Here we go again. Different city; different show; completely different ambiance.

Today was Opening Day of the PRI Trade Show in Orlando, FL. Compared to SEMA in Las Vegas, the lights are dimmer, the colors are more subdued and there is one major “thing” missing… trade show girls, which apparently are not permitted, although a few have snuck in.

We have had our share of passersby. So far we have seen Tomas Scheckter, Buddy Rice, Duncan Dayton, and Scott Goodyear; and Dan Wheldon was here in the Honda Racing/HPD booth signing autographs. Some stopped by to say “Hi” and some checked out our new line of performance parts. Tomas and Buddy were here to compete in the CKI All-Star Karting Classic on Thursday night. The go-karts were still running at 9:30 p.m., so it sounded like they had fun!

One other major, very noticeable difference between SEMA and PRI is the lack of giveaway suitcases rolling around the Orange County (FL) Convention Center. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely giveaways, but it is not as much of a sport here as it was at SEMA. Speaking of giveaways, HPD has added a new giveaway to its lineup this time around. We (and when I say ‘we’, I mean HPD’s Machine Shop) manufactured replica IRL engine spark plugs out of aluminum for use as keychains. Coming from someone who is not into trinkets or chotchkies, they are definitely cool. One show attendee said that they were the coolest giveaways that he has seen in three years. They are definitely a hit.

Something memorable from today concerned a very spirited debate that took place in our booth, and ‘spirited’ is saying it nicely. For reasons of propriety, I must refrain from quoting the exact conversation, but it was very interesting. The debate began between two gentlemen who were on opposite sides of the Formula F/Fit engine debate. One was a fierce defender of Honda’s new program and the other was concerned over the heritage of what was formerly known as the Formula Ford series (he was also fueled by the many rumors circulating over the Internet). At one point, we HPD associates thought we might have to stand back because fists would begin flying, but I am happy to announce that the disagreement was resolved and both combatants went on their merry, trade show way. There is never a dull moment...

As the doors of the convention center opened this morning, something very interesting occurred. There were display rows on the convention floor that were gridlocked, and others that didn’t have a person in them. Soon, it was discovered that show attendees take a very clear and apparent path. A strategic attack, one might say, in their route through PRI. Maybe it is this the way at all trade shows, but seeing as this is only HPD’s second appearance and we were located in a far corner at the first, this discovery was new to us. This time around, our booth is located in the second row, about 10 or so booths deep (#5525 for those of you attending), so we have a great view of this herd of people.

As 6 p.m. rolled around, the crowds VERY slowly diminished. Unlike at SEMA, PRI does not clear out immediately at the end of each show day. Normally, this would be perfectly fine with us. We are happy to sit and chat with anyone who stops by. However, on this particular night there was a free Happy Hour going on in the lobby of the convention center. I am sorry, but after a long day standing in the booth, free appetizers are very appealing. So, free appetizers it was.

Friday would be another full day of giveaways, crowds and crazy adventures… or so we hoped! Until then…

Company Will Manufacture a Variety of Components In-House

Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), the racing arm of American Honda Motor Company, Inc., will begin offering performance automotive parts for sale to registered racers competing in amateur and entry-level professional racing series, it was announced today.

The announcement took place concurrent with the annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Orlando, Fla. HPD is offering performance parts for racing as a component of its grassroots motorsports initiative, announced in July.

“We at HPD are extremely proud of the legacy we have established in open-wheel and sports-car racing,” said Erik Berkman, HPD president. “One of the cornerstones of our new motorsports initiative has been to establish a connection between our accomplishments in premier series and those of the many competitors who support Honda and Acura through the club racing and entry-level professional ranks.

“We believe that the manufacture and sale of racing performance parts by HPD are integral to helping us establish that connection.”

The product line will be comprised of HPD-designed parts and branded components. Through the validation process, HPD will rigorously test parts and components to confirm their performance and give consumers the confidence that comes from HPD’s years of success at the top levels of motorsport.

HPD plans to manufacture many of the performance parts in-house, including camber and caster plates, steering and front lower-arm bushings. HPD worked with various suppliers to develop front stabilizer bushings, rear stabilizer bars, engine mounts, transmission differentials, and brake fluid. HPD will co-brand components such as brake pads, brake lines, and coil springs with established leaders in the performance parts industry such as Cobalt Friction Technologies, Goodridge, and Eibach.

The Grand-Am Series has approved the majority of components announced today for use on the 2006-2010 model Honda Civic Si vehicles competing in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner (ST) class. HPD has also developed performance parts such as brake pads, brake lines, and rear differentials for Honda S2000s competing in the SCCA T3 class.

HPD performance parts are expected to become available in early 2010, with the exception of the engine mounts, rear stabilizer bars, and front stabilizer bushings, which will be available in the spring of 2010. Additions to the product line will be offered as the market warrants and will be posted on the HondaRacing.com/HPD website for registered Honda racers.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda’s high-performance racing cars and engines. In addition to its new grassroots motorsports business, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and spearheaded Acura’s championship-winning efforts in the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

Tech Support to Be Offered to Registered Racers Through ServiceExpress

American Honda Motor Company, Inc., through its racing arm, Honda Performance Development, Inc., is expanding the scope of benefits available to members of its Honda Racing Line program for amateur and entry-level professional racers.

American Honda’s service publication support is now available online to Honda Racing Line members 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through ServiceExpress, Honda’s official online reference source for the independent repair community. ServiceExpress will offer Honda Racing Line members the most up-to-date service information, and will make it available at the same time it becomes available to authorized Honda/Acura dealers and repair centers.

“We have been very pleased with the growth in registration since we launched the Honda Racing Line program this past July,” said HPD President Erik Berkman. “We are working regularly to expand the list of benefits available to Honda Racing Line members, and are announcing this link to factory-authorized technical support from ServiceExpress as the first of numerous advantages which will be available to them in the future.”

ServiceExpress, created to provide professional technicians with up-to-date details regarding Honda and Acura vehicles, will offer the following reference materials to Honda Racing Line members:

· Service manual diagnostics and repair procedures;
· Service news and bulletins;
· Diagnostic trouble codes and troubleshooting procedures;
· Parts specifications and service limits;
· Electrical troubleshooting manuals for Honda and Acura vehicles;
· Body repair manuals and installation procedures;

and
· Electronic owners’ manuals.

Launched in July, 2009, the Honda Racing Line is a program targeted at licensed participants in sanctioned amateur and entry-level professional racing. The Honda Racing Line was formed to provide its members with a direct connection to Honda Performance Development and its unparalleled record of success at the highest levels of motorsport. Competitors may register for the Honda Racing Line through HondaRacingLine.com.

Team Honda Research – West has entered an Acura in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill road race, looking for a podium finish in the very competitive E0 classification.

Team Honda Research – West (THR-W) returns to the NASA Pro Racing 25 Hours of Thunderhill race this weekend with the goal of finishing on the podium in the extremely competitive E0 classification. THR-W has participated in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill since 2004, including collaborations with sister team THR-Ohio, and has finished first, second and fourth in class at past events. This year’s effort is led by 2008 25 Hours E0 Class Runner-up Lawrence Hwang, who hopes to better his 2008 finish (second in class, third overall). Honda Canada associate Scott Nichols, retired American Honda associate Bob Endicott and Honda R&D Americas, Inc. associate Steve Neese will handle driving duties in addition to Hwang. The race will begin at 11a.m. on Saturday December 5, 2009 at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California. The 25-hour race is the longest endurance road race in the U.S and annually attracts factory-supported and top privateer racing teams. Highlights of the race will be televised on the Versus Network on a date to be determined.

THR-W is the officially sanctioned employee road-racing team of Honda R&D Los Angeles - comprised entirely of Honda associates who strive to exhibit in themselves and their vehicles the challenging spirit first demonstrated by company founder Soichiro Honda. The team and its sister team, THR-Ohio, is an expression of the racing spirit that is a fundamental part of the Honda’s DNA. Operating under the mantra, “We develop what we race, and race what we develop,” the team strives to translate lessons learned on the track into new-vehicle development as part of the “fun-to-drive” character found in Honda products. The fact that Honda associates are themselves enthusiasts and racers is an indication that they have the interests of enthusiasts in mind when they bring new vehicles to market. THR-W was founded in 1996. Additional information about the team can be found at http://thrw.hra.com.

Through its new Honda Racing Line program, Honda Racing/HPD provides support and incentive programs to Honda and Acura racers competing at the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Runoffs and in other forms of grassroots motorsports competition. Additional Honda Racing Line details can be found at http://racing.honda.com/hpd.

Team Honda Research-West is proud to represent, test and use products from the following companies: Honda Research & Development Americas, Inc.; American Honda Motor Co., Inc; Honda Racing/HPD; Hoosier Tires; The Westside Group; H&R Springs; Brembo Sport; Baja Designs, Inc.; Skunk2; Traqmate; Hondata; APR; Exedy; Recaro; Red Line Oil; Tyga-Box Inc.; Prototype Racing, Inc.; HMS Motorsport; Schroth Racing safety harnesses; Goodridge; ASR; Porterfield; King Motorsports and Aquapel Glass Treatment by PPG Industries, Inc.

T3 National Championship Highlights Season

RAYMOND, Ohio (November 3, 2009) – Bob Boileau’s victory at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs last month was a fitting finish to a season of race wins and divisional titles for BFGoodrich-sponsored Team Honda Research.

Driving his THR Honda S2000 CR in the competitive Touring 3 class, Boileau started from the pole and battled both fellow competitors and a wet-but-drying Road America circuit to claim his first national title, and the second in as many seasons for THR, a team formed by American Honda engineers working in the company’s Research & Development subsidiary.

“I can’t express enough how well the THR Honda ran at the Runoffs,” Boileau said. “The BFG R1 tires were perfect for Road America. The BFG/THR combination was unbeatable at the Runoffs this year and I was thrilled to be part of it!”

From their Central Ohio base, THR drivers posted seven race wins in SCCA National events in 2009 aboard Touring 3 class Honda S2000 CRs; and another 10 victories driving Honda Civic Si’s in the Showroom Stock B category. The THR program helped launch the Honda Racing Line, a program of support for grassroots Honda and Acura racers, announced earlier this year by Honda Racing/Honda Racing Performance [HPD], the competition arm of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

With three wins and two poles in five starts, Inness Eisele led the THR’s season-long T3 attack in the Midwest to claim the SCCA Great Lakes Divisional Championship. New to THR this season, Sage Marie won four times in seven starts of his Honda S2000, and qualified on the pole three times to finish second in the highly competitive Southern Pacific Division.

“This season served as a great foundation for the launch of the Honda Racing/HPD racer-support initiative, and the Honda S2000 CR proved to be the ideal race car: fun, reliable, competitive and – with the help of the H&R dampers – perfectly balanced and controllable,” Marie said. “Our ace in the hole was really the BFG tires, which gave us a definite competitive advantage throughout the season.”

Defending SSB National Champion Lee Niffenegger also won a divisional title for THR this year, taking SSB honors in the SCCA’s Southern Pacific Division with a near-perfect record of six wins and seven poles in seven race starts.


T3 National Championship for THR - 2

Chad Gilsinger also approached perfection during the SCCA regular season, winning four times in as many events to claim the Great Lakes Division SSB title. Completing THR’s SSB lineup, rookie Matthew Staal finished fourth in the Great Lakes SSB championship to qualify for his first SCCA Runoffs.

All six THR drivers featured in their respective classes at the Runoffs, at which a single, final race determines the national champion. After several years at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas, this year the Runoffs moved to the famed Road America circuit in southeastern Wisconsin and more than 600 competitors turned up to take part in 25 national championship races.

Marie started his S2000 CR alongside Boileau on the outside of the T3 front row in his first Runoffs appearance, but was hit and knocked off course on the opening lap to end his day. Eisele completed a THR 1-2-3 performance in qualifying, starting on the inside of the second row. After falling back in the early, wet laps, Eisele gained ground during the final half of the race and finished fifth.

Niffenegger was unable to repeat as SSB champion in his Civic Si, but still finished second for his third consecutive SSB podium result at the Runoffs (second in 2007, prior to winning the 2008 championship). Gilsinger started third and finished fourth in his THR Civic Si, with rookie Staal starting fourth and finishing seventh in his Civic.

“At the start of 2009, the future of THR was uncertain due to the economic conditions we all faced,” Niffenegger recounted. “Fortunately, Honda Performance Development stepped up to expand Honda’s presence in grassroots motorsports. I also can’t say enough about our partner, BFGoodrich, for sticking by us while everything got sorted out. They make the best tire in the paddock right now and we are fortunate to have them on our side. The combination of Honda performance and BFGoodrich R1 tires has proven once again to be as good as anything out there.”

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing cars and engines. In addition to its new grassroots motorsports business, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and spearheaded Acura’s championship-winning efforts in the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

Through its new Honda Racing Line program, Honda Racing/HPD provides support and incentive programs to Honda and Acura racers competing at the SCCA Runoffs and in other forms of grassroots motorsports competition. Additional details on the Honda Racing Line can be found at http://racing.honda.com/hpd.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the IndyCar Series wrapped up with Dario Franchitti’s race win and championship, but the typical off-season November/December doldrums have yet to kick in. Instead, there’s been a lot going on, highlighted by the long-anticipated announcement of IZOD as the new series title sponsor in a multimillion-dollar, multi-year, deal.

But first, how ‘bout a recap of Homestead, a.k.a. “How Dario Beat The Odds, Snookered His Rivals, and Claimed His Second Semi-Consecutive Crown”?

It began during the race’s opening stint. After starting on the pole, Franchitti soon found out that both teammate Scott Dixon and Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe – Dario’s sole remaining rivals for the 2009 IndyCar championship – had better setups for race day. Not sure what it was; wing angles, tire pressures, but something wasn’t working quite as well for the red #10 as it was for his fellow contenders.

Mind you, all three were still head-and-shoulders above the rest of the 23-car starting field, pulling away from Marco Andretti, et al, from Lap 1 onward. It was almost too good to be true; the three remaining championship contenders battling for the race win and title.

Midway through the first fuel run, Dario realized that he didn’t have enough outright speed to go for the win. He’d spent a half-dozen laps running side-by-side with Dixon, then another 20 or so running behind both ‘Dixie’ and Briscoe. By the time the first round of pit stops approached, Dario, team boss Chip Ganassi and race engineer Chris Simmons had made the tough call to pull the trigger on what they euphemistically called their “alternative” strategy, i.e. … ‘save fuel at all costs.’ Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

IF Dario ran lean and could make pit stops at 50-lap intervals, he could do the race on three stops. Dixon and Briscoe would need to make four, IF there were no yellows. A single yellow, at any point up until about Lap 190 or so, and either Dixon or Briscoe would be your 2009 champion.

The problem for Franchitti & Co.: in the entire history of the Indy Racing League, there had NEVER been a race run without at least one full-course caution. Until Homestead, 2009.

By mid-race, it was apparent that Briscoe was the fastest of the quick three. But he also was getting the worst initial fuel mileage, pitting for the first time on Lap 45. His second stint was a bit better, and he didn’t need to pit again until Lap 95. Briscoe made his third stop on Lap 143. Ryan did everything he could, grabbing the bonus points for leading the most laps and holding amazing, l-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong powerslides coming out of Turn 4 lap after lap, ending just inches from the wall nearly every time. The guy was driving the race of his life. But it all went for naught, as the track stayed “clean and green” and Briscoe had to make a fourth and final stop for fuel on Lap 193.

Dixon was in slightly better shape early in the race, but then had to turn the wick up in a vain attempt to keep Briscoe away from the two points for most laps led. As a result, he had to make his final ‘splash n’ go’ one lap prior to Briscoe. When both were done, Dario went from being ALMOST one lap down to instead holding a comfortable, 10-second lead.

Game. Set. Match.

It wasn’t a grip-the-edge-of-your-seat, scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs, side-by-side for lap-after-lap-type race, but it was terribly interesting strategically. Franchitti and his guys REALLY rolled the dice and played some very long odds. If you had asked me prior to the start if the race would go yellow-free, I would’ve said no way. Yet, that’s exactly what happened.

And how close was Dario on fuel? He ran out while trying to celebrate with donuts and a reverse victory lap. Technically, it was his second consecutive IndyCar title, following his abortive year in NASCAR in ’08.

It also marked 10 years since his CART title fight went down to a tie-breaker with Juan Montoya at the season-closing California Speedway race – the same event where we lost Greg Moore. Props to Dario for remembering and speaking about his good friend after this year’s victory.

Race trivia and other bits that don’t fit anywhere else:

• It was HOT at Homestead. I’m talking Kansas-in-July, with-tons-of-humidity hot.

• At 36, Dario became the oldest champion in IndyCar Series history. Hmmm, he still looks like a punk kid to me….

• It was another great year for the IndyCar teams at HPD and Ilmor. We had only one in-race failure all year, and that was due to a chafed alternator wire on Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car at Infineon. When you think about all the miles and abuse these engines take, that’s an incredible record of reliability. Take a bow, folks.

• What was up with all the suspension-failure crashes at Penske this year (there were at least three, and I think I may be forgetting one or two)? The latest befell Helio’s car in practice at Homestead, as the left-rear corner collapsed, putting him into the fence – hard. Are they running the car so that they’re shock-loading a wishbone or pushrod? Or is it something else? Either way, it’s something that needs to be fixed for 2010, obviously.
  


• Shameless plug to keep you reading: There were a couple of announcements at Homestead regarding new programs for 2010, and a couple of more have followed since then. They’ll follow later in this blog.
  


• Did I mention it was bloody HOT at Homestead????

IZOD Signs On!

Biggest and best news of the off-season has been the long-expected and very welcome news that IZOD has signed on as a multi-year, multi-million dollar title sponsor. It’s been a long courtship (starting back in 2008), but it looks like that will pay big dividends starting next year.

This year, the clothing maker spent a reported $6 million in the series, with about a third of that going to keeping Ryan Hunter-Reay on the track with Vision, and later A.J. Foyt, Racing. The rest went into sorely-needed marketing and promotional work, including TV commercials, billboards, magazine ads and the like.

For 2010, that investment will more than double, with everyone getting a taste. The series will get a large lump sum each year; RHR will get enough to move “upmarket,” from Foyt to about-to-be-renamed Andretti Green Racing; full-time teams will get increased financial support; and there will be increased advertising and marketing activation for the series and drivers. The total is expected to be in the neighborhood of $10 million annually. In the immortal words of Pete-the-coach-driver: “It’s all good”.


A Look Ahead to 2010

Since it’s never too early to gossip and speculate, here’s my initial look at the field we’ll be seeing in 2010, ranked from the top of the food chain on down:

Target Chip Ganassi Racing: Standing pat with Franchitti and Dixon. Ten wins and the championship says it all. Why mess with success?

Team Penske/Penske Racing: Holds with Briscoe and Castroneves. Meanwhile, expect a third full-time car for Will Power entered under the separate-but-equal banner of Penske Racing, with Verizon as the likely sponsor. This might just be enough to tip the scales in their direction.

“Michael Andretti Racing”: a.k.a. AGR minus Kim Green and Kevin Savoree, who have left to focus their efforts on race promotion. Tony Kanaan will be back, seeking to rebound from a simply disastrous 2009; as will Danica Patrick (with a new three-year deal in hand, regardless of any NASCAR stuff she’ll have going on the side) and Marco Andretti. Hideki Mutoh is gone to Newman Haas Lanigan (see below), but in his place comes Ryan Hunter-Reay, armed with the aforementioned IZOD money.

Newman Haas Lanigan: Appears to be growing to three cars next year. Graham Rahal is expected back (although not signed yet), and Alex Lloyd appears to be bringing sponsorship from HER energy drink for the second seat. The third is a bit of a surprise, but since it’s already out on the “interweb”, it looks like Hideki Mutoh will be headed here from AGR. Hey, he already lives in Chicago, anyway…

Dale Coyne Racing: Ever thought you’d see the day when Coyne was ranked this high? Well, this was the only team to win this year outside of Ganassi and Penske. Justin Wilson would like to improve his lot in life (he really DID drive for “hot dogs and peanuts” this year) so he should be back at even a halfway-decent salary. Coyne also would like to add a second car to his steadily improving operation, but that depends on $$$. If the long-mooted Brazilian race actually does come off, maybe Bruno Junqueira could return with home-country support….

KV Racing Technology: Again, he’s not yet re-signed, but it looks like Mario Moraes will be returning. Mario had great speed all year long, but there were certain, errr, lapses in judgement from time to time. Still, as the old racing saying goes, “you can teach smart, but you can’t teach fast” and Mario has the speed. The team definitely wants to run two cars full-time. Paul Tracy has enough support for five to seven races or so, but can they find the rest? There are other drivers floating around with partial sponsorship deals (see below), so we’ll have to see what develops here.

Luczo Dragon Racing: For IndyCar Rookie of the Year winner Raphael Matos, see “Mario Moraes” above. Unlike Mario, “Rafa” most assuredly does not come from money (he moved to the US six years ago with all of $50 to his name …), but he has the speed and flash of Moraes. And, like his fellow Brazilian, he had several moments of brain fade in ’09 (see “Danica Patrick at St. Pete” and “Vitor Meira at Indy”) but he’s really, really fast. He should be back.

Vision Racing: On occasion (Kentucky), Ed Carpenter could be as quick as anyone on the ovals. On road courses … well … But Vision and Carpenter showed marked improvement on the left-turn-only circuits this year. The key now for Tony George’s team is to build on that base. For that, it needs more sponsorship. Indeed, it needs increased support just to guarantee it can run the full schedule next year. Hopefully, they’ll find it.

Panther Racing: Here’s a team you would normally expect to be ranked near the top of this table. Not after the 2009 they had. It’s very safe to say that both the team and new recruit Dan Wheldon were deeply disappointed. Most of the time they simply weren’t quick enough, and on the days they WERE fast (Indy, Chicago, etc), something always happened to knock them out of the picture. Despite all that, Dan will be back with the “Panther Pack” for 2010, but this team needs to turn things around fast.

Dreyer & Reinbold: Having finally stopped throwing his car at various immovable objects over the final quarter of the season, Mike Conway is expected back next year. As for a second (or even third) car, there are several possibilities, including Milka Duno, Tomas Scheckter, E.J. Viso and even Oriol Servia, among many others. I doubt if anything will be resolved here before January – or later.

A.J. Foyt Racing: Vitor’s back, and A.J.’s got him. Meira’s healed up and raring to go, but Foyt’s team still has a long way to go to match the abilities of Panther or Rahal, where Meira has previously run. Still, it’s a paid drive, and “Vic Myers” is grateful for that – as well as for A.J. and Larry’s loyalty during his recovery from the back injuries he sustained at Indy.

HVM Racing: Underperformed by its standards last year, and E.J. Viso has left the building as a result. E.J. has some sponsorship, so he should land somewhere. Meanwhile, Robert Doornbos was equally disenchanted with Hewman Haas Lanigan by mid-’09, so he rejoined his former Champ Car team, where they’ve won in the past. They were unable to rediscover the magic over the last six races, but will try again next year. Second driver wanted. Apply within. Bring $$$.

Fazzt: Guess what, I’ve ranked this new team above regular ’09 entrants Conquest Racing and Team 3G. Why? Because they appear to have decent funding, Alex Tagliani is still one fast (spelled right this time) driver, and Team Manager Rob Edwards has been around a long time and will find good people to fill out the squad. Plans are for a full year, with a second car at Indy and the Canadian rounds (for someone like Canadian Indy Lights driver James Hinchcliff, perhaps?).

Team 3G: Stanton Barrett is a really nice guy, the kind of guy you wish good things for. But can he run at this level? The jury is still out. Meanwhile both Jaques Lazier and Richard Antinucci showed they were better than the team when they drove the #98 car.

Finally, there’s Conquest Racing: A once decent operation that has, unfortunately, been spiraling downhill these last few years (including its tenure in both CART and IndyCar). Tagliani bolted after Edmonton, while Nelson Philippe came onboard at Infineon, only to suffer season-ending injuries in the very first practice session. Philippe may return in 2010, but not necessarily with Eric Bachelart’s team.

Sarah Fisher Racing: Ran a half-dozen races in 2009, but will be adding events and an occasional second car next year. Sarah is scheduled to race nine times, including the road courses at St. Pete and Mid-Ohio. After a year away, former Indy Lights champ Jay Howard is set for at least four races in a second car. This is a team that is improving steadily.

Taken all together, that gives us 22-24 likely full-time entries for 2010. Pretty encouraging, all things considered. Then there are:

Other Possibilities

Polestar Racing: A veteran Atlantic team run by Jim and Pam Griffith, who were at Homestead with a sponsor in tow, and making plans to step up with a single-car, full-time effort next year. More news here as it develops.

Newman Wachs Racing: The championship-winning Atlantic team this year, with former F. Mazda champ John Edwards. Has some funding, and is looking to move up to IndyCar in partnership with an existing team (KV?, DRR?). There’s more to come here, too.

de Ferran Motorsports: This ALMS team is also trying to move into IndyCars. But, along with Walker Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing, is still lacking the budget to run. Still, hope springs eternal….

Then, there are the perennial “Indy only” entries, such as Hemelgarn and Sam Schmidt. They’ll be back, too, along with “Indy only” drivers like Davey Hamilton and John Andretti.

On the Outside Looking In

It’s an unfortunate fact of IndyCar life, but there are always more talented, proven drivers out there than rides available. There are also numerous ”Young Turks” hoping to move up from Atlantic, Lights, GP2 etc.

Here’s a partial rundown of the veterans: Bruno Junqueira, E.J. Viso, Buddy Rice, Oriol Servia, Nelson Philippe, A.J. Foyt IV, Buddy Lazier, Jaques Lazier, Dan Clarke and Darren Manning.

Some potential new kids on the block: Indy Lights champ JR Hildebrand, Atlantic champ John Edwards, multiple ALMS race-winner Simon Pagenaud, James “Hinchtown” Hinchcliff, Jonathan Summerton and even P.J. Chesson.

That’s a wrap for now. More later as the countdown to the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series continues.

-- Dan Layton

Acura made history by becoming the first manufacturer to win the LMP1 and LMP2 drivers’, team and manufacturers’ championships in the same year.

Patrón Highcroft, Monterey, California, at the Laguna Seca raceway.

The American Le Mans® Series season came to a victorious end this month as Acura made history by becoming the first manufacturer to win the LMP1 and LMP2 drivers’, team and manufacturers’ championships in the same year. To top it off, Gil de Ferran, driver and team owner of de Ferran Motorsports, announced his retirement from professional racing earlier this month and he finished off his career in dramatic fashion.

The last race of the season was held in Monterey, California, at the Laguna Seca raceway. Coming into the race, both LMP1 Acura cars were in the hunt to cement their place on the team championship podium. The Acura LMP2 team, Lowe’s Fernández, had already clinched the team and manufacturers’ championships two weeks before but still made history by winning their eighth LMP2 victory this year, tying them with the 2007 Penske Racing team for most class victories in a season.

For the fifth time this season, Acura swept the race, with de Ferran placing first overall, Lowe’s Fernández coming in second and Patrón Highcroft rounding third. As a result, Acura took home the ultimate prize, the 2009 LMP1 Manufacturers’ Championship. Patrón Highcroft took home the 2009 LMP1 team championship crown even after a horrific crash that forced them to rebuild a new Acura ARX back in September.

Acura, which entered the American Le Mans Series only two seasons ago, has clearly made a name for itself as a powerhouse in the racing world. We congratulate all three Acura teams and their drivers, who bravely competed this season and made 2009 a year to be recorded in the history books.

Finally, we have made it to the last day of SEMA. It has been a great experience all around. We have learned that you should take part in preventative maintenance by using band-aids on your feet at the beginning of the day, as opposed to at the end. We have learned to always have water at hand, because all the talking will inevitably cause you to be parched. We have learned that Advil, or some kind of pain reliever, is a necessity, because, between the neon lights and the sore legs from standing all day, we definitely should have invested in the economy-sized supply. Can you expense a full body massage as ‘trip miscellaneous’? Seriously, though, it has been a great experience all around.
The FAQ for today was about the Honda timeline which was featured along the back wall of the Honda Racing/HPD display. Many attendees enjoyed reading and reminiscing about a certain period in time, and the most talked about Hondas. I guess we found one of our potential pieces of literature and/or giveaways for another show in the future…take-home timeline magnets, anyone?
Throughout the week, the new Honda slogan: “Everybody knows somebody who loves a Honda” has definitely stood true. Now, don’t get me wrong, there have been some challengers to Honda brand loyalty. We have listened to those who are devout Toyota owners and even a passionate Datsun owner, but each of them, somewhere in the conversation, has dropped the fact that he or she knows someone, or several people, including their own family members, who love their Hondas. Lisa Kubo, “The First Lady of Racing”, and her car were featured next to the Honda display, and she has taken loving Honda to an extreme. She has an “H” tattooed on her shoulder; it’s a real tattoo, not henna or removable. For all of you Honda lovers out there who don’t have Honda logos permanently tattooed on your bodies, she’s got you beat. The best quote came from a Honda Goldwing owner who showed us his motorcycle key and told us that he calls himself a “grandma chaser” (FYI: He was an older gentleman), and told us that the difference between him and a Harley owner is that he gets dates because the ladies don’t mind riding on the back of his bike. Let’s face it, there are many different reasons way people love their Hondas. You gotta love them all!
On a personal note … and anyone who knows me (Jenn) will appreciate this. I have not allowed my OCD to stop me from shaking any hand that was offered to me, and I didn’t even use antibacterial disinfectant after each one, either! That may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but it was definitely a feat for my psyche. Part of me would like to say that I have overcome some of my germophobic issues, but I will probably be back to sterilizing my hands as soon as I leave this town. Moving on …
As time ticked away and the 2009 SEMA Show came to an end, there was once again, as on every previous day, an announcement over the P.A., telling everyone that the show was now closed. What made today differ from days past was the roar of applause, followed by the even louder roar of almost every engine in the convention hall. For all of you engine, car and racing fanatics out there, it was quite a sound to hear. However, if you are trying to write a blog before the power to your display is turned off, it can be a tad distracting…cool, nonetheless. All of us at the Honda display would have liked to have overpowered all the other motors with the sound of our IndyCar engine, but maybe we will save that for next year.
Well, seeing as the display and the desk I am using to type this on are literally being disassembled around me, I am going to have to bid farewell. It was a great show and an overall great experience. Now it is time to think about HPD’s Open House and then, the PRI show, come early December. Ahhh, more cars, girls, racing stories from the “good ole days” and the sound of engines roaring … What more could any girl want? Thanks for tuning in…Jenn, OUT!

Theme music of the day at the Honda display is primarily rap. Yep, you heard me right, Honda, the fairly conservative company where I have personally worked for almost five years, is playing rap music. I guess the “no music in the workplace” policy doesn’t apply to a trade show … and speaking of policies, just so you know, the ladies in the Honda display are definitely sticking to Honda’s dress-code policy and are NOT going with traditional trade-show-girl attire, if you get my drift!
We have had a steady flow of people visit our corner of the South Hall today. This morning was a little slower than the first two, but maybe people are spending a little more time at the blackjack tables or bars as the week goes on. If that is true, we may have the weekend party crowd come through sometime tomorrow, and that should be an interesting way to end the week.
By Day 3, those of us who have been here since the beginning of the week have pretty much gotten the groove down, and there are definitely frequently asked questions (FAQ) we get used to answering. The FAQ for the day was related to the chassis concept IndyCar for 2012. Attendees loved the futuristic and recognizable look of the car. At one point, I saw a man running through the display and he was headed towards the concept car. I didn’t really understand why he was running because the car doesn’t have an engine and it is on a pedestal surrounded by Plexiglas, but hey, he was excited, and in the long run, that is what we are hoping for.
We have yet to mention the presence of the Boileau brothers, Bob and Al. They have a long-standing family history with Honda Racing and two Boileau-driven cars are on display here. The first, frequently discussed around these parts, is the 1974 Honda Civic 1200 driven by the late Bob Boileau, Jr. (their father). Then, there is the most recent, the 2009 SCCA Runoffs Championship-winning S2000 driven by Bob Boileau, III. The brothers are very proud of their family’s history and accomplishments, and they very much welcome any conversation having to do with their father’s car, which, by the way, is now exhibited at the Honda Collection museum in Torrance.
A funny thing happened toward the end of the day having to do with the Boileaus. There was discussion of a potential photo-op involving the two Boileau-driven Honda race cars and the Boileau brothers. It was decided that the cars needed a little touch-up to add some shine before the impromptu shoot. (To be honest, it was actually just Marc Sours, Large Project Leader for HPD’s grassroots motorsports efforts, with a camera!) So, a visit was paid to the Mother’s (Polishes-Waxes-Cleaners) display to get some free polish. When the ‘touch-up’ party returned, they had not only gotten some free polish, they brought a Mother’s rep to help shine up the cars, too. That’s not the last of it, though. As soon as they approached the Honda display, HPD associates began to gather around one of the cars. Come to find out, the Mother’s rep wasn’t just a rep of the company, he was actually the OWNER! So now, we had the owners of Mother’s polishing our 1974 Honda Civic 1200. It was a classic moment, for sure.
At this point, there are only seven hours of show time left. I can’t believe we have made it through 24 hours in the first three days of SEMA. What will today bring? The Honda Racing/HPD key chains are almost gone and hopefully, we can give away the last of the stickers (the fewer we have to bring home, the better). It has definitely been an interesting experience thus far, and I am sure there is more to come…

We are back! One day under our belts, three more to go. Today brought another set of high-profile visitors: Bobby and Graham Rahal stopped by to check out the Fit engine, Sarah Fisher and Jay Howard came by to say hello and rumor was that Danica was at the Apex show across the way, but we have yet to see her in our neck of the woods.
Again, there has been a lot of interest in the Fit engine and HPD’s Honda Racing Line program. We actually met a father-and-son duo who race their Honda Accord on dirt and were interested in fitting traction-control to their Accord racecar. With all the stories we have heard about the various racing series around the country, Accords racing on dirt was a first, at least for me.
One cool thing that I didn’t mention from yesterday was the badge-scanning system they have here. Any exhibitor can order a scanner and use it to track all the visitors to the display. Each person attending the event, whether an exhibitor, buyer, media member, or attendee, wears a badge that has a barcode on it. The barcode stores each person’s information, i.e. name, company, position, contact information, etc. We can scan an interested party’s badge and immediately, we have all their contact information. After the show, we can send out information about HPD and our various, upcoming racing activities. Some visitors are aware of the scanner and ask us to “scan them”; others learn about it when we offer to “scan then” and sometimes, just for fun, we do ‘drive-by’ scans, scanning those who least expect it. When you are at the show all day, you find ways to make the work even more fun.
News alert: Giveaways are huge around here! At our Honda display, we have key chains and Honda Racing/HPD decals that are literally flying off the countertops by the handful. We actually had to have HPD send us another case of decals, but I guess that is a good thing, and maybe soon we will see our Honda Racing/HPD logo on cars and tool boxes everywhere. As for myself, I picked up a Falken Tires stress ball in the shape of a helmet. I am sure that as the week goes on, it will come in handy.
Something interesting that someone new to the tradeshow scene might not be aware of (at least I wasn’t), is that many attendees travel with rolling suitcases. I didn’t know exactly why at first – it is Vegas, after all – but soon you notice people dropping giveaways into a top opening. It is crazy! There are people with suitcases full of free stuff. I can’t help but picture them trying to open their cases up at the end of the day, and stuff just comes pouring out. Some exhibitors are actually giving away (or selling, I am not quite sure) cardboard suitcases with slots at the top made for dropping in literature and small items. Maybe it is our fascination with free stuff, but I can’t even begin to imagine what these attendees are going to do with their cases of stuff, especially if they are here for all four days. What I want to know is, after they get home, where do they put it?
So, today was full of giveaways, interesting “racecars” and drive-by scanning. What will Day 3 have in store for us? Tune in tomorrow to find out…

It has been long in coming, but we made it. Honda Performance Development (HPD) has survived and frankly, in our humble opinion, flourished, on the first day at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV today. It was quite the debut, and we are proud of the turn-out. There were some high -profile visitors, some Honda Racing fans, a potential family reunion and all-around car fanatics to be seen everywhere. In what better place could we spend our time during the off-season, when not at the race track?
The day started off with a press announcement at the Honda display given by Erik Berkman, president of HPD, and Bruce Smith, vice president of parts operations for American Honda, relating to both Honda’s production cars and HPD’s grassroots activities, specifically the Formula F engine and Honda Racing Line programs. That was followed by a visit from Paul Tracy himself. He stopped by to say, ‘Hello’, and admire the new Honda Racing/HPD Formula F modified Fit engine. (If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out!)
As the day progressed, race fans, car enthusiasts and potential business contacts made their way through the maze of production cars and both grassroots- and pinnacle-level race cars and engines. Still, one of the more interesting non-car-related things to happen in the Honda booth today was the meeting of two potential relatives. One gentleman spotted another’s last name on his SEMA credential and, lo and behold, both had a cousin from the same city, with the same first and last name. The family connection has yet to be confirmed, but we at HPD would like to think that Honda Racing has brought the family together – or at the very least, provided the platform/booth to help make it happen.
Continuing into the afternoon, we got another high-profile visitor: Marco Andretti. Marco came by and spent some time signing autographs for Honda Racing fans and car fanatics alike. It was great to have Marco as a part of HPD’s presence at this inaugural trade-show event, considering his family’s history with Honda Racing.
We got to meet many people from all over the country today. There were many who had a story about a CART race they saw “back in the day,” or how Honda had “dominated” the competition in IndyCar, resulting in no competition at all. And then there were those devoted Honda car owners who were simply interested in all in which Honda is involved. No matter what their reason for visiting the Honda display, we at HPD and American Honda were pleased to talk with them. It gave us a chance to speak to the public about all the things we work so hard on behind the scenes, and many were happy to be our captive audience … well, at least until they exited the display and re-entered the madhouse that is SEMA!
With Day 1 under our belts, we would like to think we are a little more prepared for what to expect from the crowds and fans at SEMA, but we will have to wait and see and let you know tomorrow whether our expectations are as reliable as our engines. Stay tuned…

Honda Performance Development’s Formula F Initiative Approved by SCCA
Engine Sanctioned by Board of Directors for Use in 2010

TORRANCE, Calif. (November 3, 2009) – The Board of Directors of the Sports Car Club of America has ratified a Honda Performance Development, Inc. proposal to begin supplying Honda Formula F engines for competition in the SCCA’s Formula F (FF) class in 2010.

