headlines:1.      Quality, respect play role in caution-free run2.      Power leads Mario Andretti Road Trophy chase3.      If you missed it - Katherine Legge conference call4.      Hinchcliffe to co-host 'WindTunnel' on Aug. 125.      Of note1. Quality, respect play role in caution-free run: Twenty-five IZOD IndyCar Series drivers have competed for 160 laps covering 358 miles on challenging road/street circuits the past two races without a single full-course caution for contact, a spin or even debris.Following the Edmonton Indy on July 22, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 5 was the second consecutive caution-free road race since 1987 (Laguna Seca, won by Robby Rahal; Miami's Tamiami Park, won by Michael Andretti). The last time there were three consecutive caution-free races was 1986 - Portland, Meadowlands and Cleveland.The GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, which has had 18 total full-course cautions over the seven IZOD IndyCar Series races on the road course, is up next. INDYCAR president of competition and IZOD IndyCar Series Race Director Beaux Barfield said the talent and experience of the field has much to do with the lack of cautions."I would attribute the clean driving this year to the quality of the entire field and just the respect I've seen on and off the track," he said. "We've made some rules changes about what we'll tolerate and what we won't and have made a consistent statement about it, but it's mostly on the drivers. They've been very professional."Team owner/driver of the No. 20 Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka entry Ed Carpenter also credits the new car."These cars are more durable and the attrition rate isn't as high now as in previous years," Carpenter said. "I was surprised there was no full-course yellow period, especially in the early laps. But you can bang on each other with these cars and get away with it."There were 16 full-course cautions total over the six previous IZOD IndyCar Series races on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Many race engineers built at least one caution period into their fuel strategy for the 85-lap race."We were banking on there being some yellows in there to make it a two-stopper like the guys up at the front, but we ran too hard in the first stint for that to pan out," said JR Hildebrand, who advanced three positions to finish ninth in the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing car. "We ended up having to make a splash for fuel that cost us a few spots there at the end of the race."Six of the cautions at Sonoma have been in Turn 7, which is undergoing a reconfiguration for the Aug. 24-26 event. Instead of the looping right-hander where drivers could maintain speed, they will now encounter a hairpin similar to Turn 11.Other modifications include:  The entrance to Turn 11 will be extended 200 feet before drivers encounter the hairpin. This will give drivers more space to out-brake each other and set up a passing opportunity before the right-hand Turn 12. The geometry of the modified Turn 11 will mirror the shorter turn used for the IZOD IndyCar Series in previous years.  The exit of Turn 9 (aka The Bus Stop) will be widened by 10 feet to 50 feet on drivers' left.The IZOD IndyCar Series circuit 2.31 miles (it had been 2.303 miles) and 12 turns. The race distance will increase from 75 to 85 laps."The track's changing, which I'm looking forward to," said Mid-Ohio winner Scott Dixon, who won at Sonoma in 2007 and has three other top-five finishes. "I think it's going back to a situation where we can do a little bit better with bigger braking zones and things like that.  It's one of those races that we need to definitely sharpen up on, yet we're coming with a new car so it could be totally different."Dixon will join most of the projected field of 27 for testing Aug. 17 on the circuit.2. Power leads Mario Andretti Road Trophy chase: Will Power has a commanding lead over Dixon in the Mario Andretti Road Trophy standings with a race on a road course (Sonoma) and temporary street circuit (Baltimore) left.Power, Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud are mathematically eligible for the championship. If Power wins at Sonoma or finishes second and scores all of the bonus points for earning the pole and leading the most laps, he will clinch the road championship for the third consecutive season.Power is featured on the September cover of Racer magazine. INDYCAR will recognize the road course champion following the Baltimore event Sept. 2.3. Katherine Legge conference call: Earlier today, IZOD IndyCar Series driver Katherine Legge participated in an INDYCAR conference call to discuss her return to the IZOD IndyCar Series at Sonoma. Legge, driver of the No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing Chevrolet, has made eight starts in her rookie season in the IZOD IndyCar Series with a best finish of 15th at Texas and Iowa. She will be making her first start at Sonoma later this month and joins Simona de Silvestro as female drivers entered in the race.ASelected