News for March 2010

Will Power wins IndyCar race at St. Petersburg

powerstpete.jpgWill Power races during the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. (IndyCar)The early favorite for the April 11 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama has to be Will Power.

Power cruised to an easy win over Justin Wilson today in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a race delayed from Sunday by rain.

Power has established himself as a formidable force on the road and street courses that make up the early part of the Indy schedule. His win today gives him two straight victories, having won the season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Penske driver now takes a commanding leader in the standings with three drivers tied for second 44 points back. Power started on the pole, but the race featured numerous lead changes and quite a bit of passing.

The next race is the inaugural Indy race at Barber Motorsports Park, where Power turned in the fastest time during a February test session.

Power’s Penske teammates, Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves, finished third and fourth.

Dario Franchitti came back from a spin on Lap 1 to post a fifth-place finish. Alex Tagliani was sixth and Danica Patrick finished seventh. Patrick might have had an even better finish if not for the softer red tires she was running at the end of the race.

Raphael Matos was eight. Graham Rahal, driving for Sarah Fisher Racing, finished ninth, even after getting together with Simona De Silvestro and running over her front wing. De Silvestro was in position for a possible top 10 finish but settled for 16th.

Edited: March 30th, 2010

Danica Patrick is back in action at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

One race into the Indy Racing League season, and the year already qualifies as a success for Will Power, the soft-spoken Australian driver for Team Penske. Power won the season opener in Brazil two weeks ago, and was the fastest qualifier for today’s Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which takes the green flag on the downtown street circuit at 3:30 p.m.

Last year, Power, a refugee from the shuttered Champ Car series, was tapped by Penske to stand in for Helio Castroneves, who was (successfully) battling federal tax evasion charges. But in August, at the race at Infineon Raceway in California, Power crashed hard in practice, and left the track in a medical helicopter. His back was badly broken, and his prognosis as a driver was uncertain.

So with the victory in Brazil, it was official: Will Power is back. “It was quite emotional to be honest,” Power said last week, “because when you have an injury like that, you have a lot of downtime during the recovery period. You can become a little bit uncertain whether you’ll come back as strong as you were, and whether you’d be as quick as you were, and that was just confirmation that everything is back as it was.”

This race is also the return to the U.S. market for Danica Patrick, whose much-publicized foray into NASCAR earlier this year is on hold until after the Indianapolis 500. Patrick has had a frustrating time in the IRL this year as she has had trouble getting up to speed in both practice here and at the Brazil race.

She is joined in the field this year by Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro, a graduate of the now-defunct Atlantic series, where she had multiple wins — something Patrick couldn’t accomplish when she was racing in the Atlantics. Backmarker Milka Duno is back, to make a total of three female drivers in the 24-car lineup. Duno qualified 24th, more than five seconds behind the next-slowest car. Patrick qualified 21st, and de Silvestro starts 14th, one spot behind 2009 series champion Dario Franchitti.

Also worth watching is Graham Rahal, son of Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, who found himself without a ride as the season began because his Newman/Haas/Lanigan team lost the McDonalds sponsorship. He sat out Brazil, but driver and team owner Sarah Fisher, who is more comfortable on ovals than street and road courses, offered her Dollar General-sponsored car to Rahal for this race and at the next race April 11 at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. In an unfamiliar car, Rahal, the 2008 winner, will have a tough time repeating this year after qualifying 16th. Also starting from deep in the pack is last year’s winner, Ryan Briscoe, who is in 19th.

Today’s 100-lap IRL race is preceded by a Formula 2000 race at 8 a.m., a World Challenge race at 10:15 a.m., a Star Mazda race at 11:40 a.m., and an Indy Lights race at 12:45 p.m., which will include Kissimmee racer Jonathan Summerton. Typically the American Le Mans Series races here this weekend too, but with the 12 Hours of Sebring being just last week, the ALMS thought it would put too much pressure on the teams to get ready for St. Pete. If the St. Pete race returns to a schedule that allows two weeks between this race and Sebring, expect the ALMS to come back.

Edited: March 29th, 2010

NASCAR Odds To Win Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500

The wing is out, and the spoiler is in.

That’s what the buzz will be around the garage at Martinsville this weekend.

The rear wing came in when NASCAR introduced its “Car of Tomorrow” in 2007, and it did not prove to be the most popular thing. The drivers went 93 races with it, and the general feeling is that it was not a sound thing from an aerodynamics perspective. In fact, even after a victory in the first race with the “COT,” Kyle Busch blasted it.

