Stringent Test For New Champ Car
As any race car driver worth their Nomex will tell you, the only sure way to find one’s limits, is to occasionally overstep them. As the final phase of on-track testing nears completion for the 2007 DP01 Champ Car, the testing crew spent the day doing just that, pushing the limits of the Panoz Motorsports-built machine on another warm Wednesday at Sebring International Raceway.
The car surpassed the 2,000 mile mark of testing after logging 327 miles today, rebounding after a slow Tuesday that was spent replacing a component that finally relented under the pressure of the test team’s interminable schedule.
“We had a problem with a component in the gearbox yesterday but it was a part that we pushed to four times its normal useful life,” said Champ Car Technical Director Scot Elkins. “That’s the whole idea of these tests. We want to guarantee a reliable product for our teams. In essence, we’re breaking the car so that they don’t have to.”
Today was also the first time that Champ Car teams were allowed to visit a DP01 test and representatives from CTE Racing – HVM, Forsythe, Newman/Haas, Dale Coyne and new entrant Pacific Coast Motorsports were on hand to see first-hand what the new car could do.
What they saw was two-time Champ Car racewinner Roberto Moreno putting the car through its paces again, 35 miles per stint, as he has done for each and every one of the 2,023 Sebring miles.
“The car feels very similar to when I started,” Moreno said. “But we have been concentrating more on logging miles than we have with making changes. But we have gotten great mileage from our brakes and all the systems are operating wonderfully. I really think the drivers are going to enjoy this car when they get it.”
The DP01 will be on track again tomorrow, with the final phase of the testing set to end on Friday. The test team will then pack up and head North as the DP01 prepares to make its public on-track debut with some demonstration laps, Friday September 22 at Road America.
RuSPORT Will Only Run One Car At Road America
RuSPORT has announced that it will not enter a replacement driver for the injured Cristiano da Matta in the Grand Prix of Road America on Sept. 24. Justin Wilson (#9 CDW / RuSPORT Ford-Cosworth / Lola / Bridgestone) will be the lone RuSPORT driver in the upcoming Champ Car World Series event in Elkhart Lake, Wisc.
da Matta continues to recover from a severe head injury he sustained during a Champ Car Open Test at Road America on Aug. 3.
“After investigating all of our viable options, we have concluded that it is in the best interest of RuSPORT to only compete with one car at Road America,” said Jeremy Dale, president of RuSPORT. “This was a very difficult decision, but we believe it was the correct one. We will continue to focus on Cristiano da Matta’s recovery, the da Matta family, and on our efforts to help Justin Wilson win as many races as possible for the remainder of the 2006 season.”
The 2006 Champ Car Grand Prix of Road America will take place Sept. 22-24. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel on Sunday, Sept. 24, beginning at 2:00 pm EDT.
IRL To Conduct Compatibility Test
The IndyCar Series and Daytona International Speedway announced today plans for a compatibility test at Daytona International Speedway on Sept. 26 and 27.The test will feature 2006 IndyCar Series Champion Sam Hornish, Jr., (Marlboro Team Penske); 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona and 2003 IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon and 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona Champion and 2005 IndyCar Series Champion Dan Wheldon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing). Third-generation racer and 2006 Rookie of the Year Marco Andretti and 2004 IndyCar Series Champ and teammate Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing) and Vitor Meira (Panther Racing), inaugural winner of the IndyCar Series’ Rising Star Award, given in honor of the late Tony Renna will also take part in the test.
The visit will allow IndyCar Series officials to determine the possibility of Daytona International Speedway serving as a preseason testing venue. DIS Track President Robin Braig, along with IRL’s John Lewis, VP of League Development, will take part in a media conference call today (Wednesday, Sept. 13) at 2 p.m. (ET) The call-in number for media is 866-475-2663 and the pass code is Indy Racing.
“We are both excited and curious to see the IndyCar Series cars on the road-course and high banked third and fourth turns of Daytona International Speedway,” said Lewis. “A compatibility test is due diligence by the League to make sure our equipment is well-suited with a facility. We had inquired with International Speedway Corp. about alternative warm weather venues for our pre-season testing and that led to the planned compatibility test at Daytona. The IndyCar Series is committed to continuing at a minimum its annual pre-season oval testing at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and in this case we will be at Daytona to see if the track could be a possible option for our for road-course pre-season testing in the future.”
