Live at Bump Day

IndyCar Garage is live at Bump day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Graham Rahal and Ana Beatriz qualified before a quick rain shower passed through. Rahal four lap average was 224.38- and Beatriz speed is 223.879, it will be interesting to see if those speeds hold up

Pippa Man Interview

IndyCar Garage had the chance to talk with Pippa Man of Conquest Racing, check out the interview below

http://www.indycargarage.com/video/pippa-man-interview

Alex Tagliani talks with IndyCar Garage about his new Helment

IndyCar Garage caught up with Sam Schmidt Motorsport driver Alex Tagliani about his new helment design, watch the video below.

Katherine Legge partners with Sam Schmidt Motorsports for possible races in 2011 and in 2012

Katherine Legge partners with Sam Schmidt Motorsports for possible races in 2011 and in preparation for 2012.
IndyCar Garage has the pleasure of talking with Katherine Legge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Katherine announced that she has partnered with Sam Schmidt Motorsports for a package of possible races for 2011 and also a program in 2012.

Check out the link below for the full interview with Katherine.

http://indycargarage.blogspot.com/2011/05/katherine-legge-talks-with-indycar.html


The goal for 2011 is to put her in events that showcase her abilities, preferably on a road/street course, because that is primary background from Champ Car. Katherine has been racing DTM sports car in Germany the past three years, prior to DTM she drove in Champ Car for two years, and she also tested a Formula one car in 2005 for Minardi, which is now team Red Bull.

We could possibly see Katherine at Toronto, Edmonton, or maybe Mid-Ohio, no races are official yet though.



Continue to follow IndyCar Garage for more coverage throughout the Month of May

IndyCar Garage Weekly returns tonight w/guest Stefano De Ponti of Dallara

IndyCar Garage Weekly returns for its 30 minute program of INDYCAR Conversation streamed live on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/IndyCarGarage-Weeky-.

Tyler Carmichael, moderator of IndyCarGarage.com will host and welcome special guest Stefano De Ponti. De Ponti is the executive director of Dallara's U.S. operation. Dallara is currently in the process of building the new INDYCAR Chassis for 2012.

Among the topics that will be covered with De Ponti, include:

Why Dallara choose Speedway, Indiana as their new and only U.S. home

The new 2012 designs that Dallara reveled on Tuesday

The features of the new building that is currently being built.

Tyler will also recap the Rookie Orientation Program that took place today at IMS. Eight rookies are scheduled to participate.

Tune in live at 6EST on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/IndyCarGarage-Weekly--

Open the gates and let the Speed start flowing - ROP / Opening Weekend Preview

Open the gates and let the Speed start flowing – ROP / Opening Weekend Preview

The 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place on Sunday, May 29th, and the preparation officially starts Thursday May 12th. Officially opening day is Saturday May 14th, but Thursday May 12th will mark the first day cars take to the track, with eight rookies expected to complete Rookie Orientation Process. IndyCar Garage tells you what to watch for the first weekend of track activity.

1. Eight Rookies highlight a strong crop of newcomers

Eight rookies will try and complete ROP two days before the track officially opens for practice. Jay Howard, James Hinchcliffe, Charlie Kimball, Pippa Man, Scott Speed, James Jakes, Ho-Pin Tung and J.R. Hildebrand all will take laps at the 2.5 mile oval. Only Jay Howard has completed laps in the current IZOD IndyCar, as he failed to qualify for last year’s race with Sarah Fisher Racing. Rookies that struggle during ROP could be an early indicator of drivers on the hot seat to make the field of 33.

2. The search for speed will be immediate

Over 40 driver/car combos are confirmed, and there could possibly be one more if Sarah Fisher Racing decides to run the #57 entry. 40 represents the highest number of car/driver combos entered for the race since 2002, the year before the current car was introduced. Milka Duno, Paul Tracy, Jay Howard, and Jacque Lazier all failed to qualify on bump day, and this year that list will grow to seven, possibly eight drivers. The current car hasn’t changed much over the last year, so finding every second of speed will be very important for all teams.

3. The Weather can’t be an issue

The weather forecast looks spotty for next week, but there should be enough track time for everyone to figure out the nine year old Dallara. With the condensed, but action packed schedule in year two, (one weekend of qualifications) a big weather front that moves in could drastically impact the rookies and the hype of Pole Day/Bump Day weekend.

4. Pole Speed?

Helio hit 227 during the fast 9 shootout last year, could we see 228 or higher this year? It would be cool to see 230, but I just don’t think we’ll see much past 227 or tops 228. I am sure some of the cars will pull some high numbers in ideal temperatures and with a toe, we could possibly see 229, but for pole speed.,Expect about what we saw last year.

