Marco Andretti, Andretti Green Racing. Marco Andretti was the fastest of 31 drivers yesterday on opening day of practice for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 in his No. 26 AGR Team Indiana Jones presented by Blockbuster Dallara/Honda/Firestone entry. Andretti, who finished second in the race as a rookie in 2006, turned a quick lap on the historic 2.5-mile oval in 39.7177 seconds for a speed of 226.599 mph. Marco's teammate, Tony Kanaan (No. 11 AGR Team 7-Eleven) was second fastest with a lap of 225.269 mph. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F) and 2005 winner Dan Wheldon (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F)) were third (225.011 mph) and fifth (224.727 mph), respectively, while Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske D/H/F) and two-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske D/H/F) were fourth (224.804 mph) and sixth (224.576), respectively. Twenty veterans and 11 rookies combined for the most drivers to practice on the first day since 1999, when 33 drivers completed laps. There are three more days of practice before PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying on Saturday.

(Jim Haines/IRL)
Marco Andretti's car sports a wild "Indiana Jones" paint job for the month of May at Indy. Click here for a gallery from the opening day of Indy practice. (Gallery photos by Jim Haines, Chris Jones, Shawn Payne and Steve Snoddy, and courtesy of the Indy Racing League.)

Firestone. Each IndyCar Series team receives 35 sets of Firestone Firehawk tires for the month of May to use as they determine for practice, qualifying and the race. Firestone makes two tire staggers of approximately 0.35 and 0.44 of an inch available for Indy.

Team Penske. Excellence is expected for the winningest racing team in Indianapolis 500 history. The team has won 14 times, dating back to Mark Donohue’s victory in 1972. The entrant with the next most victories is Lou Moore, who won five times between 1938-49. Team Penske has also won 14 pole positions at Indianapolis, 10 more than any other entrant. Overall, the team has made 76 starts in the ‘500’ with 19 drivers. Those drivers have led 1,835 laps.

(GM Racing)
An all-new Midget racing engine was unveiled May 7 by GM Racing, Chevrolet and United States Auto Club (USAC) team owner Tony Stewart at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Designed by GM Racing specifically for the USAC National Midget Car Series, the new purpose-built, four-cylinder Chevrolet racing engine will initially power Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tracy Hines and Levi Jones in upcoming events. The new Chevy Midget engine will be available to all USAC competitors through independent engine builders. The new methanol-burning 166ci (2.7-liter) Chevy Midget racing engine produces more than 350 horsepower. The lightweight, in-line four-cylinder engine employs an aluminum block and cylinder head with two valves per cylinder. Per USAC rules, the Chevy Midget engine is equipped with mechanical fuel injection and utilizes an electronic ignition system. The new Chevy powerplant stands out from its competition with an innovative architecture that improves its combustion efficiency, enhances airflow and lowers the center of gravity. Advanced technical resources such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and solid 3-D modeling used to design GM production engines were also used to develop the Chevrolet Midget racing engine. The major components that define the Chevrolet Midget engine package – the cylinder block, cylinder head and certain ancillaries – will be available to all USAC competitors. Independent engine builders can then assemble Chevy Midget engines using internal components from their preferred suppliers. Kistler Racing Engines of Fremont, Ohio, supplies the Chevy engines that power the two TSR entries. 

Dan Wheldon, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dan Wheldon (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone) saw Victory Lane for the first time in a year, winning the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway to become the first two-time winner in eight IndyCar Series races at the track. Wheldon, the 2005 Indianapolis 500 champion, last won in the IndyCar Series at Kansas last April when he led 177 of 200 laps. But the real story last Sunday was Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F), who led 145 laps only to get caught out on his final pit stop two laps before a yellow flag came out. Dixon was relegated to seventh and could only climb back to third in the final 28 laps. “It was a really good weekend for everyone at Target Chip Ganassi Racing,” Wheldon said. “It's unfortunate for Scott (Dixon) about when the yellow fell. I'm sure he'll make up for that later in the year. The cars were very competitive the whole weekend. The crews performed flawlessly, and that's the kind of weekend you want. It's great to have that weekend leading into Indianapolis." Wheldon led the final 49 laps to capture his 14th career IndyCar victory. Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven D/H/F) finished second, his best finish of the season, and Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske D/H/F) finished fourth and retains the series points lead heading into the Indianapolis 500. The 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 is on May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at noon (EDT) by ABC. The race will also air live on the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPNDeportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com.

(Dana Garrett/IRL)

(Dana Garrett/IRL)
Scott Dixon dominated the IRL race in Kansas, leading 145 of the 200 laps.

(Steve Snoddy/IRL)
J.R. Hildebrand (No. 25 RLR/Andersen Racing Allied Building Products) duels with Arie Luyendyk Jr. (No. 26 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc.) in the Kansas Lottery 100 Firestone Indy Lights race last weekend. It was Hildebrand's first victory in Firestone Indy Lights and the first victory for RLR/Andersen Racing. Robbie Pecorari (No. 55 Guthrie Racing) was second, and Luyendyk Jr. was third. The 0.0553 margin of victory is the eighth-closest finish in series history and the closest at Kansas Speedway. Robbie Pecorari improved 21 positions, the greatest advance from start to finish in series history. The previous mark had been held by Jaime Camara, who advanced 20 positions at Homestead-Miami in 2007. 

Kuno Wittmer, RealTime Racing, Acura. Canadian Kuno Wittmer (No. 44 Acura/RealTime Racing/Eibach/Red Line Oil Acura TSX) won the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race last weekend at VIRginia International Raceway - recording the fifth-closest finish in series history. Teammates Seth Thomas (No. 38 BimmerWorld BMW 325i), of Cumming, Ga., and James Clay (No. 36 BimmerWorld BMW 325i), of nearby Blacksburg completed the top three. Coupled with a second at the season-opening round at Sebring, Wittmer’s win placed him atop the point standings for the first time in his career. The 25 year-old Montreal native now has 225 points - 28 more than Pierre Kleinubing (Acura). Peter Cunningham (Acura) and Charles Espenlaub (Mazda) are tied for third, with 178, followed by Thomas, with 176. Acura extended its SCCA SPEED Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER Magazine lead to 12 over defending Champion Mazda, 19 to seven. This race will be broadcast Wednesday, April 30 at 1 p.m. (EDT). The series next travels to Miller Motorsports Park for Round Three, May 18.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)

(Grand-Am)
Scott Pruett (No. 01 SAMAX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley) held off Ryan Dalziel (No. 2 SAMAX BMW Riley) to win last Sunday's Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway by.548 seconds. It was the third victory in four 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 races for Pruett and co-driver Memo Rojas. Dalziel, who took over from co-driver Henri Zogaib, ran down Pruett in the closing laps, closing to within one second with several laps remaining. Marc Goossens, the only other 2008 Daytona Prototype winner after winning last weekend in Mexico City, joined Jim Matthews in finishing third in the No. 91 Riley-Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley.

