TriStar Motorsports Thumbnail

NASCAR driver Mike Bliss will take the wheel in the #19 Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy Chevrolet Impala at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Race on Saturday, November 5. The black, red and white Impala with red trim, along with the number 19 in red, will represents the colors of the Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy brand over the NASCAR Nationwide Series Race weekend.

“Participation on the track is a natural extension of the relationship we’ve had with TMS and NASCAR,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Rayford. “Thousands of NASCAR fans from across our market areas continually express their appreciation of our involvement in the sport they love and passionately support. We believe these fans are the most loyal of any sport fan base out there.”

TriStar Motorsports’ driver, Mike Bliss, echo’s Rayford’s excitement about the partnership at TMS.

“It’s an honor to be working with Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy for this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. I know we will represent them well and I hope we put on a great show for them, the fans and their customers that will be joining us in the pits this weekend for the race.”

Mike currently sits just outside the top 10 in the Nationwide driver Standings in 11th position, but Bliss’s breadth of racing experience is tremendous. He has competed on many levels of racing. From the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he earned a championship to the USAC Silver Crown Series, where he raced against NASCAR champions Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, to the Indy Racing League (IRL) and even on to NASCAR’s premier Cup series. Bliss is a Milwaukie, Oregon native, where he lives with his wife Sue and daughter Britney.

“This will be a nationally televised race, and to have Mike sporting our brand on the car and wearing a Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy fire suit is very exciting,” Rayford said. “We believe it will continue to introduce our stores, products and services to an even greater audience.”

About BGC

Since 1928 Brookshire Grocery Co. has operated on the principle of putting people first—customers and employees. Known for friendly service, clean stores and strong community support, BGC operates 152 stores in three states—Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas—with three distribution centers and seven manufacturing facilities. For more information visit brookshires.com and super1foods.com

BGC Mission

To provide a great food and shopping experience

ABOUT TRISTAR MOTORSPORTS:

TriStar Motorsports is in its sophomore season of NASCAR Nationwide Series competition. Owned by Oregon native and NASCAR engine builder, Mark Smith, TriStar Motorsports operates out of a facility in Denver, NC and fields three full-time cars in the Nationwide Series. The driver line-up includes, Eric McClure, Mike Bliss, and former Nationwide Series champion Jeff Green.

- TriStar Motorsports Press Release

INDYCAR LOGO

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines:

1. Rookie Orientation Program is first step to qualifying for ’500′

2. Lloyd joins Coyne for Indy 500, other ovals

3. Wilson honored by Waterloo, Ind.

4. Sarah Fisher Racing, Carpenter add Milwaukee with sponsorship from Direct Supply

1. Rookie Orientation Program is first step to qualifying for ’500′: At least seven drivers with aspirations of competing in the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 begin their journey May 12 with the mandatory Rookie Orientation Program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (ET) session is open to spectators free of charge in the South Terrace Grandstands. Spectators should enter through Gate 2 on 16th Street. Opening Day is May 14, with all-car practice from noon-6 p.m. (ET).

Scheduled to participate are IZOD IndyCar Series regulars JR Hildebrand (National Guard Panther Racing), James Hinchcliffe (Newman/Haas Racing), James Jakes (Dale Coyne Racing) and Charlie Kimball (Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing), plus Ho-Pin Tung (Schmidt Dragon Racing), Pippa Mann (Conquest Racing) and Jay Howard (Service Central Schmidt-Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing).

“Instead of having it embedded in the practice days, it’s nice to move it out before the activities actually begin by a couple of days,” said Brian Barnhart, president of competition and racing operations for INDYCAR. “I think it provides a better atmosphere for the rookies to get familiar with the racetrack to run through their phases in a less time-restrained and a less pressurized situation.”

The evaluation program consists of turning 10 consistent laps at four speed phases on the 2.5-mile asphalt oval: 200-205 mph, 205-210, 210-215 and 215 or more. Barnhart expects drivers to complete at least three phases during the session.

