For T-Teams, Rookie Of The Year Slips A Notch In Iowa

These "boots" are made for winning, and that is what they did - Brit, Dan Weldon wins the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at Iowa Speedway on direction from Chip Ganassi team's strategist, Barry Wanser. Happy 30th birthday Dan. Image credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

For T-Teams, Rookie Of The Year Slips A Notch In Iowa

A good and competitive race was held near the corn fields and flooding of Iowa. The race was won through pit stop timing and fuel strategy. Dan Weldon in the Target Chip Ganassi Dallara took the checkered flag on the day he turned 30 in front of an appreciative crowd looking for an escape from the acts of God tumult this region of the United States has suffered from in recent weeks.

Andretti Green's Hideki Mutoh as he enters the pits at Iowa Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

After 8 of 18 races, Andretti Green Racing’s Hideki Mutoh begins to lock down rookie of the year honors in the IndyCar Series championship by holding on to second place next to his teammate in third, son of the owner of the Andretti Green Racing team, Marco Andretti. To a fan of the former ChampCar, this is a very disappointing trend. The rookies are almost all drivers who drive for teams that made their calling card carrying on for a racing series that raced on a different type and configuration of race track every weekend.

Transistion team driver Will Power of KV Racing Technology, finishes the highest position of the "Elite Eight" that qualified for the race. Here, he sits in the cockpit, control wheel on the deck, getting ready to get plugged in and go. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This was the fifth straight oval race in six weeks for the unified IRL drivers and, to be honest, the races are beginning to blend together. Cars try to run three (and maybe four) wide, tires in the open wheel cars almost touch (and sometimes do causing wrecks), suspension parts fail due to stresses of overloading the technology on tight lefthand corners sending cars into the outside wall, and at the end, the race will be won by one of three teams that have all the parts, back-up equipment, and teammates that will, hopefully, protect and keep them out of trouble.

Next week is the track at Richmond, Virginia … which is just a slightly shorter version of this track here in Iowa … but with a little less banking, will see more of the same. The twist for Richmond (just like they did in Texas) is that the race will be run at night in the glow of specialized lighting.

Unless the former ChampCar teams get an equalizing road course soon, and have five in a row to make things a little more even, this unification thing may begin to turn fans away, after all, there is still trouble getting all of the cars with sponsorship. Outside of the tradition a few oval tracks hold, the races play out pretty much the same no matter where one goes. There is not enough variation to really hold a rabid fans interest through the course of a whole season if every race has as its hallmark, higher banks, or shorter track, or the race will be held at night, or … this used to be a cornfield but now its an oval racetrack!

Helmet art of Dan Weldon. Depicts a knight slaying the competition ... as he did today on his 30th birthday at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at Iowa Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

More about the “Corn Fed 250” (Iowa Corn Indy 250) excerpted and edited from Autosport.com –

Wheldon uses pit gamble to win Iowa
By Jeff Olson and Matt Beer Sunday, June 22nd 2008, 19:14 GMT

Dan Wheldon gambled on stretching his final fuel load for 90 laps and took an unlikely victory for Ganassi at Iowa Speedway, ahead of Andretti Green's Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti.

The Ganassi cars had not been a factor in the lead battle for most of the race, but the decision to leave Wheldon on track as most of the leaders pitted under a late yellow allowed the Briton to vault to the head of the field.

He then had to conserve fuel to make it to the finish - running 90 laps rather than the usual 75 on his last stint - but two further cautions in the closing stages allowed Wheldon and fellow fuel gamblers Mutoh and Danica Patrick to stretch their fuel mileage to the end.
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Wheldon was running back in the pack when he and strategist Barry Wanser chose to keep the car out on the track while the leaders came to the pits on the 187th lap.

It appeared at the time as if Wheldon wouldn't be able to make it to the finish, but he received two huge assists - a yellow flag when Mario Moraes brushed the wall on a restart on the 197th lap and another when Tony Kanaan spun and hit the wall on the 211th lap.
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Wheldon donated his winnings to relief programmes for victims of flooding in Iowa. Coupled with Scott Dixon's $15,000 for finishing fifth, Ganassi's drivers donated a total of $50,000 to disaster relief efforts.
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Andretti was the highest finisher amongst those who made the extra pitstop, having jumped past Patrick and Dixon in a single move at the final restart before hunting down Wheldon and Mutoh.

He was unable to get around his rookie teammate, though, and had to settle for third, as Mutoh successfully managed to fend off Andretti while also trying to keep the pressure on Wheldon.

"I almost got by Wheldon at the end, but I didn't have the speed to overtake him," Mutoh said. This is the highest finish by a Japanese driver (in the IndyCar Series), so it's good news for Japan and for myself, too."
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Despite these incidents, the race was a far cry from last year's crash-filled and processional inaugural Iowa event.
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This time, the race featured six cautions for 57 laps, but 17 of the 24 starters were running at the end. The other significant yellow came when Ed Carpenter spun in Turn 2 on the 39th lap, then blamed Patrick for his accident.

