Search results matching tag 'bombardier learjet 550k'

Bombardier Learjet 550k Equals VERSUS’ Top-Rated IndyCar Series Race Broadcast This Season

TMS Media Relations — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:55:00 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (June 10, 2009) – Saturday evening’s Bombardier Learjet 550k equaled the highest-rated IndyCar Series race telecast on VERSUS this season, according to the IndyCar Series. The .45 rating, which amounted to 340,000 households, for “America’s Original Nighttime Race” won by Helio Castroneves matched the rating of the Streets of Long Beach event on April 19.

The Bombardier Learjet 550k also was the most-watched race on VERSUS this season for three demographics (Men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54) despite competing directly against Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC and the NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Nashville on ESPN2.

Third Time's A Charm

TMS Media Relations — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:34:00 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (June 9, 2009) – The number three has long been associated with IndyCar Series star Helio Castroneves, who drives the No. 3 entry for Team Penske. But this year, more than ever, the number has taken on a whole new meaning for the 34-year-old Brazilian driver.

In late May, he won his third Indianapolis 500 and this past Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway three was the magic number again. Castroneves earned his third win at the track, joining former teammate Sam Hornish Jr. as the only IndyCar Series drivers to record three wins. He also became the third driver to win both of the IndyCar Series’ two marquee events – the Indy 500 and Bombardier Learjet 550k – in the same season, joining Arie Luyendyk (1997) and Scott Dixon (2008).

“Right now, number three seems to be a great number for me,” Castroneves said. “It’s one of those things that you’ve been so long with one car and one team, the number basically becomes your identity. So I’m happy with the number three.”

Castroneves, who led 57 laps including the final 53, held off teammate Ryan Briscoe for a 1-2 Team Penske finish, the first 1-2 finish at Texas Motor Speedway for the organization. The dominant Briscoe, who led a race-high 160 of 228 laps, once held an 11-second lead, but on the final pit stop following a caution after an accident involving A.J. Foyt IV the Australian found himself behind his teammate coming out of the pits. He never could retake the lead.

Castroneves credited the win to his crew that has performed well this season, including a victory in the Indianapolis 500 Pit Stop Challenge last month.

“Those guys are incredible,” Castroneves said of his No. 3 Team Penske crew. “They won the pit stop competition in Indianapolis because they deserve it. This team is just incredible. Today it was the No. 3 group; they gave this victory to me.”

The win was the fifth for Roger Penske at TMS, tying him with John Barnes of Panther Racing for most career victories by an owner at “The Great American Speedway!”

Shaq-tastic

TMS Media Relations — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:20:00 GMT

Shaquille O’Neal is a man of many talents. The Phoenix Sun center has appeared in movies, produced albums, served as a police officer and following this weekend’s Bombardier Learjet 550k the 15-time National Basketball Association All Star can add pit crew member to the list.

O’Neal, who served as Grand Marshal for the Bombardier Learjet 550k, joined the Luczo Dragon Racing crew, along with driver Raphael Matos, for a simulated pit stop prior to the event. O’Neal was given the task of using the air wrench and changing the right front tire. While he had his troubles with the air wrench, O’Neal (7-foot-1, 325 pounds) handled the 50-pound IndyCar Series Firestone tires with ease during the pit stop exhibition.

O’Neal also had the opportunity to ride shotgun with three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford in the pace car that led the field to the green flag. Saturday’s race was O’Neal’s first IndyCar Series event and by the reaction following his experience it may not be his last.

“It was phenomenal,” O’Neal said of his experience. “I can see why it’s the No. 1 sport. I feel like a little kid in a candy store.”

O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion, was adamant that drivers are athletes. While he said they don’t deal with the physical style of play he experiences in the NBA, the mental toughness and ability to focus is what characterizes them as great athletes.

“When it comes to being an athlete, of course it's nice to have the physical part but being an athlete is more mental than anything,” O’Neal said. “It's not easy driving 228 laps trying to be safe and from that point of view I would say they are phenomenal athletes.”

Stepping Up For The Fans

TMS Media Relations — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:04:00 GMT

Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage received numerous compliments from fans about the speedway’s unique format for the Bombardier Learjet 550k pre-race introductions with the IndyCar Series drivers. Rather than the traditional introduction on the stage, the IndyCar drivers come down the steps in 24 sections of the frontstretch grandstands.

“Judging from the comments I received from a number of fans, they really dig the drivers coming through the stands for the introductions,” said Gossage, who began this tradition with the IndyCar Series drivers at TMS in 2003. “They love the element of surprise of who may be coming through their section and they really love the opportunity to be inches away or even high five some of these stars like Helio, Danica and Dario. It really makes their night and enhances their overall IndyCar Series experience. And enhancing that experience is what we all – promoters, drivers and sanctioning bodies – should all be about.”

Castroneves Wins Bombardier Learjet 550k

TMS Media Relations — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:47:00 GMT

By Rick Herrin

Helio Castroneves ran to his crew members and jumped into their arms after the Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway.

Castoneves owed everything to his pit crew Saturday night as he raced to his second victory of the season and outlasted Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe before an estimated 90,000 fans. It marked Castroneves' third victory at TMS which moved him into a tie with Sam Hornish for the most wins by an IndyCar Series driver at the track.

"This team is just incredible," said Castroneves, who claimed his 16th career victory. "The car was loose, and there were some moment out there. But we figured out what to do and great pit stops the guys put me up front. In the end it was 50 laps and full throttle. It was the toughest 50 laps that I had to go through, but we held it together."