Through its introduction to the category, HPD hopes to strengthen FF’s position as the first step in American open-wheel racing.

“We look forward to launching our FF program at the outset of the 2010 club racing season,” said Erik Berkman, president of Honda Performance Development. “We hope that this initial step in HPD’s new grassroots motorsports initiative will help make the FF class more affordable and more competitive.”

The Honda Formula F engine is based on the Fit L15A7, a 1.5-liter engine that can be installed into several existing FF chassis. Testing has shown that the Honda engine provides performance equal to the long-out-of-production “Kent” engine, while featuring a modern fuel-injected design with superior service life, improved availability and lower operating costs.

A prototype, utilizing a Swift DB-1 chassis and HPD-developed bolt-on conversion kit, made its public debut during the FF 40th Anniversary Celebration at Road America in late July. The Swift-Honda, along with a Honda FF engine mated to a Citation chassis, was also on display during last month’s SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America.

The Honda FF engine has been developed by Honda Performance Development in cooperation with Sandy Shamlian of Quicksilver RacEngines. The engine was developed to equal the performance of the Kent powerplant through utilization of an HPD-developed intake restrictor plate and appropriately mapped Engine Control Unit (ECU). If additional performance adjustments are required, changes can be made to the restrictor plate and/or the ECU maps to achieve this goal.

“Many of us, myself included, have been involved in FF racing,” said Marc Sours, HPD Production Division Manager and Large Project Leader for HPD’s grassroots projects. “We believe that introduction of the modern, less-expensive Honda FF engine can restore interest in and raise the profile of FF to a point where it once again becomes the place for young drivers to begin their careers, and where current SCCA club racers will find economical, close competition.”

Original equipment in the 2009 Honda Fit, the L15A7 is a fuel-injected, 1.5-liter, overhead cam engine, at the beginning of its current production generation. Per Honda corporate policy, a minimum of 10 years’ parts support is mandated at the conclusion of production.

HPD will supply all parts from intake through exhaust, including multiple chassis conversion kits. The result will be a modern and reliable engine requiring minimal maintenance and tuning.

Specifically, HPD expects to offer FF competitors the opportunity to reduce their engine operating costs. Engine rebuilds will be reduced, while competitors should also experience a reduction in the need for top-end refreshing. In addition, crankshaft and valve-spring life should be extended dramatically; and most ignition and all carburetor maintenance will be eliminated.

The first conversion kit offered will be for the venerable Swift DB-1. This complete, race-ready package will sell for $11,750. It will include a base L15A7 engine, FF engine conversion kit (including intake, exhaust, dry sump, restrictor plate and ECU), and a bolt-in DB-1 chassis conversion kit, to permit installation of the engine without welding or other major modifications. Individual component parts will also be available for purchase separately.

Delivery of kits will begin in early February of 2010 and will follow in the order that requests are received. Deposits of $500, which will ensure a place on the delivery list, are being accepted. For more information, please contact:

Honda Performance Development, Inc.
661-702-7777
grmsadmin@hra.com

HPD is working on two additional conversion kits for the Swift DB-6 and Van Diemen (1999-current) chassis. Market release of these kits is also expected prior to the 2010 club racing season.

Beginning with its initial entry into Formula One in 1964, Honda has a lengthy record of involvement in open-wheel racing around the world. In addition to its well-known accomplishments in IndyCar, CART and Formula One competition, Honda Motor also has an extensive history as an engine supplier in lower open-wheel formulae, including Formula 3, Formula Master, Formula Nippon and Formula Dream.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing cars and engines. In addition to its new grassroots motorsports business, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and spearheaded Acura’s championship-winning efforts in the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

Quicksilver RacEngines (QSRE) is a private company in Frederick, MD owned and operated by Sandy Shamlian since 1973. QSRE engines have been a staple in open-wheel and sports-car racing, logging countless professional and amateur race wins and championships in the USA, England, Venezuela, Australia & Canada in classes such as Zetec F2000, Formula Continental, Sports 2000, Formula Atlantic, and FF1600.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (October 26, 2009) – On Saturday, October 24, customers visiting the Best Buy in Santa Clarita were greeted with something out of the ordinary. There on the sidewalk was the deFerran Motorsports Acura American Le Mans Series P2 sports car. Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD) arranged the event to correspond with the launch of the XBOX 360 Forza Motorsport 3 game, in which the Acura ALMS cars are featured.

Those who purchase the game from Best Buy through November 10 will be invited to attend HPD’s Open House on Saturday, November 14, from 1 to 4 pm. Potential attendees may bring a guest and are required to bring the Open House invitation available at the Best Buy in Santa Clarita, with their receipt for the game, to HPD in order to attend the event. HPD’s Open House will include a tour of the facility with catered lunch, and IndyCar drivers will be on hand for autographs. The Forza Motorsport 3 game will also be on display and available to play. This marks only the fourth time in the history of HPD that such an event will be held.

Joining the Acura ALMS car on display at Best Buy was a 2010 Acura TL provided by Valencia Acura. HPD partnered with Valencia Acura in making the event possible and, following Saturday’s event at Best Buy, the Acura ALMS car was moved to the Valencia Acura showroom, where it will be displayed for approximately two weeks leading up to HPD’s Open House. Several Valencia Acura customers have also been invited to take part in Open House activities.

HPD hopes that this is the first of many community activities that it can be part of – in conjunction with other local businesses – to provide the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley with a unique and interesting perspective on HPD’s racing operations.

If you are interested in learning more about Honda Performance Development and some of its new racing activities, please log onto to http://racing.honda.com/hpd/ or contact 661-294-7300.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing cars and engines. HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and spearheaded Acura’s championship-winning efforts in the 2009 American Le Mans Series.

The stage was set for many Acura celebrations during the final round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca Raceway. And the exciting weekend didn’t disappoint.

For the third year in a row, the Petit Le Mans had proven to be very frustrating for the Acura contingent, as another rash of misfortunes started with the brutal Scott Sharp crash and complete car construction by the Patrón Highcroft team, followed by tough breaks for the de Ferran Motorsports and Lowe’s Fernandez teams in the race.

But the page had turned as the three Acura racing operations headed to the picturesque Monterey Peninsula in preparation of the ALMS season finale. Somehow, traveling to the coastal California area south of San Francisco seemed to revitalize the teams, the drivers and everyone surrounding the ALMS tour. Maybe it’s the fact that the final race was imminent, or just the great atmosphere. Whatever it was, the scene brightened considerably for the Acura bunch.

The event would be Gil de Ferran’s final drive in a race car. After two years of sports-car racing, Gil felt it was time to concentrate on his management of de Ferran Motorsports. So, at Mid-Ohio, he announced that Laguna Seca would be his final race. And his team put together a great finale, with Gil’s former IndyCar team owner, the legendary Jim Hall, coming to the Monterey and bringing three famous cars from his stable; the 1995 Pennzoil Reynard Gil drove to his first IndyCar win at Laguna Seca in 1995; the famed Chaparral 2 sports car that won at Laguna Seca in 1964; and the legendary Chaparral 2F with the very first high rear wing that had raced in the Can-Am in the mid-1960s.

In addition, as a tribute to Hall, de Ferran ran new white livery on his Acura ARX-02a prototype with the ‘Circle 66’ car number. Sponsors such as XM Satellite Radio and Panasonic were portrayed in silver livery on the car. It made for a great look.

On Thursday, a test day at the track, the de Ferran team unveiled its new paint scheme, as well as the Jim Hall-inspired car display in the paddock area. It was neat to see the current sports car alongside the cars of some 45 years ago. Hall was pleased to be at the track with Gil and his family. Plus, the crowd of onlookers was impressive, as crew members from the entire paddock stopped by to get a “close-up” view of the old cars and visit with Hall and de Ferran.

Later that day, Acura hosted a photo shoot involving Acura’s three cars, six drivers, and all team members, as well as the HPD engineering staff. In addition, the 13 trophies that were won by Acura cars, drivers and teams in 2009 were displayed as part of the photo op. The photos made a great commemoration for the record 2009 season, which included the carmaker becoming the first auto manufacturer to win LMP1 and LMP2 classes in the same American Le Mans Series campaign.

Patrón Highcroft Racing, coming back from the incredible car rebuilding job at Petit Le Mans, came to the Laguna Seca race with a 21-point lead over the de Ferran squad. But the team had a new problem, as many of its members were suffering from the flu. Perhaps that 20-hour construction of the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a at Petit Le Mans – along with weather conditions changing from hot and humid to cold and rainy – may have attributed to the illness on the team. In fact, Team Manager Rob Hill wasn’t able to appear at the track until Friday.

Still, the Patrón Highcroft team was prepared for the championship fight in the concluding round of the 10-race series. Drivers David Brabham and Scott Sharp were ready to go when testing began on Thursday afternoon. The Patrón Highcroft group knew its goal of completing 70 per cent of the race was well within reach, but the team wanted to race for the win against the de Ferran and Fernandez efforts.

The Lowe’s operation, meanwhile, had clinched the team, driver and manufacturer titles in LMP2, so they weren’t required to hold back in hopes of simply finishing. This time, the team was set to compete for the overall win. A tight circuit like Laguna Seca could be well-suited to another possible LMP2 overall win. An LMP2 car had not won an ALMS race overall since 2008 at Detroit, when Franck Montagny and James Rossiter captured the crown for Andretti Green Racing.

The teams were watching the weather closely again this week, noting that fog and low clouds from the Monterey Bay can roll into the racing facility and pose a major change from sunny afternoon conditions. The track surface can also cool quite quickly, while the dense air frequently necessitates engine adjustments.

In Thursday’s late afternoon testing runs, there was no doubt that de Ferran wanted to establish his love for the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course. Immediately, Gil was quick with a one-minute, 12.557-second lap, followed by Diaz at 1:12.983. The three Acura cars had more than a one-second advantage over the rest of the field. Last year, in qualifying, the four Acura LMP2 entries were in the top five positions at Laguna Seca, so, the Acuras were expected to be at the top of the speed chart.

Brabham was able to notch second in the test session with a 1:12.873 reading before Sharp jumped in for the final segment of testing. Both Simon Pagenaud and Adrian Fernandez also got laps in their respective cars as the sun set over the bay.

On Thursday night, the Patrón Highcroft team had decided not to run the Friday morning practice, since the team was pleased with the car in Thursday’s testing. Perhaps a bigger reason was the flu factor within the squad, and the thought that giving the team some added rest would be beneficial throughout the weekend.

Pagenaud was quickest early in the Friday morning practice, but the de Ferran team had to send its car to the garage area with a suspension problem. A left-front bearing had failed, and the team needed time to make the necessary repairs That left the Lowe’s Acura as the only Acura on track for the remainder of the morning session. Fernandez put the car P1 at a 1:13.311 before parking in the pit area.

Guy Smith later bettered Adrian’s clocking with a 1:13.096 in the No. 16 Dyson Racing Mazda.

With numerous support series competing during the weekend, the different types of tire rubber caused some slippery track conditions. It figured to be difficult to see any track records established during qualifications later in the day. But the Acuras showed some great, competitive action between the three teams.

Pagenaud and Fernandez battled for the top spot during the Friday afternoon practice. Brabham led off in the Patrón Highcroft Acura after sitting out the opening runs in the morning. At the 30-minute mark of the afternoon session, it was Pagenaud at a 1:13.491, with Fernandez at 1:13.606 and Brabs at 1:14.355.

Then, de Ferran, Diaz and Sharp made the switch to their respective machines. Diaz, who had qualified on the front row a year earlier at Laguna, quickly showed his prowess and held the overall top spot at 1:12.355. In the last minute of practice, de Ferran moved to the top of the charts with a 1:11.943.

Brabham wasn’t as happy with his mount, but the personable Aussie knew there were a few tricks to try on the No. 9 car that might assist him as he looked to repeat his 2008 pole at Laguna.

The LMP1 track record of 1:11.175 was up for grabs in Friday’s late-afternoon qualifying session, but the lap times established in practice never got close enough to place the record in jeopardy. The track conditions were cool, which could help the teams in the quest for the pole position and a potential track record. But, once again, the fog rolled into the track and hindered traction.

Diaz was quick right out of the pit lane, as he took the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura LMP2 car to a 1:13.928 only four minutes into the 20-minute qualifying run. By his fifth lap, Diaz was P1 with a 1:11.310. De Ferran figured to be the favorite for the pole in the No. 66 machine, and Brabham could again be the sleeper for the top spot.

On his seventh qualifying lap, de Ferran clicked off a 1:11.206 for the fastest time of the day. Diaz made another attempt at de Ferran’s time with several 1:13s, but he couldn’t dip into the 1:12 bracket.
Meanwhile, Brabham was getting quicker with each lap. David recorded a 1:11.462 for third on the grid. Then he ripped off a 1:11.298 with four minutes remaining in qualifying. Could David upset Gil in his final race? De Ferran was on a flyer when the left front tire cut and deflated. So, it was up to Brabham to take a run at the pole on his final lap. A bit too much sliding for Brabs in the end, though, and he settled for second.

It was an exciting dash for the pole, with the three Acura cars a mere tenth of a second apart. The pole was Gil’s third this year, as many as his teammate Pagenaud, and the seventh for the de Ferran team in 10 races. Now, de Ferran was setting his sights on victory in the race, his finale as a driver.

“I was sliding the car like a go-kart out there,” said de Ferran following his pole run. “It was my last qualifying session, but I didn’t think about it at the time. The session was tough and very close. I couldn’t lose focus at the end. Now, it’s kind of emotional. But we still have four hours of racing ahead of us. And we want to win this race very badly.”

The Saturday morning warm-up brought trouble for the Patrón Highcroft team. Brabs went out for just a lap, and an oil leak was discovered. The crew wheeled the car back to the garage and went through it completely. Meanwhile, De Ferran was quickest in the warm-up with a 1:14.111. So, the stars were pretty much in line for Gil to conclude his driving career with a pole and win. It would be just like he did back in 2003, in the IndyCar Series season finale at Texas.

The Laguna Seca staff had named de Ferran as Grand Marshal for the weekend, so Gil had some pre-race responsibilities, in addition to prepping for the four-hour race.

“Simon will start the race this time,” de Ferran explained. “I want to see the checkered flag for the last time from the cockpit. Win or lose, I think it will good for me to be in the car at the finish.”

The Patrón Highcroft team, still battling the flu bug, finally received some time to rest after finding the oil leak in the morning. Brabham would start and drive for the first two-thirds of the four-hour event. Diaz, after his brilliant qualifying run, was the starter in the No. 15 car, and hoped for a solid stint before handing the car to Fernandez.

At the drop of the green flag, Pagenaud was fast and pulled out an advantage. Brabham paced himself, but, as usual, the powerful Lola of Jon Field applied pressure. A full-course caution period came early when Paul Drayson and Klaus Graf came together in Turn Nine. On the restart, Field drove around Brabs on the front straight for second.

Pagenaud was on a mission in the white No. 66 Acura, as the popular Frenchman drove away from the field. By Lap 20, Simon enjoyed a 22-second lead and he diced his way through traffic well. By Lap 27, the advantage was up to 50 seconds, as Field had held up Brabs tremendously in the corners. Finally, David was able to scoot into second, but Pagenaud was long gone at that point.

On Lap 34, the yellow came out again, and Pagenaud pitted. A lap earlier, Simon had held a 69-second margin on Brabham. Brabs pitted on Lap 35 for fuel and tires. But David’s day almost ended in disaster three laps later. On the restart, Brabs’ mount was stuck in heavy traffic as he headed into Turn Two.

As David maneuvered his car down the hill, a very aggressive Oliver Gavin, in one of the GT2 Corvettes, clipped Brabham’s left rear and slid by into four other machines. Playing it cool as he entered Turn Two, Brabs hit his brakes early in the No. 9 Acura and avoided the big crash. A few inches further and Brabham’s title hopes might have been buried in a ton of crash damage.

Luckily for the Patrón Highcroft crew, the crash kept the yellow flag out for several laps, and David was able to return to the pits for new rear bodywork, tires and fuel. However, when the green flag flew on Lap 44, Brabs re-entered in sixth position.

Pagenaud and Diaz put on a good dice for the lead for several laps before Simon was able to open up a three-second lead by Lap 51. Trouble struck Brabham again on Lap 54, when the shifter indicator on the steering wheel went out. The team decided to bring Brabs into the pits again.

Would this small electrical problem cost the Patrón Highcroft team the LMP1 championship?

The Patrón Highcroft crew made the call to assist David with the shifting calls as he left the pits. Brabs would have to remember his gear shifting as he drove the track, and hope that nothing else would go wrong with the electrical parts of the car. Brabham remained in sixth by Lap 60, as Pagenaud held an 18-second lead.

Pagenaud extended his margin to 35 seconds by Lap 70, and Gil was getting prepared in the pit area for his final drive. The next lap brought a caution period, and Simon pitted the No. 66. Gil jumped in as the crew made a fast fuel and tire stop. Diaz also pitted and was replaced by Fernandez.

The No. 48 Corsa Hybrid LMP1 prototype, with Stefan Johansson in the cockpit, was putting on a sensational drive, running second overall when it encountered a steering problem. On the restart, de Ferran got stuck in traffic and Fernandez closed the gap. Meanwhile, Brabham was two laps behind the lead pack, but the Aussie was running a consistent pace in fifth. By Lap 90, Fernandez was pressuring de Ferran with the Lowe’s machine. The nimble LMP2 Acura was very competitive in traffic and staying right with Gil.

On Lap 100, de Ferran’s car came alive as the Michelins heated up. He was able to open the lead to 12 seconds. Four laps later, Brabs pitted at the two-hour, 35-minute mark and Sharp took the wheel. The Patrón Highcroft team needed about 10 laps to secure the title. Running third overall, Sharp was nursing the Acura through busy traffic.

On Lap 121, both de Ferran and Fernandez pitted for the final time. Under the green flag, the de Ferran team felt it only needed to fuel the car. This would give Gil a good advantage over Fernandez, who took on tires and fuel during his stop.

De Ferran hold a 20-second lead at Lap 126, but the question was, “Would he be able to hold off Fernandez?” Adrian’s fresh set of Michelins was going to be an advantage, especially as the track surface cooled in the darkness. Traffic was another problem for Gil. The heavier LMP1 Acura couldn’t get through the GT cars as easily as Adrian’s car could. Lastly, Fernandez’ smaller Acura would get better fuel mileage than the larger engine in de Ferran’s LMP1 Acura.

By Lap 135, Fernandez had cut de Ferran’s lead to eight seconds. And just 10 laps later, Fernandez was a half second from Gil’s white No. 66. The race was on.
It was a tremendous nose-to-tail battle, with Fernandez able to run right with de Ferran as the Acura-powered pair diced its way through lapped cars. On Lap 149, Fernandez dove under de Ferran in Turn 11 for the lead. But Gil’s LMP1 power was put to use on the long front straightaway and de Ferran soon went back to the front.

“Gil, Fernandez is right up your ***,” radioed Will Phillips, de Ferran’s chief engineer. “We need you to save as much fuel as possible. We’ll be able to use that fuel later in the race.”

“I know, I know,” said de Ferran. “I’m trying the best I can.”

Fernandez was in a strong position with better fuel mileage and fresher tires. But de Ferran’s power on the long straightaway always opened up a gap. Still, it was never more than a second. The racing was sensational, with two guys in their 40s putting on a great show.

You would have thought it was 10 years earlier in the CART days. Lap after lap, Fernandez applied pressure, and de Ferran held him off each time. With two laps remaining, Adrian was only .471 seconds behind Gil at the start/finish line, and he was much closer on other parts of the circuit.

On the final lap, de Ferran’s crew told him to use his fuel to hold off Fernandez. Adrian was pressing as hard as he possibly could. At the checkers, de Ferran completed a storybook ending by capturing his final race by .662 seconds. Adrian finished second, and drew some consolation from his eighth race win of the 2009 season, tying the LMP2 mark set by Penske Racing in 2007.

And Sharp, some three laps down due to the Patrón Highcroft team’s assorted problems, came home third overall, securing the coveted LMP1 team and driver championships.

There were smiles all around the Acura camp. The 1-2-3 overall finish was Acura’s fifth podium sweep of the year, and no car maker in ALMS history had ever taken both prototype championships in the same season.

“I never thought about those laps being my last during the race,” said de Ferran afterward. “I was totally focused on racing flat-out against Adrian. Our race was great, and it is memorable to have a final race be so competitive. It wasn’t until I shut off the motor that it finally hit me that this is it. That was my final race. It’s been a great career. Now, I move on to another portion of my life.”

-- Tom Blattler

Brabham, Sharp Leads Patrón Highcroft Racing Past de Ferran Motorsports in LMP1; Lowe’s Fernandez Team Dominates LPM2 Division With Record 8 Class Wins

TORRANCE, Calif. — Acura Motorsports teams and drivers dominated the 2009 American Le Mans Series with record runs in both the LMP1 and LMP2 prototype classes.
The 2009 10-race ALMS campaign concluded last weekend with another Acura 1-2-3 overall finish at Laguna Seca Raceway. It marked the fifth time in 2009 that Acura placed in the top three positions overall. Acura became the first carmaker in ALMS history to win both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes in the same season.
With eight overall victories and nine pole positions, the new, technically- advanced Acura ARX-02a sports car was impressive in its debut this year with Patrón Highcroft Racing and de Ferran Motorsports leading the way.
After a hard-fought LMP1 points battle, David Brabham and Scott Sharp took the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a to the prestigious driver and team championships with a consistent performance through the North American tour. Led by three wins [St. Petersburg, Road America and Mosport], the Connecticut-based squad notched podium finishes eight times and came back from a devastating crash at Petit Le Mans to finish sixth for valuable points. It was Patrón Highcroft Racing’s first LMP1 crown.
The de Ferran team’s driving duo of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud paced many of the races with an LMP1-leading five wins and seven poles in the No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a, but the pair was just short in the final LMP1 point tally. Veteran de Ferran won at Laguna Seca in his final race as a driver. He will continue as a team owner. Pagenaud clocked three poles and five fast laps in 2009.
It was a record-setting year for the LMP2 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura team with Mexican driving stars Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz scoring eight LMP2 class wins. That mark tied the 2007 LMP2 win record of Penske Racing with drivers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. In addition to the eight wins, Fernandez and Diaz posted seven poles and five fast race laps. The Lowe’s team also won the Michelin Green X Challenge title for the best fuel economy.








ACURA QUOTES: JOHN MENDEL, Executive Vice President, Auto Operations, American Honda Motor Co.: “Acura recorded ALMS history this year by becoming the first manufacturer to win the LMP1 and LMP2 manufacturers’ championships as well as the team and driver titles in the same season. We want to congratulate Patron Highcroft Racing, de Ferran Motorsports and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing for their tremendous 2009 season. It was a sensational year for Acura, Honda Performance Development [HPD] and the teams. A special thanks to everyone.”
ERIK BERKMAN, President, Honda Performance Development: “This year has been a fantastic season for Acura Motorsports. Acura and HPD introduced a unique vehicle in LMP1 category that opened many eyes with some of the most advanced, technological designs in sports car racing history with the new Acura ARX-02a prototype. We were like to thank and salute Patron Highcroft Racing, de Ferran Motorsports and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing. Having such professional organizations behind the Acura brand has given us world-class racing credentials and established Acura Motorsports as a racing leader.”
DUNCAN DAYTON (team owner, #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): “For my team to win the LMP1 championship in ALMS would have to rank as the ultimate achievement of my sporting career. Everybody who wears the Patrón Highcroft uniform has an incredible passion for this sport. To see the sheer joy and delight on my guys’ faces, it really means a lot to all of us.”
GIL de FERRAN (driver/team owner, #66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): ”I have loved every minute of driving this sports car and I am now committing myself to the business of running the team. I have a fantastic group of guys at de Ferran Motorsports. We have all been on an incredible journey over the past 18 months. This [Laguna Seca] victory and all the successes this year are a tribute to them.”
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (driver/team owner, #15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): ”I have to thank Luis for being a great teammate, and this team. They are just tremendous. I am very proud of them. They gave me the nine best years of my career. We won in every single series we competed. We had a fantastic sponsor in Lowe’s and the support of Acura and Michelin. It has just been a great ride. I also have to thank my family for supporting me and giving me their support to come here every weekend.”

The RealTime Acura team knew it was all on the line when they left Wisconsin for the sunny skies of California for the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship finale at the Monterey Sports Car Championship. It is under pressure that the RTR boys work best and they responded with a spectacular end to the season.

Pierre Kleinubing led the team in his No. 42 Acura TSX with a pole-sitting start, and never gave up his first place position to take the pinnacle of the podium. Team leader Peter Cunningham, in the matching No. 1 machine, was hot on his heels and finished second, just 0.610-second behind. With this win, Kleinubing’s second for the 2009 season and his 29th overall, he clinched the Drivers’ Championship and helped to lock in the Manufacturers’ Championship for Acura and the RealTime team.

This was Kleinubing’s fifth win at Monterey, perhaps his most sweet victory yet, because of the team significance. "I didn’t know Championship scenarios, but everyone else on the team did. I just wanted to do my part," said Kleinubing. "When we took the checkered flag, I waited a little bit until Turn Four, then I asked ‘did we win the Championship?’ Maybe everyone pulled over and let [Saini] by! I wasn’t thinking about anything other than winning the race."

"I’m thrilled for Pierre, this was a fantastic win, a truly remarkable way to end the season," said Cunningham. "I couldn’t be happier with this team right now. We knew what we had to do and we did it. We had to stay clean at the start and stay focused to the end, and here we are."

Coming into the weekend, Acura trailed Mazda by the razor thin margin of one point in the Manufacturers’ race, but Kleinubing tied the score by earning the one point awarded for the pole. The team was optimistic that it might out-duel the Mazdas, but as previous season finales have shown, mayhem could be the standard for the race.

In the Drivers’ points battle, Kleinubing and Cunningham entered the final round in what seemed like only a mathematical chance for the title, 54 and 80 points behind Mazda ace Jason Saini. After Kleinubing’s 15-point gain for the pole and Saini’s (no bonus points earned) eighth place qualifying effort, it suddenly became clear that Kleinubing had a legitimate shot at winning all the marbles.
"Our primary goal was to secure the Championship for Acura; having Pierre take the Drivers’ Championship as well is icing on the cake," added Cunningham.

Mosport winner Kuno Wittmer came to California sixth in points, looking to move up a position or two in the standings and assist in the charge for Acura. He proved once again to be a force to be reckoned with as he turned in impressive practice times and qualified for a fourth place start, adding to the heavy dominance of the RealTime team. However, after only six laps Wittmer was forced to retire the No. 44 Acura due to a rear hub failure. "We can’t always get what we want," said Wittmer, "but it’s hard to be disappointed when your team walks away with the spoils. All in all, it’s a good day."

Former full time RealTime pilot Eric Curran also ran for the Acura RealTime team at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Curran skillfully maneuvered the No. 45 TSX to an 11th place finish, gaining one position from his 12th place start.

Also driving for the RTR team this weekend was SCCA Club Racing National Championship T3 Honda S2000 standout Sage Marie. Marie dove head first into the deep end of the pool in his pro racing debut. He impressed the team with his quickness in coming to grips with the No. 43 TSX and drove it to a 14th place result.

Another accolade bestowed on the RealTime Acura team was "Crew of the Year." This honor was especially appreciated by everyone on the team because it is voted on by each of the other crews in the series.

Kleinubing has now earned his fifth Drivers’ Championship with a total of 973 points, Saini came in second with 960 and defending champion Cunningham finished in third with 921. Acura won the Manufacturers’ Championship with 72 points, ahead of Mazda’s 65 and BMW’s 42.


RealTime continued its rewriting of the record books in 2009 with its 12th Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ Championships. It was the primary contributor for four of Honda’s five SPEED World Challenge Touring Car titles (1993, ’94, ’95 and ’96) and all of Acura’s eight trophies (98, ’99, ’00, ’02, ’05, ’06, ’08 and ’09).

Three different RealTime drivers have won championships in SPEED World Challenge GT and Touring Car competition: Peter Cunningham (1995, 1997[GT], ’02, ’06 and ’08), Michael Galati (’96 and ’98) and its newly crowned thirteen-year veteran Pierre Kleinubing (’97, ’99, ’00, ’05 and ’09).


You will not want to miss this spectacular showdown. Catch all the racing action of the 2009 Touring Car Championship finale on Tuesday, November 3, at 2:00p EDT on the SPEED channel.

The RealTime Acura team is sponsored by Acura, Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Red Line Oil, Eibach Springs, Sparco, Hawk Performance, Brembo, A-SPEC, BOSCH, Total Auto Body, and PACT.

For more photos, check out the gallery: http://racing.honda.com/hpd/gallery.aspx

In a fitting finish to the 2009 IndyCar Series championship, title contenders Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe ran away from the rest of the 23-car starting field, and battled among themselves for the race victory and drivers’ championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Under hot and very humid conditions that tested both man and machine, Franchitti prevailed by adopting a fuel strategy that ensured he could complete the race with just three pit stops, while both of his rivals had to make a final "splash and go" stop in the closing laps. As a result, Franchitti swept into the lead for the final time on Lap 195 and held on for his fifth race win of 2009, and second IndyCar championship in the last three years.

This evening’s season-concluding 300-mile contest capped another weekend -- and a fourth consecutive season -- of reliable performance for the Indy V-8 engine. Throughout 2009, a total of 40 drivers completed more than 202,210 miles of practice, qualifying and racing, with only a single in-race engine failure. That sole failure was the result of a broken alternator wire aboard Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car at Infineon Raceway in August.

For the fourth consecutive season, Honda powered the entire 33-car Indianapolis 500 starting field, and for a record-extending fourth consecutive year -- and the only four times in Indy 500 history -- there was not a single engine failure. In addition, 19 of the 20 cars running at the end of this year’s ‘500’ were on the lead lap, another testament to Honda’s efforts in providing reliable and equal IndyCar Series engines.

At the green, Dixon, Franchitti and Briscoe established their dominance over the field, quickly pulling away from all challengers and lapping the rear of the field as early as Lap 21. By the first round of pit stops, only 10 cars were on the lead lap and by the end of the 200-lap contest even fourth-finishing Tony Kanaan was one lap down.

Dixon and Briscoe traded the lead repeatedly through the event, but Franchitti battled handling issues in the early laps that were only cured during his first pit stop. However, by then his team had already elected to adopt a conservation strategy and -- barring a yellow-flag caution period -- Franchitti could then continue to run a safe third and wait for his rivals to make their fourth and final stops.

In the end, it was a caution-free race -- the first in IndyCar Series history -- and the average speed of 201.420 mph was the second-fastest in series history. All of which played into Franchitt’s hands as the Scot followed up his 2007 championship -- he spent the 2008 season in NASCAR competition -- with the 2009 title.

Kanaan’s inspiring drive from 15th on the grid to fourth at the checkers moved him up two positions in the final drivers’ championship standings, to sixth, just behind his Andretti Green Racing teammate, Danica Patrick, who was eliminated from today’s contest following a pit-lane collision with Dan Wheldon.

Helio Castroneves rebounded from a crash in practice, caused by suspension failure, to finish fifth; with Hideki Mutoh rounding out the top six. Luczo Dragon Racing’s Raphael Matos had a disappointing run to finish 14th, four laps down, but still secured series Rookie of the Year honors.
This evening’s race concluded the 2009 IndyCar Series. The 2010 season opens March 14 in Brazil, with the first domestic race taking place March 28 at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Final IndyCar Series Standings (after 17 of 17 races):
1. Dario Franchitti 616 points (5 wins)
2. Scott Dixon 605 (5 wins)
3. Ryan Briscoe 604 (3 wins)
4. Helio Castroneves 433 (2 wins)
5. Danica Patrick 393
6. Tony Kanaan 386
7. Graham Rahal 385
8. Marco Andretti 380
9. Justin Wilson 354 (1 win)
10. Dan Wheldon 354
11. Hideki Mutoh 353
12. Ed Carpenter 321


Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 1st, finished 1st, fifth IndyCar Series win of 2009, 2009 IndyCar Series Champion, his second IndyCar drivers’ championship; 13th career IndyCar Series victory and 23rd U.S. open-wheel racing win, all with Honda power : "Our car wasn’t quite ‘there’ during our first stint, while [teammate] Scott [Dixon] was really, really quick. So we made the decision early to start saving fuel and go with that [fuel conservation] strategy. As it turned out, we made some minor changes at our first pit stop, and our car was really quick after that, probably as good as Scott or Ryan [Briscoe]. But now, we were commited to our strategy and we stuck with it. It was a gamble, but obviously it paid off for us in the best possible way. After the checker, we ran completely out of fuel while I was trying to do ‘donuts’ around the track. I told my guys I need to work on the donuts, but we were OK on the fuel strategy!
Ten years ago this month, I was battling Juan Pablo Montoya for the CART Championship and it also came down to the final race of the year. I didn’t win, but that became irrelevant when we lost my good friend, Greg Moore, that day. This win is for him."

