Who was at Barber and who was not

During the IZOD IndyCar Series Media Day at Barber Motorsports Park Feb. 23, there were as many questions asked about a driver who was not there as there were of the drivers who were in attendance.

Graham Rahal’s absence is a major issue for IndyCar. The son of three-time CART champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal is considered the best young American driver in the series and a star of the future. Rahal does not have a ride after his contract expired at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing at the end of last season and has not reached an agreement to drive for any team this season.

According to sources, he turned down a ride at Dale Coyne Racing recently and is trying to put a deal together that will get him back on the starting grid soon.

Team Penske President Tim Cindric has known Rahal as long as anyone in the sport. Rahal was just a little kid when Cindric was a key part of Bobby Rahal’s third CART title in 1992.

“It’s part of what you go through as a driver,” Cindric said. “We’ve seen it with Ryan Briscoe and Will Power. Something happens and you have to jump up and land on your feet. If the series goes the way I think it will with the new title sponsor with IZOD and the fact we are getting a promoter to run the series, I think Graham will be one of the benefactors.”

There are just four American drivers in IndyCar and three of them are on the same team. Andretti Autosport features Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Danica Patrick to go along with Brazil’s Tony Kanaan.

- Tom Anderson has joined Andretti Autosport after several seasons in the American Le Mans Series with as co-owner of Fernandez Racing.

“Right now, I’m a few years out of date,” said Anderson, who last worked in IndyCar for Fernandez Racing in 2005. “It’s starting to come back to me, but you don’t really know where you are until you come back to the race track and learn how everybody works under pressure.”

Anderson will be calling pit strategy this year for Danica Patrick.
“She got stuck with me,” Anderson said. “Right now, it’s only the second day we’ve talked on the radio. She’s got two learning curves — learning NASCAR language this year and learning my language, too. I haven’t made her mad, yet, that I know of.”

- Former Formula One driver Takuma Sato of Japan quickly adapted to the IndyCar with an impressive performance in the two-day test, including Thursday when he was the fifth-fastest of the day for KV Racing Technology.

“It was extremely cold this morning so we were unable to run, but once the temperature had improved, we were out on track,” Sato said. “I was able to learn a lot again from how the car reacted to the different setups we tried, which was good preparation for the Brazil race. However, nothing is ever perfect and I am never satisfied, but I am very positive that I have a good feeling of how the car handles and look forward to going racing in a few weeks time.”

- Defending IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti got to leave early after his car slid off the track in turn 12 and made hard contact with the barrier, ending his test after two laps. The session resumed nearly an hour later after repairs to the guardrail and grass were made. Franchitti was uninjured in the incident but Target Chip Ganassi Managing Director Mike Hull questioned why there was no tire barrier in that part of the track. IndyCar Series officials need to make sure all part of the otherwise spectacular Barber Motorsports Park circuit have tire barriers to soften the blow when a car runs off course.

“He hopped the curb on the highest-speed portion of the race track in the top of sixth-gear and he ended up against Armco Barrier where there is no tire wall,” Hull said. “Our opinion is there needs to be tires there. The race track, the facility and attention to detail is really, really great. The people that own the race track spend a lot of time making the track better. It’s a great facility and hopefully Tony Cotman being a consultant on safety to the Indy Racing League will take care of things like that.”

- Former Firestone Indy Lights driver Mario Romancini is the latest international driver to reach a deal to drive in IndyCar in 2010. He will compete for Conquest Racing this season.

“After my last race last October I was in touch with several teams and sponsors to make this happen,” Romancini said. “I went to Indianapolis last week and met with team owner Eric Bachelart at Conquest. We signed the contract and now I’m an IndyCar Series driver.”

- Davey Hamilton will pilot a second de Ferran Luczo Dragon entry in three races, including the Indianapolis 500, during the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series campaign.

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