THE LINE

December 2, 2009

(Andretti Autosport)
Danica Patrick will race a car sponsored by Go Daddy - the world's largest domain name registrar and web hosting provider - in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series. Andretti Autosport (formerly Andretti Green Racing) signed a multi-year primary sponsorship agreement with Go Daddy, and Patrick has signed a new multi-year deal to be the driver of the team's No. 7 Go Daddy Honda-powered Dallara IZOD IndyCar Series entry. "All of us at Andretti Autosport are looking forward to having Danica back with the team and are excited about working with (Go Daddy CEO and Founder) Bob Parsons and everyone at Go Daddy as the primary sponsor on Danica's car," said team owner Michael Andretti, who helped Patrick unveil the black and neon green-liveried car on ABC's Good Morning America Monday. "Go Daddy brings a lot of energy to our team and to the IZOD IndyCar Series. We're very excited about the opportunity to work with them in 2010 and beyond." Patrick joined Andretti Autosport before the start of the 2007 season and became the first woman to win an IZOD IndyCar Series event at the Indy Japan 300 in 2008. She finished third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 - eclipsing the fourth-place finish that she recorded in 2005. Patrick also drove to a career-best fifth-place finish in this year's IZOD IndyCar Series championship. "Danica is the quintessential Go Daddy Girl," Parsons said. "Danica is a beautiful woman competing in a male-dominated sport. She's passionate. She's focused. She's all about doing what it takes to win and we love that about her. Not to mention she's edgy, smokin' hot and as tough as any competitor anywhere. We are very good together." Go to Andretti Autosport's new website (designed by Go Daddy) here.

   The IZOD IndyCar Series TV Package. The good news is that there even is a television package for IndyCar. The bad news? 12 of the 17 races will be on the VERSUS network, infuriating DirecTV subscribers who happen to be IndyCar fans. All 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series events will be produced and shown in high definition where available, at least. The complete 2010 IndyCar Series television broadcast schedule:

Date-Location-Venue-Television

Sunday, Mar 14 - Sao Paulo, Brazil-2.3-mi street course-VERSUS

Sunday, Mar 28 - Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.-1.8-mi street course-ABC

Sunday, Apr 11 - Barber Motorsports Park-2.38-mi road course-VERSUS

Sunday, Apr 18 - Streets of Long Beach, Calif.-1.968-mi street course-VERSUS

Saturday, May 1 - Kansas Speedway-1.5-mi oval-ABC

Sunday, May 30 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway-2.5-mi oval-ABC

Saturday, June 5* - Texas Motor Speedway-1.5-mi oval-VERSUS

Sunday, June 20 - Iowa Speedway-.875-mi oval-VERSUS

Sunday, July 4 - Watkins Glen International-3.4-mi road course-ABC

Sunday, July 18 - Streets of Toronto-1.721-mi street-course-ABC

Sunday, July 25 - Edmonton City Centre Airport-1.973-mi airport course-VERSUS

Sunday, Aug 8 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course-2.258-mi road course-VERSUS

Sunday, Aug 22 - Infineon Raceway-2.245-mi road course-VERSUS

Saturday, Aug 28* - Chicagoland Speedway-1.5-mi oval-VERSUS

Saturday, Sept 4* - Kentucky Speedway-1.5-mi oval-VERSUS

Saturday, Sept 18 - Twin Ring Motegi-1.5-mi oval-VERSUS

Saturday, Oct 2* - Homestead-Miami Speedway-1.5-mi oval-VERSUS

* Denotes night race
Schedule Subject to Change

John Thawley. Publisher's Note: I'm happy to report that there's a new must-see destination for sports car racing enthusiasts: John Thawley's Sports Car Insider. Featuring John's outstanding photography and the excellent work from contributors such as John Dagys, Rick Dole, Regis Lefebure and others - as well as yours truly - I expect Sports Car Insider to become the go-to place for hard-core road racing enthusiasts. Check it out here. - PMD

Publisher's Note: Along about this time of year - with the racing season starting to wind down - we like to publish The Year in Review by John Thawley. John and I knew each other way back in the 70s when we were both doing something totally different, and we renewed our friendship around racing three decades later. John is now considered one of the best at what he does, and it's a real privilege to be able to share his work with our Autoextremist readers throughout the season. John's year-end gallery allows all of us to step back and savor another excellent season of racing in the American Le Mans Series. Thanks again to John for allowing us to display his work. Click here. - PMD

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.

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

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