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Dan Wheldon Dies in Crash at IndyCar Season Finale at Las Vegas

Following a wreck on lap 12 of the IZOD IndyCar Series Season Finale race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 33-year-old Dan Wheldon has died due to injuries sustained in the crash.

“IndyCar is sad to announce that Dan Wheldon passed away from unsurvivable injuries,” IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family. INDYCAR, its drivers and teams have decided to end the race. We will run a five-lap salute in honor of Dan.”

Following the press conference of the announcement, the 19 cars that were not involved did five-laps around the track in a 3-wide formation.

The incident happened on lap 12, which saw three cars catch air and involve a total of 15 cars. Multiple replays show the top of Wheldon’s cockpit hitting the catch fence, breaking the hoop.

“I saw two cars touch each other up in front of me and then I tried to slow down, couldn’t slow down,” Paul Tracy told ESPN. “Then Dan’s car, from what I saw in the videos, came over my back wheel and over top of me. Just a horrendous accident.”

“The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something,” Ryan Briscoe added. “I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere.”

Will Power was transported to hospital following the incident, complaining of back pain, though has since been released. Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand were also transported to hospital. They both will be kept overnight for observation.

Wheldon was the 2005 IndyCar Series Champion and won theIndianapolis500 twice, including this year’s running. This past season, Wheldon had been running a part-time schedule due to no ride while also testing the new IndyCar for next season.

Wheldon was expected to join Andretti Autosport to compete full-time next season. He leaves behind his wife Suzi and two children.

As a result of the race being canceled, Dario Franchitti wins his fourth IndyCar Series Championship.

October 17, 2011
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.

August 12, 2011
Tomas Scheckter To Fill In For Justin Wilson at New Hampshire

Dreyer and Reinbold Racing General Manager Larry Curry announced that Tomas Scheckter will be filling in for Justin Wilson, behind the No. 22, in the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Scheckter has 116 IndyCar Series starts, including two victories and 44 top 10 finishes, most recently the Indianapolis 500 this year. He has made 14 starts in the past with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing.

“Even though we get that extra run time there Thursday (practice day), we have to cut to the chase fast,” Curry said. “We know him and he knows us, and it will take him only two or three laps to know what he needs out of the car and how we can adjust it.

“It was more of a choice based on who was available and who we had a relationship with. That was pretty simple actually.”

Wilson will miss New Hampshire after suffering a stable burst fracture of the fifth thoracic vertebra during practice at Mid-Ohio on August 6th. Wilson was release from an Indianapolis hospital on August 9th.

“Obviously, I have a little bit of a backache, but I’m just frustrated to not be at the racetrack,” Wilson said. “I think that we just started to get our season turned around and the car was really good at Mid-Ohio and I’m disappointed about that. I know that I’m going to miss the ovals and I think we’ve found some good stuff that was going to help our oval performance.

“So I’m just disappointed to not be the car, but my back is the most important thing. I’m going to try and get that to heal and get back to 100 percent as soon as possible and get back in the car. Also, the response has been incredible and it’s really nice to see that rather it’s on Twitter from the fans, or drivers and ex-drivers. Everyone has been really supportive, so thank you to all of them.”

IndyCar medical director Dr. Michael Oliger says Wilson will be treated with a back brace and be out for at least three months. Curry said that team co-owners Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl haven’t selected a driver for the races past New Hampshire. The schedule includes three road/street courses and two ovals after New Hampshire.

“We are talking about a lot of things on how we want to approach the rest of the year with the three road courses,” Curry said. “The next time we see our trucks in Indy will be after Labor Day, and then we only have four days to have the stuff ready for Japan. So we have to make some decisions quickly for the Infineon test.”

August 10, 2011
Dario Franchitti Scores 30th IZOD IndyCar Series Win in Honda Indy Toronto

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After taking the lead on lap 71, Dario Franchitti led teammate Scott Dixon to the checkered flag for his third win in Toronto and the 30th IndyCar Series win of the year for the points leader.

