THE LINE
Monday, May 25, 2009 at 12:35PM May 27, 2009
Tony George. Publisher's Note: The tumultuous 20-year reign of Tony George is incredibly over, just like that. Rather than tell you about it, we'll let the guy who knows more about Indy cars, Indy Car racing and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (okay, except for maybe Donald Davidson) - Robin Miller - tell you about it on SPEED. Click here. Robin mentions Humpy Wheeler as a possible replacement, now that would be worth the price of admission! - PMD
Publisher's Note: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway released the following statement this afternoon (5/27):
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY STATEMENT
At a regular meeting of the board of directors of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 26, board members asked Tony George, chief executive officer of the IMS companies, to devise a plan for management of Hulman & Company, the Indy Racing League, Clabber Girl and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that would allow him to focus on the business which requires the greatest attention. This plan is to be presented to the board at a meeting later this year.
IMS Chairman of the Board Mari Hulman George said: “There was a general discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing all of our companies and where most of our energies need to be spent. All of our properties are doing well, given the challenges of the current economy. The Indy Racing League represents our greatest growth opportunity and therefore deserves the most attention at this point.”
Tony George said: “Contrary to published reports, I continue to serve as CEO of IMS. Our board of directors met yesterday, and we did discuss how to best confront challenges and exploit opportunities facing our businesses. This is nothing new and is something that we continually do as a board. But no changes in leadership or responsibility have been made. We don’t normally comment on board deliberations concerning our family business. However, the widespread, inaccurate reports and rumors caused my mother and me to conclude that it was necessary to set the record straight. If changes are made in the management of the company that are newsworthy, we will announce them when they are made.”
Dan Wheldon, Panther Racing. Something told us that Wheldon would be tough on Sunday, and he delivered, big-time. A superb run by a now Indy-savvy veteran, and vindication for his team after a long spell in the wilderness. Will it translate into real momentum for Wheldon and Panther? We shall see.
(Dan Helrigel/IMS)
Dan Wheldon (No. 4 Panther Racing National Guard) and Danica Patrick side by side during the 2009 Indianapolis 500.
Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing. The only bright spot for Andretti Green Racing last Sunday was Danica's gutty run into third, her best career finish at Indianapolis and the best-ever finish for a woman. Patrick has four top-10 finishes at Indianapolis in five starts, and she will win this race one day, we have absolutely no doubt.
(Shawn Payne/IMS)
Danica Patrick, who finished third, being interviewed after her best finish in the Indianapolis 500.
Townsend Bell, KV Racing Technology. A scintillating run by Bell who came from nowhere - all the way back in 24th starting position - to finish a career-best fourth overall. Nicely done. Here's what he had to say: "We said all month we wanted to take one step at a time. I can't think this team enough. I had an awesome car. The pit stops were strong. I have to thank my sponsor Herbalife for keeping me strong all race. I'm so happy to finish in the top five for this great race team. It's a real pleasure working with these guys. I had a hundred scary moments out there. We knew we had to be aggressive right away to move up. We tried to walk that fine line between aggression and balance and keeping the thing in one piece. I'm just thrilled for this Herbalife race team, KV Racing, Jimmy (Vasser) and Kevin (Kalkhoven). What an opportunity for me to come here and do one race and drive a rocket ship. It was awesome. The last couple of laps everybody started to fall off, and I thought I might be able to pick off Danica and another car in front of me. We're just happy to have this strong a result."
(Jim Haines/IMS)
Helio Castroneves burns out of the pits on the way to victory in the 2009 Indianapolis 500.
Will Power, Team Penske. Power ran strong all day and came home fifth in the third Team Penske entry, a great finish. The best news? Roger has promised him some more runs this season.
(Chris Jones/IMS)
Will Power gets pit service from his Team Penske crew as Paul Tracy goes by in the background.
