ZitatMarch 27, Streets of St. Petersburg April 10, Barber Motorsports Park April 17, Streets of Long Beach May 1, Streets of Sao Paulo May 29, Indianapolis Motor Speedway June 11, Texas Motor Speedway June 19, The Milwaukee Mile June 25, Iowa Speedway July 10, Streets of Toronto July 24, Edmonton City Centre Airport Aug. 7, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Aug. 14, New Hampshire Motor Speedway Aug. 28, Infineon Raceway Sept. 4, Streets of Baltimore Sept. 18, Twin Ring Motegi Oct. 2, Kentucky Speedway Oct. 16, "ZOD IndyCar World Championship Las Vegas Motor Speedway"
Team&Drivers
ZitatChip Ganassi Racing: Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball Team Penske: Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Will Power Andretti Autosport: Marco Andretti, Dacica Patrick, Ryan Hunter-Rear, Mike Conway + John Andretti Indy 500 Sam Schmidt Motorsports: Alex Tagliani full season, Wade Cunningham 3 races: Texas, Kentucky, Las Vegas and Jay Howard/Townsend Bell Indy 500 race Panther Racing: J.R. Hildebrand HMW Racing: Simona de Silvestro Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: Justin Wilson, Ana Beatriz full season and Davey Hamilton 3 races: Indy 500, Texas, Las Vegas + Paul Tracy Indy 500 race A.J. Foyt Enterprises: Vitor Meira and ? KV Racing Technology – Lotus: Takuma Sato, EJ Viso and Tony Kanaan Dale Coyne Racing: James Jakes Full Season and Sebastien Bourdais, Road & Street courses only. Newman/Haas Racing: Oriol Servià , Used car #02 at St. Pete race. Conques Racing: Sebastian Saavedra AFS Racing: Raphael Matos Sarah Fisher Racing: Ed Carpenter 9 races: Indy 500, Texas, Iowa, Mid-Ohio, New Hampshire, Sonoma, Baltimore, Kentucky, and Las Vegas Team REDLINE Xtreme: Tomas Scheckter, Indy 500 race Bryan Herta Autosport: Dan Whelton, Indy 500 race and additional races possible
Dario Franchitti steered clear of a destructive start and went on to dominate the opening round of the IndyCar Series in St Petersburg.
Results - 100 laps:
Zitat1. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 2h00m59.6886s 2. Will Power Penske + 7.1612s 3. Tony Kanaan KV + 16.1045s 4. Simona de Silvestro HVM + 16.5616s 5. Takuma Sato KV + 29.9435s 6. Alex Tagliani Schmidt + 30.4655s 7. Raphael Matos AFS + 31.5227s 8. Vitor Meira Foyt + 35.7291s 9. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas + 49.1432s 10. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 56.8025s 11. Danica Patrick Andretti + 57.3418s 12. JR Hildebrand Panther + 1m02.9700s 13. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest + 2 laps 14. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold + 2 laps 15. James Jakes Coyne + 3 laps 16. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 4 laps 17. Graham Rahal Ganassi + 4 laps 18. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 5 laps 19. EJ Viso KV + 6 laps 20. Helio Castroneves Penske + 15 laps
Retirements:
Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 58 laps Charlie Kimball Ganassi 38 laps Mike Conway Andretti 1 lap Marco Andretti Andretti 0 laps Sebastien Bourdais Coyne DNS
Sebastien Bourdais' eagerly-anticipated return to American racing will have to wait a little longer - the four-time Champ Car champion damaged his Dale Coyne car beyond quick repair in a warm-up accident and missed the race.
Tony Kanaan Lotus car colors, the main sponsor is an insurance company Geico, which has previously acted as KV Racing sponsor, but if reckless in collaboration with Paul Tracy. Now Tracy blame team manager Jimmy Vasser at the very least act of sabotage and theft of a partner, because Tracy has still not received funding for the whole season together.
