Simon Pagenaud was consistently quick during the opening day of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers.

Pagenaud, driving the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports Honda, posted the quickest time overall in the afternoon practice session with a lap of 1 minute, 0.1415 seconds on the 1.634-mile, 10-turn temporary street circuit. He was second on the time chart in the companion 45-minute morning session.

"Houston is a track where you don't really have any time to breathe," said Pagenaud, who won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 10 and is fourth in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship standings. "This car is a pleasure to drive. We just need to keep up with the track because the car was pretty much perfect. If we're good (June 28) on the red Firestone tires, we should be in good shape."

Ryan Briscoe, driving the No. 8 NTT DATA car for Chip Ganassi Racing, was second quick (1:00.6428) in the afternoon. Luca Filippi, who is making his fifth/sixth Verizon IndyCar Series starts this weekend, was third on the lap chart (1:00.6735) in the No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.

Verizon IndyCar Series championship points leader Will Power was quickest (1:00.4427) in the morning session in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car.

DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:

Selected quotes from the post-practice availability with Mike Conway, driver of the No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet.

MIKE CONWAY: "So far it's been OK. Some good track improvements from last year which has been good. We struggled a little bit in the first session. Put new tires on in the end, but just didn't get to execute a good time. We have some work to do between the two sessions, but not too bad a start in terms of what think we can get out of the car." (About changes to the track): "The biggest one is when you go through Turn 1 and the improvement on the straight. We're not taking off anymore. It's smooth now. You hardly notice that section, which is good. The curbs have changed slightly through (Turns) 2 and 3. Just seems more of a chicane whereas last year, you could really pound through it. I don't know if it's much of a change. The rest of it is not too bad. Typical type of street track, very bumpy. Feels a bit smoother through (Turns) 4-5. It seems like they ground down through there and pulled the curbs back in 4. The big trick is the last corner where it's so quick. You have a big Verizon (sign) and then a dip as you go in. It's not too bad, but it's gets your attention if you go sideways through there for sure."

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Andersen Promotions, which operates the three Mazda Road to Indy Series, announced a partnership with MAXSpeed Group, which operates the Rotax MAX Challenge in North America to foster the next wave of up-and-coming drivers.

Under the partnership, the Rotax Max Challenge will be clearly defined as a path to the Mazda Road to Indy and Andersen Promotions will award four one-day tests in a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda car to rising Rotax drivers.

The Mazda Road to Indy is the official ladder system of INDYCAR and is comprised of Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.

DAN ANDERSEN (Owner and CEO, Andersen Promotions: "The level of enthusiasm for this partnership from Richard (Boisclair) and everyone at MAXSpeed is just tremendous. There is a lot of synergy between out organizations as promoters including our goals of providing drivers with the best training and opportunities to advance. Our USF2000 point leader, R.C. Enerson, is a former Rotax driver. This alliance further underscores the natural progression of advancing from karts to cars via the Mazda Road to Indy platform, and we look forward to forming similar relationships with other series around the world."

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Fan Force United confirmed that English driver Stefan Wilson has signed with the team to be its driver for its Verizon IndyCar Series program in 2015. In addition, the team is working to try to compete later this season in one or two events with Wilson.

Fan Force United, which competes in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, has been seeking the opportunity to expand its operation and make move to run a full time program in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

A race winner in Indy Lights, Wilson, 24, made his series debut in 2013 with Dale Coyne Racing. He is the younger brother of Verizon IndyCar Series competitor Justin Wilson.

TYCE CARLSON (Co-owner, Fan Force United): "We are very excited to have Stefan as a member of the Fan Force Untied family. Stefan is a very talented young driver, we had the privilege of running him in our lights car at Fontana in 2012 and he took a challenging track and less than perfect race car and made us competitive immediately. I know that he has been working really hard this year trying to put together a program and we are just glad to be able to give him a place to call home and begin his full time career in IndyCar."

