POWER LEADS OPENING DAY AT EDMONTON
Midnight Rider
EDMONTON, Alberta (Friday, July 23, 2010) - The drivers who have earned the six
PEAK Performance Pole Awards on street/road courses this season gave a preview
of what's to come in the first round of IZOD IndyCar Series qualifications July
24 for the Honda Indy Edmonton. Of the top 12 on the combined practice time
sheet July 23, eight are in that first group.
"It will be the toughest qualifying session of the year," said Will Power, the
defending race winner who topped the field with a quick lap of 1 minute, 1.6689
seconds (115.176 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car over the two hours
of practice on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport circuit.
Teammates Ryan Briscoe was two-tenths of a second behind and Helio Castroneves
was third with a best lap of 1:02.0152. The top 11 cars were separated by less
than a second.
"It's great to see the Verizon car on top in practice, but I'm not quite happy
with it," said Power, who is seeking his third consecutive victory. "The Penske
team is very strong again here and with how competitive the field is now we
have to work extra hard. We're feeding off each other and see if we can be
1-2-3 again tomorrow."
Also on July 23, Martin Plowman topped the time chart in Firestone Indy Lights
practice for the Edmonton 100.
Plowman, driving the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS
Racing Andretti Autosport, jumped to the top of the chart with two minutes
remaining in the hour-long session with a lap of 1 minute, 7.1508 seconds
(105.774 mph).
James Hinchcliffe, who has started on the front row of all three street
circuits this season, transferring the pole start at Long Beach into his first
Firestone Indy Lights victory, was second quick (1:07.3366; 105.482 mph) in the
No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car.
Charlie Kimball (1:07.3765), series points leader J.K. Vernay (1:07.8383) and
Adrian Campos Jr. (1:07.8491) filled out the top five.
DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:
IZOD IndyCar Series technical information for the Honda Indy Edmonton:
Honda overtake assist
Overtake assist was introduced to the series in August 2009 and will make its
debut at Edmonton City Centre Airport in the Honda Indy Edmonton.
The system employed by Honda Performance Development is an ECU software
alteration. It is activated by the driver via a button on the steering wheel
and provides an extra 200 RPM (about 10 horsepower) to the Honda Indy V-8
engine. Parameters are updated before each race weekend to meet the circuit
layout.
For the 1.973-mile, 14-turn Edmonton City Centre Airport course:
20 uses
18 seconds duration each use
10-second recharge period between uses
Firestone Firehawk tires
Each car receives six sets (24 tires) of primary tires and three sets (12
tires) of the alternate (red-sidewall) tires.
Firestone Racing has developed an all-new primary tire specification for
Edmonton this year, while the alternate was previously used at Barber
Motorsports Park. The primary is on the more durable end of Firestone Racing's
road/street course spectrum, while the alternate is in the mid-range of its
tire lineup. The rain is the softer rain, and is the only rain tire we will be
using for the 2010 season.
AL SPEYER (Executive Director of Firestone Racing): "This track is one of the
bumpiest and fastest of the road and street course races, so we are bringing a
durable primary tire to withstand the challenge. The alternate spec is a few
steps softer than the primary, so it should create a noticeable difference in
speed and durability."
Aero package
Edmonton is in the road course/short oval category of aero packages for the
IZOD IndyCar Series. Here are mandatory and optional items for teams:
Rear wings: Tire ramps and sidepod extensions are optional.
Front wings: Wing flaps are open development area. Maximum of two elements per
side is permitted and a divider is mandatory.
***
Andretti Autosport driver Danica Patrick is among the three top female sports
stars in the nation, according to an annual Harris Interactive poll. Tennis
stars Venus and Serena Williams are Nos. 1 and 2.
***
Team Penske has won the pole in Edmonton each of the past two seasons (Ryan
Briscoe in 2008 and Will Power in 2009) and it's earned three podium finishes
and one victory (last season with Power).
"It's a very tough, fast circuit and the No. 3 Team Penske car has done well,
finishing second the last two years," Helio Castroneves said. "I love the fans
in Edmonton. They appreciate our racing and they always seem to draw a big
crowd."
Penske Racing earned its 150th open-wheel racing victory as Power won on the
Toronto street circuit. Sixteen drivers have combined to produce the record
number of wins since 1968.
