Graham Rahal topped the time chart as IZOD IndyCar Series teams began preparations for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.Rahal, son of former Mid-Ohio race winner Bobby Rahal, recorded a lap of a best lap of 1 minute, 9.6031 seconds on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio circuit, which is the "home track" of the Ohio native, who grew up less than 80 minutes away in New Albany.E.J. Viso, who also tested at Mid-Ohio last week, was second quick in the No. 59 PDVSA-KV Racing Technology-Lotus car (1:09.6522) and series championship points leader Dario Franchitti was third (1:09.6936) in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car. Franchitti is the defending race winner.Will Power, the 2010 pole sitter, was fourth quick in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske entry (1:09.7198) and Justin Wilson was fifth in the No. 22 RollCoater/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car (1:09.7912). The top 16 cars were separated by less than a second.DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:The IZOD IndyCar Series will compete in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, an 85-lap race at 2 p.m. (EDT) Sunday. The USF200 National Championship, the entry level step in the Mazda Road to Indy, will contest two races this weekend.                                                         ***                       This is the fifth IZOD IndyCar Series event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Dario Franchitti is the defending race winner at the track. Will Power won the PEAK Performance Pole Award here in 2010. Scott Dixon won the inaugural race in 2007 and won again here in 2009/ Ryan Briscoe won here in 2008. There were Indy car races held here in 1980 and from 1983 to 2003. Helio Castroneves, who won here in 2000 and 2001, is the only other entered driver with a win at Mid-Ohio.***Live timing and scoring reports from the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio are available on the Internet at www.indycar.com. The live timing and scoring module provides statistical information, including track segment speeds, lap information and much more. Feature stories, reports, driver quotes and notes, and photos will be posted on the site each day. More detailed information, including media advisories and VNF coordinates, is available at media.indycar.com.***Drivers will have 20 total pushes of the Honda overtake assist - an ECU software alteration employed by Honda Performance Development - each lasting 15 seconds during the Edmonton Indy. It is activated by the driver via a button on the steering wheel and provides an extra 200 RPM (about 10 horsepower) to the Honda Indy V-8 engine. Parameters are updated before each race weekend to meet the circuit layout. There is an 10-second recovery period between pushes. One overtake assist push is available for the final practice session.***Each entry for the Edmonton Indy receives six sets (24 total) of Firestone Firehawk primary tires (blacks) and three sets (12 total) of Firestone Firehawk alternate tires (reds) for the race weekend. The Mid-Ohio primary and alternate tire specifications are new this year, featuring updated tread compounds paired with the identical body construction used for both in 2010. In addition, the Firestone alternates for Mid-Ohio are designed with different grip levels on the left- and right-side tires - with the right-side Firehawk alternates even "softer" than the left sides to provide added grip. This is the only race this season where these specs are being used. The new Firestone rain tire specification, first available last month at Toronto, will be supplied again this weekend should conditions necessitate its use.***American Honda and its Honda Performance Development (HPD) subsidiary will power Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, HPD and the team announced today. Under terms of the agreement, HPD will provide its new, turbocharged 2.2-liter Honda Indy V-6 engines to all Schmidt entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series and at the Indianapolis 500.Designed at HPD's Santa Clarita, Calif., facility, the all-new Honda Indy V-6 engine is now under development, with initial track testing scheduled to begin this month. Sam Schmidt Motorsports is the third team to align with Honda in preparation for the return of OEM competition to the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2012.

