March 24, 2007 The IndyCar Series debuts 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in
competition at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
***
Firestone is celebrating Page Mader's 35th anniversary with the company today.
Mader serves as general manager for race tire development.
***
Chip Ganassi Racing is fielding entries in Indy Pro Series, Rolex Sports
Car Series and IndyCar Series events at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Chris Festa
and Pablo Perez drive for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the Indy Pro Series
while Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon drive the team's IndyCar Series entries.
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas drive for Telmex Chip Ganassi Racing in the Rolex
Sports Car Series. All the entries are prepared at the team's Indianapolis
headquarters.
MIKE HULL (Team managing director, Target Chip Ganassi Racing): "The
possibility of winning is important for the team, but I don't want to put
the cart before the horse. I think the way that good race teams achieve success
is with really great drivers and really great people, which we have on all
three teams. It's coincidental that although we're racing all three races
on the same day; sometimes coincidence leads to success. We're certainly capable
and up to the job. Everybody is excited on the race team. We're looking forward
to Saturday."
***
Indy Pro Series drivers Sean Guthrie and Shane Lewis will pull double duty
on the season's opening race day March 24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In
addition to driving in the Miami 100 at 12:30 p.m., both drivers will also
compete in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series event at 2 p.m. Guthrie, driver
of the No. 4 Guthrie Racing entry in the Indy Pro Series and Matt Connolly
Motorsports in Grand Am, and Lewis, driver of the No. 8 Michael Crawford Motorsports
entry and Southard Motorsports Daytona Prototype, will spend the day hopping
back and forth between the two types of cars. There will be morning practice
sessions for both series before the afternoon races. The Miami 100 is a 67-lap,
100-mile event on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval while the Grand-Am event
is a three-hour event on the facility's road course.
SEAN GUTHRIE: "I have done a lot of road course racing
in the past in karting and the Star Mazda series, have tested on Homestead's
road course in the Indy Pro Series car, and have tested a Miata and Mustang,
but I have not done any endurance racing. My longest races to date have been
45 minutes. My stint in the M3 will be about 75 minutes, so that will be a
challenge I'm look forward to conquering."
SHANE LEWIS: "Racing in completely different cars,
in two different series, on a different course configuration all in the same
day will be a blast. I think it will keep me sharp and focused. I am lucky
that I have the support of both teams and the sanctioning bodies. The schedule
works out great. I have just enough time to work with both teams and cars
properly. I wouldn't do this if I thought I couldn't give 100 percent and
do it right. After all, I plan on winning both of these races."
***
At a press conference earlier today, SAMAX Motorsport owner Peter Baron and
CITGO Petroleum Corp. president and CEO Felix Rodriguez announced that Milka
Duno would drive the No. 23 CITGO Racing/SAMAX Motorsport Dallara/Honda/Firestone
in 10 IndyCar Series events this season – including the Indianapolis
500-Mile Race.
After testing and passing her rookie test in early April, Duno will launch
her long-time aspirations April 29 at Kansas Speedway. She'll also compete
at Texas Motor Speedway (June 9), Iowa Speedway (June 24), Watkins Glen International
(July 8), Nashville Superspeedway (July 14), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (July
22), Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 5), Kentucky Speedway (Aug. 11)
and the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway (Sept. 9).
MILKA DUNO: "It is a special moment for me, just something
I've been dreaming about for a long time. It's difficult to explain how I
feel because I have so many emotions -- a little nervous, a little anxiety,
very excited. It's a big step for me. It's going to be very tough because
it's a very competitive championship and I'll be racing ovals and everything
will be new for me. But I'm trying to learn whatever I need to learn. I have
a good team behind me, which makes me comfortable and so good for me. As I
was thinking about this decision, I wanted it to be with a good team and people
I know." (About preparations for switch): "A long time ago, even
when people didn't know it was my dream to drive in this series, I was asking
many things of the drivers. I was asking Darren (Manning), Patrick (Carpentier),
Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon about the racing and how they do things because
I need to learn so much. I wanted to go to this level, and that was the first
step. I want to have good preparation. I have all the determination and all
my concentration will be on learning to do the best I can."
PETER BARON (Owner, SAMAX Motorsport): "I feel we have
done a tremendous job creating a team with the perfect mix of 'Indy talent'
and team members that have worked with Milka from the beginning. Milka is
already at home with the team, which is the foundation from where all the
growth and success begins. We know this effort, with a new sponsor, driver
and team will not be easy, but we are thrilled to have this opportunity and
will work our hardest to give Milka the necessary tools to succeed on track."
***
The USAC Silver Crown Series cars owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner
and IndyCar Series team owner A.J. Foyt finished 1-2 in the Homestead-Miami
100. Tracy Hines won the race with teammate Pablo Donoso second.
***
***
Playa Del Racing will honor a fallen student athlete, Steve Scotton, of Fishers,
Ind., on their Indy Pro Series entry at the first two events of the season.
Scotton, 16, died Feb. 9 while playing in a high school hockey game for the
Hamilton Southeastern Hockey Club. Scotton's leadership had earned him the
role of captain for the team.
