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Marco Andretti Scores Win at Iowa Speedway

(Marco Andretti snapped a 77-race winless streak Saturday night at Iowa Speedway for his second career IZOD IndyCar Series victory and his first win on an oval. Photo by IndyCar.com)

Marco Andretti overtook former Andretti Autosport teammate Tony Kanaan on Lap 232 of 250 and went on to a 0.7932-of-a-second victory in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at Iowa Speedway.

Andretti had passed Kanaan on Lap 209, only to have Kanaan return the favor four laps later. Andretti was running second to Dario Franchitti when they cycled through for their final round of service on Lap 184 under caution. Andretti got out first. On a Lap 199 restart, Kanaan overtook Franchitti for second and the charge to the checkered flag was on.

It was the third victory for Andretti Autosport in the five races at Iowa Speedway, including Kanaan in 2010.

Scott Dixon charged from 23rd on the starting grid to finish third and Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti, who led the most laps, was fifth. Rookie JR Hildebrand, the Indianapolis 500 runner-up, passed Franchitti on Lap 242 for fourth place.

Also on June 25, Josef Newgarden, who overtook pole sitter and Sam Schmidt Motorsports teammate Esteban Guerrieri on Lap 26, turned a 0.3574 of a second advantage into a 5.4724-second victory.

Newgarden, earning his third victory of the season, improved his championship points lead from 13 to 46 over Guerrieri, who retired midway through the race with a mechanical issue (steering) and was credited with 12th place.

Gustavo Yacaman, driving the No. 2 TMR-Tuvacol-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, recorded a Firestone Indy Lights-best runner-up finish. Clauson, competing in his third Firestone Indy Lights oval race, was 5.8 seconds back but also finished a season-high third.

DAY 2 NOTEBOOK:

British racer Oliver Webb will join Jensen MotorSport beginning with the doubleheader race weekend at Edmonton next month.

The 20-year-old native of Manchester, England will drive the No. 12 ExpoSystems Team Jensen race car as teammate to David Ostella for the Canadian-based team.

"Jensen MotorSport and team sponsor ExpoSystems are excited to announce Oliver Webb as our newest driver," said team owner Eric Jensen. "With his impressive results in European racing, it will be interesting to see Oliver challenge the most talented drivers in North America."

Webb joins Jensen MotorSport with an impressive resume including three wins and 14 podiums as a rookie driver in British F3. Webb, who finished third British F3, has been racing in the World Series by Renault this season.

"Many British drivers including 2011 Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon and three-time (IZOD) IndyCar series champion Dario Franchitti have enjoyed terrific success by transitioning their careers to North American racing," said Webb, the first driver the first driver to win membership of both the BRDC Superstars and MSA Elite.

"While still planning to continue my racing career in Europe this summer, I am excited to have been given this excellent opportunity to join the Firestone Indy Lights grid with view to possibly competing full-time in the USA in 2012 and beyond."

***

Sage Karam won the Pizza Ranch 100 Star Mazda race this afternoon. It is the second-consecutive win for 16-year-old from Nazareth, Pa., and his No. 88 Andretti Autosport team. Andretti Autosport is the only team that fields entries in all four Mazda Road to Indy divisions.

***

It was 1997 and a 23-year-old Dario Franchitti moved to the States to drive for Hogan Racing in CART, which included a mixture of road courses and ovals. Franchitti had a best finish of ninth at Australia, earned his first pole at Toronto and wound up 22nd in the championship standings.

Franchitti, whose best oval finish was 13th at Nazareth, sought and received oval racing input from Rick Mears, who had amassed 29 victories over the course of his career under USAC and CART sanction.

Now, the four-time Indianapolis 500 and six-time series champion (Mears) and the two-time Indianapolis 500 and three-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion (Franchitti) are tied for ninth on the all-time win list.

"If I'd had known that I wouldn't have helped," Mears deadpanned as the drivers discussed the past and future of IndyCar racing and their legacy a few hours before the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at the Iowa Speedway.

Mears recorded seven USAC- and 22 CART-sanctioned race victories (22 on ovals) in a three-decade Indy car career.

"I had opportunities to do other things over the years, whether it be Formula 1 or (stock cars) or whatever, but I always enjoyed our series because of the diversity of tracks," said Mears, whose first Indy car victory came June 18, 1978, at the Milwaukee Mile. "I felt like you accomplished more if you won the championship; you had to be a more well-rounded driver. That was always the challenge of the series.