In May, Honda announced that Chip Ganassi Racing, winner of the last three IZOD IndyCar Series drivers' championships, would be its anchor team beginning next year. Earlier this month, A.J. Foyt Racing became the second team to adopt Honda power for 2012.ERIK BERKMAN (President, Honda Performance Development): "Following a decade of achievements - and four championships - in Indy Lights, Sam Schmidt Motorsports has logged additional impressive results since the team's return to full-time IndyCar competition this year. Included among those accomplishments are the pole position at this year's Indianapolis 500 and a second pole two weeks later in Texas. We believe that Sam, Team Manager Rob Edwards and the rest of the Sam Schmidt Motorsports team have established a solid foundation for future success. We look forward to working with them to achieve our joint goals of race wins and IndyCar Series championships."SAM SCHMIDT (owner, Sam Schmidt Motorsports): "Honda's success both on and off the track is unmatched. I believe its total commitment to performance, reliability and integrity as a company is perfectly aligned with the goals of Sam Schmidt Motorsports and its partners. We look forward to what we hope will be a long and very productive relationship."***A J. Digby is like any other active, popular 13-year old. He participates in sports, enjoys activities with his family and loves to travel.But in two ways this lad from Otsego, Ohio, is different than most teenagers. A.J. was born with Fibular hemimelia -- a rare condition in which neither of his legs has a fibula. To get around comfortably, he wears prosthetic legs.A.J. enjoys running track and field and playing football at Otsego Juniro High. He also has a passion for IndyCars and the Indianapolis 500. A.J. and his family have attend the '500' seven times. He pores over stats and watches races. And while Tony Kanaan is his favorite driver, A. J.'s top-five list dramatically changed Aug. 4."Mom said we were going downtown (Toledo) to see the Indy two-seater and I was totally excited," A.J. said with a smile. "Mom kept telling me a little more about the day and I finally realized that I was getting a ride in the car."The IZOD IndyCar Series and the staff of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course arranged the ride for A.J. as part of the promotion for this weekend's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Toledo Mayor Mike Bell and his staff arranged for streets to be closed and for a police escort so HVM Racing driver Simona de Silvestro could give A.J. an experience he would never forget."Before meeting Simona she was my fifth-favorite driver," said A.J. as he climbed into the street-legal two-seater. Grinning from the passenger's seat before they hit the city streets and the fast stretch of Greenbelt Parkway, A.J. proclaimed "she's now No. 3 on my list."The mayor waved the green flag to start the trip as his mother (Robin), father (Gordon), sister Ashlyn (11 years old and a Will Power fan) and brother Keggan (10 years old and a Dario Franchitti fan) watched."I had never driven the IndyCar two-seater before and I really wanted to get it right the first time out for A.J.," de Silvestro said. "He was so happy just sitting in the car. I could only imagine how happy he would be if I got it up to 100 mph or so with the police escort."She didn't disappoint. After the 10-minute adventure, they returned with A.J. pumping his fist."I have to say, this is the best day of my life and you know what? Simona is now bumped up to No. 2 on my favorite driver list," he said.De Silvestro presented A.J. and his family with tickets to the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio before dining at Tony Packo's Cafe at the Park."A.J. really is a great kid and loves racing. I just wonder what I have to do to get to No. 1 on his list?" de Silvestro said. "You know, if I make it to the podium this weekend, I'd love to have him join me, if that helps."DAY 1 QUOTES:GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 38 Service Central, fastest of the day): "It feels good to start the weekend off this way for sure. I think we showed the grip is low, but at the end of the day it felt pretty good. I can't complain too much. We're definitely sliding around a lot, but I felt like I had a pretty strong car in the test. We didn't change anything at all. We just showed up. We worked with it a little bit in the session, but not much. Nothing big. I was satisfied that we didn't run a second set of tires. I know others around us did and we were still quickest. And that lap wasn't really a good one. I think Dario was struggling and he was dropping wheels left and right and I was following him. I missed some apexes, but to get the speed out of it feels pretty good."MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): "We're having some electrical problems with the car so we were only able to run five laps during practice. There's a disconnect of some kind between the paddle shifters and the gearbox, so basically we can't really shift. It's a shame to miss basically an entire session. Luckily we tested here last week so we at least have that information we can go back to for now, and we'll see what my teammates came up with. Hopefully the Venom guys can get everything sorted tonight and we'll be okay for practice and qualifying tomorrow."ORIOL SERVIA (No. 2 Telemundo Newman Haas Racing): "We don't really know what is going on but there is something not right with the Telemundo car. The car setup has to be decent because my teammate is obviously showing the pace and the speed. The car wasn't the same turning right to turning left so that is a sign that something is out of place. And in such a short session we had to run and didn't find the problem but I'm sure we will find it now."JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 06 Sprott Newman Haas Racing): "We started with Oriol's setup from the test here last week. Obviously not testing here put us on the back foot a little bit. The car was a little bit of a handful to begin with but I think that was more about the track conditions more than anything. And then as the Firestone rubber went down our car seemed to get better and better with each run. We made very few changes to the car and sort of let the track come to us. It says a lot about the work that Oriol and Bruno (Couprie; race engineer for Servia) did here at the test. There are a lot of different series here this weekend and a