THE LINE

May 26, 2010

Editor-in-Chief's Note: BREAKING NEWS! Formula 1 is returning to the United States, in of all places, Dr. Bud's hometown of Austin, Texas. We're damn near speechless. Read all about it here and read Dr. Bud's take in this week's Road Kill. - PMD

(Adam Stanford/IndyCar)
Helio Castroneves was simply scintillating in his effort to win the PEAK Performance Pole Award presented by AutoZone for the Indianapolis 500 last Saturday afternoon. Castroneves and Team Penske had withdrawn the qualified time of the No. 3 Team Penske Honda-powered Dallara for a shot at the top spot - which FAZZT Race Team's Alex Tagliani had held for a good part of the day - and came back with a four-lap average of 226.774 mph, to take the top position for "The Fast Nine" qualifying shoot-out. That gave Castroneves the first choice in the required qualifying run of the new format and he promptly seized the opportunity uncorking a four-lap average speed of 227.970 - more than 3 mph faster than his pole-winning speed last year - and his run included the fastest lap of the month, at 228.213 mph. The new format added plenty of drama, with 18 total attempts made by Castroneves' competitors as they tried to knock him off of the Pole - with Penske teammate Will Power coming closest with a four-lap average of 227.578 mph in his Verizon-sponsored machine - but the Brazilian star driver prevailed and collected the enhanced $175,000 payday that went to the pole winner. Completing the front row was Power (who collected the $100,000 bonus for qualifying second) and Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti (No. 10 D/H/F) at 226.990 mph, the 2007 race winner, who collected the $50,000 for qualifying third. This is Helio Castroneves' fourth career Indianapolis 500 pole, tying him with Rex Mays and A.J. Foyt for second on the all-time Indianapolis 500 list. Rick Mears leads with six poles. Castroneves' poles have come in 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2010. The last driver to win two consecutive Indianapolis 500 poles was Scott Brayton in 1996-96. This was the 16th time Penske Racing has won the Indianapolis 500 Pole. Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske D/H/F) at 226.554 mph, Tagliani (No. 77 FAZZT Racing Team D/H/F) at 226.390 mph and Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing) at 226.233 mph, the 2008 winner, will share Row 2. Graham Rahal (No. 30 Rahal Letterman Racing Quick Trim D/H/F) at 225.519 mph,  Ed Carpenter (No. 20 Panther Racing Vision/Fuzzy's Super Premium Vodka D/H/F) at 224.507 mph and Hideki Mutoh (No. 06 Newman/Haas Racing Formula Dream/Panasonic D/H/F) at 223.487 mph make up the third row. This is what Helio had to say afterwards: "Sitting in that car for an hour in half was not easy at all, especially with everyone getting closer and closer. I was like, 'Are we going or not?' because I can't handle that much pressure. It's great to have a 1-2 start for Team Penske. It's a shame that Ryan (Briscoe) didn't have his chance on the last one. It's great to be part of this team. We work so well together. I'm on the pole, but all three of us benefit from it. I'm very proud of my team; they did a great job today."

(Shawn Payne/IndyCar)
Helio had 'em all covered at The Speedway last Saturday afternoon.

(Jim Haines/IndyCar)
Helio celebrates with girlfriend, Adriana Henao, and the couple's daughter, Mikaella Castroneves after his Pole-winning run.

(Bret Kelley/IndyCar)
Castroneves averaged 227.970 mph over his four qualifying laps, including the fastest lap of the month at 228.213 mph.

(Daniel Incandela/IndyCar)
Roger Penske is The Master of The Speedway. How dominant has his Penske Racing team been? He's had at least one car start on the front row in 27 of his 37 years competing in the Indianapolis 500 as a car owner, with 39 Penske-entered cars having started on the front row. Penske Racing/Team Penske cars have won seven times from the Indianapolis 500 pole: 1979 (Rick Mears), 1981 (Bobby Unser), 1988 (Mears), 1991 (Mears), 1994 (Al Unser Jr.), 2006 (Sam Hornish Jr.), 2009 (Helio Castroneves). Penske-entered machines have won the Indianapolis 500 15 times since 1972, a record that likely will never be approached, let alone broken.

 (Dana Garrett/IndyCar)
The front row starters for the 2010 Indianapolis 500: Pole-sitter Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Dario Franchitti.

(Chris Jones/IndyCar) 

The field for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 was filled on Bump Day in an exciting final hour that saw former IZOD IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan (above) barely qualify a backup car after two accidents, and rookie Sebastian Saavedra make the race when gambles by Paul Tracy and Jay Howard failed to pay off. Joining Kanaan and Saavedra in the field of 33 cars are rookies Takuma Sato and Mario Romancini, and veterans John Andretti, Sarah Fisher, Vitor Meira, Alex Lloyd and Bruno Junqueira. Those who failed to qualify include Howard, Tracy, Milka Duno and Jaques Lazier, who replaced A.J. Foyt IV in the No. 41 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing car following the morning practice. Saavedra, whose No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport car made contact with the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier while practicing with 1 hour, 10 minutes left in the session, was transported to the hospital as a precaution. He got the news he had made the field while undergoing an MRI at Methodist Hospital. The MRI was negative, and he was cleared to drive in Sunday's race.