(Grand-Am)
Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell gave Stevenson Motorsports its second consecutive victory in the No. 57 Pontiac GXP.R. Spencer Pumpelly and Tim George Jr. finished second in the No. 66 TRG Porsche GT3, followed by Leh Keen and Eric Lux in the No. 86 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3. Next action for the Rolex Series will be May 17 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Danica Patrick, Andretti Green Racing. After much promise and more than a little hype, Danica Patrick (No. 7 AGR Motorola Dallara/Honda/Firestone) became the first female in history to win an Indy car race when she captured the rain-delayed Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. Patrick, who turned 26 three weeks ago, won in her 50th IndyCar Series start. "Finally," Patrick said in victory lane. "This is a long time coming. It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I know I was on the same strategy at Helio (Castroneves) and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous." Patrick's path to victory was the direct result of a call by team manager Kyle Moyer to bring her in at the end of a caution to top-off her fuel with 50 laps to go. Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske D/H/F), making his 100th IndyCar Series start, finished 5.8594 seconds behind, and Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F) was third. Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Dan Wheldon (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F), finished fourth, and Tony Kanaan (No. 11 AGR Team 7-Eleven D/H/F) came home fifth. Dixon had a 3.6-second lead over Wheldon with six laps to go, but he had to pit for a splash of fuel on Lap 195. Wheldon and Kanaan had to follow suit on Lap 196. That left the door open for Patrick and Castroneves, whose last pit stop came on Lap 148. "I think Danica is such a fantastic person and I’m thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back," said team owner Michael Andretti afterwards. We have all believed in her and she proved today that she is a winner. Frankly, I think this is the first of many."

 
(Shawn Payne/IRL)
Tears of joy for Danica Patrick after her first IndyCar victory.

(Shawn Payne/IRL)
Danica poses for photographers with her mom and dad after her momentous win.

Marco Werner, Lucas Luhr, Audi AG, Michelin. Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr (No. 2 Audi AG R10 TDI) scored a surprise victory in the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach Saturday. Werner crossed the finish line 1.964 seconds ahead of Emanuele Pirro in the other team Audi as the German manufacturer finished 1-2 overall in an American Le Mans Series race for the first time since St. Petersburg in 2007, also a street circuit. "From the beginning the car was good so we didn't make many changes," Werner said. "I was never fastest, and free practice and qualifying are never the same thing. So you can guess we are quite happy with Michelin at the moment. The car setup is really helping us a lot this year, especially in the street circuits. We are in max lock trying to make the turns, especially in the hairpins. But the Michelins are keeping the car where it should be and helping us deal with all the corners." Werner got around Penske Racing's Romain Dumas in the Porsche RS Spyder with 11 minutes remaining for the overall lead and used the torque and power of the R10 TDI to pull away after a late caution period. Pirro did the same as he teamed with Frank Biela in the runner-up car. Werner and Luhr have now won consecutive races after scoring a victory two weeks ago at St. Petersburg.

Publisher's Note: Once again we're proud to feature John Thawley's outstanding photography as part of our ALMS race coverage. Click on the photo below to see John's image gallery from Long Beach. - PMD

(Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved.)

David Brabham, Scott Sharp, Patron Highcroft Racing, Acura, Michelin. David Brabham and Scott Sharp scored the first victory for Patron Highcroft Racing in LMP2 as Brabham made a diving pass on Romain Dumas (Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder) on the next-to-last lap to score the first win for the new Acura ARX-01b. Brabham crossed the finish line 1.036 seconds ahead of the Porsche as Acura won in LMP2 for the first time since its Series debut last year at Sebring. Brabham and Sharp also finished third overall for the second consecutive race. Brabham also became the first driver in Series history to score victories in four classes.

Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen, Corvette, Pratt & Miller, Michelin. Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen (No. 3 Corvette Racing Compuware C6R) captured their second GT1 victory of the season with a 1.374-second victory over the No. 4 team car of Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin. "The start was interesting. It was a lot cooler than qualifying," said Magnussen, who was the fastest GT1 qualifier Friday. "The setup was working perfectly. There were a few moments I got close to the wall. I got some moments with Oliver where I could attack but others where the wall was too close." The duo also assumed the lead in the class championship, breaking a tie with their Corvette Racing teammates. Gavin and Beretta won nine times in class last year and have won the last three GT1 championships. At least for the first three events, the playing field between the two Corvettes seems to have leveled. "Things are really gelling well with Jan and myself," said O'Connell, who teamed with Magnussen in a factory Panoz prototype in 1999. "We weren't dominated last year, they were always close wins and we were always right there and just caught some bad luck. It was just the way racing goes; sometimes you have up years and sometimes they are down. Racing is a team sport, anytime we can beat the 4, it is a great thing."

