Motorsports FanHouse

IZOD Signs on as IndyCar's Title Sponsor

Holly Cain — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:46:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IndyCar Series formally welcomed IZOD as the title sponsor for the series Thursday in a flashy, ultra-hip unveiling at Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- a significant development in the future of the series which hasn't had a big money title sponsor in the last decade.

"It is our biggest day in the history of the company,'' said Terry Angstadt, President of the IRL's Commercial Division.

"When people ask about our priorities on a business side, this was number one through ten, believe me.''

While neither the IZOD IndyCar Series officials nor executives at IZOD's parent company, Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH), would disclose the monetary terms of the contract, it is a "multi-million dollar commitment" for six years with an option beyond that, officials said.

IZOD will enhance the marketing of the series, provide a massive presence in race markets and contribute money dispersed to each team that runs the full season. Most importantly it hopes to provide America's marquee open-wheel series with the type of mass exposure sorely missing in the last few years, promising an emphasis on marketing all of the league's drivers.

Recently crowned IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti sees it as a signal of better times ahead for the series which lags behind NASCAR in popularity despite consistently boasting the most competitive championship battles in all of major auto sport.

"To announce a title sponsor in this economy is a big deal for everybody,'' Franchitti said. "For IZOD to have been in the series already and step it up shows [the series is] working. It's a really good sign coming on the back of open-wheel unification a year ago.

"I like the momentum.''

Pep Boys and Northern Lights (an Internet search engine) each had brief reigns as IndyCar Series title sponsors, but IndyCar president Brian Barnhart said Thursday that this deal with IZOD was "probably the first legitimate title sponsor we've had.''

"The best thing is they are spending a lot of money raising the awareness of the series, getting more eyeballs watching. Having someone outside the motorsports realm really adds to the excitement of it and takes us into people's living rooms that weren't already race fans.''

Certainly IZOD has the unique ability to attract a new generation of fans using its hip look and edgy commercials while still being an iconic American symbol to older generations. And that's exactly the kind of shot in the arm IndyCar needs.

The open-wheel split beginning in 1996 not only confused, divided and alienated race fans, it frightened potential corporate partners and forced many longtime open-wheel sponsors to chose between the Indy Racing League, which had the Indianapolis 500 on its schedule and the CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) Series, which had the big name teams and drivers.

While the open-wheel series were competing against each other for prestige, talent and ultimately corporate America, NASCAR was becoming an attractive alternative for sponsors and fans.

Last year IRL founder Tony George brokered a deal to unify America's two open-wheel series and is a significant factor in the series being able to land this sponsor.

"We knew the unification would be very important, but it's far more impactful than I even thought it would be,'' Angstadt said.

"This is a very sexy sport with under-developed assets and opportunity and a chance to partner and really build each other's brand,'' said Mike Kelly, PVH's executive vice president of marketing and creative.

"It's an opportunity, no question. Frankly, I'm not sure if everything was already rosy and perfect here and fully mature after the unification if we could afford this.''

Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has had IZOD as a personal and team sponsor since it first joined the sport last year, was confident he spoke for all the competitors in saying, "this is what we've been waiting for, it's a new start and the sky's the limit right now.''

IZOD Signs on as IndyCar's Title Sponsor originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back from NASCAR: Franchitti Wins IndyCar Championship

Holly Cain — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:15:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It was as if Dario Franchitti never left.

The 36-year old Scot returned from a don't-look-back 2008 NASCAR experiment to reclaim the IndyCar Series championship trophy he took with him, sealing the deal on his second title Saturday night in nearly identical fashion to how he earned the first in 2007.

While Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe and Franchitti's Target Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon traded the race lead and led the most laps in the Indy 300 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Franchitti laid back in third position, saved just enough fuel and inherited the lead when Briscoe and Dixon was forced to pit for fuel in the waning laps of the series' first ever caution-free race.

"I would describe it as horrifically wonderful,'' Franchitti's wife, actress Ashley Judd, said of nervously watching the final laps of the race, a scene reminiscent of his 2007 IndyCar championship when Franchitti clinched the title as Dixon ran out of gas on the final turn of the final lap.

"I think I was actually more pissed at that one,'' joked Dixon.

"It was one of the hardest and probably one of the best races I've run,'' said Briscoe, who led a race high 103 of the 200 laps, finished runner-up in the race and third in the standings.

"I thought I'd done everything possible to win the thing today and to have Dario sneak home making one less pit stop. ... all credit to Target Ganassi. It just stinks for us.''

Even his rivals couldn't begrudge Franchitti this one.

Franchitti, whose wife is often photographed more on pit road than he is, returned to open-wheel after spending a shortened 2008 season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series -- suffering a broken ankle last April in a Nationwide Series crash at Talladega, then watching helplessly as his team had to shut down for lack of sponsorship.
"I didn't think I'd win five races and a championship in my first year back necessarily. I knew I had great equipment with Target Ganassi, but I wondered if I could pick right back up, hold up my end of the bargain."
-- Dario Franchitti
Shortly after, Ganassi found out he'd have an opening in one of this IndyCar seats.

"I told Dario, 'if you want it, it's yours' ... just let me know in a couple hours,'' Ganassi said.

The deal was made a couple hours later, signed on a cocktail napkin.

"Those are the best deals you make in racing,'' Target Ganassi team manager Mike Hull said smiling.

The season would prove as much. The win was Franchitti's fifth of the season and culminated a championship that both Ganassi and Franchitti felt was enhanced by the circuitous journey there.

And the eight points that separated Dixon, Franchitti and Briscoe entering the race made it the second closest title chase in series history.

"It adds a certain sweetness for sure,'' said Franchitti, who at 36 is the series' oldest champion. "But you know, I wouldn't change anything.

"I got to do something completely different, have a bit of a holiday and realize what I was missing, then come back to the best team in the paddock.

"I'm absolutely where I should be. But I wouldn't trade anything that's happened. It was a good lesson, just kind of what the other side of the fence looks like.''

To say Franchitti was motivated upon his return would be an understatement. Before the season began he called his NASCAR experience the worst year of his career. His season was over before he really got a fair shot at proving himself.

He had left IndyCar while at the top of his game and returned to a unified open-wheel series with deeper level of competition and different race venues.

"To come back and do what he did is quite impressive,'' Dixon said.

While Franchitti is celebrating an exit from NASCAR to IndyCar, his competitor Danica Patrick - who crashed on pit road Saturday - promised reporters after the race, "I've got a lot left in me. I think next year will be even better.''

It was the only comment she offered all weekend concerning her future plans. Although multiple outlets have reported she's re-signed with Andretti Green Racing, no official announcement has been made. And there continues to be speculation from the NASCAR ranks this weekend that she will land at least a part time ride in stock cars next year.

Franchitti, meanwhile, couldn't be happier with his decision to compete in open-wheel.

"I'm loving it,'' he said. "This is exactly how I hoped it would go.

"I didn't think I'd win five races and a championship in my first year back necessarily. I knew I had great equipment with Target Ganassi, but I wondered if I could pick right back up, hold up my end of the bargain.''

It's safe to say he did.

"It takes quite a driver to have the ability to maintain his composure during a race like today and how the race played out,'' said Ganassi, who now has seven open-wheel championships - four in CART and three in the IndyCar Series.

"That's being a champion before and knowing what it takes to be a champion.''

Back from NASCAR: Franchitti Wins IndyCar Championship originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Franchitti Makes Triumphant Return, Captures IndyCar Title Again

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Dario Franchitti's return to IndyCar racing couldn't have gone better. He's the IRL champion once again.

Franchitti successfully emerged from one of the closest points races in series history Saturday, winning the season-ending Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the first caution-free IRL race ever.

The 2007 champion -- who skipped 2008 to explore NASCAR -- held off Target Chip Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon and Penske Racing's Ryan Briscoe.

So on the 10th day of the 10th month of the year, Franchitti's No. 10 car reigned supreme over the IRL.

"I can't believe it," Franchitti said. "It all worked out."

He sat back and saved fuel over much of the final 50 laps, and when his two fellow contenders pitted late, the title was his.

"Congrats to him," Briscoe said. "It hurts."

Franchitti's wife, Ashley Judd, got a huge hug from Chip Ganassi as soon as the checkered flag fell, and Dixon was one of the first to slap Franchitti a high-five as the new champion emerged from the track.

"We were sticking to our strategy," Franchitti said. "Our car was really good at the end."

Franchitti finished with 616 points, unofficially 11 ahead of Dixon and 12 ahead of Briscoe.

Tony Kanaan was fourth and Helio Castroneves fifth, but on this day, they were afterthoughts.

It was a three-man race for the title, and from the very beginning Saturday, a three-man race at Homestead, too.

Dixon, Briscoe and Franchitti opened a lead of nearly 1 1/2 seconds by the time the race was 10 laps old and piled on from there -- 2 1/2 seconds after 15 laps, 3 1/2 seconds after 20 laps, 10 seconds by the 30-lap mark.

By the time the race was half over, the three contenders were the only ones on the lead lap.

"There was two races," Castroneves said. "The top three guys, and the rest of the field."

Outside of the three title contenders going back and forth, the only drama was in the pits: Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon -- who have some history, going back to Milwaukee in 2007 when they brushed cars during the race and brushed bodies on pit road after the race -- collided again during a pit stop with about 45 laps left, sending both far back in the pack.