After the race, Castroneves did his customary climb along the frontstretch fence and earned his second victory of the season after winning the Indianapolis 500 on May 24. Castroneves also moved into fourth place in the points standings and Briscoe, while his night was disappointing, moved into the lead overtaking Scott Dixon. Despite missing the first race of the season because of his tax evasion trial, Castroneves has quickly climbed into contention in the points race.

"Obviously the last pit stop, those guys are incredible," Castroneves said. "My guys are good under pressure."

During a late pit stop among the leaders, Castoneves' laser-fast pit allowed him to leap ahead of Briscoe's dominant car and never surrendered the lead. The final caution, which came on Lap 173, led to Castroneves taking the lead for the final 53 laps. While it was a bitter second-place finish for Briscoe it did give Team Penske its first 1-2 finish at TMS and fifth victory in the last eight races in Fort Worth.

Dixon, the defending series champ who was last year's race winner, finished third and Marco Andretti was fourth. Pole sitter Dario Franchitti ended fifth and earned his fourth top-five finish this season. It was also nearly another top-five finish for Danica Patrick, who was 6th, but she was passed by late by her teammate Andretti.

After the race, Briscoe was frustrated by a caution for debris on Lap 150 which stripped him of his huge 10-second advantage. Then when he needed, Briscoe didn't have the power to catch Castroneves.

"I just couldn't pass Helio," Briscoe said. "The cars are just so evenly matched it just really hard to pass. I just couldn't get it done and it was pretty frustrating knowing unless something drastic that I didn't want happen to Helio I was going to come in second after dominating the race.

Pos	Driver	Car No	Difference	Gap	Laps	Pit Stops	Start Pos	Comment
1	Helio Castroneves	3	--.----	--.----	228	4	4
2	Ryan Briscoe	6	0.3904	0.3904	228	4	2
3	Scott Dixon	9	2.2461	1.8557	228	4	3
4	Marco Andretti	26	4.3745	2.1284	228	4	8
5	Dario Franchitti	10	4.7695	0.395	228	4	1
6	Danica Patrick	7	5.298	0.5285	228	4	5
7	Dan Wheldon	4	7.6203	2.3223	228	4	7
8	Tony Kanaan	11	8.5009	0.8806	228	4	16
9	Ed Carpenter	20	18.7088	10.2079	228	4	10
10	Mario Moraes	5	1 lap	1 lap	227	4	6
11	Robert Doornbos	06	3.517	3.5170	227	4	9
12	Raphael Matos	2	2 laps	1 lap	226	5	15
13	Tomas Scheckter	43	13.9353	13.9353	226	4	18
14	Alex Tagliani	34	3 laps	1 lap	225	4	13
15	Justin Wilson	18	3.2287	3.2287	225	5	17
16	Ryan Hunter-Reay	21	9.1798	5.9511	225	5	23
17	Sarah Fisher	67	6 laps	3 laps	222	5	14
18	Jaques Lazier	98	18 laps	12 laps	210	6	24
19	Mike Conway	24	43 laps	25 laps	185	5	19
20	AJ Foyt IV	14	58 laps	15 laps	170	3	22	Contact
21	Hideki Mutoh	27	75 laps	17 laps	153	4	11	Electrical
22	Graham Rahal	02	227 laps	152 laps	1	0	12	Contact
23	Milka Duno	23	227 laps	152 laps	1	0	20	Contact
24	EJ Viso	13	227 laps	152 laps	1	0	21	Contact

Q & A With Grand Marshal Shaquille O'Neal

TMS Media Relations — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:20:00 GMT

By Rick Herrin

NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal made his IndyCar Series debut Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. The 15-time all-star and Phoenix Suns center is serving as the Grand Marshal for the Bombardier Learjet 550k race at 8:30 p.m. tonight.

O'Neal, who is in partnership with Luczo Dragon Racing, will ride in the pace car with legend Johnny Rutherford and was decked out in a team jersey. Before the race, O'Neal talked several mintues with the media and changed some tires on Raphael Matos' car on pit road. The only other race O'Neal has attended was Formula 1, so this marks his first race in the United States.

Here's a portion of the press conference with O'Neal...

Q: Have you been practicing your "Ladies and Gentlemen start your engines" call for tonight?

"A little bit. I am honored to be amongst great people and great athletes. I'm like a little kid in the candy store. If you happen to see the driver flying out of the pace car it's because I threw him out and I wanted to drive the car myself."

Q: You are a 15-time all-star, that's a long career....so does the walker you have to use get in the way on the court?

"I'm getting up there. I have three or four years left. Time is almost up for me, but I had fun doing it and hopefully I will be remembered."

Q: What do you think of Danica Patrick?

"For one, she's good looking. Two, she's a great athlete and she does a lot for women and a lot for her sport and it makes everything competitive and makes everything go. That's why this sport is one of the top sports in the world. I wish her well.

Q: Are you now pulling for ex-Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant to win a championship, rather than taking jabs at him?

"I finally gave up one of my secrets a long time ago. It was all marketing. Look at all athletes, the main thing we try to do is win. Because of all the hoopla around myself and Kobe people forget we won three out of four. If I had to do the same thing I would probably do the same thing again. Everything was done by design whether it came from Phil (Jackson) or whether it came from myself. He would say stuff and I would say stuff. If you think about Hollywood, that's what it is -- lights, camera, action and drama. That's what we gave you guys. We were the best 1-2 punch ever created in the history of the game. I want the young man to get his fourth ring."