The compatibility test will allow series officials to see transitions onto the banking, tire wear/side loads and braking zones while looking for any challenging surface areas on the track. The IndyCar Series officials have analyzed data from Chip Ganassi Racing and Cheever Racing Rolex Sports Car Series programs that indicate IndyCar Series cars should have no issues. Chassis-maker Dallara has stress-tested suspension as well on the calculated loads. Firestone will evaluate among its selection of tires what will be used at the compatibility test. The test will take place on the 2.73-mile tri-oval and road course which includes ten turns.
IRL Returns To Nashville In 2007
The IndyCar Series will return to Nashville Superspeedway in 2007, bringing the confirmed number of races to seven. The IndyCar Series' annual stop at Nashville will be held on Saturday, July 14. A 100-mile Indy Pro Series race at the track will be held in conjunction with the IndyCar Series event.
"We are pleased to be returning to Nashville Speedway and bringing the IndyCar Series to Firestone's home city," said Brian Barnhart, president and COO of the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series. The concrete pavement at Nashville brings an exciting element to our diverse schedule of super speedways, short ovals, road and street events."
The 1.33-mile concrete oval located near Gladeville, Tenn., has hosted IndyCar Series racing since 2001 and the Indy Pro Series since 2002. The track is the only concrete venue on the schedule and has produced one of the most competitive events in IndyCar Series history with six race winners in as many events. The track's hand-painted Gibson guitar trophy is one of the series' most-sought after prizes.
The IndyCar Series has previously announced six events for 2007:
April 1 - Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
May 27 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway
June 3 - The Milwaukee Mile
June 9 - Texas Motor Speedway
June 24 - Iowa Speedway
Aug. 13 - Kentucky Speedway
The remainder of the 2007 IndyCar Series schedule will be announced at a later date.
Motorola Will Back Danica Patrick In 2007
Danica Patrick has a new team, new colors and a new sponsor as cell phone maker Motorola announced that they will be her primary backer for the 2007 IndyCar Series season.
“Danica Patrick is changing the rules in motorsports by proving a female driver can be a consistent threat to win at every event,” said Kathleen Finato, head of North America Marketing, Mobile Devices, Motorola, Inc. “As innovative, stylish and edgy as she is, she's the perfect ambassador for the Motorola brand.”
According to Motorola, Danica's new Andretti Green Racing car will be jet black with blue accents similar to the styling of some Motorola handsets. Additional sponsorship will come from AirTran Airways, XM Satellite Radio, and GoDaddy.com.
Argent Mortgage, Danica's primary sponsor with Rahal Letterman Racing the past three years will follow the young driver to AGR as an associate backer. Argent started with Danica while she was still driving in the Toyota Atlantic Series, and then moved to the IndyCar Series with her for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
Hornish Tops $13 Million in Earnings
Sam Hornish's 2006 season paid off in a big way. In addition to becoming the second IndyCar Series driver to win the season championship and Indianapolis 500 in the same season, Hornish earned more than $3.7 million in race winnings and bonus money, becoming the first IndyCar Series driver to earn more than $13 million over his career.
On Television
Coverage of the Indy Racing League Championship Ceremony will air at 3 p.m. (ET) on Sept. 14 as ESPN2 will dedicate an afternoon of programming to the IndyCar Series and Indy Pro Series. In addition to the award's program, the Chicagoland 100 Indy Pro Series event (2 p.m. ET) and the finale of Andretti 3, the reality program chronicling the rookie season of third-generation driver Marco Andretti, (2:30 p.m.) will air on Sept. 14.
Hornish Earns $1 Million Bonus
One day after winning the closest IndyCar® Series championship, Sam Hornish Jr. celebrated his third IndyCar Series championship - again. This time, Hornish and newly crowned Indy Pro Series champion Jay Howard - along with other drivers, teams and manufacturers - were recognized during the Indy Racing League Championship Ceremony at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ESPN broadcaster Marty Reid, who served as play-by-play announcer for the IndyCar Series, hosted the awards show at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The program will be broadcast at 3 p.m. (EDT), Sept. 14 on ESPN2.
Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George presented Hornish with a $1 million championship bonus check and a mini IndyCar Series championship trophy. A mini IndyCar Series championship trophy also was awarded to Marlboro Team Penske owner Roger Penske. "The first two championships were pretty special, but to give Roger Penske his first championship in the IndyCar Series is a very special thing for me," Hornish said. "It's been three years since I've won a championship and I know how hard I worked to put myself in position to do this again. I'm just really excited to have won. Now I can't wait for next season to arrive, so we can try to do it again." In addition to the title, Hornish accepted the $10,000 Bosch Platinum Award and the $20,000 Marlboro Pole Award. Matt Jonsson, chief mechanic for Hornish's No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Honda-powered Dallara, accepted the Chief Mechanic of the Year Award and its $25,000 prize.
