OpenWheelWorld.net, for the latest IndyCar Series, Indy Lights and Atlantics news http://www.openwheelworld.net?lg=us us 2004-2009, OpenWheelWorld.net info@openwheelworld.net Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:20:40 +0200 60 Alluded to weeks ago and summarily denied, Hulman & Company confirmed today that Tony George will in fact no longer be acting as President and CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway or the Hulman-George companies. George, who has been in the position of leadership since 1990, will step down, effective July 1st. "Our board had asked Tony to structure our executive staff to create efficiencies in our business structure and to concentrate his leadership efforts in the Indy Racing League," said Mari Hulman George, IMS chairman of the board. "He has decided that with the recent unification of open-wheel racing and the experienced management team IMS has cultivated over the years, now would be the time for him to concentrate on his team ownership of Vision Racing with his family and other personal business interests he and his family share. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7420&lg=us&r Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:19:30 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1399793454 After weeks of lackluster races during the recent stint of ovals, followed by commentary from increasingly frustrated and vocal drivers, media and fans, the IndyCar Series has decided to take action sooner rather than later, announcing a plan to provide teams with some aerodynamic options for 1.5-mile oval racetracks with hopes of of improving the performance of the cars, and thus improving the racing, specifically in the area of overtaking. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7419&lg=us&r Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:46:23 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1040618536 Following a brief break, the Indy Lights are back on track joining the Indy Cars in Watkins Glen, N.Y. this holiday weekend for the Camping World Grand Prix. The rest of the AOW junior formulas are on hiatus this weekend. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7416&lg=us&r Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:59:52 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 514984469 A pole, a victory, most laps lead; if there was a point to be gained this weekend, the dynamic duo of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti earned it. In the process Dixon became the first three-time winner of the 2009 season while his teammate Franchitti regained the series points lead buy just one point over Dixon. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7414&lg=us&r Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:57:51 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 161195893 Newman Haas Lanigan drivers Graham Rahal & Robert Doornbos enjoyed both their highest finishes of the season & their highest career oval finishes on Saturday night, both cars decked out in McDonalds liveries. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7413&lg=us&r Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:55:35 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 201976957 With much talk of late of the team not living up to it's "big three" status, the Andretti Green racing squad appears to have rallied during the last two races, culminating in a 4th, 5th, 6th, & 7th place finish this past weekend in Richmond. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7412&lg=us&r Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:19:39 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1305294312 While Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti would lead the field to the green flag, it would be teammate Scott Dixon who would lead them to the checkers, tying Sam Hornish Jr.'s record for the most wins in IndyCar series history. The duo of Dixon and Franchitti have now won 5 of the 8 races this season, and sit 1-2 in the Championship, with Franchitti edging the reigning champ by just 1 point. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7408&lg=us&r Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:58:40 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 73868497 As predictable as getting wet when it rains, qualifying on the short oval at Richmond International Speedway this afternoon revealed few surprises, as far as the first two rows anyway. Ganassi, Ganassi, Penske, Penske. This week's order of Franchitti, Dixon, Castroneves, Briscoe was a flip flop of last weekends Penske, Penske, Ganassi, Ganassi, or the week before's Ganassi, Penske, Ganassi, Penske. Looking at the times, it's clear that the Ganassi duo are the class of the field as far as set ups go, out pacing the rest of the field by a fairly sizable margin. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7398&lg=us&r Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:53:55 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 24630983 Canadian Paul Tracy made a quick stop in Toronto in between testing and training, to announce his sponsorship for the upcoming Honda Indy Toronto unveiling his new car and livery for the event. Accompanied by KV Technology Racing's co-owner Jimmy Vasser, the "Thrilla from West Hilla" (his new moniker given to him by best pal Tommy Kendall) was excited by the prospect of being back to race on his home turf, and humbled by the honor of driving the "Wounded Warriors.ca" liveried car. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7385&lg=us&r Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:56:44 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 834254547 The Star Mazda Championship series made it's long awaited return to oval racing this weekend at the historic Milwaukee Mile. With the top tier of American open wheel racing now unified, it's season and circuits diversified over several genres, it stands to reason that the junior formulas would also want to diversify as much as possible to prepare their young drivers for their run up the ladder. The Star Mazda series is doing just that, and this Saturday they contested the first of two oval races on their schedule this season, in dramatic fashion. The race got underway with a first-lap, first turn melee which saw the two top qualifiers, teammates Richard Kent, who was on pole, and Conor Daly, get tangled up with each other while attempting to pass, ending up in the turn one wall. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7379&lg=us&r Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:45:13 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1673692570 Under the threat of weather and weepers, Target Chip Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti navigated his TomTom liveried car through traffic and an extraordinary amount of attrition to capture his second win of the season and his second win at Iowa Speedway, while for the 3rd race in a row, Penske driver Ryan Briscoe did the lion's share of the work, leading the most laps, only to finish second. A combination of aggressive, sometimes ambitious driving, "the bump", and drivers way off the pace, made the event more of an obstacle course than a race at times, the proof of which can be seen on the timesheets with only 13 of 20 drivers finishing the race. But the full grandstands enjoyed several side by side stints and even a couple of passes for the lead, making this afternoon's race much more entertaining than some of IndyCar's recent outings. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7366&lg=us&r Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:35:28 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 230333847 With a handful of laps remaining, Ana Beatriz, who had slowly but surely made her way to the front of the field, took advantage of the lapped traffic to gain upon and get around one last car, race leader Wade Cunningham. That pass would change the complexion and dynamic of the race and lead to several of the most edge of your seat laps all night, including the final lap which saw the white flag fly, the caution come out, a car flipped, several others damaged, and Ana Beatriz coming back from injury, a destroyed car and no sponsorship to win the Miller Lite 100. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7356&lg=us&r Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:16:15 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1295344520 Following a lengthy delay while the track workers and the safety crew dealt with "weepers" which began appearing near the end of the Firestone Indy Lights qualifying session, the IndyCar qualifying finally got underway well over an hour after the scheduled start time. Unfortunately the action was short lived as only 3 cars managed to get in a timed run before the session ground to a halt once again. "Weepers" is the term used to describe water seeping through seams in the surface of a race track. Left to their own devices, they spread out over the racing line, wreaking havoc for the cars, especially open wheel cars. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7349&lg=us&r Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:25:11 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1831363033 With their practice session rained out on Friday night, the guys and gals of the Firestone Indy Lights found their Saturday action packed day at Iowa Speedway. Adding the missed session at the top of the day, the field also had two additional practices as well as qualifying for tonight's Miller Lite 100. The mostly uneventful qualifying session ended with J.R. Hildebrand earning his third pole of the 2009 season with a two-lap average of 161.183 mph, his first on an oval both for the season and in his lights career. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7347&lg=us&r Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:07:11 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1198991223 Everyone enjoyed a much deserved break in the action last weekend with both IndyCar and Indy Lights dark, but now it's back to business as usual, with both series on track this weekend at Iowa Speedway. The Coopertires Atlantic Championship is back in statis for another month, but the teams and drivers from the Star Mazda Championship are at the historic Milwaukee Mile contesting the first of two oval outings this season. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7338&lg=us&r Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:42:35 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 281054071 While the series took a week off to regroup and prepare for the middle phase of the 2009 season, there were no shortage of off track whispers and happenings to pique our interests, namely in the area of drivers. Continuing the theme of "musical drivers" we have seen all season, the music started playing again over the break, stopping for a few, while others continue to circle the cockpits hoping not to be left on the wrong side of the pit wall. Following his successful run at Indianapolis, and the surge of support from both fans and sponsors, Alex Lloyd decided to finally cut the Ganassi tethers and become a free agent. After years of sitting on the sidelines, and doing one-off's as the "other driver" on the Ganassi squad, the 2007 Firestone Indy Lights champion decided this was the time to take his career into his own hands, confident that he is still young enough, talented enough, and has most of the pieces in place now to land at a smaller team to drive on a more regular basis. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7331&lg=us&r Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:31:23 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1159539511 Simona De Silvestro took the top step of the podium and the top spot 2009 Atlantic Championship point standings when she captured her second victory of the season in Sunday's second race of the Atlantic double-header as part of the Mazda Formula X weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. De Silvestro who started from the pole, did her level best to simultaneously keep her eye on the challenging track ahead, while holding off the hard charging Jonathan Summerton throughout the 45-minute race. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7321&lg=us&r Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:04:27 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 836389312 Englishman Richard Kent, who has had an up & down start to his 2009 season, got back on track literally and figuratively this weekend, winning the second race of the weekend's Star Mazda double-header, part of the Mazda Formula X weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Kent, who smashed the existing Star Mazda Championship lap record at New Jersey Motorsports Park by more than 4/10ths of a second, led every lap from the pole to the checkers in Sunday's race. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7320&lg=us&r Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:04:14 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1500771713 Jonathan Summerton pulled off his 3rd career Atlantic victory taking the checkered flag at the first race of the Mazda Formula X presented by Cooper Tires at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday afternoon. This is Summerton's first win of the season and Genoa Racing's first Atlantic win since 1994. Summerton who started from the pole position, lead the caution free race #1 from start to finish, convincingly taking the victory by a margin of 7.334 seconds over the next closest competitor, Simona De Silvestro. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7318&lg=us&r Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:06:22 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 170127387 Polesitter Conor Daly took Race 1 of the Star Mazda Championship double-header, part of the Formula X weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Giving up the lead off the start, but regaining it in Turn 3, Daly lead the field across the finish line to take his first victory of the season, and bumping him up to 4th in the championship hunt. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7317&lg=us&r Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:02:49 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1563680730 Wet conditions did nothing to dampen the spirits of Jonathan Summerton who switched cars and series again this weekend to score his second pole position of his 2009 Atlantic Championship season for Saturday's first race of a doubleheader weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park for the Mazda Formula X presented by Cooper Tires event. Summerton also races in Firestone Indy Lights. Taking advantage of the rapidly drying track as the minutes ticked away at the end of the 30-minute qualifying session, Summerton clocked a best time of 1:11.417 (109.386 mph) on the final lap of the session. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7313&lg=us&r Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:58:33 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 795609333 Conor Daly, son of racing legend Derek Daly broke through this afternoon in New Jersey, capturing his first pole of the 2009 season with a lap of 1:15.696 sec. (102.831 mph). Daly will start from the inside of the front row on Saturday, leading the 27 car field to the line in the first race of the double-header event during this weekend's Mazda Formula X event at New Jersey Motorsports Park. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7312&lg=us&r Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:30:22 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1329162112 The IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights both have this weekend off, but that doesn't mean there isn't other open wheel action to be found in North America this weekend. The Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship gets back on track after a formidable break, joined by Star Mazda at New Jersey Motorsports park as part of the Mazda Formula X weekend presented by Cooper Tires. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7306&lg=us&r Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:55:56 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1318552466 While the series is on a one week break, most of the teams, drivers, crew members and series personnel are enjoying some rest and relaxation. There are a few teams however that are taking advantage of the break in the action to get in a little additional testing, while time permits, at various tracks still upcoming on this years schedule. Andretti Green teammates Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti were joined by Mario Moraes, Mike Conway, Milka Duno, Justin Wilson and the recently announced Richard Antinucci on Tuesday to test at Watkins Glen International. Fans were welcome to take in all the action as a precursor to the July 3-5 CampingWorld Grand Prix. http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7301&lg=us&r Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:29:28 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 972759587 Earlier this week, Team 3G announced that Firestone Indy Lights veteran and 2008 championship runner up, Richard Antinucci, will be joining the team for the Camping World Grand Prix at Watkins Glen which takes place on July 5. A fitting choice for the team as Antinucci won one of the Indy Lights double-header races at The Glen in 2008. "We are thrilled to have an opportunity to work with such a young and talented driver such as Richard," Team 3G co-owner Greg Beck said. "He has proven that he can be a consistent winner in open-wheel racing, and he has won at Watkins Glen in an Indy Lights car." http://www.openwheelworld.net/pages/news.php?id=7300&lg=us&r Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:59:39 +0200 info@openwheelworld.net (M. Beer) 1424971291