THE LINE

February 25, 2009

(Shawn Payne/IRL)
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda/Firestone) was quickest (211.372 mph) in practice Tuesday for the IndyCar Open Test on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway. "We're pretty pleased with the results so far," Dixon said. "A lot of our focus was making the car better on older tires. Balance was another thing we spent quite a bit of time on. Overall we're just trying to pick up where the team left off at the end of last season and start the year off on the right foot." Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske D-H/F) was next quick (210.793 mph), followed by Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D-H/F) at 210.603 mph, Mario Moraes (No. 5 KV Racing Technology D-H/F) at 210.51 mph, Will Power subbing for Helio Castroneves in the No. 3 Team Penske D-H/F at 210.138 mph and Marco Andretti (above) in the No. 26 Andretti Green Racing Meijer D-H/F at 209.696 mph. The rest of the practice speeds are below.

1. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 211.372
2. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 210.793
3. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 210.603
4. (5) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 210.151
5. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 210.138
6. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 209.696
7. (06) Robert Doornbos, Dallara-Honda, 209.584
8. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 209.067
9. (02) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 208.802
10. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 208.720
11. (12) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 208.694
12. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 208.672
13. (13) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 208.637
14. (24) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 208.568
15. (27) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 208.029
16. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 207.403
17. (34) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 207.378
18. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 207.184
19. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 206.843
20. (98) Stanton Barrett, Dallara-Honda, 205.834

UPDATE(2/26): After 10 hours of testing on the 1.5-mile, variably banked oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway the field of 21 cars was separated by just 0.7196 of a second after 4,698 incident-free laps. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe, who finished fifth in the championship last year, recorded the fastest lap at 25.1984 seconds, 212.156 mph, while reigning champion Scott Dixon was second, just 0.0394 of a second behind (25.2378, 211.825 mph). “I'm really happy with the way our only pre-season oval test went this week,” said Briscoe, who earned two victories last season, including on the 1-mile oval at Milwaukee. “We were able to work on a lot of different things and I'm satisfied with what we were able to accomplish. I think that what we learned here at Homestead will help us on all the 1.5-mile ovals this season starting with Kansas and moving forward. I think we're in great shape, and now we're one step closer to the beginning of the season.”

Andretti Green Racing drivers Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan were third and fourth, respectively, on the time chart, showing that the team that won three of the last five championships will once again be a contender. “I’m really happy,” Andretti said.“We were able to test different setups that are going to benefit the Meijer car and the entire AGR team. It definitely has been a productive couple of days. I’m so confident in the setup we found that I wish we were racing tonight or tomorrow. We had a decent time, but that aside, I think we are strong overall.”

Dario Franchitti, returning to the IndyCar Series as Dixon’s teammate at Target Chip Ganassi Racing after a year absence, was fifth, while 20-year-old Mario Moraes, who earned three top-10 finishes as a rookie in 2008, was sixth in his first test since moving to KV Racing Technology.

Trail Motorsport. There's a new team in the Camping World Truck Series owned by Art Shelton, a commercial loan consultant based in Chicago, who joins Randy Moss as one of the few black team owners in NASCAR's three national series. The organization expects to field three vehicles, with Chase Austin on the truck circuit, Jarit Johnson - younger brother of three-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie - on the Camping World East tour, and a driver yet to be determined for the Nationwide Series. Austin's history is that he signed a development deal with Hendrick Motorsports at 15 before that program was canceled in the wake of the airplane crash that devastated the Hendrick organization in 2004. He is now 19. The Trail Motorsport organization is run by former Nationwide team owner Armando Fitz. "I hope to make a better pathway for more minorities to join the sport," Austin said. "Art's really being a pioneer for that also, starting his own team and willing to fund it with sponsors or without. I'm really looking at him being more of a pioneer than me, because he's the one really making the way for it." For more information contact Patrick Shelton at partnership@trailmsport.net

(Trail Motorsport Photos)
Chase Austin and his Trail Motorsport Chevrolet Silverado.

Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford. Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Carhartt/DeWALT Ford) held off a rejuvenated Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports DuPont Chevrolet) to win the Auto Club 500 at Fontana, Calif., Sunday night, his second consecutive Sprint Cup victory after not winning a race in 2008. It was the first time a Cup driver has won the first two races of the season since Gordon did it in 1997. Proving his win in the Daytona 500 was no fluke, Kenseth was able to get ahead of Gordon in the pits with a near-flawless stop under caution with 38 laps to go in the 250-lap race. From there Kenseth stayed in front, streaking to a 1.464 second lead over Gordon during the last 20 laps. It was the fifth-straight February win at Fontana for Jack Roush. Kenseth and Roush both credited new crew chief Drew Blickensderfer for key decision-making for the win. Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Toyota) tried to make NASCAR history by winning three top NASCAR races in the same weekend (he won the Truck and Nationwide races on Saturday) but came up short, finishing third.

