Team Penske Logo

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 16, 2012) –

The team’s three drivers recorded their lowest lap count of the week, running a conservative 32 laps. None of Wednesday’s lap times matched the team’s 220-plus mph laps recorded during Tuesday’s practice session.

GreatAmericanDays.com

“We started a little late, but the No. 3 Shell Pennzoil car is looking good,” said Castroneves, who will be looking to win his fifth career pole position at Indianapolis on Saturday. “We tried to manage the tires to make sure we have enough for when it really matters, which is Saturday. Right now we are moving in the right direction. Chevy, Ilmor and everybody are working together so we can have a quality engine and ultimately a good racecar.”

IZOD IndyCar Series point leader Will Power had a fast lap of 217.604 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet, which completed just 11 productive laps. The three-time winner in 2012 saw his fast lap rank 24^thon the timing chart.

“We didn’t run our Verizon car too much today,” said Power.  “We did a little work on it – just tried a couple things – getting ready for the next couple of days. It’s been good having such great weather as it allows us plenty of time to work through our process.”

Ryan Briscoe registered his fastest speed of 216.255 mph in the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske machine on the fifth of his completed six laps. Briscoe had his fastest lap rank 27^th but he is pleased with the progress being made towards the weekend.

“Pretty slow day for the No. 2 IZOD car, we just did one run,” said Briscoe. “After we made some changes and did a baseline run the car felt pretty good. For now we are conserving tires, but we will get back into it tomorrow and continue to improve.”

Team Penske is the most successful team in the history of the Indy 500, having won the race 15 times, including five times in the last 11 years.

Practice resumes Thursday and continues Friday before Saturday’s Pole Day qualifying session. Live coverage begins at 11 a.m. ET on the NBC Sports Network.

Live coverage of the 96th Indianapolis 500 will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 27 live on ABC-TV.  

Follow the IndyCar action all season long on IndyCar Mobile. Download it now by calling **INDY on your Verizon Wireless phone.

Source: Team Penske, Press Release

Ryan Wilson

Wilson, 20 will have the opportunity to meet and greet with the customers of Randolph Bank while also learning the inside trade to the banking business.

Each customer that Wilson converses with will also receive a special gift, a check-book cover featuring the emblems of both Randolph Bank and Ryan Wilson Motorsports.

“This is something that I’ve never done before, but it’s going to be a neat experience,” said Wilson, the 2010 fall winner of Richard Petty Driver Search II. “I know that the banking business is intense but everyone at Randolph Bank has always been awesome to correspond with – so I’m looking forward to see how everything unrolls from the other side of the spectrum.”

“We are truly excited and proud to have Ryan Wilson as an honorary teller this Friday to meet and greet our customers,” said Rhonda Brown, Randolph Bank Randleman Branch Manager. “It’s no secret that Randleman loves racing, and we have a wonderful customer base. I have no doubt we will have some awesome entries for the “Design The Ride” contest.”

The goal surrounding Friday’s unique opportunity is to add fuel to the “Design the Ride” contest where entrants will have the opportunity to personally design the No. 12 Randolph Bank Toyota Camry for the upcoming Fourth of July event at Caraway (N.C.) Speedway on Wednesday, July 4.

Basspro.com

Randolph Bank in Randleman, North Carolina is located at 109 West Naomi Street.

Join the team on Facebook by clicking here (Ryan Wilson Motorsports).

Tweet with Ryan Wilson through Twitter at @RyanWilson12.

For more on Wilson, RWM, sponsorship opportunities and the team’s 2012 event schedule, please log on to RyanWilsonMotorsports.com.

Sign on to the home of extra-mile banking of Randolph Bank by clicking on Randolphbank.com.

- Ryan Wilson Motorsports Press Release

Josef Newgarden - Photo Courtesy of INDYCAR/LAT USA

Day of Growing Pains for Newgarden at IMS; SFHR Remains Fast

INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, May 16, 2012 – Day five of practice for the Indianapolis 500 brought highs and lows for Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

Newgarden topped the speed charts for the third time this month with a lap of 222.785 mph, but shortly after he posted that quick lap his momentum changed. The rear end of the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car bobbled in Turn 4, did a quarter-spin and came to a rest after making mild contact with the pit lane retaining wall.

“Everyone’s trying to figure out the race car around this place and obviously I have a little more work to do,” Newgarden said. “We were old on our tire run trying to run as far as possible to see how the car reacts and I think it’s just difficult to run in the tow and today I got bit by it a little.”

At a track as unforgiving as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Newgarden and SFHR were fortunate to exit the incident with minor damage.

“You don’t get many lucky breaks around this place and I think I just got one,” Newgarden said. “The SFHR guys have done a great job putting together such a good Honda-powered car and I don’t want to hurt the thing. I’ll try to learn what happened and why it got around on me.”

Team co-owner Sarah Fisher is confident in her team’s ability to repair the No. 67 by the time practice resumes on Thursday.

“The car looks good, and there is very little damage,” Fisher said. “We’re really lucky that we have a couple kids who can save race cars as well as make them go fast.”

Newgarden’s teammate Bryan Clauson completed a solid day of race preparation with multiple long runs and pack racing.

PACSUN

Clauson’s quickest lap of 221.031 mph notched in at seventh fastest overall.

Looking to the race, Clauson predicts that the drivers who manage to become the most comfortable with their cars in large packs will see the best results.

“The tow is so big here that speed behind other cars isn’t that difficult to find if you can keep the throttle in it,” Clauson said. “Finding balance as you pull out of the draft to pass is kind of like hitting a wall though, so it’s hard to complete a pass right now.”

Practice for the 2012 Indianapolis 500 resumes Thursday, May 16 from 12 – 6 p.m.

Source: GRand Solutions, LLC., for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, Press Release

Korbin Forrister

Last week, Kimmel Racing, a veteran team on the circuit announced that the 19-year old will compete in a minimum of four races on the 60-year old Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) tour beginning with the fifth race of the season in the No. 68 Tilted Kilt Ford Fusion.

With extensive preparation including testing and inside dialogue with the Clarksville, Indiana-based team, Forrister is eager for his chance to succeed in his inaugural ARCA start.

“I literally cannot wait for Sunday to get here,” said Forrister, a Late Model driver by trade. “It’s been super to be a part of this Kimmel Racing family, they have made me feel so at home and it’s been indescribable. Everyone at the shop has been really working hard on making sure they can give me the best car possible. It’s my job to go out there and deliver not only for them but Tilted Kilt as well.”

Speaking of Tilted Kilt, the Celtic-themed sports bar and restaurant chain will make its second consecutive sponsorship run with Kimmel Racing after pairing with Will Kimmel a few weeks ago at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Tilted Kilt is in the business of lifting spirits one burger, one beer, one guest, one visit, at a time. The Tilted Kilt experience is one-of-a-kind and will always leave you in a better mood than when you arrived.

“I’m looking forward to representing Tilted Kilt at Toledo, explained Forrister. “They did an awful lot for our team at Talladega and we’re extremely grateful for that. We were able to bring them a sixth place run there – so hopefully we can up the ante a little bit and give them a top-five finish on Sunday afternoon.”

Trying not to set his expectations too high, Forrister knows that he will have the equipment beneath him and plenty of support surrounding him, but in the back of his mind he’s trying to remain optimistic.

“I know that this team is capable of running in the top-five, they’ve shown it all season and I think we can do it on Sunday at Toledo. But, that may be asking for a lot in our debut together. If we can’t find ourselves somewhere in the hunt for a top-five, I think everyone would be satisfied if we can bring the No. 68 Tilted Kilt Ford Fusion home on the lead lap and with all of the fenders intact.”

To further prepare him for his entrance into the ARCA Racing Series, Forrister has made it clear that he will seek the advice of his teammate and mentor Will Kimmel.

“Will’s not only a teammate but a great friend,” he said. “He’s been racing a long time, a while in these ARCA cars in particular. He’s not one of those selfish people who is looking out just for himself. He wants to us all to succeed at Kimmel Racing, so it’s going to be a welcome feeling knowing that I can lean on him throughout the weekend to let him know what my car is doing and see what he suggests to do to make it better. I know his insight will be influential in making my ARCA debut a success.”

www.lionelnascar.com

The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 100 miles) is the fifth of 20 events on the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 71st ARCA race at Toledo Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Saturday, May 19 with a forty-five practice session planned from 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. A final practice is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag Sunday, May 20 shortly after 2:00 p.m. The race will be televised on SPEED with a scheduled airing of 5:00 p.m. that evening. Additional coverage including timing and scoring available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local (Eastern).