Tracy, however, was slightly corrected the situation, because he will pursue the least informed the Indianapolis 500 race Dreyer & Reinbold - the team's equipment previously NHRA and NASCAR - Sponsorship familiar Wix Filters - the company's money. Tracy tries to Indy in addition to the program to hit the rest of the season and the Canadian lock at least should be visible in Toronto and Edmonton, a few races. The team is not necessarily Dreyer and Reindbold, but the ashes of the rising led by Jay Penske Luzco Dragon Racing, with whom Tracy had wanted to participate in the Indy, but the DRR was to offer at this stage, ready to package. Tracy wix car
Zitat von KingaHere comes Kinga's dumb comment: Kimi, try IndyCar, those cars at least show some similarity with F1 cars. ha" title="laughter" />
Kimi Räikkönen possible IndyCar team in Las Vegas race may be team Penske, but Roger Penske told the USA Today at St. Petersburg that his team is "highly unlikely" to field a fourth car for an IndyCar "outsider" at the season-ending race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in pursuit of the $5m bonus on offer there.
Zitat von KingaHere comes Kinga's dumb comment: Kimi, try IndyCar, those cars at least show some similarity with F1 cars. ha" title="laughter" />
Kimi Räikkönen possible IndyCar team in Las Vegas race may be team Penske, but Roger Penske told the USA Today at St. Petersburg that his team is "highly unlikely" to field a fourth car for an IndyCar "outsider" at the season-ending race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in pursuit of the $5m bonus on offer there.
Yes, Kurski, I know. But I prefer him going to Rally Spain instead of this event because that event is on 16, October and next week there is Rally Spain.
Juan Pablo Montoya is rumored to run the Las Vegas IndyCar race. Montoya to run the same weekend the NASCAR series in the Ganassi team cars on the track and the IndyCar race on the Las Vegas winner will receive a $ 5,000,000 profit.
Montoya might not currently expected to participate in a race, but the final decision of Colombian driver has not done it yet.
Former Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger says he might be open to racing in IndyCar's season finale in Las Vegas for a chance at $5 million.
Two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi has confirmed that IndyCar bosses have approached him to race in the Las Vegas round that could see the winner receive a $5m bonus.
Motor racing hero Mario Andretti has conceded that he is 'tempted' to make a sensational comeback in the sport later this year, as he eyes the possibility of fleetingly re-emerging from retirement at the grand old age of 71 for one last roll of the dice in the 2011 IndyCar Series Las Vegas season finale.
Former Formula One and CART driver Mark Blundell has thrown his hat in the ring for the IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas, believing he could be a contender for the $5 million winner’s purse on offer to one of the five wildcard entrants who stand a chance of winning the race.
Zitat von Wolfie Now all I think is: tarmac, tracks, racing wheel to wheel, overtaking - and hopefully I will continue to feel that way too. And I'm ever so grateful to Kimi since without him WRC would have been a distant sport to me, now I know F1, WRC and hopefully NASCAR too - and if Kimi would settle down there then I could get into Indycar and LeMans etc. too.
I need the human factor in the sport to get interested (read: passionate) tme" title="notme" />
Yes, those sound good I mean that the races are on tarmac, on tracks, racing wheel to wheel, overtaking but the cars are strange and the tracks are too. And I don't like it that there are so many cars on the track, it's too packed but we'll see.
Zitat von Wolfie Now all I think is: tarmac, tracks, racing wheel to wheel, overtaking - and hopefully I will continue to feel that way too. And I'm ever so grateful to Kimi since without him WRC would have been a distant sport to me, now I know F1, WRC and hopefully NASCAR too - and if Kimi would settle down there then I could get into Indycar and LeMans etc. too.
I need the human factor in the sport to get interested (read: passionate) tme" title="notme" />
Yes, those sound good I mean that the races are on tarmac, on tracks, racing wheel to wheel, overtaking but the cars are strange and the tracks are too. And I don't like it that there are so many cars on the track, it's too packed but we'll see.
