No Magic For Power In Round 11 Of 17 At Mid-Ohio

Scott Dixon preparing for warm-up session on race day. Dixon went on to win the Honda 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Dan Helrigel via IZOD IndyCar Series



No Magic For Power In Round 11 Of 17 At Mid-Ohio



The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Round 11 of 17 delivered a fatal blow to Will Power's chances at getting his first IndyCar Series (ICS) season championship. The Verizon Penske Racing Dallara driver, who was on track to get the ICS championship last year up until the final race of the season when Dario Franchitti was able to eclipse Power's season points total, was looking to climb back into the challenge at 38 points behind and a perfect track for his talents, was caught out twice in pit stop strategy by full course cautions.



"We were making great fuel mileage and we were going to go a lap or two longer than the leaders on the second stop, which would have put us in great position to challenge for the race lead in the last stint," said Power of the Lap 58 incident involving contact between the cars of Graham Rahal and Danica Patrick. "Basically, today we suffered for doing a great job of driving a smart race. We just got caught out by that last yellow flag.”



Will Power as he is being followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series



This dropped Power to P16 and allowed Target Chip Ganassi team-mates to duke it out for the win with Scott Dixon passing Dario Franchitti on a restart to eventually take the win. It may have been doubtful if Will Power had anything for the Scott Dixon Dallara because of how well the driver and car had been hooked up all weekend long (fastest Lap - 1:09.1271 / 76), but to finish so far down in the order with a competitive car (set 2nd fastest lap late in the race - 1:09.2376 / 85), placed a stake through the heart (a loss of 24 points against Franchitti - at 62 points behind) of Will Power's chances for a ICS season championship. In fact, with the points Scott Dixon gained with his win (he is now just 29 points behind Power with six races left), Will Power may not even become a repeat "bridesmaid" (runner-up) at season's end in 2011.



The Penske Racing fleet of Dallara cars had a terrible outing at Mid-Ohio. After qualifying Ryan Briscoe at P2, Will Power at P4, and Helio Castroneves at P15, the three drivers end up with Power at P14, Briscoe at P16 and Castroneves at P19.



Newman-Haas's Oriol Servia runs nearly side-by-side with replacement driver for Dreyer & Reinbold's Simon Pagenaud. at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Image Credit: Chris Jones via IZOD IndyCar Series



KV Racing Technology ended up having a fair showing with two of their three cars placing in the top five. Takuma Sato missed the podium for the second time this year, repeating his finishing position at the street course in St. Petersburg at P4 (qualified P9) followed by Tony Kanaan at P5 (qualified P16) ... a good outing for E.J. Viso who finished the race running, and came in just behind Will Power at P15 after qualifying in P12.



Last note: Justin Wilson had an off in turn one and compressed his back but at this point, it does not look like he will need surgery as Vitor Meira required when he suffered a similar injury. He was replaced by former ChampCar World Series driver and ALMS Champion, Simon Pagenaud, in the Dreyer & Reinbold #22 Roll Coater Dallara and delivered a steady performance coming in ahead of Power at P13 after taking the Green Flag at P18.



Said Pagenaud after the race, “Considering that I was thrown into the car yesterday morning, I think that it was a good weekend. Obviously qualifying was a bit of a roller coaster for me with getting in the car quickly and trying to do my best. We started at the back in 18th position. It’s difficult to pass here, so we finished 13th. We had a really good racecar, but it’s just frustrating because I didn’t have the chance to run by myself and show the pace of the car. I think that the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Roll Coater car was one of the fastest out there today. We just needed to qualify up front and we would have been okay. All in all, considering the bad luck that the team had all weekend, the team should be glad about that. Bia did a great job and we should all be proud. We will see what happens next.”



Round 12 of 17 sends the teams off to the oval at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where the race is set to be run August 14, broadcast at 3:30pm ET on Versus.



... notes from The EDJE





[Article first published as No Magic for Power in Round 11 of 17 at Mid-Ohio on Technorati]

Will Power Gets Back In The Saddle, KVRT-Lotus Stumbles At The Honda Edmonton Indy

Will Power jumps from his Verizon Penske Racing Dallara while in the winner's circle. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series/Shawn Gritzmacher

Will Power Gets Back In The Saddle, KVRT-Lotus Stumbles At The Honda Edmonton Indy

The Honda Edmonton Indy, the 11th race in a 18 race season of the 2011 IndyCar Series Championship, with its new track layout, proved to be a little less of a bump and run affair than predicted but was not without its contentions. In the end, at 55 points down to series points leader and last year's Championship winner, Dario Franchitti, Will Power came away from Edmonton with a commanding performance for the win.

Great hope bubbled over and finally fizzed out for two of the three team-mates of KV Racing Technology-Lotus. Takuma Sato qualified in the Peak Pole position and E.J. Viso in position 5 on the grid and as predicted, turns #1, #5, and #13 were pivotal to the fortunes (or lack thereof) of these KVRT-Lotus drivers.

