Indycar general news

[Bundy]

Will Power and Scott Dixon have to serve 10 grid place penalties at this weekend's Milwaukee Mile for having to change their engines

While Takuma Sato and Josef Newgarden also have grid penalties for what looks like not refitting their practice engines when their race engines had expired.

www.speedcafe.com/2012/06/13/will-power-scott-dixon-cop-10-place-grid-penalties/

espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/8045929/indycar-drivers-power-scott-dixon-penalized-milwaukee

[Bundy]

Indycar will not be going to China at a race staged in the city of Qingdao citing reasons that the promotor was unsuccessful in trying to move the race from that city to another suitable location.

CEO Bernard is looking at an alternative event to keep this year's racing calendar at 16 events and I heard there was this Gold Coast V8s event in late October that they could possibly co-host a round there

www.speedcafe.com/2012/06/14/chinese-promotor-cancels-indycar-round/

[crikey]

Dam I wish ONE would telecast Indy

[HDT05]

Thank god I've got SPEED Crikey, I love it!

[crikey]

Jun 15, 2012 23:08:23 GMT 10 HDT05 said:

Thank god I've got SPEED Crikey, I love it!

Lucky man

[Bundy]

Haha...HDT any chance of sharing?

To get back on to something more serious, Dario Franchitti has qualified on pole for this weekend's Milwaukee Mile with Hunter-Reay, Will Power and Rubens Barrichello filling up the rest of the top 4 grid spots.

espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/8058332/dario-franchitti-wins-indycar-pole-milwaukee-mile

[HDT05]

@ Crikey and Bundy, it's going to be hard this weekend, with Le mans 24 hour on and Moto GP also and Indycar then NASCAR!! Anymore to add!?!
But rember they have penalties, well Power does!

[Bundy]

Jun 16, 2012 14:19:32 GMT 10 HDT05 said:

@ Crikey and Bundy, it's going to be hard this weekend, with Le mans 24 hour on and Moto GP also and Indycar then NASCAR!! Anymore to add!?!

No work on Monday then ;D

[HDT05]

Jun 16, 2012 19:10:34 GMT 10 Bundy said:

Jun 16, 2012 14:19:32 GMT 10 HDT05 said:

@ Crikey and Bundy, it's going to be hard this weekend, with Le mans 24 hour on and Moto GP also and Indycar then NASCAR!! Anymore to add!?!

No work on Monday then ;D

Nah, I got work...but hopefully it finishes before i have to leave.

[Bundy]

Ryan Hunter-Reay wins the Milwaukee Mile.

Next came Tony Kanaan who was second, followed by James Hinchcliffe, Oriol Servia and E.J. Viso.

Will Power finished 12th

espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/8060996/ryan-hunter-reay-takes-indycar-race-milwaukee





espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/8060996/ryan-hunter-reay-takes-indycar-race-milwaukee

[Bundy]

Franchitti gets Iowa pole position based on this weird heat race format.

Heat one results

1 Graham Rahal Ganassi Honda 30 laps
2 Josef Newgarden Fisher Honda +6.2134
3 JR Hildebrand Panther Chevrolet +6.5594
4 EJ Viso KV Chevrolet +7.4531
5 Oriol Servia Panther/DRR Chevrolet +8.3586
6 Mike Conway Foyt Honda +10.8144
7 Ed Carpenter Carpenter Chevrolet +13.4036
8 Takuma Sato Rahal Honda +18.5671



Heat two results

1 Tony Kanaan KV Chevrolet 30 laps
2 Alex Tagliani Herta Honda +3.1255
3 Rubens Barrichello KV Chevrolet +6.0818
4 Justin Wilson Coyne Honda +7.9310
5 Charlie Kimball Ganassi Honda +10.0818
6 Katherine Legge Dragon Chevrolet +13.7490
7 James Jakes Coyne Honda +14.0032
8 Simona de Silvestro HVM Lotus + 1 lap
9 Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Honda + 1 lap

Heat three results

1 Dario Franchitti Ganassi Honda 30 laps
2 Helio Castroneves Penske Chevrolet +1.4671
3 Marco Andretti Andretti Chevrolet +5.1884
4 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Chevrolet +5.9813
5 Ryan Briscoe Penske Chevrolet +6.5813
6 Will Power Penske Chevrolet +7.3542
7 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Chevrolet +7.8433
8 Scott Dixon Ganassi Honda +9.2963



Starting order:

