Toyota GP of Long Beach: Owner Andretti Predicted Hunter-Reay Win

Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport becomes the first American born driver to win a race in this 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2010)

Toyota GP of Long Beach: Owner Andretti Predicted Hunter-Reay Win

With the confidence that comes from being a multiple time race winner here at motorsports premiere temporary street course race at Long Beach, Michael Andretti predicted that his recently signed driver (a test for a few races to begin), Ryan Hunter-Reay, would win the race.

What makes this prediction almost astounding is that none of the cars had set a tire anywhere on Shoreline Drive and he made this prediction at a post induction ceremony interview on Thursday, April 15, 2010, where he, along with Danny Sullivan, was honored with an achievement medallion in the sidewalk along the Long Beach Motorsports Walk Of Fame located in front, and the West side, of the Long beach Convention Center along Pine Avenue.

As for the race itself, Will Power was able to hold on for third place on the podium and increase his early season points lead. On the 17th/18th lap, his car experienced a transmission performance interruption (stuck in gear after turn 11 along the front straight) allowing the P2 and P3 qualifiers of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson respectively to get by along the 190 mph Shoreline Drive. For Ryan's part, he showed why he is one of the most respected drivers in the series when he exhibited extreme patience having to follow the Boy Scouts of America sponsored car of Alex Lloyd (Dale Coyne Racing) all the while Justin Wilson and Will Power whittled away at the margin of time between these chasing cars Hunter-Reay had built up during a rather flawless Green Flag first half of the race. After about five laps, in a "Be Prepared" moment, Ryan muscled past Lloyd, and when Wilson tried to do likewise, the standout Dreyer & Reinbold driver wasn't prepared for Lloyd who turned across the front of Wilson's car and wiped off half its front wing.

Wilson had to come in for a pitstop and a wing change and, of course, this placed him behind the early season IndyCar Series point leader from Penske, Will Power.

On Green Flag restart from a late full course caution track condition - caused when Conquest Racing's Mario Romancini pushed Graham Rahal (Sara Fisher Racing) into the tires on turn 1 - Justin Wilson got the jump on Will Power to reclaim second with a brilliant dive at Turn 1, and while he could not catch Hunter-Reay, the brilliant former CCWS driver from England had no trouble resisting the the fellow former CCWS driver's retaliation attempts, as a Team Penske driver (any Team Penske driver) was thwarted from winning a race for the first time in 2010.

Add the fact that in the post race interview in front of the gathered press, Ryan Hunter-Reay cited his previous Formula Atlantic (2002) and CCWS experience with his positive feelings for the track (which he considers his "home" track) at Long Beach ... one could say Champ Car has never left ... in this, the sophomore year for IndyCar at the famed streets in Long Beach ... for at the end of the race it was P1, P2 , and P3 on the podium for former ChampCar World series experienced drivers!

With the prediction becoming a matter of fact, we, at The EDJE, now wonder if we can tag along with the Long Beach Motorsports Walk Of Fame inductee (he joins his father with this exclusive honor), and IZOD IndyCar team owner, Michael Andretti, to a night at touring the tables in Las Vegas.

How They Fared (** denotes past Driver|Team CCWS ladder affiliation):

Pos Driver Team Gap

1.  Ryan Hunter-Reay**   Andretti                85 laps
2.  Justin Wilson**      Dreyer & Reinbold       + 5.6031s
3.  Will Power**         Penske                  + 8.5864s
4.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi                 + 10.6287s
5.  Tony Kanaan          Andretti                + 11.7732s
6.  Mario Moraes**       KV**                    + 16.5171s
7.  Helio Castroneves    Penske                  + 16.8928s
8.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske                  + 18.2214s
9.  Dan Wheldon          Panther                 + 19.4575s
10.  Mike Conway          Dreyer & Reinbold       + 19.9307s
11.  Vitor Meira          Foyt                    + 27.4005s
12.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi                 + 28.1352s
13.  Hideki Mutoh         Newman/Haas/Lanigan**   + 28.6037s
14.  Marco Andretti       Andretti                + 30.0120s
15.  EJ Viso**            KV**                    + 31.6182s
16.  Danica Patrick       Andretti                + 32.1804s
17.  Simona de Silvestro**HVM**                   + 33.1652s
18.  Takuma Sato          KV**                    + 1 lap
19.  Alex Lloyd           Dale Coyne**            + 1 lap
20.  Raphael Matos**      Luczo Dragon/de Ferran  + 1 lap