CHRIS WILLIAMS (Co-owner, Fan Force United): "We are extremely excited to have Stefan as our driver to build our team around. He embodies what FFU is about. Aside from being quick, he has that never say die attitude. He does whatever it takes to get on the track, racing is his life and he's one of the most fan friendly drivers in the paddock. We can't wait to get him on track."

STEFAN WILSON: "This is a really exciting time for all of us at Fan Force United, having Jilcat Industries partner with the team for 2015 and beyond, is just a dream come true for everyone involved. I had the chance to race for Fan Force at the Indy Lights finale at Fontana in 2012. They didn't know much about me and I didn't know much about them going into it, we secured their best result of the year together that weekend and became great friends in doing so. I've raced for a lot of different teams over the years and I don't think I've ever raced for a team with as much passion for the sport as Fan Force United. They work incredibly hard; this is why it's so exciting. Now having Jilcat Industries as a partner and having that boost our resources, I think this team can really do a lot together. There's still a lot of work to do before its set in stone, but knowing that I'm one step closer to achieving my dream of competing in the Indianapolis 500, it is really exciting! I'm looking forward to having a full time ride again and being able to apply myself 100 percent to this program. I just have to thank Chris Williams, Tyce Carlson, Tim Donahue, Chris and John Holdsworth and everyone at Fan Force United & Xclusive Enterprises for their faith and trust in me, I can't wait to get started."

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Beginning this weekend and continuing through the July races at Pocono, Iowa and Toronto, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing driver Charlie Kimball will sport a green livery on the No. 83 entry.

The new color scheme for the Levemir FlexTouch car is in support of Novo Nordisk's Levemir FlexTouch - a pre-filled insulin delivery device that just launched in the U.S. Kimball, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2007, uses FlexTouch for his daily insulin delivery of Levemir along with his NovoLog FlexPen.

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Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Boingo Wireless has become an Official Team Partner. Boingo has launched an exclusive discount program for enlisted members of the Army National Guard.

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With ambient temperature forecast to be in the high 80s, coupled with nearly equal humidity, for the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers, INDYCAR authorized a modification to provide additional cooling to the cockpit.

Verzion IndyCar Series teams are allowed to use templates provided by Dallara to trim an opening (1 by 4 inches) in the nose cap of the front wing assembly.

"Fortunately, it's not supposed to be a bazillion degrees but the humidity is what makes it difficult," said Sebastien Bourdais, whose No. 11 Mistic KVSH Racing car has the opening with a mesh screen. "Any air flow can only help."

INDYCAR also approved the introduction of an optional water radiator from Mezzo Technologies for use at the Houston doubleheader and Auto Club Speedway race with high ambient and track temperatures.

A different style than a conventional radiator, the Mezzo product is composed of micro channel heat exchangers. INDYCAR expects an 8- to 10-degree drop in water temperature.

"The continued refinement of standing starts will be shown on Saturday and the allowed use of optional radiators for the first time will keep the engineers busy this weekend," said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing's Verizon IndyCar Series program manager. "The added challenge of racing in Houston during the mid-afternoon in late June will definitely test the thermal vigor of the engines, drivers and crews."

Mezzo Technologies earned the 2010 Louis Schwitzer Award for Engineering Innovative Excellence.

***

There are two drivers with ties to the Houston area competing in this weekend' Pro Mazda doubleheader. Clark Toppe, a 16-year-old junior to be at The Woodlands High School, and Bobby Eberle of Houston are racing this weekend.

"I think it's really cool because it's my home race," Toppe said. "A bunch of my friends get to come out and watch, and it's really cool to get the local support in such a good series."

Eberle, competing in a World Speed Motorsports, has established a program to educate students from his alma mater, Texas A&M University, about race engineering.

Five engineering students will be embedded with the race team this weekend.

"There's nothing like real-world experience to complement the fantastic job that Texas A&M does in educating future engineers," said Eberle, who has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering. "The students get to participate in team meetings, get briefings from the chief engineer, and also get feedback from me. I'm so happy to be doing something that helps the students and gives back to Texas A&M."

