Justin Wilson

IZOD IndyCar Series driver
Champ Car World Series driver

Andretti Autosport Already Looking for Next Driver

Posted by Chad Smith on October 29, 2011
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As the IZOD INDYCAR Series continues to cope with the loss of Dan Wheldon and trying to move forward, so does Michael Andretti’s team.

Wheldon had just signed to drive for Andretti Autosport for the 2012 season, just one day before his tragic death at Las Vegas. There never really was a backup plan, because they had been discussing the move for quite some time. The question now is who will be driving the Go Daddy car next season?

Andretti Autosport executive vice president and chief operating officer J-F Thormann said that finding the next driver for the Go Daddy machine became an immediate priority last week. He said the plan is to announce the new driver within the next six weeks.

While Thormann wouldn’t say who was on their short list of drivers, he did say that there is a mixture of both young and veteran drivers they are looking at. There are a lot of options out there, but which ones are considered “realistic” possibilities?

Probably the guy in the highest demand right now is Justin Wilson. He did suffer a season-ending back injury at Mid-Ohio this year, but he is fully recovered and has been cleared to return to racing. Rumor has it he has been linked to about six or seven teams for next year, so he will have many options to weigh this off-season.

A surprising name on the list is Ryan Briscoe. While rumors have been swirling for the past few months about his tenure at Penske Racing, he performed well enough this season to keep his ride in my opinion. Before his crash on pole day at Indy this year, he had arguably the fastest car in the field. A few other unfortunate incidents (none of his own doing) also kept him out of victory lane this year.

James Hinchcliffe is also a hot name going around right now. He had an incredible rookie season, finishing 12th in the point standings, despite missing the first race of the season. He finished above drivers like Takuma Sato, Alex Tagliani, Vitor Meira, EJ Viso, Simona de Silvestro, and fellow Rookie JR Hildebrand.

Speaking of Hildebrand, he is also a candidate for this position. He won the Firestone Indy Lights Championship for Andretti before making the move to Panther Racing. It is unlikely that he would leave, but his name will be out there in the rumors.

Many people feel that Tony Kanaan should go back to Andretti Autosport, but I just don’t see it happening. It would be a heart-warming story, filling in for his best friend Wheldon, but it just seems like the Kanaan and Andretti days are officially over.

Simona de Silvestro is a driver that could really start to compete if given the ride at Andretti. She is marketable, just as Danica was, and she is actually a better driver than Danica ever was. She had a series of unfortunate injuries last season, but she fought through them and still had some great moments in 2011.

Vitor Meira is a guy I think could quietly sneak up and get this ride. He obviously has the talent to run up front, especially in Indianapolis. He has been an underrated driver for quite a while now, and if he can get hooked up with a quality ride from Andretti, he could make some noise in 2012.

A few other names that could be considered are Sebastian Bourdais, Alex Lloyd, and Connor Daily. Bourdais and Lloyd both have good experience and performed well last year. Daily would be a driver they could “break in”, but that normally involves some wrecked machines.

While it is too early to see any of these drivers as being the “favorite” to drive the Go Daddy machine in 2012, there are certainly plenty of options. One thing is certain, there are going to be a lot of rumors over the next six weeks.

Power Fends Off Helio and Dario to Win at Edmonton

Posted by Chad Smith on July 24, 2011
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For the second consecutive race, the IndyCar Series was in Canada, with all eyes on the championship contenders. Will Power and Dario Franchitti got together again, but this time it was after the race, as they both celebrated on the podium.

While everyone was watching Franchitti and Power’s every move, Takuma Sato went out on Saturday and won the pole for Sunday’s race in Edmonton.

Sato led the first 18 laps of the race, in what was a great run for KV Racing. All three of the Lotus cars were running in the top ten. On lap 19, Power was able to get under Sato to take the lead, and the Ganassi cars followed. Scott Dixon and Franchitti both were able to follow Power, putting Sato back into fourth.

It was a rough start for two of the three Canadian drivers, and Graham Rahal. Surprisingly, all 26 cars made it through turn one without any contact, but soon after, Alex Tagliani pressed hard going into turn five, and locked up his wheels. He slid into the back of Rahal, cutting his left-rear tire. Rahal eventually spun off the track, and came back on directly into the path of Paul Tracy.

Both Rahal and Tracy were out of the race on the first lap, and Tagliani had to serve a drive through penalty, although he was already set to restart in the back of the field after changing his damaged wing.

On lap 25, Oriol Servia got put into the tire barrier after Mike Conway attempted to make a pass. Conway got under him, but there really wasn’t much room to make a pass. Servia had just made his first pit stop of the race. Conway was given a drive through penalty.

On the restart, Dixon had problems when he and EJ Viso got together. Dixon’s car was smoking, and he brought his car into pit lane. The team discovered the problem was with the radiator, and he had to go behind the wall for the repair. He finished the race in 23rd, and is now more than 100 points behind in the championship.