“I was pretty happy just be in the company of Rick and J.R., and to get my 30th win today means a lot, especially here in Toronto,” Franchitti said. “I got my first pole here in 1997. I love racing in Canada. We had that incident with Will. He out braked himself to out brake me and opened up the door, I went down the inside, I held the wall and Will came down. I put my nose in there, I was trying to get my nose out, but ultimately he closed the door and paid the price.”

The incident, in which Franchitti spoke of with pole sitter and points rival Will Power, happened on lap 56 when they were battling for fifth in turn three. Power kept soildering on, till hitting the tire barrier on lap 66 in turn five after contact with Alex Tagliani.

“It’s just a really disappointing finish for the Verizon car today,” Power said. “My team did a great job in the pits and we were working our way back toward the front and we got past (Dario) Franchitti. We went into the corner and I gave him room and then he just drove into me. I understood he was going to get penalized but then there was no call – I just don’t understand that. After that we were just trying to get the best result possible before Tag (Alex Tagliani) hit me from behind. It’s very tough to have two DNFs (did not finish) in a row. All I can say is we’ll keep working hard and hopefully come back strong at Edmonton.”

“The contact with Will was also a shame,” Tagliani said afterwards. “Will was on blacks. I tried to pass him a couple of times in turn three. He was blocking a bit, and then I made a move on the inside in turn eight and it got tight.”

Meanwhile, it was Franchitti’s teammate Dixon who came home second for his fourth podium finish in the last five races.

“It’s frustrating because these street races are part luck, you know,” Dixon said. “Will and I were one and two, then he comes out like 18th or something like that, so it’s—and the 10 car gets it everytime, so I’ll call back on the radio and say, ‘Let me guess who’s leading. The 10 car.’ Which, is good on him, they make good strategy, and obviously Dario is quick as well and we all had to pass a lot of cars, but it’s frustrating. We were getting into a nice rhythm there, car was quick and good, and then the strategy throws it all off.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay finished third for his best finish of the season.

“I got third and now we just have to go win one,” he said. “The Ganassi boys did a great job. Congrats to Dario. Those cars were the class of the field today. The two red and white cars – they just took off.”

Hunter-Reay’s day wasnt’ totally clean, however, as he made contact with Graham Rahal on lap 80 in turn three, though no caution was brought out due to the incident.

“Unfortunately, it is a bit of a product of Toronto,” Hunter-Reay continued. “I feel really bad for Graham on that. When Dixon went by him,

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Graham kind of chopped him on the straight. Dixon went by him and really ran him wide in the corner into turn three. There’s a football field worth of real estate there and I went for it and Graham slid across so. I’m not going to blame it on him and I certainly did not deliberately do that. That was just part of Toronto. As you can see, what we had out here today was a little bit of a crash test unfortunately. I hope the fans enjoyed it and I am just really happy to get DHL, Circle K and Sun Drop on the podium. It was a hard fought day. It wasn’t a straight forward podium that’s for sure.”

Marco Andretti and Victor Meira rounded out the top five.

The race was halted by five full course yellows throughout the 85 laps this afternoon.

The first caution was on lap three when Ryan Briscoe and Tony Kanaan made contact in turn three, causing Kanaan to go airbourne, but he’d be okay.

“I gave Briscoe plenty of room and he still took me out,” he said. “It was too early in the race to be doing stupid moves like that. I had a good car and was moving up the field, I guess I overtook four cars in the first lap, so I was going to the front. It’s a shame for the GEICO KV-Lotus guys.”

The second caution was on lap 30 when Helio Castroneves and Tagliani made contact in turn three, halting Tagliani to a stop in turn three on the course. He’d get the car restarted and carry on.

The third caution was on lap 39 when James Jakes stopped on the course.

The fourth caution came out on lap 48 for a multi-car wreck involving Paul Tracy, Victor Meira, Charlie Kimball and Sebastain Bourdais.

The fifth caution came on lap 56 for the incident involving Franchitti and Power, while the sixth caution came out on lap 71 for a multi-car accident involving Danica Patrick, Jakes and Tagliani.

“It was just a really frustrating day,” Patrick said. “I thought we had a good race car. After we would pit for new tires, it would feel really good, but we kept getting caught out by the yellows. I have to thank the GoDaddy.com crew for working so hard all weekend.”

