News Headlines

Scott Dixon On Kansas Pole

“The Team Target cars were very close right off the trailer,” said Dixon. “We didn't have to do too much to them. We changed the balance here and there a little bit. Dan (Wheldon) was maybe a tenth (of a second) quicker than us this morning. It was hard to tell because there were so many cars on track that you couldn't get a clean lap. I think we have to put a lot of it down to the guys on the team. The guys that prepare these cars are very critical to aerodynamics, especially when you're by yourself. In a pack it doesn't show that much, but a lot of credit goes to them for being ready for today.”

Danica Patrick, who six days earlier made history by becoming the first female to win a major closed-course auto race, posted a four-lap average of 213.225 mph and will start third. Tomas Scheckter, making his IndyCar Series season debut in the No. 12 Luczo Dragon Racing car, will join her on Row 2. Vision Racing teammates A.J. Foyt IV and Ed Carpenter will share Row 3, with Foyt checking in with a career-best fourth.
For IRL Starting Lineup... (Speed News Now)

Will Power Wins Final Champ Car Race

Will Power

Power earned 53 points toward the championship in the unified IndyCar Series. He ranks fifth in the point standings heading into the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway on April 27. -- Rookie Franck Montagny finished second, 5.094 seconds behind Power. Mario Dominguez was third, Enrique Bernoldi fourth and Oriol Servia fifth. Wilson dropped out of the race after 12 laps due to mechanical problems and finished 19th. Four-time Long Beach winner Paul Tracy finished 11th. Graham Rahal, the IndyCar Series winner April 6 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., was running seventh when he spun on the final lap of the race, dropping to 13th.

The nine drivers entered in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach who are competing full time in the IndyCar Series will earn IndyCar Series points today. Those drivers: Enrique Bernoldi, Bruno Junqueira, Mario Moraes, Franck Perera, Will Power, Graham Rahal, Oriol Servia, E.J. Viso, Justin Wilson.

History Made In Japan, Danica Patrick Wins First Race

Danica Patrick Earns First Win

"Finally," Patrick said in victory lane with tears streaming down her cheeks. "This is a long time coming. It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I know I was on the same strategy as Helio (Castroneves) and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous."

Helio Castroneves, making his 100th IndyCar Series start, finished 5.8594 second behind and Scott Dixon was third. Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Dan Wheldon, finished fourth and Tony Kanaan was fifth. With six laps remaining, Dixon had a 3.6-second lead over Dixon. But the leader had to pit for a splash of fuel on Lap 195. Wheldon and Kanaan had to follow suit on Lap 196. That left the door open for Patrick and Castroneves, whose last pit stop came on Lap 148.

Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter, staring at a career-best finish, also had to pit and wound up sixth. Rahal Letterman Racing's Ryan Hunter-Reay was seventh and A.J. Foyt Racing's Darren Manning eighth.

For Full IRL Results... (Speed News Now)
For IRL Point Standings... (Speed News Now)

Justin Wilson On Long Beach Grand Prix Pole

Rookie Franck Perera qualified third and will share the second row with Will Power. Paul Tracy, who will be making his 16th start at Long Beach, and rookie Franck Montagny will start in Row 3. Graham Rahal, who started from the ninth starting position in an IndyCar Series event on the Streets of St. Petersburg on April 6, will start from the same position at Long Beach. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be televised at 5:30 p.m. (ET) (2:30 p.m. local) Sunday on ESPN2. The IMS Radio Network also will broadcast the race live, with coverage on XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145. The local IMS Radio Network affiliate for this event is KSPN 710 AM.

