THE LINE

May 2, 2012

(F. Peirce WIlliams - INDYCAR/LAT USA)
Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) was victorious in the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle Sunday, his third consecutive win of the season and third in a row at the Anhembi circuit. Power is the first driver to win three-straight races since Scott Dixon won at Watkins Glen, Nashville and Mid-Ohio in July 2007.

(F. Peirce WIlliams - INDYCAR/LAT USA)
Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda Chevrolet) leaving the pits in Sao Paulo. He finished 0.9045 of a second behind Will Power to finish a season-best second. It was his second podium finish of 2012. "The weather had been so up and down, so we didn't know what to expect," Hunter-Reay commented. "(On final restart) I really challenged Power on the outside. I tried to get him but he had the inside and he raced clean. We've been right there on the podium three of the four races so we're really happy going to Indy."

(Michael L. Levitt - INDYCAR/LAT USA)
Takuma Sato (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda), who started 25th because of an unapproved Honda engine change and overcame a Lap 12 pit lane speed violation penalty, earned his first IZOD IndyCar Series podium with his third-place finish. Here he leads J.R. Hildebrand (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet).

(F. Peirce WIlliams - INDYCAR/LAT USA)
Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske/Penske Logistics Chevrolet) finished fourth, the highest-finishing Brazilian driver.

(F. Peirce WIlliams - INDYCAR/LAT USA)
Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Lexar Media) was bumped from behind on a Lap 26 restart in Turn 1 which dropped him to 22nd, but he battled back to finish fifth.

(F. Peirce WIlliams - INDYCAR/LAT USA)
James Hinchcliffe (No. 27 Andretti Autosport Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet) finished sixth. Hinchcliffe has yet to finish outside the top-six finishers in 2012.

(Carsten Horst - INDYCAR/LAT USA)
Will Power does his "leap" after winning in Sao Paolo. It was Power's 18th career Indy car victory and his third victory of 2012 and his third consecutive win in 2012. "Very happy to get that third win here and third in a row. We need to make it four in a row at the most important race next," Power said afterward.  "(The final restart) was the key to winning. Ryan got a really good jump. I knew I just had to go like you wouldn't believe through the first complex of corners because I knew he could get a run on me. Ryan is one of the hardest guys you will ever race; he never gives up. Full credit to the Verizon guys, Chevy and Team Penske. These guys make it possible. We did it, three for three." Next up for the IZOD IndyCar Series is the Indianapolis 500 Mile on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised by ABC at 11a.m. (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). 

(Brian Czobat/autostock USA/2012)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford EcoBoost Fusion) led five times for 206 laps but finished 10th after being black-flagged for jumping a restart in the Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers in Richmond, Virginia. Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Toyota Camry) taking advantage of a "debris" caution, beat Tony Stewart (No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala ) out of the pits and went on to capture his first victory of the season and fourth consecutive spring race at Richmond International Raceway, breaking a tie with Richard Petty. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet Impala) finished second and Stewart  ended up third. Stewart was royally pissed-off about what he termed as a needless caution and rightly so, as it seemed no one had anything for him Saturday night. ''No catching Stewart without that caution,'' Busch confirmed after the race. The victory snapped a 22-race winless streak for Busch.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Patrick Long (No. 1 Privacy Star/Entrust/TruSpeed Porsche 911 GT3), of Belleaire, Fla., comfortably dominated the Pirelli World Challenge Privacy Star Grand Prix Presented by Bondurant for the win in the GT class at Miller Motorsports Park, averaging 96.168 mph in the 23-lap, 70.104-mile race.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Andy Lee (No. 20 Best IT Chevrolet Camaro), of Colorado Springs, Colo., took his first series win in the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class. Lee trailed Kinetic Racing teammates Michael Galati and Colin Braun in the Nos. 36 and 38 Infinity Audio/Kia Motors USA Kia Optimas and Peter Cunningham’s No. 42 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX, but as Braun closed the gap to Galati (the two were battling for the lead on the last corner of the 3.048-mile Outer Course configuration) the cars touched, sending both off course, also collecting Cunningham, which let Lee race to the win.

(BMW)
BMW is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the BMW M3 this year. Here Eric van de Poele stands next to his factory BMW M3 before the DTM race in Berlin in 1987, the car's 4th race.

(BMW)
The legendary BMW 328 will be represented with twelve cars at the start of the Mille Miglia 2012. Alongside series versions, there will be a number of racing cars competing on the route from Brescia to Rome. The Bavarian fleet of cars will be led by the BMW 328 Touring Coupé, the winning car in 1940. The Touring Roadster will also be represented in the Italian heritage classic alongside the Touring Coupé. BMW celebrated its biggest racing success up to that point on April 28, 1940, with the BMW 238 Touring Coupé at the I. Gran Premio Brescia delle Mille Miglia.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD

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