The last caution was on lap 76 for another multi-car wreck involving Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia, James Hinchcliffe, Charlie Kimball, Mike Conway and Marco Andretti.

July 11, 2011
Will Power Scores Eighth Pole in a Row in Toronto; Dixon second

Last year, Will Power won the Honda Indy Toronto and in beginning the quest to go back-to-back, Power won the PEAK Performance Pole Award at Exhibition Place in Toronto. Power’s lap of 59.5771 seconds gives him his fifth road course pole award of the season and eighth in a row over the past two seasons.

“I think it’s impossible to get a good balance around this place with so many different surfaces and the bumps,” he said. “So you got to make the most of it.

“It seems impossible to put a perfect lap together, too. You gain somewhere on one lap and you lose it somewhere else. It’s such a fun track because you absolutely ring the car’s neck in every possible way, under brakes, on power, everywhere. It’s always fun.

“I don’t think qualifying is a big deal because I really think you can come from the back and win this race. It’s just that sort of track. Plenty of passing, lots of mayhem.”

Scott Dixon qualified second to start on the front row for the second time this season with a lap of 59.6646 seconds.

“It was pretty tough,” he said. “As I said yesterday, I think the track’s very demanding, more so this year with the bumps, just where you got to try to get the speed out of the car.

“Qualifying was pretty smooth for us for the first two groups. I think the big question for most people today was how much you’re actually going to gain on the reds. Maybe some speculation they weren’t going to be much quicker at all. Turned out they were. So, you know, pretty decent. Little disappointed with Q3. We might adjust. Had enough in it. I’m sure Will didn’t get the most out of his lap as well. At least we’ve made improvements. The cars are quicker and obviously quicker to the No. 12 that’s been dominating on the road courses. Pretty happy all in all. Pretty confident both Target cars will be strong in the race.”

IZOD IndyCar Series Points Leader Dario Franchitti qualified third (59.900), followed by Mike Conway (59.9330) and Graham Rahal.

“I thought that my car was good,” he said. “That last Fast Six, I didn’t get the most out of it. I kept screwing up one corner and eventually got it halfway right, by which point was about lap five. Probably the best of the tire had gone. That was totally my fault. I didn’t get into rhythm quick enough. So ended up third.

“I felt we probably had enough to get close to these guys, maybe not ahead. But P3 is all right. I think I’m happy with the way that the Target car is on black and red tires. We’ll see what we’ve got tomorrow.”

Franchitti set the track record at the beginning of the session in the first round of qualifying with a lap of 59.3535 seconds, however it was Power who had the quickest lap during the Firestone Fast Six Qualifying round.

July 10, 2011
Will Power Looks For His Second Straight Win in Toronto

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”150″][/media-credit]There are times that one driver’s misfortune can turn into another’s good fortune and that was the case for Will Power. When Helio Castoneves was on trial for tax evasion charges, Roger Penske was looking for another driver to potentially replace him.

As they say, the rest is history, but since getting together with Penske, that now has him working with both Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe.

“Both very good drivers,” Power commented. “I think that we all have a good relationship and work very well together. I think that we get the most of the car that we can because of each other’s feedback.”

It has also brought lots of success, including a special win at Sonoma last year.

“I think most my memorable win would have to be Sonoma last year after breaking my back there a year earlier and coming back and having a perfect weekend winning that race,” he said.

So far this year, things have been quite solid for Power as in the nine races this season, he has three wins, four poles, six top fives and seven top 10s.

“It’s been quiet, in one way, a little bit mixed up,” he said. “We’ve had a few different winners, but its just proven to be very tight, very competitive, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m enjoying it actually, more relaxed this year.”

The last race for the IndyCars didn’t work out that good for Power, however, as he wrecked on lap 90 after having contact with another car early on pit road.

“You don’t want to have two bad races in a row,” he said when asked if there’s added pressure this week. “It’s always possible, but I think I just need to put my focus on this weekend and forget about what happened, which I’ve done.”

Power’s chances at going back-to-back look strong as he led the final practice for the IZOD IndyCars on Friday.

“I think is great for racing because it has a slippery surface, very long back straight,” he said of the Toronto course. “It’s always good to put a good show on and it’s a track that you can come back from a lap down to win so it’s a place that everyone enjoys coming to.”