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES DAY 1 QUOTES:

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports Honda): "I feel really good. This car is a pleasure to drive. The track has been improved quite a bit in Turn 1, which is quite pleasant. It looks pretty strong right now. We just need to keep up with the track because the car was pretty much perfect today. If we're good tomorrow on the red Firestone tires, we should be in good shape. (About his car not looking perfect): "I like to have a - and obviously on TV it doesn't look that way - I like to have a stable rear and good traction and that what's the car is providing me even though I'm sliding it around a bit. It's a bumpy track and a tight track, sometimes it's necessary to pitch the car around to make it turn the way you want. So far it's perfect because it suits my driving style well and that's why it's perfect."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply Co. A.J. Foyt Racing Honda): "I'm happy to be back in Houston. We had a strong qualifying run last year, it's the team's base track so I see all the family and friends of the team, and A.J. is in a good mood, so all we need to do is go fast. We made progress in both sessions today. Since we have to go straight into the qualifying tomorrow morning, it is crucially important to have a good baseline car the first day and we had that. We still have things to do, so we need to work hard and hopefully we'll have a good performance tomorrow."

JUSTIN WILSON (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "We really struggled to get it right today. It is hard to find any grip and we are sliding around. The car is similar to this morning and we thought that we were pretty good. We made just a few changes and didn't find that those changes gave us as much speed as we expected. The car was a handful this afternoon. We are going to have to look at things tonight and try again tomorrow in qualifying."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 8 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): "(The track is) still bumpy. It feels way better than last year looked; thankful for all the changes and upgrades to the track. It's exciting and demanding. Not that hot but feels hot because of the humidity. It takes it out of you. I'm pleased with way we opened up with the car. First session was about me getting back in the groove at the track for the first time in seven years and relearning the track. This afternoon felt really good. We've had a busy schedule since last race at Texas with tests at Iowa, Milwaukee and Sebring. I feel like it helped us as a team and really keep building with what we're working with and hopefully keep going strong."

CARLOS HUERTAS (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "My (first Houston) experience so far is bumpy track and humid conditions. It was very difficult in the practice sessions because I don't have the best balance yet. I feel that I am a little bit behind but we made good progress today. It took quite a few laps in the morning to learn the circuit and that doesn't help us get a good setup on the car. It is always better to have more practice and we would have liked to try more changes but that is what it is. We will make some changes tonight and hopefully they are good ones for tomorrow."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Strike/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda): "Today was hot as we expected even with overcast. Worked through a lot of stuff. Hopefully we can make some gains overnight. We didn't maximize our tire sets today so I don't think we showed exactly what we have but I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I think we have a strong day ahead."

MIKE CONWAY (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): "The car just didn't handle as we would have liked today. We made some changes from the morning to the afternoon but it just wasn't enough. We'll have to work overnight to find some settings that can handle this circuit. I feel they have improved the surface of the track from last year. Especially the Turn 1 surface is much better and it feels smoother. There are smoother spots in other portions of the circuit, too. Overall, we just have to find the setup that works well on this new surface."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "We never really got into a rhythm, never really got a good feel for the DHL car so I'm not sure what we have for tomorrow. With that said, I think being 10th without a representative lap is good. I think we're a fifth-place car at the moment but we need to make it better for tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): "Not a bad day for the Snapple car. I think we weren't even close to our potential in the second session - we had yellows (yellow flag caution time) and then made a change that put us backwards. I think with new tires and the car that we started practice two with we'd be pretty good."