 To Win Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500

March 26 – Martinsville, VA

  • Jimmie Johnson +250
  • Denny Hamlin +500
  • Jeff Gordon +600
  • Juan Pablo Montoya +1500
  • Kevin Harvick +1500
  • Kyle Busch +1500
  • Mark Martin +1500
  • Kurt Busch +1600
  • Jeff Burton +1800
  • Carl Edwards +2000
  • Clint Bowyer +2000
  • Matt Kenseth +2000

The replacement is more of a traditional spoiler, which appears to make everybody more comfortable.

Obviously Martinsville, with speeds slower than those at Bristol, is not a bad place to break the new accessory in.

The question some people are concerned with: would it prevent a car from going airborne, like Brad Keselowski’s did a few weeks ago in Atlanta?

That’s a good question. It seems to be what some people in NASCAR think. That non-accidental accident was scary, as was the one with Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman at Talladega last year, and indication are that the new addition will reduce the speed of the cars during spins, and could add as much as 100 pounds of additional downforce.

A lot of people are expecting that there will be more side-drafting now, which will cause the cars to run more in packs.

In Wednesday’s testing session which was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, these were the top five speeds:

  • Jeff Burton – 189.215 mph
  • Kevin Harvick – 187.885 mph
  • Juan Pablo Montoya – 186.516
  • Brian Vickers – 185.829
  • AJ Allmendinger – 185.522

At last week’s test at Talladega, speeds exceeded 200 miles an hour. The top three:

  • Denny Hamlin – 202.170 mph
  • Joey Logano – 201.863 mph
  • Brian Vickers – 200.163 mph

Most of the drivers are happy that the spoiler is back. “The spoiler is preferable. It looks like a race car, a stock car, a NASCAR car,” said the wily veteran, Mark Martin. “I started looking at them in the ’70s, and they always had spoilers on them.” (more…)

Edited: March 29th, 2010

Talladega Superspeedway sets Easter Egg Hunt for April 3rd

The sixth Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Talladega Superspeedway which is near Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast  has now been set for April 3rd.

The hunt will take place on the infield of the superspeedway and children 1-10 are invited to this free event.

The Easter Bunny will be there to judge the event and pose for pictures. The winner of the Easter Basket competition will get a 3-foot stuffed Lucky Dog provided by Aaron’s.

17,500 eggs will be hidden in the infield and will be filled with candy and prizes. 50 eggs have prize slips for an 18-inch stuffed Lucky Dog. Some other eggs have prize slips for Superspeedway merchandise.

“This will be our largest Easter Egg Hunt to date,” said Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch.  “Each year we have increased the number of eggs we hide and the number of activities we have during the day.  And, each year, more and more guests show their support for the track and attend ready to hunt eggs.  We look forward to welcoming everyone for the day and making it our best Easter Egg Hunt yet.”

Edited: March 29th, 2010

Rain postpones Martinsville NASCAR race and return of spoiler until Monday at noon

The fans munched on the famous Martinsville hot dogs, the television crew filed the air with driver interviews, and fans at home switched over to the NCAA basketball playoffs.  In the end the weather was the winner Sunday as NASCAR was forced to postpone the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 until Monday.

Rain also canceled Friday’s qualifying session at the Martinsville (VA) track.  As a result, the 43-car field for Sunday’s 500-lap race was set by current car owner points per the NASCAR rulebook.

Perhaps the driver that will be most affected by the delay is Denny Hamlin who had surgery scheduled on his knee for Monday.  The delay in surgery will give him a little less time to rehab his knee before the next scheduled race on April 10 at Phoenix.

The Martinsville race will see the return of the spoiler to the Sprint Cup cars. That debut will have to wait at least one more day.

“I think it’ something that the fans wanted from a cosmetic standpoint”, Stewart-Haas driver Ryan Newman said earlier this week about the spoiler.

“I think NASCAR’s grown so much in the last 50 years with that spoiler on the back of the car, so I think that’s part of it,” Newman continued. “I also feel the safety factor of the wing versus the spoiler is important, as well. I think that wing, as it goes forward, it creates downforce. But when it gets turned around, as it goes backwards, it creates a percentage of lift. That’s what we saw with (Brad) Keselowski’s car at Atlanta and my car at Talladega last year. I think it’s a good thing for multiple reasons.”

Newman, a Purdue engineering graduate, was involved in a tumbling crash last year at Talladega and Keselowski had a similar ride at Atlanta when their cars got airborne.

“We haven’t tested it at a short track,” Newman observed. “I know that we have had our short-track car in the wind tunnel, looking at what effects the spoiler might have on the car, so we’re ready. I’m looking forward to the spoiler’s debut this weekend.”