Ryan Briscoe (#6 Team Penske Honda) Started 3rd, finished 2nd, third in the championship: "In one way, it’s pretty frustrating because I think I drove the hardest race of my life today. But you know, you can’t be too disappointed. We gave it everything we had and it was an excellent season for us, one of the best in my career. But both Dario [Franchitti] and Scott [Dixon] were excellent all season long, and Dario certainly earned his title. We just have to come back stronger and get them next year."


Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 2nd, finished 3rd, second in the championship: "It was a fantastic race and a fantastic season. Dario [Franchitti] deserved the title; he drove great all season long. Still, it IS disappointing to finish second in the championship, but it’s great for Dario and just a tremendous day for Team Target. You can look back and play the ‘what if’ game all night long, but that doesn’t change the outcome. I’m already looking forward to 2010."


Jack Spurney (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on today’s season-ending race: "It was a fantastic, three-way fight for the championship that was up for grabs until the final laps, when Dario Franchitti’s fuel strategy finally paid off. For much of the race, you could see Dario was waiting patiently in third, saving fuel, until Ryan [Briscoe] and Scott [Dixon] were forced to pit for fuel. It was an incredibly clean race, the first IndyCar race in history run without a single yellow flag. Yet, there was plenty of passing and action throughout.
"Congratulations to Dario and the entire Target Chip Ganassi Racing team on their race win and 2009 championship. And equally, congratulations to Ryan and Team Penske, as well as Scott and his ‘side’ of the Target team, for an exciting and well-fought season. And of course, congratulations to all our associates at Honda Performance Development and our technical partners at Illmor Engineering for another stellar season of tremendous reliability and performance for the Honda Indy V-8."

MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 11, 2009) - Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., led Sunday’s Applied Computer Solutions Monterey Sports Car Championships Presented by Bondurant from start-to-finish and captured his fifth SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Presented by Toyo Tires Championship. Teammate Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., and James Clay, of Blacksburg, Va., completed the podium at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Kleinubing started his No. 42 Acura/RealTime/Red Line Acura TSX on the pole, and knew he had to win if he was to have a chance to secure the Drivers’ Championship and the Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine for Acura. He did just that, taking the lead on the standing start and leading every lap to secure his second win of 2009, the 29th of his career.

Kleinubing beat Cunningham to the stripe by 0.610-second, averaging 72.615 mph.

“The start was the best scenario that could have played out for us,” Kleinubing said. “Peter [Cunningham] is the master of numbers and I’m sure he was doing his math every lap out there, but I just kept my head down and didn’t pay any attention to him. I made a little mistake on lap two going into Turn 11 and I think that made me more alert for the rest of the race. I knew what I had to do. I had to win and everything else had to fall in place. It did and I’m surprised to [win the Championship], trust me.”
Kleinubing came into the race 54 points behind Jason Saini and Acura was one point behind Mazda. With the pole and Saini’s eighth-place qualifying effort, Kleinubing picked up 15 points on the leader. Saini needed to get into the top five in order to win the title, but finished eighth in his No. 74 MAZDASPEED/Stoptech/ProParts MAZDA6.

“I didn’t know the Championship scenarios, but everyone else on the team did,” Kleinubing said. “I just wanted to do my part. When we took the checkered flag, I waited a little bit until Turn Four, then I asked ‘did we win the Championship?’ You never know. Maybe everyone pulled over and let [Saini] by! I wasn’t thinking about anything other than winning the race.

“Coming into the weekend, I knew my chances were pretty slim. I was surprised at Jason [Saini’s] pace this weekend. They missed something and we had a great handling car.

“This feels awesome. I’m not letting Peter [Cunningham] run away with all the records. I’m keeping it a tight battle with him. Now I’ve got one more pole and one more win, so I opened up a gap on poles and closed on him in wins. We’re saving money too, all we have to do is swap doors and hoods [for Kleinubing to take No. 1 and Cunningham to return to No. 42] and we’ll be ready to go next year!”

As the team owner of RealTime Racing, Cunningham’s primary goal was to secure the Manufacturers’ Championship for Acura, entering the weekend one point behind Mazda. Kleinubing’s pole tied the Championship, meaning whichever brand finished ahead would take the title.

“We knew what had to happen,” Cunningham said. “We honestly didn’t think, coming into the weekend, that [RealTime] had a shot at the Drivers’ Championship, but we knew that we had a shot at the Manufacturers’ Championship and that was our primary objective today. We knew that we had to stay clean at the start and stay focused to the end.

Clay started second in the No. 36 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW 328i, but struggled off the line, falling to fourth.

“My start was absolutely horrible,” Clay said. “I couldn’t get the line lock to come off of the car. I was sitting there, jiggling it, and went about 20 feet with the front wheels locked up before I finally got going. Luckily, I tucked in and managed to have a good race after that.”

From there, he waged a fierce battle with the No. 75 MAZDASPEED/Stoptech/ProParts MAZDA6 of Chip Herr. On lap eight, the two made contact, going into the Andretti Hairpin, allowing Nick Esayian to move past both into third place in the No. 34 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW 328i. A four-lap caution from laps eight through 12 bunched the group back up, and on lap 15, Clay was around Herr, taking third from his teammate Esayian two laps later.

“I knew I had brakes on Chip [Herr] and I had a faster car,” Clay said. “I was having difficulty getting around him. He picked a mid-line coming into Turn One and broke earlier than I’ve ever wanted to brake there. I couldn’t do anything, but I almost turned it around there.”

Clay was able to catch the leading Acura duo, setting the Débaufré Fastest Race Lap of 1:38.112 (82.118 mph) in the process. While he was able to catch Cunningham, he was not able to make a pass.

“I had a great car and I could turn fast laps,” Clay added. “Catching up to Peter [Cunningham] is one thing, but getting around him is another. I don’t know that it was one more lap and I would have had him, I strongly doubt that was the case, but I wouldn’t have minded a couple more laps to give it a try.”

“James [Clay] turned his headlights on, because I think there was a lapped car he was warning and he left them on after that and it was very annoying,” Cunningham laughed. “I was going as fast as I could. I wasn’t sure if I could hold him off and I wasn’t sure how many laps were left, so I knew I just had to keep going and eventually the starter would show the white flag. We were very close coming into Turn 11 on the last lap, but James didn’t dive-bomb me or pull any Hail Marys, so I was safe.”

Esayian finished fourth to earn his fourth top-five finish of the season. Making a cameo appearance, and his first start since the season-opener at Sebring, Herr was Mazda’s top car throughout the race, and finished fifth.

Charles Espenlaub (MAZDA6), Seth Thomas (BMW 328i) and Saini (MAZDA6) finished sixth through eighth.

Making his first-career World Challenge start, Graham Downey, of Morgan Hill, Calif., finished ninth in the No. 7 Redstone/Blacktrax Honda Civic Si, advancing four positions and earning the Sunoco Hard Charger award.

Patrick Lindsey, of Santa Barbara, Calif., completed the top 10 and took the AutoWeek Move of the Race for his pass of Espenlaub and Thomas for sixth on lap 21 in his No. 57 StreetUnit.com/Snapitt.com MAZDA6.

Kleinubing tied Cunningham and Michael Galati in securing his fifth World Challenge Championship, although all of Kleinubing’s have come in the Touring Car class while Cunningham and Galati have won in multiple categories. Kleinubing finished with 973 points to Saini’s 960. Defending Champion Cunningham finished third, with 921, followed by Thomas (878) and Espenlaub (847).

Acura earned its eighth Manufacturers’ Championship, the 13th for American Honda in total. It finished with 72 points to Mazda’s 65. BMW finished third, with 42.

“Going into the race we knew it was a possibility and we just had to perform,” Cunningham added. “Acura has been in the series since 1997 in Touring Car and this is their eighth Championship, which is unprecedented. We’re proud that we get to run those cars because of their speed, handling and reliability.”

Sunday’s race will be broadcast Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific on SPEED.





All material is © 2009 SCCA Pro Racing

Patrón Highcroft Clinches LMP1 Title, Lowe’s Fernandez Team Ties LMP2 Win Mark

MONTEREY, Calif. — Gil de Ferran’s storybook retirement win, Patrón Highcroft Racing’s LMP1 championship and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing’s record-tying eighth 2009 win were just some of the stories Saturday at Laguna Seca Raceway in the wild American Le Mans Series finale.

De Ferran, co-driving with young star Simon Pagenaud, hung up his racing helmet in dramatic fashion with a sensational overall win in the four-hour Monterey Sports Car Championships on the famed 2.238-mile road circuit. But it wasn’t easy for de Ferran.

The driver of the No. 66 XM Radio Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car was pressured by the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b LMP2 machine of Adrian Fernandez for the last hour in wheel-to-wheel action. De Ferran and Fernandez swapped the lead several times before the Brazilian star held off the Mexican racer by just .662 seconds at the finish.

The win was the fifth of the year for de Ferran Motorsports and gave Gil a spectacular sendoff of a stellar racing career. The de Ferran team also had a season-high seven pole positions.

The Acura 1-2-3 overall sweep was the fifth of the season for the auto manufacturer in the ten-race ALMS campaign that saw Acura become the first car marque to win LMP1 and LMP2 driver, team and manufacturer championships in the same year.

The Lowe’s Fernandez team, with drivers Fernandez and Luis Diaz, finished second overall but took its eighth LMP2 class victory in 2009, tying the ALMS LMP2 win record set by Penske Racing in 2007 with Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas.

Third overall at Laguna Seca was the Patrón Highcroft Racing pair of David Brabham and Scott Sharp in the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a. The finish gave Brabham and Sharp the LMP1 driver crown and Patrón Highcroft Racing the LMP1 team title. Brabham and Scott recorded three overall wins this year in team owner Duncan Dayton’s first ALMS point championship year.

The Patrón Highcroft team suffered through a tough two-week span by building a new Acura from scratch at Petit Le Mans after a horrific crash involving Sharp. Then a flu bug hit the team’s crew that saw several of the team members on the sidelines entering the Laguna Seca race.

The Lowe’s Fernandez team also collected the Michelin Green X Challenge prototype win as well as the Green X series championship.

ACURA QUOTES:
GIL de FERRAN (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "It certainly wasn’t an easy win today. I was driving hard to hold off Adrian [Fernandez] and trying to save fuel. Coming into the weekend, there were several thoughts going through my head. But once I was in the car, I thought only about winning the race. I had a job to do here. I didn’t really think about my last race until I shut off the engine. Then I had a lot of thoughts about my career. Simon drove fantastic today and gave us a big lead. But Adrian wasn’t about to give us an easy win. He was tough. I am just glad it is over now. It was a dream weekend for me."

SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "The XM Acura felt so good today. I could drive it fast. I was able to open up a good margin, about a minute. I was nervous at the end, because I knew Gil would be tight on fuel to finish. But the crew did a great job of controlling the fuel management and we won our fifth race this year."

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): "What a great way to finish a super season. I knew our car would be fast in the race, and we might have a chance for the overall win. I could see Gil was saving fuel, and I was pressuring him. I just came up a bit short. But overall, it feels great to tie the LMP2 win record and score the driver and team championships. It was super."

LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): "We have had one of the best seasons in ALMS history with eight wins and two championships. It has been a thrill to drive with my racing hero, Adrian. He gave me an opportunity to race with a great team and a super manufacturer in Acura. I couldn’t ask for a better situation. Today was a spectacular way to finish our season."

DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "We had a few problems today. But our team’s plan was to get to the finish line. If we could do that, we would win the championship. The past two weeks have been very hard on our team with the crash and flu. But they are professional and put together a super effort to bring Patrón, Acura, Michelin and the entire operation a championship season."

SCOTT SHARP (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "I can’t believe it is over. It was tough season racing in the LMP1 class. The de Ferran team is one of the best and, to beat them, really feels good. This team put in long hours and never made a mistake to get us back in action each week. The effort at Petit to built a new car was phenomenal. Then, here at Laguna Seca, the flu bug hit everyone hard. But the team worked together and gave us a title tonight."

Diaz Tops LMP2 Class Qualifying With Sensational Run In Lowe’s Acura

MONTEREY, Calif. — Gil de Ferran made his last qualifying run in style Friday at the famed Laguna Seca Raceway by capturing the overall pole position in his No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car for Saturday’s Monterey Sports Car Championships.

De Ferran, who’ll retire from active driving following Saturday’s four-hour feature, started his special retirement weekend with an impressive pole run with a time of one minute, 11.206 seconds and a speed of 113.148 miles per hour to edge fellow Acura drivers David Brabham and Luis Diaz. This was de Ferran’s third 2009 pole run.

The Acura 1-2-3 sweep marked the fifth time the automaker has taken the top three qualifying positions in the ten-race 2009 American Le Mans Series.

The de Ferran celebration began on Thursday with the unveiling of the special white livery of the No. 66 Acura in honor Gil’s former CART team owner Jim Hall, who brought two historic Chaparral sports car to Laguna Seca this weekend. De Ferran won his first CART race for Hall in 1995 at Laguna Seca in the No. 8 Pennzoil car which also was on display this weekend. In addition, de Ferran is the Grand Marshall for the Monterey event.

De Ferran, who’ll co-drive with Simon Pagenaud Saturday, had to fight off the challenges of Brabham and Diaz late in the 20-minute qualifying session. The pole was the seventh for de Ferran Motorsports in 2009.

Brabham, the current LMP1 point leader with Scott Sharp, was less than a tenth of a second off de Ferran’s pole time with 1:11.298 and 113.002 m.p.h. in the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a. Brabham and Sharp can clinch the LMP1 team and driver titles Saturday by completing 70 per cent of the four-hour contest.

Diaz, who teamed with Adrian Fernandez this year to sweep the LMP2 class driver and team championships, was attempting to pull off a huge upset Friday by driving his No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b LMP2 car to the overall pole. The personable Mexican driver set the pace throughout the qualifying session before de Ferran and Brabham nipped his clocking of 1.11.310 and 112.983 m.p.h.

The four-hour 2009 ALMS finale is set for 2:45 p.m. [PDT] Saturday on the 2.238-mile, 1-turn circuit.

ACURA QUOTES:

GIL DE FERRAN (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "This was my last qualifying session, and it is emotional to win the pole today. Laguna Seca is a special place for me. I won my first U.S. race here. But when you strap yourself into the car, you do not think about anything but going fast for the pole. I was really driving hard and sliding the car like a go-kart today. This is exciting. But we have to remember we have a four-race on Saturday. Winning that race is our main goal."

LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): "This is a special weekend for the Lowe’s Fernandez team. It is an end of an era for us. And what a way to go out with class championships. We have a chance to tie the Penske team with the most LMP2 class wins at eight. That is our desire on Saturday. We went much faster today than I thought we could. It feels great to qualify close to Gil and David with our LMP2 Acura. The Acura car has been tremendous all season and we want to finish with a win."

DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "This has been a tough weekend so far for our team, as we have several crew members with the flu. But that will not hinder our goal to win this championship. We’ll be ready for the race."

Championship Contenders Start in Front at Miami

The three IndyCar Series championship contenders -- Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe -- qualified 1-2-3 Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in preparation for Saturday’s season-ending Homestead-Miami Indy 300.

Franchitti’s pole was worth one championship point, bringing him within four points of his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and series leader Scott Dixon. Third-starting Briscoe is third in the points, eight behind Dixon. There are a variety of scenarios for each driver to claim the title. Either Dixon or Franchitti can claim the crown by winning the race, while Briscoe can also win the championship with a race victory -- as long as Dixon does not finish second and earn the two bonus points available for leading the most laps. With a series-leading five race victories this season, Dixon would claim the title on a tie-breaker with either Franchitti or Briscoe.

This weekend’s 200-lap race, the 17th and final round of the 2009 IndyCar season, starts Saturday at 5 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on Versus.

Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) pole qualifier, his fifth pole of 2009 and 11th career IndyCar pole: “The extra point certainly helps, and I’ll take it. But there’s still a lot of work to do tomorrow. I know that both Scott [Dixon] and Ryan [Briscoe] will be giving it everything they have, and so will we. I’m relaxed and confident, and looking forward to taking the green flag tomorrow, then seeing how the race -- and championship -- plays out.”

The 2009 Petit Le Mans can be wrapped up in three words, WHAT A MESS!

And that isn’t just the Acura Motorsports viewpoint on the scheduled 1,000-mile sports-car endurance classic at the high-speed Road Atlanta circuit. It pretty much covers the entire week surrounding the Petit event.

I actually felt sorry for the management of Road Atlanta coming into the week leading up to the 10-hour contest. Heavy rains had turned greater Atlanta into a disaster area, and the west side of the Atlanta region was completely under water. Several highways were closed, many communities were devastated and the media was making hourly reports to warn the residents of incoming rain.

In these conditions, a racing event some 50 miles northeast of Atlanta was of little importance to the locals. That made it tough on ticket sales for Petit Le Mans. The addition of drivers like Indy 500 winners Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti to the Acura lineup definitely helped the track’s sales, as did the return of the factory Audi and Peugeot teams. But the weather was a hard obstacle for the crowd to leap.

Action would begin with a testing session the week prior to the race. At least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, some of the hardest rain in years hit the northern portion of Georgia, turning the red clay into a river of red mud. The track became a quagmire, and the Road Atlanta maintenance crew had its hands full. Some minimal testing took place on Sunday – six days before the event – but it was clear that the clean-up surrounding the 2.458-mile track was going to be a chore.

Monday and Tuesday of race week launched a reclamation project for track officials. The task of cleaning the paddock, the spectator hillsides and the dirt roads throughout the grounds was immense. Luckily, the weather cleared, and the paddock area came to life; with crews, officials and sponsors constructing tents, trailers and work areas in anticipation of the weekend.

There was plenty of buzz in advance of this year’s Petit Le Mans with the new LMP1 Acura ARX-02a cars from Patrón Highcroft Racing and de Ferran Motorsports competing against the new Audi prototypes, winners at the 12 Hours of Sebring; and the lightning-fast Peugeot, winner of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Some of the world’s greatest drivers were set to do battle in a fierce fight for the coveted Petit Le Mans title. Audi and Peugeot were not able to get the testing laps they would have liked due to the early rain, and the same was true of the Acura-powered de Ferran team.

So, this stellar lineup of drivers was anxious for a day of testing on Wednesday when Road Atlanta re-opened for action.

There were questions about the Acura and its competition level against the Peugeot and diesel-fueled Audis entering the Petit weekend. In the inaugural ARX-02a run at Sebring, the new Acura was quick enough for the pole thanks to Dixon’s impressive lap. But the gas-powered, four-liter Acura V-8 just didn’t have the “ponies” to match up with the diesels in the race. Now, six months later, would the Acura have the power to race consistently with both Audi and Peugeot?

On the LMP2 side, the Lowe’s Fernandez team had been a dominant force throughout the season, with seven wins and six poles. But the Dyson Racing Mazda Lolas were showing great straightaway speed with their turbocharged engines. The Lowe’s team, with drivers Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, had to resort to some clever race strategy to take wins at Mid-Ohio, Road America and Mosport. The John Ward-engineered Acura was handling well, but the Lowe’s machine seemed to be down on horsepower versus the turbo Mazdas.

The Lowe’s team had clinched the drivers’ championship for Fernandez and Diaz at Mosport. But the team title and the manufacturers’ crown were still on the line at Road Atlanta.

The 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans would be a survival test rather than a speed run. So, the Lowe’s squad was set to be consistent to get to the finish and secure the coveted championships.
In Wednesday’s testing, Simon Pagenaud was quickly out front in the No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura, with a lap of one minute, 9.137 seconds. Dixon, coming from his win in the IndyCar Series race at Motegi, Japan, was able to jump in the de Ferran Acura to get his first laps in the car since the 12 Hours of Sebring in March.

Franchitti was also able to jump into the Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a on Wednesday. At last year’s Petit Le Mans, Franchitti never got the chance to race. He was planning to compete against his younger brother and Mazda driver, Marino, for the first time in their careers. However, an early-race crash by Scott Sharp eliminated the Patrón Highcroft team from Petit competition that day. So, Dario was anxious to get back in the new Acura. He, too, flew straight from Japan to Atlanta after placing second to Dixon at Twin Ring Motegi.

At the end of testing on Wednesday, it was Allan McNish, in one of the Audis, quickest at 1:08.308; followed by Stephane Sarrasin in a Peugeot at 1:08.477, Pagenaud in the No. 66 Acura at 1:09.137, Pedro Lamy in the other Peugeot at 1:09.234, Lucas Luhr in an Audi at 1:09.821 and Brabham at 1:10.127.

Official practice opened Thursday morning and things were shortly tipped upside-down for the Patrón Highcroft team.

In the practice session, Scott Sharp was driving the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a prototype through Turn One in fifth gear when he made contact with a GT2 Porsche coming out of the pit lane. The collision was massive when the Acura’s right rear clipped the front of the Porsche. Sharp’s car vaulted into the Turn Two catch fence and flipped several times. The crash had a similar look to Kenny Brack’s in the 2003 IndyCar Series race at Texas. Almost unbelievably, Sharp was able to jump out and walk away from the incident. The car, however, was a different story. Parts and pieces were strewn hundreds of feet around the track and some 500 feet of catch fence needed to be replaced.

It’s a tribute to the incredible design of the new Acura ARX-02a by Wirth Research in England and the HPD engineers that Sharp was uninjured in the spectacular wreck. The integrity of the driver’s cockpit remained intact when safety workers reached Sharp at the accident scene.

Needless to say, the Acura was a complete mess. In fact, the car’s tub section was destroyed so badly that it would not be reparable for the Petit weekend. The Patrón Highcroft team’s LMP1 points lead looked to be jeopardy, with the 10-hour event just 48 hours away.

So, Duncan Dayton, Patrón Highcroft Racing owner, and HPD officials determined that a spare tub sitting at HPD headquarters in Santa Clarita, Calif., could be shipped overnight by private air carrier for Friday-morning delivery at the race track. The Patrón Highcroft crew then developed a game plan to build the car from the ground up. The team, with HPD engineers assisting, assembled spare parts on Thursday in preparation for the tub’s arrival on Friday morning.

The tub arrived at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport at 7 a.m. and was on-site at Road Atlanta by 9:30. With a game plan in order, the 20-plus person Patrón Highcroft crew went to work building a million-dollar racing machine from scratch. Hundreds of parts needed to be added to the car’s frame and suspension, and the man-hours required were extensive. By 1 a.m. Saturday, the engine had been started and, by 5:30 a.m., the car was ready to take to the track for the race warm-up at 8:15 a.m. It was, truly, an amazing job.

While the Patrón Highcroft team was building a race car, action continued on the racing surface with three practice sessions. The de Ferran squad missed the second practice round on Thursday to change an engine, while the Lowe’s Fernandez team worked on race setups in response to changing conditions. Heat and humidity became a problem for the teams. ‘Sticky’ and ‘miserable’ were the appropriate words to describe the weather conditions.

Due to Sharp’s incident, most of the day’s track activities were delayed, but the night-practice runs proved fast and competitive.

The two Peugeots led the nighttime session, with the Audis third and fourth. Pagenaud was the quickest of the Acura drivers, fifth overall in the session. Diaz was ninth overall and second-quickest in the LMP2 class in the dark.

The steamy weather seemed to get worse on Friday. It was tough just to stand in the pit lane. I couldn’t imagine driving the race car, encumbered by all of the safety equipment. But, we also knew that the weather was going to change again on Saturday. More rain was predicted.

In qualifying, Nic Minassian [you may remember him as a Ganassi CART driver in 2001 before being let go in mid-season] won the pole with a remarkable 1:06.937 lap for an average speed of 136.606 miles per hour in the No. 07 Peugeot. That is blistering fast at Road Atlanta. Franck Montagny, a two-time Acura winner last year for Andretti Green Racing, was second-fastest in the other Peugeot, followed by McNish, Luhr and Pagenaud. Fernandez took the No. 15 Acura to 11th overall and third on the LMP2 grid.

On Friday morning, the American Le Mans Series held its annual ‘State of the Series’ program at which the 2010 schedule was announced, as well as some competition changes. The LMP1 and LMP2 classes will compete as one next year, with a new LMP Challenge class added. The Challenge car will be constructed by Panoz Motorsports at its Road Atlanta facility. In addition, the GT divisions will be consolidated into one category, and the GT Challenge class will also return in 2010. ALMS President Scott Atherton also talked about a continued emphasis on ‘green’ racing, and expanding the series’ role as a global leader in the use of alternative fuels. The 2010 schedule will not include the St. Petersburg race, and the Series will contest a total of nine events, with Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta being the finale.

It was amazing to see the tired-but-proud Patrón Highcroft team wheel the No. 9 Acura, completely built in some 20 hours, to the pit lane for the Saturday morning warm-up. However, the skies weren’t as bright as the Patrón Highcroft team’s spirits, as rain fell at a steady pace.

Weather forecasts called for some hard rains to hit Road Atlanta throughout the day. That was a far cry from the hot and humid conditions of a day earlier.

In the race, the de Ferran team had hopes of closing in on the Patrón Highcroft contingent in the LMP1 point chase with the driver lineup of Pagenaud, de Ferran and Dixon. Trailing the Patrón Highcroft bunch by 17 points and expecting the Connecticut-based team to experience some difficultly throughout the day with the new car, the de Ferran team was anxious for the race to begin. The Lowe’s squad was set for a long day of consistent runs to collect enough points to clinch the LMP2 team and manufacturers’ championships.

Brabham had to start the race from the pit lane, since the team had posted no qualifying or night-practice times. But the Patrón Highcroft team did not seem to mind. Heck, they’d just spent 24 hours constructing an entire new Acura. Half of their race was actually done. The team had recorded the entire construction in time-lapse photography, which can be seen on its website and many others. It was just a remarkable feat, to say the least. Now, could the team race to the end of 1,000 miles, against the fast Peugeots and Audis, the Oreca and the de Ferran Acura?

In the rain, Allan McNish, the defending Petit Le Mans champion, took the lead from the Peugeots. His mastery in wet conditions has always been impressive. De Ferran started for the No. 66 team and looked strong early in the rain. Gil locked into fifth position, and his machine seemed to handle in the wet.

On Lap 17, de Ferran moved to fourth past one of the Peugeots. By Lap 28, he was third, some 50 seconds behind leader McNish. Brabham drove his way through the GT ranks and was eighth by Lap 28. The track was now drying, and teams were calling their drivers to pit for slick Michelins.

By Lap 42, de Ferran moved to second overall, and he was putting in a fine effort in his opening stint on slick tires. But the race would turn sour for the de Ferran team on Lap 50. In Turn 10, de Ferran’s Acura was struck from behind by the lapped prototype of Clint Field. De Ferran spun and his car suffered left-rear damage. A quick repair job (13 minutes for a toe-link change) in the garage area got Gil back into the race. But the team’s chances to gain points on the Patrón Highcroft team were dashed.

In fact, there was more damage to the No. 66 than was initially thought. The team had to replace more parts later, after Dixon slid off the track in Turn Five in wet conditions.

The Lowe’s team looked to be in good shape with a three-lap lead over the Dyson Mazdas, as a result of early trouble for the No. 20 Dyson entry. A yellow flag came out on Lap 67 and Brabham pitted to turn over driving chores to Sharp. At the green flag, McNish took the lead again, with Sharp in fifth and Diaz in ninth.

There was another visit to the garage to repair the right-front side of the No. 66 after Dixon’s off-course excursion at Turn Five. Dixon re-entered the race some 25 laps down to the leaders. But there was a long way to go, or so we thought. Meanwhile, on Lap 98, the Lowe’s Acura hit the pits with a steering problem. Diaz was complaining of the steering pulling to one side. The team worked to resolve the problem.

At Lap 100 (2 hours, 23 minutes), the Audis and Peugeots held the top four places with the Oreca car fifth and the Patrón Highcroft machine running sixth with Sharp.

On Lap 117, the No. 88 Lola caused another full-course yellow, and all three Acuras pitted.

Fernandez jumped in the No. 15, while Pagenaud replaced de Ferran in the No. 66. But, during the caution laps, Adrian decided to pit again, as the steering was too bad for him to continue. The Lowe’s crew took the car to the garage, where a complete replacement of the steering rack was required.

Surprisingly, the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura was the only competitive Acura by Lap 140, with Sharp running sixth overall. The team’s strategy to run consistent laps and get to the end of the race was right on pace. On Lap 149, Fernandez returned to the race, third in LMP2. Sharp pitted two laps later for Dario to take over. At long last, the popular Scotsman got his chance to race at Petit Le Mans. Two years ago, he was scheduled to drive the Andretti Green Acura. But after announcing a jump to the Ganassi stock-car team, Dario was absolved of any driving responsibilities for AGR.

Last year, he never got his chance after Sharp’s crash parked the Patrón Highcroft Acura early in the race.

Pagenaud had a problem with a broken exhaust in the No. 66 and the car returned to the garage. Shortly afterward, a wiring harness needed to be replaced on the No. 15 Acura, as a myriad of problems continued to plague the de Ferran and Fernandez teams.

By Lap 176, all three Acuras were back on track. At that point, the predicted heavy rains finally arrived. Several cars began sliding off track, including the leader, McNish in the No. 2 Audi.

On Lap 184, ALMS officials decided to wave the red flag to halt the race due to the incredible downpour. In fact, “mini-streams” were forming on three separate sections of the circuit. The Peugeots, due to McNish’s spin, were listed 1-2 overall, followed by the two Audis, the Oreca car and the Patrón Highcroft Acura, which had run 180 laps. The Lowe’s Acura was 15th overall and second in LMP2. The No. 66 de Ferran mount was 24th overall and ninth in LMP1.

An outstanding crowd actually showed for the Petit Le Mans event and waited out the rain, as track officials attempted to diffuse the rivers of water running throughout the facility. Ultimately, however, a five-hour delay in hopes of a restart finally ended with a checkered flag.

The long, hard effort to build a car paid off for the Patrón Highcroft team with a sixth-place finish and added to the team’s point lead over the de Ferran team. Going into the series finale at Laguna Seca, the Patrón Highcroft operation held a 21-point lead.

The second-place finish for Fernandez and Diaz in LMP2 gave the Lowe’s Fernandez organization the LMP2 team championship and Acura the LMP2 manufacturers’ title, representing the first time in ALMS history that a car maker has captured both prototype titles in the same season.

-- Tom Blattler

DANVILLE, Va. (Oct. 4, 2009) - Needing only to finish 28th, Christian Miller watched as several cars were withdrawn due to accidents or mechanical problems during the Bosch Engineering Octoberfest weekend, the season finale on the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge circuit. When only 24 Street Tuner (ST) cars took the green flag for the start of the race, Miller was given the go-ahead to race for the victory.

Just over an hour into the event, Miller brought his No. 74 Skunk2/034 Motorsport Honda Civic Si to the garage area with a broken axle. He had apparently run over a curb hard enough to cause the damage. He would have liked to have finished the race - one in which he was classified in a season-worst 21st place after starting seventh - instead of sitting in the pits, but he was able to flash a smile after picking up his first series championship.

The race was won by Tom Long and Derek Whitis in the No. 145 Mazda/Freedom Autosport Mazda MX-5.

"Absolute reliability," said Miller, who finished the season with two victories and nine top-10 finishes. "Everybody ... Honda, Skunk2, Compass360 ... every single person involved with this team made this happen. We only won a couple of races early in the season, and at every single race, the car has been flawless. We've stayed out of trouble and we were able to do the whole distance without scratching the car. [The race at] New Jersey was amazing. We went 1-2-3 with the team; it proved how hard these guys work and what they can accomplish. From the team standpoint, that was probably the best one.

"I think the car has a soul, and knew that its job was done, and [said] ‘Alright, I'm tired, put me away now,'" Miller concluded. "Winning the championship is absolutely incredible. It's been a long time coming. I'm speechless about how I feel. I'm just thankful, thankful to my folks, and everybody in my life who's made this possible on a personal level."

In addition, Miller helped Compass360 Racing and Honda earn their first team and manufacturers' titles, respectively.

More at: http://www.grand-am.com/

Fernandez, Diaz Score Team and Manufacturers’ Titles For Lowe’s And Acura

CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — On Friday morning, hundreds of parts were strewn around the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura garage area. A new Acura ARX-02a prototype tub had just arrived at Road Atlanta by special charter from Southern California.

By Saturday evening, drivers David Brabham, Scott Sharp and Dario Franchitti had driven the newly-built No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a sports car to sixth overall in the rain-shortened Petit Le Mans classic, the ninth stop in the 10-race American Le Mans Series.

A brutal practice crash involving Sharp left the primary Acura completely destroyed and the team’s LMP1 class title hopes in jeopardy. But a monumental effort by the 20-person Patrón Highcroft crew built a new Acura in roughly 20 hours in the Road Atlanta paddock area.

The sixth-place finish extended to Patrón Highcroft team’s point lead to 21 over the de Ferran Motorsports team entering the season finale set for October 10 at Laguna Seca Raceway.

The Patrón Highcroft contingent, with Brabham starting from the pit lane after missing qualifications, might have had trouble maintaining the LMP1 point lead with a lightning-fast Gil de Ferran battling the factory cars of Audi and Peugeot. De Ferran drove his No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a to the second overall position by Lap 42. But, seven laps later, de Ferran Motorsports hopes went sliding into the mud, as Gil was hit from behind by Clint Field and his Lola. The de Ferran squad repaired the Acura in only 13 minutes, but the delay hurt the team’s chances to gain points on the Patrón team.

The Lowe’s Fernandez pair of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, seven-time LMP2 class winners this year, did not enjoy another winning effort this time, finishing second to the Mazda of Marino Franchitti, Butch Leitzinger and Ben Devlin. But the podium finish gave the Lowe’s Fernandez operation the LMP2 team championship and Acura the LMP2 manufacturers’ crown.
Fernandez and Diaz had clinched the LMP2 drivers’ title at the Mosport event last month. The Mexican stars will attempt to tie the LMP2 season win record at Laguna Seca. Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas captured eight LMP2 races in 2007 for Penske Racing.













ACURA QUOTES: DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "We obviously didn't get the chance to try many changes in the warm-up, so it took awhile to get comfortable in the car. Once I played with the traction control, I was able to get the car a lot better during the stint. I was able to move through the field and once I was on slicks, the car felt really good.”
SCOTT SHARP (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "I had a good double stint but I was certainly super conservative. We didn't want to take any risks at all. It was great to get back in the car, and I am so grateful to the guys for all their hard work. To build up a new car so quickly is just amazing, and the car has been perfect all day. It is a real credit to the guys.”
DARIO FRANCHITTI (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "The conditions out there were just terrible, probably as bad as I have ever seen. I nearly crashed while following the safety car. You get these rivers running across the track down to the esses. It is unfortunate for the fans. The Patron Highcroft crew is beat up after working all day and night to get the Acura ready. They did a great job."
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “You never want to finish a race like this for the fans’ sake. Nevertheless, we are happy about clinching the team and manufacturers’. Unfortunately, we didn’t show what we could do today due to the problem with the steering. When I jumped in the car, there was something really wrong. So we needed to stop and change the steering unit.”
LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “We had been facing some type of electrical problem since Thursday. The team did a good job setting up the car, but we didn’t discover the exact problem until the race. We would have loved to have won Petit, but it is great to come away with the team and manufacturers’ championships.”
GIL de FERRAN (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "This event was very disappointing for our XM Radio Acura de Ferran team. We ran as high as second today and the car felt very good in the early portion of the race. But to get taken out by a car [Clint Field] that was a lap down was ridiculous. That move took us of contention for a podium here, as well as our championship hopes. ALMS gave him a penalty, but it took us completely out of the race. The first incident caused other problems for the car, too. It was very frustrating to have the race play out that way.”
SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): “This was a tough race for us today. I really thought the car was going to be able to run with the Audis and Peugeots, especially in the rain. And Gil got the car moving up well. It’s a shame that the Field car drove into Gil in the early stages of the race. It basically took us right out of contention. I feel sorry for the fans, too. The rain was really tough on the teams and the fans. They would have seen a tremendous race. Now, we have go to Laguna Seca and win the race.”
SCOTT DIXON (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "I feel badly for the team. I made a rookie mistake in the rain. I wasn’t able to test with the Acura in the rain. I was just pushing too hard and got the car into the curbing. We had a fast car today but it wasn’t in the cards for the de Ferran team today. I really enjoy working with Gil’s team and driving the Acura.”