Once again turn five was the center of attention on lap 39, when Ryan Hunter-Reay got into pole sitter Takuma Sato. Both drivers were running in the top five, but Sato fell back into 19th position. Ryan was given a drive through penalty, which put him back into 13th position.

Alex Tagliani came into pit on lap 49, which gave the top three positions in the race to team Penske. The team has had quite an up and down season, but they all looked good in Edmonton.

Dario got by Briscoe as the final pit stops cycled through, and both he and Castroneves closed the gap on race leader Power. These three separated themselves from the rest of the field, and it was a three-car shootout from there on.

Power was able to fend off his teammate to win the race, and Franchitti settled for third. Tony Kanaan finished in fourth after Briscoe had to come in on the final lap for fuel. Justin Wilson had a solid day as he rounded out the top five.

Will led 58 of the 80 laps on Sunday, which was his fourth win of the 2011 season.

Power was able to make up a few points on Dario in the championship as they head to Mid-Ohio for the next race on August 7th. The gap between the two now is just 38 points, with seven races remaining.

Franchitti Spins Power, Goes on to Win Honda Indy Toronto

Posted by Chad Smith on July 10, 2011
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Defending race winner and Championship contender Will Power couldn’t have been happier when today’s race at Toronto began. Unfortunately for him, the day went downhill from there.

Power started the race from Pole position, and led 32 laps on the day. Late in the race, Dario Franchitti got on the inside of Will Power, and spun him out. Originally, Dario was given a drive through penalty, which was retracted just a few minutes later.

After the race though, IndyCar officials claimed that there never was a penalty issued to Dario.
As if that weren’t enough to make Team Penske’s blood boil, Alex Tagliani then spun Power out a few laps later. Will was able to make it back to pit lane, but his car was too badly damaged to repair.
This is the second straight race that Will Power ended with a DNF.

While Franchitti won the race, his teammate Scott Dixon was right behind him in second, and Ryan Hunter-Reay joined them on the podium with a third place finish. Marco Andretti and Vitor Meira rounded out the top five.

While Franchitti won his fourth race of the season, it was the fourth runner-up finish for Dixon.
Power finished the race in 24th position, while Dario went on to win the race. Without being given the drive through penalty, Franchitti now has a 55 point lead in the standings heading into the next race at Edmonton, Alberta.

The old saying goes “cautions breed cautions”, and that couldn’t have been more true of today’s race. It was a mess out there, especially in the hairpin turns, which could easily be blamed on the double file restarts.

All three Penske cars and all four Andretti Autosport cars made contact with other cars at some point on the day.

Naturally, drivers were frustrated after the race, most of them for good reason. After Power climbed out of his car, he expressed his displeasure with Franchitti and the penalty that was retracted for taking him out.

In an interview on Versus, he said that “Dario never gets penalized” and that it was a “dirty move” that Dario used to take him out. When then asked about the contact with Tagliani, Power just called him a “wanker” and left it at that.

With five laps remaining in the race, Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact with Graham Rahal, who was running in second place at the time. Ryan went by as Rahal was spun around and lost 11 positions, finishing in 13th.

Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Briscoe, JR Hildebrand, EJ Viso, and Simona de Silvestro rounded out the top ten finishers. Ana Beatriz, Oriol Servia, and Rahal were the last cars to finish on the lead lap. It wasn’t a good day for the home town drivers either, as Hinchcliffe finished in 14th, Tracy in 16th, and Tagliani in 23rd position.

The series will now have two weeks off before the next event. The teams and cars will head to Edmonton City Centre Airport for the next race on Sunday, July 24th.

Four Tires and Fuel: Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300

Posted by Christopher Leone on April 27, 2011
Posted in: Chad Smith. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 comments

It’s safe to say that this year’s edition of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was a wild one. We had teammates taking each other out, complaints about inconsistent penalties, and when all was said and done, a first-timer (Mike Conway) in victory lane that none of us picked. A couple folks mentioned the possibility of Andretti Autosport cars showing up big – in fact Ryan Worden picked one to win – but nobody had that No. 27 that used to see the winner’s circle so often with Dario Franchitti.

Will Power was, as usual, the consensus pick, with three of five folks choosing him. For the two folks who chose otherwise, their decisions helped spread out the standings a bit:

  1. Chad, 139 (last week’s pick: Will Power)
  2. Chris, 129 (Dario Franchitti)
  3. Kyle, 94 (Power)
  4. Catie, 88 (Power)
  5. Ryan, 63 (Marco Andretti)

This week, IndyCar heads to South America for its second event on the streets of Sao Paulo. Already, the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 is one of the marquee events on the schedule, especially as so many IndyCar drivers call Brazil home. As such, this week’s fantasy bonus is 25 points to whomever accurately predicts the highest-finishing Brazilian driver on Sunday.