"Danica did her normal supreme block job," Carpenter said. "She is the new Scott Sharp of the series, as far as I'm concerned. That is two races in a row. I'm over her."
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KV Racing's Will Power and Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Graham Rahal completed the top ten.

John Andretti showed encouraging pace for the small Roth Racing team to run as high as seventh, while Justin Wilson (Newman/Haas/Lanigan) also occupied that position in the middle of the race, before both lost ground in the last stint.
Reference Here>>

How did the surviving eight drivers (of ten registered to compete) from teams that have transitioned from the CCWS?

POS./Qual./Car# - Driver - Hometown - Car - Name - Entrant

9/11/8 - Will Power - Toowoomba, Australia - Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia - KV Racing Technology

10/16/06 - Graham Rahal - Columbus, Ohio - Hole in the Wall Camps - Newman Haas Lanigan Racing

12/20/02 - Justin Wilson - Sheffield, England - McDonald's - Newman Haas Lanigan Racing

13/13/33 - EJ Viso - Caracas, Venezuela - PDVSA - HVM Racing

16/10/5 - Oriol Servia - Pals, Spain - KV Racing Technology - KV Racing Technology

17/17/36 - Enrique Bernoldi - Curitiba, Brazil - Sangari - Conquest Racing

19/24/19 - Mario Moraes - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Sonny's Bar-B-Q - Dale Coyne Racing

20/21/34 - Jaime Camara - Goiania, Brazil – Sangari - Conquest Racing

Bruno Junqueira of Dale Coyne Racing and Mario Moraes’s teammate hopes to have his damaged car ready for Richmond. No word at the time of this post if Pacific Coast Racing’s Mario Dominguez will make the show in Virginia.

If I were in the business of speculating, I’d say the chances are better than 50/50 that PCM may wait until Watkins Glen to rejoin the frey for the balance of the 2008 season, the week after the short oval at Richmond.

... notes from The EDJE

The T-Team Ten Whittled Down To The Elite Eight

Bruno Junqueira of Dale Coyne Racing will sit on the sidelines in Iowa after hitting the turn two SAFER barrier. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

The T-Team Ten Whittled Down To The Elite Eight

The eighth race of the 2008 season is proving hard to make for a couple of drivers from teams that are transitioning from the ranks of the ChampCar World Series to the IndyCar Series.

Mario Dominguez of Pacific Coast Motorsports and Bruno Junqueira of Dale Coyne Racing will not be able to make it into the field of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer, both for different yet similar reasons.

It is no secret that the teams that are new to the series do not have the same availability of parts, especially oval track aero parts, as do established teams that have been working with this Dallara chassis now for the better part of seven years. Heck, some of the teams may even have extra parts they have forgotten about that the kids are playin’ with in the backyard at home (more about kids, later).

Resource management and preparation kept the Pacific Coast Motorsports team at their headquarters here in Southern California whereas Bruno will join Marty Roth on the sidelines due to accidents each driver had in separate incidents in the morning practice session on the 0.894-mile Iowa Speedway tri-oval. Bruno Junqueira, after the car was hooked-up and brought bach to the pits, speculated that he hoped the car would be ready for the next race in Richmond, Virginia.

The yellow signal light glows for moisture on the track at Iowa Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Furthermore, the qualifications were rained out after only two qualifying runs by Ryan Briscoe - Penske Racing, Dan Weldon - Chip Ganassi Racing, and a third partial run by Helio Castroneves - Penske Racing was waived off. After that, the session cancelled.

Scott Dixon's special Commit sponsorship race livery. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

So, by virtue of his superlative season so far, Scott Dixon - Chip Ganassi Racing will start from the pole in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer based on entrant championship points accrued so far at this point in the season - Starting Grid.

This excerpted from IndyCar.com –

Junqueira, Roth Out
By Dave Lewandowski - indycar.com

Both cars sustained parts failures, which led to the cars spinning into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2.

Click it: Timing & Scoring reports for practices

"It's a major disappointment," said Roth, the owner/driver of the Roth Racing car. "We worked so hard to get a good race car, and I think we made a really good one. It was a struggle at first, but I think we had a really good race car. We had a rear pushrod break going into corner 1, and it was all over at that point. The damage is pretty extensive. We can't fix it for the race. We'll be looking for Richmond now, and we'll have our eyes on John Andretti for the weekend." VIDEO

Junqueira was on a full-tank run on sticker tires when the car got loose and spun, collecting the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car driven by Dan Wheldon. VIDEO

"We had some steering rack problems in the run before and had someone vibration," Junqueira said. "I'm OK. Unfortunately, the car's not OK. It's very damaged. The left-rear wishbone broke, which is what made me spin. Hopefully we can get everything together for Richmond."