Really, though, this race and championship might have been decided 10 laps earlier.

Briscoe and Dixon pitted together with 56 laps remaining, with Franchitti coming in six laps later. So when Briscoe and Dixon came in again to top off with fuel with about seven laps left, Franchitti stayed on the track, knowing he had enough to get to the finish.

When Briscoe left the pit that final time, Franchitti whizzed past right in front of him - and so did the title.

"How great is my husband at being fast while saving fuel?" Judd said, shrieking and raising her arms high in triumph.

All the engineering and calculations in the world couldn't have had anybody thinking that this race would be run without a single caution flag.

But it was, and Franchitti couldn't have been happier about that.

"Definitely loving it right now," Franchitti said. "Loving this IndyCar series."

Maybe it was fitting that it was an IndyCar race unlike any other, because it was an IndyCar season unlike any other.

Helio Castroneves started the year in court, fighting tax evasion charges, and won the Indianapolis 500 about five weeks after being acquitted. Perennial IRL title contender Tony Kanaan went winless, the first time that's happened during his seven full seasons. Danica Patrick's future is unknown, although IRL expects its most marketable driver to stay put "for a reasonably good term," in the words IndyCar commercial division president Terry Angstadt used last week.

And the first 16 races before the finale at Homestead - the first time IRL's titlist was crowned in South Florida - decided nothing.

Dixon started the weekend with a five-point lead over Franchitti and an eight-point cushion over Briscoe. Franchitti inched a point closer to Dixon by winning the pole in Friday qualifying, and all three drivers came into the finale saying they thought a win at Homestead would be necessary to claim the seasonlong championship.

Turns out, Franchitti was right.

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Franchitti Makes Triumphant Return, Captures IndyCar Title Again originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IndyCar Championship to be Decided in Saturday's Finale

Holly Cain — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:42:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The Indy 300 -- the IndyCar Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- is Saturday. For the fourth consecutive season the last race on the schedule will decide the drivers championship.

New Zealander Scott Dixon leads his Target Ganassi teammate Dario Franchitti by four points in the standings. Australian Ryan Briscoe, of Team Penske, is eight points behind Dixon. The three dominated the practice speed charts and will start in front of the grid today -- Franchitti on pole position, Dixon next to him and Briscoe on the second row.

The three men have accounted for 12 wins in 14 races and traded the championship lead 14 times. This is the second closest championship battle in the series history.

Dixon, 29, is trying to earn his third championship and join Sam Hornish Jr. as the IndyCar Series only three-time champs. He won trophies in 2003 and 2008 and ran out of gas on the last turn of the last lap of the 2007 finale as Franchitti blew past to take the crown.

The Scot, Franchitti, 36, is technically trying to win back-to-back titles since he left open-wheel in 2008 to race in NASCAR. His stock car career never got a fair shake as he suffered an injury and his car lost its sponsorship. He hasn't skipped a beat since returning to open-wheel winning four times.

Briscoe, 28, is enjoying the most successful season in only his second true full season of competition. A former Formula One test driver, he finished second in the American Le Mans Series sportscar championship in 2007 before being hired last year to take over the No. 6 IndyCar seat.

Not only is the title up for grabs. Only 27 points separate fifth place Danica Patrick through eighth place Tony Kanaan. Fifth place would Patrick's highest career finish.

IndyCar Championship to be Decided in Saturday's Finale originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Danica Patrick Refuses to Answer Questions on Future

Holly Cain — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:58:00 EST

Filed under: NASCAR Rumors, IRL

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Danica Patrick climbed out of her race car Friday afternoon, all smiles about a solid seventh-place qualifying effort for Saturday's IndyCar season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and liking her chances about a career-best ranking (fifth) in the standings.

She joked with reporters about missing her public relations spokeswoman and spoke earnestly of her Andretti Green Racing team's pressing need to find more speed.

Just don't ask her about the big elephant on pit road -- her contract status and whether she plans to give NASCAR a go.

When asked simply if she had hoped to be able to announce something by now, Patrick pointed her finger and said, "Why do you gotta end it like that?'' abruptly turned her back on the group of a half-dozen reporters and stormed away.

The interviews were over. The speculation will continue.

Ironically, while Patrick, 27, may not choose to speak about her future this weekend -- the last race of the IndyCar schedule -- others are saying a lot. More than 3,000 miles away at California Speedway her future was still generating buzz in the NASCAR garage.

The rumors grow each week -- some more wild than others, like a recent report that Patrick was demanding $8 million for eight stock car starts.

There have been other more plausible possibilities.

Two-time NASCAR champ Tony Stewart has had several discussions with Patrick about her career and "guaranteed" the NASCAR press that Patrick will be in some sort of a stock car next season.

Multiple reports from the IndyCar side promise she has re-signed with Andretti Green for an additional three seasons, but even that hasn't been formally announced.

This week NASCAR Sprint Cup driver/owner Michael Waltrip threw his hat in the ring, saying he'd love to speak with Patrick about fielding a car for her.

And NASCAR champion car owner Rick Hendrick told the the Los Angeles Times that Patrick "would help our sport" should she come to NASCAR. He was receptive to possibly fielding a car or truck for Patrick in a few races -- perhaps in conjunction with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports team in the Nationwide Series. But, Hendrick said, he had not had any formal talks with Patrick.

The most likely scenario is that Patrick will continue to do a full IndyCar Series schedule in 2010 while testing in a stock car and perhaps making a few starts in the developmental Nationwide, ARCA or Camping World Truck series as her open-wheel schedule permits.

"It boils down to seat time,'' three-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said Friday from California.
"Hit walls, tear up equipment, make mistakes. You have to go through that. You cannot shortcut that aspect. You have to go through those experiences to learn."
-- Jimmie Johnson
"Just not to be in a hurry, drive anything with a body on it: ARCA, Truck, Nationwide, Cup. It is tough because she is obviously going to have a big spotlight on her.

"Hit walls, tear up equipment, make mistakes. You have to go through that. You cannot shortcut that aspect. It doesn't matter if you are Juan Pablo who has been an F-1 driver coming in, or a guy coming from a local short track. You have to go through those experiences to learn."

Patrick is the first woman to win an IndyCar race (Japan, 2008) and the first to lead laps in the Indianapolis 500. She has always said it is her dream to win the Indy 500 and so it makes sense that she capitalize on those odds with a strong team like AGR.

Despite the fact AGR may endure its first winless season, Patrick has been the class of the non-Penske, non-Ganassi field. Her fifth-place rank in the standings entering Saturday's race is the best for any American driver in the series as well as tops in her five-year career.

Her peak in the open-wheel ranks also coincides with major marketing success. She is one of the most recognizable athletes in the country - a huge commercial and sponsorship hit - and that makes her attractive to America's most popular form of racing: NASCAR. And vice versa.

Interestingly, while it would seem like a good idea to try both forms of motorsport to ease her way into an eventual NASCAR ride, former open-wheel champion Juan Pablo Montoya cautioned against such an approach on Friday.

"I wouldn't be driving both cars to be honest,'' said Montoya, the 2000 Indy 500 winner and who is currently ranked third in the Sprint Cup championship battle.

"I wouldn't do it because they drive so different. You're going to get comfortable in one thing, and then you're going to make it to the other thing, and every time it's going to be like night and day. When I drive the 24 Hours (Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona) and I get to Daytona it feels really weird, and I've been driving stock cars for three years now.

"I do two test days and the race and come back for the (Daytona) 500 and it feels really weird to drive again. So, I wouldn't."

Patrick has been getting lots of advice - some solicited, some not - but until she's ready to announce her plans the Danica sweepstakes will get more frenzied. The speculation will continue, the rumors will grow. The good news for Patrick, is that people care enough to ask the questions.

Notes and Quotes

The three IndyCar championship contenders dominated the practice speed charts and equaled the feat during qualifying.

Dario Franchitti cut his Target Ganassi teammate and championship leader Scott Dixon's advantage to four points by winning the pole position in the No. 10 Target car. Dixon will start alongside Franchitti, and Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe, who is eight points behind Dixon, will start third.

"Obviously we're pretty happy with what we managed to achieve there. Tomorrow the hard work begins,'' said Franchitti, who is trying to win his second consecutive IRL title, sandwiched around a brief foray into NASCAR. The Scottish native won the IndyCar Series championship in 2007, then left open-wheel for NASCAR last season, before returning back to the IRL circuit this year.

Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves had to use a back-up car for qualifying after crashing between Turns 1 and 2 during the afternoon practice session. Castroneves said the left rear suspension collapsed: "When you have three wheels, normally, it doesn't do well.''

Castroneves, who earned his third Indy 500 win this year, rallied to qualify 11th in the backup.

Danica Patrick Refuses to Answer Questions on Future originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time to Give IndyCar Racing Its Due

Holly Cain — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Ryan Briscoe moves about his adopted hometown of Mooresville, N.C., untouched by the fame and glory you'd expect to accompany a young, dynamic race car driver in the midst of an exciting three-man title fight for a major sports championship.

"No one knows me there,'' the Australian demurred with a smile Thursday, minutes after posing next to the IndyCar Series trophy he's trying to earn in Saturday night's Indy 300 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"That's not true,'' his fiancee reminded him, "Remember the girl at Starbucks?"

