June 13, 2012
(Michael L. Levitt - INDYCAR/LAT Photo USA 2012)
Justin Wilson (No. 18 Sonny's BBQ Honda/Dallara) charged from 17th on the starting grid to overtake Graham Rahal's ill-handling car on Lap 226 of 228 to win the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night. It was the first IZOD IndyCar Series oval victory for Wilson, who led Rahal across the start-finish line by 3.9202 seconds.
(Phillip G. Abbott - INDYCAR/LAT Photo USA 2012)
Graham Rahal (No. 38 Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Dallara) looked set for his first IndyCar win on an oval when he brushed the wall with two laps to go as he was fighting massive under steer and hung on to finish second. "I just made a mistake, you know, I mean the car was pushing through the center of 3 and 4 pretty well the last stint, and it would kind of grip up for me late in the corner and I kind of stayed with it because they told me Justin was coming," Rahal said after the race. "So I was trying to pick up the pace a little bit, and honestly it just never gripped up, and I didn't give myself enough of a margin for error. You know, I own up to it, and we'll come back and we'll win one here, and I certainly feel like it should have been today. Obviously for the entire NTB/Service Central crew, this is going to bother us, but we know we can run with these guys, we know we can win and hopefully we'll do it next week in Milwaukee."
(Michael L. Levitt - INDYCAR/LAT Photo USA 2012)
Ryan Briscoe finished third in the No. 2 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet/Dallara. "It was tough," Briscoe commented. "Certainly you needed to work on the set-up all night, the balance changed a lot from the beginning of this stint to the end, and man you just had to hang on. It was hard work. My car, the last two sets of tires just went off really badly in the back, so I was battling a loose car, which is hard work. I'm glad the race is over, you know, the guys put me in position to win tonight, I had the lead I just didn't have the car to bring it home and stay in front. It's disappointing, but I had a huge moment out there at one point tonight and I'll take third."
(F. Peirce Williams - INDYCAR/LAT Photo USA 2012)
James Hinchcliffe (No. 27 Andretti Autosport Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet/Dallara) finished fourth in the hard fought race. Here he pits just ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay. "We obviously had a good car, we ran fast early behind Graham and Scott and then just behind Scott," he said. "The guys were awesome in the pits man, I mean we've had our problems, my mistakes and other things over the year, but every stop today was on it. We stayed out one time when Dixon was in, and we tried to play it a bit different. We had a tire situation that we weren't sure if it was going to go our way, and ultimately that might not have been the best call, but you know, happy for the Go Daddy car. Thanks to all the fans that came out and congrats to Justin, that's an awesome drive from him."
(Michael L. Levitt - INDYCAR/LAT Photo USA 2012)
IZOD IndyCar Series drivers lobbied sanctioning body officials to put the race in their hands on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval instead of relying on an aerodynamic package that has produced the pack racing everyone was attempting to avoid following the devastating accident in October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon. The aero changes definitely worked positively to make for better racing. "I have to say this is the best racing I've ever had on an oval," said championship points leader Will Power (No 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet/Dallara) who also appeared to be on the way to strengthening his championship points lead until he was assessed a drive-through penalty for blocking on a Lap 184 restart. "You had to lift, you had to look after your tires, you had to really drive the thing, it was moving around. That is just the sort of racing that we need at these sort of tracks."
(Phillip G. Abbott - INDYCAR/LAT Photo USA 2012)
This was Justin Wilson's first win in 2012 and the seventh win of his Indy car career. It was also Wilson's first win on an oval. His last win came at Watkins Glen in 2009, 42 races ago. It was Dale Coyne Racing's second Indy car win. Coyne's organization previously won with Wilson in 2009 at Watkins Glen. "It's just fantastic," Wilson said. "I have to thank Bill (Pappas) and everyone who works at Dale Coyne Racing. They work so hard and some long hours trying to get ready. Dale has put so much into it. I just can't believe we managed to pull this off. The car was fantastic. And on the long runs, it just got better and better. I saw people sliding around and knew I just had to hit my marks." (Asked about Graham Rahal's accident): "I saw him sliding more and more every lap, and I didn't think there was a chance, but when I saw him hit the wall, I thought 'OK, now it's time to go.' It was four-wheel drifting all the way into Turn 3 and all the way out of Turn 4. You were having to hang on out there." (IndyCar docked Justin Wilson five points and fined Dale Coyne Racing $7500.00 for failing a post-race inspection. IndyCar said that Wilson's car had unapproved bodywork pieces attached to the sidepods.)