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda): "I think today was similar to a lot of the first practice days (at a track) we've had this year. It's about getting more comfortable with the track with the more laps I do. Our second practice was a little bit better than this morning; I have to improve a little bit to catch up for qualifying tomorrow. For sure it's going to be a very hard race being so hot, but it will be the same for everyone, so we'll see."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): "I think the car feels almost as good as it can here. This is a bumpy, tricky place that is really tough on the cars, really tough on the drivers, no chance to rest with lots of bumps throwing us around... but I think the United Fiber & Data car was pretty solid both sessions. I think, like a lot of guys, we didn't get the best out of the tires when we needed to just because of traffic and the nature of a small racetrack. It's tough here. You never quite know how you are just because the car never feels 100 percent but it might be better than everyone else's, so you might be pretty quick. I think we're in the ballpark. The goal is get into the Firestone Fast Six in the morning and then be able to race from there. We'll make a couple changes overnight, but nothing too major because I think we're getting close."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 National Guard Honda): "I think the National Guard car is very competitive and I think there is more time in it. We didn't get a run on new tires so we don't really know its potential but I think it's probably a top-five car at this point. I just have to keep working on myself and find a bit more speed. I think we're learning; we've just got to keep going forward. I think we will have a pretty competitive car tomorrow. It's hot, there's no doubt about it but we'll be alright. It's going to be a survival of the fittest and hopefully we're one of them. I feel pretty good out of the car. The front straight is significantly better. It's a hard thing to do and they've done a phenomenal job with it."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): "We were able to get a lot of good practice in today and Tony (Kanaan) and I both were able to work on qualifying on both sets of tires. We had a little bit of contact in the first practice, but we rebounded pretty quickly with that and finished both practices in the top 10. We obviously want to be higher than that, but we'll put in some time tonight and get the car ready for the first race tomorrow afternoon."

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): "We tried a couple of different things in the second session and they obviously didn't work as well as we would have liked. We know exactly what needs to be changed and we have a teammate in the top two, so we want to head in that direction and see what we can do tomorrow."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet): "Overall we were pretty happy with the second session. We didn't get a chance to run new tires right there at the end like most of the guys did. We made some changes to the car that weren't quite as good, so I think we'll go back and take that direction and head into qualifying in the morning. The No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet looks great and it seems to be pretty quick already."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Actually, we didn't have a good session in that last one. It was really difficult to get a lap. It's normal IndyCar (racing). It's really difficult to be in that front bunch, it's very competitive. I think we've got a good chance tomorrow with about 10 other guys, so we're doing everything we can tonight to really work out the setup."

LUCA FILIPPI (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): "I'm very happy because for me it feels like winter has just finished. It was a very long winter for me and now I'm here. I don't have many chances so I'm for sure fired up and I can't wait to race again and I like this circuit and I love to see it. I worked so hard to be back."

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): (Is it as bumpy as you have been led to believe? ): "It's normal. I don't see what is the big deal." (What did people tell you to expect coming here and racing this course?): "Oh, it's so bumpy, 'Oh my God'. It's OK. It's just a racetrack. I don't know. Is it bumpy? Yeah, but I think it's fun. I think it's got a lot of character. The only thing I don't like is there are no apexes. The apexes are curves not walls. I don't know why. I think the drivers all complained that 'Oh, you don't see, you don't see', but I think that is the nature of a street course. That is where when you have an open apex it's really easy to commit to the wall. When you don't have an open apex and it's a wall it makes it a lot harder for a driver and I think it makes it a lot more fun."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Team Penske Chevrolet): (How do you not hate this place after last year?): "You can't. That is why racing is challenging. Just because something out of your control goes wrong, I don't want to think that way. I want to overcome that result. It gives me a purpose to come here, and make it even more of...trust me, I want to win as much as anybody. Plus, Shell Pennzoil headquarters are here, and I want to make sure their party is complete." (Is the track being bumpy the only concern?): "Yes. It is very difficult to pass. I wish we had a little more straightaway. But it is fun to drive. At the end of the day, whoever starts in front will have a huge advantage."

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The next Verizon IndyCar Series event is the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader on June 28 and 29 at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Speedway at NRG Park. The races will be televised live at 3 p.m. (ET) by the NBCSN (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network (Network affiliates, XM 209 and Sirius 213, the Verizon INDYCAR 14 App and www.indycar.com.)