The scenario may not be too surprising considering its setting in NASCAR's backyard, but the truth is the IndyCar Series is not getting its due in its own backyard either.

"No, not at all, I'm not famous,'' two-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon said laughing, "But Dario [Franchitti] tells me every day that he is really famous.''

The fact is, they should be.

The IndyCar Series is full of interesting story lines and great personalities racing wheel-to-wheel at 200 mph, producing a dramatic championship scenario year after year. And America's missing out.

Only eight points separate Dixon, Franchitti and Briscoe in the standings. And as exciting as this weekend's final event will be, chances are most local newscasts and newspaper headlines will lead their racing coverage with something NASCAR-related.

"I think it's better than it was three years ago,'' said 2007 series champ Franchitti, who is five points behind his Target Ganassi teammate Dixon entering the weekend.

"Is it where it needs to be? No. But I think it's in an upward trajectory which is a very positive thing because in my opinion, for a few years, it was on a very slow downward path. With the two series coming together, it's given us momentum. I don't know what more as drivers we can do, and as a series we put a great product on the track. That's the main thing.''

Here's another thing: the series has to improve its television package.

IndyCar is in the first year of a marathon 10-year contract with Versus, which does a first class job with its race broadcasts and IndyCar-devoted specials. The problem is, not enough people are seeing it.

DirecTV is no longer carrying Versus and that's 14 million less subscribers. Versus President Jamie Davis was
quoted in the Indianapolis Star last month as saying the 11 races the network has broadcast are averaging a .39 rating or 400,000 households.

He also maintains that what it lost in DirecTV, it has almost gained back with a new Dish Network subscriber list close to 9 million.

But when the the race series' website has a place for you to type in your zip code in order to find a broadcast channel in your area, you know things are rough.

And that's a shame.

This series deserves more.

After a 12-year split between America's two major open-wheel series, the two circuits unified under the IndyCar Series banner prior to the 2008 season bringing a diverse, deeply competitive field together visiting an enviable assortment of venues from the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the streets of Long Beach, Calif.

The product suffered initially after the split, but it has been good for awhile.

And this weekend marks the 10th time in the past 14 years - and fourth consecutive season - the championship has been decided in the final race. There have been 14 changes atop the championship rankings this year. No other racing series can claim that.

NASCAR had to invent a new playoff format to generate the excitement IndyCar has produced honestly for years.

As for drivers, in addition to this year's contenders Dixon, Franchitti and Briscoe, IndyCar has a grid spotted with racing pedigrees like Andretti and Rahal.

It has - arguably - the sport's most famous driver in Danica Patrick, plus a crop of other up-and-coming American talent.

And there's Briscoe's Team Penske teammate, Helio Castroneves, who earned his third Indy 500 win this May and who charmed and cha-chaed his way to television's Dancing With the Stars title in 2007.

You want drama? Personality? Pedigrees? Tight racing? Close championships? How about racing's real Super Bowl, the Indy 500?

The reasons to watch and follow are there.

"Unfortunately, what makes it difficult, is the damage was done many years ago and now it's all about rebuilding,'' said Dixon, who is trying to join Sam Hornish Jr. as the series' only three-time champs.

"I think last year was pivotal as far as getting the two series back together. The racing is good, the structure is good. They've got to work on the TV package more. It will be a long tough road, for sure.

"They [NASCAR] picked up a lot of slack in those early years. ... They grabbed that ball and ran with it, didn't they. But as long as we keep trying to push it, people will eventually get back to it. There's so many avenues that must be covered and achieved.''

There is no more split to blame, no lack of talent or of personality. There is plenty of close, suspenseful racing and the tightest championship battle in all of racing.

"This is the right road to take,'' Dixon said.

Now all that's needed is for people to follow it.

Time to Give IndyCar Racing Its Due originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Helio Castroneves on Driving, Dancing and Danica's Digits

Holly Cain — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:13:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves stopped by for a live chat with FanHouse Friday, while he was track-side at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The former winner of the television hit Dancing With the Stars is ranked fourth in the IndyCar Series championship, which wraps up its season Saturday night.

Castroneves, who drives the No. 3 Team Penske entry, took your questions on everything from racing to dancing to whether he could ever see himself in NASCAR. Oh, and he also answered a question about Danica Patrick's phone number.

Check out what Helio had to say after the jump.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=e87aefc965" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Helio Castroneves Live Chat&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Helio Castroneves on Driving, Dancing and Danica's Digits originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chat Live With IndyCar's Ryan Briscoe

Holly Cain — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

IndyCar Series championship contender Ryan Briscoe will join FanHouse for a live chat on Thursday at 11:30 AM ET.

Briscoe, 28, who drives the No. 6 car for Team Penske, is one of three drivers who will decide the IndyCar championship Saturday night in the series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Only eight points separate third place Briscoe from leader Scott Dixon. Dario Franchitti is five points behind Dixon in the series' second closest three-man battle for the season title.

Join Briscoe as he takes your questions and discusses the biggest opportunity of his career in one of racing's most exciting championship scenarios.

Ryan Briscoe Live Chat

Chat Live With IndyCar's Ryan Briscoe originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports: Danica Patrick Signs 3-Year IndyCar Extension

Holly Cain — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:36:00 EST

Filed under: NASCAR Rumors, IRL

Danica Patrick has signed a multi-year deal to stay in the IndyCar Series, according to a pair of published reports on Friday.

According to the Indianapolis Star and SI.com, Patrick signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti Green Racing (AGR). Patrick, nor the team, have confirmed the deal. There is nothing on her personal website addressing the situation.

"I think we'd all welcome her (to NASCAR), but I'm really happy for Michael (cousin Michael Andretti) and for his team,'' said NASCAR driver John Andretti. "That is great for them and maybe Danica can still try some of this stuff too and see what she thinks."

Patrick told reporters last month that she was close to re-upping with AGR and that any formal announcements about her future were weeks away. Most expect a press conference around the Oct. 10 IndyCar season finale in Homestead, Fla.

But there has been a lot of speculation about Patrick's future because she has so openly entertained moving from open-wheel ranks to stock cars. Talk of a full-time move has been replaced with a more realistic approach -- a part-time schedule in addition to vying for an IndyCar championship.

She visited with several NASCAR teams this summer, most notably Stewart-Haas Racing, whose owner, former IndyCar Series and two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart, essentially "guaranteed" Patrick would be trying out a stock car at some point. He said last weekend at New Hampshire that he has never made an offer to field a car for her, however.

The most likely options are for Patrick to make a few starts in the ARCA, Camping World Trucks and/or Nationwide series, perhaps after this year's IndyCar Series finishes up and again next year as her open-wheel schedule permits.

John Andretti, a former IndyCar Series regular who raced in this year's Indianapolis 500, recommended that Patrick start off in the Nationwide cars and that laps on the 1.5-mile tracks might be best for her early development.

"I think if she were to try some stock car stuff, you need to take out your ego and emotion -- and that's for anyone making the transition,'' Andretti said Friday.

"You need to say to yourself, 'Just because I'm an elite open-wheel driver doesn't mean I'm going to be good in stock cars.' You need to get experience.

"It doesn't matter what she eventually decides to do -- there will still be a lot of attention on her. You want to build in some success.''

Patrick, who became the first woman to win an IndyCar race last year, is currently ranked fifth in the championship -- the highest ranked American driver in the series -- with one race remaining.

A three-year commitment for Patrick to remain in IndyCar would be a major coup for that sanctioning body in a time when major open-wheel stars have been lured to NASCAR, which offers fatter paychecks and immense popularity. It would also afford Patrick the opportunity to truly undergo some sort of development program in stock cars that would better position her for success should she move there full-time.

Reports: Danica Patrick Signs 3-Year IndyCar Extension originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Danica Patrick Still Worthy of Attention Despite Disappointment in Japan

Holly Cain — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:50:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

For all who insist that Danica Patrick's hype exceeds her results, the massive attention she received this weekend in Japan, where the 26-year old from Roscoe, Ill., returned to Twin Ring Motegi as the defending champion, was legitimate.

She is the first woman to win an IndyCar race. Her hopes of repeating came up short early Saturday morning with a sixth-place finish at the Indy Japan 300.

But if some in her native USA are still slow to give Patrick her due, it was obvious by the reception she received in Japan this week that country has embraced her as a hero.

Fans literally swarmed the 5-foot-2, 100-pound Patrick as she attended pre-race activities for the race. The Japanese press even presented her with gifts.

It's good to be Danica. Now for the second act.

After spending four years answering the question of when she would win, Patrick has spent parts of the last year defending her victory which came because her team's fuel strategy out-smarted the field.

And now the question is: When will she win again? Unfortunately for Patrick, it didn't come at Motegi.

"I don't really care about where it comes... I'm not picky, I'll take a "W" anywhere,'' Patrick, who qualified sixth, said before the race. "There's a level of confidence that comes with being the defending winner and there's some excitement as well.''

Excitement may be an understatement.

It's a recurring theme for IndyCar's most talked-about driver. Prior to Saturday's race, Patrick was fifth in the standings -- first among non-Penske and non-Ganassi team cars -- and not a factor in the championship. But she is as hot a commodity as any of those vying for the trophy, thanks to appearances in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue, starring roles in national commercials and invitations to walk Hollywood red carpets.