KVRT-Lotus' Takuma Sato leads the field through turn one with Will Power, Dario Franchitti, and E.J. Viso in tow. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series/Shawn Gritzmacher

At the drop of the checkered flag, Takuma Sato led the field in strong fashion until he locked-up his brakes before turn #13 on Lap 19 which allowed eventual winner Will Power to steal the lead. After the first pit stop, the Japanese driver had fallen back to P5 but surged to the front again following a spectacular re-start through turns #1, #2, and #3. He sliced back into second behind Power under braking for the Turn #5 hairpin, while just behind in P4, his team-mate Viso slid into Scott Dixon, spun and stalled.

E.J. Viso said: "I started up at the front and on one of the restarts I made contact with Dixon, which I feel bad about as he finished the race some laps behind. It was a pretty messy corner and I got too close and braked on the inside and we hit. I then lost a lap waiting to be restarted and from then on there was not much else we could do. We had a pretty fast car during the race. I think I got the second fastest time and we showed we were strong as a team all weekend. I want to thank everyone who is part of KVRT–Lotus who has helped make us stronger and also my sponsors PDVSA. I really feel bad. I thought we had a chance for a podium." E.J. finished the race in P20.

As for Sato, he was able to soldier on until he had a problem with another driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay with Andretti Autosports, battling for space in turn #13.

Takuma Sato said: "It is disappointing finishing in the back like this. The start was very exciting. I had a good feeling leading the race. Then I had a little problem with the balance and lost some positions. After that there was a caution and we changed tires. On the restart I regained most of the positions and was running in second. Everything was looking good and I was comfortable with the pace, but unfortunately Hunter–Reay hit me and damaged my car and put me a lap down. It was a long race after that and very difficult to stay motivated. I feel very bad for all the crew. They worked so hard all weekend. It was a positive weekend for us until the middle of the race. I am just so disappointed." Takuma Sato finished the race just behind Viso in P21.

Tony Kanaan shows his experience by quietly driving his Geico sponsored KVRT-Lotus Dallara from a starting position of 11th place to finishing in position 4 and staying out of trouble. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series/Daniel Incandela

On the brighter side, KV Racing Technology-Lotus driver Tony Kanaan finished fourth on the re-configured airport tarmac asphalt in Edmonton on Sunday.

"It was a good result, it was a good race and it's great for the Geico – KV Racing - Lotus crew," Kanaan said. "If felt good being out there with those guys, you know, all guys that know what they are doing like Justin, Ryan and Dario. We had some great battles and finishing fourth after starting eleventh, and on top of that having a bad pit stop, is pretty rewarding, especially considering that I got back to fourth in the championship. I feel bad for my teammates because I know that all the three KV cars were supposed to be in the top-five."

As for Will Power, last years points leader at this stage of the season and eventual runner-up to Dario Franchitti was able to claw his way back into the championship fight. Starting the day 55 points down, Will was able to pass and hold off the challenges of Takuma Sato, team-mate Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti to gain 17 points (15 points for position and 2 points for most laps led) in the season points championship.

Will Power will enter the next race at another road course only 38 points down, at a race track where he has had some success at but has never won. Last year, for example, he qualified for the pole, but the driver who qualified in P2 ended up winning while Power finished in P2. Yes, that driver was the Target Chip Ganassi Racing #10 Dallara, Dario Franchitti.

Former ChampCar World Series team and driver begin a consistent run. Dale Coyne Racing and Sebastien Bourdais respectively register two top 10 finishes in a row, and post a race fastest lap in Edmonton through the Canadian swing in the season schedule. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series

FYI - It took only 78.9590 seconds for Dale Coyne Racing's Sebastien Bourdais to record the fastest lap of the race on Lap 80 of the 80-lap event. "SeaBass" ... the former annual ChampCar World Series champion (he won four consecutive driver championships with Newman/Haas Racing) finished in P6 over the two Canadian events (Toronto and Edmonton) which represent the season's best finishes for him and Dale Coyne Racing.

The attrition in a race that was expected to be high, due to tempers that may have flared at the end of the full course Yellow Flag plagued Honda Indy Toronto and the track re-configuration with the tight turns of #1, #5, and #13 at the end of long straightaways, was very low. Eighteen (18) cars finished on the lead lap -- the highest total of the season.

... notes from The EDJE


[Article first published as Will Power Gets Back In The Saddle, KVRT-Lotus Stumbles At The Honda Edmonton Indy on Technorati]

Honda-Powered Dallaras Heat Up The Streets (and driver tempers) Of The Honda Indy Toronto

Will Power leads the field from P1 at the Honda Indy Toronto. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series

Honda-Powered Dallaras Heat Up The Streets (and driver tempers) Of The Honda Indy Toronto

Round 10 of 18, the Honda Indy Toronto proved to be one of the toughest tests of man, women, and machine of the season. We are beginning the second half of the season and what was shaping up to be a tightly contested two to four driver series championship points race was undone in part due to timing and, of course, full course yellow flag caution periods.

Will Power, entered the race by securing the pole, but still 20 points down to Dario Franchitti, the driver that took the points lead last year in the last race in order to secure his third IndyCar Series Championship. Will Power has done well here in Toronto (reining 2010 race winner) and he was hoping to climb back in the middle of the race for the season points lead on the strength of his Firestone Fast Six Peak Pole Award starting position.