(Photos Courtesy of Highcroft Racing)
One of the most innovative racing machines in motorsports history will make its official debut this Saturday when the Nissan DeltaWing competes in the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Just 12 months after being announced by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest as the recipient of “Garage 56” for 2012, the unique car which features half the weight, half the horsepower and half the aerodynamic drag of a typical Le Mans prototype will race for the first time. (The “Garage 56” entry is reserved for a machine that demonstrates new and innovative ideas and technology previously unseen in the event.)
At the time of last year’s announcement the DeltaWing was, incredibly enough, a design concept that had yet to be built. But with concept originator Ben Bowlby; American racing legend and All American Racers founder, Dan Gurney; two-time ALMS championship-winning team owner, Duncan Dayton; initial concept patron and multiple Indy 500 and IndyCar championship winning team owner, Chip Ganassi; American Le Mans Series founder, Don Panoz; the world’s leading tire manufacturer, Michelin and innovative auto manufacturer Nissan coming together to bring the dramatic DeltaWing racer to fruition, the world gets to see true innovation and creativity in action.
Powered by a 1.6 litre Nissan DIG-T turbocharged engine and featuring specially developed Michelin front tires that are only four inches wide and 23.6 inches apart, the Nissan DeltaWing’s land speed record challenger looks seemed to fuel popular belief that the car wouldn’t go around corners. One of the secrets to the car’s unique abilities, however, is its weight distribution. More than three-quarters of the car’s mass is carried by the rear wheels, allowing for a dramatically smaller front tire requirement. The use of traditional racing car wings is also eliminated by the clever design of the car’s under body that virtually operates like a huge wing, providing outstanding downforce levels without the accompanying drag.
The Nissan DeltaWing will be driven by Marino Franchitti (Scotland), Michael Krumm (Germany) and Satoshi Motoyama (Japan). You can expect to see the DeltaWing go at least two extra laps between fuel stops than the top competitors, and you can also expect to see incredible tire mileage from the technically advanced Michelin racing tires, with the DeltaWing possibly going the entire distance with only three or four pit stops for tire changes. Check out this video of the DeltaWing from Nissan here.
(Ford Racing)
Ford unveiled its 2013 NASCAR Fusion at Charlotte Motor Speedway in January, but now that the other competitors have revealed their 2013 entries (Chevrolet SS, Toyota Camry and Dodge Charger), Ford has gone back and tweaked its NASCAR Fusion bodywork. Ford Racing is using the upcoming race weekend at the Michigan International Speedway Michigan to unveil updates to the design of the Cup car which now shows more brand identity through enhanced design cues, including new grille work and hood lines. Ford Design, which was heavily involved in the "NASCAR-ization" of the Fusion, finessed these latest tweaks as well. The most striking change is that actual grille bars are now used in the front end. "We had an opportunity to add more personality and detail to the race car,” said Garen Nicoghosian, Ford design manager in charge of the NASCAR project. “We took advantage of this opportunity and sculpted a more aggressive front end and we added grille bars that are identical in design to the production car. We also added more detail to the fog light housings, and created a more detailed headlight area as well." These latest enhancements have allowed Ford to more closely match the production Fusion while remaining within NASCAR guidelines as the manufacturers get close to submitting their final designs to NASCAR for the 2013 season. “In addition, we also sculpted a more aggressive hood, and were able to achieve a closer look to the production car," Nicoghosian continued. "Our race car is even closer in design to the production car now, and we are very pleased with the results.”
Editor's Note: Some classic Porsche racing and street machines in this brief video passed along by Porsche, plus another look back at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion last October. - WG
(Photos Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
With the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend, Racing in America reflects on the 45th anniversary of the Ford Mark IV claiming the second of four consecutive victories for Ford Motor Company cars at Le Mans, arguably the greatest American racing victory on foreign soil. That day in 1967, the stunning red Mark IV, now in the procession of Henry Ford Museum as part of its Racing in America collection, was driven to the overall victory by A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney. It remains today the only Le Mans overall win by American drivers, in an American-built car, with an American engine (Ford V8), prepared by an American team (Shelby American). The No. 1 Mark IV, which was capable of speeds as high as 220 mph, led all but the first 90 minutes of the race, and won easily by four laps over the second place Ferrari. The iconic car featured numerous innovations for its day, including its aluminum honeycomb structure, a sunken driver compartment, and a sleek, wingless design that had been extensively tested in the wind tunnel. In addition to the stunning victory, the post-race celebration saw the birth of one of racing's finest traditions - the champagne shower in victory lane - thanks to Dan Gurney. The Mark IV race car, in honor of the 45th anniversary, recently left Dearborn for a European tour, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and is expected back in Michigan in September, when it will be returned to its place on honor on the floor of Henry Ford Museum in the Driving America exhibit. Watch a video on the historic Ford Mk IV here.
Editor's Note: in case you missed it, Dr. Bud weighs-in this week. - WG
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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