Andretti Autosport announced Tuesday it has hired Tom Anderson as senior vice president of racing operations. Anderson had most recently been a co-owner at the now-defunct American Le Mans Series team Fernandez Racing. Prior to joining Fernandez Racing in 2001, Anderson spent 11 years as team manager at Chip Ganassi’s CART team.

Below is the entire press release:

Andretti Autosport announced today it has hired motorsports industry veteran Tom Anderson, and defined the operational and senior management structure for the new company.

Anderson, who will serve as Andretti Autosport’s senior vice president of racing operations, comes to the team with 40 years of experience in the industry, most recently as the co-owner and managing director of Fernandez Racing from 2001 to 2009. Anderson was also the managing director of Chip Ganassi Racing from 1990 to 2000 and helped lead the team to four-consecutive CART championships between 1996 and 1999. The team also claimed a win in the 2000 Indianapolis 500.

In addition to Anderson’s oversight of racing operations, the company will be led by two other senior managers, all of whom will report directly to chairman, president and chief executive Michael Andretti.

J-F Thormann, who has worked alongside Andretti in various capacities since 1990 and with the team since 2006, has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer. Thormann’s responsibilities include leading the team’s business administration as well as Firestone Indy Lights program in a joint venture with AFS Racing as it pursues a third-consecutive championship in 2010.

Senior vice president and chief marketing officer John Lopes will oversee Andretti Autosport’s commercial operations, including client services, corporate communications, business development and marketing. Lopes has been with the team since 2005.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT:
“We’re really excited about the senior management team we’ve put in place to lead Andretti Autosport. J-F, John and Tom are all very talented and there is also a very good chemistry among the three of them. We have a great group of employees within Andretti Autosport, and as a management team, our biggest objective is to help those employees do their respective jobs and reach their potential. That will make us successful as a company.”

TOM ANDERSON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF RACING OPERATIONS,
ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT:
“I’m very excited to be joining Andretti Autosport. This is a great race team with a lot of very good people and I’m looking forward to working with everyone. Our goals are simple; we want to win races and win championships. That’s why we’re here and that’s what we need to focus on every day.”

PHOENIX, AZ – November 30, 2009 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Championship Karting International is pleased to announce that VP Racing Fuels has been named Official Fuel Supplier for the upcoming PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic, scheduled December 10^th during the PRI show at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando, FL. This marks the fourth straight year VP has been the Fuel sponsor for the event, in which competitors will be powered by VP’s MS98L racing fuel. In addition, VP was the official fuel sponsor for CKI’s inaugural season this year.

“VP Racing Fuels has been a great partner for us all year, we’re glad to continue the relationship at the PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic and into the future,” states Kevin Williams, CKI’s Director of Operations. “VP is a leader in the world of Motorsports, a familiar face providing a top notch product. They’re another ‘piece of the puzzle’ that makes the PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic one of the most anticipated events each and every year.”

“We’re proud to be the Official Racing Fuel of both CKI and the All-Star Karting Classic,” said Bruce Hendel, VP’s Western Regional Manager.  “VP’s fuels are among the most sought after in kart racing–a critically important segment of the industry which provides the foundation from which many young racers advance their racing careers.  The PRI Show and All-Star Karting Classic together provide a great opportunity to remind those in the motorsports community of VP’s involvement not only in karting, but across all segments of the racing industry.  With nearly 70 blends of fuel for every conceivable racing application, VP’s passion for racing and dedication to research and development is clearly unsurpassed.”

Now in its fourth year, the PRI/CKI All-Star Karting Classic has become a highlight of the PRI show, attracting top Drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, ALMS, Grand-Am, and motorcycle racing who return to their karting roots to the delight of up to 5,000 fans and motorsports industry insiders outside the OCCC. The Event also provides the perfect showcase for a strong contingent of the rising stars from kart racing to share the spotlight with their heroes and role models. Rising young talents Matt Jaskol (2006 Karter Division Winner), Gary Carlton (2007 Karter Division winner) and Joel Miller (2008 Karter Division winner) are just a few of the sports young superstars in the wings to have used the event as a sneak preview to future Motorsports success.