For Champ Car Starting Lineup... (Speed News Now)

Rain Washes Out Motegi Qualifying

Scott Dixon, who won the season opener on the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval, will be making his third front-row start at TRM. He was on the pole in 2003, led 45 laps, but finished 15th because of a crash. Andretti Green Racing teammates Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti will share Row 2, while Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick will be on Row 3. Vision Racing’s Ed Carpenter and A.J. Foyt IV will start from Row 4. Hideki Mutoh and Ryan Hunter-Reay, making their first IndyCar Series starts at Twin Ring Motegi, will be on the fifth row. The rain probably impacted Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe the most. He was seventh-quick in practice (27.4638 seconds; 199.244 mph) but will start 15th based on 19th and 23rd finishes (DNFs because of contact). Roger Yasukawa, making his season debut in the No. 77 Interush/Wellman Racing car for Beck Motorsports, will start 18th.
For IRL Starting Lineup... (Speed News Now)

Graham Rahal Wins First IndyCar Race

Courtesy newman-haas.com Graham Rahal

“It was tough,” Rahal said. “After getting hit by Will (Power) in the rain and everything, it was going to be a tough start. It doesn’t get any sweeter than this; to expect a win in our first race. We had the pace and we pulled away from them, so it wasn’t like we lucked into it. This is just awesome.”

Rahal, the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, becomes just the fourth driver in history to win in his first IndyCar Series start and the fourth rookie to win in their first IndyCar Series season. “Do you think he’ll ever listen to any advice from me again?” said Graham’s father Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner. “He really thinks he knows everything now. Slowly he will take advice from me. He drove a phenomenal race and the crew did a great job. The engineer gave him a great car. He was fast at the end. That’s the best conditions, a lot of people banging each other, and he kept it together.”

Two-time defending race winner Helio Castroneves, driving the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished second and Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan finished third. HVM Racing’s E.J. Viso and Conquest Racing’s Enrique Bernoldi, both rookies, rounded out the top-five.
For Full IRL Results... (Speed News Now)
For IRL Point Standings... (Speed News Now)

Damion Gardner Wins Chili Bowl

Damion Gardner Wins Chili Bowl Qualifier Over Leffler

California native Damion Gardner, piloting Leffler's Pace Electronics/Team ASE No. 71g, made the top side of the ¼-mile clay oval inside the QuikTrip Center work over the latter stages of the 25-lap feature and swept into the lead on the 22nd lap to snare the win. "I thought if something was there up top I was gonna go up there late," Gardner commented afterward. "I was pretty sure in one and two but I wasn't sure about three and four, I could get around there pretty good and I just decided I was going to give it a whirl." -- Leffler explained how Gardner landed in his Midget, "That car was just sitting in my garage, sitting up on jack stands and I felt bad it's such a nice car. So I called Damion and said, 'Hey, why don't you come get this thing and either bring it back with a trophy or in a bucket'. He got a trophy, so it's good."

Donny Schatz Wins In Australia

Kinser led early in the event, taking the point from Ian Loudoun on the fifth lap and he would run in the Top-Three all night long, to record a second-place finish in his first event of the International season. The native of Bloomington, Indiana turned the fastest lap in time trials of the 51 cars that took to the track, with Madsen fifth and Schatz seventh. In preliminary action, Kinser finished third in the second heat, while Schatz won the third heat and Madsen won the fourth heat. In the second dash Kinser picked up the win to earn the outside front row starting spot in the A-Feature, with Schatz second and Madsen third.(whowon.com)

Dillon Battistini Wins Indy Lights Race

But his biggest challenge might come from teammate Sherman, who likely would have been battling with Battistini for the victory if it had not been for a disappointing qualification effort on Friday night. Sherman, looking to transition from NASCAR into an open-wheel star, was patient as his No. 15 car continued to improve, and saved his best for the final two restarts of the race. Sherman took the final restart of the race on Lap 60 in eighth place, and climbed two positions to sixth as he blew past the white flag. Then, as he entered the first turn, he stuck the nose of his car in the marbles, passing another pair of cars, earning him a podium finish in his first career Indy Lights start, and his first open-wheel race in the past eight years.