Paul Tracy, KV racing Technology. Tracy delivered a solid ninth place finish, his second consecutive top-10 finish in the Indianapolis 500 (he finished second in 2002). It was also announced that Tracy would have a ride in Toronto and Edmonton, the two Canadian stops on the IRL calendar. "The car was under steering the whole day, and I could never really get close to guys in traffic. You know, I got to thank GEICO and Monster and all the sponsors we had on board, Whipple's Superchargers, everybody, Hard Rock Hotel. You know, it's great to be back out there. Great to run with the top-10 guys all day, but you know, I just wish we did a little bit better. Yeah, it was fun. The end result was not what we wanted, but it was good to be back out there. This was a good tune-up race for me. Obviously, I had been out of the car for a year and off of an oval like this for a long time, so it's good to be back out there. You know, it's not what I wanted. I wanted to hopefully get a top five. You know, we got ourselves up there on a pit stop, but the car just wasn't good enough to stay there. It was a 10th-place car all day, and we ended up ninth. I hope I'll be back. I mean, I hope I showed everybody that I'm capable of doing this, and we've got two more races in Canada, and hopefully I get another chance at it."
(Dan Helrigel/IMS)
Paul Tracy (No. 15) overtakes Mike Conway on the main straight at Indy.
Alex Tagliani, Conquest Racing. After being handed Bruno Junqueira's ride due to previous sponsor commitments, Tagliani came through to be the highest-finishing rookie in the field, finishing 11th after starting 33rd. Alex said, “It’s unbelievable. The guys did an awesome job in the pits. The guys gave me a great car. We were pretty stuck on downforce, and it would show on restarts with every fuel load. I wish I had a little less downforce, but the car was so good on old tires. I was catching up, and everybody was coming toward me on the long runs. The whole team worked well. The engineers made some changes between Carb Day and the race. What great teamwork. I’m very happy for ALL SPORT, Big Red, Rexall Edmonton Indy, King Tut and everybody that helped us this month. To finish this month in front of all of these people is what it’s all about."
(Steve Snoddy/IMS)
2008 Indy 500 Champ Scott Dixon, here leading Helio Castroneves and the rest of the field, led the most laps (73) last Sunday but was mired in sixth place at the end of the race.
Indy disappointments. Marco Andretti (No. 26 AGR Team Venom Energy D/H/F), Graham Rahal (No. 02 N/H/L Racing D/H/F), Tony Kanaan (No. 11 AGR Team 7-Eleven D/H/F), Vitor Meira (No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing ABC Supply Co. D/H/F) and Raphael Matos (No. 2 US Air Force Luczo Dragon Racing D/H/F) all had bad days. Marco got taken out by rookie Mario Moraes on Lap 1 (although he returned to do a total of 56 Laps), Graham pushed into the wall in Turn 4 on Lap 55 after running up on Milka Duno, Tony had a nasty wreck when something broke on his car on Lap 98, Meira had a scary fire in the pits followed by a lurid accident with Matos on Lap 173, which resulted in a vicious crash going into Turn 1 and broken bones to Meira's lower back. Next up? The ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211. The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Husar's House of Fine Diamonds 100 on May 31 at The Milwaukee Mile. The race will be telecast at 4 p.m. on June 1 by VERSUS.
(Brett Kelley/IMS)
Tony Kanaan scrapes up against the wall after his second big hit (in the same crash) during the 2009 Indianapolis 500.
(Shawn Payne/IMS)
Vitor Meira's car catches fire in pit lane. After the fire was put out he would get back in the race only to be involved in a huge crash on Lap 173.
The IRL. Even attempting to keep Helio from climbing the fence was another example of just how clueless the IRL is when it comes to promoting its own series. Have the Tech inspectors measure Helio's car on the front straight if you have to, but let him climb the fence. It's the one picture that was carried all over the world. And Memo to Tony George: Hire Humpy Wheeler (a guest at The Speedway last Sunday) while you're at it. At least he knows what the hell he's doing. It would be a monumental improvement, and things would change for the better overnight.
