Indianapolis Motor Speedway Test (Day 2)

UPDATE: Although not on track, I spotted Will Power today on the viewing mounds and in the IMS museum.  Props go out to Will for coming out to the track to watch a little IRL testing.

UPDATE: As Nick wrote in the comments section, Buddy Rice was out today in his new sponsorship with Dads Root Beer.  Also on the track today have been Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon. 

So far Dixon, Kanaan & Briscoe have all been on track.  Briscoe has ran the most laps followed by Dixon & Kanaan.  Hunter-Reay and Wheldon were on the track yesterday, however I have yet to see Buddy Rice in his new “Dads Root Beer” sponsored ride. 

A few Photos from Tuesday test.  More Photos and Videos to come later

 

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Testing (Day 1)

More Photos can be seen in the “Indycar IMS Test” page on the right side of your screen

 

As you can tell by the photos, Dixon by far ran the most laps in the second half of testing, followed by Hunter-Reay , Wheldon & Briscoe.  The photos of Wheldon are some of the first published in his new Panther Racing ride.

UPDATE  3:13: Dixon, Hunter-Reay, and Wheldon have all been on track without incident

UPDATE 2:26: Track is green, Wheldon & Hunter-Reay are on track

UDATE 2:15: Trucks are off, and track seems to be dry although there is a stiff wind, but no cars on yet. 

UPDATE 12:57: Rains has completely stopped , I count 7 trucks drying track

UPDATE 12:46: The rain has began to fall , Dan has pitted.  The rain is begining to clear and shouldnt last long

UPDATE 12:42: They are off lunch and Dan Wheldon is on track

Live From The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Monday & Tuesday

Stay tuned Monday and Tuesday (29th & 30th) for Live Coverage from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with scanner, Laptop and camera, in hand, posting images and news as it breaks from the track.  Driving down 16th street, passing Gate 2 of the speedway (parallel to the 1st turn short shoute), then getting stuck in traffic at 16th and Georegtown the last couple days on my way from school and hearing the awful, rumbling and grinding of the much needed Cabcar tire testing has just about (no pun intended) driven me up the wall.  So, if you havent yet noticed, I was completely pumped when I first heard the news as reported by Curt Cavin, that 6 Indycar drivers including Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ryan Briscoe, 2004 Indy 500 Champion Buddy Rice, 2005 Indy 500 Champion Dan Wheldon and 2008 Indy 500 Champion Scott Dixon, will all be testing there always reliable Firestone Firehawks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

UPDATE: You can watch the tire test by entering gate 2 and parking in the Museum parking lot.  The Turn 2 viewing mounds and turn 1short shoute infield stands are open to the public with no cost.  The Dallara’s take the track at 9am and take lunch at noon.  They get back to work at 1pm and wrap up the day at 5pm on both Monday and Tuesday.

Paul Newman Passes Away At The Age Of 83

Some sad news to pass along, according to cnn, Paul Newman has passed away at his home in Connecticut on Friday.  The 83 year old Actor & Director has won 2 Golden globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Emmy, an Academy Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award.  Newman also founded “Newman’s Own”, a food company that donates all profits to charity and as of May 07′, the donations have exceeded 220 million dollars.  With most of his major films (Exodus, The Hustler, Hud, Harper, and Slap Shot) taking place well before my time, I best know him as a “Indy style” team owner.  Since the start of his race team in 1983 many talented drivers have driven for him including: Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, Sebastien Bourdais, Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia, Christiano da Matta, Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Andretti, Mario Andretti, Roberto Moreno, Paul Tracy, Nigel Mansell, Teo Fabi and Alan Jones, combining for 8 Championships.  Paul found his love of racing while training for the film Winning, saying “the first thing that I ever found I had any grace in.”  As a driver, Paul ran in the 79′ 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 2nd.  At the age of 70 in 1995, he became the oldest driver to win a major sanctioned race, being the 24 Hours of Daytona.  RIP Paul

Paul Newman and Graham Rahal on Pole day of the 08′ Indy 500

The Fallowing Statements are off the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Website.  There is also a collage of photos up on the site that are a must see.

“On behalf of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, my wife Bernadette and myself, I want to express our most sincere condolences to Joanne and the entire Newman family on the loss of a great human being. Paul and I have been partners for 26 years and I have come to know his passion, humor and above all, his generosity. Not just economic generosity, but generosity of spirit. His support of the team’s drivers, crew and the racing industry is legendary. His pure joy at winning a pole position or winning a race exemplified the spirit he brought to his life and to all those that knew him. We will truly miss him.”