“They’ll get about six hours on track, which is ample time to get through a minimum of three phases, and then they can complete the fourth phase then at any time during the week of practice prior to qualifications,” he said. “That’s easy enough to do because the fourth phase is anything at speed so they’re able to be at speed with other traffic out there and not be trying to run phases while other people are running different speeds.”

IZOD IndyCar Series teams picked up their equipment May 4 from the street race in Sao Paulo, Brazil, earlier this week. Four Indy 500 rookies competed in that event, with Hinchcliffe and Hildebrand posting top-10 finishes.

“By running the 12th it gives everybody another three days to prepare the cars, move in and do the ROP at their pace,” Barnhart added. “When we open on Saturday, it will be for all cars at all times.”

Five of the drivers have competed at the Speedway in the 40-lap Firestone Freedom 100 on Carb Day, with Mann the pole sitter for the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights race. Kimball was the race runner-up and Hinchcliffe finished third. In 2009, Hildebrand recorded a second-place finish on his way to the series title, and Howard finished fourth. Howard was the runner-up in ’06 during his championship season.

Davey Hamilton, who participated in ROP in 1996 with A.J. Foyt Copenhagen Racing, offered a few cautionary words for the professional race car drivers.

“I think the biggest thing is you have to respect that racetrack,” said Hamilton, who will attempt to qualify for his 11^th Indy 500 in a Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car. “Some days you go out there and it’s so intimidating and other days you think it’s easy. But you have to remember the speeds you’re going and how technical the track really is.

“It’s good to be with a team that’s been there so they can give a lot of advice. Ask questions and don’t ever take it for granted because it can bite you. It does it to the veterans. For a rookie it’s one step at a time and don’t overdue it.”

2. Lloyd joins Coyne for Indy 500, other ovals: Alex Lloyd, who finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 last May for Dale Coyne Racing, will return to the team to drive the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America car in the 100th anniversary race on May 29 and the other seven oval races on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule.

Sebastien Bourdais will continue to drive the No. 19 car in the five remaining street and road course events. Lloyd will be a teammate to rookie James Jakes (No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts), who will not be only attempting his first Indy 500, but the first oval race of his IndyCar career.

“I’m pumped to be back with the Dale Coyne Racing team, and running not only at Indy, but at the remaining oval track events in 2011,” said Lloyd, the 2007 Firestone Indy Lights champion. “I think the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America team has a legitimate chance to win. I’m very excited to have this chance.”

Lloyd recorded four top-10 finishes in a full season in 2010 with Dale Coyne Racing, with the fourth place in the Indy 500 his highest (it also was the highest Indy 500 finish for Coyne in his 28 years as a team owner). Lloyd was the IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year.

“Alex is a great driver and I think will be extremely valuable in helping his teammate’s development on oval tracks,” Coyne said.

It will be Lloyd’s fourth Indianapolis 500 appearance. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for practice May 14.

“It’s great to be back at Indy,” said Lloyd, 26, of England. “I would like nothing more than to give Dale Coyne Racing and the Boy Scouts of America another great finish here.”

3. Wilson honored by Waterloo, Ind.: As part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s ‘Back Home Again in Indiana’ contest, Firestone Indy Lights driver Stefan Wilson spent a day in Waterloo, Ind., with students at Waterloo Elementary School.

He attended the celebration to help hand out pole day tickets to winning students and teachers, but to Wilson’s surprise, the town of Waterloo declared April 29, 2011 as ‘Stefan Wilson Day.’

Wilson received a plaque of an official town resolution, signed by Waterloo town council members.

“It was such an honor—and honestly quite a shock—to have a day named for me,” said Wilson, driver of the No. 5 car for Andretti Autosport. “I had a lot of fun teaching the kids about Indy car racing, and I think we made a few new fans. The plaque was just an added bonus. The whole town really welcomed me to their community.”

More than 250 students attended the convocation, and 21 students, as well as 15 winning teachers, received qualification day tickets to the Indianapolis 500. In keeping with the town’s contest theme, ‘the Indy 500 brings families together,’ local businesses in Waterloo will rent a charter bus to bring winners to the Speedway.