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 29, 2009) -- In the first SCCA National Championship Runoffs since Honda Racing/Honda Performance Development [HPD] announced the Honda Racing Line program of support for grassroots racers, Honda and Acura drivers won five of a possible seven titles this past weekend at the famed Road America circuit in central Wisconsin.

Bob Boileau highlighted a weekend of outstanding performances by Honda and Acura drivers at the Runoffs, winning the Touring 3 race Saturday in his Team Honda Research-entered Honda S2000. It was Boileau’s first SCCA title, as the second-generation racer from Colorado builds on the successes of his father, also named Bob, who raced Honda Civics in SCCA competition in the 1970s and ‘80s.

In addition to Boileau’s victory in his Honda Racing/HPD-supported S2000, Jim Dentici led a 1-2 Honda finish in the GT Lite race on Friday in his JTM/Ragland Racing Honda CRX, with teammate Chris Bovis finishing second, also piloting a Honda CRX. On Sunday, Dan Meller posted a dominating performance in the H Production race, starting from the pole and leading every lap en route to his first national championship in his Core Consulting Honda CRX.

Acura was well represented with championships in two classes. Joel Lipperini qualified his RaceLabz Acura Integra GS-R on the pole in the Showroom Stock C race and went on to win his third national championship. Mark Carpenter’s championship, in F Production, was the first for the North Carolina driver and his GGS Racing team.

Defending Showroom Stock B Champion Lee Niffenegger finished second this year, once again driving his Team Honda Research Honda Civic Si. Heavy rain fell just as the final race of the weekend, E Production, got underway on Sunday afternoon, but John Schmitt managed to move from 12th on the grid to a very close fourth at the finish in his Schmitt Racing Honda Prelude Si.

Each year, racers from across the country compete in 70 SCCA “Nationals”, to qualify for one last, winner-take-all event in each of 25 classes: the National Championship “Runoffs”. Previous Runoffs champions include Bobby Rahal, Skip Barber, Paul Newman, Doug Peterson and Jimmy Vasser. Other Runoffs competitors through the years have included Michael Andretti, Parker Johnstone, and current Acura America Le Mans Series racer Scott Sharp.

More than 600 drivers participated at this year’s Runoffs, the first to be held at the historic, four-mile Road America circuit, located 60 miles northwest of Milwaukee. Thirty-seven were Honda and/or Acura drivers, competing in seven of the 25 classes.

Several Honda Fit engines, as proposed for inclusion in the FF class of open-wheel racers, were displayed outside the Honda Racing/HPD Hospitality Center in the Road America paddock. The display included the prototype Swift DB-1/Honda, an engine installed in a new Citation FF chassis, and a third 1.5-liter Fit FF race engine that has been used for durability testing on HPD’s transitional dynamometers at the company’s Santa Clarita, California, headquarters.

Through its Honda Racing Line program, Honda Racing/HPD provides support and incentive programs to Honda and Acura racers competing at the SCCA Runoffs and in other forms of grassroots motorsports competition. Additional details on the Honda Racing Line can be found at http://racing.honda.com/hpd.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993 and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing cars and engines. In addition to the new Grassroots Motorsports Initiative, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and competes in prototype sports-car racing under the Acura banner in the American Le Mans Series.


2009 Honda and Acura SCCA Runoffs National Champions:
Touring 3: Bob Boileau, Monument, CO, Honda Team Research Honda S2000
GT Light: Jim Dentici, Oconomowoc, WI, JDM/Ragland Racing Honda CRX
Showroom Stock C: Joel Lipperini, Pittston, PA, RaceLabz Acura Integra GS-R
F Production: Mark Carpenter, Charlotte, NC, GGS Racing Acura Integra
H Production: Dan Meller, Milwaukee, WI, Core Consulting Honda CRX

###

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 26, 2009) – Bob Boileau, of Monument, Colo., took his first SCCA National Championship Runoffs win at Road America in Saturday’s Touring 3 race. Kevin Fandozzi, of Saint Joseph, Mich., and Bret Spaude, of Bushnell, Fla., completed the T3 podium.

Though he started from the pole, Boileu’s first SCCA National Championship did not come easy. As the T3 field took the green flag on a damp track thanks to overnight rain, Boileau’s No. 43 Honda Racing/HPD/BFGoodrich Honda S2000 shuffled back through the field, with a conservative start strategy on the driver’s mind.

“All three [Boileau, Fandozzi and Spaude] of us signed up for hardship laps this morning,” Boileau said. “I had a suspension failure in the final qualifying session, so I was granted a hardship, because we had to replace everything in the right-rear corner of the car. When I went out, I thought ‘oh my gosh, this track is ridiculously slick.’ I almost spun on the hardship lap.

“I was sitting on the grid, contemplating what I should do and my friend, Mark Mercer, who won the Sports 2000 National Championship yesterday, had told me to let some guys go by and show me what the track could do and that was some excellent advice. I couldn’t stop these guys from going by [Fandozzi and Spaude], but I would have preferred not to have the Volkswagens go by as well. I was pretty far back. I think I may have been all the way back to ninth.”

Resetting the fastest lap of the race as the 14-turn, four-mile track continued to dry, Boileau charged through the field, challenging the No. 24 Autobarn Motorsports Volkswagen GTI of Richard Fisher, from Glencoe, Ill., for third by lap six.

“The Volkswagens were pretty hard to pass, but I kept saying ‘pace yourself and let the race come to you,’” recalled Boileau. “I could out-corner the Volkswagens, but boy are those things fast on the straights! There was some nose-to-tail bumping, but it was insignificant and no one was turned around. Once I got around them and I had my sights set on these two [Fandozzi and Spaude], it looked a lot like last year. This time I was able to track them down and get them. The track really just came to me. My speed through the Carousel was significantly higher than theirs and coming out of Canada Corner. The track came to me and we won the Runoffs! It’s amazing!”

Boileau took over the lead from Fandozzi on lap nine and never looked back, winning the 13-lap, 52-mile race by 2.117 seconds and setting the fastest lap of the race, a 2:36.994 (91.723 mph).

Starting fifth, Fandozzi had a tremendous start in the No. 34 Hoosier/Moton/Insight Driven Chevrolet Cobalt SS, and was already around Boileau for the lead in Turn One. Seventh-starting Spaude followed Fandozzi through and into second. While Spaude fended off the No. 24 Autobarn Motorsports Volkswagen GTI of Richard Fisher, from Glencoe, Ill., Fandozzi was able to hold the race lead for first nine laps. There was no stopping Boileau from claiming the lead on lap nine however, and Fandozzi would have to settle for second.

Defending T3 National Champion Spaude brought his No. 12 TSRacing.com/Red Line Oil/Hoosier Chevrolet Cobalt SS home in third.

Though they gave Boileau and the Cobalts of Fandozzi and Spaude a hard time in the first half of the race, the No. 68 APR Motorsports/Westside VW/Kumho Tires Volkswagen GTI of Aaron Stehly, from Richfield, Minn., and the VW of Richard Fisher finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Tenth-place finisher Tony Wedderbum, of North Miami Beach, Fla., was named the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing seven positions during the race in his No. 16 WeatherTech.com Chevrolet Cobalt SS.

The Touring 3 National Championship race will be available on demand at www.speedcasttv.com shortly after the conclusion of the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs.

http://scca.org/newsarticle.aspx?hub=1&news=3768

. . .Leaves Patrón Team Building New Acura Prototype For Saturday’s Petit Le Mans

New Tub Shipped From California For LMP1 Point Leaders

CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. (Sept. 24, 2009) — Scott Sharp’s frightening practice crash Thursday at Road Atlanta has left the Patrón Highcroft Racing team scrambling to hold its current American Le Mans Series LMP1 point lead entering Saturday’s prestigious Petit Le Mans sports car race.

Sharp, co-point leader with driving partner David Brabham, amazingly walked away from a horrific Turn One crash Thursday afternoon in ALMS practice when Sharp’s No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a collided with a GT car and rolled violently into a catch fence that left the Patrón Highcroft machine not repairable for Saturday’s 12th annual 1,000-mile endurance classic.

Sharp walked from the wreckage with parts and pieces strewn for hundreds of feet around the 2.54-mile road circuit. A replacement tub was shipped to Atlanta Thursday night from the Honda Performance Development headquarters in Santa Clarita, Calif., and the Patrón Highcroft organization will build a new mount all day Friday in hopes of taking the green flag at 11:20 a.m. Saturday. ALMS qualifying is set for Friday at 2:55 p.m.

The Patrón Highcroft Racing team holds a 17-point lead in the current LMP1 class point standings over the de Ferran Motorsports Acura operation with two races remaining in the 2009 tour. Sharp, Brabham and IndyCar Series star Dario Franchitti are expected to race the new No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car from the back of the field in an effort to maintain the team’s point margin. The final 2009 ALMS race is set for Laguna Seca Raceway on Saturday, Oct. 10.

“I really don’t know what happened,” Sharp said. “I was heading up the hill in sixth gear and felt a hit in the right rear. The wheel arches are very high with the wide front tires on the Acura. I didn’t see a thing, only felt the contact. I knew it was a big one and I am just really grateful to Acura and all the boys at Patrón Highcroft Racing for building such a strong car. I’m shattered for Duncan, all the guys, Brabs and Dario (Franchitti). We went through this last year and I can’t believe it’s happened again. I was just thinking to myself how much I like this place when next thing I’m headed upside down with a mouth full of Georgia clay.”

The Patrón Highcroft Racing team was already preparing a variety of parts — bodywork, suspension, engine and gearbox — to assemble on the new tub when it arrives at the track at 9 a.m. Friday.

“The most important thing is the fact that Scotty was able to walk away,” team owner Duncan Dayton said. “Cars can be rebuilt, but looking at the amount of dirt covering the top of his helmet we are just grateful he is fine. The guys are getting stuck into the car now, and we will do whatever it takes to get the car back together. Unfortunately, we suffered a similar set-back last year but the guys are not getting down. They are ready to work through the night. Our thanks go to all the guys at Acura, HPD and Wirth Research – that crash looked like an airplane accident and it is a credit to the those guys that Scott was able to walk away after that.”

Simon Pagenaud topped the Acura teams in Thursday’s three practice sessions in the No. 66 XM Radio Acura ARX-02a with a speed of 132.072 miles per hour, fourth overall in the 30-car field. Before the crash, Brabham held the seventh fastest overall at 129.923 m.p.h. The Lowe’s LMP2 Acura duo of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, winners of seven LMP2 class races this year, were second in the LMP2 speeds at 127.046.

Patrón Highcroft Team Picks Up New Acura Tub, Continues Work To Make The Race

CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Young Acura driving star Simon Pagenaud made a charge at a top three qualifying position Friday at Road Atlanta against a stellar field of LMP1 driving talent in preparation for Saturday’s prestigious Petit Le Mans sports-car classic.

The 25-year-old Frenchman, with three pole positions this year, took on factory drivers from Audi and Peugeot on the 2.54-mile road circuit in search of a front-row spot for the 1,000-mile endurance classic. Driving the No. 66 XM Satellite Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a gas-powered prototype, Pagenaud came within a tenth of a second of posting a top three grid spot against the four diesel-powered European cars.

On his last qualifying lap, Pagenaud had the pace to take third overall until the Lola of Jonny Cocker ran out of fuel right in front of the de Ferran driver. Simon was forced to avoid the British driver’s car and missed a shot at besting the Audi machines.

Pagenaud set the fifth-best time of one minute, 8.348 seconds with an average speed of 133.786 miles per hour. Pagenaud will co-drive with Indy 500 winners Gil de Ferran and Scott Dixon in the No. 66 Acura when the green flag falls at 11:20 a.m. Saturday. The race will be televised live flag to flag on SPEED Channel.

Nicholas Minassian won the pole in a Peugeot with a speed of 136.606 m.p.h. followed by Franck Montagny in a Peugeot, Allan McNish in an Audi, Lucas Luhr in an Audi, and Pagenaud.

In the LMP2 division, current class point leader Adrian Fernandez posted the third-fastest speed in the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b sports car at 127.428 m.p.h.. Fernandez and partner Luis Diaz have won seven LMP2 class events in 2009 and seek to tie the ALMS record of eight set by Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas of Penske Racing in 2007. Marino Franchitti won the LMP2 pole Friday.

The Patrón Highcroft Racing team, current LMP1 point leaders, did not attempt to qualify after Thursday’s devastating practice crash of Scott Sharp that completely destroyed the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a car. The team received a replacement Acura tub Friday morning and began construction of the new machine from the ground up. The experienced Patrón Highcroft crew plans to work around the clock to assemble the new Acura for drivers Sharp (who was uninjured), David Brabham and Dario Franchitti in time for Saturday’s race.

ACURA QUOTES: SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): “The de Ferran team did a great job setting up the car for this track. We have been very consistent with the handling. I think we have a good car for the race. The humid weather conditions probably hurt us in some straight-line speed. I was happy with the car. On my final lap, I had a good one going that might have given us third, but I was blocked. Overall, we feel good about our chances in the race.”
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “We really didn’t have a chance at the pole today. The Mazda has the straight-line speed over our car. But I am confident that the Lowe’s Acura will be strong in the race. We want to there at the end.”
DUNCAN DAYTON (team owner, #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): “We are still on target to be ready to roll for the warm-up tomorrow morning. The guys have a big day on their hands but everybody remains in very good spirits. One of the most rewarding aspects about owning this team is our people. They are incredibly dedicated and everybody has their sights set on this championship. I’m very proud of their efforts and I know Scott, David and Dario are very grateful for their efforts.”

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 25, 2009) – Jim Dentici, of Oconomowoc, Wis., took his second-career GT-Lite National Championship at the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America. Defending GTL National Champion Christopher Bovis, of Lawrence, Kan., and Robert Lentz, of Chantilly, Va., completed the podium.

Starting second, Dentici immediately moved past polesitter Bovis on the opening lap, putting his No. 77 Raglin Racing/JDM Group Honda CRX into the lead as the field exited Turn One. Bovis was able to draft back up to Dentici on the long front straightaway to start lap two, but was unable to make a move for the lead. From there, Dentici continued to extend his gap on Bovis’ No. 4 Goodyear/RedLine/JDM Motorsports Honda CRX, winning the GTL National Championship by 11.510 seconds.

“I got a push from Bob [Lentz’s] car on the start,” Dentici said. “It was really slow, I was in first gear. I really did get a good jump. I had enough room to turn in front of Chris in Turn One.

“We just had to fly. The deal Chris [Bovis] and I had when we came into this was that whoever was in the lead, let’s go. And that’s what we did. We pushed hard. We were turning laps faster than Chris qualified and a second faster than I qualified. The tires worked good, the car worked good. I ran hard the whole race. On the last lap I saw that Chris fell back, so I just talked myself around and got it done. It was pretty nice!”

Dentici also set the fastest lap of the race, a 2:33.285 (93.943 mph) en route to his fifth-career Runoffs win.

Bovis briefly slipped to third behind Lentz on lap two, but took the spot right back on the following lap. The 2008 GTL National Champion went unchallenged from that point forward, though transmission problems would prevent him from giving chase to Dentici and nearly cost him a podium finish in the closing stages of the race.

“Jim’s [Dentici] car and my car were pretty much dead even,” Bovis said. “He built the motors for both cars. He had just a little bit better of a reaction to the flag than I did. We were as close as you can get without hitting each other. We had a pretty good plan to work together and then worry about the order later. Bobby [Lentz] got between us there, but we figured that out and tried to pull a gap.

“About lap three, the clutch pedal wasn’t working any more,” recalled Bovis. “I’d never driven a car without the clutch, so I was trying to figure it out on the fly. Got the hang of it and caught up to him. I started losing gears toward the end and on the last lap I only had fourth and fifth gear. It ended up being a really good result. It was the result that Jim and I wanted. I think we disagreed on the order, but it is a good result.”

After losing second to Bovis, Lentz also lost a position to the No. 72 Road n Race/Honda/RedLine/Goodyear Honda CRX of Peter Shadowen on lap nine. Lentz spent the remainder of the 13-lap, 52-mile race stalking Shadowen. After taking numerous looks in Turns Five and 12, Lentz waited until the final corner of the last lap to pull alongside Shadowen for a drag race up the hill to the finish line. Lentz would take the final podium spot by 0.031-second.

“The cars were amazingly well-matched,” Lentz said. “[Shadowen] caught me mid-race. He pushed me to run a lot faster than I had up to that point. Whoever it was behind had a slight advantage down the straights because of the draft. I think his tires were starting to go away. He was starting to get very loose and then he bobbled a little in Turn 12. I was on his bumper and he ran a defensive line in the last corner which gave me a run up the straight.”

Shadowen, of Loxahatchee, Fla., finished fourth. Rob Mcfarlane, of Happy Valley, Ore., completed the top five in his No. 27 Loyning’s/Hoosier Toyota Celica.

Barry Bannon, of Saint Cloud, Fla., was named the Sunoco Hard Charger, for advancing nine positions during the race in his No. 46 Goodyear/Redline Oil/Goodyear Honda CRX.

The GTL National Championship race will be available on demand at www.speedcasttv.com/scca shortly after the conclusion of the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs.


http://scca.org/newsarticle.aspx?hub=1&news=3760

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 25, 2009) - Joel Lipperini, of Pittston, Penn., captured his third-career National Championship in Showroom Stock C at the 46th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America. 2008 Champion Joe McClughan, of New Braunfels, Tex., and Morgan Hill, Calif.-native Ali Naimi completed the podium.

Lipperini led start-to-finish in his No. 81 RaceLabz/BFGoodrich/RaceShop Acura Integra LS to claim a 5.74-second victory. The race was Lipperini’s first in the Acura.

“We took a gamble this year,” Lipperini said. “The car that I won my two National Championships with after driving the last couple of years I decided to retire right before this event. We built the Acura, and the first time I drove it was 15 feet into the trailer to come here. We took a big gamble, but it paid off. The car was great all week.

“Every win feels good. This one is nice because I actually won it on the track. Winning in the tech shed is one thing, but this is great. We savored it. That had to be the slowest victory lap ever. We wanted to take three [riders in the car], but they were going to kick us off the track.”

Lipperini also collected the SCCA Club Racing Super Sweep for winning the Runoffs, the nationwide point standings, the Northeast Division Championship and one of nine key National races, each in SSC.

McClughan, just eight weeks removed from quintuple bypass surgery, and Naimi spent most of the first part of the race in a four-way battle for second place. Naimi, driving the No. 14 Hoosier/Mazda/OffLineRacing.com MAZDA3 S, made one run at McClughan in the No. 36 McClughan Racing enterprises/Mazda MAZDA3 S heading into Turn Three on Lap 12. After that pass failed, Naimi couldn’t get close enough for the remainder of the 13-lap, 52-mile race.

The eventual third place for Naimi was his best career Runoffs finish.

John Phllips, of Sealy, Texas, finished fourth in the No. 01 MRE/Mazda/Hoosier/Red Line PRP MAZDA3S. Driving the No. 00 Hoosier/FeedUS/RedLine Oil/Carbotech MAZDA3S Jonathan Start, of Caledonia, Mich., completed the top five.d

Eric Van Cleef, of Huntsville, Ala., turned the race’s fastest lap and was running in second place when a transmission problem forced him out of the race with two laps to go. Van Cleef turned a race-best 2:49.975 (84.718 mph) around the 14-turn, 4-mile Road America circuit.

Daniel Geiger, of Minneapolis, Minn., earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award after improving 10 positions to finish 10th behind the wheel of the No. No. 53 Hoosier/Maggiano’s/David Hobbs Honda Honda Civic Si.

The Showroom Stock C National Championship race will be available on demand at ww.speedcasttv.com/scca shortly after the conclusion of the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs.

http://scca.org/newsarticle.aspx?hub=1&news=3765

Don’t Miss the IndyCar® Series Race for the Championship Finale! Who will be the next IndyCar® Series champion? That will be decided Saturday, October 10, 2009 in the Firestone Indy® 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, featuring a winner-take-all battle between title contenders Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe. Learn more.

Chicagoland marked the start of the “home stretch” for the 2009 IndyCar championship, the first of three oval races to cap an interesting season.

All three are 1.5-mile circle tracks, but each approaches the concept of turning left in a different way: Chicago has a “typical” 1.5-mile layout – really more of a ‘D’ shape – similar to Texas, Kansas and Kentucky; Motegi, meanwhile, is egg-shaped, wide open at one end, tight at the other; and finally, there’s the more “traditional” Homestead – two straights connected by two sweeping, 180-degree turns.

And so, to Chicago, where the new/old aero package had its second test since being unveiled/reinstated at Kentucky. Could we once again tread that very, very, very fine line between “boring” and “scary” that is known as “thrilling”?

Yes. But a couple of times – most notably in the final dozen or so laps after a late-race caution – it teetered, wobbled and generally leaned toward “terrifying” for a bit….

Still, in the immortal words of Robert Woodward Rahal, “no harm, no foul” and we had an exciting, near-photo finish with Ryan Briscoe coming out ahead of perpetual Chicagoland runner-up Scott Dixon, who summed things up perfectly after the finish: “I’ve seen this movie before!”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was what didn’t happen. Going into the event, a lot of us were convinced that we’d see a press conference/announcement formalizing Danica Patrick’s return to the Michael Andretti-led team currently known as Andretti Green Racing.

It all made sense: She’d dropped hints at Mid-Ohio and again at Infineon that the deal was all but done; Chicagoland is the closest IndyCar track to both her hometown of Roscoe, Illinois, and the corporate headquarters of Motorola, her long-time sponsor; and she was scheduled to appear as featured guest on SPEED TV’s “Wind Tunnel” program Sunday night.

But, sometime during the days leading up to race weekend, something went at least slightly pear-shaped, and no announcement was forthcoming. Don’t know what, how or why, just yet. Hopefully, it’s being worked out, or has been, as you read this.

One thing that DID get announced at Chicagoland was the formation of a new IndyCar team called FAZZT, centered around driver Alex Tagliani. Tags bolted from Conquest following the Edmonton race, and most likely had this deal bubbling in the background at the time as he was joined by ex-Conquest “marketing partner” Jim Freudenberg, who has been involved with several IndyCar teams in recent years, starting with Kelley Racing back in ’00 or so. Throw in financing from a pair of Canadian businessmen – Andre Azzi [hence the team name] and Alexandre Dubresne, and the deal got done.

Together, they bought all four of Roth Racing’s cars, its equipment, and – in the most surprising move of all – hired long-time Walker Racing GM Rob Edwards to be team manager and run day-to-day operations. Rob had been with Walker for as long as I can remember – since at least ’95, if not longer – so, for the FAZZT group to hire him away is impressive.

In the new paint job department, Dario Franchitti was in a bright yellow “Lifelock” livery that he also planned to run in Japan; while former Andretti Green teammate Tony Kanaan traded 7-Eleven green for a shade of brown for one-off sponsor Oscar Meyer that provided fodder for several rude comparisons. TK himself twittered that he was driving a “Weinermobile” for the weekend.

It was another two-day oval “weekend” for us, with practice and qualifying on Friday, and the race on Saturday. ARCA and the NASCAR Truck series were also in attendance, which led to the oddity during qualifying of seeing the towering Michael Waltrip (seriously, this guy is 6-foot-5 if he’s an inch) walking around with Danica Patrick (5-foot-2, MAX) in Pit Lane, and surely setting off a new round of Danica-to-NASCAR rumors in the bargain. Mission accomplished, by both, I’m sure.

Another hot rumor in the garage area was “Takuma Sato to Luczo Dragon for Homestead”. Which, apparently, was more-or-less a done deal until Robin Miller got wind and actually printed it (horrors!). Once word got out, Luczo’s team owners got a bit sideways over the premature announcement, so it may not happen now. I guess we’ll find out during the second week in October.

In Indy Lights World, with just 16 cars in the field and JR Hildebrand needing only a 13th-place finish or better to clinch the title, the championship fight with impressive rookie teammate Sebastian Saavedra became a bit anti-climactic. Still, with Lights guys (and girls) on a 1.5-mile oval, you NEVER count your chickens before the checkers.

Trivia question: When is a “Home” race not really at home?

Answer: When you’re Newman Haas Lanigan Racing, and most of your team members live in the northern and northwest Chicago suburbs – an hour-plus (on a GOOD day’s commute) from Chicagoland Speedway. For those of you living in L.A., think commuting from HPD to Disneyland in Anaheim… So, the NHL guys all got hotel rooms in the Joliet area. Yes, kids, the metro Chicago area is spread out ALMOST as much as the Southland. So ends today’s geography lesson.

Unlike during the rushed race day at Kentucky, the teams had time to try out different aero options and combinations at Chicagoland. EVERYONE was running the inner rear-wheel covers, but after that, the setups varied considerably. For instance, in use of the kickups in front of the rear tires: AGR’s Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti utilized them, but Tony Kanaan and Hideki Mutoh did not. The NHL cars ran everything -- kickups and sidepod extensions included – but the Penskes were “clean,” without either piece. Ganassi ran the kickups but not the extensions, etc.

Finally, with MotoGP scheduled for the same weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a bunch of us (yrs trly incld) made the three-hour run south from Joliet to Indy either late, late, late Saturday night (due to the silly 9 p.m. start time for the IndyCar race) or early Sunday morning. It was fun, and I highly recommend that all of you check out the MotoGP scene sometime in the future.

On track, the lone practice was uneventful, with the usual suspects up front (Dixon, Briscoe, etc) and at the back (Milka, Jaques Lazier). No yellows, except a single track inspection. So, on to qualifying we went…..

…where it was an all-Penske front row, with Ryan Briscoe on the pole and Helio Castroneves alongside. Franchitti ran third, and the only mild surprise was Dixie a relatively poor sixth.

Who was in between? TK and Graham Rahal. For AGR, the long claw back towards respectability, begun at Kentucky, continued, with three cars in the top 10 and Mutoh not that far off in 13th. KV and NHL also continued to inch up on the “Big Two,” with Moraes eighth and Oriol Servia ninth, to go with teammate Rahal.

The 20-minute final practice was rather “spirited”, with lots of two-and-three-wide action and the session ending with most of the field running in a large pack. As I said at the top of this piece, it’s a VERY fine line between “thrilling” and “scary”. We were definitely straddling that line…


Saturday was Race Day for IndyCars, and Practice/Qualifying/Race Day for the Lights crowd, who, for the second time this season –and first time by design – would have a Sprint-Car-style, one-day show.

The thing about Lights on the big ovals is this: If we’re tip-toeing that thrilling/scary line in the IndyCars, then the Lights field is stomping full-on into “scary” territory. You can tell most of these drivers haven’t had a “big one” yet, but at this rate, it’s only a matter of time for several of them…

In a mild upset, USAC racer Brandon Wagner had a nice qualifying run to take the Lights pole, with Saavedra second. Where was Hildebrand? Thirteenth, with fuel pressure issues that also affected several other cars … at least four in all, all of them on different teams. Hmmm, junk in the fuel, clogging up the filters, perhaps? This might get interesting, after all.

At the green, Wagner got swallowed up and passed by several cars. His day got worse when he made contact with Pippa Mann while completing Lap 5, losing his right-front wing. That contact caused Mann to spin at Turn 1, which caused Rodrigo Barbosa to spin, as well. Ana Beatriz was lucky to pass the spinning Mann without making contact with the outside wall. Wagner was able to replace his damaged wing, but eventually dropped out with handling issues. This was just the start of the silliness.

Mike Potekhen made contact with Daniel Herrington on the back stretch on Lap 32. Both cars continued, but Potekhen was unable to keep his car in the bottom groove and drifted up, making contact first with Beatriz, and then, with James Hinchcliffe. All three cars ended up in the wall and out of the race. The wreck also meant that Hildebrand had clinched the title – afterwards, there were only 12 cars running, and JR was free to go for the win.

The field went back to green on Lap 41, and from there, no one was able to get past Herrington, despite some breathtaking moves in the field. This was a crazy race, with pretty much the entire field running together throughout. James Davison finished second, while Andrew Prendeville made a late charge to finish third. Wade Cunningham recovered from a late drop in the pack to finish fourth, while Hildebrand clinched a well-earned championship with fifth.

Here’s an equally quick IndyCar race recap: Dixon had stretched out a big lead over Briscoe after the final round of pit stops, but it was erased in a Lap 184 crash by Helio Castroneves, who hit the Turn 4 fence with vigor following a right-front suspension (pushrod?) failure.

With just a dozen or so laps remaining, the final run to the checkers was “big casino” (i.e. a crapshoot), complete with clean passes, some not-so-clean passes, check-ups, slide jobs and even a set of teammates (or two) carving one-another up in the mass scrum to the finish.

Briscoe repeated his Kentucky performance, this time eking out a narrow, quarter-of-a-car-length victory over a nonplussed Dixon. For only the second time this season, the points leader coming INTO a race weekend remained the points leader AFTER the event.

Moraes completed the podium and emotionally dedicated the run to his late father. The third-place effort was his best career IndyCar finish.

In addition to Castroneves, Mutoh also had a hard impact mid-race, when an apparent toe-link failure turned him right into the wall in a crash similar to Kanaan’s impact at Indy. Like Helio, Hideki was okay, too.

Even though the team is showing improvement, in general, it was not a great night for AGR. Marco Andretti was their highest finisher, 11th despite causing the second caution of the night when he brushed the wall on Lap 108. Pit strategies backfired on Danica and TK.

Panther Racing had another forgettable evening, as Dan Wheldon broke a half-shaft exiting his pit during the first caution. This was the kind of track that Panther hired Wheldon to do well at, yet once again, the team wasn't a factor.

Meanwhile, NHL continued its upward march, with both cars finishing among the top 10. Rahal finished fifth and looked for a while like he might have something for the leaders, but lost out in the final lap free-for-all. Teammate Servia might have finished even better than seventh if he hadn't made a mistake on his last pit stop that cost him time. At this rate, we MIGHT have a “Big 3” again next year, but with NHL replacing AGR as the third member of the clique.

Semi-regular Tomas Scheckter and Justin Wilson also looked good at Chicagoland, perhaps the best the Coyne team has looked on a big oval to date. Ed Carpenter also looked really fast early -- from 12th at the start to sixth by Lap 5 -- but he was another guy to get shuffled back after the last caution.

The usual final notes:

• We’re still awaiting final word on the Brazil event location. The latest now has Rio de Janeiro as the leading candidate, ahead of the northern resort town of Salvador. I just want to see something – anything – formally announced.
  
• Likewise, regarding the issue of a series title sponsor: The League claims to have two potential candidates lined up. It’d be nice to close the deal on one or the other – soon. It’d be a great way to end the season on a positive note.
  
• Forget about Milwaukee for 2010, so we’re just about out of short ovals for now. Only Iowa is left, and it’s so high-banked that you don’t see the cars slide around like they did at Milwaukee and Richmond. And that’s a shame. We need Milwaukee and tracks like it (Phoenix, Richmond, New Hampshire) to truly have a diverse schedule.
  
• Injury updates: Both Will Power and Nelson Philippe continue to recover nicely. Vitor Meira is just about ready to go (update – he tested at Indy on Oct. 2), but won’t run Homestead now. The Foyt team doesn’t have the manpower or equipment to run a second car in the event. All should be back, either full- or part-time, in 2010.
  
• The Versus – DirecTV squabble continues, even into the start of the NHL season, where Versus is the primary carrier. What may finally settle it? Well, there is a rumor making the TV industry rounds that Versus’ parent company, Comcast, is about to purchase a controlling interest in NBC from General Electric. That might shift the balance of power in this pxxxing contest.

-- Dan Layton

Mid-Ohio: is there a more aptly-named race circuit, anywhere? You get off the interstate somewhere north of Columbus and south of the swingin’ metropolis of Lexington; cruise through a dozen miles of countryside, down some two-lane surrounded by corn fields and related agricultural flora; dodge the odd Mennonite buggy or 2; bop up over the top of a small hill and – whoop – there it is: the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Yep, in a lot of ways, going to Mid-Ohio is like returning to the glory days and venues of CART at its mid-90s best, at circuits like Laguna Seca, Road America, Michigan Speedway and New Hampshire. All were/are fantastic race tracks located somewhere east of nowhere. All had great racing (most years). All had huge crowds and plenty of atmosphere.

All had big-time traffic issues, too (well, there is a price to pay for fame and popularity…..).

Thanks in no small part to the huge turnout from Honda of America Manufacturing associates, Mid-Ohio is just like that. Since rejoining the IndyCar Series in 2007, big crowds and big atmosphere have been a hallmark of the Mid-Ohio IndyCar weekend, along with a big race schedule including the American Le Mans Series, Indy Lights, Formula Atlantic and SCCA World Challenge – a lot of everything for anyone who loves road racing.

Since we all left Kentucky a weekend earlier, the first round of driver “musical chairs” had begun, beginning with Robert Doornbos. “Bobby D” had been unhappy for some time at Newman Haas Lanigan (and the antipathy was returned in equal measure from teammate Graham Rahal), so Doornbos took advantage of an “out” in his contract after 10 races to bolt to HVM Racing, where he had driven with some success – including a thrilling wet/dry win at St. Jovite – in Champ Car.

Replacing Doornbos at NHL – for now – was veteran and all-‘round good guy Oriol Servia. One of a half-dozen experienced drivers on the sidelines, it was great to have the Spaniard back where he belongs, behind the wheel, even if its just for a few races until a suitable (ie..funded) replacement is found. Alex Lloyd is that likely replacement for ’10, and he’ll be driving for the team at Homestead next month.

Meanwhile, Mario Moraes was absent from Mid-Ohio due to the death of his father earlier that week. The senior Moraes was a genuinely nice guy, a gentleman of the old school, and an enthusiastic supporter of his son’s racing. We all knew he had been struggling with cancer for some time, but it was still sad to hear that he had finally lost the fight.

In Mario’s place, KV Racing tracked down “part-time” wheelman Paul Tracy at the Sturgis motorcycle festival, and brought him in to drive the #5 car.

It’s not a driver change, but Dale Coyne Racing arrived in style at Mid-Ohio, the team’s transporter featuring a brand new “wrap” showing an image of the team celebrating in victory lane at Watkins Glen. It was striking, really cool looking, just like a real, grown-up race team.

Back to drivers. He wasn’t at M-O, but it didn’t take long for word to get around that AGR would be running a FIFTH car at Sonoma for Franck Montagny, with the car prepped and run by shop-based staff and a couple of guys “borrowed” from other teams for that weekend only. Is it a try-out for 2010? A fifth voice added to the chorus of driver opinions in the engineering sessions? Or are they shopping a potential sponsor for oh-10 with a traditional Sonoma “wine & dine” job? It’s just one more issue in the virtual “Peyton Place” that AGR has become this year.