I trust in Kimi's abilities here, you remember the big bangs in the start, don't you? How many times was Kimi involved in them? Methinks this is a way for him to race against man instead of against time. His dad always said that Kimi's brother Rami wanted to drive in peace against time whereas Kimi again wanted to race against cars.
*thinking of moving to the States...*
I trust in Kimi's abilities too but it's a whole new thing to him. No matter how talented he is, no matter how much he would try to avoid crashes. He did try rallying before he went to WRC because he's a Finn, he must tried it but still it's very hard to compete in the highest level. But he never tried such thing before and just go and pop in a car like that... well... prove me wrong, baby, that's all I can say. Should I say he's got big balls.
Zitat von Wolfie And I'm ever so grateful to Kimi since without him WRC would have been a distant sport to me, now I know F1, WRC and hopefully NASCAR too - and if Kimi would settle down there then I could get into Indycar and LeMans etc. too.
ZitatYoungest Andretti faces mounting pressure in 2011 IndyCar season
Marco Andretti tramped across the grass expanse between Turn One and the end of pit road, a fugitive from a track worker who had failed to herd him toward the safety vehicle.
Freed from his overturned race car and all but the first few hundred feet of the IndyCar Series' season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the 24-year-old stopped, still wearing his helmet and head and neck restraints, as a replay flashed onto a large video board on the other side of the runway that comprises the front straight.
Minutes earlier, Helio Castroneves' green-flag dash for inside position and a greedy advancement from ninth had caused him to overcook the right-angled first turn and lock his brakes on the painted tarmac. He'd plowed into Andretti, who was making a similar move, pushing him up and over Scott Dixon's wheel.
A brief demonstrative hand gesture preceded a shrug, and Andretti was off. Off and struggling again.
The grandson of arguably the greatest race car driver in history, the son and employee of one of the top American open wheel drivers of his generation, Marco Andretti is the successor to a regal family legacy and business. He is expected to excel, but he has not, winning just one race in 83 IndyCar starts since becoming a full-time driver at Andretti Autosport at 19 in 2006.
He feels the pressure of a legendary last name and the scrutiny it brings. But he's also enjoyed the benefit of the doubt from a proud family trying to give him every opportunity to succeed. Excuses have been made, concessions have been granted, but one race into his sixth season in open wheel's big leagues, Andretti has pressure and expectation clearly on his shoulders, both competitively and financially.
"It's hard to separate relationships like father-son and grandfather with owner/race car driver," said Andretti Autosport senior vice president of operations Tom Anderson. "I'd be silly to say it doesn't interfere. But Michael is a realist. I think he's trying to do what's right.
"He has a lot to do to get Marco going correctly for [sponsor] Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper has a huge investment in this kid, in Venom, and it's important sponsorship-wise and stuff like that, so there's pressure on them, big-time. Father-son, OK, but it is owner-driver when it comes to business and that's the way it is. Been said many times: 'they don't wait for you in racing, so you better produce.'"
The departure of reputed team leader Tony Kanaan has left a power vacuum at AA that Andretti and Anderson hope will be filled by a coalition of Andretti and teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay, Danica Patrick and Mike Conway. The loss of what Anderson calls a "dominant" personality in Kanaan may give Andretti room to develop.
Even with Andretti's iconic last name, Patrick remains the face of the team, but her impending free agent status will greatly impact both the image and the finances of the team. She could elect to return to Andretti and bring her high-dollar sponsorships with her, take them to another IndyCar team or leave for a full-time NASCAR career. She said all options are being probed by her representatives.
Patrick's possible departure would thrust the sometimes diffident Andretti into the lead role, and his father thinks he is ready to accept it. Conway bunked in Andretti's Miami-area residence this offseason, where they spent a lot of time with Ft. Lauderdale resident Hunter-Reay. Andretti also became a frequent texting buddy with Patrick.