Dirk Mueller, Dominik Farnbacher, Tafel Racing, Ferrari, Michelin. Dirk Mueller (Tafel Ferrari F430 GT) held off Flying Lizard Motorsports' Wolf Henzler (Porsche 911 GT3 RSR co-driven by Jorg Bergmeister) by 0.102 seconds. It wasn't decided until the final corner as the two cars started on their final lap just before Werner took the checkered flag. The two cars were nose-to-tail the entire final lap and were joined by the No. 46 Flying Lizard Porsche of Patrick Pilet, who finished third with Johannes van Overbeek. The finish was the second-closest finish in the history of the American Le Mans Series and tightest in GT2. "The car was fantastic," Mueller said (his co-driver is Dominik Farnbacher). "It was a gamble you know not taking tires. The safety car helped make it a close end. Then the five years of really hard driving in touring car racing really helped me. The racing line was quite wide. It was possible to do off line racing and give room for overtaking." The difference at the end came down to pit strategy. Both Lizard cars took tires during its lone pit stop, while the Tafel car elected to run the full race on one set of Michelins. Tafel saved 7.362 seconds on the pit stop. "I drove easy to try and save the tires for Dirk," Farnbacher said. "I tried to simply stay with the pack until my drive was over." The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by the Grand and Little Hotels on Sunday, May 18 from Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. The green flag is scheduled for 1 p.m. MT with live television coverage on SPEED. Live radio coverage will be available on XM Satellite Radio Channel 144 and American Le Mans Radio at www.americanlemans.com.

(Photo©SCCA/Mark Weber)
In a caution-fest, Brandon Davis (No. 10 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang), from Huntington Beach, CA, captured his first SCCA SPEED GT win at his home race, the SCCA Pro Racing Long Beach SPEED GT Presented by Applied Computer Solutions. Point leader Randy Pobst (No. 1 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3), of Gainesville, Ga., finished second, and Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 Remington Shaving Cadillac CTS-V), of Boca Raton, Fla., came home third. “It really feels amazing to win here," Davis said. "Before my dad even got into racing, when he was just a guy who liked cars, we would come out and watch Long Beach every year. Then, he started to run Trans-Am and started working with Boris [Said], we actually got the first win for the team here in Trans-Am. I was there for all of that and to be able to be the guy that gives the team a win at Long Beach is very special.” Davis reset the Long Beach SPEED GT lap record en route to the win, lapping the 1.968-mile street circuit in 1:26.205 (82.185 mph). Pobst leaves Long Beach the point leader with 220 points, Davis is next with 208 points, and Pilgrim is third with 198 points. Porsche leads the SCCA SPEED GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by RACER with 16 points over Cadillac’s 12. The Long Beach SPEED GT race will air on the Speed Channel, Wednesday, April 30, at noon (EDT), 9 a.m. (PDT).

(Grand-Am)
Jim Matthews and Marc Goossens (No. 91 Riley Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley) won last Saturday's Mexico City 250 Grand-Am race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Goossens holding off the Scott Pruett (with Memo Rojas) No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley, and the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola driven by Ricardo Zonta (with Nic Jonsson) over the final 28 laps for the win. "It was tough," said Goossens. "Once I got by Scott, he kept putting pressure on me all the way. It was pretty tough keeping the lead." The top three finishers battled nose-to-tail throughout the final 20 laps. Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell (Stephenson Motorsports No. 57 Pontiac GXP.R) stretched their fuel mileage at the end to hold off the division's point leaders, Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards (No. 07 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R), to win the GT class. 

Humpy Wheeler. We consider Humpy to be one of the smartest people in racing, but his latest thought balloon is a real downer. He plans on introducing a new feature before NASCAR's All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 17 - a “burnout” competition. Five drivers will showcase their victory burnouts by doing two 360-degree spins and then drive into a "victory lane" set up in front of the main grandstand for a $10,000 prize that goes to charity. We loved the impromptu burnouts when Alex Zanardi did them, but that was years ago. It's now tired and stale, and race drivers need to get a new idea. Humpy isn't helping.

Gil de Ferran, Acura. Former Indy 500 winner and two-time CART champion Gil de Ferran announced his campaign for the LMP2 class championship in the 2008 American Le Mans Series today. Team owner and driver de Ferran will team up with 23-year-old ex-Champ Car Atlantic champion Simon Pagenaud in the de Ferran Motorsports' Acura ARX-01b for the remainder of the 2008 American Le Mans Series, starting at the fourth round of the championship - the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix presented by Grand & Little Hotels. de Ferran Motorsports also announced it is in the process of completing a sponsorship contract with Panasonic that will utilize its association with the team to promote their relationship with Acura and the ELS Surround premium audio system, which is available on the Acura TL, Acura RDX, Acura MDX and the all-new Acura TSX. The de Ferran Motorsports' red, white and blue-liveried Acura tested for the first time at Sebring International Raceway this week. The team also will undertake an additional test session at Sebring at a later date with de Ferran and Pagenaud behind the wheel, before making its American Le Mans Series race debut on May 18. Today's announcement took place at the Long Beach Grand Prix.

(Photo courtesy of de Ferran Motorsports)

(Yokohama)
Yokohama Tire will promote its relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures' upcoming live-action family film Speed Racer at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (April 19) and Grand Prix of Utah (May 18). Yokohama's ADVAN® tires were named the official tire of the movie and Mach 5 race car earlier this year. The latest film by the Wachowski brothers and producer Joel Silver, creators of The Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer will open across North America in theatres and IMAX on May 9. The Yokohama- and BP- sponsored Mazda LMP2 race car will feature Speed Racer movie logos as well as the famous letter "M" on the front. Drivers Ben Devlin and Gerardo Bonilla will be wearing specially-designed suits inspired by the movie with blue tops and white bottoms and featuring Speed Racer logos. The crew will also be in Speed Racer-designed shirts. In the ultimate nod to the Mach 5, the LMP2 race car's number will be changed from 8 to 5 exclusively for the two races in Long Beach and Utah.

 
Cindi Lux, Team Mopar. Cindi Lux, the 1999 American Le Mans Series Women's Global GT Series Champion, will represent the parts division of Chrysler in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship. NayKid Racing will enter the Lux Performance Group, LLC prepared and managed No. 2 Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe starting at the April 20 Long Beach SPEED GT Presented by Applied Computer Solutions. The Long Beach event marks the first race of the 2008 SPEED World Challenge season for the Aloha, Oregon, resident.

(NayKid Racing Photo)
The NayKid Racing No. 2 Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe.

