Jade Gurss Named Director of Corporate Communications for Andretti Autosport

Andretti Autosport announced today that Jade Gurss has been named the Director of Corporate Communications for the open-wheel racing team.

Gurss was the owner of fingerprint, inc., a sports publicity company, since 1999. Among his clients, he represented Anheuser-Busch for nine innovative seasons as NASCAR publicist for the Budweiser brand and Dale Earnhardt Jr. He has also represented clients such as Kevin Harvick Inc., Petty Enterprises and athletes such as Ricky Carmichael.

The Kansas native has written two New York Times Best Sellers, "Driver #8" with Earnhardt Jr. and "DW!" with Darrell Waltrip. His third book, "In The Red, the 2001 Season with Dale Earnhardt Jr." has just been released by Octane Press. He was also an adjunct professor in the MBA program at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

His two decades of publicity and marketing experience involves nearly every category of motorsports, including representing Mercedes-Benz in North America and directing marketing and communications for Ilmor Engineering (then the engine design and development arm of Mercedes-Benz).

JF THORMANN, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT:
"We are pleased to announce Jade as our new Director of Corporate Communication. We were impressed with his background and with him as a person from our first meeting. He will bring a fresh perspective and a great deal of experience to our communications team."

JADE GURSS, DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS, ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT:
"I can't imagine a better scenario than to be joining Andretti Autosport. I've always been very passionate about Indy car racing, and to be back in the sport with the most legendary name in racing, a roster of young, personable and fast drivers and a wide variety of sponsors is an ideal situation with immense potential. I can't wait to get started."

TRANSCRIPT: Interview with 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart

(Tony Stewart earned his third NASCAR Cup Series title Sunday in the closest finish in the history of the sport. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Welcome to today's NASCAR teleconference. Today we are joined by the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Tony Stewart. With the victory Sunday at Homestead Miami Speedway and an impressive five wins during this year's NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup, Stewart captured his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. Stewart is also the first driver/owner to claim the Championship since Alan Kulwicki 1992.

Q. Tony, I just wondered, you probably are talked out about this whole thing, but after you finished 25th at Dover and 15th at Kansas, were you seriously thinking you were still in contention? Were you pretty optimistic throughout?

TONY STEWART: I felt like we still had an opportunity to maybe salvage a Top 5 out of it, but I'm not sure that I really felt like we still were a championship contender at that point. I think the turning point for me was the win at Martinsville. I think that's when I felt like internally myself and the organization we were a contender at that point, and I didn't think anybody should overlook us yet.

Q. I have a question for you that maybe only you can answer, and that is you were so brilliant in the driving up on the wheel. One we'll be talking about forever and others seemed to have raged at that point, even when they get out of the car and even up on it. How close is that line between I'm going to get this and being in control, and having that rage turn into rage? You know what I mean?

TONY STEWART: I think the fact that we were coming from behind let us stay calm during the drama at the beginning of the race. It just seemed like once we were able to overcome that, it just gave us so much confidence that we did have a good race car and we were able to battle back right away. You just kind of had the confidence on your side and it was about staying focused.

I don't think there was any part of the race where I actually felt any kind of anger other than when I made contact with David Reutimann. After talking to David, I was the one that made the mistake there, not him. So it was more just not putting yourself in any bad positions, and other than that it was just staying focused and having fun driving the car.

Q. Your two Chase championships, looking back at 2005 and this year, you won them in two very different ways. In 2005, had you five regular season wins, but you didn't win any during the Chase. Then of course this year you didn't have any regular season wins and got five Chase wins. Can you talk about the difference in your mindset between those two championship runs?

TONY STEWART: Definitely. When we came to Homestead for the finale in 2005, we had a lead. I think the scenario in '05 was we had to finish 22nd or better to lock it up. At that point, you're not worried about where everybody else is running. All you're focusing on is making sure can you stay in the top 22.

I think there are a lot of opportunities in those situations to make mistakes because you just get out of your rhythm of what you need to do. Where this year's Chase, we were in a unique position to not have to worry about going backwards. I mean, we couldn't go any further than second in the standings backwards.

It really, honestly, put us in a position where we just didn't have anything to lose, and we had the opportunity to gain and win the championship.