quotes from the interview are below.Q. Katherine, how excited are you to get back in the car for the test at Sonoma next week? KATHERINE LEGGE: Very excited. It was really disappointing when Sebastien (Bourdais) and myself couldn't do all of the races each, if you like, like it was planned to run two cars for the full season. Yeah, I'm just really, really looking forward to getting back in the car. It's been difficult. We're so grateful to Chevrolet because without them we'd be in a really bad place right now. They've been the knights in shining armor, if you want. They came to our rescue. We're building, improving, and hopefully we can do the same at Sonoma and look forward to next year almost now. That's what we're working on already. Q. You mentioned you and Sebastien each had full-time efforts and then the team had to reduce to one car after Indy. You haven't been in a car for a road and street course since Brazil. How do you prepare yourself to get back in the road and street circuit mentality? KATHERINE LEGGE: Yeah, that's a really, really good question because it's tough. I think Sao Paulo was my last race on a road or street course. Luckily we have the test there next week. But I've just been training physically to get ready for it. I've been driving on the simulator. I've been watching YouTube videos. I asked the team to send me some data. I mean, I'm doing everything outside of the car that I can possibly do. There's no substitute for actually driving the car. Q. We have seen you at numerous races supporting your fellow TrueCar Racing team members and Dragon Racing, of course. What does a driver do to fill time when you know you're not going to be driving but you want to be at the circuit? KATHERINE LEGGE: Yeah, it's tough being at the track and not driving because obviously as a racer you just want to be out there, you want to be driving, you want to be competing. But they've kept me busy. They have me doing a lot of other things.I've been trying to learn as much as I can outside the car for next year because Mid-Ohio, Edmonton, Toronto, they're all places that I think we're going back to, although I'm not entirely sure, so if I can learn anything now for next year, that's good. Also we have to put on a united front because it's been a very difficult year for everybody in Dragon Racing. As I said, we also want to show how thankful we are to Chevrolet for picking up the pieces for us and helping us out so much because without them I wouldn't be talking to you right now, I'd be in a very different place. Q. Can you walk us through how the Chevy engine showed up? Was it like they called you up and said, We have an engine? Was it a long-term project? KATHERINE LEGGE: You know, I don't know all the ins-and-outs of what happened. Obviously that isn't part of my job description - fortunately for me. But I know that we were very much pursuing Chevrolet because going into Indy we were desperate to have a Chevy, and they were very gracious and let us both run Indy. I mean, with all the stress and strain that they're under as well, being the first year, having so many cars, everything else, they did us a huge favor. You can't underestimate the power of that. Obviously, with Sonoma being such a big one for both myself and Sebastian sponsorship-wise, it's my home race with TrueCar. All the other girls are going to be there. Virgin has come onboard. We have lots of fun media stuff we're doing. On Sebastien's side there's the McAfee thing. And they're based there, as well. For us it's like the biggest race of the year. I think, again, Chevy are just doing us a huge favor in stretching their own resources to help us out, which is just a testament to what kind of company they are really. 4. Hinchcliffe to co-host 'WindTunnel' on Aug. 12: James Hinchcliffe, driver of the No. 27 Team GoDaddy.com car for Andretti Autosport, will be a co-host of "WindTunnel" at 9 p.m. (ET) Aug. 12 on SPEED.Hinchcliffe, coming off a fifth-place finish in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, is fifth in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings (63 points behind the front-running Will Power). He has five top-five finishes, with a best of third at Long Beach and Milwaukee, in his sophomore season.The top 15 drivers in points are mathematically still in contention to win the championship.5. Of note:Seventeen drivers are scheduled to test at Auto Club Speedway on Sept. 12 - three days before the season finale.  Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Takuma Sato are scheduled to put in a test day on the 2-mile oval Aug. 21. ... Chevrolet will clinch the engine manufacturer championship with a win at Sonoma. ***The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series race continues with the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Aug. 26 at the raceway in Sonoma. The race will be televised by NBC Sports Network at 4 p.m. (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212). The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Grand Prix of Baltimore on Sept. 2 on the Streets of Baltimore.