Edited: March 29th, 2010

TOURISM RELEASES “YEAR OF ALABAMA SMALL TOWNS & DOWNTOWNS” BROCHURE

Montgomery, Ala. — The state tourism department has released a brochure that highlights 215 homecoming events taking place during the Year of Small Towns and Downtowns. The 16-page brochure, titled “The Great Alabama Homecoming,” was designed as a quick reference guide to the 2010 celebrations.

The brochure lists the names of the homecoming celebrations, dates of the events and contact information. The events celebrate food, music, birthdays and historic milestones.

The celebrations include Talladega’s 175th Birthday Celebration March 27, the Monroeville Reunion April 23-25, The Blessing of the Fleet in Bayou La Batre May 1-2, Highway 15 Yard Sale in Natural Bridge April 3, Mural City Art Fest in Dothan May 1, Peach Jam Jubilee in Clanton June 25, Jubilee City Fest in Montgomery May 28-29 and the Helen Keller Festival in Tuscumbia June 24-27. The homecoming events began in February and will continue through mid-December.

For more information about the homecoming celebrations, check out the calendar of events at www.alabamahomecoming.com. Copies of the brochure are available by calling 1.800.ALABAMA or at eight welcome centers across the state.

 Click here to download a copy of the brochure: http://www.alabama.travel/media-room/brochures/

Edited: March 19th, 2010

Mario Andretti Honored at Legends of Motosports at Barber Track

Mario Andretti will be the honored guest at the inaugural Legends of Motorsports Bobby Rahal Signature Event weekend, scheduled for May 21-23, 2010 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Legends of Motorsports co-founder Bobby Rahal was a frequent rival of Andretti in the course of their respective, storied careers. The three-time CART champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner said this about his long-time respected nemesis, “Mario Andretti is one of the most formidable race car drivers to ever live. No matter what the series, his talent and determination made him a threat to win every time. It’s an honor to have him celebrated at the inaugural Legends of Motorsports event at Barber Motorsports Park.”

Andretti is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR. He also won numerous races in other racing disciplines including midget cars and sprint cars. During his career, Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1978 Formula One World Championship, the 1974 USAC Dirt Track Championship and IROC VI. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One World Championship. No American has won a Formula One race since Andretti’s victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix. All told, Andretti amassed 111 career wins on major circuits.

In addition to on-track competition, the Legends of Motorsports event at Barber will also include a charity gala on the evening of Saturday, May 22, at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, featuring Andretti as its honored guest. The museum houses one of the world’s largest collections of Lotus race cars. Much of Andretti’s Formula One glory came behind the wheel of Lotus entries. Lotus also will serve as the official marque for the Legends of Motorsports weekend.

Barring overriding obligations at Indianapolis 500 qualifications, Andretti will be a highly visible part of Legends of Motorsports race day activities at Barber on Sunday, May 23, including leading a featured Lotus race.

Edited: March 19th, 2010

Bobby and Graham Rahal to both race at Barber Motorsports

DSC_0020.JPGBobby Rahal will drive a Lotus in the Legends race that is much like this 1968 Lotus in the Barber Motorsports Museum. (The Birmingham News / Doug Demmons)Bobby Rahal didn’t want his son to become a race car driver. The three-time CART champion and 1986 Indy 500 winner resisted letting him have a go-kart.

“But there was never any doubt about what he wanted to do,” Rahal said Wednesday during a stop at Barber Motorsports Park to promote his Legends of Motorsports Series race in May.

As a youngster, Graham Rahal would accompany his dad to dinners with sponsors and sit quietly, soaking it all in — just as Bobby Rahal did when he traveled with his own father in the 1950s to race at the airport course in Courtland.

Nonetheless, Graham Rahal had some serious convincing to do.

“It took a lot of effort, because with my dad,” Graham said, “it was like he knew firsthand how dangerous it was. And my mom did. And really the only way I could get him to let me go go-karting was my brother and I came up with this plan that we were going to go go-karting together and it was something we were going to do together and the family experience type of thing.

“Well, my brother after basically the first event decided that racing was not for him,” he said. ¶
But by then the die was cast. Graham struck a deal with his dad that he could race if he kept his grades up.

Graham went on to become one of the rising stars of the Izod IndyCar Series. He’ll be at Barber for the April 11 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, driving for Sarah Fisher’s team in a two-race deal that includes the March 28 race at St. Petersburg, which he won last year. in 2008.

His dad will be racing at Barber too — driving a Lotus in the feature race of the Legends of Motorsports event, a new racing series co-founded by Bobby Rahal that will feature vintage cars from the¤’60s and¤’70s.