Graham Rahal, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. He got punted into a spin by Will Power early in the race, and he had to fight through the rainy conditions and changing track conditions, but none of that seemed to phase Graham Rahal (No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone), who went on to win the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg last Sunday, becoming the youngest driver in history to win a major league open-wheel race. Rahal, the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, becomes just the fourth driver in history to win in his first IndyCar Series start and the fourth rookie to win in their first IndyCar Series season. “It was tough,” Rahal said. “After getting hit by Will (Power) in the rain and everything, it was going to be a tough start. It doesn’t get any sweeter than this; to expect a win in our first race. We had the pace and we pulled away from them, so it wasn’t like we lucked into it. This is just awesome.” Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske H/D/F) didn't have anything for Rahal at the end, finishing second, and Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Andretti Green Racing Team 7-Eleven H/D/F) finished third. HVM Racing’s E.J. Viso and Conquest Racing’s Enrique Bernoldi, both rookies, rounded out the top five.

(Jim Haines/IRL)
Victory was oh so sweet for young Mr. Rahal.

Lucas Luhr, Marco Werner, Audi. Lucas Luhr (No. 2 Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI - Michelin) passed Romain Dumas (No. 7 Penske Porsche RS Spyder - Michelin) on a restart with three minutes to go last Saturday afternoon to win the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg presented by XM Satellite Radio. It was Audi AG's first overall victory of 2008. The 0.818-second victory was Luhr’s first overall in the American Le Mans Series and his seventh victory on a street circuit. Co-driver Marco Werner won overall for the first time since the 2007 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The car made just one pit stop in the race. Dumas and co-driver Timo Bernhard won their eighth straight LMP2 victory dating back to Mid-Ohio in July of last year. The duo was five seconds clear of David Brabham and Scott Sharp in the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Racing entry, the highest finisher among the three Acura ARX-01b cars.

Publisher's Note: See a gallery of John Thawley's outstanding images from the St. Petersburg ALMS race by clicking on the photo below. - PMD

(Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved.)

Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, Corvette, Pratt & Miller. Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta (No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6R - Michelin) led flag-to-flag for their second consecutive St. Petersburg victory, beating teammates Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen (No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6R - Michelin) to the line by 4.754 seconds. Corvette Racing's win marked the first victory for cellulosic E85 in the American Le Mans Series as both Corvette factory cars are powered by the alternative fuel. “I think we demonstrated not only to our fellow competitors but also to the world of racing that E85R is a viable and powerful fuel,” said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. “We're very pleased with how it turned out.”
 
Dirk Mueller, Dominik Farnbacher, Ferrari. Tafel Racing scored its first ALMS victory as Dirk Mueller and Dominik Farnbacher won in GT2 in their No. 71 Ferrari F430GT (Michelin). It was Mueller’s first victory in the Series since 2000 and the first ever for Farnbacher. Mueller crossed the line by more than 13 seconds ahead of the No. 46 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Johannes van Overbeek and Patrick Pilet. The next race for the American Le Mans Series is the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach. The green flag is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 19. The race will be broadcast from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 20.

Raphael Matos, Richard Antinucci. Raphael Matos (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc./AGR) won the Firestone Indy Light’s St. Petersburg 100 Race 1, and Richard Antinucci (No. 7 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports), the nephew of 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever, won Race 2 last weekend. Antinucci finished second in the first round, followed by Ana Beatriz (No. 20 Healthy Choice/Sam Schmidt Motorsports), while J. R. Hildebrand (No. 25 RLR/Andersen Racing) and Logan Gomez (No. 23 Menards Guthrie Racing) rounded out the podium in round 2. Gomez, a 19-year-old driver from Crown Point, Ind., started in 23rd and passed 20 cars to capture 3rd in race 2, a very impressive run. After his win, series officials penalized Antinucci 10 points for avoidable contact with teammate Ana Beatriz during the race.

The IRL, Andretti Green Promotions. Much to our disappointment, Andretti Green Promotions, the Indy Racing League, American Honda and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker have reached an agreement to pursue an extension of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for four more years. That is in addition to the one additional year already under contract, for a total of five more years of IndyCar Series racing on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The deal is pending approval from city council. We can think of any number of tracks we would want to see the IRL race on besides the temporary circuit at St. Petersburg.

(Autostock Photo)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush Racing Ford) salutes the crowd after winning last Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Edwards was dominant all day (and his usual annoying self afterwards) as he chastised his fellow competitors for complaining about the current state of the NASCAR machines (and their lousy behavior in traffic). And then he slammed the media for suggesting that NASCAR had become boring and that he was tired of it. You're tired, Carl? See below.

Publisher's Note: Well, guess what, Carl? NASCAR is boring. And you can add the words tedious, monotonous, uninspiring, insipid and downright dull too. NASCAR has become the equivalent of a four-hour infomercial every damn week, and people are getting tired of it. TV ratings for the Texas race were down nine percent from the year before, and that's becoming the norm, in case you haven't noticed, because TV ratings are down every week. But it's not just the declining TV ratings, because there are noticeably empty seats in the grandstands too. The air of boredom hanging over NASCAR exists because it has peaked, and now it's headed on its inevitable downward slide. Too many races, repeat visits to the same tracks, cars that have no relation to the manufacturers involved - with all the visual appeal of loaves of bread (with decals and wings) - pre-programmed drivers (and pre-programmed driver-speak), and a third-generation leader who doesn't have the first clue that things are going south in a big way. Yup, Carl, it's the damn media's fault. - PMD

(Photo by Ondrea Barbe)
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced yesterday that multi-talented singer-actress-dancer (and smokin' hot) Julianne Hough will sing the national anthem before the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hough won the "Dancing with the Stars" title last fall paired with two-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves.

(Photo courtesy of Mazda)
Mazda ran the stunning Furai concept ALMS racer at Long Beach yesterday for the Grand Prix media day, and they will also run it next weekend as part of an alternative energy demo for race fans in attendance. Cool.

Rahal Leterrman Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Rahal Letterman Racing and Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced today that they would work together to field an entry for 2007 Firestone Indy Lights champion Alex Lloyd for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25. “This is something that we have been wanting to do for a while now, and an opportunity with Bobby and his team is perfect for us,” said Target Chip Ganassi Racing owner Chip Ganassi. “I really think everyone is going to be hearing a lot about Alex Lloyd in the coming years. He is one of the sport’s future stars.” The No. 16 Dallara/Honda/Firestone will be run out of the RLR stable for the month of May, with the Ohio-based team working closely with TCGR to ensure that Lloyd ­ who is under a developmental contract with Target Chip Ganassi Racing ­ receives the benefit of working with engineers and mechanics from both teams. Lloyd will attempt to make his first career Indianapolis 500 start. Lloyd won the Firestone Indy Lights title in dominating fashion in 2007, setting series records for victories (eight), consecutive victories (five) and top-five finishes (13). His 171-point margin over second-place Hideki Mutoh was also the largest in series history, and his 10 career Firestone Indy Lights wins are the most in the seven-year history of the series.