So what do we have by way of predictions this week? Carry on, noble reader:

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IndyCar Debate: Is Series as Competitive as Standings Say It Is?

Posted by Chad Smith on April 22, 2011
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Franchitti and Dixon

The speculation around the IndyCar Series this year is that it is more wide open than it has been since the merger. While it might feel that way right now, time will prove otherwise.

As they sit right now, there are eight different teams represented in the top ten of the season points standings. While that may be a strong argument for those that believe there is a lot of parody, it may be somewhat smoke and mirrors. There have been many factors that have led us to where we currently stand.

First off, we have only had three races this year. It is still too early to speculate as to how much parody there actually is in the sport today. We have not yet completed a quarter of the races on the schedule, and as we all know, drivers perform better at certain venues than others. For instance, Long Beach is one of the most demanding circuits on the schedule, both mentally and physically. As a result, some drivers are better suited for this course than others, while it may be the other way around for another driver.

While on the topic of the schedule, it is also important to note that we have yet to even see our first event on an oval. With so many new drivers and teams, it is impossible to predict how they will fare on the ovals against the top teams like Penske, Ganassi, and Andretti Autosport. When people talk about the equipment advantage that those three teams have over most everyone else, it applies even more when talking about the ovals. The dominance that those three teams have shown on the ovals, especially Indianapolis, is really the main thing you want to look at when considering how much parody exists.

Since 2000, only one team other than Penske, Ganassi, and Andretti has won the Indianapolis 500. That was 2004, when Buddy Rice won it with Rahal/Letterman Racing.

Buddy Rice

The growing perception about this season is that some of the smaller teams are finally able to step up and compete with the “big three” with new drivers. Veteran Tony Kanaan is now with KV Racing, Newman/Hass has seen a revival, Dreyer & Reinbold is looking to get into the mix with Justin Wilson and Ana Beatriz, and some of the one-car teams have had success as well.

KV Racing has probably seen the biggest improvement this season, not only with T.K. leading the way, but Takuma Sato has been impressive as well. E.J. Viso continues to find different ways of hitting the wall and other cars, collecting more DNFs, but the team is still doing much better than any previous season. Experienced driver Oriol Servia has been one of the biggest surprises this year, and rookie driver James Hinchcliffe has been living up to the hype so far in just two races.

All of this does add up to more excitement for the series, but just how legitimate are the results just three races in? We have to start with Ryan Briscoe, and his horrible luck in the first two races. He was one of the victims of that lap 1, turn 1 embarrassment at St. Pete. The next week at Barber, he was having a great run in second place for most of the day before he got taken out by a terrible move by Ryan Hunter-Reay. He rebounded nicely last weekend, but those first two races cost him dearly.

Helio Castroneves has not been himself in any race this year, and with the points getting away from him and the Indy 500 just around the corner, I think he is going to return to form. He has one more race to prove it before Indy, but even if he doesn’t do it next weekend he will probably still be lightning quick at Indy. The third Penske driver, Will Power, has looked good in the first three races. The ovals cost him the championship last year and he will not let that happen again.

Looking at the two (sorry Kimball and Rahal) Ganassi guys, there really is no cooler pair than Franchitti and Dixon. These two are quite the pair, on and off the track. While Franchitti has been his normal dominating self this year, Dixon has had some bad luck in two of the first three races. The first lap accident in St. Pete took him out of that, and after finishing in second at Barber, he got into Helio’s mess at Long Beach. Both he and Dario are two of the best at Indianapolis and these two know how to get it done on the other ovals.

When talking about bad luck, you also have to mention Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Both of these drivers have had a couple of DNFs so far this season. Marco was flipped upside down in that first lap crash at St. Pete and RHR also got some damage that ended his day. Ryan also had some bad luck last weekend at Long Beach where it looked like he would win another one there, only to have mechanical problems end his run. Marco ended his day when he turned into another car leaving pit road.

On the same topic of Andretti Autosport, you have to look at Mike Conway. Despite winning last weekend’s race, his first two races went south fast. He got tangled up in the opening lap crash at St. Pete and then had another accident at Barber that took him out of the race. It was great to see him rebound and get that win in Long Beach, which was really an impressive run.

The fourth driver at Andretti Autosport, Danica Patrick, has surprisingly been the quietest of them all. She has had mediocre runs in every race, but has been able to finish them all, to her credit. The spotlight will return to her once we hit the ovals, and as the midpoint of the season comes around where all anyone wants to talk about is her contract and future plans. She should be better once we get to the ovals, and she knows her way around Indianapolis.