"Joking about helping Dario on ovals, he's never needed any help. He's been smooth from the word go, and to me that's one of the key things on the speedways and short ovals. He already had that natural ability and talent. It was just a matter of laps."

Up next for Franchitti, who finished fifth in the race, are former teammate Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais, who are tied with 31 victories. Both will be competing in the Honda Indy Toronto on July 10.

"I'm proud of every single (win) and I never expected to get to this number," said Franchitti, driver of the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car who has a 20-point lead over Will Power in the championship standings.

***

Nicole Hill of Fort Dodge, Iowa, a four-year INDYCAR Nation Champion member, had the thrill of getting a ride in the "Fastest Seat in Sports" two-seater that paced the field to the green flag.

Hill, who's attended all five IZOD IndyCar Series races at Iowa Speedway and every Indianapolis 500 for eight years, was chaueffered by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser Jr.

"That was awesome," said Hill a few seconds after hugging Unser. "I want to thank Honda and INDYCAR Nation and everybody."

SUKUP 100 POST-RACE QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 11 Copart/Score Big/RoboPong/SSM, winner Sukup 100): "I think it was really exciting for everyone at the beginning. Unfortunately, I think it got a bit processional throughout the race. We put a really good, strong car together for that race. It felt so good I could go anywhere on the track, and that's just a tribute to the team. I was so disappointed that we didn't qualify a little bit better. At least we didn't put ourselves too far back. So starting from fourth, we just came in with a conservative approach but still aggressive enough to get in the lead early on and just hold it all the way through. Great job by the Sam Schmidt Motorsports guys and everyone else that supports us."

GUSTAVO YACAMAN (No. 2 TMR-Tuvacol-Xtreme Coil Drilling, finished second): ""For the restart, I just didn't have the pace to keep up with Esteban (Guerrieri) and (Josef) Newgarden was attacking me so he was able to get by. I stuck with Newgarden when he overtook Esteban, and he pulled me through. Then it basically was a battle for second with Bryan (Clauson). We've worked so hard and we've had a good car so many times, so it's good to capitalize on the equipment Mark Moore has given me."

BRYAN CLAUSON (No. 77 Mazda Road to Indy/CURB Records, finished third): "We didn't give each other an inch and it was just good, hard racing. We just didn't have quite a good enough car to slip underneath him. We were a little bit tight. We just didn't have enough to finish the corner on the outside.  It was a lot of fun. I threw everything I had at him, and I just didn't have quite enough. I spent the last 40 laps trying to get a run and doing something. I tried high, I tried low, I tried diving under. I tried throwing everything I could at him but just never got quite the run I needed to beat him off the corner and take the spot."

VICTOR GARCIA (No. 22 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling, finished fourth): "It was a very good race because we started 12^th and we knew we had a car capable of being at the top but yesterday we had a fuel pump problem. My team was telling me to relax and go faster and faster each lap. At the end I was catching people and overtaking. I'm really happy for the team after they worked so late yesterday. I have to thank everyone for all the hard work they did. I'm really happy because we are third in the championship now."

DUARTE FERREIRA (No. 28 Bryan Herta Autosport, finished fifth): "It's was a very hard work. It was difficult because in the beginning, the car was very loose and in the middle it started to understeer. It was a good race. I lost two spots at the start, but after I got up to P4. Then after I passed Chase (Austin) on the inside, the car slid and the 22 car was able to get by me. This was a good job for me and Bryan Herta Autosport team."

IOWA CORN INDY 250 POST RACE NOTES:
·         This is Marco Andretti's first win of 2011 and his second win of his Indy car career. His last win was at Infineon Raceway in 2006, 79 races ago. It is his first win on an oval.
·         This is Andretti Autosport's 38^th win in Indy car competition and its third win at Iowa Speedway in five races. It's last win was at Long Beach this year with Mike Conway. It won last year's race here at Iowa Speedway with Tony Kanaan.
·         Tony Kanaan finished a season-best second place. His previous best finish was third at St. Petersburg.
·         Scott Dixon finished third after starting 23^rd. It is his fourth podium finish this season.
·         JR Hildebrand finished fourth, his second top-five finish of the season.
·         Dario Franchitti finished fifth, his seventh top-five finish of the season.