Andretti's friendship with socialite Paris Hilton will likely be more noticed and scrutinized in comparison to his on-track results. It's a casual relationship, he said, one he and his father suggest is a way to insert IndyCar more into the mainstream. "At this point, any publicity is good," Marco Andretti said. "If she's out there tweeting about IndyCar to 3.5 million people, that's good.
"Everyone has the ammunition to say 'my focus' and this and that, but they can't be more wrong. There's only so much we can do during the offseason, so much training and preparation. I've got to have a bit of a life as well. You can bet every time I step in the car, I'm ready."
Probed further about his relationship with Hilton, Andretti revealed they met "at the Playboy Mansion with dad," then pivoted quickly back to his performance, perhaps underscoring how much the analysis of this has come to bother him.
"For me, it's a bit of a double-edged sword because if we win Homestead, then nobody can say anything, you know what I mean? It's just frustrating," he said. "To the average race fan, all they look at is the results. They just see I finished seventh ... didn't see I drove to the lead and didn't have to pit, [but] we did."
His father is trying to change the results and the perception. Michael Andretti shuffled team personnel again before this season and will call Marco's race strategy because he said his son has matured enough to take his direction positively. And to better harvest, he said, opportunities lost in 2010, ones Marco recounts often.
"I just think it's better because I think people are just afraid ... they get on the radio, they're afraid to make a call because they think it's my kid, so they take it so conservative," Michael Andretti said. "I think it cost Marco three wins last year. So, we felt like, you know what, maybe I should get on the radio now and it'll be all my fault if it's wrong. We'll probably roll the dice a little more."
Marco Andretti considers the race at Barber Motorsports Park, where he led 58 of 90 laps, as one of those missed opportunities. He was forced to pit for fuel with eight laps left, surrendering the lead to winner Castroneves. He gets his next chance on April 10.
"That gives me a lot of confidence going into this year," he said. "There were four races that all we had to do was do something right strategy-wise and we win. Not doing anything different this year, if we do that right, those are Ws."
Anderson said the new team alignment should be a positive change for a driver who has never finished higher than seventh in driver points, but will only increase the pressure on Marco, and the demand for him to grow as a driver.
"Tell me what's more pressure than having three Andrettis on the microphone," Anderson said, frankly. "You've got Mario, you've got Michael, you got Marco in there. We're building a group around him that understands him. But it takes a little bit. You've got to act a little different when you're dealing with a living legend, but you've got to remember, too, Dad and Grandpa won a hell of a lot of races.
"So, you've got to listen and you've got to put it in perspective because the basics and fundamentals of racing have not changed, plain and simple. What applied in Mario's day applies today. And if you get that wrong, I don't care how much science you throw on top of it, it ain't gonna work. You've got to get the basics right."
Michael Andretti has made excuses for his son before. Poor seasons have been written off because of an unpublicized case of mononucleosis, another because of what Michael Andretti called subpar race cars. In 2007, Andretti criticized then-employee Dario Franchitti after he collided with Marco late in the season at Sonoma, Calif., as Franchitti attempted to finish off a championship. The title won, Franchitti left for a NASCAR opportunity with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2008, returned to IndyCar with him in 2009 and has won consecutive championships.
"Michael is in an awkward position being a team owner and a father," said Franchitti in 2007. "Sometimes he doesn't have as clear a view as he should have as a team owner maybe."
"That's just human nature," Anderson said.
Much of Andretti's career has been about the one that got away, a pattern that began with a personal tutorial in the family's unrequited love affair with the Indianapolis 500. Mario Andretti won racing's greatest prize just once, in 1969, in his fifth of 29 attempts. Michael Andretti was winless in 16 tries. Marco took the lead from his father on Lap 197 of 200 as a rookie in 2006 and led by .9454 seconds with a lap left, only to be caught in the final stretch by Sam Hornish Jr. Marco Andretti has finished second and third twice in five Indy starts.