Basically, the next few races are really going to show us if guys like Hinchcliffe, Servia, Sato, Wilson and Silvestro are going to be able to keep this up. Outside of the Penske, Ganassi, and Andretti teams, there are a few people that I think will be able to hang near the top. Veterans and proven drivers like Tony Kanaan, Alex Tagliani, and Justin Wilson should be in the mix at the end.

There are some fresh faces and people in new places, but that doesn’t always translate into parody, especially in a sport that has been dominated by two or three teams. It was great to see some new blood like Conway win a race, but I don’t know if we will see much more of that this season. I would like to be wrong, but it’s hard to count out the big boys already.

Four Tires and Fuel: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Posted by Christopher Leone on March 24, 2011
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As you all know by now, we’ve expanded here at Open Wheel America this season. More writers means more content and more ideas flowing through the pages of this website. It also means our race previews are bound to get a lot better, as we play off of one another’s opinions to give you, the fans, a better look at how we think this IZOD IndyCar Series season is going to go down.

Speaking of more writers, we’ve got two more joining the site. Ryan Worden and Chad Smith are two of the top IndyCar writers on BleacherReport.com, and together the three of us were the main contributors in their IndyCar Writers’ Pool last year. This year, they’re going to be here with us, and we’ve sort of adapted the old Writers’ Pool idea into this: Four Tires and Fuel.

Consider this the new race preview post. We’ll post Four Tires and Fuel in the week leading up to each race. The idea is for us to answer three of the burning questions on everybody’s mind, and pick our race winners. So, without further ado, Catie, Kyle, and I take on the hot topics for this weekend’s race, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:

1. Which driver with a new team is going to do the best this season?

Catie: Tony Kanaan. He’s a veteran, drives like a crazy man (but DOESN’T wreck himself, his teammates, or other drivers) and has the ability to translate the speed the KV cars have into good results.

Kyle: Look for Tony Kanaan to boost the KV program and Mike Conway to break out at Andretti Autosport.

Chris: Kanaan’s an easy pick, no doubt. I just wonder if it’s too easy of a pick. I kind of want to say Sebastien Bourdais, but he’s not running a full schedule. So I’m going to pick his old Champ Car teammate Graham Rahal – but he’s going to do most of his best work in the second half of the season. I expect that new team to struggle a bit early on.

Chad: Tony Kanaan is the obvious choice. Another guy I am going to go with is Mike Conway. I believe he has a great opportunity to finally get some quality finishes. Does Alex Tagliani count? If so, he would be my guy here.

Ryan: Lots of great drivers are with new teams this year. Tons of excitement with TK going to KV, Conway moving to Andretti, Servia going to Newman Haas, and Bourdais returning to the grid. But my pick has to be Graham Rahal with his new Service Central team under the Ganassi flag. Graham is one of the best young drivers, and he is joining the best team in the business. While I think all new drivers will do well with their new teams, Graham has the best combination of talent and equipment.

2. Which driver is most likely to break out this year?

Catie: He doesn’t seem to quite qualify as a driver that needs a breakout year, but I think Oriol Servia will finally have an opportunity to shine this season. More obvious picks: Conway and Rahal need to given their team “upgrades” over the off-season.

Kyle: Simona De Silvestro. Not picking her because she’s my favorite, but because what she has going for her. New sponsor, more money to work with, new car, a year under her belt, massive amounts of talent, and a great supporting cast around her.

Chris: I gotta say, I love what J.R. Hildebrand has going for him. The folks in the Panther organization are proven winners, and that’s a big reason why they’re one of the best remaining teams from the original IRL. As a driver, he’s got that “it” factor. And come on, the last time a guy named J.R. drove a No. 4 car, he won the Indianapolis 500 (Johnny Rutherford in 1980). Panther’s got, what, three runner-up finishes in a row? That seems like a good omen to me.

Chad: I love the Hildebrand pick here, I think he could do some great things in the future for Panther Racing. The guy I am going with here though is Marco Andretti. The problem he has had has been staying up front late in races. I think he has improved vastly on the street/road courses, and we know he can put it together on the ovals. With TK gone, someone is going to have to step up for AA, and I think I give the slight edge to him over Hunter-Reay.

Ryan: I think we’ll see great years from a few drivers this year that haven’t been able to put it all together in the past. Rahal and Andretti will look to show the new generation can keep up with their pops. Both have shown flashes, but its time to show they can keep those up. Hildebrand is in a great position with a great team, but only having one car will limit their potential. My pick for the year is Marco Andretti. He will work better with Mike Conway than he did with Tony Kanaan, and Andretti will work better as a team despite losing their most talented driver.

3. Which unemployed driver most deserves to be on the grid this weekend?

Catie: Dan Wheldon. And yet, maybe not. He’s been quiet this off-season and hasn’t drawn attention of an unflattering sort to himself… but he’s also been a little too quiet. Hmmm. Still picking Dan Wheldon.