The Lotus that Rahal will drive is a car that he sold to a man in California in 1973. Rahal said he tracked the guy down and he still had the car — virtually untouched and stored in a barn all these years. Rahal bought it back and restored it.

So, will there be a friendly competition to see who finishes higher at Barber, father or son?

“Unfortunately, I think he has it a little easier than I do,” Graham said of his dad’s competition. “He’ll try to tell me it’s tough. But the thing is that my dad, he’s just awesome and we were talking about this the other day, talking about (Formula One champion) Michael Schumacher. They both love racing, and my dad, the series he’s put together, I think he selfishly put it together so he could go racing all the time.”

Graham is still looking for a full-time Indy ride this year, a situation that has many Indy fans upset as they see numerous foreign drivers securing rides in the series.

Bobby Rahal said part of the problem is that Indy teams don’t have enough relationships of their own with sponsors, so they depend on drivers to bring their own sponsors.

Graham Rahal said there just aren’t as many skilled open-wheel American drivers as there are in other countries.

“I was talking to someone the other day .¤.¤. asking them why didn’t they have very many American drivers,” Graham said. “Simply put, ‘We’ve tested a lot of American drivers and none have been able to do the job properly.’ (more…)

Edited: March 19th, 2010

NASCAR tests spoiler at Talladega Superspeedway

Speeds exceeded 200 mph during NASCAR’s spoiler test at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR  plans to switch from a rear wing to a traditional spoiler, perhaps as early as next week’s race at Martinsville Speedway, and Tuesday’s test was the first time a large group of cars have been on track with the spoiler. There were 25 Sprint Cup teams at the test, which started with single-car runs and then moved to a drafting practice.

NASCAR called teams into the garage to change the size of the restrictor-plate, which is used to throttle horsepower and control speeds at Talladega and Daytona, the two largest and fastest tracks in the series.

Later, NASCAR ordered teams to trim the spoilers in an effort to level them off and decrease the drag, something driver Kurt Busch said was needed.

“Overall I’d say we have a thumbs up with the spoiler,” Busch said. “We might need to trim the spoiler a little bit to balance out the drag, because right now the lead car can get out there, but he can’t go anywhere, and it invites everybody else to suck up really easy.

“That’s a concern. We need to balance out how close we keep the pack and yet how controlled the pack is. But the spoiler felt comfortable.”

Four-time Cup NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon said he supports the change, and was never a fan of the rear wing, which was introduced in 2007 when NASCAR phased in a new model car.

“I was never crazy about the way the wing was mounted on the back of the car,” Gordon said. “I envisioned it being a little bit more like a Trans-Am car, where it was raised up. The wing we put on there was just a glorified spoiler. It sat down on the deck lid and wasn’t very appealing, and we weren’t really using it efficiently.

“I’m hoping and thinking that this is going to be a change for the better. I’m very supportive of it and open to it. And the fans seem to be supportive of it as well. That’s important. So if it’s good for the competitors and good for the fans, then I think it’s great for the entire sport.”

One hope in the return of the spoiler is that it will stop cars from going airborne in accidents. Carl Edwards was in a spectacular accident at Talladega last April, when his car went flying into the frontstretch fencing. Two weeks ago in Atlanta, Brad Keselowski s car also went airborne.

“We hadn’t seen cars do that with the spoiler on it,” driver Martin Truex Jr. said. “I think the wing is a big part of what was happening there. I think this will take care of that problem.”

NASCAR will analyze data from Tuesday’s test before setting parameters for a two-day test next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That’s where drivers will get a real feel for how the spoiler differs from the wing, Gordon said.

“This test is really just about what’s going to happen in the draft. You’re not going to find out a lot about balance and those things,” he said. “When we get to Charlotte, we’re going to find out what a spoiler really does in comparison to a wing.”

Edited: March 18th, 2010

Versus and DirecTV come to agreement

There’s some good news to report for fans of IndyCar and for organizers of the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

The feud that has dragged on for months between DirecTV and the Versus sports network that broadcasts Indy races and NHL games has finally ended.

That means DirecTV customers can now see Indy races once again on Channel 603. And that’s good news for the race at Barber Motorsports Park because one of its goals is to showcase Alabama to viewers around the country. It’s sort of hard to do that if the race isn’t shown on one of the biggest satellite providers.

The season opener in Brazil on Sunday actually saw an increase in ratings of 76 percent over last year’s season opener in St. Petersburg. The rating was still a 0.4, which is an average of 411,000 viewers, so the numbers nationally are still anemic. But it was the third-highest rating for a race on Versus.

Edited: March 17th, 2010