Through his experience in racing, Power has learned many lessons, though the one he calls the top lesson is patience.

“I think patience is definitely something in IndyCar that you really need,” he said. “I think that is the key to winning a championship – being patient at the right time. Its always about having a good balance between patience and aggression.”

July 9, 2011
Dario Franchitti and Will Power Lead IZOD IndyCar Practices at Honda Indy Toronto

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”150″][/media-credit]In preparation for the Honda Indy on July 10th, the IZOD IndyCar Series hit to the streets of Toronto for a pair of practices.

In the first practice, it was Dario Franchitti leading the way with an average speed of 102.619 and was followed by Penske Racing driver Helio Castroneves with a speed of 102.51.

“Overall, it was a good day for the Penske Truck Rental team,” Castroneves said. “Right off the bat, the car had good balance and good speed here in Toronto. We didn’t put on new tires at the end of the last practice – I wanted to, but my new strategist (John Erickson) is already working on trying something different so I listened to him! I love the yellow car and the yellow suit of Penske Truck Rental. It reminds me of Dancing With the Stars. Let’s hope we have the same kind of result this weekend.”

Team Penske put Erickson in place as the strategist for Castroneves for the first time this weekend in Toronto. Erickson was working with Will Power, who will now be teamed up with Tim Cindric. Finally, Clive Howell will continue to focus on his duties as team general manager.

Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the top three at an average speed of 102.458mph.

“We were third-quick in the first session, so we had a good morning – and I think we were having a good afternoon,” he said. “The DHL/Circle K/Sun Drop car was feeling pretty good; we were in the top five until we decided not to take new tires like most of the top 10 did. But, we’ll just save those for tomorrow and hopefully it will pay off for us.”

Justin Wilson and Power was fourth and fifth, followed by Scott Dixon was sixth, followed by Alex Tagliani, Takumo Sato, Tony Kanaan and Mike Conway. James Hinchcliffe, who calls the Honda Indy his hometown race, was the quickest rookie in 11th.

The first practice saw no on track incidents.

In the second practice, Power led the way with an average speed of 104.330.

“The Verizon car is good, but we are still not quick enough,” he said. “We put tires on there at the end of the second practice and no one else did. We are just a bit off the pace. We still have a few things in mind to improve the car. It is great to be in Toronto, though, and relaly good to see all the fans.”

He was followed by Ganassi Racing driver Dixon with a speed of 104.145 as the top 15 cars were quicker than Franchitti’s first session quickest lap.

“It’s definitely cool to be back at a street course, especially Toronto,” he said. “It’s a fun circuit. It’s definitely different than the last four races with all left hand turns and now coming back to a bumpy circuit. The track seems to be a little bumpier, especially going into turn 1 and maybe down the back straight as well. It’s created a few new issues that we haven’t had before. The times actually seem surprisingly quicker. Even on the primary tires, we only seems to be five-tenths off the quick times of the options.”

Franchitti was third in the session, followed by Hinchcliffe and Kanaan. Wilson was sixth, followed by Oriol Servia, Ryan Briscoe, Castroneves and Danica Patrick.

The second practice saw two full course yellows. The first was eight minutes into the session when Tagliani spun mid corner in turn 8, making contact with the outside retaining wall. He was then struck by Graham Rahal, briefly lifting the car off the ground. Due to the wreck, Tagliani suffered rear wing damage while Rahal had front wing damage. The second incident was when Sebastian Bourdais stopped on course in turn 8. After being re-fired by the Holmatro Safety Team, he was able to make it back to pit lane. There was also local caution, which saw Ana Beatriz spin in turn 2.

Qualifying will take place Saturday afternoon at 12:50pm EST, with the race taking place on Sunday July 10th at 2pm ET.

July 9, 2011
James Hinchcliffe Set To Continue Rookie Campaign With Hometown Race in Toronto

For the Oakville, Ontario native, the Honda Indy Toronto will mark the hometown driver’s first IZOD IndyCar Series race on the Toronto track.