For us, I guess it took a lot of the pressure away that we had. We had a lot of pressure in '05 to keep that lead and win a championship where this year there really didn't seem that pressure that we had before. It just seemed like we had a great opportunity, and our performance was really good going into Homestead. So I think that took all the pressure away and made it feel totally different.

Q. I was wondering, you had mentioned that over the course of time you felt like you had found something, some advantage over Carl, and that you wouldn't tell us until after you won it or whatever. Was it mental? Was it some sort of strategy play? Can you shed some light on that?

TONY STEWART: I think I'm going to keep that a secret. I may want to use it down the road again.

Q. All right. How about if you make a deal with us, if you do the same thing next year, then can you tell us?

TONY STEWART: We'll review it.

Q. Okay. Keep it under review. Thank you.

TONY STEWART: Thanks.

Q. Penske Racing announced that Steve Addington won't return to its organization next year. Are you interested in him being your crew chief or have you changed your mind at all as far as Darian is concerned?

TONY STEWART: We're looking at all of our options right now. After we get through with all the media obligations today, I'll getting to back to the shop and we'll sit down as a group and try to come up with a decision and figure out.

We already know some options that are available, and we'll try to sit down and see what we think is the best option and decision for the company.

Q. I just wanted to follow up on something you talked about on Sunday night when you and Darian were sitting there next to each other and you were talking about Atlanta and whether or not he made a change on the car, and he said he didn't. You sort of seemed surprised by that. Did you have any further discussions on that? Can you clarify exactly? Did that thinking that maybe he changed something, did that play into your mindset at all? Give you some confidence in terms of just a confidence boost rather than just a simple performance boost?

TONY STEWART: Well, obviously I didn't know about that until after the race on Sunday night. That was on a race that happened before the Chase even started. From what I gathered out of that, he didn't make an adjustment all day on the car, and we just found something at the end there and got going.

I was under the impression that we had made changes all day, so that was a surprise to me. Had we had anymore discussions about it? No. Literally, when we got done with all the photos, with sponsors and the media interviews, we didn't get done until 2 a.m., and it was straight to the airport and fly to Connecticut to go to ESPN yesterday.

So I haven't even talked to the guys or seen them since we were on the stage doing photos and everything. So I'm hoping I'll get a chance in the next couple of days to see or at least talk to these guys.

Q. There's been a lot of talk, and I'm sure you probably were questioned a few times about having a new face or a new champion, anyway, and how that can help promote the sport. I'm just wondering how you think that will have an impact on the sport or what impact you think it will have?

TONY STEWART: I'm not really sure I understand what it will do. Obviously, it's been a long reign the last five years of having Jimmie win the championship. Obviously we're not oblivious to listening to the fans and them saying they want to see somebody else win.

So hopefully no matter who it was, it is the shot in the arm the sport needs right now. I think looking at TV ratings from this weekend and the attendance numbers the last couple of weeks, I think it's hopefully a sign that we're starting that road of recovery.

Not that we were in dire straits by any means, but I'm glad to see the numbers going back up again, and I don't know if we're going to be responsible for it because of winning a championship. But we're all just hopeful that it's going to keep going the direction it's going right now.

Q. Tony, congratulations from Columbus, Indiana. Your hometown was buzzing Sunday night and is continuing to buzz. I guess have you talked to people and do you have a message to maybe some of the folks that you haven't who have been following you from the beginning?

TONY STEWART: I haven't had a chance to talk to anybody. As we sit here now, I have over 300 text messages that I haven't been able to answer yet. I've got a lot of replies to send back, but I'm excited about coming home in the next couple of days.

Especially there is something about coming home, and the childhood friends of mine that I'm still friends with and people that I know in town, I'm excited to be able to come back and celebrate a championship with them. That's something that's really high on my priority list right now is getting the chance to come home here in the next couple of days.

Q. Will we ever see you in the Indy 500 again?

TONY STEWART: I don't believe so. Not because of lack of desire or anything else, but honestly, it's the logistics of having the time to prepare for the race and getting the seat time and run races before the 500.

I don't think that after being out of those cars for 11 years now, I'm not sure that I can just go sit in one in the month of May and feel like I was up to speed with the technology and everything that's going on with those cars to compete against the best in the sport there.