Retirements:

Alex Tagliani**      Fazzt                   65 laps
Graham Rahal**       Sarah Fisher            58 laps
Mario Romancini      Conquest**              58 laps
Bertrand Baguette    Conquest**              45 laps
Milka Duno           Dale Coyne**            10 laps
(ht: autosport.com)

Final note - A tweet observed on twitter from someone attending the race went something like this:

Danica must have a THING for me / she has driven by, like, a 100 times already, geeeez!

... notes From The EDJE

Silly Season Nets Another Victim – Rahal Letterman Racing Out Of IRL

RLR On The Hook For 2009 IRL Season - Rahal Letterman Racing’s Dallara of Ryan Hunter-Reay after the accident in turn three at Indy 2008. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

Silly Season Nets Another Victim – Rahal Letterman Racing Out Of IRL

Rahal Letterman Racing has pulled out of the 2009 IndyCar Series because it cannot find a sponsor to support its program.

This action represents what has been a trend in the field of all motorsports where the depressive effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and its expansive economic downturn have prompted team mergers, layoffs, and outright cancellation of a team’s racing effort. Major corporations are trimming their advertising and sponsorship budgets much to the demise in the growth of all forms of motorsports.

American driver Ryan Hunter-Reay drove for RLR last season and won the race last July at Watkins Glen.

Spokesmen for Rahal Letterman Racing say it will continue to seek sponsorship as well as concentrate on its sports car alliance with BMW in the American Le Mans Series.

RLR Team Members Out Of Work For IRL 2009 Season - Rahal Letterman Racing team members at work Indy 2008. Image Credit: Andy Sallee (2008)

This excerpted and edited from The Columbus Dispatch –

Rahal Letterman Racing won't be in IRL this year
By Tim May, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH - Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:59 AM

Hilliard's Rahal Letterman Racing team -- winner of the 2004 Indianapolis 500 -- likely won't stage an Indy Racing League effort for the 2009 season, general manager Scott Roembke said today, but it's not as if the team is shutting its doors.

The team will foot a full-season effort in the GT division of the American LeMans Series carrying the BMW banner. It just finished three days of extensive preseason testing in Sebring, Fla.
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At the moment, though, the team, whose primary owner is three-time IndyCar series champ Bobby Rahal, has no sponsor for an IRL effort. Its primary sponsor from a year ago, Ethanol, pulled its support in the wake of the recession economy and efforts to land a replacement leading up to the April 5 season opener have been fruitless, Roembke said.

"At this time, we will not be in the IRL for 2009," Roembke said this morning. "But we continue to pursue sponsors for the IRL season and for the Indianapolis 500."
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Rahal Letterman won the 2004 Indy 500 with driver Buddy Rice, and ushered Danica Patrick into the IRL in 2005, during which she was the Indy 500 rookie of the year. She jumped to the Andretti Green Racing team in 2007.
Reference Here>>

UPDATE:

Rahal Letterman Down But Not Totally Out - YET

This excerpted and edited from autosport.com -

Rahal still working on 2009 funding
By Matt Beer, autosport.com - Thursday, January 29th 2009, 21:07 GMT

Rahal Letterman Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal says his team should not be counted out of the 2009 IndyCar Series despite suggestions that they would have to withdraw from the championship due to a lack of sponsorship.
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"As I said in the quote from the story, as of this time we do not have any sponsorship that will allow us to compete in the IRL in 2009, but by no means does that mean that we are giving up," Rahal said.

"We are continuing to search for sponsorship to run the 2009 season and to run in the Indianapolis 500 and we feel that there is still time for us to put something together that will allow that to happen."

RLR's Indy Lights programme in conjunction with Andersen Racing is already confirmed for 2009.
Reference Here>>

... notes from The EDJE