After PRI, CKI will gear up for the 2010 season. It will be offering two series in 2010: a three-event 2010 WSK North American Series Florida Cup in January, February, and March and a six-event 2010 WSK North American Series National Championship with events beginning in April and running through October. CKI is associated with the European-based WSK international series. The debut of WSK North America in 2010 marks WSK’s expansion, in conjunction with CKI, into the North American karting community. The Series is sanctioned by the World Karting Association, under the WSK banner. For more information, visit www.championshipkartracing.com.

In addition to its official fuel sponsorship of CKI, VP Racing Fuels is the Official Racing Fuel of NHRA Championship Drag Racing, IHRA, American Drag Racing League (ADRL), American LeMans, Atlantic Championship, Star Mazda and The Off Road Championship (TORC) series, among many others.

In addition to fuels, VP’s product line includes performance chemicals, specialty lubricants and traction compounds–each designed to produce the most power and best performance in their respective racing applications. More information can be obtained from VP’s website – vpracingfuels.com.

Contacts
VP: Steve Scheidker – 210-635-7744; steves@vpracingfuels.com
CKI: Jeff Swoboda – 949-341-1505; jeffs@apexoc.com

Steve Scheidker
Executive Director-Marketing & Communications
VP Racing Fuels
PO Box 47878
San Antonio, TX 78265
T) 210.635.7744
F) 210.635.8314

####

In the photo you can clearly see the JR Motorsports and Chevy logos on her left chest, GoDaddy at the neck, and the Nationwide Series logo on her right.

From 4-Wide.com we get this:

Several sources in the IZOD IndyCar Series have told 4wide.com for several months that the announcement made today (November 30, 2009) by Andretti Autosport, Danica Patrick, and GoDaddy.com “had to be made before any [official NASCAR related announcement] at the request of GoDaddy.com.” One source continued “a long-time sponsor will be leaving (Motorola) at season end and the new sponsor (GoDaddy.com) wants to make the announcement on their timetable….”

  In a move that surprised no one, Danica today announced that she signed a three-year deal with Andretti Autosport, and with Go Daddy.com as her primary sponsor. 

  I wish she had gone to Target Chip Ganassi.  Still, AA, as it’s refered to, may get back to being competitive, at least I hope so.  If it does, she’ll really benefit from it.  She’s improved over the past few years, and with Penske and Ganassi adding drivers, Danica and AA will need to step it up to continue to be in the top 5 in points.

  Also,

  Yes, that’s a real picture of her site.  Evidently, in a very Indycar.com way, someone posted a picture of her in a Nationwide driver suite.  I don’t know what to make of it, remember that Indycar posted the Rio story, but it looks like the race will be in San Paolo, if it ever actually happens. 

  I know I’m in the minority, but I like the idea of her running full time IRL with partial ARCA/Truck/Nationwide.  I think it’s brilliant, personally, because if she’s competitive, then the switch may be on, and she’ll get a better contract.  If it goes poorly, she can stay in Indycar.  I think her first ARCA races are important, because she’ll certainly have good equipment, and so she’ll need to be able to run top 10 and top 5 quickly, because even Micheal McDowell and Scott Speed could win ARCA races in their rookie seasons!

Today on America’s Newsroom, Danica Patrick, IndyCar’s first female winner and Sports Illustrated model, showed why she is GoDaddy.com’s prized possession. When AN co-anchor Bill Hemmer hammered her with questions about whether she would join the IndyCar circuit full-time, there was no beating around the bush with her. Although a tad exasperated, she patiently answered his queries and then got the interview back on track.

When Hemmer finally mentioned her historical Indy Japan 300 victory (first female Indycar winner), he asked, “What is it like to compete in a man’s sport?” Picking up her man-eating persona, Danica declared, “I don’t know any different: You know, it’s how I grew up. I grew up with a bunch of boys in Go-Karting, and now I’m with a bunch of men in Indycars.” She added, “I enjoy it, actually. Men think simple. You guys are easy and obvious….Whatever is on you mind is what you’re thinking. Whatever is obvious.”

Subsequently, Hemmer queried Danica about her GoDaddy-sponsored IZOD IndyCar Series car. Seamlessly seguing into her role as GoDaddy.com spokesmodel, she pointed to its phallic-shaped nose and purred,”You got to start from the front because I have…a chrome horn or chrome nose. I’m hoping it’s filled with, like, something really solid and. Then she racily added, “Never mind! I won’t go there. But, yeah, we’re all GoDaddy now.”

Yes, it’s Steely Danica and her car. It’s name? Chromy Dan-ica, perhaps. She can certainly crush the men on the field and off.