(Jim Haines/IMS)
Chip Ganassi, Alex Lloyd and Bobby Rahal at their press conference today in Indianapolis.

(Ron McQueeney/IMS)
Nicky Hayden with his title-winning 2006 Honda and a 1909 Indian at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hayden was at The Speedway to check out the new circuit for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP slated for next September.

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone) won the IndyCar Series opener last Saturday night, capturing the checkered flag in the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, 0.5828 seconds ahead of Marco Andretti (No. 26 Andretti Green Racing NYSE D/H/F). Dixon, the pole-sitter, took over the lead on a Lap 197 restart when race leader Tony Kanaan (No. 11 AGR Team 7-Eleven D/H/F) had to slow with a damaged right front wheel and tire after a collision with Ernesto Viso, a lapped driver. Dixon then held off Andretti to claim his 11th career IndyCar Series victory. Kanaan finished in eighth. Dixon's teammate, Dan Wheldon (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F) finished third, coming all the way back from the 22nd starting position after crashing in qualifying. “It was one of those races where we didn’t exactly have the speed all the time, or things weren’t really going our way, but we still came out on top," Dixon said. "If you can have races like that, where you have a bad day, or a day where you don’t think you’re at your best, and you still come out on top, that’s a great way to take some points away from others and hopefully it works for the rest of the season.” The average speed of 171.248 was the fastest race in IndyCar Series history at Homestead-Miami. The previous fastest was 167.730 in 2006. The race also had the fewest caution laps (24) of any race at Homestead-Miami.

(Jim Haines/IRL)
Scott Dixon won his 11th career IndyCar Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Saturday night - the 2008 season opener.

(Jim Haines/IRL)
Marco Andretti gets pit service from his Andretti Green Racing NYSE crew during last Saturday night's IRL race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Former Champ Car Teams. Twenty-six cars started Saturday night's GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300, the first unified race under the IndyCar Series banner – with the addition of eight drivers from Champ Car. Four of the eight transitioning drivers finished the 300-mile race, three dropped out for mechanical reasons, and only one was involved in an on-track incident when Ernesto Viso suffered a tire puncture late in the race. "It was a long day in the office, but that means we achieved our first goal, which was to finish the race with no damage to the car," said Oriol Servia, who led the group with a 12th-place finish in the No. 5 KV Racing Technology car. "But it was also long because we did not have the speed that we were hoping for. We knew we were going to struggle. It's just tough when you are in the middle of it. We did what we had to do, we gathered a lot of data and we have to take this process step by step. The KV Racing Technology team did a great job. They have all worked hard and the car ran well until the end. We knew it was going to be like this. You hope for a miracle to happen, but we will leave the miracle for the Month of May." Next up for the IndyCar Series is the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 6 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Dillon Battistini. The re-named Firestone Indy Lights series kicked-off at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend with Dillon Battistini becoming the fifth Firestone Indy Lights driver to win in his first start when he captured the Miami 100. Battistini passed Richard Antinucci on Lap 64 of the 67-lap sprint to win by 1.6848 seconds. Antinucci finished second, while Brent Sherman was third.

Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Ganassi Racing, Lexus. Making it two for two in the 2008 season, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas (No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley) extended their Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 point lead Saturday by winning last Saturday afternoon's GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The duo combined to lead 51 laps overall, including 41 for Pruett, to win the 99-lap race by 1.645 seconds over defending race co-winner Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand (No. 23 Alex Job Racing Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Porsche Crawford). It also marked Pruett's record-extending 16th Daytona Prototype victory in Grand-Am competition. "Everything was good today; we could run inside, outside - high, low, really anywhere on the track," Pruett said. "This was truly one of the best cars I've ever had. The engine was phenomenal. They've worked hard to improve our drivability since Daytona - and in all the races we've won, I think this might have been our best Lexus engine ever." Rounding out the Daytona Prototype podium were Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson (No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley). Pruett and Rojas stretched their championship lead to a 13-point gap over defending champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty following two events. The race was a caution-fest with nine full course caution periods for 40 laps.


(Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved)
The winning Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas Lexus Riley captured at speed by ace photographer John Thawley. Click on the photo to see a gallery of John's work from last Saturday's GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Thanks again to John for allowing us to display his outstanding work on Autoextremist.com.

Kelly Collins, Paul Edwards, Banner Racing, Pontiac. Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards (No. 07 Banner Racing Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R) led 51 laps to win the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 GT class from the pole at the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Edwards led the final 30 laps after getting by Jan Heylen on Lap 70 of the 99-lap race. Edwards and Collins also finished 10th overall, 1.118 seconds ahead of Spencer Pumpelly and Tim George Jr.(No. 67 TRG Gleukos/Monster Cable Porsche GT3). Banner Racing team owner Leighton Reese and co-driver Jan Magnussen (No. 06 Banner Racing Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R) finished third after starting second-to-last (the team made an engine change in the 06 car on Friday). "This is awesome," said Edwards, who combined with Collins to finish second in the GT driver standings last season. "We made huge changes to the car following Thursday's practice, bigger changes we'd like to make during a racing weekend. This gives us the momentum we need, because Mexico City is a great track for us." "From the get-go, the car was good," added Collins.

Max Mosley. The 67-year-old FIA president allegedly gets caught (on video, no less) with five prostitutes role-playing in a weird Nazi prison camp-themed "sadomasochistic orgy" according to notorious British tabloid News of the World. What's adding to the scandal is the fact that Mosley's father - Oswald Mosley - was an open Adolf Hitler sympathizer and the leading fascist leader in Britain right before World War II. Mosley is seeking legal relief against the tabloid, and Bernie Ecclestone is dismissing the accusations. Mosley has since apologized, and he vows to stay on as the head of the FIA. Not Good are the two words that come to mind.