“I’ve been telling everybody that I’ve been coming to this race since I was 18 months old,” James Hinchcliffe said during the teleconference. “I’ve had the opportunity to drive here in a few of the different junior formulas over the years which have all been incredible in their own right, but at the end of the day I was always sitting in the grandstands with everybody else when the main show started. It’s going to be special this year to see the race from a different seat.”

[media-credit name=”Indy Car Media” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It won’t be the first time he has ran the street circuit as he has ran it four times before in the Firestone Indy Lights division, which he finished 10th last year after a crash and third in 2009.

Though while the race will be special for Hinchcliffe, it also marks a milestone for the event as it marks the 25th Anniversary.

“Probably my favorite came in ’99,” he said. “I got the opportunity to spend 10 minutes chatting with Greg Moore, who was my hero growing up, when I started go-karting and everything. I had somehow, through a very long story I won’t bore you with, procured the steering wheel off of Greg’s first racecar, his ’91 Van Diemen Formula Ford. I stood outside his trailer for three hours and ten minutes through varying weather conditions and different people standing with me, none of them willing to stay the whole time.

“After a while, Greg actually came out, one of his mechanics went and got him when I explained the story of the wheel. He came out and chatted with my sister and me for 10 or 15 minutes. It was the only conversation I ever got to have with Greg and certainly one of my biggest memories from any race ever.”

Hinchcliffe has had success racing in Canada as last year, he won at Edmonton in the Firestone Indy Lights division.

“Well, you know, obviously Canadians are very proud people,” he said. “We have a sort of small population compared to some of the other big countries in the world. When it comes to sports, we like to prove that we can still compete.

“Motor racing is no different. I think there’s a big motor racing heritage in Canada, especially with open-wheel. So they’re very big fans. Even when I was racing in the junior formula, the support that you got from the fans in Toronto and Edmonton was incredible. They’re very knowledgeable, very passionate. They just love cheering on the locals.

“For me certainly that win in Edmonton last year was one of the high points of my racing career. I raced in Canada a bunch of times, but it was the first time in my formula car career that I managed to take a win on home soil. So it was a nice moment, especially after rebounding from a DNF in Toronto the week before.”

Hinchcliffe made the jump from the Indy Lights to IndyCar after second in points last year driving for Mark Moore.

“The transition has been certainly more difficult in some aspects than I was expecting and maybe a little smoother in other aspects,” he said. “It’s been a little bit of everything. The workload in IndyCar is certainly a lot more, and more than I was expecting. But to the other side of that, the first time I got to drive the car, I was very pleased to see how comfortable I was in it right away. I think a lot of that credit has to go to the Indy Lights Series, the time I spent there, how close that car is. It’s a very competitive series. You really appreciate that now you are driving against the best guys in North America. It’s been a huge learning experience. Rookies don’t get a ton of testing these days, so every race weekend is basically a two- or three-day test session. It’s all about getting laps. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We’ve had some ups and some downs. Some aspects were more difficult. At the end of the day I’ve worked very hard to get to this point and I’m learning as much as I possibly can every opportunity I get and just enjoying every single minute of it.”

In making the transition from Indy Lights to IndyCar, Hinchcliffe has had his teammate Oriol Servia to lean on.

“He was there at my first test,” he said. “Every track that we go to now, I’m going to for the first time in this car. He’s a huge asset as a teammate. Our personal relationship is very good. He’s always super willing to help. I think there’s a lot of mutual respect there. We’ve been able to work well together, with our engineers, on trying to improve the car on weekends when maybe it didn’t roll off with what we wanted. Had all sorts of advice and tips, especially during the month of May, places like Texas that can be a little bit intimidating, Milwaukee. So there’s no doubt that he’s been a huge, huge contributor to that. If you were to pick one person, he would probably have to top the list.”

This year’s rookie crop in the IndyCar Series is very diverse, in which Hinchcliffe says its kind of nice to be on the list with the group.

“In all seriousness, I’m glad I’m a rookie this year because this is probably the best rookie crop they’ve had in over a decade,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to put your name on that list with that crop. I think whoever walks away with the rookie of the year award this year can truly say that he or she earned it and had some fierce competition trying to get it. It was certainly no walk in the park. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure it’s our name on that trophy at the end of the season. Either way, it’s good to know you’ve gone up against such a good crop of guys and girls and been able to compete.”