So I would think that we'd have to do a lot of testing, and I think we'd have to run some races before Indy to really feel like we were even remotely up to speed and up to pace with those guys.

Q. How much did being a past champion help you deal with the pressure of this particular Chase?

TONY STEWART: I think I feel like quite a bit, to be honest, really only from the pressure standpoint. You know what going into that last race is like. You know the strains and the pressures that go along with it.

But I'll be honest, Carl Edwards I thought did an excellent job of going into Homestead also. With the fact that he hasn't won a championship, I thought he dealt with the pressure very well. I firmly believe that he's going to get one pretty soon here.

But I felt like from our side, I thought it was just a little bit different from the standpoint that we just didn't have that pressure going into it like I thought we would.

Q. I was curious. In the last couple of days, is it a big deal to be a three-time champ and the people that you kind of join on that list, virtually all Hall of Famers?

TONY STEWART: It is. I'll be honest. I feel very flattered and very honored just to be a part of that list. Those are guys that every one of those drivers that have won three championships are icons in this sport.

I somewhat honestly feel out of place being on that list. At the same time, I feel honored to be in it with them. I feel like it's an episode of Sesame Street when you read that list: Which guy doesn't belong and which is not like the others?

Those are some of the greatest names in this sport, and it truly feels like an honor to me to be a part of that group with them.

Q. What we've seen out of you in the last couple of weeks is just unbelievable determination, confidence, and what resulted is one of those rare sports moments like we see out of Michael Jordan back in the day, a Game 7 kind of stuff. Did you see it unfolding like that, or were you just in the moment and you had to get the job done?

TONY STEWART: I think it was more in the moment. I think looking at Texas, to me, Texas by itself was kind of surprising that the top two guys in the point standings ran first and second in the race. I don't think that I would have been able to predict that we were going to run second and third at Phoenix, and actually run first and second at Homestead.

I'm just blown away by that stat really. I think it truly was one of the best battles, I feel like, in the history of the sport because of that. Not just because of the outcome of who won, but just the fact that you had the top two guys that literally fought it out. And rather than Phoenix, we ran second and third there, but we virtually raced the wins to race to the win to win a championship at the same time.

It wasn't just a head-to-head battle and who got more points than the other by finishing ahead. We were winning races and finishing in the top three to do it. To me, that's the part of it that kind of brings out the race fan in me. That it was just that competitive in the last three races of the year, the most important three, that it was that competitive and that tight up front to get it done.

Q. You talked about getting the chance to go home a little bit. But can you take us through a little bit of this off-season? It doesn't seem like because of the championship and all the obligations, when will you finally get time to kind of catch your breath and relax a little bit in between all the hoopla, if you will?

TONY STEWART: Like I said, I'm looking forward to being able to go home to Thanksgiving for a couple of days. Obviously Vegas is a long, but important week at the same time.

Honestly, I haven't even looked at my schedule. I know we still have stuff booked for the rest of the year that are obligations that we have to get done. Obviously, we're still trying to fill the competition director role, and we're still active in trying to help get sponsorship for some of Ryan's races next year.

So as much as I'd love to just go and take a break, I still have a lot of things that are on the to-do list with the organization that need to be done before the year's out. But we'll find the time.

I'm not really concerned about having time off right now. I've actually enjoyed being up here in New York today. I've enjoyed being on the ESPN campus yesterday, and I know that probably just gave half of you guys heart attacks hearing me say that. But I truly have enjoyed talking about it. I feel like I was a part of something Sunday that was really special, and I'm very proud of that fact.

Q. Have you learned any more since the race about what happened with your grill there early on? Was it apparent to you that something was wrong there immediately?

TONY STEWART: It wasn't apparent immediately. Honestly I didn't even feel the impact. The impact came and hit the screen which is just a wire mesh. It's pretty vulnerable when it comes to an impact in the radiator duct work. Basically it was the part in between the joint of the transmission and the drive shafts. It was a pretty large, substantial piece and thinking back to it, that was a large piece of luck that we had in the race that it did not find its way to the core of the radiator. It very easily could have broken the radiator and taken us out of it. Q. Have you been able to go back and watch a replay of the race where you were wild about some of the things that you did as much as we were?