IZOD IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500 Mile Race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 22, 2010

STARTING LINEUP

1 (No. 3) Helio Castroneves, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Team Penske 02:37.9154 227.970
2 No. 12) Will Power, Toowoomba, Australia, Verizon Team Penske 02:38.1876 227.578
3 (No. 10) Dario Franchitti, Edinburgh, Scotland, Target Chip Ganassi Racing 02:38.5970 226.990
4 (No. 6) Ryan Briscoe, Sydney, Australia, Team Penske 02:38.9027 226.554
5 (No. 77) Alex Tagliani, Lechanaie, Quebec, FAZZT Race Team 02:39.0178 226.390
6 (No. 9) Scott Dixon, Auckland, New Zealand, Target Chip Ganassi Racing 02:39.1277 226.233
7 (No. 30) Graham Rahal, New Albany, Ohio, The Quick Trim/RLR Special Rahal Letterman Racing 02:39.6319 225.519
8 (No. 20) Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis, Panther/Vision/Fuzzy's Premium Vodka Panther Racing 02:40.3514 224.507
9 (No. 06) Hideki Mutoh, Tokyo, Formula Dream/Panasonic Newman/Haas Racing 02:41.0831 223.487
10 (No. 99) Townsend Bell, San Luis Obispo, Calif., Herbalife Ganassi/Schmidt Racing 02:39.9313 225.097
11 (No. 22) Justin Wilson, Sheffield, England, Team Z-Line Designs/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 02:39.9647 225.050
12 (No. 2) Raphael Matos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, HP de Ferran Dragon Racing 02:39.9798 225.028
13 (No. 32) Mario Moraes, Sao Paulo, Brazil, KV Racing Technology 02:40.0794 224.888
14 (No. 21) Davey Hamilton, Nampa, Idaho, HP de Ferran Dragon Racing 02:40.1053 224.852
15 (No. 24) Mike Conway, England, Dad's Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 40.2969 224.583
16 (No. 26) Marco Andretti, Nazareth, Pa., Team Venom Energy Andretti Autosport 02:40.3030 224.575
17 (No. 37) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Boca Raton, Fla., Team IZOD Andretti Autosport 02:40.3227 224.547
18 (No. 4) Dan Wheldon, Emberton, England, National Guard Panther Racing Panther Racing 02:40.3821 224.464
19 (No. 8) E.J. Viso Caracas, Venezuela, PDVSA-Jet Aviation-KVRT KV Racing Technology 02:40.4424 224.380
20 (No. 23) Tomas Scheckter, Cape Town, South Africa, Mona Vie/DRR Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 02:40.5270 224.261
21 (No. 25) Ana Beatriz ( R ), Sao Paulo, Brazil, Ipiranga/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 02:40.5402 224.243
22 (No. 78) Simona de Silvestro ( R ), Thun, Switzerland, Team Stargate Worlds/HVM HVM Racing 02:40.5511 224.228
23 (No. 7) Danica Patrick, Roscoe, Ill., Team GoDaddy.com Andretti Autosport 02:40.5584 224.217
24 (No. 36) Bertrand Baguette ( R ), Verviers, Belguim, Conquest Racing RACB 02:40.5785 224.189
25 (No. 33) Bruno Junqueira, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Bowers & Wilkins/TorcUP of Canada FAZZT Race Team 02:39.5305 225.662
26 (No. 19) Alex Lloyd, Manchester, England, Boy Scouts of America Dale Coyne Racing 02:40.1543 224.783
27 (No. 34) Mario Romancini ( R ), Sao Paulo, Brazil, Conquest Racing 02:40.2557 224.641
28 (No. 43) John Andretti, Indianapolis, Team Window World Richard Petty/Andretti Autosport 02:40.3438 224.51824
29 (No. 67) Sarah Fisher, Commercial Point, Ohio, Dollar General/Sarah Fisher Racing 02:40.4033 224.434
30 (No. 14) Vitor Meira, Brasilia, Brazil, ABC Supply Co. A.J. Foyt Racing 02:40.4367 224.388
31 (No. 5) Takuma Sato ( R ), Tokyo, Lotus-KV Racing Technology 02:40.5865 224.178
32 (No. 11) Tony Kanaan, Salvador, Brazil, Team 7-Eleven Andretti Autosport 02:40.6628 224.072
33 (No. 29) Sebastian Saavedra ( R ), Bogata, Colombia, William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport 02:40.9776 223.634

  Jack Nicholson. Three-time Academy Award-winning actor Jack Nicholson has been named honorary starter of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on Sunday, May 30, and will wave the green flag at the 2010 edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Cool.

