THE LINE
Monday, April 11, 2011 at 09:28AM April 13, 2011
(LAT Photo/Abbott)
Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Honda-Powered Dallara with Firestone Tires) won the pole on Saturday and dominated the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy with a wire-to-wire victory on Sunday on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park course to establish himself as the man to beat for this year's IZOD IndyCar Series championship chase. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F) was runner-up for the second year in a row and reigning series champion Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Clorox D/H/F) was third. Marco Andretti (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Team Venom D/H/F) finished fourth and Oriol Servia (No. 2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Racing D/H/F) delivered an impressive fifth-place finish.
(LAT Photo/Paul Webb)
That's Power getting some serious air after the race. "I have got so much energy!" Power exclaimed afterward. "That is one of the easiest races I have done physically. I have been training really hard for the season and Scott Dixon was pushing me to the limit at the end. It was a lot of fun and I am really happy for the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car. Leading the race from flag to flag just came down to getting the jump start and staying consistent the whole time with where I started. It came down to holding Scott Dixon off until the end."
(LAT Photo/Abbott)
The action was fast and furious at Barber during the IndyCar race. Here, Oriol Servia and Danica Patrick (No. 7 Team Andretti Autosport GoDaddy.com D/H/F) lead the pack.
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Another impressive run was turned in by Simon Pagenaud who finished eighth in his No. 24 Blazemaster/Ipiranga/DRR D/H/F entry. Pagenaud was filling in for the injured Ana Beatriz. He will be a driver to watch when Duncan Dayton's Highcroft Racing enters him in IndyCar. "It was good fun and good racing," Pagenaud commented. "I want to thank everyone in the IZOD IndyCar Series for welcoming me so well and keeping life easy for me this weekend. I'm really happy to come away with eighth position. Fighting with Helio at the end of the race was something I really enjoyed. But more importantly, the Dreyer & Reinbold team did a fantastic job and gave me a great opportunity to showcase what I can do. I wish Bia (Ana Beatriz) to recover quickly and be back in her car very soon."
(LAT Photo/Levitt)
Dario, Will and Scott holding their hardware. Next on the IZOD IndyCar Series calendar is the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17 on the streets of Long Beach, Calif. The race will be televised live at 3:30 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network.
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Pole sitter Victor Garcia (No. 22 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling) led all 40 laps to win the Firestone Indy Lights race at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday. Andretti Autosport's Stefan Wilson finished 0.3125 of a second behind in second and Peter Dempsey (No. 36 Pulse/O2 Racing Technology) finished third. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is on the streets of Long Beach on April 17. It will be televised live at 2 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS.
(Photo © 2011, autostock, USA Brian Czobat)
Katie and Matt Kenseth in Victory Lane in Texas.
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas (No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates TELMEX BMW/Riley) extended their record winning streak to six races by winning the Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park for the third time. The drivers ended their 2010 Daytona Prototype championship season by winning the final three races, and opened 2011 by winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Grand Prix of Miami. Pruett ran down race leader Burt Frisselle passing him on the inside of Turn 17 on Lap 78 and then he went on to lead the final 27 laps, beating Alex Gurney in the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet/Riley at the checkered flag by 28.954 seconds. Ryan Dalziel and Mike Forest finished third in the Starworks Motorsport No. 8 Miracle Grout Shield Ford/Riley.
Scott Maxwell caught Bill Auberlen at the start/finish line with four laps remaining and held on to win Saturday’s Barber 200. Maxwell, driving the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang 302R started by Joe Foster, took the checkered flag 1.250 seconds ahead of Auberlen (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3) for his ninth career victory. It was the first competition victory for the Boss 302R in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Foster started on the pole and led the opening 20 laps. It was his fourth career victory in the series, and first since 2008, when he won the Grand Sport title with Maxwell. Auberlen led the field for 22 laps in a bid for a second consecutive victory in his BMW started by Paul Dalla Lana.
Michael Galati and Nic Jönsson celebrate Kia Motors America’s first victory at Barber Motorsports Park. The duo won the Street Tuner class at the Barber 200 in the No. 10 Kinetic Motorsports Infinity Audio Kia Forte Koup.
MINI John Cooper Works teammates Carlos del Barrio, Dani Sordo (driver), Kris Meeke (driver) and Paul Nagle together at the MINI WRC Team Launch, in Oxford, England, on April 11, 2011.
The 1971 McLaren M8F/1 (above), which Denis Hulme drove to second behind teammate Peter Revson in the 1971 Can-Am Championship, will be entered and driven by Chris MacAllister, from Indianapolis, Indiana, in the Second Annual Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival, June 4-5, at Infineon Raceway. Four hundred entries, some coming from as far away as St. Croix, Australia, Brazil, Canada and New Zealand, will compete in a series of historic races each day, among 13 race groups. Twenty-six of these entries will represent McLaren, the iconic marque featured at this year's event.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out my colleague Gordon Kirby's latest piece here. This week it's more on Brian Redman and the glory days of F5000 here in the U.S., and the day he turned down Ferrari's offer of an F1 drive. Good stuff. - PMD
Editor-in-Chief's Note: If you really must keep up on all of the latest F1 developments and the potential U.S. GP in Austin, Texas, go here. - PMD
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD
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