Kyle: Undoubtedly Dan Wheldon. Indy 500 champ and series champ in 2005 and no ride now? Hopefully that changes soon.

Chris: OK, look, I love British drivers, and I love Dan Wheldon – in fact there’s an autographed Wheldon die-cast staring me in the face as I write this – but I’m going to break ranks and say Paul Tracy, because his plight has lasted so much longer. I don’t think he’s too old to make some magic, and he’s loud and brash, which is what I think the series needs. Again, I love Wheldon, and I hope Hot Wheels swings him some money after his Battle Force 5 appearance, but I want the Chrome Horn back in a car full-time.

Chad: Just like the first question, the obvious answer is too easy, so I will go with someone other than Wheldon. As much as I love having Paul Tracy in races, I think an underrated guy is Alex Lloyd. He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities, and I think he deserves another chance.

Ryan: Can I count Rick Mears or Arie? They are technically unemployed, and both seem to be in good enough shape to hop in. But if I have to pick from drivers who are actually trying to obtain a ride, then Dan Wheldon is the most obvious choice. Dan is probably the most talented driver on ovals in the series. While he has struggled at times on the road and street courses (only one of his fifteen wins have come on the twistees), he is great for the series and his sponsors. Dan brings a level of composure, class and excitement that many drivers currently in the field do not, and he should be strapping into a Dallara every weekend. Paul Tracy is my 1a choice here, because I’d like to see him go out with a real shot at it instead of having his career whimper out at the end.

4. Who’s going to win on Sunday?

Catie: Obvious pick – Will Power. Obvious dark horse – Justin Wilson. Biased pick – Graham Rahal. “Love to see it, but it won’t happen yet” pick – TK.

Kyle: Power. Rest of the podium will be Rahal and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Sleeper – Oriol Servia. Dark horses – Mike Conway and Simona.

Chris: For once I’ll go with the consensus and say Power, as the defending champion. I also like how Servia’s looked in preseason testing, and everybody knows how much I loved Champ Car. I don’t think Rahal’s going to have the magic yet, sorry. But I do have a good feeling about Bourdais as a sleeper, and even his Dale Coyne Racing teammate, James Jakes. (Oh, and if you’re reading, Mr. Jakes, sorry that our emails never seemed to go through… we’d still love to talk to you, though.)

Chad: Even though I am going out on a limb and picking someone other than Helio, I’m still not taking a Ganassi guy here. They now have three legitimate bullets in their gun with Dario, Dixon, and now Rahal. I think all three of those guys will do well this weekend, but I am picking Helio for this one. He won this race in 2006 and 2007, then finished in second place in 2008. He is going to start the season off right, with a big win in St. Pete.

Ryan: Power seems to be the flavor of the day, but I always like to buck trends. I think Graham Rahal is in a perfect place to throw down the gauntlet on the season and let the field know he has the equipment he needs to win races. He won his first ever INDYCAR race here in 2008 with NHL, and has managed two other top tens at the track, including a ninth place finish last year for a Sarah Fisher team that had basically zero road course experience. Will Power will not be happy about it, but I see him struggling with some accidental damage in this one. He is still the best on road and street, but his luck was too good last year and that never lasts in racing (ask Briscoe). To fill out my podium, I’ll take Helio and Scott Dixon. My sleeper for his one is going to be Marco Andretti, because it is his time to step up to the top tier. Dark horse pick would be Simona this weekend. More money and more experience means she’ll want to improve on her 2010 performance. (Glad to join Open Wheel America for the Four Tires and Fuel and occasional lunatic rant. For those of you who don’t know me, I always write entirely too much, so enjoy!)

Same As It Ever Was: Barber Day 2 Recap

Posted by Christopher Leone on March 16, 2011
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Helio Castroneves' car during open testing at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo credit: Dan Helrigel, IndyCar Media

Once again, a Team Penske car took top honors in the second and final day of IZOD IndyCar Series open testing at Barber Motorsports Park… only this time, it’s not who you might think at the top.

While Will Power had the fastest time in the morning practice, becoming the first driver to break the 1:12 barrier, it was Helio Castroneves, the defending race winner at Barber, who turned the fastest lap of the weekend, with a 1:11.9434 in the afternoon session. His lap beat Power’s by a mere .0202 seconds.

In fact, the three Penske cars were all in the top four in the combined session results, with only Scott Dixon in third separating Ryan Briscoe from his teammates. Behind them was a bit of a surprise: Oriol Servia, who hasn’t raced full-time in the series in two years, and Newman/Haas Racing, which suffered through a disappointing 2010 with Hideki Mutoh and a handful of races for Graham Rahal.