Been reading Burroughs‘ Naked Lunch lately, Danica?

Danica Patrick's new colors for 2010.

The newly-renamed Andretti Autosport announced Monday a new multi-year deal with Danica Patrick. Arizona-based internet services provider Godaddy.com will replace Motorola as Patrick’s primary sponsor.

(Now those awful Boost Mobile advertisements will be replaced with more awful Godaddy.com commercials.)

Edit: I want to add that it is shame for the IndyCar series to lose Motorola, which has been involved in open-wheel racing since it sponsored Mark Blundell for the PacWest team in CART in the late 1990s. However, the company has been struggling financially recently, so the move isn’t a surprise.

The Andretti Autosport press release is below:

ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT SIGNS GO DADDY AND DANICA PATRICK TO MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENTS

Andretti Autosport announced today it has signed domain registrar Go Daddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar and Web hosting provider, to a multi-year primary sponsorship agreement and has also secured driver Danica Patrick for multiple years as the driver of the team’s #7 entry.

The announcement came Monday morning as the #7 Go Daddy machine was unveiled by Patrick and team owner Michael Andretti live on ABC’s “Good Morning America” in New York.

Go Daddy is a leading provider of services that enable individuals and businesses to establish, maintain and evolve an online presence. Go Daddy provides a variety of domain name registrar plans and Web site design and Web hosting packages, as well as a broad array of on-demand services.

Go Daddy is also well-known for its Super Bowl commercials, in which Patrick has been featured three-straight years.

Patrick joined Andretti Autosport prior to the start of the 2007 season, and during her time with the team, became the first woman ever to win an IZOD IndyCar Series event at the 2008 Japan Indy 300 and also finished third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500 — bettering the fourth-place mark she established during her breakout 2005 season. Patrick also drove to a career-best fifth-place finish in this year’s IZOD IndyCar Series championship, which stands as her best result ever.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT:
“All of us at Andretti Autosport are looking forward to having Danica back with the team and are excited about working with Bob Parsons and everyone at Go Daddy as the primary sponsor on Danica’s car. Go Daddy brings a lot of energy to our team and to the IZOD IndyCar Series. We’re very excited about the opportunity to work with them in 2010 and beyond.”

BOB PARSONS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND FOUNDER, GO DADDY:
“Danica is the quintessential Go Daddy Girl. Danica is a beautiful woman competing in a male-dominated sport. She’s passionate. She’s focused. She’s all about doing what it takes to win and we love that about her. Not to mention she’s edgy, smokin’ hot and as tough as any competitor anywhere. We are very good together.”

DANICA PATRICK, DRIVER, #7 GO DADDY CAR:
“I’m happy to be able to announce that I’m returning to Andretti Autosport. Michael Andretti has helped me become a better driver and we hope to accomplish a great deal during the next few years together. Bob Parsons and Go Daddy have believed in me from the start. You know, my life long goal is to win the Indy 500 and I’d love to do that in the GoDaddy.com car.”

This morning, Danica Patrick announced her new three-year contract with Michael Andretti’s Indy Racing League team.

But does this kill the Danica/NASCAR rumors that have been swirling for months? Probably not. Consider this placeholder image that popped up this morning on Danica’s Flash-heavy website (and which has since been replaced by an IRL-appropriate image with a Honda logo):

Hmm … I suspect another announcement is forthcoming.

  Hope all of the American readers, like me, enjoyed there Thanksgiving week.  A fair amount of racing news came out, though, so here it is.

Indycar:

 Brazil was sort of confirmed.  Kinda.  Well, supposedly now it’s in San Paolo, and it won’t be at Interlagos.  They’ve narrowed it down to one of three places, and of course haven’t actually confirmed it.  I had read it would be confirmed Friday,  the day after Thanksgiving, but that didn’t happen.  So we’re still waiting for an official announcement.  I’ve already made my position know on this, but I’ll make it again.  I do not support all of these boring road/street course races.  I like a good road/street event, like Road America, but I do not support these parade courses.  To be fair, prehaps Brazil will be a good race, but I really think Brazil is a drag on the series.  I know it should bring money, and I know the track attendance should be good, but, Indycar needs to focus on it’s American fan base first.  NASCAR is in a very weak position, but Indycar’s is worse, if anything.  I feel if things were different, Indycar could grow from some NASCAR fans, maybe not to be as big as it was during the 1990’s, but at least get ratings above 1.0. 