The Target Chip Ganassi Racing crew prepared Wheldon's back-up car for qualifications for the second race in a row.
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Milka Duno, who crashed during the Open Test on June 20, also will compete in the No. 23 back-up car.

The Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer is the first of six consecutive weekends of IndyCar Series racing. The SunTrust Indy Challenge at the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway oval is under the lights June 28.
Reference Here>>

Jaime Camara talking with his Conquest Racing team engineer. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Speaking of kids, Jamie Camara of Conquest Racing will have the first increase in his family planned to be delivered June 25 … it’s a BOY!

Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing is expecting two newborns in the near-term as well. Race Engineer, Mike Talbott is expecting his second within the next few days and will be replaced in Iowa by Senior Engineer Craig Hampson, who will return home after the race to receive the coming of his family’s second.

Oriol Servia being assisted into the cockpit of his KV Racing Technology Dallara during practice at Iowa Speedway. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

As for the grid of the Elite Eight, the highest position on points going into the eighth race of the season goes to Oriol Servia at 10th position.

POS./Car# - Driver - Hometown - Car - Sponsor Name - Team

10/5 - Oriol Servia - Pals, Spain - No Sponsor - KV Racing Technology

11/8 - Will Power - Toowoomba, Australia - Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia - KV Racing Technology

13/33 - EJ Viso - Caracas, Venezuela - PDVSA - HVM Racing

16/06 - Graham Rahal - Columbus, Ohio - No Sponsor - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

17/36 - Enrique Bernoldi - Curitiba, Brazil - Sangari - Conquest Racing

20/02 - Justin Wilson - Sheffield, England - McDonald's - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

21/34 - Jaime Camara - Goiania, Brazil – Sangari - Conquest Racing

24/19 - Mario Moraes - Sao Paulo, Brazil - Sonny's Bar-B-Q - Dale Coyne Racing

... notes from The EDJE

Pacific Coast Motorsports Takes A Break From Competition

The Pacific Coast Motorsports headquarters facility in Ventura County where the two Visit Mexico City Dallaras are at home getting the attention a season run for the balance of 2008 and all of 2009 requires. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

Pacific Coast Motorsports Takes A Break From Competition

The last IndyCar Series race in Texas proved to be a successful outing for the driver and team of Pacific Coast Motorsports. What team owner Tyler Tadevic was able to conclude by completing a full race on the high-banked one and a half mile oval track is that with limited resources, it might be better to take extra time and prepare the two Visit Mexico City Dallara cars in a proper way with the expectation that it would be better to compete through chasing the season as opposed to having the season chase them.

So, instead of hitting the road on to Iowa and beyond for the next seven weeks, why not miss a race or two and rejoin the frey with the preparation and knowledge gained by the kind of shoptime a sponsored effort through the end of the 2009 ICS season would suggest.

Pacific Coast Motorsports Team Owner and President, Tyler Tadevic pictured in front of the shock absorber compartment in the team's primary Transporter. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (The EDJE) 2008

“I’ve decided to keep the team at our headquarters in California to re-evaluate and strengthen our program,” said Team Owner, Tyler Tadevic. He continued,

“Pacific Coast Motorsports and the Mexico City Tourism Board are committed to IndyCar. PCM has a contract with Mexico City through 2009 and this has always been our building year."

Along with our partners, we have determined we are going to take some time to re-evaluate our resources and determine how to strengthen our 2008 program and better prepare for a competitive 2009 season,” said Team Owner, Tyler Tadevic.

PCM was the last of the Champ Car “transition” teams to debut in the IndyCar series. Coming off their first podium finish at the Long Beach Grand Prix, PCM ran their IndyCar for the first time during rookie orientation at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite a valiant effort throughout the month of May, the team did not qualify for the 92nd running of the Indy 500. One week later they made their first IndyCar start at The Milwaukee Mile. Experience, hard work and professionalism paid off for PCM at Texas Motor Speedway, two-weeks ago.

Mario Dominguez and his crew enjoyed improved results at the 1.5 mile-speedway. Dominguez started 24th of 28 cars and finished the event in 21st position. While these are not the type of results Dominguez or his crew are used to, they were proof of PCM’s expedited effort in learning and developing the set-up and strategies for their new environment, the IndyCar Series.

Tadevic continued, “In light of where we are in our effort and the limited resources available, there is no sense in taking risks which could put us further behind. We came into the series late and we cannot compete for a top-ten position in the championship this season, so we are taking this time to build our second car and to focus-on and prepare-for the job ahead."

"The transition has been extremely difficult, especially with the intensity of the IndyCar schedule. Despite our late start, we have been able to compete and garner publicity for our partners in Mexico City. We’ve also enhanced the fan base for the IndyCar series. The series has been very supportive and we look forward to our future in IndyCar,” said Tadevic.

Fans in Southern California and Mexico all look forward to the day when Mario Dominguez and the team at Pacific Coast Motorsports are able to take to the track, buttoned down and ready to go.

... notes from The EDJE