(Photo©2009, autostock, USA, Brian Czobat)
Matt Kenseth crosses the finish line to win the Auto Club 500 in Fontana, CA, last Sunday night.

VW, HYPERFUELS. Volkswagen of America, Inc. has announced it will use B5 biodiesel to power its race cars, transport vehicles and generators during the 2009 Jetta TDI Cup season. Houston-based HYPERFUELS will supply B5 biodiesel for the series, which is sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. “We are extremely pleased to have HYPERFUELS as a partner for the 2009 Jetta TDI Cup series. SynDiesel® B5 biodiesel has been fully approved for use in all Volkswagen TDI powered vehicles that are available at local Volkswagen dealerships today,” said Clark Campbell, Motorsport Manager, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “The addition of SynDiesel B5 biodiesel in the Jetta TDI Cup race cars further demonstrates the feasibility of biodiesel as an alternative fuel source for American consumers and supports the clean and green racing of the Jetta TDI Cup series,” added Campbell. During the 2009 season, the Jetta TDI Cup cars will consume approximately two tanks of B5 biodiesel during race conditions and overall carbon emissions produced by the series will be reduced by 2,583 pounds as a result of the new fuel. These environmentally-friendly characteristics classify all Volkswagen TDI models as Advanced Lean Technology Vehicles, qualifying consumers for a $1,300 Federal Income Tax Credit.The SynDiesel B5 biodiesel that HYPERFUELS is supplying is a synthetically made diesel fuel, with a 63 cetane rating, storage life of up to 10 years and 20 percent more BTU’s than conventional diesel. The same fuel used in the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup racing series is available for purchase on www.hyperfuels.com

(VW) From left to right: Ed Hegland (Chairman of the National Biodiesel Board), Jess Hewitt (President of Gulf Hydrocarbon, the parent company of HYPERFUELS) and Jennifer Weaver (OEM Outreach & Education Program Manager for the National Biodiesel Board).

Mazda. The manufacturer with the biggest heart for grass roots road racing announced several key enhancements to the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy MX-5 Cup series at their annual pre-season media gathering yesterday in Irvine, including an increase in the contingency payout. The top three positions will receive an additional $500 per event in 2009. First place in each race will now pay $5,000, second place will get $3,500, and third place will receive $2,500. Prize money is paid to the top 20 finishers in each race. To encourage teams and drivers to enter and compete in all ten race events in 2009, Mazda will cover the entry fee for the final two events (rounds nine and ten) at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), if that car is entered, and competes, in each of the first eight events. In addition, a new Playboy MX-5 Cup Team Championship Trophy will be awarded at the end of the 2009 season. Single and multi-car teams will have an equal shot at the championship. The championship trophy will be awarded to the team with the highest number of points at the end of the year. Total year-end points for single car teams will be calculated using total points and averaging by number of events in which the car participated. For multi-car teams, the total year-end points will be calculated as above. Total average points for each team car will be divided by number of team cars. A Rookie of the Year will also be recognized in 2009.

(Jim Haines/IMS)
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced today (2/ 26) that it has selected the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro to pace the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 24, 2009. The Camaro Pace Car was unveiled during a ceremony at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum with IMS President and Chief Operating Officer Joie Chitwood, and Indianapolis 500 winners Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser Jr. and Eddie Cheever Jr. “Just 40 years after that car made its mark as a Pace Car favorite, we’re pleased to have Camaro return to the streets and to the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to start our Centennial Era,” Chitwood said. 2009 marks the fifth time the Chevrolet Camaro has been selected to pace the Indianapolis 500 (1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, 2009). It will be the 44th time a General Motors vehicle has paced “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” with 20 by a Chevrolet. Powered by the 6.2-liter LS3 all-aluminum Chevy V-8, the all-new 2010 Camaro produces 426 horsepower at 5,900 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 4,600 rpm. It features a Tremec six-speed manual transmission and 3.45 axle ratio. No drivetrain or suspension modifications are required to prepare the Camaro for its Pace Car duties. The only modifications to the vehicle include a fully integrated strobe system, including a GM-designed custom light bar utilizing Whelen 500 series linear strobes. The paint scheme was created by GM Design. More information on the production version of the all-new 2010 Camaro can be found at chevy.com/camaro.

