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Chaves Confirmed To '500' Ride With New Team

The worst kept secret in INDYCAR was finally announced...

Napa Returns With Rossi

A.J. Foyt Racing announced...

Carpenter Signs Pigot

Ed Carpenter Racing announced...

Monday, November 29, 2010

Fisher Retires, Signs Carpenter

IZOD IndyCar Series veteran Sarah Fisher announced today at her west side of Indianapolis shop the signing of Ed Carpenter and her retirement. Indianapolis native and Butler University Grad, Carpenter, will pilot the SFR Dallara for a partial schedule in 2011, with the #67 Dollar General entry competing in 9 events, on both ovals and road/street courses including: St. Pete, Indianapolis, Texas, Iowa, Mid-Ohio, New Hampshire, Baltimore, Kentucky, and the TBA season finale

Ed Carpenter joins Jay Howard and Graham Rahal as just the 3rd driver other then Sarah to pilot an SFR car in their 4-years of competition.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Clauson Wins 'Road To Indy' Scholarship

Just a month after announcing the new scholarship from USAC to the Firestone Indy Lights Series in 2011, the $300,000 award was handed off to USAC Champion Brian Clauson, Thursday night.

The Noblesville, Indiana resident ran 76 USAC events towards the USAC National Drivers Championship racking up 10 victories, allowing the California native to compete in all 6 FIL oval events next season, kicking off with the Freedom 100 in Indianapolis.

Although the team which Clauson will compete in his freshman season of Firestone Indy Lights competition hasn't been announced, Sam Schmidt was on hand for the scholarship clinching races and is a likely destination for the Rookie.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lotus Leaps On Board

Coming less than a week after the announcement that GM's Chevy brand has joined Honda in providing engines to 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series competitors, Lotus has jumped on board as well.

Announced today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Lotus' deal with INDYCAR pushes the number of engine manufacturers in the series back up to three for the first time since 2005, when Honda, Chevy, and Toyota all competed. "I'm loving these days", said INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard, referencing the past week of announcements for the league.

In addition to announcing their intent to build an engine, Lotus also declared that they'll be developing an aero kit as well. "We don't just want to put a sticker on the car", said Lotus CEO Dany Bahar "This is where we want to be". Lotus adds their name to the list of Chevy and Dallara who have also announced their intent to develop an aero kit for 2012 season.

Lotus returned to Indianapolis for the first time in years this past season with the sponsorship of KV Racing Technology and the #5 Takuma Sato entry.  They're expected to return next season with an expanded sponsorship with KVRT.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Official: GM Returns

5 years after walking away from IZOD IndyCar Series competition, General Motors announced today at an Indianapolis Motor Speedway press conference their intent to return.  Starting in 2012, along with the implementation of the next generation Indycar formula, the Chevrolet brand will join Honda in supplying engines to IZOD IndyCar Series teams, including 15-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Roger Penske.

Partnering with Ilmore, the former Honda partner, GM will develop an efficient high performance twin-turbocharged, direct-injected, 2.4 or less liter , E85 powered V-6 engine, "Turbocharger is back, baby" said  Penske pilot Helio Castroneves. The powerplant will have an aluminum block and cylinder heads, and will be a fully stressed chassis member supporting the gearbox and rear suspension.

Although GM wouldn't confirm, they did say that they are 'expecting' to develop an aero kit as well.

The addition of Chevy not only raises the public profile of the league, but it also helps open the door to the much talked about 'Memorial Day Double'.  With one of the major hurdles to overcome when planning the dual event being engine clashes, Chevrolet branded entries in both events greatly enhances the possibility that a 4th name is added to the short list of previous participants.

Notable attendees for the Friday morning announcement included Gil De Ferran, Neil Restler, Eddie Gossage, Tony George, Martin Plowman, J.R. Hildebrand, Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Simona de Silvestro, Al Unser Jr., Arie Luyendyk.