Bridgestone Firestone. The Indy Racing League and Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC, announced today that the Firestone brand will assume title sponsorship of the Indy Racing League’s official development series and reestablish the series name as Firestone Indy Lights. The change harkens back to the 11 seasons that the Firestone and Dayton brands headlined the Indy Lights Championships from 1991-2001. “This is a fresh start driven by tradition,” said Al Speyer, Executive Director of Motorsports, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire. “Our company has a long history of supporting the development of talent in the open-wheel ranks; this will be our 18 consecutive year doing so. With the unification of open-wheel racing, we thought it the perfect time to merge the excitement of the IRL’s growing support series with the rich history of Firestone Indy Lights.” The multiyear agreement officially renames what has previously been the Indy Pro Series to Firestone Indy Lights, effective immediately. Drivers will continue to compete for the Firehawk Cup awarded annually to the season champion. Firestone also maintains its status as Official Tire for Firestone Indy Lights, as well as the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. In addition, the Firestone Indy Lights event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 23 becomes the Firestone Freedom 100. “In light of the unification process, Tony George and the IRL asked Firestone to step up and support the sport even more than we have done in the past,” Speyer said. “We believe that this agreement further exemplifies Firestone’s continued support and belief in the future of open-wheel racing. One of the most noticeable results of this agreement is that participants will see an increase in prize money of more than $250,000 throughout the season.”

 
(Courtesy of Krohn Racing)
Krohn Racing will enter two new Proto-Auto Lola DP machines for the inaugural sprint race of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season at the Gainsco Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway, March 27-29. Team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn created Proto-Auto LLC with Lola Cars one year ago to build a Daytona Prototype chassis for Grand-Am competition. The car has been testing since December 2007.
  

Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved.

Publisher's Note: See a mini-gallery of photographer extraordinaire John Thawley's work from the 12 Hours of Sebring by clicking on the above photo (All images Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved). Thanks again to John for allowing us to showcase his superb images in Autoextremist.com. - PMD

Penske Racing, Porsche. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Emmanuel Collard (No. 7 Penske Racing DHL Porsche Spyder) drove to an historic overall win at the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida last Saturday, the season opener for the American Le Mans Series. The win was the first overall at Sebring by an LMP2 car, and America's classic endurance contest saw 27 overall lead changes, a race record, and three lead-lap finishers, tying a race record. Dumas took the checkered flag by 1:02.084 over Dyson Racing’s trio of Butch Leitzinger, Marino Franchitti and Andy Wallace in their Porsche RS Spyder. (Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz had finished second overall and in class but failed a post-race stall test in technical inspections. Their Lowe’s Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b was excluded as a result.) The Audi Sport North America trio of Dindo Capello, Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen finished third overall and first in LMP1. Third in P2 class and fourth overall was the second Dyson Porsche of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith as the P2 class took three of the top four spots. The overall win for Porsche was its first since 1988 when Hans Stuck and Klaus Ludwig took victory in a Porsche 962. Roger Penske took his first win at Sebring in 40 years and became the first team owner to win overall at Sebring, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Audi’s streak of consecutive overall wins at Sebring ended at eight, although it extended its Series record of consecutive class wins to 23. The much-anticipated battle between diesel rivals Audi and Peugeot materialized in the race’s opening half. The two traded the lead back and forth for 131 of the first 133 laps before the Peugeot 908 began to falter with hydraulic problems and related issues. It eventually finished fourth in P1 and 11th overall in its only scheduled appearance in North America for 2008.

Marco Andretti. Some people who should know better actually questioned this kid's talent, the implication being that he was handed things in racing because of his last name. But anyone who witnessed the way he grabbed his AGR Acura ARX-01B LMP2 car by the scruff of the neck and flat willed it around Sebring at blistering speeds had to be impressed. It was one of the most awesome displays of pure race driving talent and ability that we have ever seen. This just in, the kid is good.

Corvette Racing, Pratt & Miller. Johnny O’Connell became the winningest driver in Sebring history with his seventh class victory as he broke a tie with Sebring legend Phil Hill. O’Connell teamed with Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows for a trouble-free run in Corvette Racing’s No. 3 Corvette C6R. The trio started from the head of the GT1 class and never trailed, completing 328 laps and finishing eight overall. It was the sixth GT1 class victory in seven years for Corvette Racing. “We had great pit stops. We made time on in laps and out laps,” O’Connell said. “Anytime you beat your own team, you have to be pretty good. Everyone is really feeling positive about things. Last year there were a lot of races where I thought we were the dominant car and had a lot of bad luck.” O’Connell won overall in 1994 and posted class victories in 1993, 1995 and 2002-2004. “We had some unfinished business,” Fellows said. “We had a really strong car at Road Atlanta and had some bad luck with Jan. We had a great race at Le Mans. All three of us feel that this is a great way to start. Le Mans is the next big prize we’re going to shoot for. This is a great confidence builder for all of us and we definitely want another Le Mans.” The victory gave Fellows four Sebring wins - he teamed with O’Connell for three straight from 2002-04 - and was Magnussen’s second in four years. “If you’ve ever had the chance to meet Phil Hill, he is everything good and proper about motorsports,” O’Connell said. “He was what was wonderful about that era. You run across some of your heroes that you run across that are so full of themselves. But you meet someone like Phil Hill, he’s one of the coolest cats around! You start to have a real understanding about what this race is about.” The No. 4 Corvette C6R of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis ran into trouble early. The car lost time early in the race when the crew had to change a right halfshaft in the second hour. "We lost the inner tripod joint on the right side," explained team manager Gary Pratt. "All of the lube was still there, but it snapped one of the three drives at the spline. We've never seen a failure like that before." The trio was trying for a second straight class win together, but came home second in GT1, eight laps behind their teammates. The Sebring race marked the competition debut of two new Corvette C6R race cars, chassis numbers 007 and 008. "We introduced two new cars at this event, and again demonstrated the hallmarks of Corvette Racing: meticulous preparation, great teamwork, and flawless pit stops," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "We've shown that we're ready for an exciting season in ALMS and we're looking forward to Le Mans."