Also on the AGR front, and following up on my “damper discourse” from Edmonton, it was interesting to learn that the team had switched from Dynamics-brand shocks to Penskes at Kentucky, where – coincidentally? – Kanaan has one of his strongest outings this season.

For years, AGR had an exclusive deal with Honda-owned Showa for their damper program, and it definitely worked to their advantage (along with big-time Honda horsepower…..). But that all went away some time ago. Penskes are probably the most popular dampers in IndyCar, but among some teams, there’s always the feeling that a little sumthin’ sumthin’ is “held back” from the customer units, compared to the dampers run by #3, #6, and sometimes #12.

So if you’re an IndyCar team owner or engineer, and you don’t want/trust Penskes, where do you go? Ohlins are an option, as are Dynamics, distributed by one Carl A. Haas Automotive Imports (hmmm, is that any relation to the ‘Haas’ of Newman Haas Lanigan? Yew betcha).

An intelligent and good guy, Alan O’Leary, heads up Dynamic, and NHL is certainly having a relatively competitive season. But AGR is equally, certainly, struggling, so Changes Are Being Made, and one of them was the switch from “Brand D” to “Brand P” on all four AGR cars at Mid-Ohio.

But that’s [more than] enough about dampers. Because, as much as success at Toronto was about getting the car to make rapid left/right transitions; Edmonton was about working over the corner exit bumps; and Kentucky was about aero and “Push to Pass”; Mid-Ohio was All About Tires.

In a nutshell, on a warm and humid day, Justin Wilson’s car was excellent on the alternate “Red” Firestones. Starting from the outside of the front row, Wilson pulled off a cool, unusual pass of pole qualifier Briscoe coming out of “Thunder Valley” (thanks, “Push to Pass”!) and simply checked out during the first stint, holding a six-second lead over the field at the first round of pit stops.

But Scott Dixon was dominant on the regular “Black” compound. And this is not the first road course rodeo for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixie sat back in third place for the first 22 laps, conserving fuel. Then, when all the major players pitted on Laps 29-30, Scott turned up the wick, cranking off three successive maximum effort laps before he finally pitted, the last of the front-runners to do so.

It wasn’t enough to get in front of Wilson, as the tall Brit had just been TOO strong, and the gap too large prior to the pit stops. But it did get Dixon around Briscoe for second, and right on Justin’s gearbox as he exited pit lane.

Believe me, if the rules allowed for it, Wilson and his Coyne team would’ve run Reds all race long …

With Dixon now on Black tires and quicker, all he needed was an opportunity: a bobble by Wilson, a full-course yellow, or maybe a little ‘help’ from lapped traffic….

Hu-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-o, Milka……

Going down the long M-O backstraight, the leaders came up on Milka, running pretty much in the middle of the road, as usual. Wilson hesitated, just briefly, trying to figure out the best way to pass Duno through the “Madness” sequence of down-up-up-and-down-hill corners (that’s a right, left, left, right for those of you playing along at home).

That hesitation was all Dixon needed, and he was past both Wilson and Duno in less time than it took to write this sentence.

Wilson, running a long stint on his final set of Reds, hung close behind. But the Coyne braintrust tried keeping Wilson out just one lap toooo long on fuel… Justin ran dry coming into the Carousel, coasting into his pit box with an empty tank. This also cavitated the fuel pump, so he stalled while trying to leave the pit box. Game over.

Dixon romped to a huge, 29-second margin of victory for his 20th IRL win (a league record) and 21st overall, including his CART win at Nazareth in 2001. He still has a ways to go to catch all-time leader A.J. Foyt (at 67), but is only a couple behind both Helio Castroneves and teammate Dario Franchitti. Others at the top of the all-time win list include Mario Andretti (52), Michael A. (42), and Al Unser and Paul Tracy (both at 38).

Dixon also took over the IndyCar points lead. Incredibly, it’s the 12th time the championship leader has changed in 13 races this year.

As for AGR, in general, the team was much more competitive than it had been earlier this season, although once again NONE of the drivers made the “Fast Six” final qualifying group on Saturday. Still, Mutoh finished a hard-charging fifth, battling Ryan Hunter-Reay (having his own very strong race) for fourth all the way to the finish. Marco was just behind in sixth. Danica had a decent race going until being punted out by Mike Conway. Kanaan actually qualified best of the lot (eighth) but a decision to go “off sequence” as early as the seventh lap doomed his chances. Did the shock change work? The jury is still out.

Some final M-O notes:

• Blisters - we saw blistered tires for the first time in a long time. Trackside Online reported that both Briscoe and Wheldon blistered the right front on red tires. Wilson’s Reds always looked good. Funny how often “identical” cars can perform so differently.
  
• I must confess I’m not a “twitterererer” yet. But it definitely has caught on in the paddock and you can follow along with any number of IndyCar and Indy Lights drivers through the course of a race weekend – and often during their lives away from the track as well. Leading tweeters include Tony Kanaan, Paul Tracy, Tomas Scheckter, Will Power, Pippa Mann and James Davison. In addition, Vision Racing is VERY active on the Twitter scene, and has been hosting regular “tweet-ups” at race weekends this year.
  
• Gil de Ferran held a press conference to announce he is retiring from driving (again) at the end of the season. He said he is going to expand his race team to include the IndyCar Series in 2010. Film at 11.
  
• As mentioned at the top of this recap, there was a huge crowd of campers at Mid-Ohio. This track isn't really located near...well, anything, but they do a fantastic job in getting people to show up. The fans come out early, stay all weekend and are very knowledgeable on their racing. DID you see the overhead video during the TV telecast of the race? The place was FULL!
  
• On the silly season front, in addition to de Ferran, both Fernandez Racing and Highcroft Racing are working to put together an ICS effort in 2010. Dale Coyne says he’ll have a pair of cars next year, and HVM is also planning on a two-car effort.
  
• Paul Tracy was his usual entertaining self on his blog, carried on both his own website and the RACER magazine site. PT is both forthright and funny, and while you may not always agree, you'll always be entertained.
  
• James Davison picked up his second career Indy Lights victory, both coming at Mid-Ohio. But unlike last year, when he lucked into a win under very strange circumstances (in the rain, the leader mistook the white flag for the checkered and pitted on the last lap), this year he dominated, leading from flag-to-flag.
  
• It was Vision Racing's first win in any category, and team owner Lauren George is another entertaining blogger (her stuff can be found on the Vision website).
  

-- Dan Layton

###

It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve done it; crossing the Golden Gate Bridge never fails to take my breath away. It’s a great way to start off a race weekend at Infineon Raceway – coupled with a stop at the In-n-Out Burger on the 101, at the Redwood Highway exit just north of Sausalito. One double-double, animal style, please….

I’m told that Infineon is one of the most popular stops on the IndyCar circuit for sponsors and their corporate guests, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a great setting, at the base of a proper foothill on which the circuit winds up, over, down, up and down again; with a proper mix of high- and low-speed corners. The Sonoma and Napa Valley wineries are just a short drive away, and it’s less than an hour to downtown San Francisco for guests who want to spend their time away from the track in one of the truly great cities of North America.

Infineon’s facilities are exactly what you’d want for a 21st-century road course. If Mid-Ohio was “state-of-the-art” in the 1980s (and it was, thanks to the late Jim Trueman), then Infineon shows everyone what a proper road course should be like, circa 2009. Starting with amenities for the fans, who can choose from the huge oval-style grandstand overlooking Turns 1-2; the terraced seating over the carousel and downhill esses; motorhome parking and campgrounds at the top of the circuit; or simply wander the hillsides in traditional road-course spectator fashion.

Throw in a mixture of permanent suites and Chalet Village tents for the corporate types, permanent garages for the teams, and a large-enough Media Center with a good view of the track, and you’ve got all the major bases covered.

As a bonus, you have the futuristic Jim Russell Racing School building and an adjoining industrial park, where more than two dozen racing operations have set up shop. A well-run race track should be able to “pay for itself” with its daily activities: schools, corporate days, team testing, etc. The big, “pro” weekends should be profit-making enterprises. Obviously, I don’t have access to Infineon’s books, but from the outside looking in, management appears to be doing everything right.

Finally, the trip offered a chance to catch up with Cali-based friends such as former Comptech owners Doug and Gail Peterson, and Memo Gidley, who lives in nearby Novato. And the Historic Formula One series was a part of the weekend show, giving us a chance to see (and hear!) some beautiful F-1 cars from the ‘70s and ‘80s running in anger once again.

As much as I’ve always loved Laguna Seca, I have to admit that Infineon is the better, and more appropriate, NorCal circuit for the IndyCar Series.

The big off-track news of the week was the long-rumored “breakup” of Andretti Green Racing, with Michael Andretti to be taking sole control of the race team at the end of the 2009 season, while partners Kim Green and Kevin Savoree receive the “lovely parting gift” of Andretti Green Promotions, the subsidiary formed to promote the St. Petersburg and Toronto street races.

The deal has been in the discussion stage for some time, but while it’s been officially announced, it is still very much a work in progress. Both companies will get new names – expect something obvious like “Michael Andretti Racing” for the race team – and the possibility of new partners for one or both operations also exists. Then, there’s the issue of which staffers go where. The mechanics and engineers, obviously, will stay with the race team. But where will the front office, marketing and PR people all end up? Things will probably stay quiet until after the IndyCar finale at Homestead, but it’s sure to be a very interesting and busy off-season at 7600 N. Zionsville Road…

Meanwhile, apparent gluttons for punishment, the AGR team made a one-off expansion to FIVE cars at Infineon, with Franck Montagny making his IndyCar Series debut in the additional AGR car, prepped by a collection of shop-based crew, and mechanics “borrowed” from the other four cars. Now sure what this was all about. Maybe AGR “owed” Montagny an IndyCar start as a result of using him in its Acura American Le Mans Series car during the second half of last season; or perhaps they were putting him “on display” for a potential sponsor. In any event, it was one more quality addition to what started out as the largest IndyCar field since Indy.

On the heels of the recent death of Mario Moraes’ father came word that the mother of Ryan Hunter-Reay is also battling cancer. Until recently, she was being treated at the same Houston hospital as Mr. Moraes. At the conclusion of her latest round of treatments, but still too weak to fly commercially, team owner A.J. Foyt made his own plane available for the Hunter-Reay family to fly Ryan’s mother home to Florida. Say what you will about A.J., he has a huge heart.

On track, things got off to an extremely rough start for the IndyCar field. Very early in the session (and after spinning in the same spot just one lap earlier), Nelson Philippe spun and stalled just past the apex of the blind, over-the-crest-of-a-hill Turn 3. I’m sure a lot of you have seen the video of what followed, with E.J. Viso clipping the nose of Philippe’s car, then Will Power plowing into it at 100+ mph.

Fortunately for Philippe, Power hit his car at the best possible place – for Nelson: the dash bulkhead. This is arguably the strongest part of the chassis forward of the engine and as a result, Philippe escaped with a concussion, compound fracture of the left foot (the result of the brake pedal slicing into his foot) and a hairline fracture on his lower right leg. With Philippe already missing his right-front wheel following the Viso collision, a hit further forward by Power might have resulted in multiple, severe leg injuries for Philippe, while a hit further back might’ve been even worse….

All in all, Nelson was a lucky lad in what would have been the first of several races for the cash-strapped Conquest team. He’ll be sidelined until at least Homestead, but hopefully, will be back for ’10.

Meanwhile, I was perhaps even more impressed with the lack of injury to Power’s feet and legs. Despite hitting another car, with only pedals, master cylinders and the frontal “crush box” in-between, Power had NO foot or leg injuries. When I saw the car come back on the wrecker – with all the pedals visible, two master cylinders hanging off the front by their hoses and the third missing completely – I was sure he had significant lower-extremity injuries. I was very happy to be proved wrong.

Power did, however, suffer fractures to his middle and lower back after slamming forward against the dash and steering wheel in the impact. He also suffered (almost incidentally) a concussion. But it’s the back injuries that have ended his season.

Dr. Terry Trammell, “orthopedic surgeon to the stars”, said Power’s injuries are similar to those sustained by Vitor Meira in his head-on impact with the wall at Indy this year. Will also chipped a front tooth (and loosened another one), apparently from contacting the inside of his helmet with his mouth on impact. Something about the angle of the seat/shoulder belts, their mountings, or the seats themselves, is allowing drivers’ upper bodies to move too far forward in events of severe impacts – no matter how tightly the belts are fastened.

Driver safety has always been a moving target, and this appears to be the next area that needs to be addressed.

Anyway, back to the track. At Infineon, qualifying is critical. Starting up front, and dictating the race pace in the early laps, is a big key to success here. And the key to qualifying up front was keeping the brakes cool, calm and collected under the extreme loads generated through a combination of track layout (medium-long straights followed by sharp, slow corners) and the ultra-high grip provided by this weekend’s Firestone “Red” alternate tires.

With the ‘Reds’ on, the braking distances at Turn 4, Turn 7, the Turn 10 chicane and the final hairpin were so short that sometimes, the drivers had trouble making the paddle shifts to change down gears quick enough to keep up!

Dario Franchitti has always liked this place, and he immediately became the man to beat, setting the pace in both the opening practice and more critically, during qualifying. Teammate Dixon, however, had a tougher time of it, with badly overheating brakes keeping him out of the “Fast Six” final qualifying session. Tenth on the grid would make Sunday a l-o-o-o-o-o-ng day for Dixie, and I can only assume that a difference in braking techniques between the two Ganassi drivers might be the reason but, without seeing the data traces, I’m just guessing.

As you would expect, the remaining Penske duo of Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves qualified second and third, respectively. The happy surprise, meanwhile, was the improved performance from AGR. Both Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti made the Fast Six (Mutoh bumping out Tony Kanaan to do so!). TK ended up seventh, Montagny eighth, and Danica Patrick 11th. All five in the top 11 is a definite improvement for the entire team. Remember when I rambled on a while back about AGR going from Showa to Dynamic to Penske shocks? That’s the only change I’ve noticed on the cars…
There were some other surprises in qualifying. Mike Conway was very quick in practice, but he wasn't able to move through the second qualifying round. On the plus side, Dan Wheldon qualified 12th. After the trouble the Panther team has had on the road courses, that wasn't too bad at all.

Then, there was Watkins Glen winner Justin Wilson, who didn't make it out of the first round due to a bent lower-rear wishbone. Justin said he didn't touch anything, so perhaps the pushrod was bottoming out and over-loading the wishbone.

Just how much better were the ‘Red’ tires here? Only Helio, Danica, and Conway started on the (black) primary tire, and they were obviously rolling the dice, counting on an early yellow so they could can ditch the ‘Blacks’ and run ‘Reds’ the rest of the day. The rest of the field started on ‘Reds’.

And, thanks in part to HPD’s “push to pass” and the option tires, it WAS an entertaining race, even through Dario dominated at the front, leading every lap for win Number Four of the year. But behind him, there were battles throughout the field and a lot of “hate”, as our friend Robin Miller likes to say.

The race got off to a rough start when Graham Rahal got into the back of Andretti on the first-lap run up the hill out of Turn 2, sending cars scattering and also involving Danica, Kanaan, Viso, Conway and Montagny. Viso was done, ending a terrible weekend for him, while Rahal got back to the pits, only to snap a halfshaft trying to exit. Everyone else continued, albeit delayed to varying degrees.

The rest of the race saw Dario out front, with Briscoe chasing. Helio ran close in the early stages, and threatened to pass his teammate on occasion, but ended up parked out in the desert off Turn 2 with a broken pushrod/wishbone. Hmmm, sounded like too many teams were shock-loading the suspension in an attempt to run the lowest possible ride heights here….

One guy who really, really needed a good finish was Mike Conway, and he finally got one, coming home third for Dreyer & Reinbold after a great late-race battle with Mutoh. Right at the end, Hideki made a banzai (sorry, couldn’t resist) dive inside of Conway coming down the hill into the Turn 10 chicane, but locked up his brakes and, by the time he gathered everything back up again from the crash-that-wasn’t, fell to fifth behind Moraes.

As expected, Justin Wilson passed a lot of cars all day long. But the Coyne boys rolled the dice early in the race, pitting under green to get rid of the hated ‘Black’ tires and go to ‘Reds.’ And Justin never got the yellow he needed to regain his lost track position and make the strategy work. At one point, Wilson also lost the rear end of his car heading into the hairpin. Somehow he didn't hit anyone, and lost only one spot (sixth, to Oriol Servia) when the smoke cleared.

In the final argy-bargy of the day, Andretti was penalized post-race for "avoidable contact" after punting Dixon on the last lap. He was dropped to 14th (behind Scott) as penance.

So ended the final IndyCar road race of ’09, with the points changing yet again, as Briscoe (who may be setting a record for second-place finishes this year) retaking the top spot over Dario and Dixon (who pretty much had a weekend to forget).

• To me, this looked to be the best crowd yet for the IndyCars at Sonoma. The hillside terraces were more full than I recall from previous years, as was the central grandstand.
• Firestone had new compounds here for both the primary and alternate tires. The “split’” between the primary (Black) and alternate (Red) was the largest we’ve seen all year, and it definitely helped the show.
• iracing.com announced a partnership with the IRL to bring IndyCar racing to iracing.com. To all the “non-gamers” out there, iracing.com is an online interactive racing “league”, and now you will be able to race both Firestone Indy Lights and IndyCar Series machines on the site. If you’re into gaming, you should definitely check it out – and keep an eye out for Justin Wilson and A.J. Allmendinger, who both are members (yes, one of the requirements of iracing is that you must use your real name).
• JR Hildebrand once again spanked the Lights field – leading practice, qualifying on the pole and leading every lap to all-but-clinch the Indy Lights title. That formality figured to be handled the following week at Chicagoland, where all he needed was a finish of 15th or so to clinch the crown. Admittedly, Infineon is Hildebrand’s home track (he grew up in nearby Sausalito) but he still kicked everyone's butt, winning by almost 16 seconds.
• Unless I’m in the middle of open-heart surgery or something, I always take time out to watch the Historic F1 field at Infineon. Power oversteer is just s-o-o-o-o-o much fun to watch. It’s a reminder of the old days when, as the joke goes, “sex was safe and racing was dangerous”….

-- Dan Layton

BRABHAM, SHARP LEAD AN ACURA 1-2-3 SWEEP SUNDAY IN MOSPORT AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES ROUND

Patrón Highcroft Win Clinches Manufacturers Title; Fernandez, Diaz Take Drivers Crown

BOWMANVILLE, Ont., Canada — David Brabham and Scott Sharp are familiar with the victory lane at the fast Mosport International Raceway, northeast of Toronto.
Both Acura drivers have won at the Canada track quite often.
On Sunday in American Le Mans Series’ eighth 2009 race, the Acura pair made it look easy by driving the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car to another Mosport winner’s circle celebration in the two-hour, 45-minute Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport.
The victory for Brabham and Sharp was their second consecutive ALMS overall after a win at Road America two weeks ago, and extended their LMP1 class point advantage to 17 with two races remaining on the 2009 ALMS calendar. The duo also won at Mosport last year in the LMP2 division.
For the fifth time in 2009, Acura cars scored a 1-2-3 sweep overall. The Patrón Highcroft Racing triumph also helped clinch Acura’s first the LMP1 engine and chassis manufacturer championship.
Gil de Ferran took the lead early Sunday in his No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a, but a gearbox issue forced for the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner to pit early in the 131-lap race. De Ferran and co-driver Simon Pagenaud made seven pit stops throughout the event to nurse their machine home for second overall. Pagenaud still managed to record the race’s fastest single lap.
The Lowe’s Fernandez Acura team, with drivers Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz, recorded third overall with the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b sports car and won their seventh LMP2 class race of the year. The popular Mexican pair clinched the LMP2 drivers championship with the victory over the Dyson Mazda of Marino Franchitti and Butch Leitzinger.
Fernandez survived a pit violation late in the feature, and trimmed a 15-second deficient in just twelve laps in capturing his team’s seventh LMP2 class triumph.
The LMP1 championship battle between Patrón Highcroft Racing and de Ferran Motorsports moves to Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans on Sept. 26 in the 1,000-mile classic.

ACURA QUOTES: DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): "This is our second straight win of the year and second straight here at Mosport. While it wasn’t as challenging as the Road America, you always have to put yourself into position to win. We did that today. We have had some tough breaks in races this year, and, today, we got a break with the de Ferran team having trouble with the gearbox in their car. It is great to clinch the manufacturers title for Acura in LMP1. I’m glad our team was able to secure the championship for them here today.”
SCOTT SHARP (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): “I just love racing here at Mosport. I won three straight years in the 1990s in Trans-Am and, now, two in a row in ALMS. My stint was difficult earlier with the rain and the cool temperatures. The Michelin tires were excellent once we got some heat in them. But it was tough to do that in the beginning of the race. This win extends our point margin with two races to go. That is very important for us.”
GIL de FERRAN (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): "It was a real shame today. We had a very good car. I was able to get by Scott [Sharp] at the start and push hard in the slippery conditions and open a gap. Unfortunately, we developed a leak in the gearbox, which meant we had to make numerous pit stops to continuously refill the gearbox with oil. The crew and Simon did a great job to continue to preserve to do that. It’s important for us to gain every point and try to fight on in the next two races.”
SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): “The team did a fantastic job to prepare a fast race car, and I was able to go as quickly through some corners as I did in qualifying. We had the fastest lap of the race, and that shows the pace we had. This track is really thrilling with all the high speed corners and the Michelins were amazing on such a difficult track for tires. We had a tough day with the gearbox issue but we’ll take second.“
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “I was pushing very hard at the end of the race. I got a penalty for speeding in the pits and had to make a stop-and-go late. I was able to come from 15 seconds but to less than one second. We had a good handling car today. I wanted to pressure the Dyson guys. They had trouble at the end, and we scored our seventh win of the year. It’s been a dream season for us.”
LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “Early in the race, the car was pushing a little too much. It was raining a little and I was running with the Mazda cars. We were able to get better fuel mileage and that helped us today. Our Lowe’s team has been fantastic with race strategy and today was another example of working the strategy to perfection. It feels great to clinch the driver’s championship today. Adrian was my idol as I came through the ranks. It is a privilege to win the championship with him and his team.”

The return to the lightning-fast Mosport International Raceway always gives the American Le Mans Series racers a little trepidation. It is scary fast.

The legendary 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit northeast of Toronto has hosted all forms of motorsports, and many of the greatest drivers and riders.

It was the site of the first Canadian Grand Prix in the early 1960s and Sir Jack Brabham, David’s dad, won the 1967 Canadian Formula One Grand Prix over Denis Hulme and Dan Gurney. Jackie Stewart, Peter Revson and Emerson Fittpaldi also won F-1 races at Mosport. Gilles Villeneuve won Formula Atlantic races there in the 1970s. A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and the Unser brothers competed in USAC champ cars at Mosport during the 1960s. Mark Donohue drove the famed Penske Porsche 917/30 there in the 1970s; Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan raced in the Can-Am championship during the 1980s, and even the 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix (now MotoGP) competed on the famed Mosport track.

The fastest qualifying lap in American Le Mans Series history was recorded at Mosport, when Dindo Capello turned in a speed of 138.116 miles per hour in 2008. Some of the fastest sections in all of road racing can be found at Mosport. Many drivers just shake their heads when describing Turns Two and Eight at the blistering-quick track.

“The place is so much fun to drive,” said Scott Sharp, a winner of three Trans-Am races and one ALMS race at Mosport entering the eighth round of the 2009 ALMS tour. “But there are some extremely scary spots. Driving through Turn Two and later, Turn Eight, is a wild sensation. They are so fast in a prototype car. The LMP1 car is flat-out in those turns. It’s one of the wildest rides we have all year.”

Sharp and driving partner David Brabham seemed to have a quickness in their step coming to Mosport. They won the LMP2 class there last year, and they were very confident following their exciting, close win over the de Ferran Motorsports pair of Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud two weeks earlier at Road America. Four consecutive victories by de Ferran and Pagenaud prior Road America had closed the gap in the LMP1 driver and team standings. So, the Elkhart Lake victory was important for Sharp and Brabham.

The Patrón Highcroft contingent held a 13-point advantage over the de Ferran squad entering the Mosport round. The pressure was back on the de Ferran team for a win and a chance to close the points gap with just three races remaining.

The weather at Mosport was going to be an issue from the outset of Friday’s testing session. The hills northeast of Toronto can become socked in with clouds and mist on a regular basis, and that was case on Friday afternoon as the LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes rolled out for their session. Pagenaud threw down the gauntlet quickly in testing by taking the No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a sports car to a lap of one minute, 5.521 seconds. With 20 minutes gone in the session, the flying Frenchman had a two-second gap on the next-fastest prototype, Marino Franchitti in one of the Dyson Racing Mazda machines.

Seven minutes later, Pagenaud lowered his best time to 1:05.470, with Sharp at 1:06.946.
Times slowed a bit during the next one-hour session, as the full field of ALMS cars participated, rather than just the prototypes. In addition, a slight mist dampened the racing surface. Even so, Brabham and de Ferran took over their respective mounts and ran strongly in preparation for Saturday’s qualifying attempts.

At the conclusion of testing, Brabham had closed within a tenth of a second of Pagenaud’s top time. Pagenaud remained quickest at 1:05.470, followed by David at 1:05.513 and Luis Diaz in the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b LMP2 car at 1:06.478. Diaz and co-driver Adrian Fernandez have put together a tremendous season, with six LMP2 victories entering the Mosport race. But heading to Mosport, they remained concerned about the straight-line speed of the Dyson Mazda Lola car

On Saturday morning, the cloudy, wet conditions continued. The top three LMP2 cars didn’t even head to Pit Lane until 20 minutes into the one-hour session. De Ferran posted the best time early with a time well off Friday testing at 1:21.447. But the de Ferran team wanted to be ready, in case the qualifying attempts were also wet. The clouds were so thick that the drivers were having trouble seeing from one corner to the next. It was scary, to say the least.

Both the Lowe’s team and Dyson teams decided to get on the track in the last 20 minutes of practice. At the close of the session, it was de Ferran at 1:21.447, followed by Brabham at 1:21.936, Chris Dyson at 1:25.401, Diaz at 1:26.706 and Jon Field in the Intersport LMP1 car at 1:27.160.

The weather conditions improved for the afternoon practice as all of the teams were preparing for qualifying. But trouble lurked for members of the de Ferran team. They encountered a problem with the gearbox losing fourth gear. They were forced to replace it with an older gearbox that would later pose a major problem in the race. With the rain and mist on the racing surface earlier, the track’s grip had changed. Brabham posted the quickest afternoon practice time at 1:05.931, with Pagenaud at 1:06.298, followed by Franchitti, Clint Field, Diaz and Dyson.

Qualifying was going to be a shootout between Brabham and Pagenaud. De Ferran had won the last two poles at Mid-Ohio and Road America, with Pagenaud taking three poles prior to that and Scott Dixon a pole at Sebring, all in the No. 66 Acura. Brabs’ lone pole had come at Long Beach. Pagenaud was confident, but you just had a feeling Brabham was going to make it difficult for the young Frenchman this time around.

Brabs was a veteran of Mosport , while it was only Pagenaud’s second visit to the tricky, fast Canadian circuit. Meanwhile, in LMP2, Franchitti was going to be tough. He was super-fast in the AGR Acura at Mosport in 2007 and he loves the Mosport track. So, it was little surprise that Marino was fastest out of the gate in qualifying. Franchitti easily took the LMP2 pole, his second straight of the year, with a 1:06.397, good for third overall on the grid. Diaz was sixth overall and third in LMP2 at 1:06.944.

“The car wasn’t as fast as we thought it would be,” said Diaz. “The track changed a bit from Friday, and we didn’t get the setup as good for qualifying. But I’m confident we’ll have a good car for the race.”

LMP1 qualifying was a different story. It was destined to be a tight battle right down the last lap of the 20-minute session.

Both the Patrón Highcroft and de Ferran teams waited a bit before rolling onto the track. On his second lap, Brabham jumped to the top of the charts at 1:05.821. Any chance of getting close to Capello’s overall track record was gone, due to the earlier rain and slippery track surface. So, the battle for the pole was the focus for teams, media and the fans.

Brabham’s third lap was a 1:05.616, and he followed up with a fourth circuit at 1:05.323 with seven minutes remaining in qualifying. Pagenaud was feeling out the tarmac with a 1:06.225 on his second lap. Simon’s third lap was his best, at 1:05.397, just shy of Brabs’ best. But the de Ferran team was hot after a slower LMP2 car had pulled out of the pits and briefly moved into Pagenaud’s line.

Mosport is such a rhythm track that the slightest hesitation on the throttle can cost a driver time. That’s what happened to Pagenaud on his best lap. He then had to regroup for another run at Brabham’s quick time. Brabs threw down a quick lap, and, feeling his front-grip level was there again, pulled the No. 9 into the pits.

Pagenaud kept flogging his mount in an effort to win his fourth pole of 2009. The 25-year-old racer worked valiantly, with laps of 1:05.486, 1:05.566 and 1:05.845. But at the checkered flag, Simon had to settle for second.

“That was a great battle with David today,” said Simon. “He is very good at this track. I actually thought I had a 1:04 in the car today, but it didn’t work out. I got blocked a bit on my fast lap, but that can happen with anyone in qualifying. You basically have that one lap with the tires just right. On that lap today, we didn’t get all of the car’s potential. We’ll be ready for the race.”

Brabham, this year’s overall 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, was pleased with his first pole position since Long Beach. The Patrón Highcroft team had been working hard to match the pace of the de Ferran team, and this run was a good showing in David’s heads-up battle with Simon.

“We felt the car was getting better with each run this weekend,” said Brabham. “I thought we had a good shot at the pole today. Of course, Simon is very fast and we had to be on our game today. Our engineering staff has been flat-out since Mid-Ohio to get our pace stronger. I think we showed that today with the pole.”

In Sunday morning’s warm-up runs, the track and the air were damp, like a fog. Sharp was quickest early in the session with 1:09.808, but de Ferran posted the best time of the 20 minutes with a 1:08.276. Fernandez was second overall at 1:08.726, and the popular Mexican star felt good about his Lowe’s Acura entering the two-hour, 45-minute feature in the afternoon.

The Canadian racing fans are always enthusiastic and this year’s Mosport ALMS race was no exception. A driver autograph session at noontime proved extremely popular with the spectators in the paddock area. All six Acura-powered drivers enjoyed visiting with the fans and signing a variety of items, from hero cards to personal photos to die-cast cars.

A later green-flag time, 3 p.m. EDT, produced a darker sky and misty conditions at the famed Mosport circuit. Planning for weather would be a key for the two Acura LMP1 teams, as well as for the Lowe’s LMP2 Acura squad. The Patrón Highcroft team decided to start Sharp on a medium-hard Michelin tire from the pole. Meanwhile, de Ferran was starting in the No. 66 XM Acura and went with the softer Michelin rubber.

You had the feeling Gil was going to make a strong outside move on Sharp in Turn One when the green flag dropped. And that was case, as de Ferran drove hard into Turn One and grabbed the advantage. In fact, a hard-charging Jon Field in the LMP1 Lola also slipped by Sharp for second on the opening lap. Field’s 5-liter V-8 engine produced horsepower on the back straightaway, and Field passed de Ferran for the overall lead. But Gil fought back to regain the advantage in Turn Eight with a superb pass.

Sharp was able to get some heat into the medium-hard Michelins and took back second place in Turn Five. But the veteran was 3.6 seconds behind de Ferran. In the LMP2 class, Diaz’ Acura wasn’t handling as he would like. He kept reporting, “a lot of push [understeer]” in his radio communications. Diaz still managed to hang onto the fifth overall spot, while, from the pit stand, engineer John Ward worked on a plan to improve the car’s handling during the upcoming pit stop.

Traffic from the slower GT cars assisted de Ferran as Gil opened up a nearly a 10-second margin on Sharp by Lap 16. He grew the gap to 11 seconds on Lap 25, but trouble was in the offing for the No. 66 team. The older gearbox that had been installed on Saturday was beginning to leak. The transmission was getting hot and the team needed to pit de Ferran earlier than planned as a result. Meantime, Marino Franchitti slipped by Sharp in traffic and took second overall in the Mazda.

On Lap 27, de Ferran’s team asked him to pit for fuel, tires and gearbox oil. But Gil seemed confused by the team’s call. He believed that if he was asked to pit that he would be replaced in the cockpit by Pagenaud. But the team wanted Gil to stay behind the wheel. So, de Ferran pitted and leaped out of his Acura, while the team urged him to stay in the car. The confusing pit stop dropped de Ferran to fifth. In addition, the sticker tires proved slick out of the pit lane and Gil put the car in the grass in Turn One. By the time he could recover and get back on track, Franchitti and Sharp had put a lap on de Ferran, and it was to be a long road back to the front for the team.

By Lap 34, Sharp had closed on Franchitti for the overall lead, and he took the point on the next lap. Sharp utilized traffic to his advantage and pulled away to seven-second advantage by Lap 38. On Lap 43, Diaz pitted the Lowe’s LMP2 Acura and Fernandez took the controls. On Lap 45, the full-course caution flag appeared as Chris Dyson suffered a hard crash in Turn One, but walked away.

The caution period enabled Sharp to pit and Brabham to take over the reins of the Patrón Highcroft Acura. De Ferran stayed on the track and moved to second overall. In fact, de Ferran was able to utilize a “wave around” the pace car to gain back his lost lap. Following the “wave by,” de Ferran pitted for Pagenaud. As the clean-up continued from the Dyson crash, Pagenaud pitted to top off the fuel load and gearbox oil supply.

The green flag dropped on Lap 55 and Brabham took off in the Patrón Acura en route to a nine- second lead. Pagenaud, meanwhile, tried to fight his way through some slower traffic. He actually cut Brabham’s lead to just under two seconds before he was forced to pit again for gearbox oil. It was a shame, as the battle between the two Acura squads was just beginning to form. But the de Ferran team was working with a wounded transmission and hoping to bring it home without any further repair. In addition, Pagenaud’s radio was not working as well as possible. It was difficult for the French driver to hear his crew.

A total of seven pit stops hindered any chance at victory for Pagenaud and de Ferran, but the crew and drivers put in a fine effort with their fractured gearbox. Despite the repeated pit stops, Pagenaud recorded the race’s fastest lap, with a 1:06.3 on Lap 88.

In the meantime, Brabham was weaving his way through the tight traffic to hold his largest overall advantage. Despite the one-lap lead, Brabham felt his concentration level needed to be high as he drove to the checkered flag.

“It is difficult to keep your edge when you have a large lead,” said Brabham, who sought his 19th ALMS career win. “It is easy to make a mistake with a back marker and see your good race end suddenly. You need to drive as you would if just seconds from the second-place car.”

As for Fernandez, the popular Mexican star was holding a lead on the No. 20 Mazda of Butch Leitzinger when he made his final pit stop. But, a pit-lane speeding infraction cost Adrian dearly. He had to bring the No. 15 Lowe’s Acura back for a “stop and go” penalty. The violation gave Leitzinger the lead with 30 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 45-minute contest.

Fernandez made his “stop and go” on Lap 102 and trailed Leitzinger by 15 seconds. Adrian then began a stellar performance by clipping off seconds lap after lap, reducing his deficit to just six seconds on Lap 112. By Lap 118, Fernandez was down by under a second and Leitzinger’s Mazda was laboring. The Dyson team wasn’t getting the same fuel economy at the Fernandez contingent, and the Mazda was attempting to stretch its fuel to the end. But the Mazda engine couldn’t handle the pressure and Leitzinger was forced to park the car on the side of the track near Turn Two on Lap 119.