Even more surprising, though, was Newman/Haas’ rookie, James Hinchcliffe, in seventh overall for the two-day test. Hinchcliffe was far and away the best rookie on the track, turning a quick lap nearly a second better than that of the next-best rookie, Charlie Kimball. Of the six rookies testing, Hinchcliffe was the lone standout, as the other five finished 20th through 24th in the overall standings.

18 of the 24 drivers turned their fastest laps of the weekend in the final practice session, and 19 turned their fastest laps on Tuesday. That meant bad news for the five who couldn’t improve from their Monday times – Justin Wilson, in ninth overall, was the best of them. The other four all placed in the bottom ten in overall results.

Servia turned the most laps on the weekend with 147, followed by rookie James Jakes, the previously unfamiliar (to American open-wheel fans, anyway) British driver, who turned 145 laps with Dale Coyne Racing. Jakes was actually the third fastest rookie on the weekend; after coming in with no experience in the Dallara and running acclimation laps well off the pace in the first practice, he grew accustomed to the car fairly quickly, and was even challenging his teammate, four-time Champ Car champion and ex-Formula 1 driver Sebastien Bourdais, in lap times.

This weekend will be the final weekend of the offseason, as IndyCar heads to sunny Florida to open the season with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, Firestone Indy Lights testing will take place at Barber today, and NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray will participate in a ride-swap with Dixon, driving the No. 9 Target car at Barber while Dixon shakes down a stock car at Talladega Superspeedway. (Both drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in their respective series.)

All We Know Is, He’s Called The Stig: Barber Day 1 Recap

Posted by Christopher Leone on March 14, 2011
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James Jakes? Poster courtesy: Top Gear

“Some say he naturally faces magnetic north, and that all of his legs are hydraulic… all we know is, he’s called the Stig.”

This was our initial response to @Indycar_Fan on Twitter, when asked about the identity of James Jakes, the mysterious British driver who took the helm of the No. 19 Boy Scouts Dallara-Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in the first day of IZOD IndyCar Series open testing at Barber Motorsports Park. Referencing the popular British show Top Gear and its anonymous world-class racing driver, most of us began the day with little knowledge about Jakes, or his career history.

Of course, living in the internet age, we came up to speed very quickly. Jakes has taken wins in Formula Three and purportedly has a drive with Scuderia Coloni for this year’s GP2 championship, making him an interesting choice to test for Coyne. It’s only fueled rampant speculation as to who will actually be driving Coyne’s two cars this year; Sebastien Bourdais, the other driver testing for Coyne, will likely only be in that car for road course events.

The driver that we quickly christened “The Stig” did manage to pick it up over the course of the day, though. Despite running first laps that were well off the pace (as is to be expected whilst acclimating to a new car), Jakes ran a best lap of 1:14.7775 in the second practice session, which was good enough not to come in last overall. Overall, he picked up about seven seconds from lap one to his personal best, no small feat in one day.

Unsurprisingly, the day belonged to Will Power, who turned the fastest lap of the first session after some jostling, and then proceeded to embarrass the entire field by turning the day’s best lap of 1:12.5056 very early in the second session. Other drivers took much of the three hour session to even break the 1:13 barrier. Only six drivers did: Power, Scott Dixon, Justin Wilson, Helio Castroneves, James Hinchcliffe, and Ryan Briscoe. All but Hinchcliffe turned their best laps of the day in the second session.

Hinchcliffe was thus by far the best of the rookies, who also took up positions 18 (Charlie Kimball) and 21-24 (Sebastian Saavedra, J.R. Hildebrand, Jakes, and Ana Beatriz) on the overall chart. Beatriz was the only driver not to break the 1:15 mark all day, her best time a 1:15.0777 in the first session. Meanwhile, Hildebrand was the only driver to make any contact, hitting the turn four barrier late in session two.

IZOD IndyCar drivers will have another day of track time tomorrow, and Firestone Indy Lights drivers will test on Wednesday.

Rolex 24 Viewer’s Guide for the IndyCar Fan

Posted by Christopher Leone on January 15, 2011
Posted in: News. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 comments


The Rolex 24 at Daytona is one of the most prestigious sports car endurance races in the world. Held on the road course inside the famed Daytona International Speedway, the race was established as a three-hour event in 1962 before eventually expanding to 2000 kilometers in 1964 and taking its current form in 1966.

Most sports car events are much shorter than the Rolex 24, especially within the Rolex Sports Car Series that has contested the event since 2000, and only require two or three drivers. But the days of a two-man team competing in a 24-hour event are long gone; teams now look to four or five drivers to contest these lengthier events.

Some of the added drivers come from within sports car racing, drivers who don’t have a full-time job but provide safe options for teams looking to fill out their rosters. NASCAR drivers have also joined the field in recent years, especially since Grand-Am took over the event in 2000; Grand-Am founder Jim France is the son of NASCAR founder Bill France, and the two sanctioning bodies have merged their communication resources for the past few years.