lot of different rubber is going to go down. For us, its just going to be about staying ahead of the track and predict what the conditions are going to be like and what the car balance is going to do."DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy): "Today's practice session's track conditions were not ideal but we made adjustments to the car and showed some improvement. With all of the different series running, the track didn't have a chance to rubber in to our advantage. Hopefully the weather and the track conditions will work more in the favor of the GoDaddy.com car."SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing): "I think we're in a good position in the Target car. The track was a bit slippery today but we just need to get a solid, clear lap without traffic to see what we have in the car tomorrow."DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 General Electric): "We're still working on the car at this point. The track wasn't in great shape and we spent the majority of the session struggling to get grip in the GE car."RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Team DHL/Circle K/Sun Drop Citrus Soda): "It was a short session due to the lack of grip on the racing surface.  We had very few laps.  The track was green and the grip level was building every lap.  Tomorrow (Saturday) will be the real test.  We really can't use much from what we learned today.  It is almost like a street circuit as the grip builds throughout the weekend. It has only been like that for the last few years here. I don't know what causes that.  It is just a lot different from last week's testing here."  MIKE CONWAY (No. 27 @FollowAndretti): "Compared to our test last week, the track is much different.  Seems like the rubber that was down on the surface for the test is all gone.  Towards the end of the session, the track was gaining grip.  We have a few things to do with the car overnight.  The track had no rubber lines at all in the beginning.  It was like they cleaned the rubber off the track since the test.  Then it was pretty dusty and slippery early.  Then the last five minutes the track started to grip up.  I'm sure it is the same for everyone.  A lot of people got their fast times on their very last lap.  We'll work on the setup for tomorrow.  Qualifying on Saturday will be a key for Sunday's race." E.J. VISO (No. 59 PDVSA - KV Racing Technology - Lotus, second in practice): "It is very refreshing coming back to a place where we tested last week and the improvements paid off.  We finished second which is good however, we could have been faster but a yellow flag came out on the final lap so I wasn't able to complete it.  This result is very important, it shows us that we have a fast car for the weekend and hopefully we have the control to bring a good result.  We certainly deserve it, we have been so close so many times this year.TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 KV Racing Technology - Lotus): "I had an installation lap and I had just started to run a couple of laps to warm-up the car. I immediately felt that the power was down and heard a noise.  It disappointing because the track conditions are extremely different from the test and I was hoping to get some testing in under these conditions.  I will rely on the team data and hopefully we will come back strong tomorrow."ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins/Sam Schmidt Motorsports): "I love this track. The team is doing a great job, considering I didn't drive here in the test. We had a pretty good outing I would say. We have some work to do, but we improved quite a bit in this session. There were certain things that weren't right as soon as we unloaded, but we totally know what was wrong and can go in a different direction. Overall, we were decent. I think we were six-tenths off, and all those guys came to the test. So, I'm happy."

MARTIN PLOWMAN (No. 17 Snowball Express/AFS/Sam Schmidt Motorsports: "It felt great to get back out on the track after my test. The track was very slippery to begin with and we had made some pretty aggressive changes since the test and I think that, matched with the grip level of the track, made it pretty scary to drive during the first two sessions. So, we started to doubt ourselves on some of the changes. We tried to make the car safer to drive to give me the confidence to drive mid-session. When we put on a new set of tires at the end, we picked up a lot of grip just from the tires. So that's indicative of how bad the rubber from the ALMS tires affected our tires." 

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske): "It was a pretty good session for the Verizon car. This track is really physical. That combined with the heat makes this place tough. We have a good starting point after the practice session and we should be good for tomorrow."RYAN BRISCOE, No. 6 Penske Truck Rental): "It was really slippery out there. The track, right now, is about 3-4 seconds off the pace of what it's going to be. It was good to get out there; it feels like it's been a while since we tested here, but it was just a few weeks ago. The general balance of the Penske Truck Rental car is good. We know the track will change quite a bit over the weekend - we just need to keep up with it."HELIO CASTRONEVES, No. 3 Penske Truck Rental): "The Penske Truck Rental car ran smooth, but it was very loose. The track was pretty dirty at the beginning of the session and it made it tough out there. It felt like I spun out like three times! It was tough in the high-speed corners, and there's a lot of those here. The car is OK. We know what we need to do tomorrow to improve."TONY KANAAN (No. 82 GEICO-KV Racing Technology-Lotus): "The track was really green to start with, but every time I went out we would pick up some time. But being such a short practice we couldn't get everything we wanted dialed in. Tomorrow will be able to get it to where we want to be."SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE (All times local):9:30 - 10:30 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series practice12:55 p.m. - PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying, VERSUS (Taped), 6 p.m. (EDT)***The next IZOD IndyCar Series event is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The race will be televised live at 2 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres on Aug. 7 at the streets of Trois Rivieres.  It will be televised on tape delay by VERSUS at 4 p.m. on Aug. 17.