5. Several new livery’s will debut

With the expanded entry list of 40 car/driver combos, several cars will be sporting different looking rides. Helio Castroneves will the Shell designed car, Ryan Briscoe will be back with the IZOD car, Bruno Junqueira will carry the orange coyote colors from A.J. Foyt’s 1977 winning car, Tomas Sheckter will show off the Redline Extreme colors, Scott Speed will bring back Fuzzys Vodka on his Dragon Racing car, and Ed Carpenter will show off Dollar General for the first time in 2011. Find a spotter guide when you get to the track!

VOTE for IndyCar Garage to participate in the VIRTUAL INDY 500

VOTE for IndyCar Garage to participate in the VIRTUAL INDY 500

IndyCar Garage is now featured on http://www.indycar.com/ as part of their official blog series in preparing motorsport writers for the Virtual Indy 500. IndyCar Garage wants your vote to participate was one of the ten motorsport writers who will participate in a Virtual Indy 500 on Carb day, May 27th.

All you have to do is go to the link below and check out the information on the site.

http://blog.indycar.com/2011/05/09/should-indycar-garage-rep-for-fans-at-the-virtual-indy-500/

Scott Speed comes to INDYCAR for Indy 500

Scott Speed is ready to make his INDYCAR debut next week at rookie testing for the 2011 Indy 500.

Read the link below from Speedtv.com

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-scott-speed-set-for-indy-debut-with-dragon/

Then go ahead and read the Blog that IndyCar Garage wrote back in the summer of 2009 about the top ten drivers not in IndyCar racing.

Posted: June 11th, 2009

IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.

IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver # 7
SCOTT SPEED – AMERICAN – AGE 26 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 25%

Scott Speed began karting at the age of 10 in 1993 and remained in that role until his 18th birthday in 2001. At the age of 18 he began a four year journey toward Formula 1 by moving up through their development series. At just the age of 22, Scott Speed became the first American driver since Michael Andretti to drive a F1 car as a test driver for Red Bull Racing. In 2006 Toro Rosso was created through Red Bull Racing and gave Speed a full time ride in the Formula 1 series. Speed would have a less than spectator two years in F1 as he would struggle to find the top ten in any capacity. Speed’s best finish was ninth at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2007. After his departure from F1 in mid 2007, he immetidaley started driving in the ARCA RE/MAX series for Eddie Sharp Racing. His success for Eddie Sharp Racing lead to ride with Bill Davis Racing in the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series. He now competes full time as a Sprint Cup Driver and has found moderate success as a full-time rookie.

Speed is the type of driver that should have joined the IndyCar series developmental series in 2001 after he turned 18 and been a full time driver by his early 20’s, similar to the route of Marco Andretti. Instead, in 2001 the split was in full-force and allowed Speed to progress through the F1 minor leagues and eventually have an unsuccessful attempt in F1. It should be noted that in 2004 he tested for the Red Bull Cheever Racing team in the Indy Racing League, but nothing else came of it.

When Speed’s F1 career hit the rocks, where else would you take your sponsorship, well of course NASCAR. The bottom line with Speed is that he is a young American driver with talent, and he really never had a good opportunity to join the IndyCar series. Don’t count out Speed to be in the IndyCar series at some point. Speed’s career is still very young and if the NASCAR thing doesn’t pan out, you possibly could see him back in a IndyCar

Power wins at Brazil, re-takes championship lead by 14 points

Power wins at Brazil, re-takes championship lead by 14 points

Team Penske Road Course ace Will Power captured his second win of the 2011 season and repeated his feat from the inaugural Sao Paolo race in 2010. The race was shortened due to weather and postponed from it’s original time on Sunday May 1st. Graham Rahal captured his first podium of the 2011 season with a second place finish, and Ryan Briscoe was third. Rahal currently sits 9th in the championship standings while Briscoe is 5th.