 Ej Viso is rumored to be the third driver at Target Chip Ganassi.  I’m surprised about this,Viso is a good driver, with a lot of promise, and I know a certain Canadian blogger is probably going to be very pleased with this, but, I think it’s a little strange.  Paul Tracy and Justin Wilson make more sense to me.  Also, I don’t understand why Alex Lloyd left TGR, I guess he didn’t know about this.  Or hire Townson Bell or Graham Rahal or Sebastion Bordais.  No offense to Viso, but all of these people are more proven talents, and Tracy, Wilson, and Bordais could likely contend for the title. 

 Mike Conway will get to test with Mercedes.  Very strange.  I mean, yeah he won at Monaco in GP2, and yes he podium at Watkins Glen, but Conway left a trail of carbon fiber behind him.  I hope he doesn’t destroy one of their cars, but I think he might.  Of all the Indycar drivers, Conway would be the LAST one I’d take for a test, besides maybe Ed Carpenter and Staton Barret.  I’d rather test Danica, at least she can keep her car off the wall, plus she was 5th in points as opposed to where Conway was.  JR Hildebrand will test for Force India.   Thats sad, when a young American is testing for Force India instead of USGPE, but I guess they’ve STILL not built their car!

 The F2000 series sanctioned by Indycar will include a race at ORP, at the Night Before the 500!  I kind of want to go and get pit passes for that.  Seeing European/American road racers and USAC and other sprint shortrack races together could be hilarious.

  Danica has some kind of announcement Monday, don’t know if it’s something interesting or not.

F1:

  Montreal was confirmed, I thought it already had like 5 times!  This time, the Quebec and Montreal government confirmed it. 

  Quadbak collapsed, and Peter Sauber took control of the team.  

  Micheal Schumacher’s Mercedes saga continued.  Like with Danica, I’ll believe this when I see it.

NASCAR:

 Nothing major happened in NASCAR this week.  Kyle Busch backtracked from saying he won’t run for the full time Nationwide schedule, which is bad.  Otherwise, nothing happened, that I read.  Jayski claims that Danica is entered into the Daytona ARCA race, but, they also claimed she would race at Phoniex this year, so…

 Other: Hope you enjoyed the very short Team Meeting: Thanksgiving edition.   This might become a two week feature until we get closer to the racing series, at least when there are weeks without much news.

 There may be a new trend in Indycar, that mirrors a trend in NASCAR.  Surprisingly, this trend really hasn’t been discussed by  anyone as far as I know, at least. 

  What’s the trend?  Three car teams.  Penske has confirmed Will Power as the third driver, NHL is rumored to have Alex Lloyd and Hedeki Mutoh joining Graham Rahal, Ganassi is rumored to have EJ Viso joining as the third driver.  Andretti Autosport is likely to have a four car team, with Ryan Hunter Ray as the fourth driver.

  Of course, almost everything here is speculation.   But, lets assume that these rumors are true.  If thats the case, what does that mean for Indycar?

Looks like Ej will be upgrading teams a bit

 The good news is, as teams grow in size, the car count should grow, or at least stay the same.  Also, most likely these new cars will be competitive, unlike the 3G team.

These guys can't be exicted about this...

 The bad news is, if you think the “big two” have an advantage now, wait till they’ve got 3 cars each.  With NHL and Andretti Autosport as well, these four teams will most likely dominate.  For Panther, KV, and Dayle Coyne, they are now pressured to move up to two cars, because as one car teams, they will be at a major disadvantage.  Mabye Andretti Autosport and NHL will step up their game and compete with the big two.

The poster child team for NOT expanding

 The problem with expansion is it can sometimes cost the teams doing it more then help them.  Look at RCR in NASCAR.  3 or four cars can stretch the resources of a team.  The team I’d worry the most about is NHL, they’ve been low on money the last few years, so do they have the infrastructure left for a competitive three car team?  However,  Hedeki and Alex both have sponsorship, so maybe they’ll be fine. 

This man is a trend setter

  The move to three car teams reminds me of NASCAR teams move to four car teams.  The question is will this improve the series or not.  If NHL and Andretti Autosport step their game up and start winning, this is a good thing, because the top end of the field will be very competitive.  If it’s just “Big Two” domination, then adding two cars to those teams just makes it worse.  At least Ej Viso isn’t a boring driver!  If your KV, Panther, or Dayle Coyne, thought, this is turning into a nightmare for you.