TONY STEWART: I actually did get a chance last night to see the last half of the race, and it was fun to watch. Obviously, we knew from the driver's standpoint what was going on, but it was fun to listen to the commentary and to listen to them trying to analyze what was going on and what everybody was thinking.

It was fun to watch. It was fun to watch what Carl was able to do in the car. It just, I guess, added to the experience of what we went through. But to see it from that angle and see the highlights of it and watch the race, ironically enough, I was just as nervous watching. I was more nervous watching the race, even though I knew what the outcome was, than I was being in the car. It was fun to watch last night. I enjoyed it.

Q. I wanted to ask you a little about your relationship with A.J. Foyt. When did you first meet him in person and tell me about that experience.

TONY STEWART: I think I met A.J. the first time I believe around '91 or '92. I got a chance to go to the speedway in Indianapolis during the month of May, and I got to meet him in the garage. Then when I was racing in USAC around '94, I got the opportunity to be a crew member.

I'm sorry, I take that back, it was '95. I was a crew member on the 14 car, and that was when Eddie Cheever was driving the car. That was when they had the big wreck on the first lap with Cheever and Stan Fox. I didn't get to do anything during the race. My job was to work what they call a dead man valve on the fuel tank. So it's not a real high-tech job or important job, but nonetheless, I got an opportunity to work on the crew. But our race lasted eight seconds, unfortunately.

But since then I got a chance to drive a Silver Crown car for A.J. and George Snider. I got to be around him a lot more and that friendship kind of grew, and then he gave me an opportunity to test for him in Phoenix in '95. I did a test with him and got a job offer with him.

Then I was working with his son on a bush grand national program at the time also. Was just about finished with that when my test with A.J. came up. A.J. wanted me to make a decision of not doing both. I tried to do both divisions and Ranier was willing to let me do that, but A.J. wanted me to focus strictly on the IndyCar.

I actually ended up not taking the IndyCar offer because of the relationship I had with Renniers too at the time.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you again for joining us, Tony. We appreciate it. Congrats again on the championship.

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).

Weldon, Bryan Herta Autosport Named 2012 IndyCar Series Test Team

(The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series' concept cars on display at the Indianapolis 500. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

INDYCAR announced today that Indianapolis 500 winners Dan Wheldon and Bryan Herta Autosport have been selected as the test organization for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series prototype chassis.

"Dan, Bryan and (co-owner) Steve Newey have extensive experience in testing and development programs so we know our prototypes will be in the best hands as we finalize the chassis aspect of the program," said Tony Cotman, project manager for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series car. "This verification testing furthers our commitment to ensure that our new car meets all the performance criteria promised to our drivers, teams and fans."

The comprehensive chassis testing period on behalf of the series will take place in August and September of this year. IZOD IndyCar Series teams are slated to receive their first new chassis by December 15.

"Our goal is to confirm reliability and performance targets as set forth by the series to ensure that all teams will receive a proven, track-ready car in December," said Herta. "We plan to put the chassis through its paces with a rigorous program to prepare for the various types of tracks the series visits and a variety of conditions. I've always had an interest in the technical side of the sport and the process of constantly improving the car so I'm looking forward to this opportunity to have our team test the new chassis."

Bryan Herta Autosport was founded in 2009 by Herta and noted engineer Steve Newey. Already a winner in Firestone Indy Lights competition, the team fields an entry full time in the developmental series and made its IZOD IndyCar Series debut in 2010 at the Indianapolis 500. The team won the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" this May with Wheldon.

"Obviously I am very excited to continue with everyone that formed the Indianapolis 500 winning team at Bryan Herta Autosport," said Wheldon. "This is something that we are going to take very seriously and approach in a very professional manner. It is very important for the growth of the series that the testing is done in a way that will create an even better product at the start of 2012.

"For me to not be racing is obviously something that I am disappointed about, but being able to do the testing program will put me in a fantastic position for the future and I am thankful to the IndyCar Series, Honda and Firestone for the opportunity."

Both Wheldon and Herta have extensive time behind the wheel as IndyCar test drivers for Honda in the past. Herta also was active in testing and development for Acura's sports car projects. Newey was involved setting up the Firestone Test Team with Patrick Racing for the tire manufacturer's return to IndyCar racing in 1994.