IndyCar Series makes first visit to Long Beach - Briscoe eyes two in a rowSunday, April 19 - 3:30 p.m. (EDT)
Track - Streets of Long Beach, Calif.
Distance - 85 laps / 167.28 miles
TVVERSUS (Live)
RadioIMS Radio Network / XM 145 / Sirius 126
2008 WinnerInaugural event
2008 PolesitterInaugural event
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course
Inaugural event
Seats: 35,000 (Grandstands)
Indy Lights Grand Prix of Long Beach
Date / Time12:40 p.m. (EDT) Sunday, April 19
TrackStreets of Long Beach(11-turn,1.968-mile temporary street circuit)
Distance45 laps/89 miles
TVVERSUS (Taped)4 p.m. (EDT) April 20
2008 WinnerInaugural event
2008 PolesitterInaugural event Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
IndyCar Series makes first visit to Long BeachThe IndyCar Series visits Long Beach for the first time, however the circuit is no stranger to the drivers and teams that will compete. Twelve drivers entered in the race have competed in Long Beach previously. In addition, eight IndyCar Series teams have competed at the track, combining for 15 victories. How much will experience play a role in determining the winner?Briscoe eyes two in a rowTeam Penske’s Ryan Briscoe is becoming the man to beat, especially on road/street courses. Briscoe won the season opener at St. Petersburg on April 5. Last year, Briscoe was the only driver to advance to the Firestone Fast Six portion of qualifying in all six road/street events. The Australia native has five top-10 finishes in the last seven road/street events, including two victories. Can he continue his dominance on the streets of Long Beach?
Anniversary weekend for PatrickRace weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Danica Patrick’s historic victory. On April 20, 2008, Patrick took the checkered flag at Twin Ring Motegi, becoming the first woman to win a major closed-course auto racing event. While Patrick’s win came on an oval, she has recorded nine top-10 finishes in 18 starts on road/street courses, including a second on the streets of Belle Isle. What result will Patrick achieve on the anniversary of her win?Depth of fieldThe 2009 season opened with a scintillating race on the streets of St. Petersburg. Underdogs Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson from Vision Racing and Dale Coyne Racing, respectively, battled for the race victory with Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe. In the end, the top 10 finishers came from nine teams. Who will break through this ultra-competitive field to win at Long Beach?
Alternate tires add to strategyIndyCar Series teams had their first opportunity to use alternate “red” tires at St. Petersburg. The tires provide more grip but less durability, offering teams the opportunity to take short gambles on speed. Teams are required to keep one new, “sticker,” set for at least two laps in the race, but they may use the other sets during practice or the three knockout rounds of Firestone Fast Six qualifying. What did the teams learn at St. Petersburg and how will they manage the use of the “reds” at Long Beach?
Race Notes:The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be the first IndyCar Series event conducted at Long Beach.
Twelve drivers entered in the event have competed at Long Beach in CART or Champ Car events. They are: Scott Dixon (2 starts), Robert Doornbos (1), Dario Franchitti (6), Ryan Hunter-Reay (3), Tony Kanaan (5), Darren Manning (1), Mario Moraes (1), Will Power (3), Graham Rahal (2), Alex Tagliani (9), E.J. Viso (1) and Justin Wilson (5). Power is the only driver entered who has won at Long Beach. Kanaan and Wilson have won poles at the circuit.
Eight teams participating in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach have competed at the event in previous years. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing has six victories and 11 poles, while Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske each have four victories.
Season-to-Date:• Ryan Briscoe earned his third career victory and Team Penske’s 30th IndyCar Series victory in the season opener at St. Petersburg.• Ryan Hunter-Reay gave Vision Racing its best-ever finish with a second at St. Petersburg.• Justin Wilson gave Dale Coyne Racing its best-ever IndyCar Series finish with a third at St. Petersburg.• Drivers from five different teams filled the top five finishing positions.• Drivers from nine different teams filled the top 10 finishing positions.
Milestones & Records:• The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will mark Tony Kanaan’s 100th career start and Marco Andretti’s 50th career start.• Tony Kanaan will make his 99th consecutive start, the active leader among IndyCar Series drivers.• Scott Dixon needs two top-five finishes to reach 50 for his career. He ranks fifth all-time.• Andretti Green Racing’s next victory will be its 35th. The team ranks first in the IndyCar Series.• Team Penske has 30 IndyCar Series victories.• Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s next victory will be its 25th.• A victory in 2009 will give Tony Kanaan a victory in seven consecutive seasons, becoming the fourth driver to do so.• Tony Kanaan has 67 career top-five finishes, the most in IndyCar Series history.• Scott Dixon ranks second with 16 career victories. Sam Hornish Jr. holds the record with 19.• The Indianapolis 500 will mark Scott Dixon’s 100th career start.• The race at Kansas will mark Dan Wheldon’s 100th career start.• Vitor Meira has gone 94 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.
Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Long Beach
Talented field for 2009The 2009 season features one of the deepest fields in series history with race winners such as J.R. Hildebrand, Ana Beatriz, Wade Cunningham, James Davison, Pablo Donoso, Jay Howard and Logan Gomez joining a promising rookie class that includes points leaders Junior Strous, Jonathan Summerton and James Hinchcliffe. Other newcomers include Pippa Mann and Mario Romancini (World Series by Renault), Charlie Kimball and Martin Plowman (F3 Euroseries), Stefan Wilson (British F3), Gustavo Yacaman (Spanish F3) and Sebastian Saavedra (German F3).Ladies first?For the second consecutive season, two female drivers will compete for the championship. Brazil's Ana Beatriz, the first female to win in Firestone Indy Lights and England’s Pippa Mann each have a legitimate shot to walk away with the Firestone Firehawk Cup. Beatriz, who finished third in the point standings in 2008, benefits from the championship experience of Sam Schmidt Motorsports, while Mann drives for Panther Racing, which claimed four wins in 2008.