4. Sarah Fisher Racing, Carpenter add Milwaukee with sponsorship from Direct Supply : Sarah Fisher Racing has added the Milwaukee 225 to Ed Carpenter’s IZOD IndyCar Series schedule thanks to a partnership with Milwaukee-based Direct Supply.

Direct Supply, the nation’s leading supplier of equipment and ecommerce solutions to Long Term Healthcare and Senior Living communities, will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 67 carduring the June 19 race at the Milwaukee Mile.

“The Direct Supply Partners have been thrilled with our long association with Sarah and her team. As the first woman car owner she has shown tremendous spirit and accomplishment,” said Bob Hillis, CEO and founder of Direct Supply. “Now that she has added our good friend Ed Carpenter as driver of the Dollar General car, we were excited to get the opportunity to bring the team to Milwaukee as part of our family.”

Direct Supply joined Sarah Fisher Racing at the 2008 Indianapolis 500, continuing its longstanding involvement in Indy car racing..

“I am very excited about going back to Milwaukee, not only with Sarah Fisher Racing and Direct Supply, but just that the IZOD IndyCar Series is going back in general is awesome,” Carpenter said. “To be able to go up there sponsored by a local company and to work with Bob Hillis, who has been a family friend for a long time, is tremendous. I am just really excited to go up there and have a strong showing in front of the Milwaukee crowd!”

Said SFR owner Sarah Fisher: “I am thrilled to welcome Direct Supply as our primary partner for the Milwaukee race. Being one of the first supporters of SFR in 2008, when we were in a major growing stage at the Indianapolis 500, Direct Supply has continued with unwavering support of our team and certainly with our drive, Ed Carpenter. We have been in the wings, watching the Milwaukee race at the start of SFR, and with its return this season are excited to be a part of the historical event.”

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The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season continues with the 100^th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 on May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at Noon (ET) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM channel 94 and www.indycar.com. The 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Firestone Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 27. The race will be televised live by VERSUS.

- INDYCARS, Press Release

The Michael Andretti Foundation

Under DePinto’s leadership, 7-Eleven continues to stand as the premier company in convenience retailing. Globally, there are approximately 40,900 stores worldwide of which more than 8,400 stores are in North America. 7-Eleven is a longtime sponsor of Andretti’s IndyCar team, Andretti Autosport and most-notably served as primary sponsor for the team’s 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series championship-winning team.

Before his appointment as chief executive of 7-Eleven in 2005, DePinto was president of GameStop Corporation. He also has held executive positions at PepsiCo, Inc. and Thornton Oil Corporation.

DePinto is a board-director of 7-Eleven, Inc., OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT), The Dallas Chamber of Commerce, SMU’s Cox School of Business and The National Italian American Foundation. He is a member of the Advisory Councils for Outlook Leadership, The Pro Players Foundation, the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth and is a Network of Executive Women Champion. He also is an active member of the Business Executives for National Security.

A native of Chicago, Ill., DePinto earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering management from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He and his wife, Ingrid, and their four sons reside in Southlake, Texas.

The Racing Round Up Gala will benefit the Children’s Museum in the new Perot Museum of Nature & Science with a portion of proceeds going to Speedway Children’s Charities at Texas Motor Speedway. Event-goers will have the opportunity to meet the IZOD IndyCar drivers of Andretti Autosport, including Marco Andretti, Mike Conway, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Danica Patrick.

The standard charitable donation for this limited event is $250 per person, or $350 per person for VIP access. For more details on the event and ticket sales, please visit www.MichaelAndrettiFoundation.com.

One-time donations to benefit the Museum of Nature & Science can also be mailed to The Michael Andretti Foundation at 7615 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268.

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About The Michael Andretti Foundation
Based in Indianapolis The Michael Andretti Foundation is a 501(c)(3) foundation established by open-wheel racing legend Michael Andretti to help people who have shown need and to help promote programs for better health, education and welfare of North America’s children and citizens. For more information about The Michael Andretti Foundation, click here.