So far, the season has been good for Hinchcliffe as he currently sits second in the Sonoco Rookie of the Year Point Standings with a best finish of fourth at Long Beach earlier this year. That gives Hinchcliffe some hope for the hometown race as the courses are very similar.

“I think there are definitely some similarities between Toronto and Long Beach,” he commented. “If you had to pick a circuit that was closest to Toronto, it probably would be Long Beach. For sure, I guess that’s a confidence booster heading into this weekend. But I think we’ve had pretty good cars in all the street circuits so far this year. It’s just a type of track that Newman Haas seems to enjoy. This particular track, they’ve won seven times, five of them with Michael Andretti. I watched them do it every single time they did it.

“We’re hoping again that we’ll have a good car here. I just seem to like street circuits. I have since I first started racing them back in 2004. Although Toronto has not necessarily been my strongest track historically, it’s the same type of circuit. If everything goes our way, I think we can have another strong finish.”

July 6, 2011
IZOD IndyCar Series Returns to Auto Club Speedway in 2012

IZOD IndyCar Series officials announced that Auto Club Speedway will hold a night race in 2012, after not hosting a race for the past seven years.

“We feel the time is right to bring IndyCar racing back to Auto Club Speedway,” Randy Bernard, IZOD IndyCar Series CEO said. “We want to maintain the diverse line-up of ovals on our schedule and the addition of Auto Club Speedway adds a great venue that was built for the high-speed, wheel-to-wheel excitement of IndyCar racing under the lights.”

Bernard mentioned that there would be another date possibly added and for him, California made sense because of the protential ticket sales there.

“It’s one of the largest markets in the United States, number one,” he said. “We need more ovals. We’re trying to keep a balanced series. We also think a night race there will be very exciting. It has a lot of history with IndyCar. We think they’re some very solid partners that we can bring on to enhance the event. I will say on a personal event, Gillian and her team have been outstanding to work with, very aggressive on wanting this event.”

The 2-mile oval in Fontana, California played host to CART from 1997-2002 and the IZOD IndyCar Series from 2002 to 2005. It’s also the site of two major records for the series. Gil de Ferran set the world speed record for the fastest lap on a closed course at 241.426 mph during qualifying in 2000, while Sam Hornish Jr. averaged 207.151 mph in 2003, setting the record for the fastest race on a closed course.

“This facility was built to host open-wheel racing and Auto Club Speedway has arguably hosted some of the most exciting races in Indy car history,” Gilllian Zucker, president of Auto Club Speedway, said. “We look forward to building on the area’s history and tradition of open-wheel racing with new records and new races beginning in 2012.”

Auto Club Speedway has a lot of connections with the IndyCar Series as it was built by the Penskes with the idea to have the best open-wheel racing on it.

“In our minds, this is the most competitive place to see open-wheel racing in the country,” Zucker added. “We hold the world speed record for the fastest lap of 241 miles an hour. We know that the finishes here have been unlike any other. We feel like this is going to provide a really excellent opportunity to provide world class racing for our fans and diversify our schedule.”

The full 2012 schedule is set to be released later this year, however Bernard said that as a series, they’re looking for a balance between ovals and road courses.

“Well, we want to say we’re the fastest and most versatile race [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”213″][/media-credit]car drivers in the world,” he said. “That’s what will differentiate us from other forms of motorsports. So we need to try to live up to that. It’s very difficult sometimes when you’re trying to complement road, street and ovals. IndyCar, the tradition and history, is all about ovals. What we’re trying to do is make sure we can maintain some great racetracks for that.”

That diversity that Bernard and the fans want is partly why Zucker also wanted the California race to be a night race.

“One of the things that fans have been writing about, in addition to wanting the IndyCar Series back here at Auto Club Speedway, they also want to see racing under the lights,” Zucker said. “It provides an additional level of excitement to have a night event. So by being able to do both, we feel like we’re going to bring not only the excitement and speed of IndyCar racing but also the extra pizazz of watching them race under the lights.”

Bernard added that he is looking for a 20 race schedule for 2012 and if that happens, there will also be some more announcements coming about other tracks. However, one of the concerns in adding new dates to the schedule, though, has been the risk of having a lot of empty seats like Milwaukee had, though Zucker isn’t worried about that.

