Miller's Time Earns AARWBA Award

"Miller's Time," Coastal 181's acclaimed publication on the life and accomplishments of Don Miller, auto racing executive and longtime partner of Roger Penske, is the recipient of a highly valued award for excellence in motorsports writing.

The American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) awarded "Miller's Time" second place in its annual Motorsport Book competition, a contest judged by journalism professionals that attracts entries from around the world. Miller’s co-author is Jim Donnelly, an award-winning writer and senior editor of Hemmings Motor News in Bennington, Vermont.

The book recounts the story of Don Miller’s remarkable rise from Chicago hot rodder and automotive businessman to his role as Penske's top lieutenant in motorsports, a position that made him one of racing’s most respected and influential people. “Miller's Time” describes Don’s discovery and mentoring of both Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman, his invention of the NASCAR roof flap, and in gripping detail, the nearly fatal accident on pit road at Talladega that left him disabled.

Miller was humbled when hearing of the award. "I am very pleased, and very grateful, for the recognition we received, especially because it was the first effort for both of us in a project like this," Miller said. "To have been involved with a friend like Jim Donnelly in telling my story, and then have it win praise from our peers in racing is a true honor.”

"This is the story of Don's amazing life of accomplishment, lived fully with compassion and humility," Donnelly said. "Not many authors are fortunate to find a subject with such a worthwhile and interesting story, one that can also so clearly benefit anyone who reads it. I am thrilled to share this tribute with him."

All net proceeds from the sale of "Miller's Time" will be used in efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect, a special interest of Miller, who founded “Stocks for Tots” in Mooresville, NC, to mobilize the racing community around the issue. Miller was the recipient of NASCAR's first Humanitarian of the Year award.

For interview opportunities with the co-authors, please contact the publisher, Coastal 181, at 877-907-8181 or at www.coastal181.com.

Michigan Native Chad Finley to Make NASCAR Debut at Home Track

(Chad Finley. Photo Courtesy of ChadFinleyRacing.com)

Chad Finley, a veteran of the ARCA Racing Series, the ASA, and the CRA Late Model Series, is scheduled to make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut June 18 at his home track, Michigan International Speedway. In an ironic twist, when he gets behind the wheel of the Team Rensi machine on Father’s Day weekend, he will follow in his father Jeff’s footsteps. The elder Finley also made his first Nationwide (then Busch) Series with Ed Rensi at the season opener at Daytona in 1999, finishing 13th.

“My dad drove for Ed Rensi and we’ve known him and (general manager) Ronnie Russell since then and have a relationship,” said the 19-year-old racer. “We were able to put together some sponsorship and stuff and here we are now.”

While it will be his first-ever NASCAR race, Finley has raced at MIS before, earning a seventh-place ARCA finish there last year. “It’s home and we felt like it would be a really good place to start,” he said.

In all, he has six top-tens in that series with three top-fives and a pole position.

With the Alliance Truck Parts 250 being a companion event to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series that weekend, the field will be packed with some of the top drivers in the sport, including Carl Edwards and fellow Michigan native, Brad Keselowski. Finley, however, is not intimated. “It’s going to help me and my future to run against the best,” he said. “Guys like Kyle Busch are the elite in the series and I’m just privileged to be able to go out there and compete against them.”

Sponsoring the Team Rensi Ford will be longtime Chad Finley Racing partner, Auto Value. Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper has over 5000 auto parts stores and certified service centers throughout North America offering quality auto parts and first class dependable service. Also supporting Finley’s NASCAR effort are Airlift, Rain Eater Wiper Blades, and AutoParts2020.com.

For more information on Auto Value, visit them on the Web at 800AutoTalk.com.