Q: Two of your former teams are in the NBA Finals (LA Lakers and Orlando), is there one you are pulling?

"Not really. Being a father of three young boys who like the sport, they like players on each team. I am just like everyone else especially since we (Phoenix Suns) didn't even make the playoffs. I'm just a fan sitting back watching the game. May the best team win.

Q: Where do you think you will be next year in the NBA?

"I can't really answer that because I don't want it to get taken out of context. I've been a professional my whole career and I understand the business. I would like to be somewhere that I'm wanted and would like to be somewhere we have a chance to win.

Q: Do you think race car drivers are athletes?

"Yes I do. You have to be in great shape. You have to sit there in the little car with no AC and you can't even listen to music you've got to listen to the guy on the headphones. When it comes to being an athlete, of course it's nice to have the physical part but being an athlete is more mental than anything. It's not easy driving 228 laps trying to be safe and from that point of view I would say they are phenomenal athletes.

Q: What do you think of the diverse collection in the IndyCar Series?

"I think it's a beautiful thing with cultures uniting. It only enhances the sport."

IndyCar Series Bombardier Learjet 550k Pit Notes June 5th, 2009

TMS Media Relations — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:08:00 GMT

DAY 2 - FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2009

Welcome to the Bombardier Learjet 500k, the sixth race of the 2009 IndyCar^® Series season. John Griffin, vice president of public relations for the Indy Racing League, and Mike Zizzo, vice president of media relations for the Texas Motor Speedway, and their staffs are here to assist you. Please direct your questions and requests to anyone in the Media Center.

***

TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):

10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Garages open

2- 3 p.m.

5:30 - 7 p.m.

IndyCar Series practice (split groups)

PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying (Live, VERSUS)

***

Crew for #98 Lazier reports that it did not practice yesterday because it was repairing the car that was damaged last week in Milwaukee. The crew expects to be ready to run later today.

***

INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE:

At 2 p.m., the ambient temperature was 84 degrees with a relative humidity of 34 percent and winds from the southeast at 3 mph. Skies were sunny. The track temperature was 126 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

2 p.m. - GREEN. Group 1.

2:02 p.m. - IndyCar Series officials have penalized #27 Mutoh for pitting in the wrong pit box.

2:05 p.m. - #27 Mutoh has served his penalty and is free to practice.

2:12 p.m. - Crew for #43 Scheckter reports car has sustained a mechanical failure in the gearbox and will practice with Group 2 if car can be repaired. Car has only recorded three laps in the session.

Crew for #7 Patrick and #26 Andretti report that they opted not to practice today due to the conditions.

***

2:30 p.m. - CHECKERED. Group 1. GREEN. Group 2. #24 Conway, #43 Scheckter and #98 Lazier are allowed to run in this session due to lack of track time.

2:45 p.m. - YELLOW. Debris on front stretch.

2:50 p.m. - GREEN.

3 p.m. - CHECKERED.

***

FASTEST SPEEDS OF THE SESSION

Pos.	Car	Name	Time	Speed
1.	6	Ryan Briscoe	24.3977	214.692
2.	3	Helio Castroneves	24.4507	214.227
3.	4	Dan Wheldon	24.4672	214.083
4.	9	Scott Dixon	24.4718	214.042
5.	5	Mario Moraes	24.4788	213.981

FASTEST SPEEDS OF THE COMBINED SESSIONS

Pos.	Car	Name	Time	Speed
1.	4	Dan Wheldon	24.2744	215.783
2.	7	Danica Patrick	24.3759	214.884
3.	6	Ryan Briscoe	24.3977	214.692
4.	10	Dario Franchitti	24.4272	214.433
5.	9	Scott Dixon	24.4311	214.399

It was apparent to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing senior engineer Craig Hampson - among others - that the team needed to build a superspeedway baseline to be more competitive on ovals in the '09 season.

Texas Motor Speedway fit the profile for testing in October with Graham Rahal and in early April with Robert Doornbos. Data from both sessions was compared to last June's Bombardier Learjet 550k, when Rahal and Justin Wilson competed for the first-year IndyCar Series team.

In the first oval event of this season -- on the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway - Rahal won the pole and Doornbos joined him on the front row. He qualified fourth at Indianapolis. Last week at Milwaukee, Rahal started second and finished fourth.

It's not a coincidence.

"The Texas track is bumpy so you need a good setup of springs and dampers for mechanical grip," Hampson said. "However, at the big speedways in the IndyCar Series, your car speed is mainly dictated by aerodynamics so these tests have been invaluable to try and evaluate various items on the cars. At each of these tests we've been running alone, so the results were not clouded by traffic or tows. The information gathered has been very useful."

Last year, Rahal's best finish on an oval was 10^th at Iowa Speedway (a race that 18 of the 26 cars entered running at the finish). Doornbos' first experience on an oval in an IndyCar Series machine was in the April test.

"I think the McDonald's boys have done a great job in the off-season," Rahal said. "We made quite a lot of progress. We have two poles in five races and started on the front row a total of three times and was fourth at Indianapolis, which is the inside of the second row. We've been extremely competitive.

"We're coming off a high in Milwaukee. We finished fourth, which is our best oval finish. I think we proved we have the pace on the 1.5-mile ovals. We should be right up front here. Robert (Doornbos) tested here earlier in the season and I tested here at the end of last season and the cars are really competitive. We were really pleased with the progress we made."