IOWA CORN INDY 250 POST RACE QUOTES

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy, winner Iowa Corn Indy 250): (About tonight's win): We were down a little bit on the bigger ovals but we know when it comes down to handling we'd be alright. These guys did a great job with pits. They got me the lead back. We had some good racing with T.K. (Tony Kanaan). It was good fun. The Venom boys were on it tonight. (About battling Kanaan for the win): Knowing TK, I knew he would do exactly what I did to him. He'd make his car very wide. I didn't want to wait until two to go because he was just going to chop me and I would have been done. I knew I had to get it done earlier and actually make my car wide."

TONY KANAAN (No. 82 GEICO-KV Racing Technology-Lotus, finished second): "It was pretty clean until he chopped me off. Congratulations to him. He did a great job. It was a great battle, a great race. We didn't quite have the car. I think towards the end we got a littlw stronger. I'm happy for the team."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, finished third): "It was a good night for Team Target. We didn't have the best car out there, but it was a tough race with lots of traffic. All in all, great day for both cars. We made some changes and got to work on the car which was really loose. It feels like a win coming from 23rd to third."

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing, finished fourth): "That was my first time up front, rubbin' with those boys. There were a couple of spots that were a little dicey. It may be I'll have to go up to some guys and say, 'sorry about that.' This is a tough place to race, but the Panther Racing guys gave me an awesome car. I'm happy how the whole weekend has gone for the National Guard team."

DARIO FRANCHITTI ( No. 10 Suave, finished fifth): "We had a bit of problem on that last pit stop and Marco got ahead. All night we had been getting more and more oversteer, and once we got in traffic I was toast. We struggled at the end."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske, finished sixth): "The PPG Automotive Refinish car was strong tonight. During that last part of the race we had a fast car, it was definitely capable of being a top-three car, but I just couldn't find my way around a couple of the guys in front of me. All in all it was a good night though. Iowa Speedway is a great track, the stands were full and I think we put on a good show for the fans. I am looking forward to Toronto."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Guidepoint Systems Team Penske, finished seventh): "The Guidepoint Systems car was very good tonight. We were good enough to fight for the lead and drive through the field. We were running up front, but once again we had the bad misfortune of the tire going flat. It's a shame, but it happens. From there, we did our best to fight our way back up. It was a great job by the No. 3 Guidepoint Systems guys - they gave me great pit stops and it's what we needed to get back in it. We've got great momentum now. We'll keep plugging away and we'll get that good finish. I know it's coming."

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Schmidt Pelfrey Racing, finished 16th): "I'm very proud of the team and the engineering group. The Bowers & Wilkins group gave me a great car. It was unfortunate that the yellow flag killed us. The car was very, very fast, I think I had one of the fastest laps in the race. It's unfortunate because also later on in the race we developed a fuel pickup problem. I couldn't believe how fast we were even with the misfire. This result tonight wasn't really do justice to how fast this car was tonight."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 KV Racing Technology - Lotus): "I lost at the bump in Turn 2. The tires weren't up to temperature. I'm very disappointed to finish the race this way. I feel very sorry for the team and the fans. It's unfortunate because up until then it was looking good.

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 34 Conquest Racing): "I have no idea what happened. We were solid all night, but we had very little track time here because we lost the first practice of the weekend. The car was solid and we were working to the front with no trouble. We had some mild understeer which we were working through and out of nowhere the rear just snapped without any indication. It is one of those things that we will check out very closely to see what broke and try to figure it out."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Levemir and NovoLog FlexPen): "It was really disappointing to get hit in pit lane during that first pit stop. There wasn't anything I could do about it, I didn't even see him. It's a shame because the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew worked really hard all weekend and I thought we were going to have a really good race car. As it cooled off, we were only going to get better and better. There's a lot more speed out of the No. 83 Levemir and NovoLog FlexPen car and I can't wait to take it to Toronto and get back on a street circuit."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 38 Service Central): "Overall, it was pretty frustrating night. The Service Central team did a great job in the pits. I thought that we had a really good race car yesterday and I thought we did a good job not over reacting, but the No. 38 Service Central car was extremely loose. I was hanging on a bit too much. We got unlucky with that yellow after our pit stop, which put us a lap down. We'll have to regroup and come back. We lost a few positions in the points, but the Service Central team will continue to work hard."

E.J. VISO (No. 59 PDVSA - KV Racing Technology - Lotus): "I had such a difficult car that I had to battle so hard through the entire race. This is the closest thing to a nightmare. I am more tired after this race than I have ever been. The car I had this weekend was not my primary car, it was the backup, so we are all glad this weekend is over. Now we head to some races where we will have our proper equipment and we know that works because we have it in the past. We just have to keep working as a team. I want to congratulate Tony on his podium finish. Once again we showed we are a strong team and getting better with each race."