For Fernandez to capture his seventh win of the year, he needed to get to the finish line. He did, and the win for the Fernandez and Diaz gave them the ALMS LMP2 drivers’ point title with races remaining at Road Atlanta on Sept. 26 and Laguna Seca on Oct. 10.

At the same time, Brabham cruised to a victory for himself, Sharp and the entire Patrón Highcroft organization. The victory was the second consecutive for the Connecticut-based squad and extended the LMP1 team and driver points lead to 17 with just two races left.

“It was a good win for our team today,” said Duncan Dayton, team owner of Patrón Highcroft Racing. “We would like to have another race with the de Ferran guys like we had at Road America, but today’s event was easier for us because of their problems with the gearbox. I don’t wish any bad luck on anyone in this kind of racing. But we’ll take the win and continue our fight for the title. Road Atlanta is up next and we’ll set our sights on trying to win that prestigious race, the Petit Le Mans.”

With Audi and Peugeot factory teams set to return at Road Atlanta, the LMP1 battle for the Petit Le Mans title could be one of the best ALMS races seen in some time. The Audis bested the Peugeots and Acuras at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, but things have changed a bit since then.
Peugeot placed 1-2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June and the new Acura ARX-02a chassis has been developed much more since the opening round of the ALMS season. So the competition level is expected to be the highest in some years when the green flag drops for 1,000 miles of racing at 11 a.m. on Sept. 26.

-- Tom Blattler

Popular Australian Racer Continues Family’s Success At Famed Canadian Track

BOWMANVILLE, Ont., Canada — Veteran David Brabham battled young star Simon Pagenaud right down to the wire Saturday to win his 12th career American Le Mans Series pole position in preparation for Sunday’s Mobil 1 Grand Prix of Mosport at the legendary Mosport International Raceway, just outside of Toronto.
Brabham, the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans overall champion, posted a superb one minute, 5.323 second clocking on his fourth lap of the 20-minute qualifying session on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit and watched the French youngster take a shot at stealing the pole on his concluding laps. Driving the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-02a prototype sports car, Brabham waited until the nine-minute mark of qualifying to actually enter the racing surface and quickly established the speed to beat with a clocking of 135.517 miles per hour.

Brabham, who’ll team with Scott Sharp in Sunday’s two-hour, 45-minute main event, didn’t show his hand until it counted in qualifications. It was Brabham’s second 2009 pole and 18th of his ALMS career.

Brabham, 43, won the LMP2 class with Sharp last year at Mosport, matching his father, Sir Jack’s, 1967 Mosport win when the elder Brabham and former Formula One champion took the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham’s older brother, Geoff, finished second at Mosport in a 1981 Can-Am race but never won at the famed track.

Pagenaud, a three-time pole winner this year, drove his No. 66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a to a time of one minute, 5.397 seconds, just .074 seconds off Brabham’s pole clocking. Pagenaud, who will co-drive with Gil de Ferran Sunday, looked to be in position to match or better Brabham’s run, but the 25-year-old Frenchman just missed on each of his final three laps to settle for second on the grid.

Acura’s overall pole was the eighth in eight American Le Mans Series races this year.

Brabham and Sharp hold a 13-point advantage in the LMP1 standings entering Sunday’s Mosport race in a tight contest with the de Ferran Motorsports team. Brabham and Sharp won this year at St. Petersburg and Road America, while Pagenaud and de Ferran have four victories [Long Beach, Utah, Lime Rock and Mid-Ohio].

In the LMP2 category, Marino Franchitti won his second pole of the year in the Dyson Racing Mazda, with Chris Dyson second in a Mazda and Luis Diaz third in the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez

Acura ARX-01b.
ACURA QUOTES:
DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a): “We were a little behind with our car at the beginning of the weekend. We have improved the Acura’s handling and we felt confident for qualifying. Winning pole here is always a thrill. My dad and my brother have done well here before, so I am pleased to take pole. The track surface is not as good due to the rain this morning. This place is tough on a driver. Turns Two and Eight are hard for you. It is quite a ride at this track. It is an old-school circuit."

SIMON PAGENAUD (#66 XM Radio de Ferran Acura ARX-02a): “I tried very hard to take a run at David’s time today. We are very close with the Acura cars and it gets to be a shootout. I had a little traffic on my fastest lap that might have made a difference in winning the pole. But, overall, we want to be ready for the race.”

LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b): “This place is just flat out all of the time. There are really only four corners where you brake. And our straight-line speed is not as fast as the Mazdas. The car feels very good and it will be good in the race. But for qualifying, we just couldn’t stay with them. I feel good about our chances for the race.”

Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon battled wheel-to-wheel for the final 10 laps of Saturday night’s Peak Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, leading a side-by-side and three-wide “freight train” of 13 lead-lap cars across the finish line after 200 laps of exciting, extremely close competition. At the checkers, it was Briscoe edging Dixon by less than eight-thousandths of a second, the fourth-closest finish in IndyCar Series history.

Briscoe’s third win of the season gives him a 25-point advantage in the drivers’ championship standings over Dixon’s teammate, Dario Franchitti, with just two races remaining. Dixon, the remaining driver in championship contention, is 33 points back in third.

The exciting 300-mile contest, which saw all 13 lead-lap cars finish within the same second, capped another weekend of performance and reliability for the Honda Indy V-8 engine, with 23 drivers and teams recording 10,440.88 miles at Chicagoland, once again with 100 percent reliability.

Positions changed frequently throughout the field all race long, but the final, 10-lap “trophy dash” finish was set up when Helio Castroneves suffered an apparent suspension failure on Lap 184, crashing without serious injury in Turn 4. When the green flag waved for the final time on Lap 190, Dixon led from Briscoe and Franchitti. But with five laps to go, the 10-car pack had chased down the leaders, setting up the thrilling finish.

At the front, Briscoe used his “Push to Pass” button on the final lap to move around Dixon on the high side in the run from Turn Four to the finish while, mere inches behind, KV Racing’s Mario Moraes capped his best race of the season by following in Briscoe’s wheel tracks and edging Franchitti for third by just 19-thousandths of a second.

Graham Rahal held off a charging Ed Carpenter for fifth, while Oriol Servia crossed the line in seventh in just his third start for Newman Haas Lanigan Racing. After leading four laps and running near the front for most of the race, Tomas Schekter fell to eight at the checkers, with rookie Raphael Matos and Watkins Glen race-winner Justin Wilson rounding out the top 10 finishers.

The IndyCar Series continues its run of 1.5-mile ovals to close out the 2009 season, crossing the Pacific Ocean for the September 19 event at Honda’s Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Tochigi, Japan.

IndyCar Series Standings (after 15 of 17 races):

1. Ryan Briscoe/550 points (3 wins)
2. Dario Franchitti/525 (4 wins)
3. Scott Dixon/517 (4 wins)
4. Helio Castroneves/383 (2 wins)
5. Danica Patrick/ 353
6. Marco Andretti/342
7. Tony Kanaan 335
8. Graham Rahal 331
9. Dan Wheldon 318
10. Justin Wilson 316 (1 win)
11. Hideki Mutoh 309
12. Ed Carpenter 286

Ryan Briscoe (#6 Team Penske Honda) Started 1st, finished 1st, third IndyCar Series win of 2009, extends his championship points lead to 25, only the second race this season where the points lead has not changed: “Man, It’s huge. That was a big win. I didn’t think I would have enough for Scott, but the side draft pulled me right along. I didn’t even know if I’d won it; I had to ask the team. I made a mistake during the first pit stop and my guys had trouble getting the fuel in. But we kept our heads down and made up the ground we’d lost. I’ve said all along we’re going to have to win races to win this championship. Hopefully, we can stop those [Ganassi] guys in these final two races.”

Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 6th, finished 2nd, his fifth second-place finish at Chicagoland: “I’ve seen this movie several times before, unfortunately. It seems like I always finish second at Chicago. It was a great race, and my guys did a great job in the pits, but we just didn’t seem to have the speed we needed to win. The Penske is clearly just a bit faster now, and we have to work hard to catch up. I think we timed our uses of the overtake button well, we just didn’t have enough speed to run with Ryan [Briscoe] or even Helio [Castroneves] in a head-to-head race.”

Jack Spurney (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on tonight’s race: “The cold, windy weather added an interesting dimension to the race. It was great to see another exciting IndyCar oval race, with plenty of side-by-side and even three-wide racing. It was one of the most exciting finishes I’ve ever witnessed, and the ‘Push to Pass’ seemed to add to the excitement, as we’d hoped. It’s unfortunate that both Hideki Mutoh and Helio Castroneves went out with what appeared to be suspension problems, but fortunately they’re both okay and the Chicago fans got to see a great race, full of close racing, interesting tactics and an exciting finish.”

Honda Racing Report Saturday, August 29, 2009
Event: PEAK Indy 300
Circuit: Chicagoland Speedway (1.5-mile oval) Joliet, Ill.
2008 Winner: Helio Castroneves (Team Penske Honda) 150.649 mph average
Weather: Partly cloudy, cool, 61 degrees F

My name is Matthew! My work at Honda Performance Development, Inc., is my first job as an engineer out of college. Working for HPD as an engineer was my dream job, and my experiences have thus far exceeded my expectations.

While completing my degree, I spent three years in motorsports as a technician on chassis, engine, and dynamometer projects. Previous companies focused on the bottom line more than on development. But, HPD is different. The company provides great learning opportunities for associates because it allows us to try new things and work in an environment where these ideas are celebrated.

At Honda Performance Development, Inc., I am responsible for:

• Engine calibration, which includes fuel and spark management, along with sensor calibration.
• Test coordination, to verify design parameters and engine durability in representative conditions.
• Trackside support, using engine instrumentation and trackside analysis of engine parameters.

Honda Performance Development Inc., collaboratively develops the highest level of endurance technology for racing. Individual associates’ contributions to these engines are geared towards meticulously engineered subcomponents that require precise planning to fit all pieces into place.

As a young engineer at Honda Performance Development, I have had the opportunity to work on both pinnacle racing and grassroots motorsports projects, which has allowed me another opportunity to express my creativity. During this past year, the engine on which I’ve been focused has changed from a high-powered ALMS P1 engine to a 115 horsepower FF/Fit engine, but the development theory and expectations remain the same, and these opportunities help broaden my knowledge base and, by extension, Honda’s.

I am living the Honda Racing Spirit Dream.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti completely controlled Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, leading from start to finish over the rolling hills of Infineon Raceway en route to his fourth IndyCar Series victory of 2009.

It was only the second time in IndyCar Series history that a race has been led throughout by a single driver. Franchitti’s teammate, Scott Dixon, is the only other IndyCar driver to accomplish this feat, at Richmond International Raceway in 2003.

But Franchitti had a shadow in the form of Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe, who matched his every move throughout the 75-lap contest to finish second, just 0.24 seconds behind the winner, and reclaiming the drivers’ championship points lead with three races remaining.

Starting on the the front row, Franchitti and Briscoe were ahead of a multi-car bumping and barging incident on the opening lap, which affected or delayed at least nine cars including Dixon, who came into Infineon with a three-point lead in the championship. But the first-lap incident, and contact with Marco Andretti on the final lap, dropped Dixon to 13th at the checkers and third in the championship standings, 20 points behind new leader Briscoe. With his fourth win of the year and bonus points for the pole and leading the most laps; Franchitti moves up to second, just four points out of the lead.

Behind the leaders -- who included Helio Castroneves until a suspension failure and the resulting late-race spin ended his day -- battles raged throughout the field.

Hideki Mutoh ran fourth for much of the race, until a late-race passing attempt on Briscoe for second went awry and Mutoh was in turn passed by Mike Conway and Mario Moraes, both of whom had their best finishes of 2009. Conway’s third-place result was his first IndyCar podium finish, while today’s race for Moraes was the first for the KV Racing driver since the death of his father just over two weeks ago.

Oriol Servia finished sixth in his second race for Newman Haas Lanigan Racing, but only after holding off a determined Justin Wilson for the final 20 laps. Wilson, winner at the Watkins Glen road course in July, started at the back of the field as part of a calculated race strategy that allowed him to use an extra set of softer Firestone “Red” alternate tires. Starting 22nd, Wilson made spectacular progress through the field during the first 50 laps, coming up just short of a top-six result.

Today’s race concludes the road-racing portion of the 2009 IndyCar schedule. Next week, the series returns to the ovals for the final three races of the season, starting August 29 with the Peak Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.


IndyCar Series Standings (after 14 of 17 races):

1. Ryan Briscoe 497 points (2 wins)
2. Dario Franchitti 493 (4 wins)
3. Scott Dixon 477 (4 wins)
4. Helio Castroneves 371 (2 wins)
5. Danica Patrick 335
6. Marco Andretti 323
7. Tony Kanaan 318
8. Dan Wheldon 306
9. Graham Rahal 301
10. Hideki Mutoh 297
11. Justin Wilson 196 (1 win)
12. Ed Carpenter 58
    

Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 1st, finished 1st, fourth win of 2009 and 22nd career major open-wheel racing victory (all with Honda power): “It was a great day for us. Track position was so important, and qualifying on the pole was critical as well. There were a couple of ‘interesting’ moments, mainly with some of the lapped traffic, but I did what I had to do, and my boys did a great job in the pits, as always. I’m feeling pretty good about our [championship] chances. We’ll finish the title chase on three ovals and both Target cars are in the running. It’s not going to be easy, but I like our chances.”

Ryan Briscoe (#6 Team Penske Honda) Started 2nd, finished 2nd, re-claims IndyCar Series drivers’ championship lead: “The championship is coming down to these last few races. If we’re going to win it, we’re going to have to do well in the upcoming [final three] ovals. If we keep our heads down and continue to run strongly, the wins will come for us.”

Jack Spurney (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race: “I thought we had a fabulous race today at a fabulous circuit. Lots of close racing and great battles, not only at the front, but throughout the field. Congratulations to Dario Franchitti for his 22nd Honda-powered win, and fourth of the season, and to Target Chip Ganassi Racing for their 8th win this year. And ‘well done’ to Mike Conway, Mario Morase and Hideki Mutoh for their excellent runs, as well as to Justin Wilson, who passed more cars today than anyone else on the track.”

Dario Franchitti used the final moments of third-round “knockout” qualifying to do just that: knock Ryan Briscoe off the pole in IndyCar Series qualifying Saturday at Infineon Raceway, and claim the inside-front-row starting position for Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County.

After leading much of the final, 10-minute “Firestone Fast Six” qualifying, Briscoe will start second, with his Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, third. Marco Andretti will start fifth for Andretti Green Racing, leading the team in its best overall qualifying effort of the season. Teammate Hideki Mutoh will line up fifth, with Tony Kanaan seventh, rookie Franck Montagny eighth in his IndyCar debut; and Danica Patrick in 11th.

Today’s action was marred by a serious three-car crash in the opening practice. Nelson Phillipe spun just over the brow of the blind right-hand Turn 3, and his car was then clipped by E.J. Viso and then stuck violently by Will Power. Viso escaped injury, but Power and Phillipe were transported to an area hospital for treatment of concussions for both drivers, a fractured left foot for Phillipe and a back fractures for Power. Sunday’s race starts at 5:45 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on Versus starting at 5 p.m.

Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) pole qualifier, his fourth pole of 2009, seventh career IndyCar Series pole: “I’m pretty happy right now. We’ve made the “Fast Six” [final qualifying round] at every road and street course this year, and that’s a great achievement for our team. I think we’ve got a good race car, and it definitely helps to start up front here. But the championship point [for pole] that we earned today, that’s more important than anything.”

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma - Qualifying Report
Circuit: Infineon Raceway (2.30-mile road course) Sonoma, CA
2008 Winner: Helio Castroneves (Team Penske Honda) 100.254 mph average
Weather: Sunny, mild, 74 degrees F

TORRANCE, Calif. (August 20, 2009) – Following the launch of the Honda Racing Line program for the grassroots racing market, American Honda and Honda Performance Development have released details of their support program for Honda and Acura competitors at the 2009 Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs, Sept. 21-27 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to support SCCA racers,” said Erik Berkman, President of Honda Performance Development, Inc. “Through the Honda Racing Line and its programs, we want to encourage our competitors to fulfill their racing dreams. In providing an incentive program for Honda or Acura racers competing in the SCCA Runoffs, we can recognize and celebrate their challenging spirit and racing passion.”

To be eligible for support, all Honda competitors must be enrolled in the Honda Racing Line program and display the required “Honda Racing/HPD” or “Acura Motorsports” decals provided by the SCCA at Road America. Registration for the Honda Racing Line will be offered on-site at Road America in the Honda Racing paddock area, located in the West Paddock.

Administered by the SCCA on behalf of HPD and American Honda, these incentives will be available following the completion of the Runoffs:

• $500 for starting the National Championship Runoffs


• $500 for winning a Divisional Championship


• $1500 for winning a National Championship, with additional awards of $1000 and $500 for 2nd- and 3rd-place finishes, respectively.

Honda/Acura competitors will be reimbursed at the conclusion of the event for the following costs:

• $100 credit for reserved paddock parking space (must be reserved directly through Road America website and pre-paid by competitor)


• $200 credit for reserving and participating in SCCA-sanctioned test day on Monday, Sept. 21st (reserved directly through SCCA website)

In addition to these benefits, American Honda will provide a catered hospitality tent on site, exclusively for Honda competitors and crew members. The tent will provide a lunch buffet from Tuesday, Sept. 22nd through Saturday, Sept. 26th.

Competitors may pick up their hospitality passes at the Honda Racing paddock area.

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing cars and engines. In addition to its new grassroots motorsports initiative, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and competes in prototype sports-car racing under the Acura banner in the American Le Mans Series.

Matthew Staal earned two top-five finishes at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania to join fellow Team Honda Research-West racer Sage Marie in qualifying for the 2009 SCCA National Runoffs.


TORRANCE, Calif. – August 18, 2009 - Team Honda Research-West took another step toward realizing a national championship dream when Matthew Staal became the second THR-W driver to qualify for the 2009 Sports Car Club of America National Runoffs. Driving a Showroom Stock SSB class Honda Civic Si, Staal battled a large field to finish fifth and fourth, respectively, at Pocono in national qualifying races on Saturday and Sunday, August 15 and 16.

Staal’s strong weekend allows him to join fellow THR-W regular driver Sage Marie, who qualified for the Runoffs in a T3 class Honda S2000 with a second-place finish in the Southern Pacific Division championship. The drivers, who are being supported as part of Honda Performance Development’s new grassroots motorsports initiative, will race at the 2009 SCCA National Runoffs, Sept. 21-27 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Both cars are being prepared and fielded by Ohio-based Team Honda Research (THR).

Staal, who focused on endurance racing in 2007 and 2008, quickly got up to speed by qualifying fourth in class on Saturday. During the race, mechanical issues slowed the Civic Si, forcing Staal to focus on smooth and consistent laps, while saving his car for the second race.

On Sunday, Staal improved to third position in qualifying. He was able to utilize the Civic Si’s strong acceleration to move into second place before contact interrupted his challenge for the lead. In Turn One, Staal was hit on the passenger side, causing him to nearly spin in front of the field. Staal kept his foot on the throttle and managed to recover from the severe oversteer, staying with the frontrunners to finish fourth. These two strong finishes, following Staal’s second-place run at Nelson Ledges (Oh.) Raceway in July, earned him a starting position in the National Runoffs.

Staal is looking forward to representing Honda Racing/HPD along with fellow drivers Lee Niffenegger, Chad Gilsinger, Inness Eisele, Sage Marie and Bob Boileau at Road America for the SCCA National Championships on September 24-27, 2009.

##

Website: http://thrw.hra.com

Contact: John Whiteman (310) 781-6532

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Honda-Research-West-Race-Team/89666196518

FF/Fit Prototype Debuts at FF 40th Anniversary Celebration

As one of the initial offerings in its new grassroots motorsports initiative, Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), the authorized Honda and Acura auto racing company in North America, is proposing entry into an SCCA Club Racing program with an eye toward lowering operating costs, while strengthening FF’s position as the first step in American open-wheel racing.

Check out the Honda Racing HPD FF/Fit Debut Video.

It was a quick turnaround for the Acura teams, heading to the Road America race after the Mid-Ohio event the previous week.

But for the majority of the drivers, crews and sponsors in the American Le Mans Series, the trip to Elkhart Lake, Wis., is always fun. Road America is one of the finest and most legendary road courses in the world. The famed four-mile circuit has been a favorite of drivers for the past 50 years. You could ask Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Bobby Rahal, Derek Bell, Geoff Brabham, David Brabham, Gil de Ferran, Dario Franchitti and Adrian Fernandez. They all love the place.

The history of Road America, the drivers who’ve competed there, the fans who have witnessed the races and the fun throughout the facility have given the track its own legacy.

The team facing the biggest turnaround after Mid-Ohio was the Patrón Highcroft Racing team, which had major repairs to be done. The contact between Scott Sharp’s Acura ARX-02a and the No. 44 Flying Lizards Porsche left the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft machine pretty badly injured. The left side bodywork and the car’s under tray were severely damaged, and extensive attention was required.

But the Robin Hill-led crew did a tremendous job in getting the car ready for testing runs, set for Friday afternoon.

When the track opened for the ALMS machines, there had already been a variety of cars on the track. The Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase had numerous series participating, and the majority of those cars had already run on the circuit.

So, when the American Le Mans Series took to the asphalt, the racing surface seemed in pretty good shape. It was a little different from the slippery surface that greeted the drivers a week earlier at Mid-Ohio.

The de Ferran car picked up where it had left off at Mid-Ohio, going very fast immediately with a time of 1:50.573 and Gil at the wheel. Simon Pagenaud, coming off four straight wins, looked confident as he took his first laps on the Road America pavement.

“This is a good start for us,” said de Ferran, who is now on his farewell tour in the cockpit. “We had a few red flags that hurt us a bit, but we found a good base with the car for the rest of the weekend. Man, I forgot how quick this place can be. For us, we have no strategy for the championship. We are behind and we just have to go out and win races. The Patrón Highcroft team is a world-class team. They will be strong again this weekend.”

For the Patrón Highcroft team, the Friday afternoon test was a little scary. Obviously, getting the Acura back into shape was difficult on the team. Then in testing, the car didn’t seem right to David Brabham and Scott Sharp. It wasn’t handling properly. And for Sharp, it shortly got worse.

On the back section of the course, known as The Kink, the steering locked up on the No. 9 Acura. Sharp was traveling about 150 miles per hour at that point. And suddenly, no steering! Yikes! Luckily for Scott, he got the car slowed down on the grass and didn’t get into the wall. It was only a few years earlier when Katherine Legge had a huge crash in that same area.

Sharp’s best time of testing was 1:52.916, over two seconds off de Ferran’s time. So, the Patrón Highcroft crew knew they had some further work to do to get the car up to speed for the weekend.

In Saturday morning’s practice session, the de Ferran squad continued to improve. Gil clicked off the first sub-1:50 lap with a best of 1:49.874. Jon Field, with a powerful 6-liter motor well-suited to the Road America layout, was second at 1:51.010, followed by Sharp at 1:51.349. The atmosphere in the Patrón Highcroft stable was not cheery at that point. Brabs and Sharpie were both concerned about their car’s performance. After four straight losses to de Ferran, there was a lot of head-scratching taking place in the No. 9 trailer.

But the team made improvements for the second practice on Saturday. Brabham was better with his car at 1:49.592 to Gil’s 1:49.097. David wasn’t totally pleased, but the team was moving in the right direction for qualifying and the race. Meanwhile, the No. 6 Porsche of Klaus Graf and Greg Pickett had shown some speed, posting the third overall time at 1:51.785, to Fernandez’ 1:51.899.

The Lowe’s Fernandez contingent was nervous coming to Road America when assessing its long straights and the Dyson Mazdas’ turbo-charged horsepower. Co-owner Tom Anderson knew the Lowe’s team faced a tough task in staying with the Mazdas and now, the former Dyson Porsche with Graf and Pickett, as well.
But the Lowe’s team is a veteran and experienced bunch. Chief engineer John Ward is one of the best in the business and Fernandez and Diaz are no slouches either, as Judge Smails would say. That’s a Caddyshack reference.

Qualifying can be a little more daunting at Road America because of the longer circuit and fewer laps to cut a quick time. So, the Acura teams were ready to go when the green flag flew.

Fernandez hit the course fast with a 1:52.917 on his opening lap and jumped to the top of the charts. On his second lap, Brabham took the lead with a 1:49.574, with Marino Franchitti second in the No. 20 Mazda, at 1:51.010.

But, at the eight-minute mark in the 20-minute session, de Ferran showed his prowess with a spectacular 1:49.216 lap. Brabs was in the hunt, too, with a 1:49.065 clocking. Fernandez, manwhile, closed in on Franchitti with a 1:51.796.

With 12 minutes gone, de Ferran notched a 1:48.290, almost identical to his earlier lap, and Fernandez improved to fourth overall at 1:51.222, but was still short of Franchitti. Brabham pitted, and his team looked over the Michelin tires and sent him back out for one final shot at the pole.

But David’s best at the end was 1:49.039, and the pole went to de Ferran, his first ever at Road America. Following Gil were Brabham, Franchitti (first in LMP2), at 1:51.010, Fernandez, at 1:51.222, Guy Smith in the other Mazda, at 1:51.832, and Graf in the LMP2 Porsche at 1:51.922.

The qualifying results marked the first time this year that the Lowe’s Fernandez team had not captured the LMP2 pole. But, as Anderson predicted earlier, it was not surprising, given the Mazdas’ straightaway speed.

In Sunday’s morning warm-up, Pagenaud was quickest at 1:51.358, with Field second, Brabham third and Fernandez fourth. Still, Brabham seemed pleased with the changes the Patrón Highcroft team had made overnight. Perhaps this race was going be a ‘knock down-drag out’ affair after all.

A good crowd greeted the racers when the cars lined the grid for the main event. Pagenaud, Sharp and Diaz were the starting drivers for the Acura teams.

Pagenaud, from pole, took the lead at the start with Sharp tucking in behind the No. 66 XM Radio machine into Turn One. Sharp complained on his radio that the No. 9 car had too much understeer, allowing Simon to open up a good margin by Lap 5. On the sixth lap, Pagenaud held over six seconds on Sharp, and Diaz was stuck in sixth overall, following the LMP2 Mazdas and Field’s LMP1 car.

On Lap 8, the yellow flag appeared when a GT car spun into the Turn 12 sand trap. This early caution period led to some interesting strategy among the leaders. Pagenaud had complained early in his run that the rear end of his Acura was sliding a little too much.

So, the de Ferran crew made the decision to pit early for fuel and a change of tires. They reduced the pressures in the rear tires in an effort to help Simon get through the corners better. Plus, the team had a plan to move through the field quicker and take the lead when other cars might pit under green-flag conditions. In recent years, there had not been many yellow-flag laps at Road America. So, the de Ferran bunch played with the odds this year.

The green flag flew again on Lap 12, and Sharp was off in a flash, extending his lead to 17 seconds by Lap 16. Pagenaud sliced his way through traffic and moved to second by Lap 16, then, mounted on fresh Michelin rubber, set his sights on the leader. By Lap 26, Simon was on Scott’s rear wing and the two were embroiled in an exciting battle.

But on Lap 28, the de Ferran strategy basically fell apart when a full-course yellow hit the circuit. This allowed Sharp to pit, and Brabham jumped in the car with fuel and new tires. Pagenaud did the same, and de Ferran took the wheel. It was a great drive from behind by Simon to the front of the field, but the caution period evened everything out.

Following the restart on Lap 32, lapped cars posed a problem for de Ferran, as Brabham was able to open a seven-second advantage by Lap 41. Gil closed the gap to under two seconds by Lap 50, and a shootout looked to be imminent. But the yellow came out again on Lap 53 when Chris Dyson had a problem on the front straightaway with his Mazda.

Pit strategy came into play again for the two Acuras battling for the overall lead. Gil pitted quickly for fuel and four tires. It was a fast stop and the popular Brazilian looked to be in great position to take the lead. But Rob Hill and Duncan Dayton made a call similar to the late one at Lime Rock, with Brabs taking on fuel and only two left-side tires. Thus, in a mad scramble to exit the pits, Brabs pulled out just in front of Gil.

Also in a maneuver similar to its pit stop at Mid-Ohio, the Lowe’s team made a quick fuel stop and Fernandez got out of the pits in the overall lead. It was another great move from Ward, Anderson and the entire Lowe’s team.

On the restart, the power of the LMP1 Acuras was too much for Adrian’s LMP2 Acura on the straight, and the battle was on between two good friends, Brabham and de Ferran. It was nose-to-tail before Brabs caught some traffic and opened up a five-second gap.

The final full-course caution came out on Lap 64, as Brabham, de Ferran, Fernandez, Butch Leitzinger and Graf made up the top five. As Brabs prepared for the ensuing restart, he slowed and cleaned off his tires. But his pace was slow, slower than normal pace-car speed. On the radio, Hill yelled to Brabs, “David, if you don’t get to pace-car speed, the IMSA officials will send Gil past you for the restart.”

Brabham picked up the pace quickly as the green flag flew again. De Ferran was right on Brabs’ rear wing as they entered Turn One. Meanwhile, Fernandez was keeping a strong pace to stay in front of Leitzinger for his sixth win of the year.

“I kept looking for David to make a mistake,” said de Ferran. “I felt like I was quicker. But getting by him was very difficult. He is one of the best sports-car drivers in the world. He doesn’t make mistakes. I wouldn’t think he would do anything different. There wasn’t anything more I could do.”

At the checkered flag, it was Brabham by a mere .461 seconds over a charging de Ferran to clinch the second overall win of the year for the Patrón Highcroft team. The Highcroft win snapped the four-race victory streak for the de Ferran team, which was seeking an ALMS-record five wins in a row.

“This win was big,” said Brabham. “We had a tough race at Mid-Ohio last week and the car wasn’t good early in the weekend. But the crew just threw a lot of changes at the chassis on Saturday night, and the car felt so much better in the race. This team is a top-notch team, and they showed it with their strategy in the race. It is exciting to be back on the top of the podium today.”
In addition, Fernandez placed third overall and took another LMP2 win for the Lowe’s Fernandez organization. The win extended Diaz and Fernandez’ points lead in LMP2, with three races remaining in the 2009 ALMS campaign.

“This is my first win here at Road America,” said Fernandez. “I was second and third here in CART, and Luis won here in Formula Atlantic before. So, I really wanted to win here. Road America is one of my favorite tracks, and now I can say I was a winner here. It has been a great year for us. Now, we want to capture the LMP2 championship.”

-- Tom Blattler

Once again, I’ve managed to get a bit (!) behind on these reports, but I’ll do my best over the next couple of days to get caught up, starting with the Honda Indy Toronto.

It was great to return to one of my favorite cities, anywhere. Toronto is just such a cool city, with everything you’d find in New York or Chicago, but on a slightly smaller – and much more polite! – scale. It was my first time back to T.O. in a couple of years, and the first time for Honda to be back for “The Indy”, as the locals call it, since 2002.

When we arrived, last week’s race at Watkins Glen (July 5) – the most exciting race of the season on EITHER an oval or road course – was still fresh in everyone’s mind. Dale Coyne was passing out cigars (genuine Cubans!) with commemorative bands on them celebrating his team’s first CART/Champ Car/IndyCar win) to just about everyone he saw, and I think some of his guys were still hung over from the post-race party at Seneca Lodge….

As many of you know, Honda Canada was the title sponsor in Toronto, and they did a fair bit of activation in the weeks leading up to the race. And, although the weekend crowds were not at the levels of the peak CART years, it was a healthy turnout and hopefully (given the action-filled race that followed), something that can be built on in the coming years.

Despite a very short turn-around from The Glen to Toronto, there were a couple of new paint jobs on display here: at Vision, Ed Carpenter had the dark gray, William Rast paint job that Ryan Hunter-Reay had run earlier in the year; Tony Kanaan traded “Nestle Pure Life” bottled-water blue for his customary 7-Eleven Green; and then, there was Will Power’s gorgeous, retro-yellow Penske Truck Leasing paint job, looking for all the world like the ’87 Indy 500-winning Hertz car of Al Unser, Sr.

Toronto marked the return of “The Thrill from West Hill”, Paul Tracy, back with KV Racing and supported by the Ontario Honda Dealers Association. His red and white paint scheme was dedicated to woundedwarriors.ca, which supports injured Canadian soldiers. Finally, Quebec (parlez-vous Francais-Canadien???) was represented by the return of Conquest Racing and Alex Tagliani. Both would have featured roles in the race on Sunday…

To me, the track looked pretty much the same as I remembered it from more-than-a-half-decade ago, but a couple of drivers (Wilson, Tags, Tracy) said it felt a bit rougher than they remembered. Don’t know if the track has grown some new bumps, or if current-generation Dallaras are just a bit stiffer than the previous Champ Car Panozes (Panoi? Ponzis?); but if I had to bet, I’d say it’s probably a result of stiffer wheel rates on the IndyCars.

Meanwhile, it was not the finest of Fridays for Andretti Green Racing, at this, a race they’re promoting. Only “DateHideki@Indycar.com” Mutoh escaped the day unscathed:

· Marco Andretti spun braking for Turn 1, very gently touching the wall. He continued.

· Tony Kanaan very nearly crashed at Turn 8, getting very hard on the brakes and just barely missing the tire barrier, while flat-spotting (ruining) his own.

· Danica Patrick, on the other hand, was not able to continue after the rear end stepped out as she exited Turn 5. She made hard contact with the inside wall, causing substantial rear-suspension damage that ended her day.

· TK ended the day 10th; Marco 15th; Danica 21st and Mutoh 22nd.

Rookie Rafa Matos (who HAS run here previously in Atlantics) ended the day on top of the time sheets, followed by Justin Wilson, Will Power and “Bobby D” Doornbos. The common link – cue up CSNY’s “Déjà Vu” – they’ve all been here before.

Saturday morning, IndyCar practice had barely started when the skies opened up to the point where the session was halted, which, literally, precipitated a 30-minute “all skate” once things were semi-dry again.

…and the rain did nothing to improve AGR’s weekend, as Kanaan lost it in the final corner and made HARD contact with the wall. Next was Marco. Same corner, but just his nosecone paid the price. Completing the trifecta, Ed Carpenter also spun and hit the Turn 11 wall, damaging a couple of A-arms.

And these guys weren’t the only ones, just those I could track easily from Pit Lane. Frankly, nearly everyone who bothered to go out ended up having “issues”. Several decided that it was better to park their cars, and quite a few others never made bothered to complete a lap in the session.

By the end of the session, E.J. Viso and Mario Moraes were the only drivers on track. More on this pair, later.

BTW, if you haven’t seen them already, check out Paul Tracy’s blogs on the Racer.com website. They’re a hoot. For example, take his description of taking out his IndyCar on the greasy, diesel-fuel-stained, wet streets of Toronto: “Bambi on skates….” Still, he was quickest of the 18 cars that actually bothered to post a lap time.

Although it was getting drier by the minute, the Indy Lights race was declared a wet race, so all drivers were required to start on wet tires. So pit stops – from teams not accustomed to making them – would figure in the outcome.

Mario Romancini was the first to stop for dry tires, at the end of Lap 1. But the stop took a full lap and left the Andersen Racing driver at the back of the field.

By Lap 9, pretty much everyone had changed to dry tires, with Richard Philippe being the last. Indy Lights pit stops are a little more difficult - not only do the cars have to be manually jacked, each stub axle has a wheel-retaining safety pin that has to be removed. Definitely not the seven-second pit stops we're used to in IndyCars.