Race Day Information for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500

(Fans take in the sights of Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Plaza. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

DAY: 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 Mile Race

SCHEDULE (all times local): 

6 a.m. Public Gates Open
8 a.m. Spectacle of Bands Begins
9-10:45 a.m. IZOD Presents Fearless at the 500 Stunt (Approximate start time; exact time depends on weather, wind conditions)
9:30 a.m. Celebrity Red Carpet, Pagoda Plaza; Race Cars To Pit Lane
9:50 a.m. 1911 Cars Parade Lap
10 a.m. Indianapolis 500 Winning Drivers Parade Lap
10:15 a.m. "On the Banks of the Wabash" - Purdue University All American Marching Band; Race Cars Begin To Grid On Track
10:50 a.m. Engine Warm-up Begins
11 a.m. Past Indianapolis 500 Winners In Indianapolis 500-Winning Cars Parade Lap
11:09 a.m. Military Recognition Lap
11:15 a.m. Military Recognition March
11:33 a.m. Driver Introductions
11:47 a.m. "America the Beautiful" Performed by Miss America Teresa Scanlan, Victory Podium
11:49 a.m. Speech from Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, U.S. Army, Vice Chief of Staff
11:51 a.m. "God Bless America" Performed by Florence Henderson, Victory Podium
11:53 a.m. National Anthem Performed by David Foster, Seal, Kelly Clarkson
11:55 a.m. Flyover by Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit "Stealth Bomber."
11:56 a.m. "Drivers to Your Cars" Announcement
11:57 a.m. Invocation, Most. Rev. Christopher J. Coyne, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Victory Podium
12:01 p.m. Rifle Volley, Victory Podium
12:02 p.m. "Taps," Victory Podium
12:03 p.m. "Back Home Again in Indiana" Performed by Jim Nabors, Victory Podium
12:03 p.m. Balloon Spectacle
12:05 p.m. Command to Start Engines, Mari Hulman George, Victory Podium
12:06 p.m. Parade Lap and Pace Laps -- 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible, Pace Car Driver A.J. Foyt
12:12 p.m. Green Flag, Start of 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 Mile Race
End of race Flyover, U.S. Navy A-4 Skyhawk and a T-2C Buckeye, followed by four U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets
 6 p.m. Track Closes  

TICKETS: Tickets for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 remain available Race Morning. Fans wanting to attend the race need to go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office at the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road or to one of the satellite ticket offices, located outside of Gates 3, 6, 9 and 10. Tickets start at $30 for general admission. All ticket offices will open at 6 a.m. and remain open until noon. Fans holding print-at-home tickets will be admitted only at Gates 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 10.

PUBLIC GATES OPEN: 6 a.m. (local time). All gates open.

STANDS OPEN: All stands and viewing mounds, except Gasoline Alley Roof.

TRANSCRIPT: Joplin, Mo., Native Jamie McMurray Discusses Recent Tornado

(Jamie McMurray talked to the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday about the devastating tornado that struck his home town last weekend. Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)

 ON HELPING VICTIMS OF TORNADO DEVASTATION IN JOPLIN, MO

‘I don’t know if you guys remember Irwin or not; they were partnered with Roush, and they actually sent 250 pairs of gloves just the other day. I had a friend call and say what they needed immediately were gloves to help with the search and rescue. So Irwin was nice enough to send them some gloves. But all the sponsors, Coke, McDonalds, and everybody has actually come to me. Initially I was like gosh, I’m going to call these people and see if they’ll do something to help raise some money. Everyone that’s involved with our NASCAR program, whether its sponsors or team owners or crew guys all came to me before I could get to them asking for ways they could help. So I thought that was really cool for our community to try and give back to them.”

WAS THAT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL?

“Yep, my high school.”  

WERE YOU BORN IN THAT HOSPITAL?

“I was not born in St. John’s. Most kids are born in Freeman Hospital, which is the hospital that they took everyone from St. John’s to. So no, I was not born in St. John’s.”

HOW CLOSE WAS THE TORNADO TO WHERE YOU USED TO LIVE? DID YOUR OLD HOUSE GET HIT?

“Yeah, actually I had friends send me pictures of the neighborhood that I grew up in, and it’s gone. They sent me pictures and I had a friend actually send pictures of my house through text messages, and I didn’t even know what he had sent me. I did figure it out because the only part left of my house was actually the address left on the front wall. But when you look at the pictures of the house, there’s no background. There are no trees or homes or landmark in the background to defy what you’re looking at. So, yeah, really the tornado took the whole neighborhood out.”  

HAVE YOU HEARD FROM YOUR OLD HIGH SCHOOL BUDDIES OR OLD GIRLFRIEND

“I have not heard from any old girlfriends (laughter).”