Quick Question, what happened to the fans of CART from the mid 1990’s?  Did they move to NASCAR, F1, Grand Am, ALMS, Indycar, did they quite racing, or do they now just hang out at crapwagon.com? I’d really apreicaite it if people who know would comment/tweet/email me.  Thanks

The Edmonton Journal has a story today about plans to restructure the money-losing IndyCar race in Edmonton.

Click here for an updated version of my 2010 team chart.

According to The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin, the reason for the delay in announcing Danica Patrick’s new contract with the newly-renamed Andretti Autosport is a switch in her primary sponsor. Arizona-based internet domain name provider Godaddy.com will replace Motorola as Patrick’s primary sponsor, but the deal cannot be announced until Motorola’s contract expires, Cavin reports.

The story also notes that Michael Andretti expects to wrap up his team’s contracts for 2010 now that team’s restructuring is complete. Patrick, Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan are expected to be joined on the team next year by Ryan Hunter-Reay.

According to The Indianapolis Star’s Curt Cavin, E.J. Viso is trying to take his PDVSA backing to Target Chip Ganassi Racing for a third car alongside Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti. (PDVSA stands for Petroleos de Venezuela S. A. and is the state-owned oil company in Viso’s native Venezuela.)

Although neither side has confirmed it, E.J. Viso is working to become the third IndyCar Series driver at Ganassi Racing in 2010.

Viso raced for Keith Wiggins’ HVM Racing the past two seasons, but the underfunded team seemed to fall further off the pace with each race in 2009.

Much has been made of a visit by Hans Joachim Stuck, Volkswagen’s head of motor sport, to the final Nascar round at Homestead.   Possibly nothing more than another frozen German seeking a painful sunburn during the colder months.

Alternatively, Stuck’s visit suggested VW’s interest in Nascar, or Audi/Lamborghini’s interest in the Grand Am series.  Grand Am is run by the France family, which controls Nascar.  VW also controls Audi and Lambo.  Stuck downplayed his visit, but given Toyota’s entry into Nascar, it is not unthinkable that more foreign brands are evaluating Nascar.

Really, we doubt VW would ever enter Nascar. Nascar is a spec silhouette series where race cars bear only a passing resemblance to actual road cars. Nascar doesn’t afford VW the opportunity to showcase its technology and styling, both selling points for the brand.   VW’s motorsport marketing usually relates to a road model; Carlos Sainz driving a Touareg on the Dakar Rally, as one example.  VW also supplies F3 engines, although, candidly, we don’t see any reason for that project.

A crafty marketing department would use Nascar as a launching pad to make VW as common in North America as the Camry.  VW is known for clever advertising.  We see bold design as a way to boost brand presence in the US.   Sadly, we know this won’t happen.

The Audi/Lambo entry into Grand Am is more realistic. Porsche and Lexus supply engines to the Grand Am, which relies on a spec chassis sold to privateers.  File VW’s participation in Grand Am in the category of “definite maybe”.  If it happens, the likely candidate is Lamborghini.  Audi has competed in LeMans and the ALMS for many years, and that series is a direct rival to the Grand Am series.  An Audi switch to Grand Am would shock.

The real elephant in the paddock is Porsche, which is now controlled by VW.  Porsche’s investment in VW went the wrong way and Porsche has announced enormous losses on its manipulation of VW stock.  Could Porsche be looking at revenue-raising options?  Porsche is not racing in any major series, other than to supply GT3s. The beautiful Porsche Spyder LMP2 is no longer a factory effort in the ALMS.

We want what you want. We want Porsche back into open wheel and prototype racing.  We know that Porsche gains little from an investment in F1 or top-end endurance racing, and it stands to lose big it if fails.  But we also remember TAG Porsche McLarens, 804’s, and 917s.  We say that Porsche is racing; like Ferrari; racing is in Porsche’s DNA.  You have to constantly back that up with ridiculously fast cars in order to maintain that perception.  It isn’t accomplished with sedans and SUVs.

Put “Porche returning to open-wheel racing” at the top of our Christmas list.

Why does Indycar keep adding these?