Contact: Ryann Rigsby 610-909-7312

About Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) is the leading producer of flavored beverages in North America and the Caribbean. Our success is fueled by more than 50 brands that are synonymous with refreshment, fun and flavor. We have 6 of the top 10 non-cola soft drinks, and 9 of our 12 leading brands are No. 1 in their flavor categories. In addition to our flagship Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, our portfolio includes Sunkist soda, 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Crush, Mott’s, Squirt, Hawaiian Punch, Peñafiel, Clamato, Schweppes, Venom Energy, Rose’s and Mr & Mrs T mixers. To learn more about our iconic brands and Plano, Texas-based company, please visit www.drpeppersnapple.com.

About 7-Eleven, Inc.
7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 8,400 7-Eleven® stores in North America. Globally, there are more than 40,900 7-Eleven stores in 16 countries. During 2010, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $62.7 billion. 7-Eleven has been honored by a number of companies and organizations recently. Accolades include: #2 on Forbes magazine’s 2011 list of Top Franchises for the Money; #4 spot on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list for 2009, #3 in Forbes magazine’s Top 20 Franchises to Start, #3 among Top 100 Global Franchises by Franchise Direct, among G.I. Jobs magazine’s Top 100 Military-Friendly Employers, #3 in Store Growth by Convenience Store News, #2 in Franchise Times Top 200 Franchise Companies, #6 in AllBusiness AllStar Franchise ranking and #29 among Top 100 Chains in Food Service. Hispanic Magazine named 7-Eleven in its Hispanic Corporate Top 100 Companies that provide the most opportunities to Hispanics. 7-Eleven recently was selected by three diversity publications as a company offering the best career and franchisee opportunities. In addition, Symphony IRI recognized 7-Eleven in its 2009 Shopper-Centric Marketing Innovation program, and 7-Eleven received the 2010 Retailer of the Year from PL Buyer because of the company’s private-label brand initiative. The company is franchising its stores in the U.S., and is expanding through organic growth, acquisitions and its Business Conversion Program. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.

- Andretti Autosport/The Michael Andretti Foundation, Press Release

Panther Racing

Hildebrand posted a best speed of 108.888 mph, 1:23.8443 seconds, which was actually faster than Kanaan’s speed of 108.401 mph but the rookie starts behind TK because the drivers where in separate groups during the first round of qualifications.

In 2010 with former driver Dan Wheldon, Panther started in the 18^th position but was unable to overcome its starting position, and a broken front wing during the race, to finish in fifth position in the inaugural IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 11-turn, 2.6-mile temporary street circuit. Hildebrand has shown the same ability to move to the front of the field; in St. Pete he climbed from 24^th-to -11^th, advanced from 15^th-to-13^th at Barber after initially falling a lap down and back to 25^th, and moved up from 27^th-to-17^th in the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

He has completed all of the possible 275 laps of IndyCar competition this season, one of only seven drivers (Kannan, Franchitti, Power, Meira, Tagliani and Servia) to do so through the first three races of the season – and the only rookie. Hildebrand is the current leader of the IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year point standings. Sunday will mark his sixth career IndyCar Series start, as the 23-year-old Californian made two starts with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2010 in addition to his three races this season with Panther.

Team Penske driver Will Power captured his fourth consecutive pole position and will be joined on the front row by Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle will be broadcast live on VERSUS on Sunday, May 1^st at 12:00 pm (EST) with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, XM Channel 145 and Sirius Channel 121.

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda:

“We definitely know that the National Guard car is really good, and we were able to make good of it in the second practice but then we were going so much quicker from second practice to qualifications that it put me in a little bit of a bind with the gearing in the car because I was going so much faster through the corners that I was having to reconfigure the gears that I was running this morning. I’m disappointed; we were in a tough group but I feel like I could have gotten a couple more tenths out of the car and, even being in the group that we were in, I felt like after the second practice that we’d have a shot to advance to the Top 12. Like I said, the car is going to be really good tomorrow and I’m bummed about starting in the back, but it does leave us some options as far as strategy in the race.”