The flag drops to start the race and everything looked good at the beginning because Will's car and his driving skill had the best of the two red Target Chip Ganassi racing Dallaras behind him. At about lap 27, Dario Franchitti heads into the pits a little early to shake things up and get on a different pit sequence and this became the first chink in Power's hold on the lead. Three laps later, Power teammate Helio Castroneves spins out Alex Tagliani in turn 3 bringing out the second full course caution out of eight in the race. This, on restart, places Dario Franchitti at the lead of the race and in attitudinal control from this point forward.

Double-file restarts become the attention draw they were intended to be, with three-wide contests going into turn one and cleaning themselves up by turn two, only to increase the level of contest going into the end of a high-speed straight at turn three where most of the day's full course cautions were launched.

By lap 54, with the help of a slowing Simona de Silvestro, Power was able to gain enough spots to pass by and get ahead of Dario Franchitti where Power felt he could recapture the lead of the race on pit sequence, but Dario had other ideas. When the next time these two drivers came to turn 3, Dario decided to stick his nose in where there wasn't any room and pulled off a NASCAR style punt on Will ... and spun him around. By the time Will Power was able to get turned back around and running, he was back in the fields at P13. The IndyCar Series Championship points gap between Franchitti and Power enlarges to 55 before going on to Round 12 of 18 at Edmonton, July 24th, 2011.

Helmet of the points leading Dario Franchitti as he and his team celebrates the contraversial win at Exposition place in Toronto. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series

This excerpted and edited from Racer -

Power slams Franchitti after clash
RACER - July 11, 2011

Afterward a furious Power said the series officials should have taken action against Franchitti.

"It doesn't surprise me that he didn't get a penalty, because he never gets penalized, it's pretty typical," said Power in an interview with Versus. "It was a pretty dirty move. He just turned me around. Does anyone ever penalize this guy? He's as dirty as you like.

"I left the inside open on the brakes. I'm really disappointed with Dario. I always race him clean, and he always races me dirty. He did the same at St. Pete, though I didn't say anything, and he did the same today. Disappointed in Dario. The guy who mouths off about everyone and whinges about everyone, and he's the guy who races the most dirty, never gets a penalty from IndyCar. It's just not right."
[Reference Here]

There was a lot more that ended up not being right as there was hot action around turn three, the pits, and the rest of the track for that matter.

Alex Tagliani's car goes airborne after colliding with Danica Patrick's car on the streets of Toronto. Patrick was able to return to the race after having the nose of her car replaced with a spare part from teammate Marco Andretti. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series

Danica Patrick, for her part, finished yet another race in rolling condition, extending her IZOD IndyCar Series record to 43, but this was not without incident. She ran well all race after starting P21 of 26 cars, concentrating at going fast and had worked her way up to the top 10 when she entered turn three with the Dale Coyne Racing Dallara of James Jakes turned around in the corner on lap 71. To avoid contact, Danica ended up pushing Alex Tagliani's Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara (not his first incident in the race) up on its sidepod along the wall as he, a Canadian crowd favorite, luckily misses injury. This results in damaging Danica's front wing and delivers the eighth and final full course yellow.

Confusion ensues for Danica and her team as they do not have a replacement for her damaged front wing. As it turns out, Andretti Autosport gave the wing away to support the effort of teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay on his way to a podium (P3) finish but did not anticipate another incident. As Danica had wait in her pit, Antretti Autosport found a wing in Marco Andretti's pit (Marco finished in P4) and rushed it over to Patrick's pit and it was installed. One can only wonder, if Andretti Autosport were prepared for the Patrick incident (or just any team incident - bad team management process), where would she have ended the race ... probably a lot better than P19 and the next to the last car running on the track ahead of KV Racing Technologies/Lotus team's Takuma Sato, both ending the race six laps down.

One of many of the picturesque views to be had at one of the premiere temporary street courses in North America - the Honda Indy Toronto. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series

The crowd was big and full of the excitement generated throughout the race by the close wheel-to-wheel, carbon-fiber action. Can any standard oval race course deliver this kind of intensity and competition throughout a race?

Street and road courses look great on TV and the action on small bullring (1 mile or less) courses with close open wheel action has fans on the edge of their seats leaving the regular oval track wanting for something other than "event" trappings to bring people to the track or turning on their TV sets! It is a question fair to ask.

... notes from The EDJE


[Article first published as Honda-Powered Dallaras Heat Up The Streets (and driver tempers) Of The Honda Indy Toronto on Technorati]

Honda Indy Toronto - Round 10 of 18, "Tweet"-By-LiveBlog Entry

After winning the pole in Toronto, @12WillPower talks with Versus. #indycarmobile. Image Credit: twitpic - Penske Racing


Honda Indy Toronto - Round 10 of 18, "Tweet"-By-LiveBlog Entry

Will Power's love affair with the Toronto street course continued after he snared pole position for Sunday's Honda Indy Toronto.

The Australian, who has claimed pole positions in the last eight IndyCar road race events, checked-in with a 59.577-second best lap on the 2.82km Exhibition Place street course for his 21st career pole.