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Danica Patrick Racing

Danica Patrick of the United States sits in the car as she waits for a practice session of the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race on the 1.5-mile oval track at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo, to begin Friday, Sept. 18 , 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Latest Danica Patrick Photos

Danica Patrick of the United States gets in her car for a practice session of the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race on the 1.5-mile oval track at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo Friday, Sept. 18 , 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Danica Patrick of the United States drives during a practice session of the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race on the 1.5-mile oval track at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo Friday, Sept. 18 , 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Danica Patrick of the United States sits in the car as she waits for a practice session of the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race on the 1.5-mile oval track at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo to begin Friday, Sept. 18 , 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

MOTEGI, JAPAN - SEPTEMBER 18: Danica Patrick, drives the #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during practice for the IndyCar Series Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 Mile on September 18, 2009 at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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MOTEGI, JAPAN - SEPTEMBER 18: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green racing Dallara Honda prepares to qualify for the IndyCar Series Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 Mile on September 18, 2009 at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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American Danica Patrick wears a driver's suit during a practice session for the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 auto race on the 1.5-mile oval track at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo Friday, Sept. 18 , 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

A fan of Danica Patrick of the United States watch a pre-race event for the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race on the 1.5-mile oval track at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Driver Danica Patrick of the United States smiles with a fan during a press conference ahead of the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race slated for Saturday, on the 1.5-mile oval track at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. Patrick won last year's race in Japan and became the first woman to win an IRL race. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

She has said she is negotiating a contract renewal with Andretti Green, but has publicly flirted with the idea of moving to NASCAR either part-time in conjunction with a full IndyCar season in 2010 or perhaps even full-time. Patrick said her agents don't want her to comment yet.

"You'll know when I tell you,'' she remanded reporters in a news conference in Japan this week.

It is her racing talent combined with her immense popularity and marketability that have given her opportunities like no woman before her.

And this week, the focus was on her talent.

Often Patrick is unfairly branded racing's "Anna Kournikova" because of all the exposure -- magazine covers out-numbering the top-five finishes. But who of her competitors wouldn't seize the same opportunity? Patrick may not be vying for the season championship yet, but she has proven herself a legitimate competitor and, more than that, a winner.

Danica Patrick Still Worthy of Attention Despite Disappointment in Japan originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tony Stewart 'Guarantees' Danica Patrick Is Coming to NASCAR

Holly Cain — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:04:00 EST

Filed under: Tony Stewart, IRL

Danica Patrick is still playing coy about her plans for 2010, but Tony Stewart, for one, fully expects to see IndyCar's most talked about free agent competing in a stock car at least part time.

"She looked me straight in the eye and said, 'this is what I want to do, it looks like fun, looks like a lot of work, but it looks like fun,' " Stewart told reporters in his weekly track side press briefing Saturday from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"I know that she's serious about it. She's come over and just talking about things right now. ... I don't think she has some misguided idea that it's going to be easy doing it.

"She wants to do it the right way, she has intentions of doing everything right and she's kind of come to us to see in our opinion how she should go about it."

Patrick indicated last month that she and her current IndyCar Series team Andretti Green Racing (AGR) are close to negotiating a new contract to keep her there at least for next season. The question is whether she will also get her feet wet in the ARCA or NASCAR ranks with the plan of eventually moving to NASCAR full time.

Patrick has openly flirted with the idea of racing stock cars for years and with her marketability will easily be able to find financial backing. The trickier part has been coming up with a solid situation -- an established team willing to let her develop on a part-time basis and a schedule that will allow her both to seriously contend for an IndyCar championship in 2010 and get plenty of seat time in a stock car.

Stewart, who won the 1997 IRL championship before coming to NASCAR and claiming a pair of Cup titles, is the most obvious driver to seek advice from. Patrick visited Stewart's race shop outside Charlotte this summer and there are still persistent rumors he will either field a ride for Patrick himself or assist her efforts with someone else.

He didn't commit to any of that this weekend but offered up the strongest indicator yet, "I can pretty much guarantee you that at some point she's going to be over here.''

"I think she wants to know how to make the transition more than anything and she's trying to put together her IRL deal and try to figure out how to transition into NASCAR,'' Stewart said. "She wants to stay successful where she's at, but in the meantime try to figure out a way to be able to drive and get some seat time in a car to where she can start learning so when she does come out she's got her act together.''

Patrick has backed off comments she made at the Indianapolis 500 that she would want to start a NASCAR career at the Cup level.

Stewart ran a partial Nationwide Series schedule while racing in the IRL before signing a full-time deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. Fellow open wheel champs Juan Pablo Montoya and Sam Hornish Jr. made several ARCA series starts before transitioning full time to the Cup level. Former Formula One driver Scott Speed ran ARCA and the Camping World Truck Series before embarking on his rookie Cup season.

"You have to learn before you get here,'' said Stewart, who currently leads the Cup championship.

"You have to get used to a heavier race car and you have to get used to less down force, smaller tires -- it's a lot of learning and there's a lot of race tracks that you have to get used to.

"It's sensory overload and that's why you have to pay your dues before you get to this level.''

Stewart said he wouldn't be a bit surprised if Patrick runs a partial Nationwide schedule in 2010 or that she make a stock car start after the IndyCar Series wraps up Oct. 10 in Homestead, Fla.

Patrick initially said she wouldn't reveal next year's plans until after the IRL season, but if she re-signs with AGR, that could change her time line. Judging by Stewart's remarks this weekend, there may be a few more details to work out.

"The great thing is that she asked a lot of very smart questions in the discussions about it,'' Stewart said. "You can tell she wants to do it the right way, she understands how hard everybody has worked to get to this level here and she doesn't want to be one of those people that just comes in and gets stuff handed to her.

"She wants to earn her way and work her way up through like everybody else has.''

"I don't know much about how much heavy car experience she has so I think that's why it's important that she gets in anything whether it be an ARCA car or get in some truck races, a lot of Nationwide races. Just right now, the more that she can get in a car, the better off she's going to be right now."

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Danica Patrick Racing

JOLIET, IL- AUGUST 28: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, looks on during qualifying for the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 28, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo By Donald Miralle/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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JOLIET, IL- AUGUST 29: Danica Patrick, driver of the # 7 Boost Mobile Motorola Andretti Green Racing, during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo By Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Danica Patrick drives the #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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Danica Patrick checks her sit with her crew members before the start of the IRL Peak Indy 300 auto race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Danica Patrick puts on her helmet before the start of the IRL Peak Indy 300 auto race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Danica Patrick checks her mask before the start of the IRL Peak Indy 300 auto race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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JOLIET, IL- AUGUST 28: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, drivesin front of Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Dallara Honda, on track during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 28, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 28: Danica Patrick,driver of the #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 28, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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Danica Patrick is reflected in a mirror as she sits on her car during practice for the IRL Peak Indy 300 auto race at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Friday, Aug. 28, 2009.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Danica Patrick looks at her crew members during practice for the IRL Peak Indy 300 auto race at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Friday, Aug. 28, 2009.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Tony Stewart 'Guarantees' Danica Patrick Is Coming to NASCAR originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Power Positive in Wake of Crash

Holly Cain — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:09:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

Only days removed from a hospital bed, IndyCar Series driver Will Power has spent more time than he'd like on the couch in front of the television convalescing from a horrific-looking, head-on crash that left him with a broken back.

Even given the extra opportunity, Power hasn't watched the SportsCenter highlights or checked out the You Tube video of his frightening T-bone collision with Nelson Philippe during an Aug. 22 practice session on the Sonoma, Calif. road course.

"I already know what happened," said Power in a phone call with FanHouse on Wednesday afternoon. "I saw it first-hand; I came over the hill and much to my surprise there was a car sitting there. ... There was just no time to react."

The nose of Power's car drilled the front side of Philippe's car at more than 100 mph as it sat hobbled sideways on the track. The impact ripped the front of Philippe's car off completely.

Power was airlifted to a nearby Northern California hospital with a concussion and four fractures in his lower back. Phillipe suffered an open fracture in his foot and a concussion.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Power.

After all, what's a few fractured vertebrae when you're Will Power -- master of seizing opportunity, IndyCar's ultimate glass-half-full kind of guy.

"If there is a good side to this, it's that it happened at the end of the season and I'll have some time to heal," Power said.

It is exactly that kind of positive attitude that has helped endear Power to his bosses at Team Penske. And, combined with his proven talent behind the wheel, it may be what helps him turn this year's season of emotional extremes into a full-time ride with Penske in 2010.

"(Team Penske President) Tim Cindric has told me to simply get better and make sure I'm well," Power said, adding, "The team is trying hard to get something together for next year and they've told me I have a home there, so that's good. That would be a dream, really, to drive for them full-time."

The team hasn't made an official statement regarding Power's future, but all indications are that it is earnestly pursuing sponsorship to field a third car for the 28-year-old Australian, who won in Edmonton, Alberta in July and finished second, third, fifth and sixth among his six starts this year.

In the meantime, Power reports he's off any painkillers and already walking without any help -- even handling the stairs in his home.

His mother Margrette Power's first trip to America began with a visit to Power's small hospital room in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he was airlifted after the accident. Almost two weeks later, the former nurse is helping Power start an expected four-month rehabilitation.

"I'm feeling really good, I just can't sit up for more than 10-15 minutes at a time right now because it will hurt the spine," said Power, whose injuries won't require surgery. "I feel fine and have lots of energy, but I have to take it easy."

