THE LINE

January 13, 2010

(Ron McQueeney/IMS)
Helio Castroneves received the spoils of his third “Indianapolis 500” victory – the Herff Jones Champion of Champions Ring and the unveiling of his likeness on the famed Borg-Warner Trophy – in a ceremony Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Surrounded by the cars that A.J. Foyt, Wilbur Shaw and Johnny Rutherford drove to their third “500” victories, IMS Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Belskus presented Castroneves with his winner’s ring. Event host Bob Jenkins and a crowd of fans counted down the time until Castroneves removed the covering from the trophy to see his face sculpted in sterling silver. Belskus also surprised Castroneves by giving him a basket of baby clothes as a congratulatory gift on the recent birth of his first child, daughter Mikaella. In addition to the champion’s ring and likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy, Castroneves and Team Penske owner Roger Penske will receive scaled-down replicas of the Borg-Warner Trophy in a ceremony Wednesday night. The “Baby Borg” is traditionally presented by BorgWarner to the winning driver and car owner during the Detroit Auto Show. Castroneves’ likeness also will be featured on the event ticket for the 2010 “500.”

 Izod IndyCar Series. Some good news for IndyCar fans. The series will have two Open testing periods during the 2010 season, beginning with a preseason Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park slated for Feb. 24-26. This will be the only Open Test conducted prior to the start of the 2010 season. It marks the second-straight season that both IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights teams will conduct an Open Test at the scenic Alabama road course. The inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will take place on April 11 at the 2.38-mile road course in Birmingham, Ala. The in-season IndyCar test will be conducted at the Kentucky Speedway on Monday, May  3 (Firestone Indy Lights) and Tuesday, May 4 (IZOD IndyCar Series). AND, a reverse gear supplied by promotional partner Xtrac will be incorporated in cars for the nine road and street course races and be available to drivers through the paddle shift system. Drivers will retain six forward gears, and the kit won't be required for the eight oval events. Hallefrickin' luja!

(Patron Highcroft Racing)
Patrón Highcroft Racing will have Marino Franchitti joining forces with David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud for its 2010 American Le Mans Series driver lineup. Franchitti took two LMP2 class victories for Dyson Racing in 2009 but will now line-up aboard the Honda Performance Development factory-backed ARX-01c Patrón Highcroft Racing entry for the 2010 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the Monterey Sports Car Championship at Laguna Seca and the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Alongside his three confirmed race outings, the popular Scotsman will be behind the wheel for additional test duties as well as attending each round of the ALMS championship.

WE'RE OPENING THE VAULT!

The AE wearables are back - and only in extremely limited quantities and sizes, we might add - and once they're gone, they're gone! We're starting with our most popular items, the classic AE Sweatshirt and AE Hat. Click on a PayPal button below to order yours now! (If you prefer to pay by check, please send us an email with AE STORE in the subject line, and we'll reserve your item.)

AE Sweatshirt - Crewneck, sturdy 80/20 cotton/poly, in black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. Size XL only. 40 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

AE Hat - Black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. 25 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

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