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Racing): "I am super-proud of the work done by the team in one day. We knew this track was going to be a challenge and it definitely proved a challenge yesterday. We worked hard, we had long meetings last night and again this morning and Bruno (Couprie) came up with a great car. The Telemundo car really was the class of the field. Pit lane was just not our favorite neighborhood today. With this team, in my life, I have had so many positions gained in the pits but it seems the last couple of races we are lagging behind and that is not typical of Newman/Haas. We are losing positions and today we had lost a couple already before but that wasn't a big deal. But then we had some sort of an issue with the fuel not going in the car. Unfortunately it was the last pit stop where it was the one that kills you; you basically have no time to recover. And then there weren't many yellows to bring any miracles. It's just a shame we couldn't capitalize on the work done. It just proves it's not easy to win one of these things against this competition and we just need to do everything a little bit better. I would catch the top-three every time. I don't want to say we had a car that would have won the race but for sure I had a car that was battling with Marco and Dixon at different stages and we were in front of them. It's not foolish to think we had a car that could challenge for the win. It's a shame to finish 14th and lose a good amount of points that will hurt us in the championship. We have been strong in street and road courses and ovals of all kinds so I know we are going to get back. We just need to have perfect weekends again."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 06 Sprott Newman/Haas Racing): "We the exception of Texas the Sprott team has been in the top-10 in every race we've been running at the end. That's something to be proud of. It was another day in the Indy car education here at Iowa. We got caught up in the first pit stop when Will and Charlie got together right in front of us and we fell right down to the back. From there we were just slowly trying to pick them off, we made a couple of moves on track. And again we made some time up in the pits. It was another team effort. We were running as high as seventh there on the last stint but lost some places to guys like Helio and Ryan. It's all experience and laps in the book. I'm just happy to bring it home after another good day especially not knowing what to expect after last night's practice. Credit goes to the guys for getting the car to where we could race in the top-10. We had a few issues with fueling. We got the fuel in on the first stop but not on the second and had to come back in. We had to do a hose switch and that's why we came in under yellow one time. We had to battle a couple of things so it's good to get a top-10 and carry more momentum into Toronto."

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team Go Daddy): "The balance from one end of the track to the other was completely different, so that made it difficult to have a consistent lap. The GoDaddy car was strong all weekend, so I was confident that we would be competitive tonight. I was really hoping for a better result, but we'll have to take what we got. Congrats to Marco and his crew for a great race; they deserved the win."

ED CARPENTER (No. 67 Dollar General/Sarah Fisher Racing): "It was a really long race. We were really loose to start the race, luckily we had a lot of early yellows to keep working on the Dollar General car.  We got it a lot better, got it to where we could make up some spots on the restarts.  We had a yellow work out in our favor but then had a mishap in the pits that cost us track position. Just makes for a frustrating night."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Team DHL/Circle K/Sun Drop Citrus Soda): "We really struggled in the first half of the race with the track being a bit 'green' from the rain. We just really struggled with it. But, once the rubber came in and it went single file, I was able to pick them off. We really needed green-flag running and we just getting yellow after yellow after yellow after yellow. The flow of the race just didn't go our way soon enough or often enough.

"It's a decent result for the DHL/Circle K/Sun Drop team; we just needed to take some points out of here and get on to Toronto. It's just great that Marco won. It's really great for the team. Dr Pepper Snapple, with Venom on the side of the car, really needed a win and they deserve it. Marco deserves it; that whole 26 team really deserves it, so I'm really happy for them and happy for the team as a whole."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske): "It was definitely a hard hit. The Verizon car was damaged after the incident in the pits and we just had a problem with the steering and it came around me. It's a tough result for us tonight. We'll do our best to get it back next race."

ANA BEATRIZ (No. 24 Team Ipiranga/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing): "We were running a good race, and the car was pretty good. We got loose, I hit the bump and the rear snapped on me."

MIKE CONWAY (No. 27 Andretti Autosport): "It was obviously a disappointing end. I was just following Ana (Beatriz) into Turn 1 and 2, and she just got loose in the corner. I had nowhere to go and we kind of touched wheels. That set me off into the wall. It was a pretty hard hit; not much left of the right side of the car. It's unfortunate. It was a funny day anyway. At the start we had no gears and we drove right to the back. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it goes sometimes."