- Panther Racing, Press Release

KV Racing Technology – Lotus

Sato, No. 5 KV Racing Technology – Lotus, qualified with a lap of 82.7379 seconds (110.344 mph) on the challenging and bumpy 2.6-mile, 11-turn Sāo Paulo temporary street circuit and will start on the outside of row five. The 10^th place starting position is his season high and is the third time in four tries that he has reached the second round of road/street course qualifying this season (started 11^th at both St. Petersburg and Barber).

“It was not an easy day, but through both practice sessions we made steady progress,” Sato said. “I tried everything I could in qualifying and the team did put everything together, but we just lacked speed. So, tonight we need to review the data we collected today and work hard to find some more speed for the race. Under the circumstances, I am reasonably happy with the performance today and I feel we can have a strong race tomorrow.”

Sato made his IZOD IndyCar debut here last year, starting 10^th but was knocked out of the race following an opening lap incident. He has started his second IndyCar season strong finishing an IndyCar career high fifth at the season opener in St. Petersburg. Then at Barber and Long Beach, on-track incidents negated extremely competitive performances where he looked to be a shoe-in for at least a top-10 finish. Sato is currently 13^th in the standings with 56 points just eight points out of 10^th place.

Kanaan, who is piloting the No. 82 Itaipava – KV Racing Technology – Lotus for his home race, originally qualified 15^th with a lap of 83.684 seconds, but was penalized for an illegal wing change and assigned his fast time prior to the change, (84.2205 seconds.108.401 mph), dropping him to 21^st on the grid. He will start on the inside of row 11.

“During our first outing the team noticed that according to our telemetry there was something wrong with the front wing of the car. I came in and the team swapped wings, but I ran out of time to get a good lap. After the qualifying was over we were informed that we got penalized because of the wing change. It will be a long day tomorrow, but this track is good for overtaking, so I’m confident that we’ll improve during the race.”

Kanaan will be making his second start on the streets of Sāo Paulo tomorrow. Last year, he qualified sixth and finished 10^th. The talented Brazilian is third in the championship race with 87 points just 35 points behind series leader Dario Franchitti. He is one of four drivers to finish in the top-10 in each of the first three events of the 2011 season and has improved 25 positions (starting position to finishing position) in the three events. Kanaan will be making his 136^th consecutive IndyCar start tomorrow putting him just two shy of the Series record.

Viso, No. 59 PDVSA – KV Racing Technology – Lotus, had a mechanical failure through no fault of his own during the second practice session that resulted in a crash. The car was damaged so severely that despite the valiant and best efforts of his crew, the car could not be repaired in time for qualifying. As a result, Viso will start last, 26^th, in tomorrow’s race on the outside of row 13.

“Unfortunately, after going over the car the team found we had a mechanical failure that caused me to crash during the second practice session,” Viso said. “The car suffered a lot of damage and even though my crew, with help from some of the guys from the other two KVRT – Lotus crews, worked very hard we just didn’t have enough time to fix the car for qualifying. Obviously I am disappointed. We improved the car a lot during practice and I thought I had a chance for a good qualifying session. However, with this track and the way things have gone in the last three races anything is possible, so I am hoping for the best tomorrow.”

Regarding Viso’s incident KVRT – Lotus General Manager Mark Johnson said, “We are very disappointed that we had a mechanical failure today which ended up with E. J. crashing through no fault of his own. The team takes 100% responsibility for what happened today. We are all working hard to help E. J. overcome the bad luck that has hampered his performance at the start of this season, so today’s problem is even more frustrating.”

Viso, in his fourth IndyCar season, will be making his 54^th career start and second in Sāo Paulo tomorrow.

Last year he started 17^th and finished 12^th in a hard fought race. The determined young Venezuelan has been plagued by bad luck during the early part of the 2011 season. He suffered a puncture at St. Petersburg, was hit by another competitor at Barber and at Long Beach, was having a strong race when he attempted a pass that resulted in contact. Viso is currently 25^th in the standings with 34 points

Kanaan led the team in both practices today. He had the eighth fastest lap (85.6099 seconds, 106.642 mph) in the morning session (Viso was ninth at 85.7079 seconds, 106.520 mph, Sato, 13^th, 85.8121 seconds,106.391 mph). In the afternoon practice Kanaan recorded a time of 84.5128 seconds (108.026 mph) placing him 10^th, Sato was second on the team and 18^th on the practice report, 64.8441 seconds, 107.604 mph. Viso had the mechanical failure in the afternoon and ran just five laps.