   I have no idea why Indycar insists on racing a bunch of crappy Road and street courses.  They don’t even go to the good ones, Sebring, Cleveland, and Road America are left off in favor of Mid Ohio, Infenion, San Pablo, Barber,ect.  I really am tired of watching horrible Indycar races.  Worse, I’m not sure if it’s going to get better in the future. 

  Okay, so I understand that a lot of the reasons for this are financial.  It is claimed that the Brazil race will make a ton of money for the Indycar series and teams.  I know that is important, but I don’t get why they can’t use the Interlagos course, or another REAL racetrack in Brazil.  Also, if there was soooo much money, why did it take so long to get confirmed?  And, of course, there are many times money is promised, but never delivered. 

  Also, I’m surprised that the promoters in Brazil want a street race.  From what I understand, most street courses drain money from the promoter, and often the city, because of the cost of blocking roads, setting up a course, ect that all could be avoided by going over to INTERLAGOS!!!!! 

Notice how narrow this track is! Do you think anyones going to be passing?

  Onto Barber, the only other new venue for next season, I don’t know where to start.  First off, the track lacks ANY passing zones.  I watch the Grand Am race,  and it was not good at all, even by Grand Am standards.  Even though at first adding passing zones was discussed as a prerequisite for an IRL race, that was dropped, and in fact the track has said for sure no changes!  So, we’ll have ANOTHER  boring road course. Another one!  As if Infenion, Mid Ohio, and  sometimes Edmonton weren’t enough!  Mid Ohio is pointless.  Yes, Honda has plants in the area, but I think that Honda has plants near CLEVELAND!!!!  How does Indycar ever expect to get any sort of prominence when they go to these places?

  I guess a real part of my problem is the fact that in 2008, during the merger, we were promised that 2010 would be the “reset”.  Well, the only reset is that there will be more road courses than ovals.  Of course, the decided to add a horrible course, and a Random Brazil Race!  The idea of the Bruke Lake double header really, really interested me.  I understand that there were logistical problems with that idea, but that would have been an example of a “reset”.  The only thing going to Barber and Brazil does is “reset” to Champcar circa 2006! 

  I hope for Indycar’s sake it’s getting a ton of  money out of these events.  Of course, I thought that was what the Izod thing was for, and Vs.  And if these were supposed to help “finance” the league, why the hell don’t we at least get one or two new ovals?!  And, why can’t the league/teams afford the new chassis?  IF these generate so much money for the league, why is it that Champ Car went bankrupt?

Questa sarà ricordata come la corsa delle “prime volte”. Ebbene, mettiamo sul tavolo i vari elementi: prima corsa del campionato Indycar, attesissimo campionato targato rLeague; prima apparizione ufficiale di Elio Poggi nei suoi nuovi colori Breval, prima vittoria in Indycar e prima vittoria su ovale! Se non vi basta questo…

Di seguito potete leggere il report di una gara che oltre a bellissimi duelli ha offerto intense emozioni.

Il primo round dell’Indycar League si tiene a Iowa, un ovale corto molto tecnico e frenetico, una dura prova tecnica per tutti i piloti.

Elio Poggi fa subito capire le sue intenzioni sull’evento, segnando una netta pole position.

La gara parte con Poggi al comando, ma  giro dopo giro si capisce quale sarà l’ago della bilancia per capire chi potrà ambire alla vittoria: il consumo delle gomme.

Il pilota Breval, forte di una notevole velocità, soffre però di alcuni problemi sotto questo punto di vista, e si ritrova costretto a pittare più volte rispetto agli avversari. Grazie però all’acume tattico e alla strategia box, riesce a sfruttare occasioni come le safety car, e a riprendersi il comando allungando sugli avversari.

A 50 giri la situazione vede Poggi in testa con ancora un ultimo pit da fare, mentre Pissenati e Frascatani inseguono a pochi secondi ma senza doversi fermare per ulteriori pit. La situazione non è delle più rosee ma Poggi sfrutta l’ennesima safety car per riportarsi in scia al duo a meno di 30 giri dal termine.

Negli ultimi giri il pilota Breval compie un capolavoro passando dapprima Frascatani, portandosi in scia del leader Pissenati e negli ultimi 5 giri a tentare un attacco che riesce all’ultimo giro grazie proprio ad un errore del leader, che lascia un varco aperto dove il pilota belga non esita a infilarsi e a tagliare per primo sotto la bandiera a scacchi.

