September 7, 2011
(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Will Power does his now familiar "Power Leap" after winning the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix from the pole position on Sunday. It was another dominant IZOD IndyCar Series performance by the talented Aussie who led the most laps and cruised to his record-tying sixth victory of the season. Power has chopped 50 points off Dario Franchitti's lead over the past five races and now trails the Scot by just five points heading to the Twin Ring Motegi road course race on Sept. 17.
(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Dallara-Honda with Firestone tires) was totally exhausted after the pounding he took during the 75-lap race on the rough, 2.04-mile, 12-turn temporary street circuit. Here he takes a moment before beginning his post-race celebration. "That was the toughest race I've done all year," Power said. "I'm just exhausted, but that was a championship run."
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Oriol Servia (No. 2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Racing D/H/F) started 16th and finished second, his best run on a road/street course in the IZOD IndyCar Series to date.
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Tony Kanaan, who was involved in a nasty morning warm-up incident when he lost his brakes and launched his No. 82 GEICO KV Racing Technology-Lotus D/H/F into the air after hitting Helio Castroneves, ended-up finishing third after starting in the last row. It was well-judged and hard earned performance by Kanaan.
(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
No one knows if the good vibes will continue next year - year 2 of a 3-year deal - but the crowds were massive and enthusiastic in Baltimore for the entire three-day IndyCar/ALMS double-header weekend.
(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Dario Franchitti, here a blur in his No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F, finished fourth (his 12th top five in the 15 races) and his teammate Scott Dixon was fifth in the No. 9 car.
(LAT Photo - Bijlsma)
Danica Patrick (No. 7 Andretti Autosport Team GoDaddy D/H/F) came from 25th to take sixth place. Here she finds herself in the midst of the Turn 3 traffic jam that occurred late in the race. Alex Tagliani was seventh in the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins car for Sam Schmidt Motorsports after starting 21st.
(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Will Power, the Man of the Moment in IndyCar Racing, was completely spent after the brutal, 75-lap grind on the streets of Baltimore. Next for the IZOD IndyCar Series is the Indy Japan: The Final on Sept. 18 at Twin Ring Motegi. The race will take place on the road course for the first time and will be televised live at 11:30 p.m. (EDT) on Sept. 17 by VERSUS and the IMS Radio Network.
(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Gustavo Yacaman (shown here in qualifying on Saturday) celebrated his first Firestone Indy Lights victory in a 35-lap race of attrition on the 2.04-mile, 12-turn Baltimore temporary street circuit. Yacaman started third in the No. 2 TMR-Tuvacol-Xtreme Oil Drilling and was running second when he inherited the lead on a Lap 31 restart when race leader Anders Krohn (No. 9 Liberty Engineering Racing Special for Belardi Auto Racing) overshot the tight Turn 1 right-hander and slid into the runoff. Yacaman then had to hold off series championship points leader Josef Newgarden (No. 11 Copart/Score Big/Robo-Pong/SSM), who closed to 0.4500 of a second at the checkered flag. Victor Carbone finished a season-best third in the No. 3 Nevoni/SSS machine. Next up is the Kentucky 100 on Oct. 2 at Kentucky Speedway. It will be televised live by VERSUS.
(Image © 2011 - John Thawley Motorsports Photography - http://www.johnthawley.com)
Check out more of the visual stylings of John Thawley here, this time from the Baltimore Grand Prix weekend. And get the lowdown on the Baltimore event in this week's "Fumes."
Road America. "America's National Park of Speed" will host the VSCDA Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival®, September 9-11, 2011. This weekend regularly attracts nearly 300 vintage and historic racecars from around the country. Ten race groups will run over the 3-day event including a field of pre-war models. In addition, two significant milestones are being celebrated: the 45th anniversary of the CAN-AM Series and the 40th anniversary of Trans-AM. The fan-friendly paddock is open tospectators for close-up views of amazing racing machines prepared to era-specifications. On Saturday fans can watch a historic road course reenactment tour which will leave Road America at 2:45 p.m. and follow a route almost identical to the street course driven in the early 1950s. Tickets to the Fall Vintage Festival can be purchased at the main gate which opens daily at 7 a.m. Kids 12 and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult. Races run rain or shine. On-site camping is also a great way to enjoy Road America’s park-like setting, call for details. Road America’s 2011 season will conclude with the prestigious SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, Sept. 22-25, 2011. Known as the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, the event features over 600 amateur drivers racing to win their class championships. For more information call 800-365-7223 or visit www.roadamerica.com.
(Ron McQueeney/IMS)
GRAND-AM drivers and teams prepared for the inaugural Super Weekend at the Brickyard in July 2012 by testing Wednesday, Sept. 7 on the Grand Prix road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Testing also is scheduled from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, with Daytona Prototypes and GT cars from the Rolex Sports Car Series and Grand Sport and Street Tuner cars from the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Fans are welcome to watch GRAND-AM testing Thursday for free from the South Terrace grandstands adjacent to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum. GRAND-AM will make its IMS debut Friday, July 27, 2012 as part of the inaugural Super Weekend at the Brickyard. Separate races for the Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will take place that day on the 13-turn, 2.534-mile Grand Prix course at IMS, with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series action also on the oval during the four-day event from July 26-29. GRAND-AM drivers testing today at IMS included Alex Gurney (in his car, above), Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli, Craig Stanton, Ronnie Bremer, John Edwards, Eric Foss and Tom Long. Two-time Daytona Prototype season champion Gurney is the son of Indianapolis 500 and American Formula One legend Dan Gurney, a two-time Indy 500 runner-up as a driver and the winning car owner in 1975 with Bobby Unser behind the wheel. After his morning test session under cool and windy conditions at IMS, Gurney spoke about his experience. "It's great to be here at Indy," Gurney said. "I've never driven around this course. I went once around it in a bus, but other than that I haven't been. So I guess it's been a little over 40 years since a Gurney has been here. It's pretty exciting for me. There's a lot of family history here, and when I drove in this morning, I was thinking how hard my dad fought for so many years to win here, and they were able to do it with a team. But anyway, it's real special to be here."
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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