But while Power is the defending champion in Toronto, taking top spot on the grid was a new highlight for him.

"Man, we really had to work hard for that," Power said after securing the Firestone Fast Six Peak Pole Award. "I've never won a pole here in Toronto and I love this place. When you turn a fast lap here, you're really just exhausted. This is such a physical track. It's a real driver's track with all the different surfaces and all the bumps, you really need to wring its neck out there and that's what I love about it."

Power goes into today's race trailing rival and two-time defending series champion Dario Franchitti by 20 points on the 2011 IndyCar Series championship standings. New Zealander, Scott Dixon sits between Power and Franchitti in qualifying and will start alongside the Australian in the front-row while Franchitti starts from P3.

"It's great to be on pole here but this is a track where you can really pass a lot of cars and move forward from the back," Power said.

Track Map - Honda Indy Toronto temporary street course. Image Credit: jamesjakes.com

The race started on time with the following entries, initially "Tweets" from Twitter, then direct, live blogging entries during the course of the race. The race transpired as follows:

Meeshbeer Meeshbeer - Green! Green! Green!!

IndyCar IZOD IndyCar Series - We're green! http://racecontrol.indycar.com/

MoreFrontWing More Front Wing - Can't believe lap 1 was clean! Amazing.

Talked too soon!!! Briscoe and Kanaan make contact on LAP 3.

FollowAndretti Andretti Autosport - Full course caution. Kanaan with a bit of contact.

SBPopOffValve PopOffValve.com - I am sure @TonyKanaan is going to unfollow me and never speak to me again after I picked him to win this week.

Meeshbeer Meeshbeer – RESTART - Green! Green! Green!!

MoreFrontWing More Front Wing - Awesome restart!

LAP 8 Danica and Taku get together … come to pits

LAP 27 – Franchitti pits.

LAP 30 – Tagliani and Castroneves get together in turn 3, spins Tags – Full Course Caution

Fieldof33 Paul Dalbey - Stop me if you've heard this before... Helio takes another driver out of the race and screws over his teammate.

SBPopOffValve PopOffValve.com - Helio NERFED Tags. Hmm. Unprecedented HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

After pitstops – Franchitti, Servia, Wilson, RHR, Hinchtown, Briscoe, Meira, Tracy, Andretti, Hildebrand, Jakes, then Power, Dixon, Conway, and Rahal.

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN double file RESTART LAP 36!

LAP 38 Tracy and Hinchcliff get together, damaged front wing on Tracy

Jakes has a problem, spins in turn 9 – Full Course Yellow LAP 39

RESTART LAP 43 - Franchitti, Servia, Wilson, RHR, Briscoe, Dixon, Andretti, Meira Conway, Power, Hildebrand.

LAP 44 cars dive into pitlane – Servia has a pick-up problem, gets passed by Wilson and RHR.

Andretti gets past Dixon and Briscoe to P5

LAP 46 sees Conway get around Meira for P7 then Briscoe for P6 followed by Power around Mreira for P7

LAP 47 Tracy clobbers Meira and takes him out of the race Full Course Yellow

LAP 48 everyone gets into the pits for tires and fuel … may be the last stop.

LAP 49 Graham Rahal leads the field due to an earlier pitstop – then Viso, de Silvestro, RHR, Beatriz, Franchitti, Wilson, Dixon, Power and Andretti round out the top 10.

RHR may be in the best position to go to the end without a pitstop for fuel.

RESTART LAP 52 side-by-side with lapped Tagliani gives Rahal all he can handle – passes Rahal to get his lap back.

Ryan Hunter-Reay gets past de Silvestro LAP 53 and now Power gets past several cars and runs in P6 ahead of Franchitti.

LAP 54 Power passes de Silvestro for P5 – Conway heads for the pits with damage.

Full Course Yellow – Will Power gets turned around by Dario Franchitti in turn 4 Power stalled.

Franchitti now in P5 behind Wilson on LAP 58 during the 5^th full course caution.

RESTART LAP 61 side-by-side with Rahal, RHR, Viso, Wilson, Franchitti, Dixon, Servia, Andretti … Power back at P16

Viso locks up his tires and causes a flat when Wilson tries to pass, Dixon now past Wilson.

Graham will need a 44 lap tank full in order to maintain position and win ... or just finish the race.

Top 5 are Rahal, Hunter-Reay, Franchitti, Dixon and Wilson.

Franchitti passes RHR on lap 64

Will Power gets booted into the tire barrier by Tagliani on LAP 66 – possible 45 points down to Franchitti

Yellow helps Rahal on his load of fuel with 18 laps to go.

Top 5 shows Rahal, Franchitti, RHR, Dixon, and Wilson. Will Power out of the car unable to continue and will finish at P 24

LAP 68 Rahal chooses to start from the left on the side-by-side and the restart gets waived off – was this on purpose – for gas?

RESTART LAP 69 – waived off

RESTART LAP 70 – Rahal gets a leap and the GREEN Flag flies – 77 Tagliani goes up on it side as he gets together with James Jakes

Full Course Yellow - can you say destruction derby? Patrick hits Jakes which caused a chain reaction with Tagliani – lost in all of this is that Franchitti gets around Rahal in turn 3 for the lead

LAP 76 RESTART – Top 5 are Franchitti, Rahal, Dixon, RHR, and Wilson.