***

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING REPORT:

PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying consists of one warm-up lap followed by a four-lap qualifying attempt. Cars are ranked in order based on the quickest cumulative time. Only one attempt is allowed per car. One-lap qualifying record: Gil de Ferran, 23.5031 seconds, 222.864 mph (October 2003). Four-lap qualifying record: Scott Dixon, 1:37.5063, 214.878 mph (June 2008); Fastest IndyCar Series lap this weekend: #4 Dan Wheldon, 24.2744 seconds, 215.783 mph (Practice 1 - Thursday).

POLE QUALIFYING CHRONOLOGY:

(Cumulative four laps; times and speeds calculated using a traveling distance of 1.455 miles, which corresponds with data registered by on-board telemetry. The green flag is given on the second time by the flag stand.)

Time
Of Day	Car	Driver	Time	Speed	Rank
5:30 p.m.	98	Jaques Lazier	1:40.0914	209.329	1
5:33 p.m.	7	Danica Patrick	1:37.9391	213.929	1
5:35 p.m.	11	Tony Kanaan	1:38.7798	212.108	2
5:38 p.m.	02	Graham Rahal	1:38.2841	213.178	2
5:40 p.m.	27	Hideki Mutoh	1:38.2152	213.327	2
5:43 p.m.	9	Scott Dixon	1:37.7713	214.296	1
5:46 p.m.	67	Sarah Fisher	1:38.5726	212.554	5
5:49 p.m.	6	Ryan Briscoe	1:37.7179	214.413	1
5:51 p.m.	2	Raphael Matos	1:38.7662	212.137	7
5:54 p.m.	26	Marco Andretti	1:38.1176	213.540	4
5:57 p.m.	23	Milka Duno	1:39.0167	211.601	10
6 p.m.	43	Tomas Scheckter	1:38.9512	211.741	10
6:03 p.m.	10	Dario Franchitti	1:37.6725	214.513	1
6:06 p.m.	06	Robert Doornbos	1:38.1453	213.479	6
6:08 p.m.	5	Mario Moraes	1:38.0361	213.717	5
6:11 p.m.	4	Dan Wheldon	1:38.0919	213.596	6
6:14 p.m.	20	Ed Carpenter	1:38.1658	213.435	9
6:17 p.m.	24	Mike Conway	1:38.9767	211.686	16
6:19 p.m.	18	Justin Wilson	1:38.8204	212.021	15
6:22 p.m.	14	A.J. Foyt IV	1:39.0854	211.454	19
6:25 p.m.	34	Alex Tagliani	1:38.2862	213.173	12
6:28 p.m.	13	E.J. Viso	1:39.0388	211.553	20
6:30 p.m.	3	Helio Castroneves	1:37.8023	214.228	4
6:33 p.m.	21	Ryan Hunter-Reay	1:39.5914	210.532	23

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING NOTES:

This is Dario Franchitti's first PEAK Performance Pole Award of 2009 and the seventh of his IndyCar Series career. His last pole came at Chicagoland Speedway in Sept. 2007.
This is Franchitti's second pole at Texas Motor Speedway. He scored his first IndyCar Series pole here in 2004.
Ryan Briscoe qualified second -- his third consecutive front row start - his best start at Texas.
Scott Dixon qualified a season-best third. His previous best was fourth at Kansas and Milwaukee.

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Energizer, PEAK Performance Pole Award winner): "To win the pole at Texas says a lot about the Target guys and the job they do building the car. The regulations are so tight now that it's all about the details. The cars are so similar. It's all about how the guys build the car and the changes they make. The team makes a great car and it's my job in qualifying is not to screw it up. If the car is fast enough, you're looking good. Tomorrow is going to be interesting. It's a tough, long and demanding race."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, qualified second): "It was a pretty good run; we just weren't quick enough over four laps and were a tenth (of a second) off. We always treat qualifying as a the first race of the weekend, so it's always good to go for the pole. It's a long race and I believe we'll have a strong race car, which is the most important thing. The night race is always spectacular. I've had some good results here, so I always look forward to coming back."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, qualified fourth): "I put the pedal to the metal, but it was just one of those days where there was not much happening. It's too bad because we have a quick car, and we didn't qualify as fast as I thought we would. But we'll move on to tomorrow and the important thing is that it's a long race, and we have a really good car. The fastest car is not always the winner at Texas, I've won from the pole, and I've won from third place. Overall, I'm happy to be starting in the second row considering last week's qualifying (Castroneves started last after crashing during qualifying.) Tomorrow night will be a challenge because a lot of people will be close to one another on the track, but hopefully everyone will be smart at the beginning and it will be a good clean race. It will be a long tough race, but it's always lots of fun here at Texas."

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola, qualified fifth): "The car felt really good as soon as I went out. We made a few small changes to the car for the qualifying run that were helpful. We are trying to have as many options for the Boost Mobile/Motorola car as we can. I wish we could've held on to the pole, but I think we are going to be really competitive tomorrow night."

MARIO MORAES (No. 5 KV Racing Technology/Votorantim, qualified sixth): "The KV Racing Technology team has worked really hard on the No. 5 car for the ovals and I think the hard work has paid off in our last four qualifying attempts. We spent yesterday working on our race setup. Today in practice we concentrated on the qualifying setup. We had a good qualifying run today and I think we will have a good car for the race tomorrow."