Una grande vittoria questa per come è arrivata e per la competitività dimostrata da subito, una grande soddisfazione per il team che ha già fatto intendere le sue ambizioni per il proseguio della stagione.

La classifica vede ora Poggi in testa con 90 punti su Pissenati e Frascatani, i primi diretti inseguitori.

Tutti i risultati QUI

Elio Poggi (pilota Breval Racing): “La pista era un ovale corto ed era un po piu tecnica rispetto ai vari speedway perche bisognava mollare leggermente il gas nelle curve, forse è propio per quello che mi sono trovato subito bene riuscendo anche a fare un ottima pole. Essendo la mia prima vittoria su un ovale, la prima con le Indycar e sopratutto la prima con il mio nuovo team, non ci poteva essere migliore inizio!
Ero cosi contento che dopo il traguardo ho deciso di festeggiare in modo un pò “bizzarro”!
Ora la prossima corsa è Laguna Seca, una pista del tutto diversa e per niente facile dove non sono mai andato molto bene, ma prima di domenica non ero mai andato bene su ovale quindi chissà…”

Sao Paulo. Brasilia. Salvador. Rio de Janiero. And back to Sao Paulo.

Yes, it turns out the first place IndyCar looked at for a Brazilian street race is where it will ultimately run its March 14, 2010 season opener.

When putting together the series’ 2010 schedule, IndyCar officials considered Sao Paulo, one of the five largest cities in the world and home of three-time Formula-1 champion Aryton Senna, Brazilian capital Brasilia, and Salvador, hometown of IndyCar star Tony Kanaan. There were even rumors that two of the cities could be granted events.

Then last summer IndyCar released its 2010 schedule, which listed a season opener at a to-be-determined site in Brazil. At the time, IndyCar commercial head Terry Angstadt said he expected for a deal to be completed for the race within the next two weeks.

Nearly four months passed without an announcement and during that time it was reported that Rio de Janeiro had entered the mix to host the race. IndyCar even briefly posted a story to its Web site that stated the race would be held in Rio, but the story was quickly taken down.

Just a few days ago, I posted a column in which I conjectured that the event may be dead in the water and IndyCar was simply waiting for a busy news cycle to make the announcement that the race is cancelled.

But finally – finally — IndyCar has announced that the race will be run in Sao Paulo.

“While our primary focus continues to be building the sport of the IZOD IndyCar Series domestically, the race in São Paulo affords us a unique opportunity to visit a country that has a huge passion for open-wheel racing. With strong support from our major partner Aprex-Brasil, a significant television package from TV Bandeirantes, a large number of drivers from the country and the opportunity for a unique course, it makes sense from both a business and competition standpoint,” said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division for the sanctioning Indy Racing League.

You can read the entire IndyCar press release at IndyCar’s Web site. Although it doesn’t explicitly state so in the press release, I assume the race will be a street race. It’s unfortunate that it isn’t being run at Interlagos, one of the best and most competitive natural terrain road courses on the Formula-1 schedule.

Also, can IndyCar please stop using the moniker “Indy-style”?

Scheduled for March 14, the event represents the return of Indy-style racing to Brazil thanks to the partnership between the São Paulo municipality, the Indy Racing League and TV Bandeirantes and BandSports.

It’s tacky term and is outdated now that American open-wheel racing is under a single banner. Hell, the first couple years CART raced in Rio de Janiero, it still used the IndyCar name. There’s no reason IndyCar can’t simply say it’s “the return of IndyCar racing to Brazil.”

Media Release    11/25/2009

Source: AutoRacingDaily.com

Danica Patrick had a tough 2009. Although she says, “That’s not to say that it was all bad.”

In 2009, Danica finished 5th in points, setting her highest point record of her career. She relished in that, but knows that what she really is after is wins every weekend and battling for championships.

Her team knows success, having wona  lot of races and three championships to show in the IndyCar Series. Patri

ck boasts that her team has talented drivers, so they know how to get the job done. They just need to start performing at the level they used to.

Patrick expresses how wonderful it was to have Michael Andretti call her races and run her pit. She understands that he has seen just about everything in his driving career and his insight is invaluable to her.

Patrick talks about her finish in at Indy, and talks about how people expected her to be there and that there was not a lot of commotion over her gender, or ever that finishing in third was the best ever for a woman. However, Danica tells us she was not satisfied with third; she went with the idea of winning. Miss Patrick expressed that overall she was happy with the season.