YOU KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING

“Yeah, I don’t have any family there anymore. My family has all moved to North Carolina. I do have a lot of friends still there. But like most of us in here, I probably haven’t stayed as close to friends of my hometown as I would have like to have. But I recently have joined FaceBook and a lot of friends have befriended me. So I’ve been in contact with a few of them. Everyone that I know or at least friends talking to friends, I haven’t known anyone that’s lost their life. I have a lot of friends that have lost their homes. But everyone that I know and of my friends that know, everyone seems to be okay right now. Although, I don’t know any more than you guys (the media) so. I just know what I’ve watched on the news and I’ve read on the internet. There are still a lot of people missing; so you just pray and hope that everyone is okay.”  

NORMALLY WHEN YOU COME TO KANSAS FOR THE FALL RACE, YOU USUALLY GO FISHING IN JOPLIN. DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR THAT WHEN YOU COME NEXT WEEK?

“Initially we planned on another fishing trip to Johnny’s place, but we’re going to go next Thursday. We’re actually going to go to Springfield. We’re going to leave early Thursday morning and meet up with the group from Convoy for Hope at Bass Pro Shops there. I guess they’re sending a lot of supplies down on that day so we’re going to go and meet up with them and then go to Joplin. I was fortunate that the mayor and the chief of police; you know you can’t get everywhere. You can’t just go back to your home I don’t believe, right now. So they’re actually going to give me a tour of everything and let me go see the house I grew up in and my high school, and look at all of it.”  

YOU HAVE JOPLIN ON YOUR RACE CAR THIS WEEKEND. DO YOU THINK THAT IF YOU WIN THIS RACE, OR WIN IN KANSAS, DO YOU THINK MAYBE YOU CAN LIFT SOME SPIRITS OF SOME PEOPLE BACK HOME?

“Certainly we’re here to win. I haven’t been back to Joplin for four or five years and I moved away from there when I was 20 years old. But Joplin will always be my hometown. And I’ve got, I don’t know, maybe it’s a different outlook now, but when we go do fundraisers, certainly I’m still going to do a lot with Autism, but I think for a long time it will be about Joplin and trying to get the city back where it was. I had a friend who lives there tell me that Joplin would recover; he just didn’t know if it would recover in our lifetime. He said the trees that are down and the amount of building that it’s just going to take a really long time to rebuild all this. So there will be a big effort on my part over the years to come to help with the hospital and school and the families that have lost everything.”

DID THE PEOPLE FROM THE TOWN ACTUALLY REACH OUT TO YOU ABOUT COMING, OR DID YOU INITIATE THAT?

“I probably had some friends ask about coming. But I wanted to go there. It’s really hard for me to explain. This doesn’t happen to very many people. There’s something special about your hometown. It’s just hard to explain. I wanted to go there on my own and just see everything. I’ve been glued to the TV for the last six days just watching everything and trying to remember what things looked like before. So, I want to go there and see it for myself.”

HOW DO YOU WEIGH YOUR CHANCES THIS WEEKEND AND WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE COCA-COLA 600 THAT MAKES IT A SPECIAL WIN?

“Well, it being the longest race, certainly there’s something to brag about with the length of the race and how the track changes over the course of the night. This is the one track coming to this year that I was really excited about because we ran so well here last year. It’s always been a really good track for me. We unloaded with the same stuff that we won with and pretty much the same set-up we ran second with; and just a long ways, half a second a lap off the pace. So probably the worst trace we’ve been to this year for us. It’s the same for the No. 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) so I’m not real sure. There is certainly nothing wrong with our cars. We just haven’t hit on it. The new tire has thrown us off at a lot of tracks and man; we just really struggled on Thursday. I was actually with our team at the 7-Post last night from like 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. trying to find something else to try today. And they’ve got a new game plan. Just going off the All-Star race and Thursday night, we were out to lunch. So we’ve got to get better and make some good adjustments and I’m hoping that we found the magic button last night.”  

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO APPROACH THE NEXT DOZEN RACES TO GET YOURSELF TO THAT WILDCARD?