That depends on your definition of "taking it easy." Power said he's gotten the go-ahead to start lifting weights as long as he uses a bench and he expects to start training again in another few weeks. Doctors told the workout fanatic that his high fitness level will make a big difference in his recovery.

Power said he hopes to attend the Oct. 10 season finale in Homestead, Fla., and you can bet watching the race from the pits will undoubtedly be more painful than any lingering back aches.

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Incredible Racing Crashes

IndyCar star Will Power breaks two vertebrae and sustains a concussion in a collision with Nelson Philippe at a practice session for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Click through to see stunning crashes throughout racing history.

Jeff McIntosh, The Canadian Press / AP

Stunning Race Crashes

Jeff McIntosh, The Canadian Press / AP

July 25, 2009: Felipe Massa, whose shattered car was transported to pit lane after the accident, suffered a skull and forehead fracture during Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. Massa was discharged from the hospital the following week and returned to Brazil.

Bela Szandelszky, Pool / AP

May 24, 2009: Vitor Meira broke two vertebrae in his lower back during a scary crash at the 93rd Indianapolis 500. He spent the next two days at Methodist Hospital, where doctors fitted him for a back brace.

Bill Friel, AP

February 7, 2009: ARCA RE/MAX series driver Patrick Sheltra (60) survived without serious injury following a jaw-dropping wreck during the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.

Darryl Graham, AP

July 9, 2008: Motocross rider Mike Alessi suffers two broken scapulas, a broken rib and a bruised lung in this wreck.

Youtube.com

June 21, 2008: Traveling around 300 mph, Scott Kalitta's car explodes into flames and crashes at the end of the track during a qualifying event at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The NHRA driver died at age 46 as a result of his severe injuries.

Kevin Hodapp, AP

May 17, 2008: Tad Segars rolls his car during the Thunder Car 50 auto race prior to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Gerry Broome, AP

May 17, 2008: Phil Giebler is hospitalized with bruised lungs after a fiery crash during Indianapolis 500 practice.

Steve Russell, AP | Ron Sanders, AP

May 11: Giancarlo Fisichella (top) of Italy and and Kazuki Nakajima of Japan collide shortly after the start of the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mark Thompson, Getty Images

May 2, 2008: Moto GP championship co-leader Jorge Lorenzo fractures his left ankle during a hard fall at practice for the Grand Prix of China.

Teh Eng Koon, AFP / Getty Images

You could say the season has come full oval.

A championship contender in the former Champ car Series, Power chose not to pursue a full-time job with a lesser team in 2009. Instead he accepted a job with Team Penske to prepare and race the famous No. 3 car while its regular driver, Helio Castroneves, stood trial for federal tax evasion this spring.

Power's future became intertwined with that of the two-time Indy 500 winner Castroneves. But he quickly proved himself deserving of his own destiny.

Castroneves was acquitted of the charges and Power was suddenly without a steady job.

But never once did Power let on that he was disappointed. He supported Castroneves publicly and privately and has insisted to this day that he feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to drive for Roger Penske.

To show his gratitude for Power's successful and brief stint -- and probably a nod to the gracious way Power handled the tricky situation -- Penske fielded a third car for Power in the Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves won the race. Power finished fifth.

Again, Penske rewarded the performance and Power got another reprieve -- five additional races scattered throughout the rest of the season.

Power answered with a victory in Edmonton that actually placed him 11th in the championship standing despite competing in only four of the 11 races up to that point.

And then the crash in Sonoma.

While it is a frustrating end to the season, Power considers himself more fortunate than derailed.

"I'm happy I can walk," Power said. "I'm happy I'll be completely healthy. This is just a lot of motivation to get back in the car.

"That's the only way you can look at it, there's no use being negative. And to be honest this is one of the most fun seasons in motorsports I've had in my career.

"This has been a good year."

Will Power Positive in Wake of Crash originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Briscoe Edges Dixon to Widen Lead

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:10:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- Ryan Briscoe grabbed the IndyCar series points lead by stringing together quietly consistent finishes. Then he took control by putting on a remarkable wheel-to-wheel show under the lights at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night.

Briscoe made an aggressive move for the lead going into the final lap of the race, pulling alongside fellow title contender Scott Dixon as the white flag flew. After going side-by-side with their wheels inches apart, Briscoe nosed ahead at the finish line to win by 0.0077 seconds.

Told that his margin of victory -- the fourth-closest finish in series history -- translated to about 28 1/2 inches on the track, Briscoe didn't balk.

"Nice," Briscoe said. "That's enough."

Dixon finished second by a nose, followed by Mario Moraes and the third remaining championship contender, Dario Franchitti. Three of the series' four closest finishes have come at Chicagoland.

The series title fight remains tight going into the final two races of the season, but Briscoe's third victory of the season represents a significant boost to his title hopes.

Briscoe came into Saturday's race with a slim five-point lead over Franchitti, but leaves Chicagoland leading Franchitti by 25 points and Dixon by 33 points going into the final two races.

Briscoe said extending his lead slightly won't change his strategy.

"No different, really," Briscoe said. "We've seen how quickly that can turn around. Just got to stay focused and try to beat these guys still."

Afterward, Dixon was unhappy that his Chip Ganassi Racing car seemingly wasn't able to keep pace with Briscoe's Penske Racing car.

"Pretty simple -- we didn't have enough speed," Dixon said. "I could tell if it was going to come down to a head-to-head race at the end or the finish with Ryan or even Helio (Castroneves), we weren't going to have enough."

But it was a rough day for Castroneves, Briscoe's Penske teammate, who appeared to break a suspension part and hit the wall with 16 laps to go.

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Ryan Briscoe, driver of the #6 Team Penske Dallara Honda celebrates with second placed Scott Dixon driver of the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda and third placed Mario Moraes after winning the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ryan Briscoe;Scott Dixon;Mario Moraes

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Sarah Fisher drives the #67 Dollar General Sarah Fisher Racing Dallara Honda inside Ryan Hunter-Reay in the ABC Supply Co AJ Foyt Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sarah Fisher;Ryan Hunter-Reay

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Oriol Servia drives the #06 McDonald's Newman Haas Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda alongside Raphael Matos in the #2 US Air Force Luczo Dragon Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Oriol Servia;Raphael Matos

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Dario Franchitti makes a pitstop in the #10 Lifelock Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dario Franchitti

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Dario Franchitti drives the #10 Lifelock Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dario Franchitti

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Mario Moraes, of Brazil, waves during driver introductions for the IRL Peak Indy 300 auto race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Moraes took third place. (AP Photo/Skip Stewart)

Sparks fly from the car of Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, during the IRL Peak Indy 300 auto race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Castroneves did not finish the race. (AP Photo/Skip Stewart)

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: General race action along the front straight during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images)

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Mario Moraes drives the #5 KV Racing Dallara Honda alongside Tony Kanaan in the #11 Team 7 Eleven Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mario Moraes;Tony Kanaan

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JOLIET, IL - AUGUST 29: Scott Dixon makes a pitstop in the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 29, 2009 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Scott Dixon

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Castroneves, who came into Saturday night's race fourth in the points, was eliminated from title contention after his crash. According to series officials, X-rays on Castroneves' right ankle were negative and he was released from the infield medical center.

Franchitti said Castroneves' elimination helps the Penske team, because Castroneves can race in support of Briscoe's bid for the title while the Ganassi teammates presumably continue to race Briscoe, and each other, for the title.

"Ryan's got the luxury of Helio being out of it, so he can help him a little bit," Franchitti said. "But us, both cars are still in the fight right now. I don't know, if we end up backing one horse, Chip (Ganassi) will make that decision. But as of right now we're both still going for it."

Graham Rahal rounded out the top five. Danica Patrick finished 12th.

The race was fast and caution-free until nearly the halfway point, when Andretti Green Racing driver Hideki Mutoh lost control of his car and hit the wall hard on lap 92. Mutoh was able to climb out of the car on his own.

All the leaders pitted on lap 96, putting the leaders close to making it to the end of the race with only one more stop.

Briscoe had a slightly slower stop than the rest of the leaders -- apparently misjudging his marks while coming to a stop -- and came out in eighth place for the restart. Briscoe struggled in traffic during the middle portion of the race and fell out of the top 10 at one point.

"I wasn't too worried at the time," Briscoe said. "But once we got going, I got a little bit more worried because there were a lot of fast cars out there tonight."

But he eventually climbed back into the lead when Franchitti pitted under green with 42 laps remaining. Franchitti's stop was slowed when a mechanic's air wrench briefly got stuck under his car.

Briscoe and Dixon pitted soon after, and Dixon took the lead back after all the leaders cycled through the pits.

After Castroneves' crash, Dixon led the field to a restart with nine laps to go.

But Briscoe pulled alongside Dixon as they took the white flag signaling one lap to go, and raced him side-by-side for the remainder of the final lap before inching past him as they came to the finish line.

"We did our best job, and we still came up short," Dixon said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Briscoe Edges Dixon to Widen Lead originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patience Is Virtue for Danica Patrick

Holly Cain — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:45:00 EST

Filed under: Sprint Cup, IRL

Smart move, not moving.

Danica Patrick should consider her apparent decision to stay in Indy cars and resist the allure of NASCAR a sound investment beyond padding her bank account. A move to NASCAR would be easy money, but it's the wrong time.