Unlike their IndyCar brethren, the AGR/AFS Racing team dominated. J.R. Hildebrand managed to pass teammate Sebastien Saavedra in the pits. All credit to the crew - their two cars were over 15 seconds ahead of James Hinchcliffe in third when the stops wrapped up. On the other end, Vision’s James Davison went from second to eleventh on his pit stop.

Quickest guy on the track, Saavedra was all over the back of Hildebrand as they encountered lapped traffic. Saavedra used a lapper as a “pick” and checked out. J.R. was next for an AGR/AFS 1-2, with local boy James “Hinchtown” Hinchcliffe a VERY popular third. An interesting race, but no classic.

On to IndyCar qualifying and – I’m really not trying to pick on AGR here – but Kanaan spun at Turn 8 in his newly repaired car and stalled. Before he could get cleared, teammate Hideki Mutoh came around the corner, had nowhere to go and plowed into the tires to avoid hitting Tony. Hideki's damage was confined to the nose, but it just goes to show how, on some days, bad can pile upon bad.

In the second round of qualifying, Ryan Hunter-Reay brought out a local yellow when he spun at Turn 8. Raphael Matos touched the wall with his right rear but was able to come back to Pit Lane under his own power. But the news from the second group was who advanced and who didn't. Both Team Penske cars missed advancing, as did Scott Dixon. Alex Tagliani set the fastest lap in the second round.

In the final round, Wilson went out on scuffed ‘reds’ (tires) early, then switched to a set of sticker ‘blacks.’ Graham Rahal held the pole for a bit, until beaten by Dario Franchitti. Franchitti decided he could do no better and pulled onto Pit Lane. From there, he watched as Rahal, Tagliani and the rest were unable to improve. As usual in road-course qualifying these days, it was a cool session with Dario leading Power, Rahal, Wilson, Tags and a pleasantly surprising Mike Conway.

In fact, Conway was singled out by Franchitti in the press conference, with the pole-sitter saying the Dreyer and Reinbold Racing driver had done a hell of a job in his first visit to Toronto. Conway was the only member of the Fast Six who had not raced at Toronto before. Conway has had a tough rookie season, with plenty of speed but (as even he would admit) too many crashes. However, he finished sixth at the ‘Glen a week earlier, and a lot of people were hoping Mike had finally turned things around.

Let’s close out Saturday with some Toronto Trivia:

One of the signature TV shots you see here features something called Princes’ Gate: a large, vaguely arch-like sculpture with an angel on top, behind Turn 1. It was built in 1927 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the confederation of Canada. It’s similar, yet very different, to the founding of the good ‘ole U.S. of A. However, when it was heard that two of the sons of the British King (George V) were visiting, the structure/memorial was given its current name.

The angel on the top is actually called the "Goddess of Winged Victory", and is modeled after the statue of the Greek goddess Nike found at the Louvre. The statue was replaced with a copy in the late 1980s because the original was falling apart. No idea if that deficiency was blamed on the two sons of the British monarch as well, but further modifications to the Princes' Gates are now protected under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Thank you, Cliff Claven.

After humidity on Friday and Saturday’s rain, Sunday featured the best weather of the weekend, and also the largest crowd. As mentioned previously, it wasn’t anything like the “old days”, but still encouraging.

In the race, Dario got very lucky on the timing of his final pit stop to help him pull away and win for the third time this season. Franchitti managed to get on Pit Lane just seconds before it closed for an incident between Rahal and Carpenter on Lap 59.

Franchitti was then moved in front of Paul Tracy by Race Control, putting him into second place behind Helio Castroneves. Franchitti passed Helio on Lap 65 and cruised to the win, never being challenged despite a couple of late restarts.

So, one of the “Big Two” teams won, once more. But, for a time mid-race, it looked like a fairy-tale ending just might be possible, as Tags and PT spent a number of laps running 1-2.

After sitting out the last three races due to financial constraints, Conquest Racing DROVE from Indy to Toronto in its Honda-provided Odysseys. The Hyatt Regency Toronto footed the team’s hotel rooms in exchange for some on-car exposure, and the Rexall Edmonton Indy and King Tut Exhibition sponsorships were joined by those of Sears Canada, Craftsman and The Keg, or Eric Bachelart’s team would not have made it.

Tagliani made a great start and tucked in behind Franchitti as they funneled through Turn 1. After Franchitti pitted on Lap 24, Tags led 21 of the next 35 laps and appeared to be in the catbird seat, despite all the different fuel strategies separating the field.

But, just as in 2001 at Toronto, when Alex had everyone covered but lost to Michael Andretti because of a bad break under caution, a full-course yellow flew just as Dario pitted on Lap 59 and, by the time Tags pitted after the packup, he was shuffled back to 11th place.

Tags’ efforts earned him steady cheers during all three days, but his old sparring partner from CART, PT, stole the show. Starting 15th, Tracy immediately picked off five positions and began his march to the front. To appreciate what “The Thrilla” means to his hometown and to this race, one only needed to stand back and listen.

When he slid under Conway for third place on Lap 28, the fans watching the big screen roared their approval. When he muscled Scott Dixon out of the way for second on the next lap, the grandstands were vibrating and suddenly, the only two Canadians in the race were running 1-2.

As mentioned above, Franchitti pitted moments before the full-course yellow waved on Lap 59. That both ruined Tags’ chances and led to Dario beating his old KOOL teammate, Tracy, to the blend/timing line as he exited the pits.

When three-time Indy 500 winner Castroneves missed Turn 1 on Lap 65, Franchitti made the easiest first-place pass of his career and Helio was saving all the fuel he could to make the finish.

Running full-rich, PT ran down Castroneves at the end of the long Lakeshore Drive straight on Lap 66. The two were almost side-by-side heading for the left-handed Turn 3, but that wasn’t gonna last – and didn’t – as the pair locked wheels going through Turn 4. Tracy was out on the spot, while Castroneves limped into Pit Lane and retirement.

For maybe the first time in his career, Helio heard boos – long and loud. Then, the crowd behind the pits began chanting “Helio sucks”. Tracy defused a public lynching by stopping Helio as he walked back to the paddock, and they shook hands.

Other notes of interest from TO:

-- Both Ryan Briscoe and Will Power sustained cut tires from contact right at the green (or just BEFORE, in the case of Power) and rebounded with alternate pit strategies to finish on the podium.

-- Mario Moraes had his usual up-and-down day - he went from leading on fuel strategy to hitting or touching so many cars that we lost count. Heck, Moraes hit E.J. Viso from behind after the checkered flag on the backstretch, as the pair carried over some bad blood from the race.

-- Alex Tagliani wore a King Tut headpiece in driver introductions. Yeah, he looked silly, but ya’ do what ya’ gotta do to get a ride (see also: Alex Lloyd’s pink firesuit and paint job at Indy).

-- Late in the race, however, Alex “blotted his copybook” and plowed into the back of Tomas Scheckter, sending Scheckter into the tires. Scheckter did his post-crash trademark “tossing of the gloves”, when Tagliani came back around following the incident.

-- As for AGR’s performance, it was kind of the same as it’s been all season - Danica Patrick turned in a quietly consistent finish in sixth (running the last 37 laps on her set of ‘red’ tires), Tony Kanaan had a crash (he made contact with the wall that broke his left-rear suspension), and Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh were on track but were not factors.

-- Mike Conway also had his “typical” day – showing flashes of great promise, followed by a mistake that knocks him from the race. He seems really talented, but really, really needs a good race. Soon.

-- Before the race started, I noticed that several teams brought out not one, but two spare nose assemblies to keep in the pit area. That seemed like a good indication that we would see a full-contact IndyCar Series race - and we did.

Leaving the track on Sunday night, fans taking the time for one last look at the big screens could see “Floyd”, a large, plastic, pink flamingo. Floyd actually existed - zip-tied to the catch fence at the end of pit lane. The message next to Floyd's picture kind of summed things up well - "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Thank You, Toronto".

All in all, this was a really good race, one of the best of the season (along with Watkins Glen). There was passing, there was blocking, there were unforced errors, and some forced errors. There was contact that did not cause a crash and some that did, plus a little officiating controversy and even a little incidental contact after the checkers.

Finally, when all was said and done, the fastest car won. All-in-all, a great day at the races.

P.S.

Plans for an Indy 500 movie focusing on the inaugural 500 in 1911 are moving ahead, as is the construction of a replica of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from that first “500”. The model track (actually a one-mile oval) will be a part of the new Prairie Hills Motorsports Club in Lake Village, Indiana (southeast of Chicago).

Pre-production for the flick has begun and casting is supposed to start in October. Filming is scheduled to start in May, 2010. For more details, the website http://www.prairiehillsmc.com/facility/the_track.html is a link to the Prairie Hills Club and the “500” track, and you can read more about it at http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page_Full.asp?content=40912

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TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QUEBEC – The streets of Le Circuit de Trois-Rivières are like second nature to Benoit Theetge of Boischitel.

Saturday, Theetge will once again compete in the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the 1.521-mile temporary circuit playing host its 40th year of racing. He will drive in the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge, teamed with Christian Miller, the point leader in the Street Tuner class.

Theetge began competing at Trois-Rivières in the early 1990s, and has a handful of wins at his home track. However, none have come in the KONI Challenge, which is a successor to the Motorola Cup series that toured Canada during the previous decade.

Theetge and Miller will drive the #74 034Motorsport/Skunk2 Honda Civic Si for Compass360 Racing of Toronto. Last season, Compass360 fielded the winning machine – an Acura TSX – for ST winners Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood, as well as three other cars. This season, the #74 has two victories – both with Miller and Randy Pobst – and overall, Compass360 Racing has three wins in eight races. With Pobst busy racing elsewhere this weekend, Theetge steps in, and hopes his efforts will award him with a share of the victory.

"No doubt, Trois-Rivières is a special track for all of us," said Theetge, who will make his first KONI Challenge start of the season Saturday. "Even though good drivers are competitive there, there are challenges – the braking zones, the walls. The walls can be intimidating – if a driver is scared of them, [he] will lose a second or so. I have been competing at Trois-Rivières since 1992 or 1993, and I skipped a couple of years there, but by the time I started competing in Motorola Cup, I was competitive."
Theetge has four KONI Challenge starts at Trois-Rivières – three in ST and one in the Grand Sport class – with a best finish of third in 2001 while teamed with another Quebec driver, Jocelyn Hebert of Becancour.

"Honestly, I believe I am on the best team out there," said Theetge, who has led laps in each of the last three KONI Challenge ST races at Trois-Rivières. "But racing is racing. The last three years, I led – 20 minutes from the end, 40 minutes, an hour – but never came up winning. Typically, the track is hard on brakes, but this year, I don’t believe it will be because the race is only 90 minutes long. There will be a lot of different strategies. I know the car will be competitive and I will be competitive – it’s my home track.

"I have won there before in other types of cars, but I am not thinking about that right now," Theetge concluded. "I want to drive well and get the maximum amount of points for Christian to keep his championship hopes alive. Those are my goals."

The weekend of July 24-26, 2009 marked the official launch of Honda Racing/HPD, Honda’s new initiative aimed at expanding its presence in grassroots racing, which took place in conjunction with the Milwaukee Region SCCA Formula Ford 40th Anniversary event. Between talking with fellow Honda drivers about HPD’s new Honda Racing Line parts- and technical-support portal, Honda Racing/HPD drivers celebrated the occasion with a first-place finish in Showroom Stock B for Gilsinger, and second- and third-place finishes in Touring 3 for Marie and Eisele, respectively. This was Marie’s first trip to the daunting four-mile Road America circuit, and it was the first return in many years for Eisele and Gilsinger, so the occasion served as a valuable opportunity to prepare for September’s SCCA National Championship Runoffs, which will take place at the same venue.

Despite being in the process of learning the track, Marie managed to qualify his Honda S2000 CR at the front of the T3 grid, posting a lap time below the previous race-lap record, thanks in large part to the grip of his BF Goodrich tires. With stiff competition from a Pontiac Solstice that was recently granted a reduction in its minimum weight, Gilsinger qualified his Honda Civic Si second on the SSB grid, while Eisele fought setup issues to qualify his S2000 fifth in T3.
Multi-class fields usually lead to unpredictable starts, and this race was no exception, with heavy but powerful American sedans intermingled with the T3 cars on the grid. The bigger cars’ slower cornering speeds held Marie up after the start, while the Chevy Cobalt SS of Kevin Fandozzi was able to move from fourth place to first by the end of the first lap. After some close but clean side-by-side racing between Marie and Fandozzi, Marie would ultimately finish second. Meanwhile, Eisele was able to get past the VW GTi of Aaron Stehly and the Cobalt SS of John Heinricy to finish third.

A slow start meant Gilsinger’s Civic Si was in the heart of its power band, and he was able to motor ahead to the first turn. As the second- and third-place cars engaged in a heated battle, Gilsinger was able to focus on hitting his marks, settle into a pace, and ultimately win SSB by a comfortable margin.

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Event: Road America "Cat" National, July 24-26
Vehicles: Honda Civic Si (Showroom Stock B) / Honda S2000 CR (Touring 3)
Driver/Result: Chad Gilsinger (1st SSB) / Sage Marie (2nd T3) / Inness Eisele (3rd T3)

Honda Racing Report Sunday, August 9, 2009
Honda Indy 200
Circuit: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (2.25-mile road course) Lexington, OH
2008 Winner: Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske Honda) 94.873 mph average
Weather: Sunny, warm, 91 degrees F
-----------------------------------
A textbook performance by Scott Dixon Sunday at the Honda Indy 200 led to the fourth IndyCar Series victory of the season for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver and a return to the top of the championship points table, with just four races remaining.

Starting third, Dixon saved fuel during the first third of today’s 85-lap run over the 2.25-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, enabling him to pit two laps later than his rivals. Emerging from the first round of pit stops in second place, behind early leader Justin Wilson, Dixon moved into the lead on Lap 34 with a decisive pass as he and Wilson approaced lapped traffic. Dixon went on to command the rest of the race, setting fastest race lap just prior to his second and final pit stop; and surrendering the lead only briefly to an out-of-sequence Marco Andretti.

During a hot and humid race day, 21 drivers ran a total of 7,546 miles this weekend at Mid-Ohio -- the 44th consecutive IndyCar Series without a single engine-related failure for the Honda HI9R Indy V-8.

Dixon’s strongest rival, Dale Coyne Racing’s Wilson, led for 28 laps after an exciting pass of pole qualifier Ryan Briscoe when the latter briefly slid off-line over the crest of the Turn 8 hill. Wilson went on to build up a six-second lead over Briscoe until the first round of pit stops, and remained in contention until waiting one lap too long before making his second and final stop. Wilson ran out of fuel entering Pit Lane, and the resultant stall before rejoining the race dropped him to an unrepresentative 13th-place finish.

Race Results:
Fn. St. Driver / Team / Chassis / Laps Average / Speed/Notes
1. 3. Scott Dixon /Target Chip Ganassi / Honda Dallara / 85 / 108.541 mph average, led 51 laps
2. 1. Ryan Briscoe / Team Penske / Honda Dallara / 85 / -29.7803 seconds
3. 6. Dario Franchitti / Target Chip Ganassi / Honda Dallara / 85 / -30.0551 seconds
4. 7. Ryan Hunter-Reay / A.J. Foyt Racing / Honda Dallara / 85 / -33.7307 seconds
5. 11. Hideki Mutoh / Andretti Green Racing / Honda Dallara / 85 / -34.1839 seconds
6. 13. Marco Andretti / Andretti Green Racing / Honda Dallara / 85 / -46.7669 seconds, led 6 laps
7. 10. Paul Tracy / KV Racing Technology / Honda Dallara / 85 / -49.7020 seconds
8. 4. Graham Rahal / Newman Haas Lanigan / Honda Dallara / 85 / -50.5417 seconds
9. 15. Raphael Matos-R / Luczo Dragon Racing / Honda Dallara / 85 / -51.2296 seconds
10. 8. Tony Kanaan /Andretti Green Racing / Honda Dallara / 85 / -52.0810 seconds
11. 14. Oriol Servia / Newman Haas Lanigan / Honda Dallara / 85 / -52.6215 seconds
12. 5. Helio Castroneves / Team Penske / Honda Dallara / 85 / -53.2382 seconds
13. 2. Justin Wilson / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda Dallara / 85 / -53.5768 seconds, led 28 laps
14. 18. Robert Doornbos-R / HVM Racing / Honda Dallara / 85 / -60.0812 seconds
15. 9. E.J. Viso / HVM Racing / Honda Dallara / 84 / Running
16. 17. Dan Wheldon / Panther Racing / Honda Dallara / 84 / Running
17. 21. Ed Carpenter / Vision Racing / Honda Dallara / 84 / Running
18. 19. Richard Antinucci-R / Team 3G / Honda Dallara / 83 / Running
19. 12. Danica Patrick / Andretti Green Racing / Honda Dallara / 83 / Running
20. 16. Mike Conway-R / Dreyer & Reinbold / Honda Dallara / 69 / Did not finish - contact
21. 20. Milka Duno / Dreyer & Reinbold / Honda Dallara / 56 / Did not finish - handling

R - IndyCar Series Rookie

Kentucky was a very significant race for two entirely different reasons:

1. It was the first oval race since the IndyCar Series “gave back” several aero tools for the teams to use in an effort to restore side-by-side racing; and
2. It was the first race to utilize the HPD “Power Assist” boost button to aid with passing.

But instead of an IndyCar race weekend with two full days of on-track activity, we had an event more typical of a local Sprint Car show, with one practice, no qualifying, and the race, all in one afternoon/evening.

How much that skewed the results of all these changes is open to debate; but there is no doubt that Kentucky, in the immortal words of Ed Sullivan, “was a really, really good shew…..” It was by far the best oval race of 2009, and one of the best races, period.

And we, almost … almost …almost, had a very popular “underdog” winner.

It was clear and sunny when we rolled into the track on Friday morning, but it had rained a ton in recent days, no fewer than 6” worth – probably more than you’d see in the greater L.A. area all summer. The result was a group of “weepers” – underground water being hydraulically pushed UP through the track surface, primarily in Turns 3-4.

Practice did not start at 3 p.m. as scheduled, and eventually the teams were told that it would be another hour (at least) before practice started. HAH! Someone was dreaming in color. No one would get on track on this day. So, it was back to the hotel after a lovely day of sitting around and doing nothing. Qualifying for IndyCars was cancelled, so they would once again line up on points this weekend, leading Dario Franchitti to joke that teammate (and then-points leader) Scott Dixon “got a trophy just for sitting on his [insert slang phrase for buttocks here] in his bus all day!”

Dario also got off the second-best quote of the day, saying he was going to put a “smiley face” on his new power-assist button …

And that was about it for Friday, except for the 2010 schedule announcement. More on that at the end of this week’s segment.

The “weepers” were still around on Saturday. But eventually, track and series workers got the last of them drained, and we got on with the show. And what a show it was! In the immortal words of fellow-blogger “Pressdog”, IndyCar got its “schwerve” back. It was fast … it was exciting … it had a near-photo finish. And, most importantly, it managed to tread that fine, fine line between “thrilling” and “terrifying”.

Despite just over an hour of practice prior to the green flag (hence the Sprint Car analogy at the top of this tale), the teams and drivers put on a fantastic show, running hard and clean all night long. Ryan Briscoe and Ed Carpenter went wheel-to-wheel, eyeball-to-eyeball, for the final 10 laps or so, before Briscoe eked out the victory.

And the racing was just as fast and furious throughout the field. Series officials got EXACTLY what they were seeking: lots of two-, three-, and four-car battles, all either side-by-side or nose-to-tail, with passing and re-passing, but without creating a huge, scary pack of 15-20 cars all running in lockstep, where the slightest misstep could lead to the Mother of All Big Ones….

All credit to the technical and executive staff of the series – along with Honda and Firestone – for recognizing there was a problem after Kansas, Texas and Richmond, and taking steps to correct it. And a special assist to the powers-that-be at Target Chip Ganassi Racing, who initially suggested the course of action that produced such a great race, and will hopefully offer up exciting, side-by-side competition through upcoming oval events at Chicago(land), Motegi and Homestead-Miami.

Here’s who did what:

At TCGR’s suggestion, the league mandated the removal of the half-inch vertical Gurney lips (a.k.a. “wickers”) on the rear-wing endplates. Designed to slow the cars down on the big ovals, they did that, but at too high a price in the form of very turbulent, “dirty” air coming off the backs of the cars, which caused following cars to lose downforce and “wash up the track” with understeer.

The Series also permitted teams to re-install several aerodynamic pieces, including ramps in front of the rear wheels, extensions to the tops of the sidepods, and rear wheel “fillers” (call them “inner hubcaps”). These changes also cleaned up airflow coming off the backs of the cars. These changes were optional, but just about everyone put one or more of the pieces back on.

In addition, Firestone came up with a much-improved tire that offered more mechanical grip and also helped get everybody closer together.

And last – but certainly not least – we provided the power-assist button that maximized everything at HPD’s disposal, providing brief bursts of additional bhp to help “seal the deal” when it came to passing lapped cars, and adding a new tactical element when it came to fighting for position on track.

It wasn’t any one thing, but the combination of all that produced some great racing, so big props to one and all.

The other big news to come out of Kentucky was the 2010 calendar. If you haven’t already seen it, the 17-race schedule goes like this:

- Sun. March 14: Brazil (venue TBA, but maybe Tony Kanaan’s home town of Salvador)
- Sun. March 28: Honda GP of St. Pete
- Sun. April 11: Barber Motorsports Park
- Sun. April 18: Long Beach
- Sat. May 1: Kansas
- Sun. May 30: Indy 500
- Sat. June 5: Texas
- Sun. June 20: Iowa
- Sun. July 4: Watkins Glen
- Sun. July 18: Honda Indy Toronto
- Sun. July 25: Edmonton
- Sun. August 8: Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio
- Sun. August 22: Infineon
- Sat. August 28: Chicagoland
- Sat. September 4: Kentucky
- Sun. September 19: Motegi, Japan
- Sat. October 2: Homestead

That’s nine road/street courses and eight ovals, meaning that for the first time, the IndyCar schedule will include more road courses than ovals. The near 50/50 split is great, the only downer is the near-total absence of my beloved short ovals. Milwaukee – dead. Richmond – AWOL. No Phoenix or New Hampshire. Only Iowa lives on, and it’s the one short oval that drives like a super speedway. Oh well.

As for the newcomers, Barber Motorsports Park has earned a spot on the calendar after the excellent job – and spectator turnout – produced for our pre-season test this year. Likewise, Brazil (through Apex Energy) is the biggest sponsor the sport has at the moment, and the deal is structured in such a way that both the League and every team running the event will show a tidy profit for their presence.

Now, if only we’d get Road America back on the schedule…

As for my late, lamented Milwaukee Mile – until the State Fair Board (which controls the venue) restructures the track lease so that the promoter isn’t immediately saddled with millions of dollars in debt before he even opens the doors, well, it’s just notgonnahappen.com. And that is just a shame.

Richmond lost its event sponsor (SunTrust Bank) and didn’t appear to try very hard to find a replacement. Its NASCAR crowds have also been down of late, and I’m guessing the track would rather move its IRL marketing budget over to supporting its Cup events. Sorry to say, but it looks like another short track has gone the way of the Dodo, at least as far as the IndyCar Series is concerned.

In the Good News Department, the stretches of back-to-back-to-back races, a.k.a. “marriage killers” we’ve had in recent years are gone, mainly those that were run in June-July-August. Now, there’s just the April-May swing of Kansas-Indy’s four weekends-Texas; and the late-August threesome of Infineon, Chicago and Kentucky (moving from July to Saturday of Labor Day Weekend). That’s do-able.

Also, whether by accident or design, the season unfolds in streaks of street races, then ovals, then road/street races, then ovals once again — a layout that’s MUCH easier on teams and mechanics in terms of car preparation, logistics, etc.

Some final notes from Kentucky:

· To the surprise of virtually no one, Conquest Racing and “commercial partner” Rubicon Sports Agency have terminated their unhappy marriage.

· In the follow-up that WAS surprising, however, Conquest driver Alex Tagliani left the team and threw in his lot with Rubicon’s Jim Freudenberg. That was followed by the even more interesting news that one-or-the-other of them had found a Canadian source of income (not yet revealed) that allowed them to purchase Marty Roth’s team, shop and cars in Indianapolis. Hmmm, Marty Roth is a Canadian, too. Methinks there’s more here that has yet to be told.

· The Roth team owned four Dallaras, at least two of them new or reasonably new. A one-driver IndyCar effort can get by with only two chassis (although three is better) and reportedly two of Tag’s new toys have been sold to…..(wait for it)…..de Ferran Motorsports …

· Meanwhile, Conquest Racing regrouped and sat out Mid-Ohio (in addition to Kentucky), but will run Kosuke Matsuura at Motegi and Champ Car refugee Nelson Phillipe at Infineon and…. oh well, that didn’t last long, either. Watch this space for further developments.

· Vitor Meira was again present at Kentucky, and continues to help out in the A.J. Foyt pit, sitting in on the engineering meetings, working with Ryan Hunter-Reay on setup and strategy decisions, etc. And all the while knowing he’d much, much rather be back driving.

· Darren Manning was also in Kentucky (just a short drive down from Indy) and likewise was hanging out in the Dreyer and Reinbold pit.

· At least he still has his sense of humor department: Tony Kanaan had some decals placed on the cockpit sides of his car (where the driver’s name normally is printed). They read: "The Torch".

· I don’t “Twitter” yet – although I can see the day coming when I might be doing so. In the meantime, Vision Racing is perhaps the biggest proponent of this new social network in the IndyCar paddock (you can follow them @VisionRacing on Twitter), and the team has started hosting “Tweet-ups” for Twitter fans on race weekends. Once you’re in the paddock/garage area, it’s free. Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star and several drivers (Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, etc) are “Tweeting” these days as well.

· Friday was Justin Wilson's 31st birthday - the fans sang Happy Birthday to him at the autograph session. Always fun.


###

-- Dan Layton

The Mid-Ohio weekend is always a busy one for the Acura drivers.

The week starts early with appearances at the four Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc., plants in Ohio, located in Marysville, Raymond, East Liberty and Anna.

On Wednesday prior to the Mid-Ohio weekend, the Acura drivers, along with selected IndyCar Series drivers, tour the plants, meet and greet the Honda associates, pose for photos and sign posters and other items for the associates. These events are always appreciated by both the drivers and the associates.

Thursday, the Acura drivers were on track for the initial test runs on the tight, tricky 2.25-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With competition in four separate classes, the Mid-Ohio ALMS race is thrilling for the fans, but sometimes frustrating for the drivers. Lapping GT cars that are some 50 miles- per-hour slower than the prototypes on several portions of the circuit often creates tight quarters, as well as some bumping and shoving.

The three Acura teams were coming to Mid-Ohio with different agendas.

The de Ferran squad had won three overall ALMS races in a row, at Long Beach, Utah and Lime Rock. The team wanted to close on Patrón Highcroft Racing’s LMP1 points lead with a fourth straight victory. In addition, there would be some emotions associated with Mid-Ohio after last year’s fiery pit incident that left fueler Keith Jones with severe burns. Jones, after skin grafts and many hours of rehab, was back with the team at Sebring, but drivers Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud wanted a win for “Jonesie” on the weekend.

The Patrón Highcroft contingent was out for revenge after a near miss at Lime Rock Park, where David Brabham held a five-second lead with only 13 minutes remaining. However, a left-rear tire puncture cost Brabham, co-driver Scott Sharp and the Patrón Highcroft crew an overall win. So, the Connecticut-based team was ready for battle when testing began Thursday afternoon.

The Lowe’s Fernandez Racing team had its five-race LMP2 class winning streak snapped at Lime Rock, when the Dyson Racing Mazda scored its first 2009 triumph. Despite a mechanical malfunction, the Lowe’s Acura pairing of Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez came back to finish second. It was an important finish in the team’s fight for its first ALMS points title.
During opening testing, the Acura teams fought a slick racing surface in the hot afternoon sun. All three squads seemed frustrated as they tried numerous chassis and tire combinations to gain grip. At the conclusion of Thursday’s runs, Brabham clocked the quickest with a one minute, 11.886-second lap in the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a LMP1 car, followed by de Ferran’s 1:11.971 in the No. 66 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-02a LMP1 machine, and Diaz’ 1:12.439 in the No. 15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura ARX-01b LMP2 prototype.

“Our car just couldn’t get the grip level we were looking for,” said Brabham, the reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans overall champion. “Maybe it was the different types of rubber from the different series running during the weekend, but we couldn’t get the traction we wanted. It was pretty frustrating.”

There were some long hours in the teams’ engineering offices and the HPD trailer on Thursday, as personnel tried to figure out a way to get more grip for Friday. The previous year, the IndyCar Series cars ran in advance of ALMS qualifying, and the Indy Cars’ wide tires helped to clean up the slippery surface. This year, that was not the case. An early practice on Friday saw similar times to Thursday. This time, Pagenaud was fastest at 1:11.570, with Brabham at 1:12.140, the No. 20 Mazda at 1:12.604 and the Intersport LMP1 car at 1:12.907. The Lowe’s LMP2 car was sixth overall, but never got a clear lap in the session. The Lowe’s crew was confident they would be okay in qualifying.

The afternoon practice on Friday saw the speeds improve with de Ferran, last year’s overall pole winner, quickest at 1:10.571 and Brabham second at 1:11.250, with Diaz at 1:11.373. Acura was looking for its fifth 1-2-3 qualifying round of the season at Mid-Ohio.

De Ferran entered ALMS qualifying at Mid-Ohio seeking his fourth straight pole at the track. Gil drove the Marlboro Team Penske Honda to CART poles in 2000 and 2001 at Mid-Ohio, and he won the overall pole with his LMP2 Acura last year. Gil had a little more incentive on this day, which everyone learned about after qualifying. He was going to announce his retirement from driving following the 20-minute qualifying session.

Brabham was attempting to stop the successful qualifying run of the de Ferran team this time around, but de Ferran was on a mission. The two drivers are good friends off the track. However, it is a different story on the track and David and Gil put on quite a show for the fans in qualifying.

Diaz surprised a lot of people by jumping to the No. 1 position overall in the first five minutes of ALMS prototype qualifying. Luis is fast and his Lowe’s car was hooked up now, after the earlier slippery conditions of the Mid-Ohio tarmac. Diaz was first early at 1:12.106.

By the eight-minute mark, it was Brabs to the top of the charts at 1:10.585, and a minute later to a 1:09.883. The de Ferran team sent Gil out a little later than the other drivers. Immediately, de Ferran reported that the tires were off, and the car was shaking a lot. Perhaps his Michelins had picked up some marbles, or a tire was out of balance, but Gil was pretty upset when discussing it with his team over the radio.

De Ferran pitted for a quick check and the team sent him back out for a pole run. At the 13-minute mark, Brabham improved to a 1:09.592. De Ferran’ first hot lap was a 1:10.265 and he looked well-positioned for a better clocking. David felt good about his car and told his crew, “We’re in pretty good shape right now.”
Diaz moved to No. 3 overall and first in LMP2 with a stellar 1:10.484 with five minutes remaining in the 20-minute session. A minute later, de Ferran was back in a familiar slot, first overall with a 1:09.499. The next lap, Gil improved to a 1:09.443. Brabham was close, too, at 1:09.512.

The Patrón Highcroft team brought David into the pits for a quick check and a shot at a two-lap run and possible pole. In his first lap out, Brabs clicked off a 1:09.580 and was primed to better Gil’s top lap. But that pole lap for Brabham wasn’t to be, as the No. 9 Acura suffered some understeer. David had to settle for second on the grid, with Diaz third overall.

Rumors had been flying around the track Friday that de Ferran was going to make a big announcement after qualifying. Many of the media felt it would be about the addition of a possible IRL effort to Gil’s ALMS team. So, the small media room in the Mid-Ohio tower was packed, as poor Luis Diaz began by discussing his pole run, the third of the year for the personable Mexican racer.

But the media crowd was there to listen to de Ferran, who talked about winning his fourth straight Mid-Ohio pole and his team’s pursuit of a fourth consecutive overall ALMS win. The media knew something else was in the air from Gil. Then, de Ferran announced that this would be last driving appearance at Mid-Ohio, and that he was retiring from driving when this season ends. He talked about his plan to start a racing team a year ago, and that driving was not a part of his overall goal for de Ferran Motorsports.

Of course, questions were asked regarding the expansion of his operation into the open-wheel categories. Gil admitted he is looking at a possible entry into the IRL, as well as remaining in ALMS action.

“My dream is to field two sports cars in ALMS and two cars in the IndyCar Series,” he said. “Of course, that is my dream. I hope we can find the funding to get it done. But that is our goal right now. Sure, it is a big goal but that has been my intention since I began our organization last year. For me to pull it off, I must remove myself from driving. I cannot commit one hundred percent to both activities. My duties for this team are more important off the track now.”

Saturday’s weather looked a little dicey, with some heavy rainstorms headed into the northern Ohio region. The morning warm-up was actually run in the wet, and Fernandez was the quickest for most of the session. Early predictions saw the Lowe’s team as a favorite if it rained during the race.

A large crowd, which would have been much bigger without rain in the Cleveland area, greeted the ALMS racers on Saturday afternoon. The chance of seeing IndyCar qualifying and the ALMS race was huge draw and a large contingent of Honda associates was spread around the Mid-Ohio racing complex to cheer the three Acura teams on.

After one false start, Pagenaud took the lead at the drop of the green flag, with Sharp following. The long backstraight helped the turbo-powered Mazdas get by Diaz in the Lowe’s LMP2 Acura at the start. But a GT crash caused a long yellow flag on the first lap and kept the field close through Lap Eight.

Pagenaud opened his margin to six seconds by Lap 22, as the prototypes fought heavy GT car traffic. Pagenaud and Sharp fought their way through the slower cars in their overall battle. However, Sharp’s Patron Acura was hit in the left side by a Porsche at Turn Six, and the No. 9 Acura was wounded with broken bodywork and underbody. This enabled Pagenaud to scoot away and build a 24-second advantage by Lap 47.

On Lap 50, Sharp pitted for fuel and tires, and Brabham took over the driving chores. Two laps later, Pagenaud hit the pits, with de Ferran jumping in the cockpit. The de Ferran crew got Gil out in the lead, with Brabham in hot pursuit. On Lap 53, Fernandez took over for Diaz in the No. 15 Lowe’s Acura and the Lowe’s team began its race-ending strategy in an effort to catch the No. 20 Mazda.

By Lap 65, de Ferran’s lead was up to 40 seconds, and Brabham complained of his car suffering some “lost rear aero” after Sharp’s contact with the Porsche. A full-course yellow cut into de Ferran’s big margin and all three Acuras pitted for the final time on Lap 81.

The Lowe’s team pulled off the move of the race by taking fuel only and getting out of the pits in front of de Ferran. Thus, Fernandez was able to pick up a lap on the No. 20 Mazda and take the LMP2 lead. After the green flag dropped again on Lap 84, de Ferran extended his lead to over 12 seconds in just eight laps.

During the final few minutes of the two-hour, 45-minute feature, de Ferran maintained a lead of 10 to 12 seconds, while Fernandez was able to hold his advantage in the LMP2 class.
The checkered flag saw Acura’s fourth 1-2-3 finish of the year, with de Ferran claiming his team’s fourth straight overall victory and Fernandez recording his fifth LMP2 win in six starts.

De Ferran’s victory capped an emotional weekend for the Brazilian star. Winning the pole and the race (his first triumph at Mid-Ohio) and announcing his driving retirement, he dedicated the win to Keith Jones. Gil sat on the side of his No. 66 Acura in tears for several minutes in the Winners’C ircle. Jones hugged Gil and Simon on the victory podium to give the de Ferran team a sensational wrapup to an impressive weekend performance.