For additional input on Kimmel Racing, please log on to kimmelracing.com.

Stay tuned for a newly re-launched website on Korbin Forrister at korbinforristerracing.com.

See the buzz for yourself on Tilted Kilt by clicking on TiltedKilt.com.

- Kimmel Racing Press Release

Mikey Kile

Returning to form consists of exactly what it sounds. In the first four races of the year, the long-time team has proven with Kile that they are capable of easily racing competitively in the top-10.

For one reason or another including obstacles out of the team’s controls has hindered them in the overall finishing results. However, Toledo Speedway may be the prescription that the doctor ordered to put the No. 1 ModSpace Ford Fusion back inside the top-five.

To aid the team in their intentions for the upcoming rumble, the Jeff McClure led organization recently participated in a private test session at the half-mile oval where the Salisbury, North Carolina-based team spent the entire day working on setup – preparing for any scenario that may fall into their laps on Sunday afternoon.

“We know that we’re capable of racing up front and winning,” said Kile, a Westlake, Louisiana native. “Hopefully the test gives us that extra nudge to go out there and make it happen. It’s been a couple tough races for us, but we’re anxious and ready to bounce back. It’s frustrating because the ModSpace Ford has been incredibly fast all year. The team though is strong and certainly not quitters and I’m more than willing to do my part behind the wheel. Hopefully, we can repeat or better our run that we had at Mobile.”

Indeed, it was the second race of the year at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway where Kile rattled the cages of his other ARCA competitors where after starting 14th, the former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver wrestled his way to the front to nail a fourth place finish, the team’s best outing thus far this season.

“I’m ready to go to Toledo and put our No. 1 ModSpace Ford Fusion back on the map and (hopefully) keep us there permanently,” Kile mentioned. “We worked on a lot of things during the test. Toledo can be unpredictable. The track can change and the other guys seem to lean on you a lot there. It’s a long-race, 200 laps. Even though it’s a short track, a long green flag run is by far not out of the equation. I know how to qualify there and staying up front and away from the mess in the middle of the pack is going to be key to our success on Sunday, I think. Hopefully when the checkered flag waives, we’ll be congratulating one another on a job well done.”

The 29-year old has two prior starts at the half-mile oval including an outside pole in 2010. His other starting position consisted of fifth later that year. His best finish occurred in the spring event where he finished 10th.

Andy Belmont, team principal at ABR offered his sentiments on this weekend’s activities. “I think Mikey’s going to have a great hotrod for this weekend,” he said. “We all want to have a good race on Sunday for ModSpace. I liked what I saw at the test and I think with Mikey’s desire and determination, we have a great shot of making that happen.”

“ModSpace looks forward to Toledo each year,” stated William Mann, Vice President of Motorsports for ModSpace. “With the series’ headquarters in this track’s backyard, the energy around this event is great! ABR has done their homework at a recent test specifically for this race. With the notes from the test combined with the experience of this team, the No. 1 car is bound to be a front-runner when the checkered flies on Sunday.”

Entering Toledo, Kile with 32 ARCA Racing Series starts to his credit sits seventh in the championship standings just 40 markers from fourth and 145 points from the top-spot with 16 races remaining.

Cloud9Living

The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 100 miles) is the fifth of 20 events on the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 71st ARCA race at Toledo Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Saturday, May 19 with a forty-five practice session planned from 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. A final practice is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag Sunday, May 20 shortly after 2:00 p.m. The race will be televised on SPEED with a scheduled airing of 5:00 p.m. that evening. Additional coverage including timing and scoring available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local (Eastern).

For more on Mikey Kile, please visit him online at MikeyKile.com and through Twitter @MikeyKile.

Additional information on Andy Belmont Racing is available by logging on to AndyBelmont.com.

About ModSpace:

Modular Space Corporation (ModSpace), based in Berwyn, Pa., is a leading provider of modular buildings, portable storage and services for temporary and permanent space needs. With more than 40 years of experience, ModSpace serves a diverse set of customers and markets through a network of 80 branches throughout the United States and Canada. Further information is available by visiting http://www.modspace.com.

About Andy Belmont Racing (ABR):

Andy Belmont Racing (AndyBelmont.com) is a competitive and respected motorsports operation who fields race cars in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. ABR has been serving the motorsports community and winning for nearly 25 years. Currently, the team fields a full-time ARCA Racing Series program for series winner Mikey Kile in the No. 1 ModSpace Ford Fusion.

- Andy Belmont Racing Press Release

Brennan Poole

With a new season and a fresh set of goals, Poole is running the full season for Venturini Motorsports and focused on securing an ARCA Championship in 2012.

Leading up to Sunday’s ARCA Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care Poole sits atop of the ARCA standings already claiming four consecutive top-10 finishes and leading Venturini teammate, Ryan Reed by 14 markers for the ARCA rookie of the year point’s battle.

“I’m very excited right now, were bringing back the same car and same philosophy from last year in hopes of capturing a win,” says Brennan Poole. “I think we’ve got a great shot at challenging the field for the top spot but our main focus is completing the race and taking one lap at a time. There’s no reason to get ahead of ourselves or become too aggressive at this point in the season. We must continue doing what we’ve been doing together since last season, everything else will fall into place.”

Poole, with crew chief Billy Venturini calling the shots, will return to Toledo in his No.25 CJ Solar Band Toyota hoping to re-capture their winning ways.

USATODAY

ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of the race, and SPEED will broadcast the 200-lap event on a same-day delay at 5 p.m.

Official: www.BrennanPoole.com | Twitter @brennanpoole | Facebook: Brennan Poole

About Venturini Motorsports

Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars in the ARCA Racing Series, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. The 2012 season marks the teams 30th Anniversary of competition in the ARCA Series. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports.

Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Steve Arpin, Brian Scott, Max Gresham, Miguel Paludo, Josh Richards, Ryan Blaney, and Scott Lagasse, Jr.

Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com | Twitter @VenturiniMotor | Facebook: Venturini Motorsports

- Venturini Motorsports Press Release

Chevy Bowtie Symbol Logo

For the first time in the month of May Indianapolis 500 activities, there was one on-track incident with approximately 15 minutes remaining in the six-hour practice session. Rookie Josef Newgarden spun and made incidental contact with the wall, however, it was a clean day for all 14 Chevrolet V-6 drivers.

The majority of the Team Chevy efforts today were directed at race set-up and how the cars run in a pack. Starting tomorrow, more emphasis will be placed on putting the car in qualifying trim and getting ready to make a run for the front row on Pole Day, Saturday, May 19^th.

Practice will resume Thursday at noon.

DRIVER QUOTES: 

MARCO ANDRETTI, NO. 26 TEAM RC COLA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – 2^nd QUICKEST: “We are still making gains on the race setup. The RC Cola guys have all been working great together as a team to really develop a good race car. I would say we are a change or two away from being the one to beat on May 27^th. We have some more work to do when it comes to the car’s speed on its own. Once we get the car right, it won’t matter where we start.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 28 TEAM DHL/SUN DROP CITRUS SODA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – 3^RD QUICKEST: ON HIS DAY: “I think it was a good day. We just concentrated on making our cars better in traffic and race trim. Obviously most of these speeds come from traffic tows. We were all on tows at some point. It just depends on how and when it happens. Most importantly, we didn’t try and set any up. We just got to work in traffic. The Andretti Autosport cars have been working really well so far. We have been making progress. As a team we have been working really well together. It has been a cohesive unit. It’s pretty impressive to see how things have been operating so far. Now the goal is going into qualifying is to keep that teamwork going; get through the weekend, and I think we’re most of the way there, or part of the way there on some pretty good race cars. That’s most important for us.”

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN TAKE FROM LAST YEAR’S CAR, OR DO YOU JUST START TOTALLY FROM ZERO? “Well, you can take some things. But no, we’re starting over again with this car. I really have to credit the team. They’ve been working so hard since last year; we came here and had a pretty tough time. They’ve re-doubled their efforts for Indianapolis and it’s really showing now. It’s a lot of fun, being in a good race car here and making changes and making things better and it really is starting from scratch with this car, I think. We’ve learned that. So, that’s been a highlight for us. That’s been something that we hope we can take advantage of and make the most of on race day.”