By re-signing with Andretti Green Racing (AGR) as she has indicated she will do, Patrick gives herself at least another season to move from a top-five driver to a true championship contender.

The money AGR can expect from Patrick's car sponsor Motorola should help improve that team's technical resources for her run at the 2010 title.

And the IndyCar Series keeps its biggest household name.

Even NASCAR wins because by the time Patrick makes her inevitable transition to the big-bucks, bump-and-bang stock car world, she will have padded her resume and answered questions about ability. It won't seem like a marketing ploy for "her brand" as much as a career progression -- the same kind of career progression other top open-wheel drivers have been afforded relatively grudge-free.

Team owner Chip Ganassi got it right when early on in the summer's "Danica Sweepstakes" he suggested she not rush a move to stock cars.

"My counsel to her was that she's close to making that last step in Indy Car racing and she could easily do that in the next three to five years and still be able to do this [NASCAR],'' Ganassi said in July, acknowledging his team had discussions with Patrick.

"She's one of those athletes with an opportunity to make career moves into the foreseeable future. It's up to her.''

Perhaps one of the signs that Patrick's immediate future is in open-wheel is the fundamental fact that she still hasn't turned a lap in a stock car. More established commodities like Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Tony Stewart and Sam Hornish Jr. ran races in NASCAR's development series and put in miles of testing before making the full-on commitment.

And frankly, it's not clear if any of NASCAR's top teams even seriously pursued Patrick.

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Danica Patrick Racing

IndyCar driver Danica Patrick suits up before the start of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, Sunday, August 23, 2009. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Contra Costa Times/MCT)

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IndyCar driver Danica Patrick shares a hug with Andretti Green Racing Team owner Michael Andretti before the start of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, Sunday, August 23, 2009. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Contra Costa Times/MCT)

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SONOMA, CA - AUGUST 23: Danica Patrick drives the #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at the Infineon Raceway on August 23, 2009 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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SONOMA, CA - AUGUST 23: Danica Patrick driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda leads Ed Carpenter driver of the #20 Vision/William Rast/Lilly Racing Dallara Honda and Scott Dixon driver of the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at the Infineon Raceway on August 23, 2009 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Scott Dixon;Danica Patrick;Ed Carpenter

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SONOMA, CA - AUGUST 22: Danica Patrick drives the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Dallara Honda during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at the Infineon Raceway on August 22, 2009 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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SONOMA, CA - AUGUST 22: Danica Patrick drives the #27 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at the Infineon Raceway on August 22, 2009 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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IRL driver Danica Patrick takes a pit stop while making practice laps in preparation for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma auto race Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. (AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels)

IRL drivers Helio Castroneves of Brazil, left, and Danica Patrick are seen after a practice session in preparation for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma auto race Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Other than cashing in on her popularity, it didn't make a lot of sense for her to jump in with both feet. Yet.

Mistakes would be magnified, her learning curve compressed and if she was unsuccessful -- as plenty of other talented open-wheel drivers have been -- it would have been exponentially worse for Patrick.

The unfortunate reality is that it is important for Patrick to make wise choices because she is always going to be heavily scrutinized.

By choosing to establish herself and resist the apple dangling from NASCAR's tree, Patrick puts herself in better position when the time is right. It will still mean a lucrative contract. And by spending an extra season or seasons establishing herself and bettering her racing credentials, she will also gain something equally as significant as a big paycheck: experience and respect.

Patrick is currently ranked fifth in the IndyCar Series championship -- best of the drivers who aren't steering a car owned by Roger Penske or Chip Ganassi and ahead of recent past champions Dan Wheldon and her AGR teammate Tony Kanaan, who is presumably in the same equipment.

The remaining three races are on ovals -- Patrick's strong point -- including the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan where Patrick made history last year as the first woman to win a major open-wheel race.

She's had nine top-10 finishes and led 26 laps in 14 starts this year. Her best showing was a third in the Indianapolis 500, a race where she's proven herself a legitimate favorite starting with her 2005 debut there.

People forget that the 27-year old Patrick is only in her fifth full season. And her stats -- one win, 16 top-five finishes, 45 top-10s -- stack up favorably when compared to the first five seasons of drivers like Kanaan (1 win, 16 top-5s, 49 top-10s) and three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves (seven wins, 16 top-5s, 34 top-10s).

In fact, through his first four seasons Patrick's teammate, Marco Andretti, has the same number of victorires (one) and nearly twice as many DNFs (22) as Patrick (12) but is widely touted as one of America's best racing talents.

Another few wins, a real run at a title and Patrick is on the verge of something genuinely significant.

Of course there will always be that certain segment of the population that can't get past an attractive woman succeeding against males in athletic competition. They will demean her and her successes, no matter how well she fares.

Patrick's good looks -- and her penchant for using them -- work for and against her, often making her an easy target in the sports world. But they have nothing to do with her ability to drive a car.

The Sports Illustrated swimsuit spreads are cool, but so is earning the coveted cover as a racer. She's done both.

I remember when her former car owner, Bobby Rahal, brought Patrick into the massive media center at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2004 for a formal introduction. In a very low-key interview session attended by only a dozen or so reporters, Patrick confidently predicted good things were in store.

They are. And by making this sound, reasonable decision to resist the temptation of NASCAR a little while longer, Patrick still has everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Patience Is Virtue for Danica Patrick originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Franchitti Avoids Crash, Goes Wire to Wire at Infineon

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:49:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) -- Dario Franchitti hoisted a celebratory glass of red wine to his lips in a long-awaited moment for the IndyCar driver at Infineon Raceway.

Such is tradition for the winner in a race set in the heart of Sonoma County's wine country.

Franchitti finally won on a challenging course where he's been so close before, leading from start to finish to capture his first Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday in the final road course race of the year.

And the Scotman's victory sent the IndyCar points race into a serious sprint for the finish.

"Great to finally get one here at Sonoma," Franchitti said in the winner's circle.

Franchitti took the pole and led all 75 laps, topping runner-up and new points leader Ryan Briscoe on the way to his fourth victory of the year. Franchitti and Briscoe avoided a multiple-car crash early in Lap 1 on the tough 12-turn, 2.303-mile road course. Rookie Mike Conway finished third.

"I couldn't do anything behind Dario. It was really difficult," Briscoe said.

Scott Dixon, the points leader coming in and Franchitti's teammate with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, finished a disappointing 13th after stalling in the wreck. He fell into third place in the points race at 477.

At least seven cars crashed in an accident heading into Turn 2 of the race, including '07 Sonoma champion Dixon after he started 10th. There's a quick 104-foot elevation gain from the starting line to Turn 2. Debris was strewn all over the track.

Franchitti, who moved into second in points at 493 and four behind Briscoe, became the first flag-to-flag winner in an IndyCar race since Dixon did so in 2003 for 206 laps in a rain-shortened event at Richmond.

"The Firestones were pretty much as good on the last lap as they were on the first," Franchitti said. "It was a great day. I guess it wasn't too eventful for everybody out there. I was just trying to be inch-perfect, not make any mistakes and keep everybody in the rearview mirror."

All the top drivers know the 2009 title will come down to the wire with three races to go. The four points separating Briscoe and Franchitti ties the closest margin in IRL history with three weeks remaining. The race also was that close in 2002.

This marked the 13th time in 14 races that the points leader has changed.

"It's so difficult with the competition level," Franchitti said of holding the lead. "It's not that nobody wants to. ... It's so competitive you can't afford mistakes. We've all made them this year and we've all had bad luck as well."

Briscoe hopes he can change this pattern and maintain his narrow lead.

"It's incredible. What is it, 13 lead changes in 14 races?" he said. "I've never heard of anything like it before. Hopefully I can change that."

Defending champion Helio Castroneves, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner of Team Penske who started third, dropped out in Lap 67 because of suspension problems. Graham Rahal was done after 30 laps because of mechanical problems, a tough outcome considering he qualified sixth.

Rahal broke a drive shaft during the opening-lap wreck but came back before later falling out for good.

Franchitti had experienced a couple of near misses at Infineon-he placed second in 2006 and third in '07 after starting on the pole that year. Franchitti led late in that 2007 race but his car was damaged with eight laps to go in a collision with then-teammate Marco Andretti coming out of the pits. Dixon moved into the lead and went on to win.

Franchitti, who was coming off a third-place finish at Mid-Ohio, had a smooth race a day after he went into the dirt midway through his final qualifying run because of trouble downshifting but still held on to take the pole. This marked his seventh top-three this season.

Franchitti's strategy was to stay out longer than those chasing him before going to the pits for the first time. He went in on Lap 28, a lap after Briscoe.

"The pole position yesterday really set up today and allowed us to control the race. That was important," Franchitti said. "We seemed to be good on starts and restarts today. I just kind of controlled the pace from the front, saved a lot of fuel."

Danica Patrick, the 11th qualifier, was part of the opening-lap accident and fell a lap down. She placed 16th.

Conway avoided most of the damage but was hit from behind and punctured a tire, which dropped him well back in the pack early.

"Everyone kept kind of choking up on the inside so I went to the outside into 2," Conway said. "I was kind of gaining positions and I think someone hit the back of Hideki (Mutoh), because he slowed down on the inside and it looked like I was going to get around him but then I just got hit from behind. It was annoying but luckily we got back through the field."

