired though.”

    “That’s what I think people would find surprising about me,” Larson said. “I never get winded. I think it’s just because I stay calm.”

    Finally, the young racer is simply enjoying his time in the sun, especially during his Truck debut.

    “That’s really the first time I’ve ever raced with all that media around,” Larson said. “So that was cool to get interviewed.”

    “I really did feel like a super star.”

     

  • Dario Franchitti Leads First Practice For MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225

    In the first practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 on Thursday, Dario Franchitti led the way with a lap of 21.5665 seconds (171.099mph).

    “My first order of business today was to learn the track and the first run felt good,” Franchitti said. “It is definitely a lot easier to learn a place when the car is doing what you want it to. I think we are in good shape now and we will be chasing the track a little bit. We’ll see if we can continue this form into the weekend.”

    His lap is only a tenth off of the record at New Hampshire, which was set by Andrew Riberio in 1995 at a lap of 21.466 seconds. Ribeiro is now the manager for series driver Ana Beatriz.

    Franchitti’s Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon was in second (21.6204 seconds), followed by Graham Rahal (21.6644).

    “The car felt good today,” Dixon said. “We struggled at the beginning of the day with a few set-up changes we had to go through. Traffic is chaotic here because it seems like some cars are very slow and you catch them fast. So must of the challenge is dealing with that. We spent a lot of time on working on the race car and I feel pretty comfortable now. The Target cars were quick today and so was Graham (Rahal) so we are in good shape for now but we will see what happens Saturday and Sunday.”

    KV Racing Technology-Lotus teammates Tony Kanaan (21.7368) and Taku Sato (21.7713) rounded out the top five. The top 10 in the 27-car lineup were separated by less than four-tenths of a second.

    “We had a pretty solid day today,” Kanaan said. “We took our time to go out in the morning practice, but we were fast right away and kept improving the car during the afternoon run. I think that there are some minor tweaks that we can try on Saturday before qualifying to see if we can get the car a little bit faster, but overall I’m happy with how the day went.”

    “It was a good first day,” Sato said. “We ran a lot of miles and I learned a lot.  This track is quite unique, but we were up to speed very quickly and worked on various things.  It was a very productive day.”

    During the session, Pippa Mann made significant contact with the wall, however was cleared to drive for the rest of the weekend by medical staff.

    “We worked very hard throughout the morning on making the car better and the RLL guys made some really good changes to the car that felt like they were going to help us,” she said. “We found some grip and some stability and were working on gathering speed over the bumps when we had our incident. I am disappointed but I know that the whole team will work very hard to get everything where we need it to be for Saturday’s qualifying!”

    The race on Sunday August 14th marks Team Penske’s 1,300 start in open-wheel racing and Helio Castroneves is set make his 200th career Indy car start for the team.

    “Our Guidepoint Systems Team Penske car still needs a little something,” he said. “We me made a lot of changes today and we learned a few things. Now we just have to sort through the data and take the next step. We will be ready to go on Saturday.”

    There are two practice sessions Aug. 13 prior to two-lap qualifications with no practice planned for Friday August 12th.