HuluPlus

THE DRIVERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE CARS SUCKING UP IN THE TOW AS YOU’RE GOING OFF INTO THE TURNS. TALK ABOUT AS THE BOOST GETS ADDED ON FRIDAY HOW MUCH QUICKER DO YOU THINK THE CARS ARE GOING TO RESPOND TO BEING SUCKED UP TO ANOTHER CAR HEADING OFF INTO THE TURNS AND THE DRAFT “Well, the whole idea behind the boost is for qualifying; that we’re all going to be trimmed out. And the idea is not to run in traffic. So, you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you go out there and put yourself in the draft; because then you really don’t know how fast you are. You’ll see over the next few days; Thursday and Friday, and then obviously Pole Day, that we’ll be giving ourselves as much of a clean track as we possibly can, and trying to get the most out of all that boost and lowering that rear wing.” 

MARCO ANDRETTI WAS IN HERE YESTERDAY AND SAID HE THINKS HE CAN WIN FROM 33RD WITH THE DRAFT, AND THAT SOMEBODY COULD DRAFT UP.  HOW IMPORTANT IS QUALIFYING? HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU TO START NEAR THE FRONT?  “Well, it’s important because we’ve been working so hard on these cars. And we want to start up front. That’s the goal is to do well in qualifying. We want to be a part of Pole Day. We want to be a part of that final fast nine and go out there and have a shootout. That’s what we want to do for sure. It’s always better when you start up front and run up front. That’s the whole goal. You’re less likely to get caught-up in incidents being up front. Everything just tends to go a lot smoother up there. So, trust me; we’re very focused on that despite the fact that qualifying not being a premium or whatever, it’s very important to us.” 

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, NO. 27 TEAM GODADDY.COM ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – 4^THQUICKEST: ON HIS DAY: HOW MUCH DATA TO THE ENGINEERS HAVE TO DETERMINE WHAT YOU WERE DOING BY YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU DID IN A PACK? “We have tools to try and eliminate tow laps so you have a little bit better sense, not only of ourselves, but everybody’s doing. But, ultimately between our cars and the timing data that we can get, there is so much data to pour through. And on top of what we are learning with the new car, we are learning an awful lot more than we have the last couple of years. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, compared to last year with no rain days…rain days last year were just spent pouring through all the data that you are gathering through this week of testing. We haven’t had a chance to do that, so we’re shot-gunning a couple of things trying to get as much track time as we can when we’ve got it. We think that will lead to a lot more engineering and de-briefs and meetings and stuff next week when we’re not on track. As Ryan said, I think the Andretti Autosport cars are quick on our own. We are really working on our race cars now. It has been so nice to work with this group of drivers and engineers because we have been coordinating ourselves on-track. With the new car, there is a lot to learn. We’ve structured it pretty well, and we’ve stuck to plan. It’s such a nice feeling to work with a group like this.”

Basspro.com

IS THERE ANY GUIDELINE TO GET HELP FROM THE DALLARA FACTORY OR DO YOU JUST GET THE CAR AND THEN IT’S UP TO YOUR TEAM TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF IT? “I think for the most part it’s really up to the teams. Obviously there was some manufacturer testing at the end of last year, and with the Chevy test car we were able to learn a little bit. But that again, that was more manufacturing testing; it wasn’t so much Dallara testing. And I haven’t seen a manual from them on how to set it up (laughs), we we’ve sort of been on our own.”

THE DRIVERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE CARS SUCKING UP IN THE TOW AS YOU’RE GOING OFF INTO THE TURNS. TALK ABOUT AS THE BOOST GETS ADDED ON FRIDAY HOW MUCH QUICKER DO YOU THINK THE CARS ARE GOING TO RESPOND TO BEING SUCKED UP TO ANOTHER CAR HEADING OFF INTO THE TURNS AND THE DRAFT: “Yeah, I think it’s a non-event for qualifying and for the practice that we’re going to have that extra horsepower. But that phenomenon is still going to be something we’re going to have to deal with in the race. It’s something that I think is going to come up in the driver’s meeting that people need to be pretty smart out there because it’s a long race and this is a different style of racing than we’re used to at this track.”

I TAKE IT NEITHER OF YOU HAVE BEEN ANYWHERE NEAR ANY SORT OF QUALIFYING SIMULATION AT ALL?  “We’ve done a little bit of qualifying work. Obviously the emphasis is on the race for obvious reasons. You know, we don’t have to ‘make the show’. We’re in. We know that. We’re here, so we’re in. And unfortunately, that’s always an exciting part of qualifying weekend. But so yeah, we’ve definitely done some work on getting the cars good in qualifying trim. I don’t think anyone on our team has really properly said it and gone for the all-out run. But we’ll see when we have that extra horsepower and practice a little bit with that on Friday and see how it unfolds on Saturday.”

MARCO ANDRETTI WAS IN HERE YESTERDAY AND SAID HE THINKS HE CAN WIN FROM 33RD WITH THE DRAFT, AND THAT SOMEBODY COULD DRAFT UP.  HOW IMPORTANT IS QUALIFYING? HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU TO START NEAR THE FRONT? “I believe Marco’s statement is true. I think you could feasibly start last and win the race. But that’s not the ideal situation (laughs). So, it’s really a much-less traumatic day if you start up-front and run up-front and finish up front. I think in a 500-mile race, there’s a million other variables that are potentially working against you, so eliminate one by starting up front. I think that’s a more ideal situation. I mean if he wants to volunteer and do that, I mean it would be a hell of a show (laughs) and I would cheer for him; no doubt about it (laughs). But that’s certainly not the road I’m going to try and take.”

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 TEAM AFS ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, 10^TH QUICKEST: “Today was a very good day for the Andretti Autosport cars and the AFS Racing team. It was a really positive day because we are working well together as a team. We have a very consistent car and it is all a learning process. I am enjoying it very much, so we will see where it takes us tomorrow.” 

JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET – 11^TH QUICKEST: ”It’s good to get out there again today. We didn’t have as organized of a race run as we wanted there at the end of the day because we kept having cars come out right in front of us in the pits. It’s good to be able to continue to get a feel for the National Guard Chevy and there was a couple of specific things that we were looking to try to address today that we got a feel for in that run. In the end, we’re banking tires and we’ll be able to do some more running later in the week.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 ITAIPAVA | GEICO | MOUSER ELECTRONICS – KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET – 13^TH QUICKEST: “We continued to work on our race setup today and finding out how the car reacts when it is in traffic.  It was an uneventful day and hopefully tomorrow will be the same.”

ANA BEATRIZ, NO. 25 TEAM IPIRANGA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT / CONQUEST RACING CHEVROLET – 18^THQUICKEST: “I think we made a lot of good progress today when it comes to the race setup. We were able to realize some of the good and not so good aspects of the car. I am looking forward to even more improvements for the Ipiranga team. Tomorrow we will probably focus more on qualifying. We are getting one step closer each day to having the car we need for race day.”

ORIOL SERVIA, NO. 22 PANTHER/DREYER & REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET – 21^ST QUICKEST: “We tried several things and we discovered some other ones. I think that we have come up with something that is going to help me a lot for the race. We just don’t know yet if it’s something that’s going to be good for qualifying or not, but we still have tomorrow to decide. I’m happy because we really found something that I think will make the racecar the way we need it to be fighting for the win next Sunday.

Rock.com

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 SHELL V-POWER/PENNZOIL ULTRA TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – 23^RDQUICKEST: ” We started a little late, but the No. 3 Shell Pennzoil is looking good. We tried to manage the tires to  make sure we have enough for when it really matters, which is Saturday. Right now we are moving in the right direction. Chevy, Ilmor and everybody are working  together so we can have a quality engine and ultimately a good racecar.” 

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – 24^TH QUICKEST: “We didn’t run our Verizon car too much today. We did a little work on it – just tried a couple things – getting ready for the next couple of days. It’s been good having such great weather as it allows us plenty of time to work through our process.” 

RUBENS BARRICHELLO, NO. 8 BMC | EMBRASE – KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET – 26^THQUICKEST: race from when it is full of fuel to almost empty.  We made some progress with some of the changes today and hopefully we are going in the right direction.” 

RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 2 IZOD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – 27^TH QUICKEST: “Pretty slow day for the No. 2 IZOD car, we just did one run.  After we made some changes and did a baseline run the car felt pretty good. For now we are conserving tires, but we will get back into it tomorrow and continue to improve. “ 

E .J. VISO, NO. 5 CITGO | PDVSA – KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET – 28^TH QUICKEST:  “It was another day of working on the race setup.  It definitely hasn’t been fun so far.  It was a tough day.   One of our big priorities is to develop a fast car for qualifying and a safe and fast car for the race, which is what we have been trying to achieve.  We tried a bunch of things that didn’t really work out, however by the end of the day things took a turn to the positive side and we will keep working on that tomorrow.”

About Chevrolet: 

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Source: Chevrolet Racing, Press Release

Sam Schmidt Motorsports Logo

INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Frenchman turned a lap of 40.9459 seconds at 219.802 mph in the No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports Dallara/Honda/Firestone car. The lap was good enough for 17th on the Day 5 speed chart.

His teammate, Townsend Bell, produced a lap of 40.9605 seconds at 219.724 mph in the No. 99 BraunAbility/Schmidt Pelfrey Motorsports Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

Rookie Josef Newgarden set the fast lap of the day stopping the clocks at 40.3977 seconds at 222.785 mph. Rounding out the top five on Tuesday’s speed chart were Marco Andretti (222.108 mph), Ryan Hunter-Reay (221.763 mph), James Hinchliffe (221.638 mph) and Dario Franchitti (221.623 mph).

A total of 30 drivers turned 1,632 laps during Wednesday’s six-hour practice session. In five days of practice, 31 drivers have produced 6,264 laps.

Practice resumes Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. ET.

QUOTES

Simon Pagenaud: “I think the gods of speed are helping me out this year because we are getting so much running since there is no rain. It’s great. We’re actually not running that much. In fact, I was so sad to get out of the car today. I was having so much fun. The track is not slippery when you get the car nicely dialed in. It’s not slippery, you just have to feel the air on the car and feel what the car is telling you through your butt. You really feel if you get under steer or over steer, and you really have to learn how to manage that from the car with the steering wheel and your foot. It’s a really fine line. You want to be neutral by yourself and safe in traffic. But traffic usually brings you understeer. So, it’s difficult to find the right balance. There is a lot more thinking and processing than on a road course.”

PACSUN

Townsend Bell: “I haven’t been two wide yet. We’re just trying to work our way up to it and use all of our experience the best we can. I was really happy with today. I had a lot of things we wanted to test, and we accomplished those today. We crossed a lot of things off our list, so I feel like we’re on top of things. The first two days, I felt like we were just catching up with the car being totally new for me and the engineers. I feel like we’re caught up now, and we can start applying everything we’ve learned to a more refined package moving forward.”

Rob Edwards, SSM General Manager: “We are exactly where we want to be. It’s challenging for all of us because we’re on a very different program from what we were on last year. In 2011, we were doing short runs and working on a lot of speed. This year, we’re working on longer runs and spending more time working on a race car with Simon. Townsend is on a similar program and that is really helping because we can try two things at one time to make sure we get the best package we can come race day.”

Source: GRand Solutions, LLC., for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, Press Release

2012 96th Indianapolis 500 Logo

INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, May 16, 2012) -

The 21-year-old Tennessee native’s respect for the racetrack grew with 16 minutes left in the six-hour practice session May 16 when his car bobbled in Turn 4, did two complete spins and struck a glancing blow on the pit lane retaining wall. It was the first incident of contact of the month.

Other than a scare, it was a positive day for Newgarden, who topped the time chart for the third time this month.

Newgarden’s best lap of 40.3977 seconds (222.785 mph) led Andretti Autosport teammates Marco Andretti (222.108 mph), Ryan Hunter-Reay (221.763) and James Hinchcliffe (221.638) as teams continued working on race set-ups with the new Dallara chassis.

There’s one more day of practice before teams receive the added turbocharger boost for “Fast Friday” – reflecting a 40-50 horsepower gain and 4-5 mph per lap. The increase in the boost will be available for that session and the weekend time trials.

Thirty drivers recorded 1,632 laps. Two-time Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti (221.623) was fifth overall in the No. 50 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car and Justin Wilson was sixth (221.420) in the No. 18 Sonny’s BBQ car for Dale Coyne Racing.

DAY 5 NOTEBOOK:

Five entrants earned spots in the Indianapolis 500 Pit Stop Competition on Miller Lite Carb Day on Friday, May 25 during time trials this morning at IMS. Six teams changed tires and simulated fueling during the trials.

The five qualifiers, and their times this morning:

Those five entrants will join the seven entrants that previously qualified through their performance at 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series races after the Indianapolis 500:

No. 2 Team Penske with Ryan Briscoe

No. 3 Team Penske with Helio Castroneves

No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Scott Dixon

No. 12 Team Penske with Will Power

No. 26 Andretti Autosport with Marco Andretti

No. 27 Andretti Autosport with James Hinchcliffe

No. 50 Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Dario Franchitti

The Nos. 2, 3 and 50 will receive byes into the quarterfinals, along with either the Nos. 9 or 12 that are tied for position. A blind draw will determine the qualifier.

A $100,000 purse will be awarded at the Indianapolis 500 Pit Stop Competition, which consists of four rounds of head-to-head competition in which teams change four tires and simulate fueling.

USATODAY

***

Indianapolis orthodontist Dr. Charles Pritchett was the honorary starter today. He has attended every racing event at IMS since 1957 – Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis and Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

***

Local and national recording artists and special guests will entertain the attendees at the Indy 500 Soiree presented by Lucas Oil on Friday, May 25 at the Lucas Estate in Carmel, Ind.

The event will raise money for a Garth Brooks’ Teammates for Kids Foundation’s Child Life Zone at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.

The evening will begin with a VIP reception from 6-7 p.m. on an exclusive, poolside section of the Lucas estate. Attendees will be able to mingle with special guests, Garth Brooks, Indy 500 winners Arie Luyendyk and Kenny Brack, and the field for the 96th Indianapolis 500, as well as other celebrities and Indianapolis notables.

Indianapolis’s own “Sizzlin’ Gregg Bacon” will perform during the reception. With his signature jazz styling, the saxophonist has accompanied B.B. King in concert and opened for Aretha Franklin, The O’Jays and John Mellencamp.

At 7 p.m., fans are invited to join the event via a Live & Global webcast Q&A powered by Ortsbo, a leader in real-time email, online chat and social media language translation, and hosted by three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves and IZOD IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe. This event will include interviews with celebrity guests, including INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard and Brooks, streamed live for fans watching around the world at www.Liveandglobal.com/indycar.

Nashville recording artists Cook & Belle and dance band Jakarta will entertain guests on outdoor and indoor stages, while inside the main estate, Jeanette Lee, “the Black Widow,” will amaze everyone with her billiards trick-shooting prowess. The Trisha Yearwood Dessert Room will offer dessert delights, and the INDYCAR Legends room will host the A.J. Foyt wine bar.

A cigar bar, the opportunity for pictures with the Borg-Warner Trophy and a silent auction also will take place.

For opportunities to support the Indy 500 Soiree presented by Lucas Oil through sponsorship or donations, or for more information, visit www.lucasoil.com/indy500soiree or call Detail & Design at (317) 423-3590.

***

The Indiana Section SAE International announced six candidates today for the 46^th annual Louis Schwitzer Award sponsored by BorgWarner, which will be presented at 11 a.m. Friday, May 18 in the Economaki Press Conference Room on the first floor of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Center.

The award, presented to engineers by engineers, recognizes individuals with the courage and conviction to explore and develop new concepts in motorsports technology for use in the Indianapolis 500. The candidates are individuals responsible for:

•Chevrolet IndyCar V6 engine

•Honda HI12R engine

•Lotus Indy V6 engine

•Dallara DW12 chassis

•Xtrac transmission

•BorgWarner turbochargers

The Louis Schwitzer Award has been presented annually since 1967 by the Indiana Section SAE International in honor of early racing pioneer and past Indiana Section Chairman Louis Schwitzer. Award sponsor BorgWarner provides a $10,000 cash prize to the winner, and the winner’s name is added to the permanent trophy on display at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.