DAN WHELDON (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing, qualified seventh): "We you look at qualifying, we did the same time that we did on our own earlier in the day in practice. We're still not quite where we need to be, but we're looking for areas where we can improve. You can see where the big teams were able to make a big jump from what they ran in practice, and over time we'll figure those things out. The National Guard Panther Racing car is certainly good for the race, we've rolled off the truck here very competitive, and that's what we need to do. We still don't have our first win of the season and we're trying desperately for that. This is going to be a very, very competitive race, and we're in pretty reasonable shape."

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy, qualified eighth): "I'm content with were we qualified tonight. We didn't put a heavy focus on the qualifying set up for the No. 26 car and during our run we had a problem with the roll bar. I had to make adjustments every lap, which I think cost us some time. Overall not bad for the Venom boys, I think we'll be competitive and make our way through traffic without problems. I look forward to the race."

ROBERT DOORNBOS (No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, qualified ninth): "This is obviously a very special oval. It's an exciting place; I really love it. On the banking you feel like Spiderman. I have raced on three total (ovals) until now, and this is definitely up there. I think we had a good run. You always want more as a driver. I pushed the pedal so far that I think I almost bent it. I think we can be happy and I look forward to a fun race tomorrow with a good setup. In qualifying we just stayed on the white line. I hit the pedal hard. I was flat, flat, flat. There was no more in the car so we can be happy. I got the maximum out of it. Every time I am in the car, I learn. I like this four-lap average format. I think you can really make a difference on your out lap if you are aggressive out of pit lane and flat straight away. It's good fun."

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing, qualified 10^th): "I told my engineer Jeff Britton if we could get the No. 20 Menards/Johns Manville car to run 213 mph that I'd be happy. We hadn't run in the 213 range on any runs in practice yet. I'm happy with our qualifying effort of 213.435 mph average so it was a pretty go run for us. It's an improvement to where we qualified from Kansas and we're trying to get better all the time."

HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 27 Formula Dream): "I'm happy with today's qualifying run. We focused most of our practice on the race set-up and I think we have a really good car for the race. I did well here last year, so hopefully we can do the same come tomorrow night."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 02 McDonald's Racing Team): "It's frustrating because the McDonald's team expected to be faster than this. To be quite honest, all weekend I thought that something was amiss. I didn't feel like the car was pulling properly. I noticed this morning that we couldn't tow up on people in the draft. It's unfortunate because you get so used to being so competitive. To come here and not be is frustrating. We hope that we can figure something out here so we can get a little more speed for passing in the race. We're going to work on having some good stops and move forward in the race."

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven): "It's been a very challenging weekend for the Team 7-Eleven car. We are not where we want to be. The car felt slow during the qualifying run. I know the No. 11 guys have been working really hard, and I know they are just as frustrated. We have some work to do before tomorrow night."

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 US Air Force Luczo Dragon Racing): "I think qualifying was OK. We always have a goal of qualifying in the top 10, but we just had a little too much understeer and were cutting too much speed off the corners. The Air Force Luczo Dragon team has found speed in the car since yesterday, so we have made some good progress. I am confident that we will have a consistent race car, which is more important here on this track than starting position. You need to be confident with the car here and have the best balance possible so that you can run in the big packs, conserve your tires and attack people."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 21 Vision Racing): "Frustrated is the only word I can use right now. This is not where we want to be or where we should be. We're taking a long hard look at it and hoping to get it figured out. Based on yesterday's night practice I think we'll be just fine for running in traffic in the race and we'll have to do a lot of that to make our way forward."

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 34 Conquest Racing): "It's fantastic. I have to take my hat off to the guys. They did an absolutely incredible job with the car. We didn't have a lot of track time with the issue we had yesterday, and we didn't really have time to practice in qualifying trim before going out for my qualifying run today. They gave me a car with pretty much a perfect setup. The Rexall Edmonton Indy car was on the edge and fast. It was great. It's a great qualifying result for the team, we haven't tested on an oval track this year, and it's only our second oval event of the season. I think it's a great testament to how good this team is. Now I can't wait until the race tomorrow night."

***

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):

10 a.m.

Garages open

2-3 p.m.

IndyCar Series practice (split groups)

5:30 - 7 p.m.

PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying (Live), VERSUS

Franchitti Takes The Bombardier Learjet 550k Pole

TMS Media Relations — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:57:00 GMT

Dario Franchitti's "minor" adjustment after practice made all the difference during Friday's Bombardier Learjet 550k qualifying.

The setup change for Franchitti's No. 10 Energizer led him to the pole position for Saturday night's race. Franchitti, who earned his seventh career pole, earned a lap speed of 214.513 mph.

"We modified our race setup a little for qualifying and the Energizer car was really good," Franchitti said. "It was really quick. If it feels that nice in the race tomorrow we'll be looking good."

Franchitti will start on the front row alongside Ryan Briscoe, who turned a lap of 214.413 mph. Series points leader Scott Dixon, Franchitti's teammate with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, qualified third and Helio Castroneves was fourth and Danica Patrick will start fifth.

"The car felt really good as soon as I went out," Patrick said. "I wish we could've held on to the pole, but I think we are going to be really competitive tomorrow night."

Franchitti's crew talked with Dixon's crew and modified his car's engine for qualifying. He took advantage of the adjustment by taking it to the top spot, which is his second career pole at TMS. His first came in 2004, which was his first visit to TMS and ended with a second-place finish behind Tony Kanaan.