“We’ve got to get better. We’re struggling right now. I feel like our short track program is probably our best; and that was our worst last year. And the 1.5-mile and bigger tracks where we ran so well last year, we’re struggling on right how. I don’t know if it’s the tires; I don’t know. I think most of the guys on our team and throughout the organization are dumbfounded at how you could be so good at these tracks last year and unload with very similar set-ups and it’s not just the No. 1, but it’s also the No. 42. The difference between winning and running average is so fine because the rules are so close. It doesn’t take a lot to get a long ways off and we’ve proved that. So, at the same time we’re hoping that we can find just a few small things to get us back to where we were last year because we certainly just don’t have the speed right now that we did.”

HAVE YOU SAID ANYTHING TO RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. ABOUT SUBBING FOR TREVOR BAYNE IN FIRST CUP RACE?

“I talked to him a little bit before qualifying yesterday, but I didn’t talk to him after that. I did talk to (crew chief of the No. 21 Wood Bros. Ford) Donnie (Wingo) last night and I’d forgotten; Donnie was calling me just to ask about Joplin, and I’ve forgotten even that Ricky was in his car. In the middle of our conversation I asked him where they qualified and he told me ninth and then I started to remember that Stenhouse was in there and I told him he got Ricky at a really good time because that’s where I was in 2002 when I came in. It just seemed like whatever car you got in you ran well. I watched him. He jumped in the No. 21 car and the first two or three laps he was up to speed and he’s a really good race car driver. He’s a super-talented kid. I’ve watched all those Nationwide races and he has come a long ways in a year from crashing and seeming like he was having bad luck, to making really good decisions and he won his first race last week. He’ll be tough on Sunday. That’s a really good car he’s in and the one thing I did tell Ricky was that he came into Cup at a good time because the Roush cars are the strongest cars right now. And if he would have come in last year at this time, it would have been a different story.”  

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU THINK OF GROWING UP IN JOPLIN? WHAT WAS THE BEST THING ABOUT IT?

“You only know where you grew up, right? You don’t know what it’s like to grow up in New York City or in a large city. So Joplin to me was just normal. I think about it with my kid and how much different he’s going to grow up than I did because we’re going to live in a much larger environment where there are museums and different culture than the way I was raised in Joplin. Joplin is just home to me. When I think about the school and racing at the go-kart track there in Joplin;I don’t know, I just can’t imagine it any other way because that’s the way it was. Joplin just seems normal to me.”

PEAK Performance Front Row, Danica Ready for Indianapolis 500

(The Indianapolis 500 PEAK Performance Front Row. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

The field is set, Carb Day is over, the parade has been held and now all eyes are on the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500, the 95th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Last weekend, Alex Tagliani, Scott Dixon, and Oriol Servia earned their way onto the PEAK Performance Front Row, while PEAK Performance athlete Danica Patrick was center stage for one of the most dramatic Bump Days at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in recent memory. The face of the IZOD IndyCar Series made the field after weather delays and tech issues in P26.

In final practice on Friday, Dixon and Tagliani flip-flopped their positions, with the 2008 event winner leading with a fast lap 225.474 mph and the Canadian-born Tagliani coming in second with a lap of 224.739 mph. With the clock ticking down to the drop of the green flag Sunday, Tagliani reflected on his week.

“Yeah, it was an amazing week that we had last week,” the Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver said. “We're really fortunate that we rolled the car off the trailer fast. The team has done a great job to fine-tune it. Every day we were out there, and we were strong. So it's been a pleasure for me to drive a very competitive car.

“(Friday) it was nice to be back on track. Obviously, we have a very different car that we're going to drive in the race. And I feel the car is very racey. I love it in traffic. It got some consistency out of the car on the older tires. So I don't know. It seems to me to be unreal and too good to be true sometimes. But I want to think that we deserve it. We did everything better than everyone else, and hopefully it will continue.”

Tagliani made no effort to hide his nerves when he talked to the assembled media Friday in regards to his feelings of being P1 when the 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 kicks off. “(I’ll have) a very high heart rate,” he said. “I've been very appreciative of what's happened to me as a driver. But what we don't want to forget is that we have the chance to participate in a historical event. And to just have the chance to qualify in it is already a big thing. Leading the field, I think it's going to be something I'll remember for the rest of my life."

For her part, Patrick said Friday’s practice, while shorter than she would have liked, was a positive session and that her Andretti Autosport team is going to race strong Sunday. “I really feel like the practice hour was good for the GoDaddy car. I wish we could have got some more laps in, but I was happy. I think it was a productive session. I feel confident in myself and the crew to have a strong finish on race day."