Last year’s recipients were James Goodloe, Roger Griffiths, Marcelo Martinelli and Robert Bell from Honda Performance Development for the Honda Refueling Safety Interlock System. Past winners have included Colin Chapman, Bruce McLaren, Smokey Yunick, A.J. Foyt and Gian Paolo Dallara.

***

The last year without any rain delays or interruptions during Indianapolis 500 practice was 1998.

***

Media are invited to attend a sled crash test, focusing on advancements in decreasing driver injuries in INDYCAR racing, from 1-2 p.m. Saturday, May 26 at the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation in North Westfield, Ind.

Experts available for interviews at the test include Kirk Russell, Director of International Motorsports Industry Show Safety and Technical Conference; Dr. Terry Trammell, OrthoIndy; Jeff Horton, INDYCAR director of engineering; Thomas J. Chezem, Center for Advanced Product Evaluation and Chris Paulsen, co-owner of the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS).

Bus transportation will be provided for media from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Center, departing at noon and returning at approximately 3 p.m.

Space is limited. Media are required to RSVP to both Joe Crowley of True Speed Communication at joe.crowley@truespeedcommunication.com and Jamie Harding Hancock of IMIS at

jamieh@imis-indy.com.

***

The life of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon will be honored through a variety of activities during the 2012 edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Cloud9Living

The salute to charismatic fan favorite Wheldon starts Wednesday, May 16 when the No. 98 William Rast-Curb/Big Machine Dallara/Honda/Firestone car that he drove to the improbable victory last May will be placed on display at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum until Sunday, May 20.

That car also will be displayed Saturday, May 26 in the Pagoda Plaza during Legends Day Honoring Roger Penske presented by Shell.

A variety of tributes to Wheldon are planned for 96^th Indianapolis 500 Race Day, Sunday, May 27.

•All fans entering the track on Race Day will receive a pair of white cardboard sunglasses – white sunglasses were a favorite of the fashionable Wheldon – to wear in tribute to Wheldon on the parade lap, Lap 26 and Lap 98, recognizing the numbers of his winning cars. Fans also are encouraged to wear their own white sunglasses during those laps.

•Bryan Herta, co-owner of the team for which Wheldon drove last year at Indianapolis, will drive Wheldon’s winning 2011 car for a lap of honor during pre-race ceremonies shortly before the command to start engines. Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which had a technical alliance last year with Bryan Herta Autosport at Indianapolis, has restored the car.

•Wheldon will be featured on the Race Day technical inspection stickers affixed to all cars in the field.

Other Race Week tributes include Wheldon’s wife, Susie, participating in the Public Drivers Meeting on Saturday, May 26 at IMS and receiving her husband’s Champion of Champions ring for his 2011 Indianapolis 500 victory when she arrives in Indianapolis.

JEFF BELSKUS (President and CEO, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation): “Dan embodied the spirit of the Indianapolis 500 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway like few who have ever raced here. He loved this race and this special place so much, and his fans and everyone associated with ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ returned that affection with equal passion. We’re honored to pay tribute to Dan – an incredible father, husband, friend and driver – through these activities this year. But rest assured, he will be remembered forever at IMS.”

***

Medical update from Dr. Michael Olinger, INDYCAR medical director: Josef Newgarden was evaluated and released without injury from the IU Health Emergency Medical Center at IMS. He is cleared to drive.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: “You don’t get many lucky breaks around this place, and I think I just got one. The guys have done a great job putting together such a good car, and I don’t want to hurt the thing. I’ll try to learn what happened and why the thing got around on me. Everyone’s trying to figure out the race car around this place, and obviously I have a little more work to do. We were old on our tire run and trying to run as far as possible to see how the car reacts, and I think it’s just difficult to run in the tow, and today I got bit by it a little.”

***

INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRACTICE QUOTES:

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 38 Service Central Honda): “Again, I thought we had a great day with the Service Central boys. We’re learning a lot and really trying to keep ourselves focused on what our run-plan is and just doing the kind of laps that we feel we need to every day. Today was a pretty limited day, but that was the plan and we’ll be out there doing more later.”

JEAN ALESI (No. 64 Lotus-FP Journe-Fan Force United Lotus): “Right now, I feel very unsafe, being quite slow in the middle of the track. So I am quite concerned for my fellow drivers if we are not able to get the speed that we need. I am flat out, and I have reached 205 as the maximum that I can see. So it is not a comfortable position right now.”

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet): “It’s good to get out there again today. We didn’t have as organized of a race run as we wanted there at the end of the day because we kept having cars come out right in front of us in the pits. It’s good to be able to continue to get a feel for the National Guard Chevy, and there was a couple of specific things that we were looking to try to address today that we got a feel for in that run. In the end, we’re banking tires, and we’ll be able to do some more running later in the week.”

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 98 Team Barracuda-BHA Honda): “It’s the first practice day where we had some pretty decent laps and made some really good improvement on the car: running in traffic, stability, race running. It was quite nice. The Team Barracuda-BHA crew did a good job. We’re also getting all caught up with the Honda people, and everything is running smoothly. It was a good day. Finishing a day like this at the Speedway with a smile and with a car that we feel we can race is always very nice. I’m very pleased with the No. 98 Team Barracuda-BHA car. We’re going to start to come up with some big guns, and we’ll see what we can do.”

TOWNSEND BELL (No. 99 BraunAbility-Schmidt Pelfrey Motorsports Honda): “I haven’t been two-wide yet. We’re just trying to work our way up to it and use all of our experience the best we can. I was really happy with today. I had a lot of things we wanted to test, and we accomplished those today. We crossed a lot of things off our list, so I feel like we’re on top of things. The first two days, I felt like we were just catching up with the car being totally new for me and the engineers. I feel like we’re caught up now, and we can start applying everything we’ve learned to a more refined package moving forward.”

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports Honda): “I think the god of speeds are helping me out this year because we are getting so much running since there is no rain. It’s great. We’re actually not running that much. In fact, I was so sad to get out of the car today. I was having so much fun. The track is not slippery when you get the car nicely dialed in. It’s not slippery; you just have to feel the air on the car and feel what the car is telling you through your butt. You really feel if you get understeer or oversteer, and you really have to learn how to manage that from the car with the steering wheel and your foot. It’s a really fine line. You want to be neutral by yourself and safe in traffic. But traffic usually brings you understeer. So it’s difficult to find the right balance. There is a lot more thinking and processing than on a road course.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy Lotus HVM Racing Lotus): “We ran more laps today, and I think the car is getting there. But we’re just really struggling on the engine side, and that makes it difficult to drive. When you do only 200 mph, you don’t have enough downforce, which makes it a little bit trickier. The good thing on the team side is that everybody is being patient and really working through the things. That’s what we have to do this month – just be really patient about it and try to improve every time we go out there. Hopefully for qualifying and the race we’ll have something that’s race-able.”

Rock.com

BRYAN CLAUSON (No. 39 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/RW Honda): “It’s such a different feel when you get in a pack here at Indy. It’s going to be interesting to see how you can manage a car that’s good running by itself as well as a car that can handle the traffic. Every day in traffic we get a lot better. Completing passes has proved to be pretty difficult so far. We’re going to focus on getting in heavy traffic over the next few days and continue to learn how to manage the car in those situations. It’s going to come down to who’s going to be able to keep the most pedal down on the car through traffic. The tow is so big here that speed behind other cars isn’t that difficult to find if you can keep the throttle in it. Finding balance as you pull out of the draft is kind of like hitting a wall, so it’s hard to complete the pass. We’ll keep finding out what we can learn from running in the pack before we switch over to qualifying mode for Fast Friday.”

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): “We tried a lot of things today with the wind. We are still missing something with the new car. Obviously, we are not where we want to be just yet. We have been making progress each day. It is getting to the point where we have some time to get a good setup, but we are getting closer to the qualifying weekend. So time is precious. We are not discouraged with the progress we are making, but I’m a little disappointed we haven’t made the big jump up the time sheets yet. We have had some decent days in practice but just not that one day that jumps us up to a proper speed. We seem pretty good in three of the four corners, and we need to work on the one turn that hurts us. We will keep working on it and find that sweet spot with this new car.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 50 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “We worked on a lot of stuff. It was another productive day for the Target team, just finding our way around this car and just finding out what it likes. We ran in traffic for the first time, and it actually went pretty well. I caught a nice balance. We’re just trying to zero in on what we need for the ’500.’ That’s where we are. I think we learned some big stuff today. We put together what Scott (Dixon) learned, and Charlie (Kimball) and Graham (Rahal). Hopefully, we’ll come out tomorrow even stronger.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “It was OK. We really struggled for speed early on. We seem to have days where we roll off, and the car is a mile an hour or 2 mile an hour slower. And that was kind of how the morning started. We made a few changes and got the car a bit better. In the long run, we just probably had too much downforce on it. It was OK. Comfortable to drive but just not the quickest out there. Generally, you can mark yourself by how other people are running at the same time. I wouldn’t say we were great. We’ve got a bit of work to do and definitely got to find some speed.” (How hard is it to sort out the new car?): “It’s not a whole lot different. You’re just not sure whether you’re in the box. You could be out of it. Because it’s a new car you’ve got lots of things to sort of mess with. But it’s kind of hard to tell. I think it’s challenging, but it’s the first year, which makes it exciting, too.”