“I think, first of all, based on the timing of this announcement, it was really important for us that we were able to reach an agreement now because with the announcement coming this early we’re able to include the IZOD IndyCar Series in our renewals,” Zucker commented. “So fans who have season packages or club seat members will have an opportunity from the beginning to lock in their seats for IndyCar racing. That will help to enhance the crowd.

“In addition to that, this is something where there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t have fans asking for the return of open-wheel racing. As I know you recall, when the split happened with open-wheel racing, there were fans that were disappointed about what was going on in the industry. Some of them showed that disappointment by not attending events. Now that the series is so cohesive, has so much momentum behind it, with all the changes that Randy made in the past year, the excitement he’s bringing to the sport, I think the timing is just absolutely right.

“We’re prepared to aggressively promote it with more than a year to be able to do that. By bringing back a night event, we feel that will even enhance it more for fans. So we fully expect to have a big crowd.”

The ticket price so far that has been released is $30 for general admission with reserved seating being $50 and the club areas being $60. However, Zucker added that kids under 12 are free in the general admission sections.

“We have really seen a tremendous amount of growth in this season with families enjoying motorsports,” she added. “We want to really continue that by providing affordable pricing for people in this region who were really hit hard during this economic crisis.”

July 6, 2011
Dan Wheldon and Bryan Herta Autosport To Test New IZOD IndyCar Chassis

IndyCar officials announced last week that Bryan Herta Autosport has been selected as the testing organization for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series project with Dan Wheldon as the lead test driver.

[media-credit name=”indycar.com” align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]”I think it’s super important,” Bryan Herta, co-owner of Bryan Herta Autosport, said of the team’s role in testing the car in last week’s teleconference. “We all ‑‑ everybody’s excited about the new car, what it’s going to look like, how fast is it going to be, you know, there’s going to be different engines going into it.

“So it’s important for us to make sure that the car is fast, reliable, safe, all those things, so that by the time it’s out on track and the public is seeing it, that it’s a finished product and something that everybody’s going to want to come out and watch racing next year.”

The team will begin testing in August and September, with all teams recieving the new chassis on December 15th.

Wheldon, who won the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 last month, has been involved in testing situations like this before as he used to be a test driver for Honda.

“I think with something as serious as this, it’s not about achieving goals for yourself, it’s about achieving goals for everybody involved,” he said. “It’s, for me, a job that I’m going to take very, very seriously.I’m thankful to the IndyCar Series for giving me the opportunity.But there’s a lot you have to undertake.We need to make sure that the product that the IndyCar Series puts out towards the end of this year, beginning of 2012, is something that primarily the fans get very excited about, but also the teams and drivers. And obviously we want to make sure that the product we put out is incredibly safe. So it’s not, I would say, about achieving goals for myself, it’s more about achieving everything the manufacturers associated with the program want to achieve.

“And I think that’s why it’s very good to have Bryan Herta Autosport involved.We saw the job they were able to do at the Indianapolis 500.It’s great that Dalara are involved. They’ve put together a great car, and the car that we’ve been using for a long time now has produced incredibly great racing.It’s been very close but also from a safety standpoint it’s been good. And we’ve also got the involvement with Honda and Firestone.So everybody involved, I think, has goals to achieve and my job is about helping them achieve them.”

The team’s co-owners also have experience with being a part of test teams as Steve Newey, the other co-owner, was involved in setting up the Firestone test team back in the mid-nineties when they were talking about coming back into the series. With the past experience, they know the challenges that they’re facing.

“Well, some of the challenges, you know, are very similar to what a race team faces every race weekend or every test event,” Newey said. “And that is conducting the testing in a very practical manner, first of all, and conducting it in such a way that all the various invested parties get what they’re looking for in terms of results.

“So it’s a very tedious process.It can be at times it can be downright boring, frankly, because you’re not out there competing and racing against other teams and other drivers. So it’s about accumulating miles and confirming the structural integrity of all the components that are highly stressed and it’s a very methodical approach, and we’ve got a great team put together.