(John Thawley)
After being forced to start at the rear of the grid by race officials for a minimum driver time infringement in practice on Friday, Patrón Highcroft Racing took its second victory in a row with drivers David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud and Marino Franchitti (No. 1 Patron Highcroft Racing HPD ARX-01c) at the six hour American Le Mans Series race at Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway) last Saturday. Pagenaud stormed through the field gaining the top spot on lap 54, then Brabham lost it briefly at one point during his stint, but he handed the car over to Franchitti in the lead. Franchitti got passed by Guy Smith's Mazda but the Highcroft team chose to do a fuel-only pit stop - double-stinting its Michelin tires - which secured the lead again for Franchitti. When Smith encountered mechanical issues with 24 minutes to go, the race win was assured for the Danbury, CT-based team. Patron Highcroft Racing also won the LMP portion of the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge, based on overall performance and environmental efficiency. The CytoSport Porsche RS Spyder driven by Klaus Graf, Sascha Maassen and Memo Gidley finished second, seven laps back. Another late race double-stint - this one with medium compound Michelin tires - helped deliver a dramatic victory for the defending race and series champion Flying Lizard Porsche of Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister in the GT class. Long finished just 0.365 seconds ahead of BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team’s Joey Hand (co-driving with Dirk Mueller). Long passed Hand’s BMW M3 GT on the inside of Turn 11 just as the green flag flew on the final restart with eight minutes left. Corvette Racing finished third in class with Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin, ahead of the Risi Competizione Ferrari of Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni. The second Corvette of Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen finished sixth in class and won the GT portion of the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge. The top three in the GT class all finished within three seconds. The GT battle throughout was as close as expected with eight different cars – three Ferraris, two Corvettes, two BMWs and the Flying Lizard Porsche – leading throughout. At one point, the top seven cars were running within seven seconds of each other midway through the race. Completing a Michelin sweep of the overall podium and taking the victory in the new LMP Challenge class was the Level 5 Motorsports car of Christophe Bouchut, Scott Tucker and Mark Wilkins. And finally Black Swan Racing won its first Series race with brothers Jeroen and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen partnering with team owner Tim Pappas for a GT Challenge victory in their Porsche 911 GT3. Click here for another batch of superb images by photographer extraordinaire John Thawley from Laguna Seca.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Ron Fellows (No. 2 Carlisle Companies/Cragar Wheels Chevrolet Corvette), of Mississauga, Ontario, won Sunday’s World Challenge GT race - the Victoria Day Speedfest Presented by Optima Batteries at Mosport International Raceway - by 2.441-seconds over Randy Pobst (No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60), averaging 103.972 mph in the 30-lap, 73.77-mile contest. Jason Daskalos (No. 5 Daskalos Developments Dodge Viper), of Albuquerque, N.M. finished third. A winner in Saturday’s Round Four race, Pobst recorded his third podium finish of the year and extended his series Championship point lead.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
John Heinricy swept both races in the GTS class at Mosport in the No. 35 Torvec/Phoenix/Hawk Chevrolet Corvette.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Polesitter and Round Four winner Chip Herr (No. 50 Irish Mike’s Racing Volkswagen Jetta GLI), of Lititz, Pa., led from the standing start in the Touring Class in the second race of the Mosport race weekend, but he couldn't shake 18-year-old Robert Stout (No. 18 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC ), of Brownsburg, Ind., who got by Herr in traffic and held on for the win by 0.507-second.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: The Delta Wing concept is certainly the most controversial of all the future IndyCar concepts, but, as I've stated previously, I also find it the most intriguing by far. Read Gordon Kirby's latest summation of where the Delta Wing program is here, and find out what they've learned from the full scale aerodynamic testing. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: The IZOD IndyCar Series has released the names of the nine legends of the sport that fans can choose to honor by naming the trophies given to the oval and road champions. Media selected the top-five nominees from each discipline and through June 3, IZOD IndyCar Series fans can vote for the legend they prefer to honor on www.indycar.com. The oval trophy honoree will be announced during the IZOD IndyCar Series event weekend at Texas Motor Speedway while the road trophy honoree will be revealed at Watkins Glen International. The oval nominees: Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt Jr., Ted Horn, Rick Mears and Bill Vukovich. The road nominees: Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, Dan Gurney, Al Unser Jr., and Alex Zanardi. To vote go here. My votes are in bold above. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Ed Hinton is one of the most respected journalists covering motorsports in the business, having had an illustrious 35-year career with stints at Sports Illustrated, The National Sports Daily, Tribune Newspapers and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His summation of the civil war between Tony George and CART and the subsequent implosion of major league open-wheel racing in America - entitled "The Damage Done" - is quite simply a superb piece of journalism that should be a must read, even if you think you already know the whole story. Read it here. - PMD

 The Onion. Read the irreverent publication's blurb about the 2011 NASCAR season here.

(Corvette Racing)
GM Designers created a special 2011 Corvette Z06 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Corvette's first racing appearance at Le Mans. This one-of-a-kind Corvette (VIN 0001) boasts a blue and white racing color scheme - the official colors assigned to the U.S. for international competition - similar to the one used on the 1960 Corvette, which won its class at Le Mans 50 years ago. This one-off Corvette will be sold at auction later this year to benefit the National Corvette Museum.

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