Three wide into turn 1, Wilson gets turned and collects several cars that include Servia, Hinchcliff and a couple of others. Rahal gets passed by Dixon but it was under Yellow and gets sent back. Andretti causes the chain reaction incident.

LAP 80 RESTART – Top 5 are Franchitti, Rahal, Dixon, RHR, and Andretti.

Rahal almost passes Franchitti through 1 and 2, gets spun by Dixon and Rahal gets booted back to P13.

Dixon charges on to Franchitti and if Dario wins it will be a 55 point lead from 20 before the race over Power going into Edmonton.

LAP 83 of 85 laps it Franchitti, Dixon and newlywed Ryan Hunter-Reay in 1-2-3!

Five car lengths separate Franchitti and Dixon who is closing. Both are pulling away from Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Checkered Flag, Dario Franchitti wins for the fourth time this season and the third time at the Toronto street course venue. 30 career wins gives him 9^th all-time and passes Rick Mears who posted 29 wins in his career. Further, Franchitti is now one win shy of tying Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais for eighth on the all-time wins list with 31.

Graham Rahal would have made it on fuel but he believes that if RHR did not hit him, he would have been on the podium. Maybe we should just call this a honeymoon gift.

Marco Andretti gained 16 positions in the race and moves up one position in the overall championship.

An exciting race to watch and listen to but a horrible race for the ChampCar proud fans of Will Power, Graham Rahal, and Oriol Servia. In the end, Sebastien Bourdais and EJ Viso were the only ChampCar transition drivers to make it into the top ten … and this, technically, is one of their tracks.

Dario Franchitti celebrates with his team in the winners podium at the Honda Indy Toronto - Before turning a lap, Franchitti issued a cautionary note about 26 cars squeezing through the narrow twists and turns of the 1.755-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street course in the Honda Indy Toronto. “Small mistakes will be punished, and in some cases, it could take out multiple cars,” the IZOD IndyCar Series championship points leader said. Image Credit: chipganassiracing.com

How they finished:

Pos - Driver - Team - Time/Gap

1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 85 laps
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 0.7345s
3. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti + 6.0144s
4. Marco Andretti Andretti + 7.5671s
5. Vitor Meira Foyt + 9.0117s
6. Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne + 9.3114s
7. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 9.8735s
8. JR Hildebrand Panther + 14.1750s
9. EJ Viso KV + 14.7843s
10. Simona de Silvestro HVM + 15.7603s
11. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold + 16.8992s
12. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas + 19.8736s
13. Graham Rahal Ganassi + 21.3123s
14. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas + 1 lap
15. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 2 laps
16. Paul Tracy Dragon + 3 laps
17. Helio Castroneves Penske + 4 laps
18. James Jakes Dale Coyne + 4 laps
19. Danica Patrick Andretti + 6 laps
20. Takuma Sato KV + 6 laps

Retirements:

Charlie Kimball Ganassi 77 laps
Mike Conway Andretti 76 laps
Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 71 laps
Will Power Penske 66 laps
Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 43 laps
Tony Kanaan KV 2 laps
(ht: autosport.com)

One final post-race Tweet came across the screen as this posting was being finalized ...

12WillPower Will Power -by toomuchracing - @dariofranchitti hey princess thanks for that nice tap today--appreciate it

The Edmonton Indy, Round 11 of 18 takes place at Rexall Edmonton Indy Speedway - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - on Versus at 2:00pm ET, July 24, 2011.

... notes from The EDJE


(Article first published as Honda Indy Toronto - Round 10 of 18, "Tweet"-By-LiveBlog Entry on Technorati)

2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300

Dario Franchitti looks to win the 2010 IndyCar title tonight in Miami. Image Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300

So it comes down to this ... ChampCar transition player Will Power is only 12 points ahead of two-time IndyCar Series Champion Dario Franchitti going into this last of 17 races in the 2010 season. If Will Power is able to finish just behind or better Dario at the end of the race, he will be crowned Champion of this 2010 season. However, if Dario wins the race and gets the points for most laps led ... it doesn't matter where Will Power finishes.

All during practice at the Homestead/Miami oval track, Power was able to run the fastest laps but when it came down to qualifying Dario Franchitti was able to put together two laps that placed him at the top of the grid in P1, teammate Scott Dixon in P2, and Will Power tucked in nose-to-tail right behind Franchitti in P3.

