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)

Chevy Unveils New Midget Engine

"One year ago, Chevrolet announced its sponsorship of Tony Stewart Racing in open-wheel competition," said Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper. "Now Chevrolet has taken the next step by creating an all-new racing engine for this popular grassroots racing series. Chevrolet races to win, and America's brand is aiming for more victories in this uniquely American form of motorsports."

The new methanol-burning 166ci (2.7-liter) Chevy Midget racing engine produces more than 350 horsepower. The lightweight, inline four-cylinder engine employs an aluminum block and cylinder head with two valves per cylinder. Per USAC rules, the Chevy Midget engine is equipped with mechanical fuel injection and utilizes an electronic ignition system.

“The Chevy Midget racing engine is definitely going to be an asset to Tony Stewart Racing," said team owner Tony Stewart. "Having the Chevrolet bowtie on the engine and not just on the side of the car as a sponsor is indicative of how much technical support the brand has given our program. In the past, we’ve competed with engines that were based on Chevy parts but weren't necessarily a Chevrolet engine. The Chevy Racing engineering and marketing staffs have really embraced the TSR racing programs, and the debut of this new engine is the start of another exciting new chapter in our relationship.”

Starting with a clean sheet of paper and a blank computer screen, GM Racing engineers developed a package that is a departure from the engines traditionally used in Midget racing. The new Chevy powerplant stands out from its competition with an innovative architecture that improves its combustion efficiency, enhances airflow and lowers the center of gravity. Advanced technical resources such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and solid 3-D modeling used to design GM production engines were also used to develop the Chevrolet Midget racing engine.

"The Chevrolet Midget racing engine represents another step in GM's continuous development of high-performance, high-rpm overhead-valve engines," said Tom Stephens, executive vice president, GM Global Powertrain and Global Quality. "Like the championship-winning Chevrolet R07 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the record-setting LS.7R small-block V-8 in the American Le Mans Series, the new Chevrolet Midget engine was designed and developed using many of the tools and technologies GM engineers employ to create exceptional production engines like the new 638-horsepower LS9 small-block V-8."

The major components that define the Chevrolet Midget engine package – the cylinder block, cylinder head and certain ancillaries – will be available to all USAC competitors. Independent engine builders can then assemble Chevy Midget engines using internal components from their preferred suppliers. Kistler Racing Engines of Fremont, Ohio, supplies the Chevy engines that power the two TSR entries.

"Many of the aftermarket engines currently racing in the Midget series are based on the four-cylinder Chevy II engine produced in the '60s," explained GM Racing director Mark Kent. "Others are essentially one bank of a conventional V-8 engine. We took a different approach to bring innovative technology to the series while respecting a racing heritage that reaches back to the '30s. We've also incorporated lessons learned in designing and developing race-winning engines for NASCAR, ALMS and NHRA competition. By harnessing GM's technical resources to create a brand-new Midget racing engine, we're putting more Chevy into the cars that wear bowties on the race track."

Hoosier Hundred is scheduled for May 23, 2008

The USAC’s Silver Crown Championship Series showcases the nation’s most competitive racing series on the Indiana State Fairgrounds’ one- mile dirt oval in a 100-mile race which has produced a list of champions including America’s greatest drivers. Indianapolis 500 Champions Bob Swiekert, Jimmy Bryan, Rodger Ward, A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti and Al Unser are former winners, as are current NASCAR stars/USAC graduates J.J. Yeley and Jason Leffler. This year’s Hoosier Hundred will be special in many ways and now means more than ever to the great heritage of Indiana Racing. It is a large component on Memorial Day Weekend in Indianapolis which truly is the World’s Greatest Open Wheel Racing weekend.

Tickets are on sale now for reserved grandstand seats, ticket prices for the Friday, May 23, 2008 Hoosier 100 are as follows: Advance Adults: $25.00 and Children 11 and under: $5.00. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ticket Master at 317-239-5151 or at Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200. Infield tickets will only be sold the day of the scheduled event, race admission to the infield is $15.00 for adults and children 12 & under are $5.00. Information on the Indiana State Fairgrounds Hoosier 100 or other Track Enterprises, Inc. events can be found at (www.trackenterprises.com) or (www.hoosierhundred.com).

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."

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