The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season continues with the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 on May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where PEAK Performance Pole Award winner Alex Tagliani will lead the field of 33 to the green flag. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at Noon (ET) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM channel 94 and IndyCar.com. For more information on the event and for tickets, visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the Web at IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com.

Briscoe, Team Continue Penske Domination of Pit Crew Challenge

(Last week, Ryan Briscoe was forced to qualify his backup car due to a wreck that took out his primary. Friday, he and his crew took home a win in the IZOD Pit Crew Challenge. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Team Penske extended its supremacy over the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge when Ryan Briscoe won the title for the first time in his career Friday, May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Penske team earned a record 13^th victory in the annual contest, and Penske has won the competition in the last six years it has been contested, as it was rained out in 2008. Helio Castroneves, the winner of the last four Pit Stop Challenges, was eliminated in the first round Friday by Ryan Hunter-Reay.

"This win means a lot," said Briscoe's crew chief, Matt Jonsson. "It adds confidence for Sunday, of course, and we're planning on doing the same thing on Sunday and trying to move up through the field. We win as a team and lose as a team, and that's our job on Sunday, to try to move up the field.

"Ryan came in on a consistent speed, stopped right on his marks. That's key for us. We don't have to adjust; we just do the same thing every time. If everyone stays calm and collected, that's the way it turns out to be: consistent."

Briscoe and his crew were dominant throughout their three rounds of competition, completing each simulated pit stop in less than eight seconds.

After a bye in the first round, Briscoe won his quarterfinal match against Justin Wilson and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 7.788 seconds, and defeated Tony Kanaan and KV Racing Technology - Lotus in the semifinals with a stop of 7.568 seconds. In the final, Briscoe and Team Penske dominated Dario Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing by changing four tires and simulating a fuel stop in 7.882 seconds to Franchitti's time of 8.481 seconds.

Team Penske and Briscoe earned $50,000. Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing earned $15,000.

"I think what you saw now is a taste of what these guys are going to be doing for me in the race, and it's so important," Briscoe said. "I put so much pride in their pit stops, and I'm just lucky to have the best guys in pit lane. Helio (Castroneves) has definitely been the favorite over the past few years, but I've got this guy (crew chief Matt Jonsson) and I was never looking at who was beside me.

"We were really consistent, and after the first one we just wanted to keep repeating. They did it all. The Penske pride in the competition goes back a ways, so we don't want to show up here and not be in the competition."

Sam Schmidt Motorsports Carb Day Report

Sam Schmidt Motorsports drivers Alex Tagliani and Townsend Bell ended up second and 12th, respectively on the speed chart following Friday’s final one-hour practice session for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

Tagliani, driver of the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara/Honda/Firestone for SSM, posted the second fastest lap of the day around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a time and speed of 40.0464 seconds at 224.739 mph. The Canadian’s quick lap came on the 32nd of his 42 total trips around the 2.5-mile oval.

Bell turned 40 laps in the No. 99 Herbalife24 Dallara/Honda/Firestone for SSM and was the 12th-fastest driver of the day with a lap of 40.2130 seconds at 223.808 mph. The hot lap came on the ninth of his trips around the ‘World Greatest Race Course.’

Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon turned the fastest lap of the day when he toured the famous oval in 39.9159 seconds at 225.474 mph. Tagliani was second followed by Dixon’s teammate, Dario Franchitti, who was third at 40.0609 seconds at 224.658 mph. A.J. Foyt Racing’s Vitor Meira (40.0927 seconds at 224.480 mph) and Bryan Herta Autosport’s Dan Wheldon (40.0999 seconds at 224.439 mph), rounded out the top-five.

The 95th Indianapolis 500 will take place at noon EDT on Sunday, May 29 and will be broadcast live on ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 11 a.m.  

Alex Tagliani, Driver of the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports: 

Overall thoughts on Carb Day and the month? 

