The tour kicks off Tuesday, May 15th, in London, England and will then head to Amsterdam, The Netherlands for another one day visit on May 16th. The group will then hop on a luxury coach to make the trip to Brussels, Belgium where they will meet with the local media at the Autoworld Museum. After their gathering with the media and a quick tour of the museum, the group will get back on the coach and continue their road trip which will take them to beautiful Paris, France for the last leg of their trip on May 18th. Making the trip to Europe and representing the Champ Car driver contingent are Brits Justin Wilson and Dan Clarke, Dutchman Robert Doornbos, and finally Frenchmen Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud will be joining the group for the last two stops of the four day tour.

The European Champ Car stars will be accompanied by Champ Car World Series representatives including President Steve Johnson and Vice President of Venue Development John Clagett. The two European events of Zolder and Assen will be represented by their promoter Bart Rietbergen. Other special guests that will join the group throughout the tour are Minardi Team USA owner Paul Stoddart, Champ Car Belgium General Manager Meindert van Buuren and Lee Van Dam of the Assen event. For more information and for daily reports on the 2007 Champ Car World Series European Tour log on to (www.champcar.ws).

IRL

Firestone Renews With Michigan
Michigan International Speedway and Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire have announced that the Nashville-based tire company will renew its title sponsorship of the IndyCar Series race at MIS on August 5. It will be the third consecutive year that Firestone has sponsored the IndyCar Series event at MIS.

Firestone left racing in 1974 and would later celebrate its return in 1995 by capturing its first open-wheel triumph in more than 21 years as Scott Pruett, behind the wheel of the Firestone sponsored car for Jackson, Michigan businessman Pat Patrick, edged out Al Unser Jr. by just .056 seconds at Michigan International Speedway. Since that memorable race in 1995, Firestone Firehawk tires have won every race at MIS, including Helio Castroneves’ dominant victory in last year’s Firestone Indy 400.

The IndyCar Series weekend at MIS will feature the sixth annual Corvette Show presented by AutoWeek. All seats for the Firestone Indy 400 are only $40 with children 12 and under admitted free all weekend. Seats are available for all 2007 events at MIS, including the mid-summer classic Firestone Indy 400. For tickets visit (www.MISpeedway.com) or call the MIS ticket hotline at (800) 354-1010.

IRL

Eleven More Added To Field
Davey Hamilton says he has given more than 4,000 passengers a thrill in the Indy Racing Experience two-seater. The veteran IndyCar Series driver received one himself on Second Day Qualifying for the 91st Indianapolis 500. Hamilton, returning to competitive driving for the first time since suffering multiple injuries in a crash during a 2001 race, put the No. 02 Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone solidly in the 33-car field at 222.327 mph as positions 12-22 were filled for the May 27 race. Fourteen cars made qualifying attempts, including five that were unsuccessful in securing a spot on Pole Day. Five were quicker than Michael Andretti's 222.789 mph four-lap qualifying average that stood up for 11th on the first day.

Scott Sharp, driving the No. 8 Patron Sharp Rahal Letterman Racing car, topped the list at 223.875 mph (which would have been good for ninth on Pole Day). He will be on Row 4 with Andretti and Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter. Sharp's teammate, Jeff Simmons (223.693) in the No. 17 Team Ethanol car, Ed Carpenter (223.495) in the No. 20 Vision Racing car and Darren Manning (223.471) in the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. car will share Row 5. - Row 6 will be occupied by 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice (222.826), Kosuke Matsuura (222.595) in the No. 55 Panasonic car and A.J. Foyt IV (222.413). Delphi Panther Racing's Vitor Meira (222.333), Hamilton and Sarah Fisher (221.960) will be on Row 7. Buddy Lazier, the 1996 race winner, bumped Jon Herb from the final available spot on the day with a second attempt of 221.380 mph.

Sprint Cars

Tracy Hines Continues Recovery
Tony Stewart Racing driver Tracy Hines continues to recover from injuries sustained in an off-road motorcycle accident that occurred Monday evening near his home in Indiana. Hines remains in stable condition at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured pelvis, fractured left femur and a dislocated right knee. The 35-year-old from New Castle, Ind., is scheduled to be released from Methodist Hospital on Friday. After intensive rehabilitation, Hines will return to Methodist Hospital in two to three weeks for reconstructive knee surgery, which will be performed by Dr. Joseph Baele, an orthopedic surgeon.

In Hines’ absence, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) has named 19-year-old Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., as the interim driver of the No. 21 TSR Chevrolet/Maxim in the U.S. Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint and Midget Car Series, and the No. 22 TSR/Chevrolet/Maxim in the USAC National Silver Crown Series. Stenhouse, Jr., will assume driving duties effective immediately, as the team travels to Iowa Speedway in Newton for Saturday’s USAC National Sprint and Midget Car Series event at the 7/8-mile oval. Stenhouse, Jr., began racing at age six in go-karts. By 15, he had earned 47 A-main karting victories and over 90 podium finishes. The Olive Branch, Miss., resident won the 1998 Indoor Thunder Go-Kart Nationals A-main, as well as the 1999 Tulsa (Okla.) Shootout A-main title. He moved into 360 Winged Sprint Cars in 2003, where he won the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver Poll 360 Dirt Winged Sprint Car Rookie of the Year. Stenhouse, Jr.’s rookie season awards also included being named as the Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park Rookie of the Year.

In 2004, Stenhouse, Jr., made his first USAC National Sprint Car Series start at Memphis, qualifying fourth and finishing seventh in the feature event. He also won an American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) A-main event in West Memphis, Ark., and won the Memphis Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park later that year. The 2005 season saw Stenhouse, Jr., earn a fourth-place finish in the Knoxville (Iowa) 360 Nationals in addition to winning four United Sprint Car Series (USCS) feature events. The 2006 season served as Stenhouse, Jr.’s, breakout year. He was named as the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver Poll Wild Card title winner in both the 360 and 410 Winged Sprint Car divisions. Winning four USCS main events, Stenhouse, Jr., also expanded into the USAC ranks and several other racing divisions. Stenhouse, Jr., again caught the attention of the open-wheel racing community in February with his dominating victories in the USAC National Silver Crown Series and USAC/CRA Sprint Series feature events in the “Copper on Dirt” event at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix.

IRL

Helio Castroneves On Indy 500 Pole
Helio Castroneves claimed the AAMCO Transmissions Pole Award for the 91st Indianapolis 500, capping a dramatic Pole Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Castroneves initially qualified fourth in the No. 3 Team Penske Honda-powered Dallara, but took advantage of the qualifying format to withdraw his time and re-qualify. With eight minutes left in the day, Castroneves took the top spot with a four-lap average speed of 225.817 mph.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion then withstood a late challenge from Tony Kanaan who qualified with a four-lap average of 225.757 mph in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone. Dario Franchitti, who held the top spot for much of the day, ended up third on the grid with a four-lap average of 225.191 mph.

Scott Dixon (225.122 mph), defending Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish (225.109 mph) and IndyCar Series points leader Dan Wheldon (224.641 mph) make up the second row. Veteran owner/driver Michael Andretti survived several final-hour attempts to knock him out of the field. Combined with its four regular drivers - Kanaan, Franchitti, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti - Andretti Green Racing became the first team to place five cars in the top 11. Second-day qualifying will take place Sunday to fill positions 12-22 in the 33-car starting lineup.
Pole Day Qualifying... (Speed News Now)