TAKUMA SATO (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “It was a little bit windy today, which makes the car a little unstable, but it was quite good because we needed to make our car more stable. The wind was tricky, quite gusty. But I think we are happy with the balance. We worked on our general setup and will now go scan the aero map on it to record the data. My long run was cut short today by the red flag, and it was a little bit of a shame that we didn’t run in traffic as much as we wanted, but hopefully we will do so tomorrow. I think it will be quite exciting to start some qualifying setup work tomorrow.”

MICHEL JOURDAIN JR. (No. 30 Office Depot/RLL Racing Honda): “The day was very good. We made very good progress. The first couple of days were about getting me comfortable in the car and with the setup. Finally, Monday we were very good by ourselves, and yesterday was about running in traffic. It felt good yesterday, but we were not 100 percent. And today I felt really good in the last session. We ran a full tank of fuel and ran it out. I was running in the middle of the group, and the car felt good. It was much fun out there; it was fantastic. Tomorrow we will run a little of both race setup and qualifying setup. We know we didn’t have a lot of time to work on the ultimate qualifying setup, so we know we are not going to fight for the top nine or top 15, so we just want to get a decent qualifying setup where we run good. Then on Friday, of course, we will work on our qualifying setup.”

MIKE CONWAY (No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): “We haven’t done any race setups, and there are a lot of teams doing a bit of that today. So we have to get out there and do some, but at same time, we have to find some speed and know what our speed is for a qualifying run. We have a lot to get through tomorrow. Friday we get a bit of a power boost, so that could change things again. So tomorrow will be our best shot to get some race setups done.”

WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 41 ECat/ABC Supply Honda): “We made some gains today. We got an idea of where we need to be for race downforce, and on the back of that you figure out what gearing you need and the kind of balance, as well. We’re headed in the right direction that way. We improved the car mechanically in terms of feel and overall speed. I’d jumped up the charts, and the time was really a function of being able to use a bit of gear for the draft. Hopefully making these sort of gains a few more positions tomorrow and a few more the next day, and we’ll be chasing the back end of the top 10, which is our target. A relatively productive day, no major issues. And like I said earlier, if my rookie day was the worst day we have this month, we’ll have a good time.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet): “Pretty slow day for the No. 2 IZOD car. We just did one run. After we made some changes and did a baseline run, the car felt pretty good. For now, we are conserving tires, but we will get back into it tomorrow and continue to improve.”

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “We didn’t run our Verizon car too much today. We did a little work on it. Just tried a couple things, getting ready for the next couple of days. It’s been good having such great weather, as it allows us plenty of time to work through our process.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Shell V-Power Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske Chevrolet): “We started a little late, but the No. 3 Shell Pennzoil is looking good. We tried to manage the tires to make sure we have enough for when it really matters, which is Saturday. Right now, we are moving in the right direction. Chevy, Ilmor and everybody are working together so we can have a quality engine and ultimately a good race car.”

ORIOL SERVIA (No. 22 Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet): “We tried several things, and we discovered some other ones. I think that we have come up with something that is going to help me a lot for the race. We just don’t know yet if it’s something that’s going to be good for qualifying or not, but we still have tomorrow to decide. I’m happy because we really found something that I think will make the race car the way we need it to be fighting for the win next Sunday.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Team DHL SunDrop Citrus Soda Chevrolet): “I think it was a good day. We just concentrated on making our car look better and get in traffic and race trim, and obviously some of the, most of these speeds come from traffic tows. We were all on tows on some point. It just depends on how and when it happens, but most importantly we didn’t try and set any up, we just got to work in traffic. The Andretti Autosport cars have been working really well, so we’ve been making progress, and as a team we’ve been working really well together. It’s been a cohesive unit, and it’s pretty impressive to see how things have been operating so far. So now the goal is going and qualifying to keep that teamwork going. Get to the weekend, and I think we’re most of the way there, or part of the way there on some pretty good race cars. So that’s most important for us.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 Team GoDaddy.com Chevrolet): “We tried to eliminate tow laps, so you get a little of a bit better sense of not just ourselves but what everybody’s doing. But ultimately between our cars and the timing data that we can get, there’s so much data to pore through, and you know on top of that we’re dealing with the new cars, so we’re learning it off a lot more than we have the last couple years.”

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 GEICO/Mouser Electronics KVRT Chevrolet): “We continued to work on our race setup today and finding out how the car reacts when it is in traffic. It was an uneventful day, and hopefully tomorrow will be the same.”

RUBENS BARRICHELLO (No. 8 BMC/Embrase KV Racing Technology Chevrolet): “Today we ran a lot of miles. I was able to experience how the car would feel in a race from when it is full of fuel to almost empty. We made some progress with some of the changes today, and hopefully we are going in the right direction.”

E.J. VISO (No. 5 CITGO/PDVSA KV Racing Technology Chevrolet): “It was another day of working on the race setup. It definitely hasn’t been fun so far. It was a tough day. One of our big priorities is to develop a fast car for qualifying and a safe and fast car for the race, which is what we have been trying to achieve. We tried a bunch of things that didn’t really work out. However, by the end of the day, things took a turn to the positive side, and we will keep working on that tomorrow.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team RC Cola Chevrolet): “We are still making gains on the race setup. The RC Cola guys have all been working great together as a team to really develop a good race car. I would say we are a change or two away from being the one to beat on May 27^th. We have some more work to do when it comes to the car’s speed on its own. Once we get the car right, it won’t matter where we start.”

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 17 Team AFS Racing Chevrolet): “Today was a very good day for the Andretti Autosport cars and the AFS Racing team. It was a really positive day because we are working well together as a team. We have a very consistent car and it is all a learning process. I am enjoying it very much, so we will see where it takes us tomorrow.”

Basspro.com

ANA BEATRIZ (No. 25 Team Ipiranga Chevrolet): “I think we made a lot of good progress today when it comes to the race setup. We were able to realize some of the good and not so good aspects of the car. I am looking forward to even more improvements for the Ipiranga team. Tomorrow we will probably focus more on qualifying. We are getting one step closer each day to having the car we need for race day.”

***

A total of 35 cars are at the Speedway, with 31 passing technical inspection, with two pending. Thirty-one drivers have been on the track to date and turned 1,632 laps today and 6,264 laps since Opening Day this month. Rubens Barrichello turned 114 laps today, most of any driver. There were five cautions for a total of 41 minutes today.

***

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Indianapolis 500 Mile on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised by ABC at 11a.m. (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Firestone Freedom 100 on May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be televised live by NBC Sports Network at Noon (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network.

Source: INDYCAR, Press Release

KV Racing Technology Logo

SPEEDWAY, In. – May 16, 2012 –

Tony Kanaan, in the No. 11 GEICO | MOUSER ELECTRONICS – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Firestone entry, spent the day in traffic working under race conditions.  He posted the team’s fastest lap for the fifth consecutive day recording a speed of 220.305 mph placing him 13^thon the speed charts. This is the first time since practice began on Saturday that Kanaan has topped the 220 mark making him the only KVRT driver to do so. The 37-year-old Brazilian, who ran 54 laps, has now turned a total of 171 laps, the fewest of the KVRT trio.  Kanaan is making his 11^th appearance at the Brickyard and is seeking his first win.  He has finished second, third, fourth and fifth with one pole.

Commenting on the day Kanaan said, “We continued to work on our race setup today and finding out how the car reacts when it is in traffic.  It was an uneventful day and hopefully tomorrow will be the same.”