Dixon worked his way back into the top 10 but got hung up on the final turn of the last lap. IndyCar officials penalized Marco Andretti for avoidable contact with Dixon on that last turn, leading to the scoring change.

By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Franchitti Avoids Crash, Goes Wire to Wire at Infineon originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Power Breaks Vertebrae, Sustains Concussion in Nasty IRL Crash

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:44:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) -- Team Penske isn't ready to rule out injured driver Will Power making a return this season.

Power was still being evaluated at a hospital Sunday, a day after breaking two vertebrae in his lower back and sustaining a concussion during a crash in practice for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.

IndyCar officials said Power was in the process of being fitted for a custom back brace and would remain hospitalized several more days before being transferred to Indianapolis, where he will be seen by IndyCar orthopedist and back specialist Dr. Terry Trammell to determine the next step for his recovery and treatment.

Power, Team Penske's third driver, collided with Nelson Philippe of Conquest Racing during practice Saturday. Philippe also sustained a concussion along with an open fracture to his left foot that required surgery. Officials said Philippe also was found to have a hairline fracture of his right fibula and would be fitted for a brace. He was to remain hospitalized until Monday.

The 28-year-old Power, a former road course specialist who finished fifth in this year's Indianapolis 500, crashed into Philippe coming out of a blind corner at Infineon Raceway.

Team Penske said it's too early to say whether Power will miss the remainder of the season.

"That hasn't been determined," team spokesman Merrill Cain said. "We just don't know yet. We don't want to speculate."

Cain said both he and owner Roger Penske spoke to Power by phone Sunday morning.

"He's in pretty good spirits," Cain said. "He knows he's obviously still involved on our race team. A lot of people are thinking of him."

Power was airlifted to nearby Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, while Philippe was taken by ambulance to the same hospital. No new driver filled their seat.

Philippe lost control at the top of the hill on Turn 3A, and the front end of his car was initially clipped by E.J. Viso. Power arrived moments later and couldn't avoid an ugly crash, hitting Philippe's car broadside.

Power was 16th on the season points list with 209 coming into the event.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Will Power Breaks Vertebrae, Sustains Concussion in Nasty IRL Crash originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports: Danica to Stay in IndyCar

Holly Cain — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:05:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

There are multiple reports from Sonoma, Calif., this weekend that Danica Patrick will remain in the IndyCar Series -- re-signing with Andretti Green Racing -- instead of moving to NASCAR next season.

"I think it's looking a bit like I"m returning,'' Patrick told SI.com from Sonoma, where she has qualified 11th for Sunday's race at the California road course.

"I'm not done. We are still working through some things, but it's looking like that. It is moving along very positively.''

An expected restructuring of AGR ownership, plus an apparent sponsorship deal with Motorola should Patrick stay with AGR, helped sway her decision according to the report. It would be a major coup for the series should she stay instead of following through with her NASCAR flirtation.

Many insiders questioned whether Patrick was seriously considering NASCAR even though she's never turned laps in a stock car or whether she was merely using her considerable popularity as leverage. She has had NASCAR circles buzzing for years about the possibility of her suiting up alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.

Chip Ganassi, who owns teams in both series, confirmed he'd had talks with Patrick. Some figured if she left AGR, she might sign with a team like Ganassi's which would allow her to continue racing open-wheel full time while making a few stock car starts to get her feet wet until an eventual full-time move to NASCAR.

The week of the Indianapolis 500 in May, Patrick said she would prefer starting out in the marquee Sprint Cup Series, but had backed off that mindset, acknowledging she might benefit from starts in the developmental series.

Clearly, however, Patrick is most comfortable in an open-wheel seat and in the IndyCar Series, where she became the first woman to win a major open-wheel race at the circuit's stop in Japan last spring. In 2005 she became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500. She is currently fifth in the championship standings and easily the most popular driver in American open-wheel racing.

She is currently the highest ranked of the four AGR drivers, which also include former series champion Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti.

Andretti's father Michael, a former series champion, is expected to take over full ownership of the AGR racing operation with his partners Kim Green and Kevin Savoree operating the race promotions portion of the company.

Patrick initially said she would wait until the season was over to reveal her plans and new contract, but that time frame may change with these developments.

"Obviously if a deal is struck with the team that I'm with, we will know when it gets done,'' Patrick told SI.com.

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Danica Patrick Racing

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LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 09: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, during the IRL IndyCar Series The Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 9, 2009 in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 09: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, leads a pack of cars during the IRL IndyCar Series The Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 9, 2009 in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 09: Danica Patrick drives the #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series The Honda Indy 200 on August 9, 2009 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 08: Danica Patrick, driver of the # 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, and team owner Michael Andretti during practice for IRL Indy Car Series The Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, August 8, 2009 in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Rick Dole/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick;Michael Andretti

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LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 08: Danica Patrick driver of the # 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, and team owner Michael Andretti during practice for IRL Indy Car Series The Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, August 8, 2009 in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Rick Dole/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick;Michael Andretti

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LEXINGTON, OH - AUGUST 08: Danica Patrick drives the #7 Boost Mobile Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series The Honda Indy 200 on August 8, 2009 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

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Reports: Danica to Stay in IndyCar originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Dixon Rolls to Record-Breaking 20th IndyCar Victory

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: IRL

LEXINGTON, Ohio (AP) -- Scott Dixon doesn't have the star quality of Helio Castroneves, the Scottish brogue of teammate Dario Franchitti or the All-American stature of Sam Hornish Jr.

What the affable New Zealander does have, however, is the IndyCar Series record for career wins.

Not that he's counting, not even after his dominant victory at Mid-Ohio on Sunday gave him 20 victories in the open-wheel series, breaking a tie with Hornish.

At the rate the drivers around him are winning, Dixon knows his name might not be in the record books for long.

"To keep that going I'm definitely going to have to keep racing for a lot more years,'' Dixon said. "But if I can get it to 25, 30, 35 that would be pretty cool.''

Don't bet against him.

Dixon won so easily at Mid-Ohio he was practically posing for pictures in Victory Lane by the time the rest of the field hit the finish line at the sprawling 2.258-mile course. He took the checkered flag nearly 30 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Ryan Briscoe, the largest margin of victory in the series in a decade.

"When you get to this place and you get in a rhythm with that car, you can do exactly what you want with it, you do a performance like Scott gave today,'' said Franchitti, who finished third. "It was dominant and very impressive. He's tough to beat.''

The win vaulted the defending points champion back atop the standings, the 12th time in 13 events this season that the points lead has changed hands.

The way Dixon ran roughshod over the field, he may have stamped himself as the driver to beat. Dixon heads to Sonoma in two weeks with a three-point lead over Briscoe and a 20-point edge over Franchitti.

If Dixon can keep it going, making up the difference won't be easy, though he is hardly comfortable at the top.

"It's going to go down to the wire,'' Dixon said. "(Briscoe) definitely isn't going to let up. My teammate Dario isn't going to let up either.''

They better not if they want to stop Dixon's bid for a third points title.

Even as temperatures peaked at 115 degrees on the track, Dixon had little trouble keeping his cool despite spending the first portion of the race falling well behind Justin Wilson.

Wilson was in total command early, slipping past Briscoe five laps in and quickly extending his lead to more than seven seconds.

Dixon, however, was able to close the gap thanks to slightly better fuel mileage and a perfect pit stop. He took the lead for good about halfway through the race after Wilson got hung up behind Milka Duno's lapped car.

"I think we were already past him before we ran into Milka,'' Dixon said. "She made it exciting for a couple of corners.''

Wilson's bid to pick up his second win on a road course in five weeks ended when he stalled coming out of the pits with just over 20 laps remaining. He finished 13th.

With Wilson out of the way, Dixon had little resistance, turning the final laps into an extended victory parade.

"You don't get cars like this too often or days that go this smoothly,'' Dixon said.

The handful of modifications the series pushed through last week before the race at Kentucky in hopes of providing a more thrilling product -- including the popular "Push to Pass" button -- didn't produce much in the way of excitement.

Dixon made sure of that.

The win was Dixon's seventh career road triumph and first since winning at Edmonton over a year ago.

Though he's displayed his usual dominance on ovals this year, Dixon hasn't been quite so sharp when forced to turn both left and right.

He entered Mid-Ohio having led just three laps on road courses this year. Whatever road woes had bedeviled him, however, disappeared after he took the lead from Wilson, who appeared to get stuck behind the decidedly slower Duno.

Dixon didn't get too fired up about breaking Hornish's mark. The official IndyCar series only goes back to 1996. He's still got plenty of work to do to catch A.J. Foyt, who holds the career record for open-wheel wins with 67.

Still, it's heady company to keep. He didn't expect this kind of success when he joined IndyCar in 2003, now he finds himself ahead of Hornish -- who served as the face of the series for several years -- in the record books.

"Obviously it's a fantastic milestone for myself and obviously for the team,'' he said. "To finally be labeled (among the best) in this series is a big deal to me, a big deal to the team. But it's going to be tough to hang on to that.''

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Scott Dixon Rolls to Record-Breaking 20th IndyCar Victory originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Push to Pass' Thrills IndyCar in Kentucky

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:04:00 EST

Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL

Penske Racing's Ryan Briscoe needed every inch of the Kentucky Speedway top groove Saturday night to pull out a win over winless Ed Carpenter in the Meijer Indy 300, though that's not what people will remember.

