Gordie's CornerSPEED WORLD CHALLENGE ROARING BACK TO LONG BEACH The SCCA SPEED World Challenge is returning to the streets of Long Beach for the 36 th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach...but with a noticeable difference that will make for even more exciting racing. In April, the top cars from BOTH the Touring Car and GT classes will race together for the first time at Long Beach. Previous races had featured only the GT class. Thus far, five of the series' nine events have been announced: March 26-28, St. Petersburg , FL ; April 16-18, Long Beach ; July 2-4, Watkins Glen; July 17-18, Toronto and Aug. 6-8, Mid-Ohio. The two classes will run combined at some venues, with doubleheader racing at other sites to be determined. The remaining SPEED World Challenge races will be announced at a later date.
INDY CAR OFFICIALS "CLOTHES" TITLE SPONSOR DEAL WITH IZOD It's now, officially, the "Izod IndyCar Series." And, that's good news to racing fans everywhere. According to Autoweek, IndyCar officials and the clothing giant have locked up a six-year deal (and two-year option) for the tidy sum of between $15-20 million annually. What's more, Izod will dish out $100,000 per entry to IndyCar teams in 2010. Izod, owned by Phillips-Van Heusen, is a major presence in all 840 Macy's Stores nationwide. Phillips-Van Heusen also markets Calvin Klein and Chaps, among it 26 clothing brands. And, a major beneficiary of Izod's involvement might well be Ryan Hunter-Reay. Izod became the official apparel of the IndyCar Series in 2008 and featured him on a giant billboard in Times Square ...with Hunter-Reay promptly winning the following race at Watkins Glen! Hunter-Reay would like to use his Izon backing to put a fourth car in the Andretti Green Racing stable for 2010. Hideki Mutoh had the AGR ride this season, but sources say he and his Formula Dream sponsor deal might be moving to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, where he'll team with Graham Rahal and Alex Lloyd. The fun is just beginning!
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES DEAL WILL MAKE DANICA A BUSY WOMAN IN A 2010 Danica Patrick is on the verge of signing a two-year with with JR Motorsports to run in NASCAR's Nationwide Series in 2010. She'll still run the IndyCar Series full-time, thanks to a three-year deal she recently signed with Andretti Green Racing, although some possible race date conflicts might emerge. JR Motorsports is owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who also pals with Danica in promo deals for GoDaddy.com. Coincidently, the company is a big backer of JR Racing's #88 Nationwide Series car, winner of four races this season with Brad Keselowski behind the wheel. Keselowski is jumping into the Sprint Cup wars next year with Penske Racing. The 27-year-old Patrick will probably make her NASCAR debut in the ARCA race, part of Daytona SpeedWeeks in February. SO, HOW DID THE EX-CHAMP CAR GUYS DO THIS YEAR? On the whole, not too badly. Graham Rahal led the way, finishing seventh in points, with poles at St. Petersburg and Kansas and podium appearances at Richmond and Motegi. He racked up five top-5s and nine top-10s and led 11 laps. Justin Wilson was ninth in points. He scored a win at Watkins Glen and mounted the podium at The Glen and St. Petersburg . Wilson led 129 laps and scored three top-5s and seven top-10s. Will Power ran an abbreviated schedule – only six starts - as the third Team Penske driver, but still managed to win at Edmonton and take podium bows here at Long Beach , Toronto and Edmonton . Nineteenth in points, Power had four top-5s and made the top ten in each of his six races. And what of Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach fan favorite Paul Tracy? The charismatic Canadian made only six starts, scoring three top-10s and a best-finish sixth at Edmonton.
SPEED, CBS TO TELEVISE ALMS '10 If you're an American Le Mans Series (ALMS) junkie, SPEED and CBS have you covered in 2010. SPEED Channel will televise seven North American ALMS races, beginning Sat., March 30 with the 58th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. CBS will televise two races – May 22 at Laguna Seca and Aug. 7 at Mid-Ohio. And, SPEED will be on hand to televise the ALMS race Sat., April 17 at the 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.* The complete ALMS television schedule (exact telecast times TBA): March 20 – Sebring, SPEED April 17 – 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach , SPEED May 22 – Laguna Seca, CBS July 10/11 – Miller Motorsports Park , SPEED July 24 – Lime Rock, SPEED August 7 – Mid-Ohio, CBS August 22 – Road America , SPEED August 29 – Mosport, SPEED October 2 – Road Atlanta , SPEED (*Hey, you and I both know it's MUCH better to enjoy the ALMS race in person, right? TV? Fugetaboutit! Call 1-888-82-SPEED and get your tickets today!) FRANCHITTI WINS RACE AND CHAMPIONSHIP … BY THE NUMBERS! If Dario Franchitti never believed in lucky numbers before, he does now!
Franchitti entered the Firestone Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway five points behind defending series champion Scott Dixon and three points ahead of Ryan Briscoe. He needed a win to capture the 2009 IndyCar title.
He won.
In car No. 10.
On the 10th day.
Of the 10th month.
For Team Target Chip Ganassi's 10th win of the season.
And he won it in impressive fashion, running third behind defending series king Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe for most of the race, waiting until Dixon and Briscoe pitted late, then turning it on in the last 50 laps for the victory. The caution-free race's average speed – 201.420 mph – was second-fastest in IndyCar Series history.