JAMES JAKES (No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts): "We have difficult conditions out there. It is cold and so difficult to pass. Everyone is trying to get low because that is where the grip seems to be. It is unfortunate because I think I had a quick car here. It is only the third oval I have driven on and I know we are going to have these incidents so I just need to move on to Toronto."

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Honda Indy Toronto at Streets of Toronto on July 10. It will be telecast by VERSUS at 2 p.m. (EDT). The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Toronto 100 at Streets of Toronto. It will be televised live by VERSUS at Noon (EDT).

Alex Tagliani Earns PEAK Performance Pole Award for Twin Texas 275s

(Alex Tagliani earned his second-straight PEAK Performance Pole Award Friday for the Firestone Twin 275s at Texas. He was also P1 for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 last month. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Alex Tagliani had a two-lap average speed of 215.186 mph on the 1.5-mile, high-banked Texas Motor Speedway oval to earn the PEAK Performance Pole Award for the Firestone Twin 275s on June 11.

It's the second consecutive pole for Tagliani, driving the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins car for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. He started from the point in the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 on May 29 in the first oval race of the IZOD IndyCar Series season.

Reigning series champion Dario Franchitti (214.801) will start second for the second consecutive year.

Will Power, who started from the pole in each of the four road/street courses, will start third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car. He'll be joined in Row 2 by Takuma Sato, driver of the No. 5 KV Racing Technology-Lotus car who starts a career-high fourth on an oval. He was the final qualifier (214.470).

"It was a good run out there Verizon car," Power said. "I was flat and on the white line for both laps. We have some work to do tonight in practice to find a good race trim, but we should be good. We get two shots at it tomorrow and I'm definitely ready to race."

DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:

The IZOD IndyCar Series will compete in the Firestone Twin 275s, a doubleheader of 114-lap races at 7:45 p.m. (CT) Saturday. The second race will follow approximately an hour after the first race concludes.

***

This is the 22^nd IZOD IndyCar Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. Ryan Briscoe won the race in 2010. Gil de Ferran holds the single-lap qualifying record with a lap of 23.5031 seconds, 222.864 mph set in October 2003. Scott Dixon holds the four-lap qualifying record of 214.878 mph set in 2009. Past winners Ryan Briscoe (2010), Scott Dixon (2008), Helio Castroneves (2009, 2006 and Oct. 2004) and Tony Kanaan (June 2004) are entered in the event.

***

Live timing and scoring reports from the Firestone Twin 275s are available on the Internet at www.indycar.com. The live timing and scoring module provides statistical information, including track segment speeds, lap information and much more.

Feature stories, reports, driver quotes and notes, and photos will be posted on the site each day. More detailed information, including media advisories and VNF coordinates, is available at media.indycar.com.

***

Drivers will have 12 total pushes of the Honda overtake assist - an ECU software alteration employed by Honda Performance Development - each lasting 20 seconds during both Firestone Twin 275s. It is activated by the driver via a button on the steering wheel and provides an extra 200 RPM (about 10 horsepower) to the Honda Indy V-8 engine. Parameters are updated before each race weekend to meet the circuit layout.

There is a 10-second recovery period between pushes. One overtake assist push is available for the final practice session on tonight.

***

Each entry for the Firestone Twin 275s receives nine sets (36 total) of Firestone Firehawks for the race weekend. It is the same formula used last year at Kentucky, Chicagoland and Homestead. It is also scheduled to be run in 2011 at Kentucky and Las Vegas.

***

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Ana Beatriz will have Matt Curry as her engineer and Larry Curry as her strategist for the remainder of the season. Teammate Justin Wilson will have Yves Touron as his engineer and Dennis Reinbold as his strategist for the No. 22 car.

Matt Curry was the engineer on Wilson's car and Yves Touron was Paul Tracy's engineer for the Indianapolis 500 and on the No. 24 car last season.

***

Indy 500 champion Wheldon is presenter at CMT Music Awards: Dan Wheldon might not be as well known in Nashville as Kenny Chesney or Trace Adkins, but the Indianapolis 500 champion shared the stage with the country music stars June 8 during the CMT Music Awards in Nashville.

Wheldon joined Gary Busey and John Rich (of Big and Rich) to present the Best Duo Video Award to Sugarland for "Stuck Like Glue."