***
Tony Kanaan of Andretti Autosport and Justin Wilson of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
incorporate cycling into their workout regimens. On July 21, they rode in
Colorado with triathlete Julie Dibens, who the 2009 champion in both Xterra and
70.3 triathlons. Kanaan will compete Oct. 30 in the Rohto Ironman 70.3 in
Miami.
JULIE DIBENS (Professional triathlete): "It's great to see how other
professional athletes can be so passionate about the sport of triathlon."
***
Xtrac, a global leader in motorsport transmissions, this weekend marks its 2
millionth mile run in IZOD IndyCar Series races, practices and tests as it
prepares its specification for a lightweight transmission for the new chassis
being introduced in 2012.
The UK- and U.S.-based gearbox manufacturer has been an exclusive supplier to
the series for the past 10 years.
"Passing this momentous milestone marks a highly successful decade and
longstanding relationship with one of the greatest race series in the world,"
Xtrac president and managing director Peter Digby said. "We now look forward to
submitting our proposals for a new lightweight transmission and would like to
take this opportunity to congratulate Dallara for winning the contract to
supply the new chassis. We have already indicated to the series' promoters that
we are willing to relocate to the new Speedway (Ind.) redevelopment area, which
is very close to our existing facility in Indianapolis where we've been based
since 2003."
As a major international customer, the IZOD IndyCar Series typifies for Xtrac
the global nature of its business and represents a significant contract that
has been successfully renewed six times since 2000 and which extends to the end
of 2011.
The targeted minimum weight of the IndyCar Safety Cell is 1,380 pounds - almost
200 pounds lighter than the current car.
"This will require a significant weight saving for the transmission without
compromising reliability and our well-established low running costs," Digby
said. "This will be an interesting and exciting challenge for our technical
capabilities, and we'll draw heavily on our experience in other premier
motorsport series.
"It's serious business, but it's also tremendous fun and deeply satisfying
designing a gearbox able to handle the prodigious power of a 650 horsepower
race car capable of reaching speeds in excess of 230 mph," Digby said. "We also
applaud the ICONIC's mission to reach out and challenge the automotive and
aerospace industries to join in and enhance the relevancy of the series with
advanced and innovative technology. We are fully supportive of technology
transfer between industry sectors as demonstrated by our recent success at
transferring motorsport technology into the military sector."
***
Kevin Martin toured the IZOD IndyCar Series garage area July 22 much like
Danica Patrick did during the opening night of the Taste of Edmonton -
incognito.
The Olympic gold medal-winning skip of Team Canada, however, was the center of
attention (and it wasn't because of the gold medal from the Vancouver Games he
was toting) of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing assistant engineer Daniel Louks, who
just happens to be president of the Circle City Curling Club. Indianapolis? Who
knew?
"It's always something I've been interested in and now it's one of my
passions," said Louks, who attended the Games in February specifically to watch
the curling competition. "We've been trying to get more people in Indianapolis
involved. It's a sport you can play at almost all ages and it's a great way to
get people active in the winter. It's less an individual sport; it's a full-on
team sport. A lot of the things that interested me in racing apply to curling."
Martin, an Edmonton resident, is grand marshal of the Honda Indy Edmonton.
"I don't get star-struck very often, but it was pretty cool."
Martin received tutorials about the speed and technology of the cars and
multi-functional steering wheels from IZOD IndyCar Series drivers Justin Wilson
and Will Power.
"To be asked by Northlands to serve as grand marshal for both the Capital EX
Parade and the Honda Indy Edmonton is a huge privilege," he said after leading
the annual parade watched by more than 200,000 people lining the streets July
22. "I'm really looking forward to be able to tell the world's best and fastest
open-wheel race drivers to start their engines."
***
De Ferran Dragon Racing's Raphael Matos received some coaching from longtime
friend and former open-wheel champion David Empringham during last week's Honda
Indy Toronto. They used to work together in the Atlantic Series. Matos swept
the Atlantic doubleheader at Edmonton in 2007
RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 HP de Ferran Dragon Racing): "He is the kind of guy who
pushes me very hard and he sees the specific areas I am lacking. He made me
focus on one problem at a time. You cannot fix all the problems in the car at
once. You have to fix the main issue and go from there. That really helped me
focus on what was working and better communicate what I was feeling with the
engineers."