“It was an amazing week that we had last week. We’re really fortunate that we rolled the car off the trailer fast. The team has done a great job to fine-tune it. Every day we were out there, and we were strong. So it’s been a pleasure for me to drive a very competitive car. Today it was nice to be back on track. Obviously, we have a very different car that we’re going to drive in the race. And I feel the car is very racey. I love it in traffic. It got some consistency out of the car on the older tires. So I don’t know. It seems to me to be unreal and too good to be true sometimes. But I want to think that we deserve it. We did everything better than everyone else, and hopefully it will continue. All winter long, the team fine-tuned the car. They just put their love into it and brought it back this year. Same car, same aerodynamic package, same track, and the car did better. So Penske and Ganassi have done that 10 years in a row. They have done the particular program that we have done for one race 10 years in row: Have a good car and keep improving it every year. And we’re trying to close the gap in a year and a half. It’s not an easy task.”  

Townsend Bell, Driver of the No. 99 Herbalife24 Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports:

Overall thoughts on final practice?

“The car feels great. We still have a few little adjustments we want to do, but overall it felt really good. We were pretty racy out there. Now we start thinking about how we want to race and see what we learned from that last run and keep an eye on the weather.”  

Rob Edwards, Team Manager of the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports:  

Overall thoughts on final practice? 

“I think final practice went very well. We achieved everything on the list that we had to achieve. We had some things that we thought would help us for the race that we didn’t have a chance to try last week with all the track time that was lost to rain. The guys were very efficient in getting through those things this morning. Obviously conditions are going to be very different on race day than they were today, so we’re careful in taking what we learned and applying it to Sunday. Everything we wanted to get through, we got through and we’re happy with the car.”  

Gerald Tyler, Race Strategist of the No. 99 Herbalife24 Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Sam Schmidt Motorsports:

Overall thoughts on final practice? 

“The car ran solid and we had no real issues. We’ll look at the data we collected and just prepare for the race. We have a lot of data to go through to see if we can improve for the race. Basically we’ll just study data between now and the race.”

Pruett-Leduc ready for Pro Mod debut in Englishtown

(Leah Pruett-Leduc. Photo Courtesy of Go2Geiger PR)

After several successful test runs in the RoadRage.com Camaro, R2B2 Racing's newest addition, Leah Pruett-Leduc, will make her Get Screened America Pro Mod Series debut June 3-5 at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.

"Pro Mod is the most difficult car I've ever driven," said Pruett-LeDuc, the reigning Nostalgia Funny Car champion. "I feel fully prepared for Englishtown. I'm very comfortable in the car, but it definitely keeps you on your toes."

Pruett-Leduc's addition to the team will cause some shuffling around the R2B2 Racing pits. Pruett-Leduc will drive the supercharged RoadRage.com Camaro previously driven by Melanie Troxel, who will take over the silver turbocharged ProCare Rx Corvette driven by team owner Roger Burgess through the first part of the season. Burgess moves into a blue turbocharged Firebird for the remainder of the season.

"There's a lot going on," Pruett-Leduc said. "For my part, I'm just going to take it slow. I don't anticipate lighting the world on fire, but at the same time I am a competitive person so when I get out there I'm going to want to win.

"I know I'm going to have to be cautious at first because I'm still new to this class and these cars. Being a smart driver is just as important at this point as qualifying for the race."

On top of her duties in her new Pro Mod ride, Pruett-Leduc is starting a driver training program with newly hired R2B2 VP of research and development John Medlen in a Funny Car. The goal with that particular project is to be ready to race and have plenty of laps under her belt if and when a sponsor for a second R2B2 Racing Funny Car is secured.

"It's a point of pride for me to bring a sponsor to Roger," Pruett-Leduc said. "Right now, it's all about getting laps so that when something does come along, we'll be ready to go.

"We’re using a restrictor plate on the engine and making passes whenever we can. I'm just tickled about it. I hadn't been in a real nitro car for more than two years, and when I got back in one, it was amazing."

Pruett-Leduc's first competitive pass in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series will come next Friday at Old Bridge Township Raceway.

NHRA Nitro Rewind Englishtown Edition is Now Available

(Robert Hight talks about his win at Topeka last week, which is the 200th win for John Force Racing. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

This week’s episode of Nitro Rewind will preview the 42nd annual SuperNationals on the NHRA YouTube channel. The show, an internet based broadcast, is hosted by Bill Stephens and features interviews from Top Fuel and Funny Car NHRA competitors as they look ahead to Englishtown and review Topeka’s national event.