Marco Andretti of Andretti Green Racing accepted the $50,000 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Award and the Rising Star Award. Andretti received his award, which honors the late Tony Renna.
Wheldon Wins Race, Hornish Snares Championship
Sam Hornish Jr. emerged from one of the closest point battles in IndyCar Series history with his third IndyCar Series title - the first for Marlboro Team Penske in the IndyCar Series. Dan Wheldon won the IndyCar Series season finale and picked three bonus points for leading the most laps (166), tying Hornish with 475 points. Race victories - four to two in Hornish's favor - were the deciding factor. "This is about as excited as I've ever been," Hornish said. "It's been a great day for us and a great year. Winning the (Indianapolis) 500 was the highlight of my career, but this is right close to it."
Wheldon, who won the first and final events on the 14-race schedule, beat teammate Scott Dixon by 0.1897 of a second. Hornish, a two-time winner on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland oval, won at Indianapolis, back to back at Richmond and Kansas, and at Kentucky. "It was a clean race, lots of good racing," said Roger Penske, who has 14 Indianapolis 500 championships. "It was a long year, great season; an Indy win for Sam and the team. We have all of these sponsors and supporters to thank. We came over to the IRL to support the Indianapolis 500, and I'm sure glad we could win this championship this year. "It was one we didn't have and when you don't have something, you really want it."
Wheldon said the day before he wanted to lead the most laps and win the race, with the points race shaking out among the positions of the other contenders. He needed Hornish to finish one spot lower. "All credit goes to Roger Penske's organization and to Sam Hornish," he said. We've had a somewhat difficult year. This is perhaps a bittersweet end. It was a lot of hard work for Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the boys at Honda. You could see that there was nothing but equality with the engines. This is Target's 50th win with Chip and we are happy for that. I was very determined to win."
Helio Castroneves, the points leader entering the race, finished fourth in the race and third in the standings (two points behind). Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter finished a career-high fifth, with Panther Racing's Vitor Meira sixth and Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan seventh. Rahal Letterman Racing's Jeff Simmons was eighth, Delphi Fernandez Racing's Scott Sharp ninth and Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter 10th.
For full results...
(Speed News Now)
F-1 Champ Michael Schumacher To Retire
Five-time United States Grand Prix winner and seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher will retire at the end of the 2006 season, bring an end to his record-setting Formula One career. Schumacher made his announcement to millions of TV viewers around the world shortly after driving his Ferrari to an emotional victory Sept. 10 in the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. "There's been a lot of discussion for a long time concerning my future," he said, "and I think all the fans, all the people interested in motorsport, they have a right to have explained to them what's going to happen. I'm sorry it may have taken longer than some of you wanted, but you have to savor a moment, and you have to find the right moment, and we feel this is the right moment. At the end of this year, I've decided, together with the team, that I'm going to retire from racing." Schumacher's F-1 career began 15 years ago in the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix. This year's Italian Grand Prix was his 247th F-1 race. Only Riccardo Patrese, with 256 starts, has participated in more races. Schumacher holds virtually every F-1 record including: victories: 90; poles: 68; podiums: 153; fastest race laps: 75; and career points: 1,354. He has won seven Drivers World Championships and helped his teams win seven Constructors Championships. ...More
Hornish On Chicagoland Pole
The four remaining IndyCar Series championship contenders claimed the top four spots during Saturday's Marlboro Pole Qualifying for the PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean. Marlboro Team Penske's Sam Hornish Jr. secured his fourth pole award of the season with a time of 25.4134 seconds, 215.319 mph in his Honda-powered Dallara. Hornish currently sits second in the championship point standings, one point behind teammate Helio Castroneves. Joining Hornish on the front row is Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, who secured the second starting spot with a lap of 25.4996 seconds, 214.592 mph. Dixon is 21 points shy of the top spot in the championship. Third place points sitter Dan Wheldon secured the third starting position (25.5239 seconds, 214.387 mph) and will start alongside points leader Castroneves (25.5794 seconds, 213.922 mph). Rounding out the top five was Delphi Fernandez Racing's Scott Sharp with a time of 25.6212 seconds, 213.573 mph.
For Starting Lineup...
(Speed News Now)
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