(ALMS)
Panoz Team PTG will again field one Panoz Esperante GTLM in the 2009 American Le Mans Series’ GT2 class with twenty-four-year-old Dominik Farnbacher, of Lichtenau, Germany, driving for the full season along with another yet-to-be-named driver. Former Series LMP2 champion Ian James will join Farnbacher for the season opener at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. 2009 will mark the third consecutive year of the partnership between PTG and Panoz Auto Development. Panoz Team PTG finished the 2008 season with an impressive third place finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the extremely competitive GT2 class. “Since the end of the 2008 season,” said PTG boss Tom Milner, “PTG has continued to improve the car, and these improvements helped make us very competitive during the annual Sebring Winter Test in January. Based on the results of this test and further improvements since then, we are looking for a good result and hopeful for a podium finish. We know we are at a disadvantage with a five-year-old car fighting against the latest technology from our competition but that is nothing new to PTG.” Farnbacher had an excellent 2008 season driving for the now defunct Tafel Racing delivering four class wins on his way to sharing second place in the GT2 driver championship. “Dominik has a lot of sports car racing experience, including multiple class wins in various series, and will be a great asset to the team,” said Milner. Visit Panoz Team PTG at ptgracing.com for additional information and updates throughout the season. The American Le Mans Series will open its 11th season with the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 21. SPEED will televise the race live from 10 a.m. to noon and 2-11 p.m. ET.

Publisher's Note: Justin Wilson met with members of the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway yesterday (2/25). Wilson is testing with Dale Coyne Racing after completing his rookie season in the IndyCar Series in 2008 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, earning a victory at Belle Isle. Below are some excerpts of that interview courtesy of the IRL. - PMD

Q: How do you feel moving to Dale Coyne Racing?

JUSTIN WILSON: I’m looking forward to the new season. We’ve not officially signed a contract yet, but I’m looking forward to getting out there and showing what I can do. It’s a long, hard road ahead. We’ve got lots to learn, new engineer for me. It’s just a lot of things to work on, whereas a lot of the others teams are further ahead. It’s just the way it is, and we’ll keep our heads down, keep working on it and get faster. Hopefully on the road courses we can get close to the front, and we’ll see where that takes us. The best thing about Dale Coyne Racing is Dale’s a racer. He understands it all, and that’s a big asset in this kind of racing.

Q: How did the opportunity come about?

JUSTIN WILSON: (Dale) called me about 10 days ago. We chatted on and off prior to that, and he called me up and said he wanted to move ahead, so that’s when we progressed things. I went over to the workshop and got fitted for the car, and here we are.

Q: How is the process of securing a ride?

JUSTIN WILSON: There’s a lot of uncertainty. The whole offseason was a bit of a lot of ups and downs, times when you think, ‘O.K., we’re set and ready to go,’ and then it was all off. That happened a few times. It’s just how it is. You can’t get too excited until you’re in the car.

Q: Is it a bit frustrating, given your success in Champ Car and winning a race in the IndyCar Series last year to have to be out looking for a new ride?

JUSTIN WILSON: I thought we made a progress last year. We got a win at Detroit, we were getting stronger at all of the other tracks. It was a such a learning year. I thought the stuff we were doing that year, the stuff we would be doing in the offseason we should be right at the front and challenging for wins every weekend come this season. Obviously, we don’t have that opportunity now. Before that, we finished in the top three in Champ Car the last three years – if you look back on it, you think well we’ve been hard done to, but it’s just how it is. If you live in the past, you won’t go forward. So, we’ve got to start with a fresh sheet of paper. That’s what we did yesterday. We’re starting completely fresh, and just working it out for ourselves and moving forward.

Q: Assuming you race for Dale Coyne Racing, where do you set your goals and expectations for 2009?

JUSTIN WILSON: It’s just to keep progressing. It’s going to be a tough year, but hopefully we can get stronger and be competitive on the road circuits. On the ovals, it will be just like last year where we slowly got better and better. I’d like to get a couple more top-five finishes. You just never know. If we can take another victory, that would be a fantastic result for us. Right now it’s just keep our heads down, keep progressing, and if we do that we’ll be happy.

Q: What’s your outlook for Dale Coyne Racing for this season?

JUSTIN WILSON: It’s the very early stages. Bill Pappas is the engineer. He’s very good, lots of experience, and Dale is set on getting out there and being competitive. We’ve had a couple of days together so far. It’s all very, very new. As thing settle in and we start to work it out and everything starts to get, I think we’ll get more and more competitive. The road courses are what I know. We’ll work on the ovals. I’m confident we’ll get more competitive. My aim is to win a race, but there’s just a lot of work to be done. We’re not afraid of that.

Q: Who are the guys to beat week in and week out?

JUSTIN WILSON: The usual suspects really. I think the two Ganassi cars are going to be really fast. There the two, the Penske cars. I think it will be between those for the championship. Everyone else looks so close. It’s going to be a lot of interesting or repetitive comments on how, ‘I just missed out.’ I think everyone is going to say that apart from the one or two, because that middle bunch from fourth or fifth back to about 19th is all so close. It will not take much to be at one end or the other.