– Carl A. Haas, co-owner of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

“We truly lost a great man.  Most of us knew him as Butch or Fast Eddie from the theater or from our living rooms at home.  He was much more than a great actor.  His legacy will be his five children, his wife, Joanne and all the sick children around the world who desperately needed his help.  Paul was a man of character who cared about the world and the people who lived in it.  Putting a smile on a young person’s face and helping people in need was a virtue he excelled at.  Little did anyone realize a child born of such humble beginnings could affect our lives in so many positive ways.  We should all learn to live by his example.  We will miss him dearly but will never forget him.”

– Michael Lanigan, co-owner of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

09′ T.V. Schedule Breakdown

According to Indycar The Magazine, the ABC & Versus schedule breakdown goes like this:

ABC

1. Indianapolis 500
2. Milwaukee
3. Iowa
4. Watkins Glenn
5. Toronto

Versus

1. St. Pete
2. Long Beach
3. Kansas
4. Texas
5. Richmond
6. Edmonton
7. Kentucky
8. Mid-Ohio
9. Infenion
10. Chicagoland
11. Detriot
12. Motegi
13. Homestead

239 Days Till’ The 09′ Indy 500

Ok, I’ll make it a little tougher this time

UPDATE: Very quick Nathan.  Since you answered so quickly I will put up another for 239 days.  Good job

______________________________________________________________________

240 Day’s Till The 09′ 500

Good Luck & Have Fun!

UPDATE: You got it again Mmack, very good

64″ has got to be my favorite year, solid mix of both front and rear enging machines, and a ton of innovation.  What a year!

OOO How The Tide As Turned…. Nascar’s Stanton Barrett To Indycar Full Time

WOW, now this is a stunner.  According to the always reliable Curt Cavin, Greg Beck’s team will be fielding a full time Indycar ride next year for long time Stuntman and Nascar Driver Stanton Barrett.  Not only are there no Indycar drivers defecting to Nascar this year but over the last few weeks 2 drivers have defected from Nascar to Indycar.

As a side note Stanton and A.J. Foyt IV both played in the “Dukes of Hazzard”, Stanton as stuntman and Foyt as himself.  Just a little useless info.

Getting To Know Stanton

1. Barrett made his Nascar debut in 1992 at the age of 19
2. 2 Nationwide poles with 6 Top 10’s
3. Owns his own Nascar Sprint Cup and Nationwide team
4. Godson of NHL co-owner Paul Newman
5. Son of Stan Barrett who raced Nascar from 80′-90′
6. Has worked as a stuntman in, Spider Man 1 2 &3, Batman, Mr. & Mrs. Smith Jurassic Park 2 & 3, Blade, The Nutty Professor and Volcano, among others

Meira Finds A Ride

As reported by Indycar.com, Vitor Meira has found a ride for 09′ and possibly 2010, and coincidently it is with a team that had there garage at Indy right next to Panther.  A.J. Foyt racing has signed Vitor to pilot the #14 ride, apparenty leaving Darren Manning without a ride and had this to say: “There’s no hard feelings,” said Manning, of North Yorkshire, England. “We had a good couple of years of improvements. Getting me on board was part of making his team better and I think we did that. I wish him well. We had a good relationship and I expect that to continue no matter what I end up doing.”  

Vitor was obviously happy to find a ride, although with a team that is probably a step down from Panther and he had this to say: “I’m really excited about this opportunity to work with Vitor,” said Foyt, who negotiated Meira’s deal. “We’re looking forward to getting Vitor his first win in the IndyCar Series and getting A.J. Foyt Racing back into Victory Lane with ABC Supply.”  If your a Meira fan, you will not have to wait until 09′ to watch him with his new team, because Vitor has been confirmed for the Australian race.

Live From The Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Stay tuned next Monday and Tuesday (29th & 30th) for Live Coverage from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with scanner, Laptop and camera, in hand, posting images and news as it breaks from the track.  Driving down 16th street, passing Gate 2 of the speedway (parallel to the 1st turn short shoute), then getting stuck in traffic at 16th and Georegtown the last couple days on my way from school and hearing the awful, rumbling and grinding of the much needed Cabcar tire testing has just about (no pun intended) driven me up the wall.  So, if you havent yet noticed, I was completely pumped when I first heard the news as reported by Curt Cavin, that 6 Indycar drivers including Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ryan Briscoe, 2004 Indy 500 Champion Buddy Rice, 2005 Indy 500 Champion Dan Wheldon and 2008 Indy 500 Champion Scott Dixon, will all be testing there always reliable Firestone Firehawks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

UPDATE: You can watch the tire test by entering gate 2 and parking in the Museum parking lot.  The Turn 2 viewing mounds and turn 1short shoute infield stands are open to the public with no cost.  The Dallara’s take the track at 9am and take lunch at noon.  They get back to work at 1pm and wrap up the day at 5pm on both Monday and Tuesday.