Wheldon's Victory Tour, which also has included events in New York, Fort Worth, Texas, and St. Petersburg, Fla., isn't quite complete. A full slate of media interviews and autograph sessions at the Country Music Association Festival was on tap June 9. He'll also introduce Rascal Flatts on stage for a concert at LP Field.

Bryan Herta Autosport team's entry in the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 was partly sponsored by Curb Records (one of the world's leading independent music companies, featuring country artists such as Clay Walker and Hank Williams Jr.) and and Big Machine Label Group (the label home of Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and Rascal Flatts, among others).

***

Kanaan slides in dirt for charity: Tony Kanaan had a better handle June 8 on the GEICO-sponsored Late Model car prepared for the all-star Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway in Ohio than last year.

Still, more practice laps would be in order for the 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion to contend. For the second consecutive year, Kanaan competed in the charity team event on the dirt oval.

"Last year everything was new, and I learned a little bit more this year," said Kanaan, who will return to his more familiar No. 82 KV Racing Technology-Lotus car this week for the Firestone Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speedway. "We did much better as far a lap times and starting position. Last year, we finished the race. This year, we had a little bit of a problem. It's so much fun, and I have to thank Tony (Stewart) and the Eldora staff so much for inviting me again.

"I became a big fan of dirt racing last year. It was my first time in the car. This year was my second time in the car, so I've already talked with the guys on the team about testing over the winter. Hopefully, I'll get a little bit better before next year."

There was an individual race winner (Clint Bowyer, who led all 30 laps in the feature), but there was also a race within the race, with the field divided into four teams, each representing a children's hospital:

Team Dallas: Kanaan, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Ambrose, Almirola and Yeley.

Team Levine: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Bill Elliott, David Reutimann, Austin Dillon, Ray Evernham and Cruz Pedregon.

Team Atlanta: Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Bowyer, Ken Schrader, David Gilliland, Leffler and Ron Capps.

Team St. Louis: Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Justin Allgaier, Kenny Wallace, Ron Hornaday and Ricky Carmichael.

"Anything that involves charity and race cars I'll be in it," Kanaan said.

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING NOTES:
• This is Alex Tagliani's second pole of 2011 and the seventh pole of his Indy car career. He also won the pole for the 100^th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 in May.
• This is Sam Schmidt Motorsports' third pole position in the IZOD IndyCar Series and its first pole at Texas Motor Speedway. Its previous best start was 15^th in June 2002 with Richie Hearn.
• Dario Franchitti qualified second, his second front row start of 2011 and his fourth front row start at Texas.
• Will Power qualified third. He has qualified in the top five in every race this season
• Takuma Sato qualified fourth, his best starting position of 2011 and his best qualifying position on an oval.
• Ed Carpenter qualified fifth, his best qualifying position at Texas.
• Wade Cunningham qualified eighth for his IZOD IndyCar Series debut.

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins Schmidt Pelfrey Racing, PEAK Pole Award winner): "I told Will (Power) I was coming for him." (About winning back-to-back poles) "That means tomorrow night I'll draw the pole (for Race #2) ,right? It's a tribute to how much effort and how much love the guys put in the car. I watched them work the last two weeks and they worked harder than when they brought the car to Indianapolis. That's what a team does. We're going to continue to work hard and bring fast cars to the track. Being fast on an oval is great, but I won't be happy until I can stick it to Will (Power) and the Penske cars on a road course that's my next goal."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske, qualified third): "It was a good run out there in the Verizon car. I was flat and on the white line for both laps. We have some work to do tonight in practice to find a good race trim, but we should be good. We get two shots at it tomorrow and I'm definitely ready to race."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 KV Racing Technology - Lotus, qualified fourth):"It was fantastic, very exciting.  The car was balanced and really felt good.  After morning practice we were confident that we could have a good qualifying and after watching TK's (Tony Kanaan's) run I was even more confident.  Now we really need to concentrate on getting a good car for the race which is a very different car from qualifying." 

ED CARPENTER (No. 67 Dollar General Sarah Fisher Racing, qualified fifth): "It's been a good day for the Dollar General team. I feel good about our car. We seem to have good speed. I wasn't sure where we were going to end up, but it seems like everyone ran quicker during qualifying than we did in practice. I'm happy with our qualifying effort, but I always want to be faster. Either way we have a good starting spot for tomorrow night, and I think we have something for them."