KVRT – Lotus road/street course qualifying:

When Sato advanced to the second round of qualifying today in Sāo Paulo it was the fourth consecutive time that KVRT – Lotus has had a least one driver get to the second round of road/street course qualifying. Tony Kanaan has advanced to the second round twice (St. Petersburg, qualified eighth and Long Beach, qualified 10th. Sato has done it three times (St. Petersburg 11^th, Barber Motorsports Park, 11^th and here in Sāo Paulo, a season-high 10^th).

Sato visits Brazilian school children:

Early Friday, April 29, Takuma Sato visited a unit of the Unified Educational Centers (CEU) in Jaçanã, a neighborhood in the north of Sāo Paulo. Taku, who launched the “With you Japan” charity program to raise funds for children who are victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, visited some classrooms and spoke with about 120 students, ages 13-15, in the amphitheater through a Japanese-Portuguese interpreter. After a brief video introduction, Sato explained about effects of the disaster in Japan then fielded questions from the students about the terrible events and about IndyCar racing. At the conclusion the, students recorded a videotaped message of support to Japanese children affected by natural disaster.

“I really enjoyed sending a message to the students. They were very interested, focused and energetic,” Sato said. “It was also very emotional when they sang their welcome song.”

Itaipava Sāo Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle broadcast time:

The Itaipava Sāo Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle will be broadcast live on Versus starting at 12:00 noon ET on Sunday, May 1.

For more information about KV Racing Technology – Lotus visit: www.kvracingtechnology.com or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kvracing and Facebook: www.facebook.com/kvracingtechnology

- KV Racing Technology – Lotus, Press Release

Sebastian Saavedra - Conquest Racing

The young Colombian driver was able to improve his lap times by nearly two seconds from the first practiced session to qualifying, but the field was very tight. He is focused on driving a mistake-free race in the No. 34 car and gaining momentum in the championship points race.

Saavedra, who scored one win from pole and claimed five top five finishes in Firestone Indy Lights last year, is challenging for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Award. After putting in his best performance of the season in the previous round at Long Beach, Saavedra is just 6 points out of the top rookie spot currently held by JR Hildebrand.

Both Saavedra and Conquest Racing are well-acquainted with Rookie of the Year honors. The 20-year-old was Firestone Indy Lights 2009 Rookie of the Year and the Indianapolis-based team took home the IndyCar award in 2002 and 2009.

Sebastian Saavedra, No. 34 Conquest Racing
“I am very happy to race here in the streets of Sao Paulo. It is a beautiful place where I used to live in 2004, and it’s always nice to come back. Being my first time on this circuit should be interesting. I got a very good feel for the car on the track today. We made an aggressive change for qualifying that didn’t quite pay off in this very tight field. But, I’m very focused on continuing to develop the car as we’ve been doing since day one here at Conquest Racing and I feel we can be competitive.”

VERSUS’ coverage of qualifications airs at 6 p.m. ET. Teams will get a 30-minute warm-up Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET before the green flag drops at 12:20 p.m. ET, with the live race broadcast on VERSUS starting at 12 p.m. ET. Fans can also catch race coverage on IMS Radio Network affiliates, XM Radio 94 and Sirius 212.

ABOUT CONQUEST RACING
Conquest Racing is entering its 15th season of professional racing. Throughout its history, the team has been known to give young up and coming drivers a chance to make it to the big leagues and Conquest is keeping up that tradition with 20-year-old Columbian Sebastian Saavedra this year. British driver Pippa Mann will make her IZOD IndyCar Series debut with the team at the Indianapolis 500.

- Conquest Racing, Press Release

INDYCAR LOGO

SAO PAULO, Brazil (Saturday, April 30, 2011) –

Power, driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, set the track record of 1 minute, 21.8958 seconds with three minutes left in the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six shootout on the 2.536-mile, 11-turn street circuit.