 
(GM Racing/Richard Prince Photo)
Johnny O'Connell, Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan, GM Racing road racing group manager Steve Wesoloski, Ron Fellows and Jan Magnussen celebrate another big GT1 class win for Corvette Racing at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring last Saturday night.

Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche. The Lizards finally broke through in the 12 Hours after finishing second the last two years. Jörg Bergmeister, Wolf Henzler and Marc Lieb drove their No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to a two-lap victory over the No. 44 team car of Darren Law, Seth Neiman and Alex Davison. It was the first 1-2 class finish for the Flying Lizard Motorsports team, which placed third in 2005 and runner-up in 2006 and 2007. “The Lizards really deserve this victory because they have worked so hard over the years,” Lieb said. “To win this race after the last two disappointing seasons, it makes me very happy. The Lizards really deserve this victory because they have worked so hard over the years. This team puts a lot of effort into racing with Porsche. It goes down through the people who care for the tires to engineers. Everything is just running really well at the moment. Flying Lizard is one of the top teams in the world and deserves a win like this.” The Risi Competizione/Krohn Racing Ferrari F430GT finished third in class, driven by Nic Jonsson, Eric van de Poele and Tracy Krohn. The next race for the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg on Saturday, April 5, from the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. The race will be broadcast on ABC from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET on April 5. Radio coverage will be available on XM Satellite Radio and on americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring.

Randy Pobst, K-PAX Racing, Porsche. Former Floridian Randy Pobst’s (No. 1 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3) local weather pattern knowledge helped make the pivotal decision to pit early for rain tires, as he came back through the field - from last to first - to win the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship season opener, part of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida at Sebring International Raceway. Andy Pilgrim (No. 8 Remington Shaving Cadillac CTS-V), of Boca Raton, Fla., and Michael Galati (No. 23 K-PAX Racing Porsche 911 GT3), of Olmsted, Ohio, completed the top three. “We started with the rain early on and it was quite livable, but then somebody crashed which didn’t surprise me one bit,” Pobst continued. “So then, we’re riding along under yellow, watching the skies, the windshield, and the road. I looked at the weather and decided to go with the wet tires. I felt that the rain tires, were a kind of intermediate tires, that would be okay in the dry too. So we changed the tires and went to the back, and to our great fortune it started raining harder and harder. As I watched that water build up I knew that everybody on dries was in trouble. When we changed, it still wasn’t a sure thing. We took a gamble. It could have quit raining right there, but it didn’t.” Brandon Davis (No. 10 ACS/Sun Microsystems Ford Mustang Cobra) recovered from a late-race brush with the wall on a restart to record a fourth-place finish. This race will be broadcast on SPEED Friday, March 21 at 1 p.m. (EDT). The series next visits the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for the Long Beach SPEED GT Presented by ACS, April 20. 

Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved.

Pierre Kleinubing, RealTime Racing, Acura. Pierre Kleinubing (No. 43 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX), of Coconut Creek, Fla., led from start to finish to capture his 27th-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win, his third at Sebring International Raceway, to start the 2008 season at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida weekend. Teammates Kuno Wittmer (No. 44 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX), of Montreal, Quebec, and Peter Cunningham (No. 42 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX), of Milwaukee, Wis., delivered a podium sweep for RealTime Racing. Starting from his record 31st pole, Kleinubing averaged 92.963 mph in beating Wittmer to the checkered flag by 0.645-second. The series next travels to VIRginia International Raceway, in Alton, Va., for Round Two, April 25-27. This race will be broadcast on SPEED Channel Friday, March 21 at 12 noon (EDT). 

Copyright © 2008, John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group All rights reserved.

Michelin. The French tire manufacturer won an unprecedented 10th consecutive overall victory in the 56th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring, America’s oldest and most prestigious sports car race. The tenth consecutive overall win in the 12 Hours of Sebring matches the record tenth consecutive win for Michelin at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June. The furious race pace produced new race lap records in the LMP1, LMP2 and GT2 classes, as both Audis and the race leading Peugeot all broke the former track record on just the third lap of the race. Risi Ferrari’s Jaime Melo set a new GT2 mark on the next lap. When the No. 2 Audi led lap 115 of the race, it marked the 3,000th lap of Sebring led by Michelin in the last 10 years. With the exception of three laps under caution early in the 2005 race, Michelin has led every green flag lap at Sebring since lap 296 of the 1999 Sebring race. The Michelin total is now 3,236 of the last 3,239 laps at Sebring. The Sebring victory was the 86th for Michelin in the 89 races held since the inception of the ALMS in 1999. With Saturday’s sweep of all four class victories, Michelin now has 245 ALMS class wins, including victories in all four ALMS classes in each of the past 13 events.

(ALMS)
Pedro Lamy was quick again at Sebring International Raceway on Tuesday in the final test session for the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. Lamy’s turned a lap of 1:43.710 (128.435 mph) in his Peugeot 908 HDi, which put him clear of the next car in the field by 0.725 seconds. The Peugeot 908 is racing in North America for the first time with drivers Lamy, Nic Minassian and Stephane Sarrazin. Saturday’s 12-hour season opener for the American Le Mans Series is shaping up to be a turbo-diesel shootout between newcomer Peugeot and Audi, which has won at Sebring every year since 2000 including the last two seasons with its Audi R10 TDI. Dindo Capello, Audi Sport North America had this to say about the competition from Peugeot: “With Peugeot in the race we are now getting back to the great days of sports car racing. It will be a great battle with the top-line manufacturers again. This race and this track put great stress on the car, the tires, the team and the drivers. Driving Sebring is much more demanding on all concerned, and it's a perfect way to test all factors of the car and the team prior to Le Mans.” Official practice sessions for America's endurance racing classic begin today.