America’s next open-wheel star Named one of RACER Magazine’s 12 U.S. stars poised for a breakout year in 2009, native Californian J.R. Hildebrand slides behind the wheel of an Andretti Green Racing/AFS Racing car, replacing 2008 Firestone Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos. The 21-year-old from Sausalito, Calif., who car owner Michael Andretti has tipped for IndyCar Series success, won at Kansas last year and led the Firestone Indy Lights points race at midseason after a switch from the Atlantic Championship.
Former drivers transition to Firestone Indy Lights team owners Former IndyCar Series competitors Bryan Herta, Davey Hamilton and Jim Guthrie have found a second career on top of the pit cart as Firestone Indy Lights team owners. Herta, the 1993 Indy Lights champion who claimed two IndyCar Series wins with Andretti Green from 2003-2005, debuts Bryan Herta Autosport this season with driver Daniel Herrington behind the wheel. Guthrie, who made 15 starts in the IndyCar Series from 1996-1998, winning at Phoenix in 1997, formed Guthrie Racing in 2005 to support his son, Sean. The team competed in the Star Mazda Pro Series, finishing 14th in the standings. The team acquired a Dallara chassis and the necessary equipment to field a Firestone Indy Lights team at the end of 2005. Hamilton, who made an inspirational comeback to the IndyCar Series in 2007 after a serious accident, is the team principal of Davey Hamilton/Kingdom Racing, which fields a car for Brandon Wagner.
Racing for a reasonTeam PBIR's Charlie Kimball competes at a high-level of motorsports despite being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 18 months ago. Kimball races with a blood-sugar monitor that operates like his own personal dashboard and allows him to adjust his blood-sugar levels while in the car. In addition to his racing success, Kimball serves as a role model for diabetics, as his goal is to show others with the disease that there are no limitations to what they can do.
Race Notes:Can Junior go three-for-threeJunior Strous debuted in Firestone Indy Lights with a doubleheader sweep on the streets of St. Petersburg earlier this month. Only four Firestone Indy Lights drivers have won three races in a row. Can Strous make it three-in-a-row on the famed temporary street circuit at Long Beach?
Local LightsA number of drivers and team owners call Southern California home, making this weekend’s event a “home game.” Charlie Kimball of Team PBIR hails from Camarillo, Calif., while team owners Gary Petersen of AFS Racing (Huntington Beach) and Bryan Herta of Bryan Herta Autosport (Valencia) also call Southern California home.
Familiar to manyFirestone Indy Lights will make its debut at the historic Long Beach Grand Prix – the first of three new venues on the 2009 schedule. But while the temporary street circuit is new to the schedule, it played host to the inaugural race of the CART-sanctioned Firestone Indy Lights in 1991. Several drivers entered in this weekend’s event have also raced on the circuit in other series.
Season To Date:• Junior Strous is the only driver to win in the series this season after he swept the doubleheader at St. Petersburg.• Eight drivers who have previously won in Firestone Indy Lights – Ana Beatriz, Wade Cunningham, James Davison, Pablo Donoso, Logan Gomez, J.R. Hildebrand, Jay Howard and Junior Strous are entered in the Long Beach Grand Prix.• At least 18 rookie drivers are entered in the Long Beach Grand Prix.
Milestones:• Junior Strous became the seventh Firestone Indy Lights driver to win his series debut and the second driver to win his first two races. Strous is the 33rd driver to win a Firestone Indy Lights event and is tied with Aaron Fike, Jay Howard and Hideki Mutoh for 15th on the all-time victories list.• J.R. Hildebrand and Sebastian Saavedra earned the pole position for the two races at St. Petersburg, becoming the 31st and 32nd drivers to earn pole positions in Firestone Indy Lights.• Wade Cunningham will attempt to make his 50th Firestone Indy Lights start at Long Beach. Sean Guthrie will attempt to make his 40th start.• Sean Guthrie, the series’ active Ironman with 35 consecutive starts, is scheduled to make his 36th consecutive start at Long Beach. Jaime Camara made 42 consecutive starts from 2005-2007.• A win in 2009 for Wade Cunningham would give him a record-setting fourth season with at least one win. Cunningham won races from 2005-2007. He failed to win a race in 2008 running selected events.
Weekend Schedule (all times local):Friday, April 176 a.m. – Garages open8-8:45 a.m. – Firestone Indy Lights practice10 –11:30 a.m. – IndyCar Series practice12:30-1:15 p.m. – Firestone Indy Lights practice2-3 p.m. – IndyCar Series practice3:15 p.m. – Press conference (Fastest 2 IndyCar Series drivers)
Saturday, April 186:30 a.m. – Garages open8:45-9:30 a.m. – Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying10:25-11:25 a.m. – IndyCar Series practice (two groups)2:10-3:40 p.m. – PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying3:55 p.m. – Press conference (IndyCar Series front row)
Sunday, April 196 a.m. – Garages open8:40-9:10 a.m. – IndyCar Series practice9:40 a.m. – Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Long Beach (45 laps, 88.65 miles)11:05 a.m. – Press conference (Firestone Indy Lights top three finishers)1:30 p.m. – Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (85 laps, 167.28 miles)4 p.m. – Press conference (1st, 2nd, story of the day)