The race was televised live on VERSUS at 8:05 EST and featured a wet track that produced lots of spin offs and passing. Takuma Sato of KV Racing overtook Power on the second restart, and led several laps. When a caution from a Dario Franchitti spin, brought several leaders into the pits, Sato, along with Marco Andretti, and E.J. Viso choose not to pits. Viso quickly got around Andretti and gave KV Racing their first 1-2 combo of the entire year, but it was short lived. Viso was penalized by INDYCAR blocking and received a black flag, forcing him to the tail end of the lead lap. Sato would eventually pit for fuel and Andretti would suffer electrical issues that would force him to pit as well. Power took the lead and held on to win in the time shortened race. Graham Rahal was second, easily his best finish since winning at St. Pete in 2008. Ryan Briscoe backed up his second place effort at Long Beach, with a third place finish.
Full results are below:

1. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
2. (5) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
3. (4) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
4. (6) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
5. (16) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
6. (9) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
7. (8) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
8. (10) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
9. (11) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
10. (22) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
11. (23) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
12. (3) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
13. (26) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
4. (15) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
15. (24) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 55, Running
16. (18) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 54, Running
17. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 53, Running
18. (2) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 50, Running
19. (20) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 48, Running
20. (13) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 46, Running
21. (7) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 46, Running
22. (21) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 46, Running
23. (17) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 46, Running
24. (25) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 31, Mechanical
25. (19) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 28, Contact
26. (12) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Honda, 20, Contact

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 67.442
Time of Race: 02:04:05.2964
Margin of victory: 4.6723 seconds
Cautions: 6 for 21 laps
Lead changes: 2 among 3 drivers
Lap Leaders: Power 1 - 25, Sato 26-48, Power 49-55
Point Standings: Power 168, Franchitti 154, Servia 110, Conway 102, Briscoe 101, Kanaan 99, Tagliani 85, Dixon 84, Rahal 82, Sato 80.

What to watch for at Brazil

What to watch for at Brazil

The IZOD IndyCar Series enters round four of their 2011 season, traveling to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle. In 2010, this race was the season opener, it was a very exciting race, with many overtaking opportunities, 2011 looks to be just as good. The race will be televised live on VERSUS , with coverage starting at Noon EST. IndyCar Garage gives you five things to watch for heading into Brazil.

1. Will Power and everyone else
Power has started on pole for every race of 2011 and won the 2010 Brazil race with a late pass of Ryan Hunter-Reay. Power dominance early in 2011 has made him a near lock to repeat as the Mario Andretti Road-Course Champion, and even stronger effort to capture his first championship. Unless Power gets punted again by his teammate Helio Castroneves, he will be
around at the end, probably on the podium.

2. The best road/street course to pass on.
Brazil offers the longest stretch of IndyCar racing on the entire schedule, over a mile straightway awaits after turn 10, and heading into turn 11 many drivers are offered the best passing zone on the track, as Ryan Hunter-Reay found out in 2010 while running in P1.

"The circuit in Sao Paulo will be challenging. They've really repaved a lot of it and done away with some curbs. It was new last year and I think it will be pretty new again this year. It's going to keep us on our toes, being that it is a two-day weekend - practice, practice, qualify, race. It's going to happen quick and we're going to have to adapt" said Ryan Hunter-Reay .

3. Heading back home for several drivers
Five IZOD IndyCar drivers are natives of Brazil, including Helio Castroneves, Vitor Meira, Raphael Matos, Ana Beatriz, and fan favorite Tony Kanaan. Meira took home his only podium of 2010, with a third place finish, and Matos captured 4th while driving for then Deferran-Dragon Racing. Tony Kanaan is the highest of the five in the championship, as he trails only leader Dario Franchitti and second place Will Power. Watch on Sunday as the expected capacity crowd of over 50,000 cheers for their native drivers.

4. Second chance for Marco Andretti
The 2010 season started horribly for Marco Andretti, "Last year's incident took me out of the race way too early. I was disappointed I didn't get to do more in Brazil so I'm looking forward to going back. I think the Venom car and the team as a whole should be strong this weekend. We've made some big gains on street courses and the cars are starting to feel good on these types of circuits." Marco needs a strong finish to makeup for his mistake at Long Beach when he took out himself and Sebastien Bourdais in the pits, and also to get back in the championship hunt. Good news for Andretti is that Mario Moraes will not be in a IndyCar at Brazil.


5. A fourth different winner?
The IZOD IndyCar Series has had three races with three different winners, two of those, Franchitti and Power were to be expected, but the third, Mike Conway was a huge surprise two weeks ago at Long Beach. Will there be another shocking winner? Or will it be another Penske/Ganassi car visiting victory lane? Read below to see IndyCar Garage’s predications for the Fast Six and the top three finishers.

Race Predications for Sunday:
Firestone Fast Six: Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon, Justin Wilson, Ryan Briscoe, Dario Franchitti

Podium: 1st Ryan Hunter-Reay , 2nd Tony Kanaan, 3rd, Helio Castroneves