Rubens Barrichello, driving the No. 8 BMC | EMBRASE – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Firestone car, ran in traffic for the second day in a row.  He posted the team’s second fastest lap at 216.741 mph and the 26^th fastest of the day.   Barrichello logged the most laps of any driver on a single day so far with 114 and has now completed a team high 370 laps (925 miles almost two 500 mile races). The 39-year-old Brazilian, a veteran of 19 Formula One seasons, won the U. S Grand Prix here at Indy in 2002 making him the only Indy 500 rookie to have won a race at the Brickyard.  Barrichello, who will be contesting his, first oval race, is attempting to become the first driver to win both the U. S. Grand Prix and the Indy 500 at IMS.

“Today we ran a lot of miles,” Barrichello said.  “I was able to experience how the car would feel in a race from when it is full of fuel to almost empty.  We made some progress with some of the changes today and hopefully we are going in the right direction.”

E. J. Viso, piloting the No. 5 CITGO | PDVSA – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Firestone machine, went on track at the drop of the green flag at noon and spend the entire day working on his race setup while avoiding traffic and therefore did not benefit from a tow .  He recorded a speed of 215.512 mph putting him 28^th on the practice report.  Viso completed 63 laps today giving him a total of 222 since first taking to the track last Saturday.  This 27-year-old Venezuelan Viso is competing at IMS for the fifth time and has a best qualifying position of 24^th in 2009 and a best finish of 18^th in 2011. 

“It was another day of working on the race setup,” Viso said.  “It definitely hasn’t been fun so far.  It was a tough day.   One of our big priorities is to develop a fast car for qualifying and a safe and fast car for the race, which is what we have been trying to achieve.  We tried a bunch of things that didn’t really work out, however by the end of the day things took a turn to the positive side and we will keep working on that tomorrow.”

FansEdge.com

A total of 30 cars turned a total of 1632 laps today (6234 over the four days).  For the third time in five days rookie Josef Newgarden, who later became the first driver to hit the wall, posted the fastest speed at 222.785 mph.    

The Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 27.  The race will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 12:00 p.m. (ET) (tape delayed at 7:00 p.m. ET in Indianapolis).

KV Racing Technology was founded in January 2003 and joined the IndyCar Series in 2008.  The Indianapolis based team is owned by successful venture capitalist Kevin Kalkhoven and 1996 IndyCar Champion Jimmy Vasser.  Veteran Motorsports manager, Mark Johnson is the team’s General Manager.  Johnson is assisted by Team Manager Tom Wurtz, Technical Director Eric Cowdin and Operations Manager Steve Moore.

For more information about KV Racing Technology visit: www.kvracingtechnology.com or follow us on Twitter:www.twitter.com/kvracing and Facebook: www.facebook.com/kvracingtechnology.

Source: KV Racing Technology, Press Release

Alex Tagliani Team Barracuda BHA - Photo Credit: Chris Jones

Indianapolis, IN – May 16, 2012 -

The team ran 47 laps, putting Tagliani in P15 for the day with a best time of 220.060. After getting out of his No. 98 Dallara DW12 powered by Honda, Tagliani expressed his confidence that the changes being made to his race car were moving in the right direction.

“It’s the first practice day where we had some pretty decent laps and made some really good improvement on the car: running in traffic, stability, race running. It was quite nice. The Team Barracuda – BHA crew did a good job. We’re also getting all caught up with the Honda people and everything is running smoothly.

It was a good day. I mean, finishing a day like this at the Speedway with a smile and with a car that we feel we can race is always very nice. I’m very pleased with the Number 98 Team Barracuda – BHA car. We’re going to start to come up with some big guns and we’ll see what we can do!”

The Canadian driver will have two more practice days before he attempts to put the car on pole for the second year in a row on Pole Day, Saturday, May 19. A week of fan activities and appearances will follow, all leading up to the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 27, 2012. Tagliani’s team will look to defend its 2011 victory at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

About Bryan Herta Autosport

Founded by veteran driver Bryan Herta and noted race engineer and team manager Steve Newey, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) has been a race-winning team in Firestone Indy Lights competition since 2009 and recently won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon in only its second IZOD IndyCar Series start. The Indianapolis, Ind.-based squad made its IndyCar debut in 2010 contesting the Indianapolis 500. New for 2012, BHA has formed a joint venture with Bowen and Bowers Motorsports, Inc. (BBM) to field a full time entry in the IZOD Indycar Series for Canadian driver Alex Tagliani. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Bowen and Bowers Motorsports, Inc. is the coming together of leading sports and entertainment property development professionals, Chris Bowers and David Bowen, along with the financial management experience of Trapeze Asset Management Inc. For more information, visit www.bryanhertaautosport.com.

About Barracuda Networks Inc.

PACSUN

Barracuda Networks combines premises-based gateways and software, virtual appliances, cloud services, and sophisticated remote support to deliver comprehensive content and network security, data protection and application delivery solutions. The company’s expansive product portfolio includes offerings for protection against email and Web threats as well as products that improve application delivery and network access, message archiving, backup and data protection. Coca-Cola, FedEx, Harvard University, IBM, L’Oreal, and Europcar are among the more than 150,000 organizations protecting their IT infrastructures with Barracuda Networks’ range of affordable, easy-to-deploy and manage solutions. Barracuda Networks is privately held with its International Headquarters in Campbell, Calif. For more information, please visit www.barracudanetworks.com.

Source: Team Barracuda – BHA/Bryan Herta Autosport, Press Rekease

2012 IICS JR Hildebrand - Photo Courtesy of INDYCAR/LAT USA

Another Beautiful Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Concludes for National Guard Team

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – (May 16, 2012) – Another beautiful day of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway concluded withNational Guard Panther Racing driver JR Hildebrand in the 11^th position on the final speed chart. The team turned just 27 laps on the day, its least amount of running in the five practice days thus far, and Hildebrand spent the end of the day running with drivers from Andretti Autosport.

Hildebrand posted a top lap speed of 220.718 mph, 40.7761 second and Panther/DRR driver Oriol Servia concluded the day 21^st on the chart with a top lap of 219.021 mph, 41.0919 seconds. Practice continues Thursday and Friday before Saturday’s Pole Day qualifications determine the starting field for the 96^th Running of the Indianapolis 500 MileRace.

Pit Party: Both National Guard and Panther/DRR Team Make Pit Stop Competition

The day kicked off on the right foot for Panther Racing on Wednesday, after both the No. 4 National Guard team and the No. 22 Panther/DRR entry qualified for the Carb Day Pit Stop Competition during qualifications in the morning. JR Hildebrand’s pit crew finished the day second-quick amongst the six crews attempting to qualify with a pit time of 9.298 seconds. The No. 22 pit crew of Oriol Servia was just behind the National Guard team with a time of 9.322 seconds. 

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Panther Announce Partnership

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) has formed a promotional partnership with IZOD IndyCar team Panther Racing for this year’s 96th running of the Indianapolis 500. In an effort to educate and raise awareness for the VVMF, the two entities will publish a full page ad in the Indianapolis Motor Speedwayrace program, and air a public service announcement about the Education Center at The Wall during the May 27th ABC broadcast of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

ProSports

QUOTABLE:

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet:

“It’s good to get out there again today. We didn’t have as organized of a race run as we wanted there at the end of the day because we kept having cars come out right in front of us in the pits. It’s good to be able to continue to get a feel for the National Guard Chevy and there was a couple of specific thingsthat we were looking to try to address today that we got a feel for in thatrun. In the end, we’re banking tires and we’ll be able to do some more running later in the week.”

www.JRHildebrandRacing.com - www.pantherracing.com - www.NationalGuard.com

Source: Panther Racing, Press Release

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Star-Studded Celebrity Lineup Headed to Coca-Cola 600

For those looking to be star-struck, Charlotte Motor Speedway is the place to be during Coca-Cola 600 weekend. Some of the biggest stars from the stage to the silver screen will take part in the 53^rdrunning of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27.

County music will be well-represented, with singer Darius Rucker performing a pre-race concert and singing the National Anthem before the green flag drops. Joining him will be fellow country star Tim McGraw, who will introduce the Top 10 qualifiers during driver introductions.

Charlotte-native and star of the upcoming movie “Battleship,” Brooklyn Decker will serve as the Honorary Race Director, while former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory has been named Honorary Starter and West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has been named Grand Marshal.