Here is how the 27 car field will line up (** denotes CCWS Transition Player Team or Driver):

Pos - Driver - Team - Speed
1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 213.187mph
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi 212.908mph
3. Will Power** Penske 212.580mph
4. Ryan Briscoe Penske 212.158mph
5. Dan Wheldon Panther 211.933mph
6. Justin Wilson** Dreyer & Reinbold 211.630mph
7. Ed Carpenter Panther/Vision 211.444mph
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti 211.392mph
9. Takuma Sato KV** 211.355mph
10. Helio Castroneves Penske 211.240mph
11. Danica Patrick Andretti 211.013mph
12. EJ Viso** KV** 210.928mph
13. Mario Moraes** KV** 210.741mph
14. Bertrand Baguette Conquest** 210.738mph
15. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 210.715mph
16. Marco Andretti Andretti 210.698mph
17. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher 210.671mph
18. Graham Rahal** Newman/Haas** 210.629mph
19. Alex Tagliani** FAZZT 210.520mph
20. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 210.030mph
21. Vitor Meira Foyt 210.017mph
22. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne** 209.433mph
23. Raphael Matos** De Ferran Dragon 209.311mph
24. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest** 209.308mph
25. Simona de Silvestro** HVM** 208.986mph
26. Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas** 208.579mph
27. Milka Duno Dale Coyne** 207.961mph
(ht: autosport.com)

The IZOD IndyCar Series will take the green flag one last time at the Homestead-Miami Speedway tonight for the Cafés do Brasil Indy 300. Besides being the final race of the IndyCar season, it will be the final race of the near future at Homestead, after the longtime open-wheel hosts and the sanctioning body could not come to an agreement for a 2011 event.

As such, expect tonight to be a show of great magnitude, with both sides looking to go out with a bang.

Here begins the last play-by-play via Tweet-By-Tweet of an IZOD IndyCar Series race of the season ... so let the TWEETING begin!

FollowAndretti Tom Vossman of #Inland presenting @RacingForCancer the $10k check! http://plixi.com/p/48416770

MyNameIsIRL This intro has been one giant Penske/Ganassi lovefest.

TheEDJE @MyNameIsIRL If it were not for the fact that Will Power is a Transition Player - it would be BOREING! #indyCar #IZOD

RaceDrive Ok tweeps - have a great racing night - we are right there with you - in turn 1 #Indycar

factbytefactbox "We're ten minutes away from the command to start your engines." #izodindycar #irl

IndyCarNation Join us for the IZOD IndyCar Series Season Finale for the Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 from Homestead-Miami Speedway... http://fb.me/L4Sgzh1Q

kvracing National anthem been sung, drivers in their cars, just waiting for the command

VersusIndyCar Hey #IndyCar fans come join the chat with us and @kevingraham1280 while we watch the last race of the season! http://ow.ly/2Nvcr

PCaporali Getting ready for the start of the #IndyCar race. What the hell is my heart doing in my throat?!

Engines Fire Up! - Drivers start your engines!

Fieldof33 @99forever I did too read it. I still argue that Dario's year on twisties has been much stronger than WP's on ovals & there4 a better year.

GREEN!, GREEN!, GREEN! - 2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 begins!

openpaddock Powder Keg is going off baby GREEN GREEN GREEN!!!

IndyCarNation Marco Andretti #26 started 16th and is already up to 7th place on lap 4

openpaddock wow...look at the sparks!!!

Newman_Haas God Speed to all drivers but especially Hideki and @GrahamRahal. Green!

curtcavin Can't imagine Dixon passing Dario for the lead at all tonight. #indycar

IndyCarNation Green flag with Franchitti and Dixon leading Power and Briscoe around as the sparks fly

99forever Okay, so if Dario leads the most laps but Will wins, Will gets the title on race wins, right?

TheEDJE @99forever EXACTLY - Dario needs to lead with most laps and win to make it that it doesn't matter where Will is!

indy44 RT @JPIndycar: Dario Going to have two wingmen - Dixon AND TK...

IndyCarNation Under green conditions the estimated pit window is 46-50 laps

IndyCarNation Mario Moraes #32 on pit lane from 8th spot, car is reported as way too loose

16AndGeorgetown LAP 25 - The Championship is completely in Dario's hands, if he continues to lead most laps, and win, he'll be your 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Champ

MyNameIsIRL Geez. Two commercial breaks in the first 24 laps. VERSUS must have some extra bills to pay.

MikeM_PR Lap 30 @justinwilson22 holding P16. Will make adjustments on his first stop

YELLOW Flag - LAP 36, Mario Moraes is stalled on the track

IndyCarNation Mario Moraes #32 team reports they will fix the wishbone issue to get back out as soon as possible

curtcavin When are we going to see the first graphic that says: "If the race ended now ..." Well, let me spoil: Dario wins cuz WP is 8th.

Everyone into the Pits!

GREEN!, GREEN!, GREEN! - 2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 Restarts LAP 42!

kvracing Back to green flag racing, Franchitti, Briscoe, Dixon

YELLOW Flag - LAP 46, Ana Beatriz hits the wall by herself

IndyCarNation Lap 46/200: Under yellow; Franchitti, Briscoe, Kanaan, Dixon, Castroneves, Power, Andretti, Viso, Wheldon, Patrick are top 10

MyNameIsIRL Arute to Conor Daly: "What's the best advice your dad (Derek) told you?" Conor: "Well, he told me not to talk to you." *rimshot*

CrashGladys Just why r the TV guys talking 2 Conor Daly when we know he doesn't want 2go IndyCar racing? F1 is his future & he's made that very clear.

curtcavin Man, Conor Daly looks more like Derek on TV more than he does in person. Kid is going places. #indycar

DRRIndyCar She was on her way back to the pits after slowing on the course

GREEN!, GREEN!, GREEN! - 2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 Restarts LAP 52!