It marked the first pole of the season for Franchitti, who returned to the IndyCar Series this year after struggling during his one year in NASCAR. Franchitti left the IndyCar Series with a championship in 2007 for the lure of NASCAR but it was a major challenge for the open-wheel superstar. He has returned to instant success and is currently tied for second in points behind Dixon.

- Rick Herrin

Pos	Driver	Car No	Total Time	Average Speed	Lap 1 Speed	Lap 2 Speed	Lap 3 Speed	Lap 4 Speed
1	Dario Franchitti	10	01:37.7	214.513	214.446	214.414	214.671	214.520
2	Ryan Briscoe	6	01:37.7	214.413	214.289	214.566	214.517	214.281
3	Scott Dixon	9	01:37.8	214.296	214.369	214.394	214.248	214.174
4	Helio Castroneves	3	01:37.8	214.228	214.240	214.338	214.166	214.168
5	Danica Patrick	7	01:37.9	213.929	213.889	213.999	213.964	213.862
6	Mario Moraes	5	01:38.0	213.717	213.695	213.792	213.710	213.672
7	Dan Wheldon	4	01:38.1	213.596	213.669	213.655	213.554	213.505
8	Marco Andretti	26	01:38.1	213.540	213.480	213.478	213.658	213.542
9	Robert Doornbos	06	01:38.1	213.479	213.567	213.584	213.387	213.380
10	Ed Carpenter	20	01:38.2	213.435	213.255	213.425	213.578	213.481
11	Hideki Mutoh	27	01:38.2	213.327	213.071	213.345	213.314	213.580
12	Graham Rahal	02	01:38.3	213.178	212.958	213.217	213.255	213.282
13	Alex Tagliani	34	01:38.3	213.173	212.948	213.269	213.294	213.182
14	Sarah Fisher	67	01:38.6	212.554	212.634	212.602	212.529	212.452
15	Raphael Matos	2	01:38.8	212.137	212.122	212.201	211.985	212.242
16	Tony Kanaan	11	01:38.8	212.108	212.515	212.112	211.979	211.828
17	Justin Wilson	18	01:38.8	212.021	211.838	212.107	212.086	212.054
18	Tomas Scheckter	43	01:39.0	211.741	211.968	211.871	211.605	211.520
19	Mike Conway	24	01:39.0	211.686	211.636	211.875	211.693	211.541
20	Milka Duno	23	01:39.0	211.601	211.558	211.594	211.756	211.495
21	EJ Viso	13	01:39.0	211.553	211.377	211.736	211.666	211.435
22	AJ Foyt IV	14	01:39.1	211.454	211.689	211.514	211.376	211.237
23	Ryan Hunter-Reay	21	01:39.5	210.532	210.416	210.653	210.584	210.475
24	Jaques Lazier	98	01:40.1	209.329	209.048	209.314	209.546	209.408

IndyCar Series Bombardier Learjet 550k Pit Notes June 4th, 2009

TMS Media Relations — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:43:00 GMT

DAY 1 - THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2009

Welcome to the Bombardier Learjet 500k, the sixth race of the 2009 IndyCar^® Series season. John Griffin, vice president of public relations for the Indy Racing League, and Mike Zizzo, vice President of media relations for the Texas Motor Speedway, and their staffs are here to assist you. Please direct your questions and requests to anyone in the Media Center.

***

TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):

11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Garages open

7:45- 8:30 p.m.

8:30 - 9:15 p.m.

IndyCar Series practice (rookies and teams outside top 10 in points)

IndyCar Series practice (all cars)

***

This is the 20^th IndyCar Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. Scott Dixon won the race in 2008. Gil de Ferran holds the single-lap qualifying record with a lap of 23.5031 seconds, 222.864 mph set in October 2003. Scott Dixon holds the four-lap qualifying record of 214.878 mph set last year. Past winners Scott Dixon (2008), Helio Castroneves (2006 and Oct. 2004), Tomas Scheckter (2005) and Tony Kanaan (June 2004) are entered in the event.

***

Live timing and scoring reports from the Bombardier Learjet 550k will be 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 VNR coordinates, is available at www.indycar.com/media. The user name is media, and the password is indycar. The username and password are case-sensitive. Real-time race information is also available via twitter at www.twitter.com/indycarpr.

***

Danica Patrick is on Forbes' Celebrity 100 list, joining luminaries such as Angelina Jolie (first on the list), Oprah Winfrey (second) and President Barack Obama (49th).

The Celebrity 100, which includes film and television actors, models, chefs, athletes, authors, and musicians, is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility (exposure in print, television, radio and online). The earnings estimates consist of pre-tax income between June 2008 and June 2009. Management, agent, and attorney fees are not deducted.

Patrick, who is ranked No. 100, broke through last year in Japan when she became the first woman to win a major closed-course auto race. Her third-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 on May 24 was the highest ever for a female driver. Patrick, who has four consecutive top-five finishes in the books, will compete this weekend in the Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway in the No. 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola car for Andretti Green Racing.

***

Alex Tagliani has driven on the Texas Motor Speedway oval before, but this will be the first time he'll compete in a race. Tagliani, who advanced 22 positions to finish 11th in his first Indianapolis 500 on May 24, will drive the No. 34 entry with sponsorship from the Rexall Edmonton Indy, Lifelock, TDS and the King Tut exhibit that continues its national tour with a stop at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis starting June 27.