But IndyCar drivers past and present may be some of the most popular additions to driver lineups, primarily in the top-tier Daytona Prototypes, for this prestigious event. For each of the past five years, and seven times in the past decade, a driver with significant IndyCar, CART, or Champ Car experience has taken the overall victory as part of a team. In fact, 2006′s winning team was composed solely of Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, and Casey Mears, the former two full-time IndyCar drivers and the third an ex-CART and current NASCAR competitor.

This year is no different, as over two dozen drivers with open-wheel chops will appear at Daytona once again. Need help keeping up with who’s where? Look no further:

Open-Wheeler Super Teams: It’s no surprise that Chip Ganassi would employ five current or former open-wheel drivers between his two Daytona Prototypes. Ex-CART driver Scott Pruett has been his lead driver for years now, in the No. 01 car, and will drive with Graham Rahal. Ganassi’s second car is traditionally reserved for his NASCAR and IndyCar drivers, and this year is no different; Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, and CART champion-turned-NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya will wheel that vehicle.

Michael Shank Racing will follow the same strategy as Ganassi did in 2006 with their No. 6 entry, pairing current IndyCar competitor Justin Wilson with two open-wheel-turned-NASCAR drivers: 2006 Champ Car third-place finisher A.J. Allmendinger, and 2004 Star Mazda champion and ex-Champ Car driver Michael McDowell.

Current IndyCar Drivers: Rahal, Franchitti, Dixon, and Wilson aren’t the only current IZOD IndyCar Series competitors to land a drive. Ryan Briscoe will work with Wayne Taylor Racing, which has a history of fielding Team Penske drivers in the event. Meanwhile, Ryan Hunter-Reay will return to Level 5 Motorsports, with whom he competed in a handful of American Le Mans Series events last year. Joining him there will be Raphael Matos, whose 2010 Rolex 24 drive at Brumos Racing no longer exists as a Daytona Prototype.

CART, IRL, and Champ Car Alumni: Many open-wheel drivers migrate to sports car racing when their careers at Indianapolis end. Often times they become sports car champions as well. Action Express Racing, which has in effect taken over the Brumos Daytona Prototype operation as that team shifts to GT, has hired three drivers who have followed this career path: 2004 Indianapolis 500 and 2009 Rolex 24 winner Buddy Rice in the No. 5, and 2002 Rolex 24 winner Max Papis and 2004 winner Christian Fittipaldi in the No. 9.

But they aren’t the only ones. Ex-PacWest driver (and now IndyCar driver Mike Conway’s agent) Mark Blundell will drive in the No. 23 for United Autosports, which is running in partnership with Michael Shank. Shank will also have Michael Valiante, once a budding open-wheel talent but now a seasoned Grand-Am vet, in his primary car, the No. 60. Meanwhile, Starworks Motorsport will employ Jan Heylen and Ryan Dalziel, two competitors in Champ Car’s final season, in their No. 7 and No. 8 cars, respectively. Ex-IRL driver Tomas Enge will join Dalziel, who won last year’s Rolex 24, in the No. 8.

Finally, Pruett and Montoya aren’t the only former CART drivers appearing in the event to somehow be affiliated with Chip Ganassi. Nicolas Minassian, who drove the team’s No. 12 car briefly in their 2001 rebuilding year, has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the past few years and step into Krohn Racing’s No. 76 for this year’s event. But unlike years past, the 1996 CART champion for Ganassi, Jimmy Vasser, will not step into the No. 99 for Bob Stallings Racing.

GT Class: Four Atlantic Championship alumni will compete in GT cars in this year’s event. 2004 fifth-place finisher and ex-Champ Car driver Ronnie Bremer will drive in Stevenson Motorsports’ Chevrolet Camaro, while 1998 third-place finisher and former CART supersub Memo Gidley will step down from the Daytona Prototype of Doran Racing to a Mazda RX-8 with Team Sahlen.

The other two drivers will run Mazda RX-8s with SpeedSource. 1999 Atlantic title winner and longtime Grand-Am competitor Anthony Lazzaro will drive the No. 69. Jonathan Bomarito, the 2008 series runner-up, had been on the fast track to Champ Car until the series folded; now, he’s found a home in SpeedSource’s Castrol-backed No. 70, in which he finished fourth in last year’s points.