"I think things would have been a lot different for him. But things happen for a reason," Michael said, considering if his son had won that race in his first try. "Maybe it would have come that easy to him, maybe he would have turned into a different person. Now, you're finding a very, very hungry guy. I think when the results start coming, they're just going to start coming because he's just so hungry to get them, and he's going to appreciate them when he gets them so much more. I think, his work ethic, if he'd won that right away, being so young, he might not have developed what he had now. I think what he has now, he's developing, I think, into a champion of the future. So, it could have been a two-edged sword, where you hit it too early and it came so early that he wasn't' going to work as hard to get it."
Anderson, as his charge from a more detached position, just wants results.
"I'm looking for him to step up," Anderson said, "especially superspeedway stuff, Indy, 'OK, pal, you're team leader. You've had a better run here than the other guys had. I need somebody. Put the emotion aside, let's focus here and step up now.'
Zitat von KurskiJuan Pablo Montoya is rumored to run the Las Vegas IndyCar race. Montoya to run the same weekend the NASCAR series in the Ganassi team cars on the track and the IndyCar race on the Las Vegas winner will receive a $ 5,000,000 profit.
Montoya might not currently expected to participate in a race, but the final decision of Colombian driver has not done it yet.
Former Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger says he might be open to racing in IndyCar's season finale in Las Vegas for a chance at $5 million.
Two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi has confirmed that IndyCar bosses have approached him to race in the Las Vegas round that could see the winner receive a $5m bonus.
Motor racing hero Mario Andretti has conceded that he is 'tempted' to make a sensational comeback in the sport later this year, as he eyes the possibility of fleetingly re-emerging from retirement at the grand old age of 71 for one last roll of the dice in the 2011 IndyCar Series Las Vegas season finale.
Former Formula One and CART driver Mark Blundell has thrown his hat in the ring for the IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas, believing he could be a contender for the $5 million winner’s purse on offer to one of the five wildcard entrants who stand a chance of winning the race.
Zitat von KurskiJuan Pablo Montoya is rumored to run the Las Vegas IndyCar race. Montoya to run the same weekend the NASCAR series in the Ganassi team cars on the track and the IndyCar race on the Las Vegas winner will receive a $ 5,000,000 profit.
Montoya might not currently expected to participate in a race, but the final decision of Colombian driver has not done it yet.
Former Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger says he might be open to racing in IndyCar's season finale in Las Vegas for a chance at $5 million.
Two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi has confirmed that IndyCar bosses have approached him to race in the Las Vegas round that could see the winner receive a $5m bonus.
Motor racing hero Mario Andretti has conceded that he is 'tempted' to make a sensational comeback in the sport later this year, as he eyes the possibility of fleetingly re-emerging from retirement at the grand old age of 71 for one last roll of the dice in the 2011 IndyCar Series Las Vegas season finale.
Former Formula One and CART driver Mark Blundell has thrown his hat in the ring for the IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas, believing he could be a contender for the $5 million winner’s purse on offer to one of the five wildcard entrants who stand a chance of winning the race.
Alex Zanardi? Really? He hasn't raced in indy since his big crash, right?
I think only A.J. Allmendinger and Montoya have a small (very small) chance of winning this.
It is true because the IndyCar boss wants Zanardi to race in Las Vegas and Zanardi also are interested in driving race.
Zanardi suffered a violent accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 2001 September 15 and never raced after Cart/IndyCar car.
Montoya may participate in the Las Vegas race, as Chip Ganassi Racing is the fifth car in waiting for the garage and Former Champ Car driver Allmendinger is a good driver, but he ruined his career, go to the Nascar series, and I believe that Allmendinger participate in the Las Vegas race because he is 90% of the open-wheel driver.
Other: NASCAR drivers for example. Kyle and Kurt Busch are interested in driving in his hometown of Las Vegas IndyCar race, but the other NASCAR drivers, like the decision is not in their hands.
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Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:26 pm
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ha" title="laughter" />
tme" title="notme" />
Should I say he's got big balls. 