TONY KANAAN (No. 82 GEICO - KV Racing Technology - Lotus, qualified sixth): "Good qualifying run, I think that the GEICO-KVRT-Lotus guys did a great job. I mean, qualifying doesn't matter a lot here, but it's definitely nice to back at the front again. Now we've gotta work for the race. Race one is going to be very interesting, and race two we really don't know what to expect. Overall, two cars in the top six and I'm sitting a lot better than I have in the past…now we've got to move forward."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, qualified seventh):  "Our two qualifying laps were a bit faster than I expected. It should be exciting tomorrow and the two twin races should be exciting to watch. You always have to make quick decisions here and it should be a great show for everyone tuning in."

WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 99 Creatherm Sam Schmidt Motorsports, qualified eighth): "For us, it's just about sticking to the basics. An hour of practice before qualifying isn't a lot. I hadn't been to this track since 2005 in (Firestone Indy) Lights, and this is my first weekend in an Indy car. So we were just keeping it simple by doing the basics. We went out and did a lot of race running in the first session with a high down-force package. So, we didn't get to do any practice in a qualifying package." (About his qualifying run): "We bolted new tires on and tried to adjust the balance a little bit. Time is quite tight in the session, so we didn't have time to do everything we wanted. So really for us going into qualifying was like a bit of the unknown. We have a teammate who is on pole, and we knew what they were doing. But again, we didn't want to make any hiccups that would penalize ourselves by making mistakes. We didn't go as far as Alex did in qualifying set-up. So there's a little bit of speed there and, also, I made a little mistake on my gearing entering the green flag which cost us a bit of time as well."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Guidepoint Systems Team Penske, qualified ninth): "The Guidepoint Systems car felt good out there. I think maybe we went a little too long in our gear ratio and that may have cost us a little bit in qualifying. I think we'll be in good shape for the race. We've still got a little work to do in practice tonight to get the car consistent and where we want it for tomorrow."

DANICA PATRICK: (No. 7 Team GoDaddy, qualified 10^th): "I think the GoDaddy.com car had a solid qualifying run. It was faster in qualifying than it did in practice which is great. We went into qualifying hoping for a top-10 start which we accomplished. We did the best we could and the car was comfortable, and I think that is really important at this track since there is so much banking. I think we are in a good position headed into tomorrow's first race."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske): "Our qualifying result was a little frustrating, to be honest. We certainly thought we were capable of getting a top-five starting spot, but we'll keep working and make sure the AAA Insurance car is ready for the twin races tomorrow night. We'll keep our heads up and I know we'll be ready to go and put on a good show for the fans here in Texas."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Levemir and NovoLog FlexPen): "It was a good qualifying attempt on our first superspeedway. The No. 83 Levemir and NovoLog FlexPen car was pretty good and the whole Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew did a really good job getting me ready for it.  This is our best starting position so far for the season and that's what we were shooting for. If we had a little more track time, I think we would've been further up the order. The Novo Nordisk team has some more work to do during tonight's practice session. We should be good to go for the Firestone Twin 275s tomorrow night."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 38 Service Central): "It was a pretty frustrating qualifying run for the Service Central team.  I thought we were going to be really good here. The car felt great in qualifying, it's just slow and I don't know the answer to that. It's frustrating but certainly it happens. We're going to keep working on the No. 38 Service Central car and figure out the issue so we're ready to pass some cars tomorrow night."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Sun Drop/DHL/Snapple): "Of course qualifying is important, but if you have a good race car compared to a car not qualified near the front, you can outdo it within 20 laps here. The trick is getting the race car properly balanced. We'll be working on that tonight. We're trying some pretty radical stuff after Indy, so we'll see how it goes with the DHL/Sun Drop car."

MIKE CONWAY (No. 27 Hire Heroes USA/Dr Pepper/7-Eleven/DHL): "We could have had a little bit more speed for qualifying. But as long as we get a good car for this afternoon's practice, hopefully that will give us a good car for the races tomorrow. I think we'll be in a good position to move up to the top-ten in the first race. It should be an exciting first race for the Hire Heroes car, and it will be interesting to see where we end up on the drawing for the second."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom): "Obviously not the qualifying result we wanted today for the Venom car, but we've always run well in the race here and that's what we're planning to do tomorrow night."

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing): "We were pretty good. I was trying to get everything I could in the National Guard car because we didn't work too much on the qualifying setup today in practice. But we've got a fast racecar and we're looking alright going into tomorrow. It's going to be a little bit of a different gig running the two shorter races tomorrow, but we'll see what we get when it comes down to race day." (About the knee injury) It's fine. I'm not having any trouble getting in and out of the car, so it's not going to be an issue."