The biggest story won't be Briscoe's triumphant return to victory lane in 2009 or how narrowly close the Tony George-owned Vision Racing team with Carpenter came to winning his first career race in some 94 tries.

Instead, the racing that the IRL IndyCar Series had become known for seemed to return with a bang in the hills of Sparta, Ky., thanks to a few rule changes for the series.

Call it what you will -- push-to-pass, overtake assist, magic potion No. 9 -- but the new button giving drivers a twelve second boost in horsepower up to 20 times per race, in addition to some heavy aerodynamic rulebook changes that are harder to explain, brought IndyCar back to seeing races won by inches and enough side-by-side action for a nail-biter to start look for extra hands.

Prior to Saturday night's race at Kentucky, the series had seen a total of 72 lead changes in the season's first 11 lead changes, leading to an per race average of 6.54. With the additional horsepower and increased downforce package, IndyCar drivers swapped the lead some 20 times on the 1.5-mile track -- accounting for nearly 22% of the season's lead changes to this point.

Lead changes weren't even the whole story. The downforce seemed to keep cars more under control as the only caution waved when Justin Wilson suffered electrical problems, while the last 10 laps were a complete dog fight for the top spot between Briscoe and Carpenter.

Officially, the record shows Briscoe led every lap from 192 until the checkers on lap 200, but Carpenter used all of his resources to stay on the low groove and in contention for the win the the Penske driver. The two cars came perilously close on numerous occasions all around the tri-oval as Carpenter tried to subtlely force Briscoe higher and higher out of the groove.

Briscoe never flinched, and instead held on and kept his foot in it as Tony Kanaan and teammate Helio Castroneves breathed fire down the necks of the two leaders in what became a four-way pack for the win.

When the checkers did fly, it was Briscoe in front by less than a nose, or merely some 0.0162 seconds, to secure the closest finish in Kentucky Speedway history and the seventh closest overall for the IndyCar Series -- certainly a result that the question-filled series needed heavily.

'Push to Pass' Thrills IndyCar in Kentucky originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IndyCar's Will Power Taking the High Road to Victory Lane

Holly Cain — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL

Unfortunately lost in the hoopla accompanying NASCAR's annual visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend was one of the best story lines in motorsports getting even better.

In only his fifth start of the season -- in a car and with a pit crew that he can't even fully claim his own -- Australian Will Power dominated the field to win the IndyCar race at Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday.

You don't have to be an open-wheel fan to appreciate what Power's accomplished with great opportunity and sparing chance.

He started the season as a fill-in for Helio Castroneves but in four sporadic starts since in a third Team Penske car, Power has earned more points than four drivers who have competed the full 11 races to date. He sits only 48 points out of 10th place entering Saturday's race at the high speed Kentucky Speedway oval.

"He's done so well with the uncertainty of this, we hesitated to tell him the whole plan,'' joked Penske Racing President Tim Cindric.

Power's talent and ability to adjust was never more obvious than at the Long Beach Grand Prix race weekend in April, when Castroneves was found not guilty of tax evasion charges and cleared to race. Castroneves flew from Miami to Southern California for qualifying and to reward his loyalty, Penske generously fielded another entry for Power, the defending Long Beach winner.

As per his contract, Power immediately relinquished the seat of Castroneves' No. 3 racer then he jumped into the untested No. 12 Verizon-sponsored Penske car, won the pole position and finished runner-up in the race. Not once did he complain about his fate or the uncertainty that awaited.

The attitude earned Power a handful of additional starts to be spread out over the remaining six months of the season. In three races he's competed in since Long Beach, Power has had a fifth place, a third place and now the victory on Sunday. He is scheduled to run three of the remaining six races -- Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, then the Sonoma, Calif., road course and the season finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The whole plan is still a work in progress, but Power's enjoying the working model. And so is mighty Team Penske whose other drivers, fellow Australian Ryan Briscoe and Castroneves, are ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the championship.

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IndyCar Series drivers Marco Andretti, left, and Tony Kanaan talk as they wait to practice for the Meijer Indy 300 auto race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Friday, July 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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IndyCar Series drivers Tony Kanaan, left, and Marco Andretti talk as they wait for the track to be dried in preparation for a practice session for the Meijer Indy 300 auto race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Friday, July 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti waits on pit wall for the track to be dried to practice for the the Meijer Indy 300 auto race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Friday, July 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon, right, and teammate Dario Franchitti, who is second in points, wait for the track to be dried to practice for the the Meijer Indy 300 auto race at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Friday, July 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

IndyCar driver Danica Patrick listens to a question during a news conference at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Thursday, July 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

IndyCar Racing League driver Danica Patrick listens to a question during a news conference at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Thursday, July 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

CT-114 Tutor jets from the Canadian Forces Snowbirds fly over the race track at the start of the Indy Car Series race at the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, July 26, 2009. REUTERS/Todd Korol (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING TRANSPORT MILITARY)

Reuters

Will Power of Australia reacts to getting sprayed by Helio Castroneves (L) of Brazil and Scott Dixon (not pictured) of New Zealand after winning the Indy Car Series race at the Edmonton Indy in Edmonton, July 26, 2009. Castroneves finished second while Dixon finished third. REUTERS/Dan Riedlhuber (CANADA SPORT MOTOR RACING IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Reuters

EDMONTON, AB - JULY 26: Dario Franchitti drives his #10 Vaseline Men Lotion Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series Rexall Edmonton Indy on July 26, 2009 at Edmonton City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dario Franchitti

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EDMONTON, AB - JULY 26: Graham Rahal drives his #02 McDonald's Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda during the IRL IndyCar Series Rexall Edmonton Indy on July 26, 2009 at Edmonton City Centre Airport in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Graham Rahal

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"We knew there would be uncertainty until Helio's trail was decided and in a good way, we've continued this uncertainty with a third car,'' Cindric said in an interview with FanHouse Thursday. "It could have been very black and white, but Will has handled things so well that even though contractually we had no obligation whatsoever beyond paying him what we owed him, we felt he deserved to run Indianapolis for us.

"As we got to know him better, spend time with him, it's evident he's our kind of guy and we'll see where it goes.''

Power, a quiet and intense 28-year old from rural Toowoomba, Australia -- located outside Brisbane -- made a name for himself racing in the British F3 championship and earned a test with the Minardi Formula One team.

He's been highly regarded his entire career yet even considering the unusual circumstances, Power never had a second thought about signing in a part-time capacity with the legendary Penske operation.

After winning the 2006 Rookie of the Year honors in the Champ Car Series, Power was an odds-on favorite to challenge for the 2008 championship. As luck would have it, 2008 was the year America's two open-wheel racing series unified after a bitter and devastating 13-year split.

Suddenly Power went from Champ Car contender to IndyCar rookie. He posted six top-10s last year with the "transition" Team Australia racing operation but was without a job as many Champ Car teams struggled to find proper funding.

"I came out expecting to win the championship in 2008 and suddenly there was no series and I was in a position I thought, this could finish my career,'' Power said Thursday.

"Looking at it, this [Penske] is a place I wanted to be at anyway and I figured if anytime my career was at a crossroads, it was now.

"I knew the situation and there was a chance I wouldn't even get to do one race [with Penske], but I wanted to get my foot in the door and show that I was fast, consistent and worked hard at my job.

"Really it was an easy decision and I'm very happy I did it.''

His sixth place while substituting for Castroneves at the season-opener in St. Petersburg is his lowest finish of the year. At Indianapolis, he led laps and was a serious threat to win before a late race problem in the pits, and still he finished fifth in only his second start at the treacherous track.

At that point, Penske's motives to field a car for Power weren't merely charitable. Power had proven his loyalty and unflinching team-first attitude, but he also performed. And ultimately that's what Team Penske is all about.

His three top-five efforts since -- including Sunday's win -- are even more impressive because Power is in a third car with a part-time pit crew that includes IndyCar shop personnel and some people borrowed from Penske's Grand-Am Series team.

This ability to adapt and succeed has proven something even to Power. He's more spontaneous than even he knew he could be.

"It goes against my nature really,'' Power said with a laugh. "But it has really opened my eyes and now I realize that you don't have to have everything perfect to win a race. It's been a good experience to learn about myself.

"It is key in not just racing, but life in general. Hardly ever is everything perfect in life, and motorsports magnifies that even more.''

"Last year I had a bad year with mechanical problems and stress and I was a bit negative,'' Power allowed. "This year I've made it a point to be happy, not to always be thinking about what's going to happen.

"I'm just enjoying every race and not thinking, 'is this my last ride?'

Certainly that doesn't look to be the case whether it's with Penske or another team that's watched Power's impressive run.

Power's No. 12 car has been sponsored by Penske Truck Rental since Indy but Cindric said the team is actively looking for a sponsor for Power. It's a tough challenge even for a proven commodity in this tough economy.

"The audition's over,'' Cindric said.

"We're not helping Will out of the goodness of our heart anymore. It's business now. As long as we think there's the potential we'll keep in him in a car, we will.

"We still think there's s chance to make that happen [for 2010 season] whether part-time or full-time.

"We tell Will to take it one race at a time. And he's sure made the most of it.''

IndyCar's Will Power Taking the High Road to Victory Lane originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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