“I can’t believe it has taken four shows but my dad, John Force, makes his Nitro Rewind debut in this episode. He is so excited about going to Englishtown which is the race closest to Castrol our long-time sponsor,” said Ashley Force Hood, John Force Entertainment president. “We also caught up again with Cruz (Pedregon) and Terry (McMillen) again which is always interesting.”

Nitro Rewind brought some winner’s luck to Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey as he makes a double appearance talking about Englishtown and then as the Topeka race winner. Robert Hight also talks about the special meaning of getting JFR’s 200th Funny Car win. Cruz Pedregon and Terry McMillen talk about the importance of the SuperNationals both for exposure on the East Coast and getting ready for the Countdown. Finally Tony Schumacher talks with the Nitro Rewind team about making the NHRA produced DVD “Decade of Dominance” and what that experience was like.

Future episodes will be posted on the NHRA YouTube channel the Thursday after each national event.

Fans can check out Nitro Rewind by going to www.youtube.com and searching Nitro Rewind or they can go directly to the NHRA YouTube channel.

IndyCar Series Crews Feeling Need for Speed in Pit Crew Challenge

The fastest pit crews in the Indianapolis 500 will compete for a $50,000 first prize in the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge during Miller Lite Carb Day on Friday, May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Competition among 12 teams starts at 1:30 p.m. on pit lane at IMS. Four rounds of action are scheduled, with the runner-up team earning $30,000 and the third-place team earning $20,000.

Teams will change four tires and perform a simulated fuel hookup during each round of the competition. The quickest time wins, with time penalties added for various infractions, such as loose wheel nuts or running over air hoses.

Nine teams previously qualified based on pit performance between the 2010 Indianapolis 500 and the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle earlier this month. Three teams earned the final spots during time trials last week at IMS.

VERSUS will televise the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge live as part of its Miller Lite Carb Day coverage from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Team Penske and Helio Castroneves are the two-time defending champions of the IZOD Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge. Team Penske has won a record 12 times and Castroneves five times, also a record.
Challenge brackets:

FIRST ROUND

#3 Team Penske (Helio Castroneves) vs. #28 Andretti Autosport* (Ryan Hunter-Reay)
#19 Dale Coyne Racing (Alex Lloyd) vs. #06 Newman/Haas Racing (James Hinchcliffe)
#82 KV Racing Technology-Lotus (Tony Kanaan) vs. #26 Andretti Autosport (Marco Andretti)
#5 KV Racing Technology-Lotus (Takuma Sato) vs. #22 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (Justin Wilson)

QUARTERFINALS

#3-#28 Winner vs. #12 Team Penske (Will Power)
#19-#06 Winner vs. #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Dario Franchitti)
#82-#26 Winner vs. #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing (Scott Dixon)
#5-#22 Winner vs. #6 Team Penske (Ryan Briscoe)

***

2011 Indianapolis 500 tickets: Tickets are on sale for the 100^th Anniversary Indianapolis 500, "The Most Important Race in History," on Sunday, May 29, 2011 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Race Day ticket prices start at just $30. Fans can buy tickets online at www.imstix.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or by visiting the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16^th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.

Children 12 and under will be receive free general admission to any IMS event in 2011 when accompanied by an adult general admission ticket holder.

Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.

TRANSCRIPT: Tony Stewart Press Conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway

(Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Tony Stewart talked to the media Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

ARE YOU GOING TO BE AT SPEED STREET TOMORROW NIGHT?

“Yes.”

WHAT’S PLAYING? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE DOING?

“I have no idea. I’ll know when I get there.”

HAVE YOU BEEN A PART OF THAT IN THE PAST? WHAT SORT OF EXPERIENCE HAS IT BEEN?

“Yeah, but you’ve got to remember I’m more worried about trying to figure out what I’m doing in my race car right now. I’m worried about my race car. I’m not worried about all this other stuff. This is ‘Hell Week’ being in Charlotte. We don’t do anything but work all week for two and a half weeks. So, it’s non-stop. We’re just happy when we can be at the track and can finally get a break.”