Dixon and Briscoe followed him across the finish line, with Tony Kanaan fourth and Helio Castroneves fifth. Castroneves ended the season fourth in the points chase, with Danica Patrick rounding out the top five.
"This is very satisfying, especially to come back from the year we had in 2008," Franchitti said. "The depth of competition increased significantly with the unified series and with the balanced schedule we run, that makes it even sweeter."
Franchitti, who counted the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach among his five wins this year, took home more than $1.1 million for the victory.
"I'm the luckiest owner in the paddock," said team boss Chip Ganassi. "I've got two great drivers and a great sponsor and partner in Target. Everything just goes together."
Some other IndyCar people also came away happy from Miami.
Kevin O'Donnell, Franchitti's chief mechanic, won the IndyCar Series top mechanic of the year award.
Raphael Matos (Luczo Dragon Racing) won $25,000 as the Apex-Brasil IndyCar Series rookie of the year, while Briscoe took home the Raybestos Road & Street Course Challenge award.
Graham Rahal captured the Tony Renna "Rising Star" award, and JR Hildebrand won the mini-Firestone Firehawk Trophy as Indy Lights series champion. DID SHE OR DIDN'T SHE? Latest buzz word surrounding the Oct. 10 IndyCar finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway is that Danica Patrick is mum on whether or not she actually signed that three-year extension with Andretti Green Racing.
When asked about the extension she just shook her head, uttering nary a word. She did say she's still looking into some NASCAR things and "when we figure out what it is, we'll announce it."
Patrick stands fifth heading to Homestead-Miami and if she maintains that slot it'll be her best-ever IndyCar finish. DANICA AIN'T GOING NOWHERE. Danica Patrick's new three-year deal with Andretti Green Racing is a smart move for all concerned.
It certainly helps that IndyCar Racing will have one of its more visible and popular drivers in the fold for three more years. And, since the deal leaves her open to drive selected NASCAR Truck, ARCA and Nationwide Series races, it gives the 27-year-old Patrick the chance to try an occasional stock car tussle.
"Danica is important to the IndyCar Series," said Jeff Belskus, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Plus, I know she has said on several occasions that winning the Indy 500 has been a lifelong dream of hers."
Interestingly, one of her key sponsors, GoDaddy.com, just signed a two-year deal to help support the Hendrick Motorsports #5 driven by Mark Martin in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series.
That may be where Patrick ends up in a few years.
IF Mark Martin ever retires!
IT'S ALL UP FOR GRABS IN FLORIDA
And it's simple, really.
Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti are 1-2 in the standings, separated by only five points. If either one wins the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he takes home the IndyCar title.
Unless......
...Penske Racing's Ryan Briscoe – currently third with 562 points – wins the pole AND the race OR wins and leads the most laps. Then, he takes home the winner's hardware. There are other, wilder scenarios, but we'll let the stat geeks worry about those.
They've got about three weeks to think about it! The Firestone Indy 300 takes the green flag at 4 p.m. E.T. (1 p.m. P.T.) on Saturday, Oct. 10 for 200 laps. It'll be televised on VERSUS, which will also televise the now-critical qualifying session Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. E.T. (3 p.m. PT).
"It's just about what we expect for IndyCar," Dixon said. "It's going to come down to the final lap, the final corner at Miami ." Dixon , the defending IndyCar champion, won the pole and the Sept. 19 race at Motegi , Japan , to vault into the points lead. Franchitti finished second, while Briscoe's 18 th -place finish put him in his current win-or-go home position. WATCH 'EM IN JAPAN FOR FREE!
If you're like me, it's tough to lay out the cash for a couple of days in Motegi , Japan to see if Danica Patrick can make it two straight. For that matter, it's getting tough to afford a couple of days in San Diego !
No problem! You can catch all the Thursday and Friday action from Twin Ring Motegi via live streaming on the internet. Every practice session, pole qualifying and the Indy Japan 300 will be available for free on the Indy Racing League's official website, www.indycar.com .
Race day action will be available via IndyCar Race Control presented by iRacing.com, with coverage that includes in-car camera views, real-time telemetry, Timing & Scoring and more. It's free, and all you gotta do is sign up at http://indycarnation.indycar.com/racecontrol/ The 4-lap qualifying session begins at 11:30 p.m. PDT Thursday night ( 2:30 a.m. Friday, EDT). Pre-race activities, followed by the 200-lap race, begin Friday at 6:30 p.m. PDT ( 9:30 p.m. EDT ). The race will also be televised by VERSUS at 7:30 p.m. PDT ( 10:30 EDT ).
BRISCOE LOOKS TO PAD HIS LEAD THIS WEEK
Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe, coming off a win at Chicagoland Speedway, would love to put some space between him and the rest of the field at Motegi.
Briscoe leads the points chase with 550, 25 ahead of Target Chip Ganassi's Dario Franchitti and 33 ahead of Franchitti's teammate, defending IndyCar champ Scott Dixon. Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) is 4th with 383, followed by Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing), with 353. And, although the points for pole position are nothing to sneeze at, starting on point isn't all that critical at Motegi, if past races are any indication. Only twice out of 6 races has the polesitter won at Motegi, with other winners starting 3rd , 5th , 6th (Patrick, '08) and 7th .
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