Jim Cochran, president of Fair/Finance, a supporter of the PDR team is also
actively involved with the HSE Hockey Club. PDR will place upon the nose of
the No. 12 car a HSE Hockey Club decal as well as the number 96, which Steve
wore for his team.
AJ RUSSELL (No. 12 Playa Del Racing): "Sadly I never
had the opportunity to meet Steve. I hope to relieve the pain felt by his
family and friends for at least a short time by giving that car a run everyone
can be proud of."
***
Playa Del Racing brings back a familiar look to its No. 12 Indy Pro Series
car by adding the Ethos Fuel Reformulator logo to the sidepods. Ethos first
partnered with PDR for the 2006 Indianapolis 500-mile race when the company
was the primary sponsor for the Playa Del Racing No.12 entry driven by Roger
Yasukawa.
Ethos Environmental specializes in the development of a fuel reformulator
that can help make vehicles around the world run more efficiently, and do
so while reducing the emissions that have become so harmful to our environment.
GARY SALLEE (owner Playa Del Racing): "Ethos and Playa
Del Racing are going to be a winning combination. We are in this business
to perform well, and Ethos makes engines of all types perform better. By helping
Ethos promote their product we are helping solve the world's emissions problem
while saving money for those who use the product. This is a great deal for
everyone involved."
***
Selected quotes from Brian Barnhart's media availability:
(About Milka Duno Announcement): "By the time she enters
her first race event and races, she'll have thousands of miles under her belt.
It's not like she announced today that she'll be racing next week in St. Pete.
I think they have five scheduled test sessions. We'll do plenty of testing
on track with her including start and restart practice and pit stop practice.
We'll even consider putting other cars out there with her to replicate traffic
and give her an opportunity to get accustomed to running in dirty air. By
the time she enters her first event, she'll have plenty of experience in terms
of testing experience under the belt."
(About ethanol): "The Indianapolis Motor Speedway
and Indy Racing League have long been leaders in the industry. I think it
was important to us to take the first step to make the switch and be the first
series to ever run on renewable fuel. It has been a tremendous step for us
in terms of publicity and excitement around the series. It's creating a lot
of buzz about what we're doing. It has had a seamless transition from the
competition, the competitors. Honda's switch over in engines has been seamless.
They've run without any kind of failures. As you saw in our practice sessions
and our Open Test, it's a switch without a hiccup."
(About the addition of a third female driver): "We
have not gone out and actively pursued males or females. It's about opportunity.
The league was created to give opportunity to owners, to drivers, to promoters,
to tracks, that type of deal. And that's something we're proud of. I think
we've given a lot of drivers opportunities to participate at this level that
never would have had the chance to do so if the league hadn't been created.
And Milka is another one coming on board. We're very happy to have Sarah (Fisher)
back. I think it's great. She did a great job in this morning's practice.
And of course Danica (Patrick). I don't think we ever looked at it and tried
to create a side show. They're just competitors. That's what Sarah's always
wanted to be. That's what Danica wants to be. I think, as a league, in our
operations and procedures and our fellow drivers treat them just like competitors,
just like they are." (About closer competition this season): "It
certainly looks that way. From the Open Test at Daytona and here at Homestead
to the first session today, it looks like the other competitors have closed
the gap. Clearly, the Penske and Ganassi cars are still going to be the teams
to beat. It certainly looks like Rahal and Andretti Green have closed the
gap a little bit. It should make for better competition still.
***
Exactly 10 years ago today, Jim Guthrie celebrated with his 8-year-old son
Sean in Victory Lane at Phoenix International Raceway after winning the IndyCar
Series race on the 1-mile oval. Jim Guthrie was the first rookie to win an
IndyCar Series race.
Of the 10 races on the IndyCar Series schedule in 1997, the race at Phoenix
was one of four that Sean was able to attend due to its proximity to the Guthrie's
hometown of Albuquerque, N.M.
JIM GUTHRIE: "We were having dinner as a team two nights
ago, and some of them even had their old Phoenix shirts, because these are
the same guys, and they said, 'Jim, this is the weekend,' " Jim Guthrie
said. "And I was like, 'What weekend?' 'This is the weekend you won Phoenix.'
Sure enough it is. It's been pretty special. A little trip down memory lane.
It was a good day for us. That was one of the highlights of my career,"
recalled the elder Guthrie, who now campaigns Sean in the No. 4 car in the
Indy Pro Series. "The '97 year was awesome. Running at Indy was a highlight.
Starting outside second row that year (in the Indianapolis 500), leading four
races that year. It was hands down the best year of racing I've ever had in
my life."
SEAN GUTHRIE: "I was there with my uncle, my grandparents,
everybody," Sean remembered. "We were standing up in the stands,
and about two or three laps to go we all started to get excited and we walked
down to start/finish. I can actually remember the car going by and jumping
up and down, and after that I don't really remember much. There are pictures
of me standing on the car with my dad's arm around me. It was definitely an
exciting time."