MATT KENSETH SAID 600 MILES IS REALLY LONG WHEN YOU’RE CAR IS NOT DOING WHAT YOU WANT IT TO

“500 miles is a long time when you’re car’s not right. I’m not sure that we’re practicing in the heat of the day here for qualifying tonight; so that’s why we’ve got Saturday to work on the race stuff.”

WITH THIS HEAT, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN USE FROM LAST WEEK THAT YOU’RE GOING TO BRING OVER?

“Look in your archives. Every year everybody tells you ‘Yes’ on that. That’s what everybody says. That’s what everybody said last week. It’s the same answer this week. Log this answer for the rest of my life that yes, everything that we learned last week we will use toward this week for the rest of my life. That’s what we’ll do.”

OK

“That’s a given. Everybody is going to do that. Everybody is going to look off their notes last week because we’re running the same track two weeks in a row. And they’re both ending at night. So it’s as consistent as you can get. I know you have to ask but I have to answer it that way because I get tired of answering the same thing every May the same question.”

HOW IS KANSAS DIFFERENT FROM THIS TRACK IN YOUR APPROACH?

“It’s shaped different (laughs); it’s a whole different race track. Even the tracks that are shaped the same as Charlotte race differently. I mean Atlanta races different, Texas races different; and Kansas is totally shaped different than here. So it’s a whole different place.”

I KNOW IT’S SHAPED DIFFERENT, BUT HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FOR YOU? WHAT DO YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?

“The handling characteristics are different. Man, I don’t even know what kind of answer you want for that because it’s kind of far out there. I don’t even know when Kansas is compared to now.”

IT’S NEXT WEEK

“Okay, I don’t even know. Like I say, we’re worried about this week and not what we’re doing next week at Kansas or the week after that wherever we’re at then. We’ve got 600 miles we’re trying to work on this week.”

HOW IS YOUR CAR?

“I think it’s pretty good. I’m pretty happy with the balance so far in race trim. It’s just staying focused on what we’re doing. There have been so many distractions in the last week and a half, and everybody wants to talk about Kansas or something else that doesn’t pertain to anything that we’re doing right now, that it’s hard to focus on it.”

WITH YOUR OWNER’S HAT ON, CAN I ASK YOU ABOUT DANICA PATRICK?

“You can’t ask me anything about Danica. It doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m doing here today. If you have something to ask me about what we’re doing here today, feel free. And I’ll stay here as long as you want. Do you have anything else?

I’M GOOD.

“Okay.”

JFR Autograph Session Announced for Road Show Appearance

(John Force Racing is hosting an autograph session this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo by Jayson Kaplan).

John Force Racing has just confirmed that 15-time NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car champion John Force will be signing autographs at the John Force Road Show at the Indianapolis 500 on Friday. Force along with 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car champion Robert Hight, 2011 Full Throttle Funny Car points leader Mike Neff and NHRA rising star Courtney Force will be signing at the Road Show located at the corner of 16^th and Georgetown outside The Speedway beginning at 10 a.m. on May 27^th.

The quartet of drivers will be available to sign autographs as well as pose for photos with NHRA fans as well as Indy Car fans in town for the 100^th annual Indy 500.

“While I am excited to show off the John Force Road Show I am more excited to meet some of the fans,” said the fan-friendly Force. “We decided today the best way to do that was to pull out some chairs and tables and sign some autographs on Friday. I’ll have three more of my drivers there Robert (Hight) and Mike (Neff) including my youngest daughter Courtney.”

Force will also be showing off the John Force Road Show to NHRA president Tom Compton. Compton will be spending the day in Indianapolis before heading to Charlotte. The NHRA has been a major supporter of the John Force Road Show and Force is thrilled to be able to show Compton the trailers, videos and show cars in person.

“This is a big deal to have Tom Compton spend the day with us. The NHRA has always been aggressive in promoting the sport and to have the top man from NHRA here to see what John Force Racing is doing is huge,” said Force. “We always want to work with NHRA to make sure we are spreading the gospel the right way. Compton came in to Texas to induct me into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame and it is an honor to have him here to see the unveiling of the Road Show at the Indy 500.”

In addition to the autograph session on Friday at 16^th Avenue and Georgetown Avenue all four drivers will also be signing autographs at the John Force Racing Brownsburg shop on Saturday.