A list of all open-wheel affiliated drivers, sorted by car number:

  • Scott Pruett (#01 Daytona Prototype, Chip Ganassi Racing)
  • Graham Rahal (#01 Daytona Prototype, Chip Ganassi Racing)
  • Dario Franchitti (#02 Daytona Prototype, Chip Ganassi Racing)
  • Scott Dixon (#02 Daytona Prototype, Chip Ganassi Racing)
  • Juan Pablo Montoya (#02 Daytona Prototype, Chip Ganassi Racing)
  • Buddy Rice (#5 Daytona Prototype, Action Express Racing)
  • A.J. Allmendinger (#6 Daytona Prototype, Michael Shank Racing)
  • Michael McDowell (#6 Daytona Prototype, Michael Shank Racing)
  • Justin Wilson (#6 Daytona Prototype, Michael Shank Racing)
  • Jan Heylen (#7 Daytona Prototype, Starworks Motorsport)
  • Ryan Dalziel (#8 Daytona Prototype, Starworks Motorsport)
  • Tomas Enge (#8 Daytona Prototype, Starworks Motorsport)
  • Christian Fittipaldi (#9 Daytona Prototype, Action Express Racing)
  • Max Papis (#9 Daytona Prototype, Action Express Racing)
  • Ryan Briscoe (#10 Daytona Prototype, Wayne Taylor Racing)
  • Mark Blundell (#23 Daytona Prototype, United Autosports)
  • Memo Gidley (#42 Mazda RX-8, Team Sahlen)
  • Ronnie Bremer (#57 Chevrolet Camaro, Stevenson Motorsports)
  • Michael Valiante (#60 Daytona Prototype, Michael Shank Racing)
  • Anthony Lazzaro (#69 Mazda RX-8, SpeedSource)
  • Jonathan Bomarito (#70 Mazda RX-8, SpeedSource)
  • Nicolas Minassian (#76 Daytona Prototype, Krohn Racing)
  • Ryan Hunter-Reay (#95 Daytona Prototype, Level 5 Motorsports)
  • Raphael Matos (#95 Daytona Prototype, Level 5 Motorsports)

IndyCar Season Review: Justin Wilson

Posted by Christopher Leone on October 19, 2010
Posted in: News. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment


2010 was a year of ups and downs for Justin Wilson.

Driving for his third IZOD IndyCar Series team in three years, the British driver looked to improve on his ninth place run in 2009 with Dale Coyne Racing. For 2010, he went to series mainstay Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, forming an all-British pairing with Mike Conway and bringing the Z-Line Designs sponsorship with him. The goal was to make DRR as viable a threat to win on the road courses as they had always been on the ovals.

Wilson had time to gain a rapport with his team early on, as the first four races were road and street events that played to his strengths as a driver. Wilson followed up a third-place qualifying run at Brazil with runner-up finishes at St. Petersburg and Long Beach, placing him fourth in points through four races and establishing him as a dark horse title contender.

Those were the ups. Unfortunately, there was nowhere else to go but down.

Wilson’s only respectable oval finish in the second quarter of the season came at the most important event, Indianapolis, where he placed a respectable seventh, leading his first 11 laps of the season. A better summation of his oval fortunes came at Iowa, however, where a first-lap accident with Mario Moraes in turn four ended his day. Wilson had free-fallen to eighth in points, but the twisties were coming up on the schedule again, offering him an important opportunity to ascend the championship table once again.

Consider it a missed opportunity. Wilson could not defend his 2009 victory at Watkins Glen, placing 10th, and struggled at Edmonton to come home 21st. Mid-Ohio was marred by two incidents, one in qualifying with Ryan Briscoe, and another 22 laps into the event with E.J. Viso. His best finish of the second half of the season came at Sonoma, where he ran sixth.

Wilson’s fortunes at Toronto probably summed up his year the best. The 2005 winner of the event in Champ Car, Wilson had the field covered in qualifying, taking the pole by nearly two tenths of a second over Will Power. Wilson led much of the race, only surrendering the lead due to alternative pit strategies taken by Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti, and Tony Kanaan.

A late race caution for Raphael Matos’ crash with Viso bunched the field, and Wilson had nothing for a surging Power on the restart. Soon after, a self-induced spin took Wilson out of contention for the win completely. He battled back to finish seventh, but such was his luck for the majority of the season.

Once again, Wilson was a mid-pack driver on the series’ ovals, with a seventh at Chicago his final top 10 run of the season. By the time the series made it to the season finale at Homestead, Wilson was down to 10th in points, holding a 22-marker advantage over Danica Patrick. But she finished second in that race as he ran 21st, bumping him down to 11th in points.

Despite falling two spots in the standings from 2009, Wilson scored seven more points than he had last year. The 2010 season wasn’t by any means a bad one, but both driver and team expected improvement in the ranks, not stagnation. As such, rumors suggest that Wilson may bolt to another team for 2011, perhaps Panther Racing as it looks to expand. Panther, judging by its late season oval runs, would offer the Brit an even stronger opportunity to place up front on both kinds of tracks.

Regardless, Wilson and whatever team he may drive for in 2011 will once again expect greater results. Wherever he goes, he will run up front and contend for wins on the road and street courses, but unless he can improve on a career-best oval finish of seventh, he may end up in the same position next year.