Luxbet Betting Online

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wilson Back To DRR

After jumping from team to team over the last 4-years, Justin Wilson has finally found a home.  The 32-year-old Brit is returning to Dreyer and Reinbold Racing in 2011 after a competitive, but winless 2010. Wilson competed with RuSport in the Champ Car World Series from 2005-2007 before running with Newman/Haas in 2008 and Dale Coyne Racing in 2009, winning races with both teams.

“It’s really exciting to be back with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing. We put some strong foundations in place in 2010 and we’ve got big ambitions for 2011. Agreeing things early means we can work hard on building our program during the off-season and hit the ground running next year.” - Justin Wilson

“We created a lot of momentum in 2010 with Justin. We plan on continuing that next year with Justin Wilson as one of our full-time drivers. Justin’s a class act and we couldn’t be happier to have him back as part of our DRR family in 2011.” - Dennis Reinbold

“We are very excited to have Justin back. We’re looking forward to building on 2010 and creating consistency on and off the track in 2011.” - Robbie Buhl

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

IMS Wearhouse Sale

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be holding their annual November Retail Warehouse sale this Friday and Saturday in Speedway.  Scheduled from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. on Saturday, fans can purchase IMS and IZOD IndyCar Series gear and deep discounts, and with the donation of five non-perishable food items, an additional $5 will be taken off for every $50 spent.

The sale will be held at 4575 W. 16th Street, just across the main entrance (Gate 2) of IMS, on the far west side of the warehouse.  West Coast Tacos will also be on hand on Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. selling tacos for lunch

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

2011 Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation Calendars

Want a beautifully designed 12" x 9" (12" x 18" open) IZOD IndyCar Series 2011 photographic wall calendar? Of course you do! Want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Who doesn't? Well, you can kill two birds with one stone by sliding on over to the Official Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation and Racing for Kids calendar website to purchase your calendar, with proceeds benefiting both organizations.

Showcasing IZOD IndyCar Series drivers Will Power, Justin Wilson, Marco Andretti, Simona De Silvestro, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Danica Patrick and Alex Lloyd, the calendar also features a race-day actions spread and Indianapolis Motor Speedway centennial-era celebration in the month of May. Coupons for discounts on IMS merchandise and IZOD apparel will also be included.

While ordering be sure to tell them we sent you by including '16th And Georgetown' in the instruction box.

Edmonton Out

The 10th round of what was to be the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule has been cancelled.  On the series schedule since 2008, the Edmonton Indy has been put on the back burner, "We are disappointed that the city and the promoter were unable to reach an agreement on the venue changes," an INDYCAR statement read. "It’s unfortunate that in a time when IndyCar is experiencing momentum and growth, the city would want to miss out on the opportunity to be part of it. We’ve enjoyed our time at Edmonton as the fans there truly embraced Indy car racing."  

Coming just 3-months after the announcement that Octane Racing Group signed on to a 3-year deal to promote both the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights events in Edmonton, the deal fell through when negotiations between Octane and the city hit a wall.  Due to a shutdown of the Eastern runway 16-34 of the City Centre Airport original track by the city, a new layout was decided upon, however, the  $3.2 million (Canadian) investment required for repaving and site improvements could not be.

The loss of Edmonton cuts the 2011 preliminary schedule to 15 races, but the announcement of a finale should expand the season to 16 events, still fewest since 2006.  However, INDYCAR is currently in talks with several entities, including Octane, to replace Edmonton, which would bump the reconfigured schedule back up to the original 17 event plan.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Greenlight Back In 2011

Greenlight Collectibles, the die-cast manufacturing partner for the IZOD IndyCar Series up until 2008, will be returning next season. The Indianapolis based company recently announced that they have signed a licensing agreement with IndyCar allowing them to produce 1:18 scale replicas beginning in 2011.

"This license allows us to once again offer our authentic 1:18 scale replica IndyCars to collectors." said GreenLight National Sales Manager Jeff Nelson. "We are happy to be working with the series and look forward to bringing the excitement of the cars and drivers to people's collections."

Available at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other hobby shops, Dario Franchitti's 2010 Indianapolis 500 winning Dallara will be the first of several replicas released.