***
Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti are two of nine
current IZOD IndyCar Series drivers to make at least four starts on airport
courses (CART previously held races at the Burke Lakefront Airport in
Cleveland). Of the nine, Franchitti and Dixon are among only four to have
recorded a victory: Franchitti in Cleveland, 2001; Dixon in Edmonton, 2008;
Paul Tracy in Cleveland, 1993, 2005, 2007; Will Power in Edmonton, 2009.
***
Defending Honda Indy Edmonton winner Will Power has ties to Edmonton though he
hails from Australia. Power's paternal grandmother, Jean Ella (Buchan) Power,
was born in Brandon, Manitoba, but grew up and worked in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Power's grandmother met Doug Power while he was stationed in Edmonton for
flight training for the Edmonton Air Force. They were married in Montreal in
1944.
***
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mario Andretti will be at the IZOD Haskell Invitational on
Aug. 1 - along with vintage Indy cars - at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.
***
Medical update from Dr. Michael Olinger, IRL medical director: Sam Schmidt
Motorsports driver Pippa Mann, who suffered a broken bone in her left hand
during the Toronto race weekend, has been cleared to drive in the Firestone
Indy Lights Edmonton 100.
***
Canadian Web hosting company BlackSun (www.blacksun.ca) will be sponsoring Team
Moore Racing in the Edmonton 100 during the Honda Edmonton Indy event July 23
to 25. TMR, which is co-owned by Calgary native Tom Wood, fields cars for
Canadian James Hinchcliffe and Spaniard Adrian Campos Jr.
"BlackSun is excited to be on the TMR car again this year," BlackSun chief
executive officer Steve Rogoschewsky said. "The race weekend will also be a
re-branding of our 'FAST, Reliable, Web Hosting' slogan, in conjunction with
the 'accelerate your business' initiatives that have recently been announced at
BlackSun."
***
Walker Racing's Dan Clarke is making his first Firestone Indy Lights start in
Edmonton, but he has two prior starts Edmonton City Centre Airport. Clarke
recorded a pair of top-10 finishes in Champ Car races in 2006 and 2007.
***
The flames that briefly engulfed the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car on the City
Centre Airport pit lane during last year's race was "one of the scariest
moments of my career," Andretti Autosport driver Tony Kanaan recalls.
Quick action by pit crews and safety workers to douse the car and driver with
water, along with Kanaan having the presence of mind to stop the car, was
credited with minimizing damage and preventing potential serious burns.
"I said that I wanted to have a different kind of a shower this year," Kanaan
jokes. "I want to have a champagne shower."
The fuel hose spewed ethanol on the car as it pulled away from the pit stall
and a spark ignited the fuel.
"We always look back on incidents like that to find out what really happened,"
Kanaan said. "I've been around a long time and between the crashes and some
accidents that have happened, you always go 'Wow, that was close.'
"Thank God our equipment is very safe, the driver's suit and the helmet did its
job and I just burnt a tiny bit of my hand and my face."
Honda Performance Development has been testing a first gear lockout system, in
which sensors on the fueling hose and car will disengage the gears until there
is appropriate separation between the two. It is expected to be introduced yet
this season.
Kanaan, with a victory at Iowa Speedway in June and coming off a fourth-place
finish in the Honda Indy Toronto, enters the Honda Indy Edmonton in seventh
place in the standings.
HPD parts and services division expands to Canada
***
Honda Performance Development is expanding its Honda Racing Line program to
make HPD parts and services available to amateur and entry-level professional
racers in Canada.
Launched in July 2009, the Honda Racing Line is a program targeted at licensed
participants in sanctioned amateur and entry-level professional racing.
Licensed Canadian competitors may register for the Honda Racing Line through
HondaRacingLine.com.
***
Former Firestone Indy Lights driver and Indianapolis 500 competitor PJ Chesson
became a father July 22. Cash Alan Chesson weighed in at 6 pounds, 10 ounces.
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE:
9:15 - 10 a.m. - Firestone Indy Lights practice
10:15 - 11:15 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series practice
2:15 - 3:15 p.m. - Firestone Indy Lights Sunoco Pole Qualifying
3:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying
(Knockout qualifying and Firestone Fast Six)
***
The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season continues July 25 with the Honda Indy
Edmonton at Edmonton City Centre Airport. The race will be telecast live in
High Definition at 5 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS
Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 212. The race also will be
carried on www.indycar.com. The 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season continues
with the Edmonton 100 on July 25 at Edmonton City Centre Airport.
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