Indy Cash. Yes, it's "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" but there's another dimension to the Indianapolis 500 that people sometime forget about and that is the prize money, the serious, big-time dough that's involved for competing in the biggest single motor race in the world. Helio Castroneves won a record $3,048,005 from an overall purse of $14,315,315. The previous record winner’s purse was $2,988,065 awarded to Scott Dixon in 2008. This year’s event purse – the second-largest in “500” history behind the $14,406,580 sum from 2008 – is comprised of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League awards, sponsor awards and other designated awards. Dan Wheldon earned $1,258,805 for his runner up finish and Danica Patrick took home $763,305 for her third place run. Townsend Bell and Will Power also posted Indy career-best finishes of fourth and fifth, respectively. Bell earned $445,305 while Power collected a check for $345,305. Alex Tagliani was awarded the prestigious Indianapolis 500 Chase Rookie of the Year Award and a $25,000 bonus plus the Chase Rookie of the Year Trophy. Tagliani finished 11th – the highest-finishing rookie – after starting at the back of the field in 33rd. At the Victory Celebration, Sarah Fisher received the Scott Brayton Driver’s Trophy, presented since 1997 to the driver who best exemplifies the character and racing spirit of the late Scott Brayton.
Paul Tracy. A.J. Foyt has hired Paul Tracy to replace injured Vitor Meira in the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. Honda-powered Dallara for this SUnday's ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile. "I'm excited to get an opportunity to drive albeit as a fill-in for Vitor as I know it's a short-term thing," said Tracy, who has won 31 Indy car races. "When I started my career (1991), I competed against A.J. He was one of my idols growing up. I haven't told too many people this, but he was one of the guys I modeled myself after. I'm a little rough around the edges like him, and I say what I feel, and that's one of the things I've always admired about him." Tracy has won four times at The Milwaukee Mile in 14 starts (1995, 1999, 2002 and 2005). Foyt also won four times as a driver at The Mile - in 1962, 1964, 1975 and 1979. "Paul Tracy is a hard charger and our type of driver, much like Vitor," Foyt said. "I believe we can put the right equipment under Paul, and we've both had success there, so I think we can put our heads together and have a good race. It's a very important race for us because it's sponsored by our team sponsor ABC Supply, which is based in Wisconsin. Milwaukee is their home track, and it is the AJ Foyt 225." Meira suffered a lower back injury in the closing laps of the Indianapolis 500 and has been treated at Methodist Hospital since May 24. Dr. Michael Olinger, medical director for the Indy Racing League, evaluated Meira again on May 26 and expects Meira to be released from the hospital on May 27. Meira will meet with Dr. Terry Trammell on May 29 and expects to receive clearance to return to his home in Florida.
(Ford)
The new Ford Fiesta may not be available officially until next year, but high-performance motorsport versions of the car will make their U.S. racing debut this summer when the Olsberg Motor Sport Evolution team from Sweden, managed by Andreas Eriksson, brings two new Fiesta Rallycross cars to compete in the annual Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado on July 19. The two Fiestas will be driven by Eriksson and rally legend Marcus Grönholm in the ‘Unlimited Class’ at Pike’s Peak, in an attempt to be the first team to break the 10-minute mark over the 12.4-mile, 156-turn pavement and gravel course. The Olsbergs MSE Fiesta Rallycross car is based on the Fiesta hatchback model road cars. The all-wheel-drive Fiestas are powered by a 2.0-liter Duratec Ford engine capable of more than 800 horsepower. The Fiesta Rallycross car's suspension system is the result of collaboration between Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution, Öhlins and Ford of Europe's Team RS engineers, who are responsible for Ford’s FIA World Rally Championship program. Andreas Eriksson, 35, is a four-time Swedish rally champion, with multiple Rallycross victories, and Marcus Grönholm, 41, is one of World Rallying’s greatest drivers, with two world championships and 30 WRC victories on his resume. “We’re pleased to have a top independent team like Olsbergs MSE coming to the U.S. with their Fiesta Rallycross cars to take on the challenge of Pike’s Peak,” said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports. “This will be a great chance for enthusiasts here to see in this unique setting what a lot of the rest of the world is already talking about – that the Fiesta is a great road car and a great race car.” Ford Racing North America, although not directly involved in the project, will assist the team with logistical support while it is in America.
(Mike Harding/IMS)
Roger Penske - the most dominant single figure in motorsport over the last 40 years - shakes hands with Tim Cindric after his 15th Indianapolis 500 win as a team owner.
(Dana Garrett/IMS)
The famed Pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at dawn last Sunday.
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