***
SWE RACE CAR PARTS POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:
CHRIS FESTA (No. 9 CGR Indy Pro Series, SWE Race Car Parts Pole Winner):
"It's a great thing. The team is starting out for the first time, so
to come out and get a pole is just a really good thing. They've worked so
hard over the winter. I'm just so proud to be a part of this team. When somebody
like Chip Ganassi hires you to drive his car, it definitely builds your ego
a little bit, but I don't want it to get too big because that's when things
start happening. We're feeling pretty good. We ran race setup in the session
this morning, and we can put the car anywhere we wanted, so we're feeling
very confident. We're looking forward to tomorrow." (About expecting
to go 187 mph) "Honestly, no I didn't. I was expecting probably around
186, but I'm not going to complain. I'll take it. That was a pleasant surprise."
ALEX LLOYD (No. 7 Lucus Oil/Isilon Systems/SSM, qualified second):
"Qualifying went really well. We are disappointed not to be P1. We had
a really good car. The car was quite fantastic but we had the wrong gear,
which cost us the pole. We are on the front row and it is going to be anybody's
race tomorrow. We are in a good position, and we are going to put it all together
for the race tomorrow. (About his second season in the Indy Pro Series): "I
think it is going to be an advantage later in the year. This is my first time
here, so I still feel a bit of a rookie. The ovals are still quite new to
me. I only drove in three last year. I do feel as we will have an advantage
as we go on throughout the year. When we visit some of the tracks that the
new guys haven't been to."
HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 55 Panther Racing, qualified third): "This
was my best job so far. This is my first time on an oval. I like the speed
and being close to the wall and it is fast. I still need to learn in the traffic.
And that is my target for tomorrow."
BOBBY WILSON (No. 1 Brian Stewart Racing, qualifed fourth):
"The car was great. We haven't tested at night. The air is a little different,
the track is a little different, and we were probably too conservative. It's
going to be a tight field. I expect some good racing tomorrow."
***
XM SATELLITE RADIO INDY 300 POST-QUALIFYING QUOTES:
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified
second): "I think the car was handling pretty good, and I'm
pretty happy with where we're at. I would have been a little happier if we
would have been on the pole, but we were close and that's all we can say right
now. Hopefully we'll be able to work on the car tonight, get the proper changes
made and be able to move up spots in the race tomorrow. We were second here
in the preseason test and we were second in both sessions today. Now we were
second in qualifying. I guess if worse comes to worse, we'll finish second
tomorrow. That will be OK."
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified
third): "I'm surprised. I'm not surprised at the speed. I'm
surprised because we didn't even do a qualifying run today because we just
concentrated on race set up. Thanks to my engineers and the Canadian Club
team because they did a really good job and they could have guessed a little
bit and it seems to be okay. Now, it would be ideal to test this time of night
similar to what we race because the track really does seem to change so much.
We'll just see what we've got for tomorrow night."
TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified
fourth): "Obviously I would like to be higher but this is a
big step from last year. I think Team 7-Eleven worked so hard during the off-season
and I've got to thank my crew, my engineers and Tino Belli, our engineer who
wasn't able to make it here this weekend. Dan (Wheldon) and Sam (Hornish)
are going to be strong but I feel good. I think I can pass three cars on the
start. I've done it before.
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 NYSE Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified
fifth): "We weren't particularly quick during the day but we
didn't want to get ahead of ourselves and make crazy changes. Fortunately
the NYSE car came back to us. This was the same setup we used during the test
and we were definitely rolling the dice. We might as well have just rolled
the car off the truck before qualifying because we didn't change much from
the open test.
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, qualified
eighth): "The Team Penske car improved significantly throughout
the day. Qualifying was challenging, because the track changed a lot between
this evening and when we were last out there in practice. But at the end of
the day, we were faster than we were in both sessions, so we're happy. We
need to keep improving tomorrow and if we can do that, we'll be in good shape
for the race."
SARAH FISHER (No. 5 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone,
qualified ninth): "I'm so happy to be back. We've just been
working on a solid race car today; that's the goal. Everyone got faster, but
we're on our race day set-up because we know that's big picture and that's
what matters. We really want to be good in traffic on race day and both Buddy
(Rice) and I are really happy with what we've got. Buddy has run more in traffic,
but we've both got good racecars. I don't know what else I can ask for."
***
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE:
8 a.m. Indy Pro Series garages opens
9:35 – 10 a.m. Indy Pro Series final practice (two groups)
12:30 p.m. Miami 100 (67 laps/100 miles), ESPN2 (5 p.m., March 28)
8 p.m. XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 (200 laps/300 miles), ESPN2 & IMS Radio
Network (live)
***
The 2007 IndyCar Series season begins under the lights with the XM Satellite
Radio Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 24. The race will be telecast
live by ESPN2 at 8 p.m. (EDT) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language
telecast of the race will be carried by ESPN Deportes. The IMS Radio Network
broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The sixth
season of Indy Pro Series competition begins with the Miami 100 on March 24
at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race will be telecast at 5 p.m. (EDT) on
March 28 by ESPN2.
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