And I think I’m looking forward to it and it reminds me a lot of the program we did put together for Firestone back in 1994, and I might add that was a very successful program. And we’re taking this very serious, as Bryan said, and we’re looking forward to the challenge in providing each constituent that’s involved in the testing program with the conclusion that they’re looking for.”

Herta went on to say that the testing set to take place will be extensive as they play to visiting tracks weekly through the two months, including all different types of circuits. He added that it will be done with the new V6 motor, also, starting with Honda’s entry as it’ll be the first one ready, though other manufactures will have to chance to be tested throughout the two months.

Bryan Herta Autosport has been a team that has always fielded full-time Firestone Indy Lights entries, though never stepped up it up that much for the top level. With the win, they are now looking towards the future in what that could bring them.

“We’re looking forward to what that means for the future of our organization,” Herta said. “It’s no secret that we’re very happy with Dan, that our goal is to race full season in 2012, that all things being equal we’d love to do that with Dan.So I think we’re working in that direction. I think being part of this test program and the continuity that we bring over from the Indy 500, it’s the same group of guys, same driver, same people involved.We can transition seamlessly into the test program.Ideally out of the test program we’ll be able to transition into a full season program for next year.

“In terms of racing for this year, you know, theoretically right now on the schedule we’d be done in time to get to Vegas for the finale.And it’s something we’ve talked about, but our focus is on make prognosis sure we do a good job for this test program and really trying to gear up for next season.”

This year, Bryan Herta Autorsport has been working with Duarte Ferriera and getting him up to speed with the open-wheel cars.

“He’s done a great job for us,” Newey said of him. “And he’s progressed significantly from early this year when we started testing with him, and especially on the ovals. He’s performed like he’s been racing on ovals all his life. And he’s just taken to it like a duck in water, because he’s very aggressive on the ovals when he needs to be, and he’s smart when he’s in traffic, and he’s been able to generate his best finish of the year so far last race at Iowa he finished fifth.

“And we’re very pleased with his performance.He’s a very dedicated driver.His fitness regimen is more difficult and more stringent than many drivers I’ve been associated with in the past, and he’s got a bright future ahead of him and we’re real glad to have him, and we’re expecting bigger and better things out of him as the season progresses.”

The win is also been a key marker for Wheldon to speak of after coming into the year without having a ride and now maybe having the Indianapolis 500 win to lay back on for 2012.

“I was very confident at the end of last year that I would actually get something full time for this year,” he spoke of during the teleconference. “And that didn’t pan out.So I really don’t like to speculate on that stuff anymore, because clearly I’m not very good at that. But, you know, I will say:I think for me to come back for the Indianapolis 500 and have such a successful month and also a very enjoyable month with everybody from Bryan Herta Autosport, it’s really made me desperate to get back on the grid, but it’s got to be in the right situation.

“For me, I would love to be able to continue with Bryan and that’s what we’re all working towards, but we’ll just have to wait to see if that pans out in the future. But I certainly don’t think it’s hurt my chances, but in terms of am I confident that I will secure something for 2012, I think we’ll just to wait and see right now.”

Another advantage for Wheldon as he is looking for a ride in 2012 will be the laps under his belt with the new car.

“Well, I think it’s going to give me, I think, extensive mileage in the car,” he said of the testing. “You know, is that an advantage? Yes, probably. But for me, it’s not about getting an advantage over everybody else to be in a car for 2012. I think, as you know, I’ve done this kind of thing before with Honda, and it’s something that I took very seriously.

“I think if you know my personality you know how serious I would take it. It’s about ‑‑ I want to come out of this test program with everybody saying: You know what, Dan was extremely disciplined and did a great job. And if ever we do something like this again ‑‑ and this goes for all the manufacturers involved, we’d love to have him do it. That’s the kind of job that I want to do. And, yeah, I think obviously with the amount of mileage people are expected to do, it’s track time in a new car that no one else would have been in.

“So for sure it’s an advantage.But by the same token, from what I understand, it’s going to be pretty much open testing until St. Pete. So that will get swallowed up pretty quickly. It’s about being in a car as well for me.I haven’t been in one since Indianapolis, and I’m pretty desperate to get back in one.”

July 1, 2011