Dixon slow off of the first corner!

kvracing Back to green flag racing. Viso (#8car) is 8th, Sato (#5) is 16th

Three Wide - Franchitti, Briscoe, and on top Kanaan!

curtcavin I know Dario wants to lead every lap until lap 100, but he needs to be careful, he's already led 53 laps. #indycar

IndyCarNation Ryan Briscoe takes the lead to attempt to keep Dario Franchitti from leading the most laps tonight

MarcoZone TK needs to tuck in and push Dario.

Briscoe and Kanaan get past Franchitti LAP 60

IndyCarNation Lap 60: Franchitti falls back to 4th after losing momentum

Newman_Haas Graham up to 9th from 13th. Hideki in 22.

IndyCarNation Lap 65/200: Dixon, Kanaan, Briscoe, Franchitti, Castroneves, Viso, Wheldon, Power, Patrick, Hunter-Reay are top 10

shagers Now we see how Dario runs in traffic. #indycar

deferrandragon Dario 4th, Power 6 --- Dario now 2 points behind

kvracing After 65 laps, Viso is 6th and Sato has moved to 12th

IndyCarNation Lap 70: Kanaan, Dixon, Franchitti, Briscoe, Castroneves, Power, Wheldon, Viso, Hunter-Reay, Patrick are top 10

shagers Power getting better as the stint goes on here. Unlike last stint. #indycar

MyNameIsIRL LAP 73 - Oh look Dario's leading again. That giant sucking sound is the drama slowly leaving the building. Come on, anybody else!

shagers Penske has nothing here to stop Dario getting the most laps led. Now Power has to beat Dario.

Dario is out to a 1/2 second lead on LAP 84 - has a 9 point lead on Power

MikeM_PR Lap 84 @justinwilson22 down 1 lap

curtcavin Remember, Power is defenseless if Dario completes this one. #indycar

BeccyGordon Wondering if @TonyKanaan is laying back a bit to let his bestfriend, Dario, lead the most laps.... I think I'm on to something!

VisionRacing 10 Laps til next stop, additional front wing adjustment, tires, and fuel.

indy44 Too bad TK doesn't have an in-car I would have loved to be listening to his throttle for this race.

IndyCarNation Ryan Briscoe #6 on pit lane for a routine stop - TK and Franchitti in and out as well

indy44 @BeccyGordon Sure looks that way doesn't it?

PCaporali I have not seen the @VisionRacing @Pantherracing No.20 car on TV tonight. NOT once. Not good for sponsors...

MyNameIsIRL He's [Carpenter] only in 7th. RT @PCaporali: I have not seen the @VisionRacing @Pantherracing No.20 car on TV tonight. NOT once. Not good for sponsors.

IndyCarNation Lap 100/200: Tagliani (off sequence), Franchitti, Kanaan, Dixon, Power, Mutoh, Briscoe, Castroneves, Patrick, Wheldon

Alex Tagliani leads this race for the first time - Pitstop cycles - LAP 101 - Race is over halfway!

FollowAndretti Lap 102... TK 2nd, Danica 7th, Marco 9th, Ryan 10th

Fieldof33 Dario saved fuel last year and made it 50 laps per fuel stint. I don't think he can finish this race on 1 more stop if it stays green.

MyNameIsIRL @EJViso had the end of the fuel hose stuck in his car. When you weren't looking he leaned back, chewed it off and spit it into the infield.

IndyCarNation Lap 114: Franchitti and Kanaan running 1-2 with Dixon, Power, Briscoe spread out a bit behind them

TheEDJE LAP 117 to 118 - Dario Franchitti passes the Start/Finish line to capture 2 points for leading the most laps

TheEDJE Will Power needs to lead Franchitti over the line at the end

BeccyGordon RHR's sports are consistently around 204.3 leaders are at 206.8. Mika is running faster. Ryan says there's an issue

shagers Dario got told he got most laps led about 5 laps after we did. #indycar

IndyCarNation Lap 125/200: Franchitti, Kanaan, Dixon, Power, Briscoe, Castroneves, Patrick, Wheldon, Andretti, Meira are top 10

MyNameIsIRL I'm sorry I had my head down typing, but was that another Peak hair care product commercial?

TheEDJE YELLOW Flag LAP 135 - Will Power brushes the wall for about 1/4 mile - Turn Out The Lights, Party's Over - maybe

IndyCarNation Possible right rear suspension damage to Will Power #12 car

16AndGeorgetown If the damage drops WP back to 18th or worse, all DF needs to do is finish 9th or better

MyNameIsIRL Looks like some right rear suspension damage for Power. Fat lady clearing her throat.

Newman_Haas RT @IndyCarNation: Will Power #12 car has been shut down on pit road after sliding in to the pit stall. Headed behind the pit wall...

CrashGladys So Power is out?? Ugh!

MarcoZone Look at Will wringing his hands....poor guy!

indy44 Versus saying it's not over, in other word DON'T CHANGE THE CHANNEL!

