THE LINE

July 21, 2010

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
It was a wham-bam, "excuse me" fest as the IndyCar drivers pretended they were in GT2 cars bumping and battling each other on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street circuit in Toronto. But at the end it was Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Honda-Powered Dallara) who claimed the Honda Indy Toronto, his fourth IZOD IndyCar Series win of 2010 and Team Penske's 41st win in the IZOD IndyCar Series, further extending a record for most wins by a team. Polesitter Justin Wilson (No. 22 DBR Team Z-Line Design Honda-Powered Dallara) seemed to have more than a shot at the win, but a costly mistake on a restart cost him and he ended-up being classified 7th. Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Air Wick D/H/F) finished second to Power, 1.7-seconds behind. Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 37 Andretti Autosport Team  IZOD D/H/F) was third, Andretti Autorsport teammate Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven D/H/F) finished fourth and Graham Rahal - making his season debut with Newman/Haas Racing - was fifth in his No. 02 Quick Trim-sponsored machine. Danica Patrick (No. 7 Andretti Autosport Team GoDaddy.com D/H/F) finished sixth - the same as last year.

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Dario Franchitti, Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay celebrate after the Honda Indy Toronto.

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Justin Wilson has a woulda-coulda-shoulda discussion with his crew after the race.

(Dan Helrigel/IndyCar)
Indy car in Toronto: Furious close-quarters racing.

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Comfortably back with Newman/Hass Racing, Graham Rahal heads out of the pits on his way to a fifth-place finish, his best of the season so far. 

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Even the Budweiser Girls seemed to enjoy themselves in Toronto.

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
J.K. Vernay (No. 7 Lucas/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports) captured his fourth win of the season in the Toronto 100 Firestone Indy Lights race, streaking away away from the field over the final 10 laps. The French rookie has led the Firestone Indy Lights point standings since the start of the season. Dan Clarke (No. 40 Wasteco Deans Knight Special), was second (his best finish of the season) and Gustavo Yacaman finished third (also a season best) in the No. 10 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing entry.

(Ron McQueeney/IndyCar)
Dan Clarke's second place was his first career podium finish in Firestone Indy Lights racing.

(ALMS)
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón announced today that Porsche’s innovative 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car will make its North American debut at the Series' signature event - Petit Le Mans - on October 2 at Road Atlanta. This year, for the first time, Petit Le Mans will hold the distinction of being the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup’s sole North American stop. The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, announced by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest a year ago, will decide an international champion based on results from three Le Mans-based series on three different continents – Europe, North America and Asia. Because the ACO (the sanctioning body for Le Mans racing) has not yet created rules for hybrid technology in production-based cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid will race unclassified at Petit Le Mans. Next up for the ALMS is this weekend’s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on Saturday, July 24. SPEED will air the race live at 2 p.m. ET.

(Grand-Am)
Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney (No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet Riley) won last Sunday's NJMP 250 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race presented by Crown Royal at New Jersey Motorsports Park - their first victory of the season - earning a record $20,000 Pirelli P Zero Club Daytona Prototype "triple bonus" payout to boot. Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas (No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley) finished 3.674 seconds behind. In GT it was a Mazda sweep as Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito (No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8) led teammates John Edwards and Adam Christodoulou (No. 68 Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development Mazda RX-8) across the line by .170 of a second. Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato finished third in the No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Randy Pobst (No. 6 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60), of Gainesville, Ga., set a new qualifying record and led every lap of the 33-lap, 57.915-mile World Challenge Championships GT race in Toronto, averaging 69.574 mph. James Sofronas (No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3) finished second, and Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, Fla., came home third in his No. 8 K-Pax Racing Volvo S60.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Peter Cunningham (No. 43 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX ), of Milwaukee, Wis., began Saturday with a World Challenge record 37th career pole position, and ended the day extending his own all-time wins mark to 36 with his GTS victory. Ernie Jakubowski (No. 91 Fuchs/CDOC/Forgeline Porsche Cayman S) was second and Cunningham's RealTime Racing teammate Nick Esayian (No. 34 Acura/RealTime Racing’s Acura TSX) finished third on the street circuit.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
RealTime Racing earned its second class win of the race with Nick Wittmer (No. 93 HPD/HondaRacing/RealTime Honda Civic Si) finishing 6.053-seconds ahead of Eric Meyer (No. 32 XOWii Racing/Samaritan’s Feet/Delvira Mazda RX-8) in the Touring Car portion of the World Challenge race. Robert Stout (No. 18 DG-Spec/Scion/TRD/Lucas Oil Scion tC) finished third.

(©2010, Paul Webb)
Dalton, New Hampshire. Ken Block (l) and Tim O'Neil (r) stand next to Block's Monster World Rally Team Fiesta and one of the Fiesta Movement Fiestas. Ford Racing will supply 43 Fiestas from the Fiesta Movement to the Team O’Neil Rally School in New Hampshire for aspiring rally drivers. The Team O’Neil Rally School will equip each Fiesta with a roll bar, rally suspension and off-road tires to be used in the school’s Ford Racing Fiesta Rally Experience and various other rally racing programs. The Ford Fiesta will be the global rally car for Ford Motor Company in 2011 and beyond running in FIA World Rally Championship and in Rally America. “Ford has always been very active in the rest of the world as far as rally goes. Driving the Fiesta is like driving an expensive German car. It is the coolest Ford I have ever driven and I have driven almost every Ford product in the world,” said O’Neil. “To grow rally in North America, we need people who want to compete to have access to a light, reliable, strong car that is inexpensive, easy to maintain and easy to get parts for. I think Fiesta will be an affordable option for the clubs and sportsmen.” For more information on Ford Racing Fiesta Rally Experience and to register, go to www.teamoneil.com; or call the school at (603) 444-4488; or email info@teamoneil.com.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: One of our old friends and frequent and eloquent letter contributor - Tom Bartkiewicz - passed along the following note: Peter, I came across these MP3s of a 1953 BRM Formula 1 1.5 liter supercharged V-16. The sound is amazing. Music to my ears. Hope you enjoy it if you haven't already heard it. Tom. You can check it out here, it truly is amazing.  - PMD

The annual enthusiast pilgrimage to Road America took place last weekend, and it was a blast.  Now the second-largest vintage racing gathering in the U.S., the Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman - presented by Ford - featured a mind-boggling array of vintage racers as well as hundreds of sensational street cars, both on the magnificent Road America racing circuit itself and on the streets of downtown Elkhart Lake - the tiny picturesque Wisconsin resort town that seems tailor-made for this classic event. Highlights of the weekend - besides the track's famous concession stands - included the race car parade into town on Friday night, and the concours show for street cars on Saturday night. The cars are parked on the streets allowing throngs of spectators to stroll leisurely along and take in the sights and sounds. Our fondness for Road America and Elkhart Lake is well-documented, but the annual vintage festival transforms it into someplace truly magical. If you've never been, you really need to make a plan to go. It's one of the great weekends on the auto enthusiast calendar.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out the racing coverage and photos from the 2010 Kohler International Challenge with Brian Redman - Presented by Ford - here as presented by Sports Car Digest. - PMD

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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