1 Dario Franchitti Ganassi Honda
2 Helio Castroneves Penske Chevrolet
3 Marco Andretti Andretti Chevrolet
4 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Chevrolet
5 Ryan Briscoe Penske Chevrolet
6 Will Power Penske Chevrolet
7 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Chevrolet
8 Scott Dixon Ganassi Honda
9 Tony Kanaan KV Chevrolet
10 Graham Rahal Ganassi Honda
11 Alex Tagliani Herta Honda
12 Josef Newgarden Fisher Honda
13 Rubens Barrichello KV Chevrolet
14 JR Hildebrand Panther Chevrolet
15 Justin Wilson Coyne Honda
16 EJ Viso KV Chevrolet
17 Charlie Kimball Ganassi Honda
18 Oriol Servia Panther/DRR Chevrolet
19 Katherine Legge Dragon Chevrolet
20 Mike Conway Foyt Honda
21 James Jakes Coyne Honda
22 Ed Carpenter Carpenter Chevrolet
23 Simona de Silvestro HVM Lotus
24 Takuma Sato Rahal Honda
25 Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Honda

www.speedcafe.com/2012/06/23/dario-franchitti-wins-iowa-pole/

[Bundy]

Push to pass is being re-introduced - not a great fan of it as it makes the racing too artificial IMO. Also, question why it is being re-introduced part way through a championship with 5 races to go - kind of unfair to those happy with how it was

www.speedcafe.com/2012/06/28/indycar-re-introduces-push-pass/

[HDT05]

Reports are suggesting that Penske's number three seat is available (Ryan Briscoe) and that Penske has made an offer to Ryan Hunter-Reay to join the team to replace Ryan Briscoe. Ryan Hunter-Reay has denied the reports and said he's just focused on the title decider and beating Penske and Will Power!

[HDT05]

Some news that was realeased earlier in the week about Mile Conway quitting Ovals after not being 'comfortable' racing on them.

IndyCar »

Conway quits ovals, skips Fontana finale

Mike Conway has told his team that he is no longer comfortable competing on the high speed ovals in the IndyCar Series, and will be replaced by Wade Cunningham at Fontana this weekend.

Mike Conway will miss the IZOD IndyCar Series finale this weekend at Auto Club Speedway, Fontana in California, after he informed his team AJ Foyt Racing that he was no longer comfortable competing on ovals.

“I've come to realize I'm not comfortable on the ovals and no longer wish to compete on them," said Conway on Thursday afternoon. “I'm truly sorry for putting the team and our sponsors in a difficult position, but this is the hardest decision I have ever made in my racing career."

The English driver was quick to point out that his decision to drop out of this weekend's race at the two-mile Fontana oval did not mean that he was quitting from racing.

"I want to stress that I am not finished racing," he said. "I would love to continue with Foyt Racing, but that's something we need to discuss in the future."

Conway apparently made the decision after struggling during test runs at Fontana, which saw him running around 20th position in the timesheets some 5mph off the leaders' times.

He suffered serious neck and back injuries as well as a broken leg in a horror accident in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 that sidelined him for the rest of that season, but he had bounced back and completed a full season with Andretti Autosports in 2011.

Conway had driven the AJ Foyt Racing car to three top ten finishes this year which included a podium finish in Toronto, and his efforts have won him solid support from the team. However, this year's Indy 500 ended in another scary crash that may have brought unhappy memories of two years ago back to the surface.

Larry Foyt, the team's general manager, said that they respected Conway for turning to them and expressing his unease with running on any further oval tracks, and that it was still possible that Conway could run future street and road courses with them next year.

"Mike's been a great asset to our team, and I'm disappointed that we can't finish out the season together," he said. "It took a lot of courage for Mike to come forward and we respect him highly for that and we certainly want to honour his decision.”

Conway's seat will be taken at short notice by New Zealand's Wade Cunningham, who last drove for the team in a second entry at this year's Indianapolis 500.

Cunningham won the Indy Lights race at Fontana in 2005, his championship-winning season and the last year that either Indy Lights or IndyCar ran at the Auto Club Speedway before this weekend.

"Fortunately, Wade was available to drive for us, and we're looking forward to working with him again,” said Larry Foyt.

Cunningham will get special track time on Thursday for IndyCar president of competition Beaux Barfield and technical director Kevin Blanch to observe and make sure he is race ready.

"It's in everyone's best interest that he gets comfortable on the oval," said Barfield. "We have unlimited time today, so we'll watch him closely."

www.crash.net/indycar/news/183919/1/conway_quits_ovals_skips_fontana_finale.html