Battistini drove hard from the start of the race, and despite falling back as far as sixth, moved back towards the front of the field. Listening to spotter Pancho Carter, who coached the Englishman through the field, Dillon moved back into second when he passed pole sitter Raphael Matos on Lap 43. Two late-race cautions looked as though they could spoil Battistini’s victory chance, but a late eight-lap sprint to the finish was enough, as Panther’s new pilot blew past Richard Antinucci with four laps remaining and pulled away for the win.

Both Panther drivers will test Monday at Sebring International Raceway before a double-header weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
For Full Indy Lights Results... (Speed News Now)

Firestone Will Sponsor IRL Development Series

Current IndyCar Series drivers Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia, Scott Dixon and Townsend Bell are all past Indy Lights champions, not to mention current team owners Eric Bachelart and Robbie Buhl. In addition, Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon used Indy Lights as a seasoning steppingstone on their way to capturing Indianapolis 500 victory glory.

When the Indy Lights series disbanded after 2001, Firestone continued its strong support of young open-wheel talent by becoming the Official Tire for the Indy Pro Series which debuted in 2002. Aspiring drivers such as A.J. Foyt IV, Ed Carpenter, Jay Howard, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh have parlayed that experience into IndyCar Series rides and successes.

“This is a fresh start driven by tradition,” said Al Speyer, Executive Director of Motorsports, BFNT. “Our company has a long history of supporting the development of talent in the open-wheel ranks; this will be our 18th consecutive year doing so. With the unification of open-wheel racing, we thought it the perfect time to merge the excitement of the IRL’s growing support series with the rich history of Firestone Indy Lights.”

The multiyear agreement officially renames what has previously been the Indy Pro Series to Firestone Indy Lights, effective immediately. Drivers will continue to compete for the Firehawk Cup awarded annually to the season champion. Firestone also maintains its status as Official Tire for Firestone Indy Lights, as well as the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. In addition, the Firestone Indy Lights event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 23 becomes the Firestone Freedom 100.

“In light of the unification process, Tony George and the IRL asked Firestone to step up and support the sport even more than we have done in the past,” Speyer said. “We believe that this agreement further exemplifies Firestone’s continued support and belief in the future of open-wheel racing. One of the most noticeable results of this agreement is that participants will see an increase in prize money of more than $250,000 throughout the season.”

George, the Indy Racing League’s founder and CEO, is an avid believer in the driver development system, having once driven in the American Racing Series that was predecessor to Firestone Indy Lights. “Firestone has been one of the most consistent and loyal suppliers to open-wheel racing; its involvement dates back to even before the very first Indianapolis 500 in 1911,” George said. “One association Firestone has supported through the years has been the development series in both CART and the Indy Racing League, which demonstrates its vision and commitment to be part of its future. I am pleased Firestone so strongly supports bringing back the Firestone Indy Lights brand.”

Roger Bailey directed Indy Lights before becoming executive director of the Indy Pro Series when it debuted in ’02. Bailey, who retains the executive director’s position, is delighted to resurrect the Firestone Indy Lights name and tradition. “Though Firestone has supported the Indy Pro Series since its inception in 2002, this is an expansion of a personal relationship that began nearly 20 years ago,” Bailey said. “It's a tremendous feeling to rekindle a program that began in 1991. Firestone has been a great part of my life for many years, and I hope it will continue to be so for many years to come.”

Indianapolis 500 Notebook ~ Sunday..by Connie Felix
Dario Franchitti Wins Indy 500..by Ron Felix
Two Minutes With an Indy 500 Driver..by Connie Felix
Milka Duno ~ Excited To Be In Indy Cars..by Ron Felix

Dixon Wins Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville
It's Sad To See Cheever Go..By Ron Felix
2006 Nashville Firestone Indy 200 Notebook..By Connie Felix
From Shanghai Surprise to Typhoon Ma-on..By Anthony Underwood
Pardon Me Mr. Montoya..By Anthony Underwood
Why No Americans In Formula One?..By Anthony Underwood
Through the Looking Glass at Target Chip Ganassi Racing..By Melisa Lalich
Johnny Rutherford: Just call me “Coach”..By Melisa Lalich