The fourth straight overall win for de Ferran Motorsports tied an American Le Mans Series record, and the squad would go after a fifth straight the following week at Road America.

- - Tom Blattler

More Acura ALMS information, race results at Acura.com/Motorsports

Never separated by more than a split second, and frequently side by side, Ryan Briscoe and Ed Carpenter battled for the final 23 laps of Saturday night’s Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway, with Briscoe prevailing at the checkers by just over 16-thousandths of a second.

It was the closest IndyCar Series finish at Kentucky and the 11th-closest finish in series history. Slowed by only one caution flag, tonight’s race was the second-fastest in series history, with an average speed of 200.893 mph. Aerodynamic rule changes implemented this weekend and the debut of a Honda “power assist” button, providing drivers with an additional 5-20 horsepower for 12 seconds with each use, resulted in an exciting 200-lap race with 23 lead changes among seven drivers.

Despite weather-related delays on both days of the race weekend, 23 drivers ran a total of 8,660 miles on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway oval; once again without a single engine-related failure for the Honda HI9R Indy V-8.

As the leaders made their final pit stops on Lap 177, Carpenter headed a four-car pack that included Briscoe, Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon. Carpenter, who had initially taken the lead on Lap 128, first had to fend off Kanaan, with Dixon and Briscoe side by side and just behind the lead pair. But Dixon faded in the final 10 laps to an eventual seventh-place finish, while Briscoe got around Kanaan and began his attack on Carpenter.

Carpenter and Briscoe then ran side by side from Lap 192 onward, while, just tenths of a second behind, Kanaan and Helio Castroneves had their own side-by-side fight for third place. On Lap 195, Castroneves slid up out of the groove in Turn 2, dropping him to his fourth-place finishing position. Briscoe and Carpenter continued to swap the lead, each using the Honda “power assist” button to edge ahead of the other at different points on the track.

Finally, Briscoe nosed ahead for the final time coming out of Turn 4 on the last lap, to claim his second win of the 2009 season and move to the top of the drivers’ championship after 12 of 17 races. Carpenter’s second-place finish is his best IndyCar Series result in seven seasons and the best oval-track finish in the five-year history of his Vision Racing team. Kanaan’s third-place finish equals his best results of the season, at Kansas and Long Beach, while fifth place for Graham Rahal is his best result since finishing third at Richmond in June.

Next week, the IndyCar Series returns to road racing for the August 9 Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.


IndyCar Series Standings (after 12 of 17 races):
1. Ryan Briscoe - 416 points (2 wins)
2. Scott Dixon - 409 (3 wins)
3. Dario Franchitti - 405 (3 wins)
4. Helio Castroneves - 341 (2 wins)
5. Danica Patrick - 309
6. Marco Andretti - 279
7. Dan Wheldon - 274
8. Tony Kanaan - 274
9. Graham Rahal - 265
10. Justin Wilson - 253 (1 win)
11. Hideki Mutoh - 237
12. Ed Carpenter - 226

Ryan Briscoe (#6 Team Penske Honda) Started 3rd, finished 1st, 2nd IndyCar win of 2009, moves to the drivers’ championship points lead: “It was great night and a fantastic race. I had a really good car tonight, I could pass with it. I thought my best chance [to win] was to run on the outside in those final laps. Ed [Carpenter] did a great job, we ran a lot of laps together side by side, and it got very racey for those last five laps or so. I found the spot on the track where I thought the [Honda power assist] button would help me the most: getting an edge on him coming off Turn 4. I used the button as much as I could, and I could tell when Ed was using it, too. It was very hard fought out there, intense. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited crossing the finish line.”

Ed Carpenter (#20 Vision Racing Honda) Started 14th, finished 2nd, career-best IndyCar result: “I’m really happy, that is our career-best finish and the team did a great job tonight. We’ve had such a tough year. It was fun to run that close to a [Team] Penske car for lap after lap and my car was handling really well. I could place it anywhere on the race track. It was good, close racing with Ryan [Briscoe]. I hope the fans enjoyed it. I kept the low line and he ran on the outside. I hit the power button for the last time on the last lap going up the back straight, but I guess he just got his nose in front of me coming out of the last turn.”

Jack Spurney (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race: “What a fantastic race! I think the series made a great call with their recent rule changes. The racing certainly seemed to benefit from them. Congratulations to both Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and to Ed Carpenter and his Vision Racing team on giving the fans a clean and exciting race to the finish. Finally, thanks as always to our associates at HPD and technical partner Ilmor for another perfect race with the Honda Indy V-8, and the development of the power assist button, which I think also played a key role in making tonight’s race memorable.”

Race Results:
Fn. St. Driver / Team / Chassis / Laps / Average Speed/Notes
1. 3. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 200 200.893 mph average, led 38 laps
2. 14. Ed Carpenter Vision Racing Honda Dallara 200 - 0.0162 seconds, led 35 laps
3. 9. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 200 - 0,1614 seconds, led 1 lap
4. 4. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 200 - 0.2728 seconds, led 1 lap
5. 10. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 200 - 0.6346 seconds
6. 2. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 200 - 1.7670 seconds
7. 1. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 200 - 3.2512 seconds, led 94 laps
8. 5. Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 200 - 4.7231 seconds, led 1 lap
9. 20. Will Power Team Penske Honda Dallara 200 - 6.1424 seconds, led 30 laps
10. 6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 200 - 6.9963 seconds
11. 7. Dan Wheldon Panther Racing Honda Dallara 200 -12.7597 seconds
12. 22. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing Honda Dallara 200 -27.9705 seconds
13. 11. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 200 -27.9705 seconds
14. 17. Ryan Hunter-Reay A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 197 Running
15. 18. E.J. Viso HVM Racing Honda Dallara 197 Running
16. 13. Raphael Matos-R Luczo Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 196 Running
17. 19. Mike Conway-R Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 192 Running
18. 16. Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 188 Running
19. 12. Robert Doornbos-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 185 Running
20. 15. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 165 Running (delayed)
21. 8. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 119 Did not finish - wheel bearing
22. 23. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 59 Did not finish - handling
23. 21. Jaques Lazier Curb/Agajanian/3G Honda Dallara 43 Did not finish - water leak
R - IndyCar Series Rookie

Meijer Indy 300 - Qualifying Report
Circuit: Kentucky Speedway (1.5-mile oval) , KY
2008 Winner: Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) 183.650 mph average
Weather: Clear, warm, 82 degrees F
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Persistent “weepers” -- water seeping up through the track surface -- forced IndyCar Series officials to cancel qualifying and all other track activities Friday at Kentucky Speedway, setting the grid for Saturday night’s Meijer Indy 300 based on team entrant points.

More than five inches of rain has fallen in northern Kentucky during the past two days, and underground runoff from the storms bubbled up through the track surface in Turn 4 throughout the day, keeping both IndyCars and the Indy Lights support series off the track.

Scott Dixon, winner three races this season, will start from the pole, with his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and fellow three-race winner Dario Franchitti starting on the outside of the first row in second. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves make up the second row; with the Andretti Green Racing duo of Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti starting fifth and sixth, respectively.


Practice sessions for both series have been added for Saturday afternoon. Saturday night’s 200-lap race starts at 8:45 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the Versus Network starting at 8 p.m. EDT.

Scott Dixon (#4 Panther Racing Honda) will start from pole: “Definitely, we’ll take a pole any way we can get it, but we certainly would prefer qualifying [on track]. It’s great to have my teammate alongside. We did well here last year [winning the 2008 race] and our car has been strong all season on the mile-and-a-half tracks, so I think we’re in pretty good shape for the race.”

Starting Grid (based on Entrant Points):
Ps. Driver Team Chassis Entrant Points
1. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 380 points
2. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 377
3. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 366
4. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 337
5. Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 285
6. Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 259
7. Dan Wheldon Panther Racing Honda Dallara 255
8. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 241
9. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 239
10. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 235
11. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 200
12. Robert Doornbos-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 197
13. Raphael Matos-R Luczo Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 194
14. Ed Carpenter Vision Racing Honda Dallara 186
15. Milka Duno Dreyer&Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 179
16. Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 169
17. Ryan Hunter-Reay A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 165
18. E.J. Viso HVM Racing Honda Dallara 164
19. Mike Conway-R Dreyer&Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 160
20. Will Power Team Penske Honda Dallara 159
21. Jaques Lazier Curb/Agajanian/Team 3G Honda Dallara 127
22. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing Honda Dallara 43
23. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 29

Gateway "Heat Wave" National

Event: Gateway International Raceway,

E. St. Louis, IL, August 1-2
Vehicle: Honda Civic Si (Showroom Stock B)
Driver/Result: Lee Niffenegger (Start 1st / Finish 1st)

After a long layoff from SSB racing, THR driver Lee Niffenegger returned to action at Gateway International Raceway (GIR) with the 2008 National Championship-winning Honda Racing / HPD BFGoodrich Tires Honda Civic Si. With a win at GIR, Lee could wrap up the Southern Pacific Division Showroom Stock B championship and pick up momentum in preparation for defending the National Championship at Road America in September.

While Gateway is primarily known for the NASCAR-sanctioned races on its oval, the SCCA uses both the oval and infield road course to make up what is known as a "roval" course among road-racing participants.

The weekend started with a practice session on Saturday morning that allowed Lee to become reacquainted with the Gateway course and work on setting tire pressures for qualifying and the race. Qualifying for the National took place Sunday morning. Lee chose to go with "sticker" BFG R1 tires on the front of his Civic Si in order to claim the pole position over Spec Miata stalwart Jim Drago, who had built a new Mazda to compete in SSB. Both Niffenegger and Drago went under the existing track record in qualifying and the two were closely followed by a Mini Cooper S and Pontiac Solstice ZOK, showing great diversity of platforms in the class. Unfortunately, the showdown between the horsepower of the Civic and the handling of the Mazda never materialized, due to engine trouble on Drago's car.

The race took place late Sunday afternoon, with temperatures in the high 80's and humid. The conditions were very taxing for both cars and drivers and created a greasy track that would demand smoothness and patience. The supercharged Mini of Ralph Porter got its typical excellent start,and was able to jump into second place behind Niffenegger’s Civic. Combining a track-record breaking circuit on Lap 2 and the consistent performance of the BFGoodrich R1 tires over the remaining laps, Lee was able to pull out and then maintain a six-to-10 second lead over the eventual second-place finisher, Dennis Aubochon in his Pontiac Solstice. The win at Gateway clinched the SoPac SSB Divisional Points title for Lee, and helps maintain momentum in the effort to defend the National Championship for himself, Honda , and BFGoodrich.

Part-time Team Penske driver Will Power dominated Sunday’s Rexall Edmonton Indy, leading 90 of the 95 laps for his first IndyCar Series victory in just five starts this season, and leading teammate Helio Castroneves to the checkers for a 1-2 Team Penske finish.

Starting from the pole, Power surrendered the lead only to make his two scheduled stops, and frequently led by as many as six seconds until a full-course caution on the penultimate lap closed the gap to just over one second. The caution, the result of a spin by Tomas Scheckter into the Turn 9 barriers, spoiled what would have been the first caution-free race in IndyCar Series history. Still, the single lap of yellow at the end of the race established a new series record for fewest caution-flag laps.

The 23 drivers in this weekend’s field ran a total of 8,270 miles in practice, qualifying and racing on the runways and taxiways that make up the temporary Edmonton City Centre airport circuit; once again without a single engine-related failure for the Honda HI9R Indy V-8.

Much of the fireworks in today’s race came from the battle for second place between Castroneves and Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, with Ryan Briscoe’s Team Penske Honda also freqently in the mix. All three easily out-distanced eventual fifth-place finisher Dario Franchitti.

In the end, a mistake by Briscoe, causing him to brush the wall exiting Turn 9, dropped him back to a fourth-place finish; while Castroneves passed Dixon for the final time on Lap 84, using a “pick” around the lapped car of Ed Carpenter to make his successful move.

Paul Tracy gave his home country fans some excitement early in the race, jumping up from his ninth starting position to sixth on the opening lap, but was unable to advance any further in his KV Racing Honda. In a scary moment, a faulty fuel probe stuck in the open position during Tony Kanaan’s first scheduled pit stop, leading to a fire on board his car and in the Andretti Green Racing pits. With help from crewmembers from the Penske, Ganassi and Panther Racing teams, the fire was quickly extinguished and Kanaan escaped with second degree burns on his hands and minor flash burns to his face and neck.

After three road- and street-course events, the IndyCar Series now heads back to an oval with a Saturday night race August 1 at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.


IndyCar Series Standings (after 11 of 17 races):
1. Scott Dixon 380 points (3 wins) 7. Dan Wheldon 255
2. Dario Franchitti 377 (3 wins) 8. Justin Wilson 241 (1 win)
3. Ryan Briscoe 366 (1 win) 9. Tony Kanaan 239
4. Helio Castroneves 309 (2 wins) 10. Graham Rahal 235
5. Danica Patrick 285 11. Hideki Mutoh 220
6. Marco Andretti 259 12. Robert Doornbos-R 197


Will Power (#12 Team Penske Honda) Started 1st, finished 1st, 1st IndyCar win of 2009 in 5 race starts: “That was a perfect weekend: pole position and the win. I was just a great day for us. The car was perfect, the pit stops were flawless and I think we led all but a handful of laps. I’m very grateful to Roger [Penske] and Tim [Cindric, team president] for giving me this opportunity. You couldn’t ask for a better atmosphere to work in with great guys and fantastic teammates. I’m loving every moment of this and hope to be with Team Penske for a long, long time.”

Helio Castroneves (#3 Team Penske Honda) Started 3rd, finished 2nd: “It was a very physical race today. I had a good battle with Scott [Dixon] early, but after the first pit stop was able to open up a bit of a gap. Then we all got bottled up in lapped traffic, and made an early second stop. I lost time there, and fell back to fourth. But then Ryan [Briscoe] had a bit of a problem in Turn 9 and slid wide, and I got past him. That brought me back up to Scott and again we got caught up in traffic. Scott went one way and I went the other and I was able to make a clean move on him for second.”

Jack Spurney (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race: “I think all of us at Honda enjoy coming to Canada and working with our friends from Honda Canada. We had beautiful weather here in Edmonton, especially on race day, and a great fan turnout all weekend. Congratulations to Will Power and Team Penske, they really dominated the race; and we were relieved to see Tony Kanaan get out of his pit fire with relatively minor burns. They way the Panther, Penske and Ganassi teams responded to Kanaan’s fire was very gratifying to see. They didn’t hesitate for an instant before working to put out the fire and get Tony out of the car. Finally, thanks as always to our associates at HPD and technical partner Ilmor for another perfect race with the Honda Indy V-8.”

Edmonton Race Results
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Rexall Edmonton Indy Race Report
Circuit: City Centre Airport (1.98-mile temporary circuit) Edmonton, Alb., Canada
2008 Winner: Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 96.967 mph average
Weather: Mostly sunny, warm, 85 degrees F

Race Results:
Fn. St. Driver Team Chassis Laps Average Speed/Notes
1. 1. Will Power Team Penske Honda Dallara 95 109.498 mph average, led 90 laps
2. 3. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 95 -1.0936 (under caution), led 2 laps
3. 4. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 95 -1.3213 seconds, led 2 laps
4, 2. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 95 -1.8266 seconds, led 1 lap
5. 6. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 95 -4.4652 seconds
6. 9. Paul Tracy KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 95 -6.3941 seconds
7. 5. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 95 -26.5700 seconds
8. 15. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 95 -26.9169 seconds
9. 10. Robert Doornbos-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 94 Running
10. 18. Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 94 Running
11. 20. Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 94 Running
12. 14. E.J. Viso HVM Racing Honda Dallara 94 Running
13. 17. Alex Tagliani Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 94 Running
14. 12. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 94 Running
15. 22. Dan Wheldon Panther Racing Honda Dallara 94 Running
16. 23. Ed Carpenter Vision Racing Honda Dallara 93 Running
17. 21. Ryan Hunter-Reay A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 87 Running (delayed)-contact
18. 8. Raphael Matos-R Luczo Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 87 Running (delayed)-contact
19. 16. Tomas Scheckter Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 73 Did not finish-crash
20. 11. Mike Conway-R Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 63 Running (delayed)-contact
21. 13. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 34 Did not finish-refueling fire
22. 19. Richard Antinucci-R Team 3G Honda Dallara 20 Did not finish-coolant leak
23. 7. Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 0 Did not finish-contact
R - IndyCar Series Rookie

(or, The Day The Minnow Ate The Sharks)

Along with Siebkens (near Road America), the Seneca Lodge, just down the hill from Watkins Glen International Raceway, is probably the most historic bar in US road racing.

And like Siebkens, the Seneca IS kind of a musty old place. I can’t recommend staying in one of the Lodge’s several cabins, unless you’re particularly keen on hot- and cold-running rust. But the restaurant is first-rate, and the bar, well, that’s the true reason one HAS to go to the Seneca Lodge on a race weekend. It’s 60 years of motor-racing history, contained in a single room.

Behind the bar hang actual winners’ wreaths from Formula One races in the ’60s. Dry and withered, but proudly on display. Photos abound, from the original race through the village streets in 1948, through the early ‘50s, then moving to the permanent racing facility atop the hill overlooking Seneca Lake. Team stickers, cards, graffiti, dollar bills, pound notes, deutschmarks, rands, trophies and other mementos are everywhere.

It’s a “who-was-who” through 60 years of sports-car, Grand Prix and yes, even NASCAR racing: Bill Kimberly, Briggs Cunningham, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Pedro Rodriguez, Gilles Villeneuve and Mark Donohue; Phil Hill & Graham Hill; Peter Revson & Peter Gregg; Jack Brabham, Geoff Brabham and local hero Geoff Bodine; Jim Hall, Jim Clark and even Jimmy “Smut” Means….

And they serve Molson’s, too.

The tradition continued on Sunday night following the IndyCar race, with a celebration that was literally 25 years in the making.


Dale and Gail Coyne, their entire crew, race winner Justin Wilson and his family all headed to the Lodge on Sunday evening to celebrate their historic win — the first for the Coyne team in 2½ decades of CART, ChampCar and now IndyCar competition – and pay homage to decades of racers and winners who had come before them and celebrated there.

Justin, his wife and daughter, his parents, and his younger brother Stefan, who raced on Saturday in Indy Lights, were the first to arrive. Rather than go through the side entrance to the bar, they entered the lodge through the restaurant, generating delight, surprise and applause from a room full of knowledgeable diners. A couple of minutes later, Dale and Gail Coyne made the same entrance to a standing ovation; Dale still wearing the winner's wreath and carrying the Victory Circle champagne.

By then, the rest of the team was already in the bar…..

After a symbolic exchange of the wreath from owner to driver, Wilson slipped behind the bar, as many of the most famous names in open-wheel history had done before him, and hung his victory wreath on the wall, the bright green leaves a sharp contrast to the long since dried-out wreaths of days gone by.

“Encouraged” by the now large, and loud, audience, Dale joined Justin behind the bar, both still beaming from the day’s events, for an impromptu photo op for those lucky enough to be there.

Not to be left out, the entire Dale Coyne Racing crew then hopped behind the bar, to join their leader and driver in celebration, making their own mark on this historic day, and joining in with the chants of the Seneca patrons. It was cool.



So, after 558 race starts since 1985 from 61 different drivers – ranging in ability from Wilson, Bruno Junqueira and Paul Tracy to the likes of Fulvio Ballabio and the legendary Guido Dacco – Coyne Racing has finally triumphed. But it has always persevered. First, it was as a low-buck operation with owner/driver Dale; then, as a field-filling team for rent-a-riders with more funding and ego than talent; and sometimes (rarely), as a place for a young, hungry driver like PT to make a strong initial impression before rapidly moving up to a “real” team.

But slowly, almost imperceptibly, in recent years Coyne has raised his game. Like many of his fellow CART team owners in the mid-1990s, Dale made out like a bandit, buying low and selling high when CART made its ill-fated move to a publicly-traded company. But unlike many of those owners, he used the cash windfall to, in part, fund the development of Route 66 Speedway, a drag strip and dirt oval outside his home base of Joliet, Ill.

He also began to hire – or at least provide “free” rides – to real racing drivers such as Memo Gidley (probably his first non-paying driver), Roberto Moreno, Cristiano da Matta and finally, Bruno Junqueira.

Of course, most of his “mechanics” still were either trade-school dropouts, or hard-working but unskilled kids for whom English was a second language… And the second car was still driven by a Charles Nearburg, or the like.

A true story: When Memo Gidley drove for Coyne, he missed part or all of every practice session during his first race weekend because the car just wasn’t ready yet. Monday after that race, Memo loaded up his toolbox and drove from his apartment in Indy up to Joliet to become the effective crew chief/driver for the rest of his term with the team.

Eventually, International Speedway Corporation came a-calling, looking for land in the Chicago area to build another one of its cookie-cutter 1.5-mile speedways. Conveniently enough, Dale owned a chunk of land right next to his “Route 66” facility and – voila! – Chicagoland Speedway was born.

Then, a couple of years ago, Dale cashed out once more at exactly the right time. He sold all his Chicagoland shares back to ISC for – ahem – a “tidy” profit.

But again, instead of retiring to Bora Bora with Gail, Dale plowed at least some of that largesse (not ALL of it, he’s not that dumb!) back into the race team, in the form of hiring engineers and mechanics worthy of the name – plus, continuing to provide a hope for talented, otherwise unemployed race-car drivers.

Ron Barhorst, a quiet but effective crew chief, came on board in 2007; Dale Fife and Glen Knabenshocks last year; and, perhaps most importantly, ex-Walker/Ganassi engineer Bill Pappas at the start of this season.

Mind you, Dale Coyne Racing is still ‘nowhere’ on the ovals – I doubt if the car has ever been inside a wind tunnel or on a seven-post rig. But on the road and street courses, the team is now within a shout – as demonstrated at the season-opening St. Petersburg race, where Wilson almost pulled off the upset win that finally came their way at Watkins Glen.

At Watkins Glen, Pappas out-engineered and Wilson out-drove the competition.

That weekend, the alternate, softer Firestone ‘Red’ tires worked great for tons of laps, but for only one heat cycle. Once they’d been cooled and re-heated on the track, they quickly went off. But when they were on that original heat cycle, they were decidedly quicker than the standard ‘Blacks’.

Each team gets three sets of ‘Reds’ per weekend, and four sets of ‘Blacks’. Teams must use at least one set of each during the race. MOST teams use at least two sets of ‘Reds’ during qualifying. But the Coyne team used only one, so they had two brand new sets of ‘Reds’ for Sunday.

Because the Red/Black difference was so substantial at The Glen, Ganassi and a couple of other teams started on one-session-old ‘Reds’ from qualifying. It was a decision that backfired badly, as the tires started graining after only 10 laps or so, effectively killing the victory chances of both Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.

Race notes: Coyne won on Saturday by saving a second set of ‘Reds’ for the race. ‘Reds’ worked great for tons of laps, but only one heat cycle – something that killed the Ganassi guys during the first segment, as they started on used ‘Reds’.

Wilson, meanwhile, started out on ‘Reds,’ did a short middle stint on ‘Blacks’, then still had a set of brand new ‘Reds’ to finish out the day.

How effective was that strategy? Wilson set his fastest race lap—and the third fastest overall – on Lap 58 of 60, while pulling away from Ryan Briscoe after a Lap 55 restart. The Penske driver, on ‘Blacks’, had nothing for Wilson.

BTW, who had the fastest race lap? Briscoe, who started the race on his last set of new ‘Reds’, set his marker on Lap 18. For the true race trivia nut, second-fastest laps of the race went to E.J. Viso, on his fresh ‘Reds’, but AFTER his early-race coming-together with Marco Andretti.

You could sense the energy along pit lane, as photographers, reporters, supporters and series personnel began gathering in and around the Dale Coyne Racing pit box in the waning laps of the race. Then came the tension, when that last yellow bunched up the field with just a handful of laps to go. But Wilson took the restart in dominant fashion – he definitely learned from his mistake at St. Pete – and the whole team was out on the pit wall to cheer their guy home at the checkers.

It was the first win for a team other than Penske or Ganassi this season. It was the day a minnow triumphed over the sharks.

A few, final notes from The Glen:

· I was great to see “Vic Meyers” (a.k.a. Vitor Meira) back at the race track for the first time since his Indy crash. He looks fit and ready to get back at it, but you know Dr. Trammell won’t let him even sit in an IndyCar until his six-month rehab is completed.

· The crowd at the Glen was again strong on this Fourth of July weekend, but there were definitely fewer cars with Canadian plates in the parking lots. Last year, there were a TON of Canadians in the crowd, but there was no Toronto race in 2008. I think the Glen management wants more separation between the two events. Coupled with the theory that a race on a non-holiday weekend might improve the corporate chalet numbers, I think you might see the date for this weekend move to the autumn next year.

· Finally, special props to the fine folks at Watkins Glen for preserving the Victory Circle traditions of both champagne and a laurel wreath for the winner. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other North America tracks that still do that.

###

Will Power led a 1-2-3 sweep for Team Penske in IndyCar Series qualifying Saturday at the Edmonton City Centre Airport temporary circuit for Sunday’s Rexall Edmonton Indy. Power, who is driving a third Penske entry in a limited schedule, headed teammates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves.

It is Power’s second Edmonton pole -- he also was fastest qualifier for the Champ Car race here in 2007 -- and his second IndyCar pole, the first coming at Long Beach in April.

Defending race winner Scott Dixon will start fourth for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, while Graham Rahal qualified fifth in his Newman Haas Lanigan Racing Honda Dallara. Making his first appearance at Edmonton, current IndyCar Series points leader Dario Franchitti rounded out the Firestone “Fast Six” qualifiers today.

Sunday’s race starts at 6 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on Versus.

Firestone Fast Six Qualifiers:
Ps./Driver/Team/Chassis/Best Time/Best Speed
1. Will Power Team Penske Honda Dallara 1:01.0133 116.414 mph
2. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 1:01.1232 116.205
3. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 1:01.2033 116.053
4. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 1:01.2046 116.050
5. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 1:01.6952 115.127
6. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 1:01.8344 114.868


Will Power (#12 Team Penske Honda) pole qualifier, his second pole of 2009: “This qualifying format is exhausting. It’s almost like a race, with strategy, timing and some really hard driving through all three segments. My guys are fantastic. They may not be here every weekend [Power runs a partial schedule] but they’re ‘Penske material’ -- and that’s as good as you get.”

Events: Nelson Ledges, July 4-5

Drivers: Inness Eisele (T3),
Chase Lin (T3),
Matt Staal (SSB),
Chad Gilsinger (SSB)

Vehicles: Honda S2000 (T3)
Honda Civic Si (SSB)

For the 2009 season, THR has been granted the unique opportunity to mount an SCCA National Championship Runoffs campaign supporting the launch of Honda Racing/HPD, Honda’s new broad-based initiative aimed at expanding its presence in grassroots racing by offering products and services for its amateur and entry-level professional auto racing customers.

The first race for the majority of the THR drivers was the double national at Nelson Ledges. Given our limited schedule, finishing each race is critical in order to qualify for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, which added somewhat to the pressure of the weekend While it had been six months since we had been in a race car, we were able to quickly shake off the cobwebs and qualify at the top of both classes. The first race of the weekend went well, with Chad and Inness winning their classes, while Chase and Matt finished second right behind them. With Chad and Chase starting at the front of their classes in Race One, the only excitement for THR was a spin by Chase in Turn 1, which resulted in light contact with the tire wall. Fortunately, the damage was just cosmetic, so Chase was able to re-enter the race and finish second, with help from a late-race crash by his competition. It was nice to get the first race under our belts, and Chase was able to quickly regroup, having learned a lesson.

THR drivers again qualified at the front of the grids in their respective classes for the second race, and after a strong start, we able to hold off the competition and occupy the top of the podium. The durability of the BFG rubber enabled us to run on the same set of tires from the first race on. Unfortunately, controversy over ballast placement emerged in technical inspection for Chad’s first-place SSB car, and he received a “last in class” (fifth place) penalty. The Chief Steward ruled that ballast mounted in the trunk should have been mounted in the passenger footwell instead. The penalty was protested, but ultimately upheld. An appeal to reverse the ruling has been submitted, but resolution is still pending. In the end, it was still a great weekend for THR.

Will Develop Products, Services for Amateur, Lower-Level Professional Racers


ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (July 24, 2009) – Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), the authorized Honda and Acura auto racing company in North America, today announced a new automotive initiative targeted at expanding its presence in the grassroots motorsports market.

The broad-based initiative will include the development of products and services that support competition in the amateur and entry-level professional ranks, and will also include integrated marketing activities designed to raise the profile of Honda Racing and HPD.

“For many years, Honda enthusiasts have campaigned our products in racing series throughout the U.S.,” said Erik Berkman, President of Honda Performance Development. “On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Honda brand in the United States, we are pleased to announce that we will now support those efforts directly, by introducing products and services geared toward helping our customers fulfill their racing dreams.”

The new program will ultimately include an array of products and services for Honda and Acura customers who compete in amateur and professional racing. These products include both original equipment parts and racing-performance parts.

To launch its new grassroots initiative, HPD will operate the Honda Racing Line, a club targeted at licensed participants in amateur and entry-level professional racing. The Honda Racing Line will provide its members with a direct connection to Honda Performance Development and its unparalleled record of success at the pinnacle levels of motorsport.

This channel to factory support, which will offer Honda Racing Line members the opportunity to purchase racing-performance parts for expedited delivery, has not existed previously.

“Thousands of our customers are racing Hondas or Acuras today with a need for regular access to parts,” Berkman noted. “A market has clearly been established for a service like the Honda Racing Line. We are pleased to provide that service, and look forward to expanding the roster of benefits and services available to Honda Racing Line members.”

HPD Grassroots Initiative - 2

Competitors may register for the Honda Racing Line club and gain access to the parts catalogue through a website portal, HondaRacingLine.com. Additional Racing Line membership benefits will be announced as they are developed.

HPD’s new grassroots motorsports initiative also supports the fans of grassroots racing through an integrated marketing plan, focusing on fan identification with the Honda Racing brand through merchandise sales and additional services.

Specific details regarding other components of the new grassroots motorsports initiative will be announced throughout the year.

Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD) is the factory-authorized Honda and Acura racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s highperformance racing cars and engines. In addition to its grassroots motorsports participation, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and competes in prototype sports-car racing under the Acura banner in the American Le Mans Series.

Prototype Debuts at FF 40th Anniversary Celebration

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (July 24, 2009) – As one of the initial offerings in its new grassroots motorsports initiative, Honda Performance Development, Inc. (HPD), the authorized Honda and Acura auto racing company in North America, is proposing entry into an SCCA Club Racing program with an eye toward lowering operating costs, while strengthening FF’s position as the first step in American open-wheel racing.

HPD’s concept, submitted to the Sports Car Club of America for membership input and approval, incorporates a 1.5-liter, Honda Fit L15A7 engine into an existing FF chassis. During initial testing, the Honda engine provided performance equal to the long out-of-production “Kent” engine, but featuring a modern fuel-injected design with superior service life, improved availability and lower operating costs.

“FF has a tremendous history, here in North America and around the world. Through the ‘70s and ‘80s, it was THE place for open-wheel racers to ‘cut their racing teeth’,” said Erik Berkman, President of Honda Performance Development. “So many champion drivers, such as our own Jimmy Vasser, Gil de Ferran and Bryan Herta, got their start in FF. Our goal is not to force competitors to make a change, but to make FF more affordable and more competitive.”

A prototype, utilizing a Swift DB-1 chassis and HPD-developed bolt-on conversion kit, will make its public debut this weekend with demonstration laps during Road America’s FF 40th Anniversary Celebration. The Swift-Honda will be on display in Road America’s North Paddock throughout the weekend, and officials from HPD and its parent, American Honda Motor Company, Inc., will be on hand to meet with SCCA members and answer questions. HPD and American Honda are actively soliciting the reactions and thoughts of both current and potential FF competitors.

The Honda FF engine has been developed by Honda Performance Development in cooperation with Sandy Shamlian of Quicksilver RacEngines. The engine is being developed to equal the performance of the Kent powerplant through utilization of an HPD-developed intake restrictor plate and appropriately mapped Engine Control Unit (ECU). If testing reveals the need for additional performance adjustments, changes can be made to the restrictor plate and/or the ECU maps to achieve this goal.

“Many of us, myself included, have been involved in FF racing,” said Marc Sours, HPD Production Division Manager and Large Project Leader for HPD’s grassroots projects. “We’ve all seen FF engine costs rise and replacement parts become increasingly difficult to locate.

Honda Unveils FF Proposal – 2

“The result has been a decline in FF participation. We believe that introducing the modern, less-expensive Honda Fit engine can restore interest in and raise the profile of FF to a point where it once again becomes the place for young drivers to begin their careers, and where existing SCCA club racers will find economical, close competition.”

Original equipment in the 2009 Honda Fit, the L15A7 is a fuel-injected, 1.5-liter, overhead cam engine. It is at the beginning of its current production generation, with a minimum of 10 years’ parts support required by law at the conclusion of production.

HPD will supply all necessary parts from intake through exhaust, including the chassis conversion kit. The result will be a modern and reliable engine requiring minimal maintenance and tuning.

Specifically, HPD expects FF competitors to reduce their engine operating costs. Engine rebuilds would be reduced from two per year to one every other year; top-end refreshing would be needed just once a year rather than multiple times per season; both crankshaft and valvespring life would be extended dramatically; and most ignition and all carburetor maintenance would be eliminated.

The complete Honda FF kit is expected to sell for under $12,000. The package would include a base L15A7 engine, FF race kit (including intake, exhaust, dry sump, restrictor plate and ECU), and a bolt-in chassis kit, to permit installation of the engine without welding or other major modifications. Individual component parts would also be available for purchase separately.

Beginning with its initial entry into Formula One in 1964, Honda has a lengthy record of involvement in open-wheel racing around the world. In addition to its well-known accomplishments in IndyCar, CART and Formula One competition, Honda Motor also has an extensive history as an engine supplier in lower open-wheel formulae, including Formula 3, Formula Master, Formula Nippon and Formula Dream.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era of Honda Performance Development’s participation in, and support for, amateur racers; the first step in what we see as a diverse grassroots racing program,” said Berkman. “All of us at HPD look forward to participating in a variety of racing series and categories and helping the sport we all enjoy grow in prominence and popularity.”

Honda Performance Development (HPD) is Honda’s racing company within North America. Founded in 1993, and located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing cars and engines. In addition to its new grassroots motorsports business, HPD is the single engine supplier to the IndyCar Series and competes in prototype sports-car racing under the Acura banner in the American Le Mans Series.

Quicksilver RacEngines (QSRE) is a private company in Frederick, MD owned and operated by Sandy Shamlian since 1973. QSRE engines have been a staple in open-wheel and sports-car racing, logging countless professional and amateur race wins and championships in the USA, England, Venezuela, Australia & Canada in classes such as Zetec F2000, Formula Continental, Sports 2000, Formula Atlantic, and FF1600.

Honda Performance Development (HPD), the authorized Honda and Acura racing company in North America, is announcing a new initiative targeted at expanding its presence in the grassroots motorsports market.

The broad-based initiative will include the development of products and services that support competition in the club and entry-level professional ranks, and will also include integrated marketing activities designed to raise the profile of Honda Racing and HPD.

“For many years, Honda enthusiasts have campaigned our products in racing series throughout the U.S.,” said Erik Berkman, President of Honda Performance Development. “On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Honda brand in the United States, we are pleased to announce that we will now support those efforts directly, by introducing pr