E.J. VISO (No. 59 PDVSA - KV Racing Technology - Lotus, qualified 19^th): "I am not happy with qualifying 19th but to be honest this is one of the tracks where qualifying worries me the least.  In the past, I have started at the back and made my way through the field and this is a pretty fun track to try and do that again.  We will try and stay out of trouble during the race and hopefully we will have a good race tomorrow night."

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Racing): "We came here thinking we might be reasonably fast since we were at Indy but then were slower in practice. Then we qualified faster than we thought we were going to be so I'm very happy. The Telemundo car was better in qualifying than in practice which is the same in Indy and we ran well in both qualifying and the race so let's push for that here too. It doesn't really matter too much where you start here because you can win the race from last place but it's better to be up front to avoid some of the things that can happen in the back."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 06 Sprott Newman/Haas Racing): "Qualifying went better than expected for the Sprott team. We were a little concerned with our pace in practice and we're not quite sure where the pace came from either. To be honest, we weren't quite geared for the speed we went so there is probably a little bit more in it. At the end of the day, for the Newman/Haas guys to turn the car around after practice and give us a good qualifying car that set a solid qualifying time is great, especially since this place is the least critical for qualifying. The big thing now is to take this next practice and try to get a good race car because we have a very unique event coming up tomorrow and you want to be good over two races."

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.

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.”

A Tribute to Danica Patrick

From the Bob and Tom Show...

2011 Indianapolis 500 Pole Day

(Alex Tagliani earned the PEAK Performance Pole Award for the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He lead the field to the green flag this Sunday. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Harkening back to the glory days of the event, Pole Day and Bump Day for the Indianapolis 500 saw high drama, including the possibility of one of racing's most visible stars, Danica Patrick, not making the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. While Danica did, in fact, make the show along with her Andretti Autosport teammates John Andretti and Marco Andretti, her other two AA partners, Ryan Hunter Reay and Mike Conway, did not qualify (both, ironically, are the last two winners of the Grand Prix of Long Beach). Thanks to a paycheck from Michael Andretti to AJ Foyt, RHR will make the field (for the straight skinny on that deal, check out new HSM fave Pressdog.com).

Be sure to follow HSM for all the action this weekend as well as the PEAK Performance Facebook and Twitter pages. For pics of Pole Day, click HERE. To see pics of the PEAK Performance Front Row, click HERE.

Kelly Bires Out at JR Motorsports

(Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kelly Bires was released from the No. 88 JR Motorsports this morning due to what team general manager Kelley Earnhardt called a lack of chemistry. Joplin, Mo., native and Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray will step into the car this weekend and will compete with that team, led by Tony Eury Sr., in eight additional races. There has been no word as to who will race that car, as well as the No. 7 JRM car, at Gateway International Raceway July 17 in the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. The driver of the No. 88 car is also TBD for the Oct. 23 NNS race at Gateway. Danica Patrick is scheduled to drive the No. 7 at that event. There was no response to an e-mail sent to JRM at the time this post was published.

Bires started racing with JRM late last year and was supposed to compete for the Nationwide Series championship. The Wisconsin native faced adversity early in the season when he was bumped from his car in the season opener at Daytona for Patrick. Dale Earnhardt Jr., the co-owner of JR Motorsports, was in the other car and it was announced the the team did not have the funding the field a third car.

“We are extremely appreciative of Kelly Bires and wish him the best,” Kelley Earnhardt said. “Internally, it was evident the chemistry that is imperative for us to succeed in this highly competitive industry was simply not there. That is the fault of no one person. We owe it to our fans and sponsors to make necessary adjustments in an effort to put our best product on the track, and we’ll continue evaluating our progress until we are confident that our full potential is being reached.”

In five of the six races on the schedule this year, Bires had a best finish of seventh at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and finished on the lead lap in four of those five races. On his official Twitter account after his release was made public, Bires said, "Not a good day. I know I belong and will be successful in this sport. JRM gave me an opportunity, it just didn't work out."

Both JR Motorsports are still expected to run the full season. Originally just scheduled for a limited number of events with Patrick behind the wheel, the No. 7 team is now racing the full compliment of races with drivers such as Scott Wimmer and Landon Cassill. The chance was made in order to ensure the open-wheel star is locked into the top-30 in owners' points during the events she is slated for so she will be guaranteed a spot in those races. Patrick's next race is scheduled to be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June.