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 34 Conquest Racing): "I remember my first time in Texas in 2001 back when I was in CART. It was pretty crazy having to cancel the race because of the sustained G forces. I enjoyed running at Texas back then so I'm looking forward to my first race here this weekend. I'm still fresh from our great run and unbelievable experience at Indy," he said. "It was great teamwork. This weekend will again be important for us. We will keep on doing our best and it will be a great opportunity for us to keep progressing on these types of tracks."

Luczo Dragon Racing co-owner Steve Luczo is not at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. He is in Sicily to present scholarships and receives honorary citizenship in Corleone, Italy, his family's hometown.

Luczo will present scholarships in honor of his mother Rose Luczo to students in Corleone. He and Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, will receive honorary citizenship June 6 in a ceremony at City Hall.

***

Houston native and Texas National Guard Specialist Bernard Hanus is Panther's "Hometown Hero" for the Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hanus, 37, is an infantryman assigned to HHC, 72nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion in Huntsville, Texas. He is employed by the University of Texas Health and Science Center in Houston as a senior digital controls technician.

The National Guard is in its second full season as the primary sponsor of the No. 4 car. At each IndyCar Series event, Panther Racing selects one person from a Guard unit located near the racetrack and places the soldier's picture on the back of the team's autograph cards to honor their service. Additionally, the team hosts local soldiers throughout every race weekend.

***

Three IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year candidates are entered in this weekend's Bombardier Learjet 550k. Raphael Matos (Luczo Dragon Racing) leads Robert Doornbos (Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing) by three points (88-85). The complete standings:

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Raphael Matos	88
2	Robert Doornbos	85
3	Mike Conway	60
4	Stanton Barrett*	50

* Not competing this weekend

***

Dario Franchitti hopes running an Energizer livery at Texas will bring him the same luck it has for Scott Dixon over the last three years at TCGR.

Dixon has won the three races he has used the Energizer scheme. In 2006, Dixon won at Watkins Glen in the Energizer car. In 2007 and 2008 Dixon won at Nashville Superspeedway.

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Energizer): "I didn't know that (Scott was undefeated in the Energizer car), maybe he'll want to trade cars this weekend since I seem to run better in the Target colors. I know Dan (Wheldon) wasn't undefeated in the Energizer car. I just want to win races regardless of what the car looks like."

***

INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE

At 7:45 p.m., the ambient temperature was 80 degrees with a relative humidity of 40 percent and winds from the north-northeast at 11 mph. Skies were sunny. The track temperature was 90 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

7:45 p.m. - GREEN. Track is open to all cars for 3-5 minutes for systems check.

8:30 p.m. - Track open to all cars.

8:41 p.m. - YELLOW. Track inspection

8:48 p.m. - GREEN.

***

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced today that South African driver Tomas Scheckter and sponsor MonaVie will join the team's IndyCar Series effort for more events this season, beginning this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Scheckter, who qualified 10^th and finished 13^th for the team at Milwaukee, is currently slated to run nine additional races with the team in 2009 season with MonaVie as the primary sponsor.

TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 43 MonaVie/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing): "I'm really excited about it. I think we proved in a short time in Milwaukee that we are competitive. Dennis (Reinbold) and Robbie (Buhl) have given me a great opportunity, and I'm lucky to have MonaVie onboard. They have been extremely supportive, and I'm looking forward to getting the MonaVie car on the track in Texas and hopefully put it in victory lane."

DENNIS REINBOLD (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing co-owner): "We are excited to have Tomas and MonaVie join our team for more events. He did a great job for us in Milwaukee, and we are extremely happy that we were able to work something out with him and MonaVie for nine additional races.p"

DALLIN LARSEN (MonaVie Founder and President): "MonaVie is pleased to introduce the MonaVie brand and new MonaVie EMV at these amazing IndyCar Series events. Our relationship with Tomas and team Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will help introduce MonaVie's new energy drink to those looking for the perfect equation of health and energy to recharge both mind and body."

***

9:15 p.m. -- CHECKERED.

FASTEST SPEEDS OF THE SESSION

Pos.	Car	Name	Time	Speed
1.	4	Dan Wheldon	24.2744	215.783
2.	7	Danica Patick	24.3759	214.884
3.	6	Ryan Briscoe	24.4023	214.652
4.	10	Dario Franchitti	24.4272	214.433
5.	9	Scott Dixon	24.4311	214.399

POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

DAN WHELDON (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing, fastest in practice): "Panther has won a lot of races here, and with the times changing, it seems a lot harder to win IndyCar Series races. We rolled off the truck pretty strong. When you look at the time sheet, you can see I had a pretty strong draft, but the car seems to be quick on our own. I would say that in terms of speed, it's the most competitive car we've had this season. That's certainly a good sign. It's still the first practice sessions. There's not too much to be excited about right now, but we certainly have a car capable of being quick. We just need to work on it so it's as good in traffic."

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola, second fastest): "So far this weekend has started exactly the way I hoped it would. The Boost Mobile/Motorola car unloaded fast and felt very comfortable in traffic. The bottom line is that Eddie (Jones) and Marco (Andretti) were able to set up a very good car last year. We ran their 2008 race set up and didn't change a thing for tonight's session. I'm really excited for the rest of the weekend and think we'll be strong Saturday."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske): "It was a good first session tonight. We did a lot of pack running to simulate what the car will be like during the race. Overall, the Team Penske car was pretty soild. I think we have a bit of work left heading into the race, but so far we're in good shape. I don't know how much work we'll do on qualifying set-up, because it's all about having a good race car. Obviously, we'll want to come out tomorrow and qualify near the front, but for now we're focused on preparing for Saturday night."