NASCAR 101 Helps First-Time Fan Learn the Ropes

Fans new to Charlotte Motor Speedway or racing in general can get a crash course in what to expect from some of the industry’s best before the green flag drops on the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will spend about 15 minutes with Miss Sprint Cup talking to fans about everything from qualifying to pit stops, beginning at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, May 19. Earlier in the day, at 2 p.m., NASCAR radio personality and the voice of PRN, Doug Rice, will host a similar Q&A session with first-time fans.

The event will be held at The Sprint Experience area next to the speedway’s main entrance.

Global Rallycross Invades Charlotte During Racing Doubleheader

On May 26, race fans will get a unique thrill as X Games stars like Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, Ken Block and Brian Deegan take to a custom-designed three-quarter-mile course along the frontstretch for the season-opener of the Global Rallycross Championship.

The double-header starts with the NASCAR Nationwide Series HISTORY 300. Following that race, Global Rallycross drivers will be in the grandstands visiting fans and signing autographs while speedway official construct a one-of-a-kind course of tight turns, jumps and water features.

The drivers will pilot their 600-horsepower turbo-charged machines through a series of heat races in hopes of advancing to Saturday’s main feature.

Fans can experience both races for one low ticket price. Adult tickets start at just $25. Children 13 and under are admitted free.

Greatest Show on Dirt Returns May 25

On Friday, May 25, the action moves to The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the Circle K NOS Energy Outlaw Showdown. Known for providing The Greatest Show on Dirt, the stars of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will take to the four-tenths-mile clay oval for a 30-lap showdown in the heart of NASCAR country.

Fans can meet all the stars from the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series including Cody Darrah, Joey Saldana, Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser during an autograph session on the main concourse from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Opening ceremonies begin at 7 p.m. with the Circle K NOS Energy Outlaw Showdown 30-lap A-Main scheduled to start at 8:35 p.m. After the World of Outlaws sprint car feature is complete, the NDRA Crate Late Model Series will take to The Dirt Track at Charlotte for their $2,000-to-win feature event.

Sam Bass Shows Off Latest Souvenir Program Covers

Rock.com

Bass, the official artist of NASCAR, has been designing program covers for Charlotte Motor Speedway since 1985, and was on hand Wednesday to unveil his latest designs.

Once again, Bass’ covers for both the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race “Throwdown at Charlotte” and the Coca-Cola 600 “Let Freedom Race” programs are a can’t-miss keepsake for fans, whether their coming to their very first race or have been longtime fans.

PRN Set to Broadcast to Worldwide Audience

PRN is prepared to broadcast the events surrounding NASCAR’s greatest test of man and machine, the Coca-Cola 600. PRN will provide live coverage of LiftMaster Pole Night from CMS on Thursday May 24, at 7 p.m., heard exclusively on goprn.com.

PRN will air the HISTORY Channel 300 on Saturday May 26, air time is 2 p.m., the Coca-Cola 600 will air on 400 radio stations including SIRIUS-XM Channel 90. PRN coverage starts at 5 p.m. on Sunday May 27. All PRN race broadcast are available online at PRN affiliate website and also agoprn.com.

The PRN broadcast includes co-anchors Doug Rice and Mark Garrow, turn announcers Brad Gillie, Rob Albright, pit reporters Jim Noble, Brett McMillan, Steve Richards and Pat Patterson.

For more great ticket offers and promotions for any Charlotte Motor Speedway events, visitwww.charlottemotorspeedway.com or call the ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267). For all the latest news from the Mecca of motorsports, follow the speedway on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/charlottemotorspeedway or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cltmotorspdwy.

Source: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Press Release

Auto Club Speedway

All proceeds to benefit Auto Club Speedway Foundation and The NASCAR Foundation 

Buy an INDYCAR ticket or give a little more and meet NASCAR’s Michael Waltrip.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. (May 16, 2012) – Celebrate “2012 NASCAR DAY” at Auto Club Speedway on Wednesday, May 23 from 1:30pm – 6pm by driving around Southern California’s premier motorsports facility, a photo opportunity with the Auto Club 400 Trophy and for a little extra, meet NASCAR superstar owner/driver Michael Waltrip.

Paced by the Speedway’s iconic 1948 Woody and the 2012 Pace Car, participants that make a $20 donation will get to drive around the 2-mile track, the very same track that NASCAR and INDYCAR stars battle side-by-side on, receive a NASCAR Unites wristband and get a photo opportunity with theAuto Club 400 trophy in our temporary “Gatorade Victory Lane.”

But wait there’s more!  Between 1:30pm – 2:30pm, purchase a ticket to the INDYCAR World Championships Weekend (Sept. 14-15, ticket prices start at $30 and we’ll waive the service fee, and kids under 12 are free) or make an additional $10 contribution to the cause and get an autograph from and take a photo with NASCAR superstar Michael Waltrip.

Additional photo opportunities with the Auto Club Speedway Show Car and Kids Club Mascot Leftywill be available while on site.

Fathead.com

Last year, more than 300 cars took laps to help support NASCAR DAY, all making a huge difference for those in need. Since 2008, Auto Club Speedway has raised almost $200,000 for charity during its NASCAR Day efforts.

For more information on “NASCAR DAY” at Auto Club Speedway, visit www.autoclubspeedway.com/NASCARday or call 800-944-RACE (7223).

Source: Auto Club Speedway, Press Release

Steve Arpin

No. 30 mike’s ON THE ROCKS Chevrolet

Iowa Speedway

Pioneer Hi-Bred 250

May 20, 2012

No. 30 mike’s ON THE ROCKS Chevrolet News and Notes

Last Race Recap -The No. 30 team brought home a ninth-place finish last weekend at Darlington Raceway with Arpin’s fellow Turner Motorsports driver James Buescher at the wheel. In Arpin’s last race in the No. 30 mike’s ON THE ROCKS Chevrolet, he finished 10th at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

Arpin at Iowa Speedway - Although Arpin is relatively new to the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS), he is no stranger to Iowa Speedway. The young driver has four previous starts at the Newton, Iowa short track, including one in the NNS, one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) and two in the ARCA Racing Series. Arpin scored his best start and finish, both eighth, in the 2009 ARCA race. He finished 13th in his most recent race at Iowa Speedway, competing in the NCWTS for Turner Motorsports last season.

Going for 10 in a Row - The No. 30 Turner Motorsports team is looking for their 10th consecutive top-15 finish this weekend at Iowa Speedway. In nine NNS races so far this season, the team has one win, four top-10s and no finish lower than 14th.

No Place Like Home – Prior to heading to Iowa for the race, Arpin returned to his hometown of Fort Frances, Ontario for a “Steve Arpin Tribute Night” put on by his local community. After taking over the largest restaurant in town for the evening, Arpin was able to visit with his very supportive local fans.

Come and See Me - Fans will have several chances to meet Arpin this weekend at Iowa Speedway. He will be participating in the NNS Autograph Session on Saturday afternoon, from 2:00 to 2:45 p.m. local time. He will also be at the Alzheimer’s Awareness booth on Sunday morning, from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m., and the Casey’s Fan Zone from 10:25 to 10:55 a.m.

GreatAmericanDays.com

Watch and Listen - The Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 will be broadcast live on ESPN on Sunday, May 20, with race coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. CST. The event can also be heard live on MRN Radio with coverage starting at 1:45 p.m.

Follow Me – Visit www.twitter.com/stevearpin, www.facebook.com/stevearpinracing and www.facebook.com/mikesOnTheRocks for the latest news and updates on Arpin and mike’s ON THE ROCKS.

Arpin on his home track, Iowa Speedway:

“I really love Iowa Speedway! As far as tracks on the NASCAR circuit, I consider Iowa to be my home track. We have so many people coming down from Minnesota and Canada to watch this weekend. We also have a ton of support from the local fans in Iowa, so it’s really awesome to race there. After kicking off the week with an event in my hometown, I have so much motivation to go out there and do well. I have a great relationship with the Clemmons family, and I always enjoyed watching their son race at Deer Creek Speedway, so it’s really cool to be involved in their new endeavor at Iowa Speedway.”

Arpin on racing at Iowa Speedway:

“The racing at Iowa is awesome. The track has the speeds of an intermediate track, but it races like a short track. There is so much that you can do at this track, as a driver, to make a difference, so it makes it a really fun place for us to race.”

- Turner Motorsports Press Release