(ALMS)
Marco Andretti served notice that Acura has made huge strides over the Winter by being second quick overall (fastest in LMP2) in yesterday's test session with a best lap of 1:44.435 (127.543 mph). Andretti will make his Series debut in the Acura ARX-01b for Andretti Green Racing, which won in class last year in its maiden American Le Mans Series race. Andretti, the grandson of three-time Sebring overall winner Mario Andretti, was 0.279 seconds better than the No. 2 Audi R10 TDI of Marco Werner (with Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller). Next up was the second-place LMP2 car, the Acura of Lowe’s Fernandez Racing driven by Adrian Fernandez (with Luis Diaz) who turned a 1:45.549 (126.197 mph), good enough for a 0.6-second cushion over Dindo Capello in the second Audi he will drive with Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen. The 2008 American Le Mans Series season opens with the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 15. The race will start at 10 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live by SPEED, which will begin its coverage at 9:30 a.m. MotorsTV, SPEED Latin America and Greenlight Television will provide international coverage as well. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.

Goodyear, NASCAR. Tony Stewart was being "a little harsh" (according to Jeff Gordon) after Stewart's tirade about the POS tires that Goodyear brought to Atlanta last weekend - even though Gordon and several drivers agreed with the gist of Stewart's perspective - but we don't think so at all. As a single-source supplier for all of NASCAR and as a tire company that has plenty of tests over the off-season, Goodyear has absolutely no excuses for showing up at a track with a tire that's that far off of the mark.

KV Racing Technology. KV Racing Technology co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser announced today that the team will campaign two cars during the 2008 IndyCar Series season. “Jimmy and I are very pleased to announce a new chapter in the history of our team which will campaign a two-car effort during the 2008 IndyCar Series season,” said Kalkhoven.  “In conjunction with our commitment to the IndyCar Series we have re-branded the team as KV Racing Technology and agreed to a sponsorship arrangement with Aussie Vineyards ­ Team Australia.  This will allow Will Power to join teammate Oriol Servia in what I believe will be the most competitive and exciting open-wheel racing series.  We want to welcome both Aussie Vineyards ­ Team Australia and Will Power to our team and we look forward to a very successful season in 2008 and for many years to come.” Servia will be behind the wheel of the KV Racing Technology No. 32 Honda/Dallara//Firestone entry while Power will pilot the KV Racing Technology No. 8 Aussie Vineyards ­ Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine. Power, 27, has finished in the top-10 a total of 19 times including 11 top-five showings (with six podium performances), two victories and six poles in two plus seasons of Champ Car competition.

(Photo by Jimmy Sykes)
Whelen Engineering will be back in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship in 2008, gunning for the driver's championship. Eric Curran, who recorded four Speed GT wins, a pole at Mid-Ohio, three fastest race laps and the distinction of having led more laps in SPEED GT than any other driver in 2007, will be back with Sonny Whelen on the Whelen Engineering team for 2008. “This is a huge year for us,” driver and team sponsor Sonny Whelen said. “Ted Marsh and his team have worked incredibly hard preparing our Whelen C6 Corvettes. I’m positive Eric and I will hit the track at Sebring with our best chances ever in World Challenge.”

(Ford)
Ford unveiled their 2008 Focus RS World Rally Car this week.

(Brian Czobat ©2008, autostock, USA)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford) won his second NASCAR Sprint Cup race in six days when he won the UAW-Dodge 400 last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet) finished second, Greg Biffle (Roush-Fenway Racing 3M Ford) third, and Richard Childress Racing teammates Kevin Harvick (No. 29  Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) and Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) rounded out the top five. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart survived heavy crashes during the race, with Gordon particularly lucky after his vicious hit against an inside retaining wall (which had no SAFER barrier) with five laps to go. The shit then hit the proverbial fan for Edwards' Roush-Fenway Racing team when his Ford failed a post-race inspection, as NASCAR officials discovered the lid was not on the oil tank box of his car. The verdict? NASCAR has cracked down hard on Edwards and Roush-Fenway racing. Edwards has been docked 100 points and been relieved of the 10 bonus points he earned toward the championship chase. Jack Roush has lost 100 owner points. And Crew chief Bob Osborne has been fined $100,000, suspended for six races and put on probation for the rest of the season. The 100-point penalty dropped Edwards from the top of the Sprint Cup standings to seventh.

(LAT USA)
Marco Andretti will drive the XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01b entered by Andretti Green Racing with Bryan Herta and Christian Fittipaldi in the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. Sebring will be the first start in the American Le Mans Series for Andretti. “I’m really looking forward to getting into the XM Satellite Radio Acura,” said Andretti, who will turn 21 on March 13. “I’ve had a chance to drive the car in a couple of tests and I’ve been very happy with it. The car has been really quick, fun to drive and has been incredibly durable.”

(Ron McQueeney/IRL)
Tony Kanaan was quickest for the second consecutive day during the IndyCar Series Open Test at Sebring International Raceway. Nine drivers tested March 3-4. A second group of nine will test on the circuit’s 11-turn, 1.7-mile circuit March 5-6. Kanaan took over the top position on the speed chart from Andretti Green Racing teammate Hideki Mutoh with less than 15 minutes remaining in the day and then topped things off with his fastest lap as the checkered flag waved. Kanaan’s 124th lap came in at 52.8609 seconds, 113.732 mph. AGR's Marco Andretti was third quickest Tuesday. Testing resumes at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday (March 5) with drivers from A.J. Foyt Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Panther Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske taking to the track. The 2008 IndyCar Series season begins under the lights with the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 on March 29 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Michelin. Having secured its 10th consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, Michelin is seeking a 10th consecutive overall race victory in the upcoming 12 Hours of Sebring. Michelin-partner teams claimed victory in the LMP2 (Andretti Green Acura), GT1 (Corvette Racing) and GT2 (Risi Competizione Ferrari) classes last year. Michelin will also be seeking its third consecutive ALMS class championship sweep in 2008 after securing every ALMS manufacturer, team, driver and tire championship for the past two years. All of the 2007 championship teams return to competition with Michelin for the 2008 season. They will be attempting to win their ninth consecutive ALMS Tire Championship in the LMP1 and GT2 categories and their sixth in GT1 and third in LMP2. Unlike other forms of motorsports, which run a “spec tire,” the ALMS enjoys a fierce battle among numerous tire companies with six tire companies fighting for ALMS honors, including five different tire makers in the GT2 class alone. 

The IRL. As expected, Gold Coast Indy officials and the Indy Racing League announced an agreement today on a six-year contract to have the Gold Coast Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise on the IRL schedule through 2013. The deal follows the absorption of the Champ Car series into the IRL last month.