TheEDJE @MyNameIsIRL LA, LA LA LA, LA, LA, LA (sung in scale notes)

Will Power back out on the track to take the GREEN Flag with the rest of the field.

PCaporali RT @IndyCarNation: Will Power #12 has rejoined the race on lap 143 and is now currently 5 laps down

IndyCarNation Team Penske did a rear wishbone change in 5 minutes 6 seconds to allow Power #12 to rejoin the field

A group of cars pull into the pits for a LAST fuel stop strategy!

PCaporali Teams REALLY need to tweet more then! Good lessons to learn. RT @SueBrudvig: [snip] But it's NOYB. Welcome to our world. :% #IndyCar

IndyCarNation Will Power is out of the #12 car behind the pit wall - left front now giving problems

PCaporali Yellow was long enough that some cars may NOT have to make another stop. Could make for a more interesting finish. Maybe . #IndyCar

GREEN!, GREEN!, GREEN! - 2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 Restarts LAP 151!

Marco Andretti has a terrific start.

MarcoZone GO @ANDRETTI26 GO!

99forever By my count, that's exactly the second incident this year that's been Will's fault. Not at all the time for it, though.

Will Power can finish no worse than 25th - Franchitti has to finish 10th or better.

IndyRacingNut @MarcoZone Yeah, they can hear the giant sucking sound of fans changing the channel over to Nickelodeon to watch iCarly....LOL

TheEDJE @IndyRacingNut - You must have kids, grandkids, or are ... very creepy!

YELLOW Flag - LAP 187

FollowAndretti RT @IndyCarNation Yellow for debris in turn 2, pits are closed

Newman_Haas Graham said yellow is from Viso and Briscoe making contact

shagers See that NASCAR, when Indycar have yellow for Debris, they actually SHOW you the debris.

TheEDJE Fuel strategy is all over the map - but Dario is still rolling along at 8th position and only 5 points ahead of Will Power

GREEN!, GREEN!, GREEN! - 2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 Restarts LAP 172!

Castroneves takes the lead - three wide with Dixon ans Kanaan

MyNameIsIRL Who needs more yellows when you can't conduct a simple restart? *facepalm*

TheEDJE YELLOW Flag - Milka Duno looking for sponsorship time - Fuel Strategy back on track

PCaporali Hmm... well didn't see that coming.... Dario saw his race flash before his eyes!

99forever Milka. That's the capper, right there. Hands up, everyone who's glad we're not finishing here next year.

Fieldof33 @99forever You're not enjoying this race?

99forever @Fieldof33 I am, but there's a lot that's bizarre and annoying. A lot isn't the track's fault, but I just think Homestead has a yucky vibe.

GREEN!, GREEN!, GREEN! - 2010 IndyCar Series Final At Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 Restarts LAP 180, 20 to go!

IndyCarNation Lap 180/200: #9, #11, #7, #3, #4, #14, #26, #6, #10, #02, #77, #20, #37, #34, #5, #36, #2, #19, #8, #22 are top 20

SBPopOffValve Security Chief Charles keeps Ashley from heading to infield care center to dance angrily at Milka for nearly taking Dario out. #couldhappen

MyNameIsIRL Umm, Franchitti is in 9th. He needs to finish 10th or better. DRAMA!!!!

kvracing Sato moved to P13 on restart

Newman_Haas RT @FirestoneRacing: #indycar @HomesteadMiami: Franchitti is last car on lead lap in 9th place. He only needs to (cont) http://tl.gd/6abn7n

MarcoZone just me or was Danistar doing a little "wiggle" to keep Helio behind her?

kvracing 10 laps remain, Sato is 14th, Viso 19th. Dixon leads Kanaan then Patrick. Franchitti 8th

MarcoZone WHY OH WHY can't TK & Danica just work together so SOMEONE beats a red car?!?!?

SBPopOffValve Danica: "That's it! I'm going to NASCAR where they don't race you as hard!" #couldhappen

MyNameIsIRL Kanaan is throwing a mondo block party on his, err, teammate Danica. Not feeling the love.

WHITE Flag - Dixon, TK, Patrick, with Franchitti tagging along in 8th

Dario Takes The Checkered Flag - 5 points ahead of Will Power - Marino, Dario's brother won his championship in the ALMS at the Le Petit Grand Prix

indy44 Dario Champion P1 Dixon P2 Danica P3 TK P4 Briscoe P5 Helio P6 Vitor P7 Marco P8 Dario P9 Wheldon P10 Rahal P11 RHR P12 Lloyd P13 Ed

MyNameIsIRL Dixon wins the race and Dario does the donuts

MarcoZone TK looks PISSED!

CrashGladys Uh oh... Helio is yelling at Danica! Eek!! #indycar

MyNameIsIRL Hold the phone - Helio is coming over to do a little finger pointing at Danica. No grabbing of the clothing or throwing of equipment though.

IndyCarNation Dario Franchitti is your 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Overall and Oval Champion! Congrats to Dario and Target Chip Ganassi Racing!

racintoday Franchitti, Ganassi Win IndyCar Championship http://bit.ly/9rmHTi #indycar

... notes from The EDJE