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 34 Conquest Racing): "We only did like 25 laps. We had a little issue. We don't know exactly what the problem is yet, so we cut our practice a little bit short. But before we left the track we were 12th and we ended up 16th in the end, so it's not that bad. The team definitely made a lot of progress. It was cool for me to get back on this track (since 2001) because when I left this track, I really didn't have a good memory of it. It's really nice to be able to enjoy the track without the issues that we had last time we were here."

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 US Air Force Luczo Dragon Racing): "My first ever test with Luczo Dragon was here, so it was good to get back in the car, especially after our good finish at Milwaukee. This was the first time I've run this track with traffic. It's completely different then when you're running on your own. We made a few changes to the car and it seems to be progressing well. I'm getting more comfortable in traffic. The team is working really well and we're hoping we'll make more progress in the next session.

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing): "We made some good changes to the No.20 Menards Johns Manville car tonight, but it was a bit hard to gauge because we could only use one set of tires. We end up battling the car and chasing the tires at the same time as a result. We took some positives steps but we need a bit more to make it better for the race and be able to run in the top five. We do have some good things in mind for what we can do so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's practice. Tonight's practice was a bit crazy. I'm sure (race director) Brian Barnhart was stressing out up there in Race Control. I don't know if I'm getting older or wiser but I found myself stressing out a little myself at the end of practice when I saw a few close calls. There are guys in fast cars that don't have the experience on mile and a half ovals that need to figure out what they're doing pretty quickly or they are going to cause an accident."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 21 Vision Racing): "We got a good read on the No.21 IZOD William Rast car in traffic, and that's the most important thing, but we're not where we need to be running on our own. We do know what steps to take for Friday's practice. We ended up further down the timing charts than we'd like, but we made more progress in this practice than we did in Kansas, and we view that as a positive."

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven): "Tonight was a frustrating practice for Team 7-Eleven. Today we started with the same set up we used at Indy; we had a few problems with it there and I think the same problems have found us tonight. We have an idea of what we're up against and the No. 11 crew will work hard to get us where we need to be for qualifying tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): "I think tonight's practice session went well for the No. 26 car. We got everything accomplished that we had hoped. We started with the same set up we used for the race here last year and were able to make few improvements. I think Team Venom Energy is heading in the right direction and will be a contender come Race Day."

HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 27 Formula Dream): "I think that so far we have the beginning of a good race car. We focused today's practice on the race setup rather than a qualifying setup for the No. 27 car. Tomorrow we will work on finding the speed we need for qualifying. Overall, I think we are getting closer."

MARIO MORAES (No. 5 KV Racing Technology/Votorantim): "KV Racing Technology spent tonight's practice working on the race setup. We weren't as concerned with going fast as we were about getting the car to handle well in traffic. We still need to do some work on our qualifying setup, but we have a practice session tomorrow to do that. I think we learned a lot tonight, which will help us in the race on Saturday."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 02 McDonald's Racing Team): "I think that overall the McDonald's car is quite good, pretty competitive. Right away we showed we had speed. On the first outing the car felt really good and we got up to speed quickly, and that is always a good omen. Of course, there is still some speed to be found, but overall the car feels good, it feels competitive. It will be interesting to see who is where in qualifying because everybody is so close in race trim that it's going to be tough to really know who is quick or not. Quite frankly, it's going to take looking at some data and the lap chart plot to see where we really stack up but the car is close.

ROBERT DOORNBOS (No. 06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing): "Obviously, this is a very challenging place and very impressive with the banking. We are doing our homework well during the session and not driving silly times with a tow. You have to qualify on your own tomorrow, so hopefully, this will pay off. I feel comfortable in the car, and I'm happy with the 06 crew. They are working very hard, and I think it's time for us to have a nice result. We have earned it. Driving here at night is very different. The sparks are going to be great for the fans to look at, especially at the beginning of the race. For the driver, it takes a bit to get used to. You have a whole different bio rhythm during the day. You try to eat a bit later, sleep a bit longer - which isn't a bad thing. Visor choice is very important, which I found out tonight. We will be in good shape for Saturday evening.

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske): "It was great that we ran at night, because it gives us a chance to see what Saturday will be like. Tomorrow, we'll run during the day so we'll have to be careful not to get confused. We're going to put all of the information together and hopefully the Team Penske car will be strong in qualifying tomorrow."

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):

10 a.m.

Garages open

2-3 p.m.

IndyCar Series practice (split groups)

5:30 - 7 p.m.

PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying (Live), VERSUS

***END DAY 1***

Still The King (Sized) Of Texas

TMS Media Relations — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:31:00 GMT

The impressive Cowboys Stadium officially opens Saturday with a concert and will now rank among the largest NFL venues in overall size and a seating capacity of 80,000. By comparison, Texas Motor Speedway – site of the Bombardier Learjet 550k IndyCar Series race on the same evening – easily remains the largest sports stadium of any kind in Texas. Four of the new Cowboys Stadiums could fit comfortably inside the massive motorsports venue, which has a seating capacity of 138,122 and a total estimated capacity of 191,122.