Like at Long Beach two weeks earlier, Ryan Hunter-Reay will join Power on the front row. They finished 1-2 in the inaugural IZOD IndyCar Series race in Brazil, with Power starting the 2010 season with the victory.

“What a fantastic job they did repaving the track, and I believe it now sets the standard for street courses,” Power said. “The second session for us was a little tight – I was P5 with one lap to go – and I put a lap together at the end to advance. In the Fast Six we were very comfortable and gave it everything we had.”

Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe will share Row 2, while Graham Rahal and Dario Franchitti will be on the third row for the 75-lap race.

DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:

HP campaign featured on Dreyer & Reinbold cars: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s No. 22 car driven by Justin Wilson will have the HP “Everybody On” primary livery for the race weekend. HP also will have an associate level presence on the No. 24 car of Ana Beatriz.

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Drivers will have 15 pushes of the Honda overtake assist – an ECU software alteration employed by Honda Performance Development – each lasting 22 seconds during the race. It is activated by the driver via a button on the steering wheel and provides an extra 200 RPM (about 10 horsepower) to the Honda Indy V-8 engine. Parameters are updated before each race weekend to meet the circuit layout.

There is a 10-second recovery period between pushes. One overtake assist push is available for the warm-up session on Sunday morning.

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The dry weather tires for this weekend are the street course primary, which is a new spec for 2011 and used on the streets of St. Petersburg and Long Beach earlier this year. The red-rimmed alternate tires are the same spec as used at St. Pete in March..

The alternate tire program, part of the IZOD IndyCar Series since 2009, calls for a second tire specification at road/street courses using the same construction as the primary specification but with a softer tread compound to provide more grip and faster lap times while trading off compound durability for those shorter-term advantages.

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Charlie Kimball might be checking out the Rosetta Stone display at the airport soon so he can converse freely on his next visit to Brazil.

The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing rookie hosted a group of youngsters from the local juvenile diabetes association in the IZOD IndyCar Series paddock. Kimball was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2007.

“It brings it home,” Kimball said after showing the inquisitive youngsters the workings of the car and what all the buttons on his steering wheel operate. “They’re so enthusiastic and excited with so many questions and thoughts.

“They came up with questions before they got here. I wish I could have spoken Portuguese so I could answer them more and covered so much more.

“They get to see first-hand that race car driving is not ruled out because of diabetes. It’s important to show them at an early age that it’s possible to live a normal life and participate in sports.”

The 26-year-old Californian was thanked for his time with a box of sugar-free treats.

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Ana Beatriz was busy between practice sessions.

First, Brazil national soccer team coach Mano Menezes stopped by to say “Bom dia,”and then Williams Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello visited with the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver.

The 2010 race on the streets of São Paulo was the first in the IZOD IndyCar Series for the Firestone Indy Lights graduate.

With sponsorship on the No. 24 car from Brazil-based Ipiranga, Beatriz is coming off a 19th place at Long Beach — a race in which she competed with a broken wrist. Beatriz has been wearing the Ipiranga logo on her cast.

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They may be fierce competitors on-track, but there’s a spirit of cooperation in the competitive IZOD IndyCar Series.

Because most of the AFS Racing crew was delayed more than 18 hours from arriving in Brazil because of travel issues related to storms in the States, members of A.J. Foyt Racing, HVM Racing and the Indy Racing Experience pitched in to help set up equipment.

One group of travelers was diverted to Santiago, Chile, before continuing on to São Paulo.

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING NOTES:

· Will Power claimed his fourth pole of 2011 and the 19^th pole of his Indy car career. It is his fourth consecutive pole to start the season after he claimed the PEAK Performance Pole Award at St. Petersburg, Barber and Long Beach.

· Power’s pole is the 200^th all-time Indy car pole for Team Penske.

· Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified second, matching his season-best qualifying performance. He also qualified second for the Long Beach race.

· Power and Hunter-Reay finished first and second, respectively, in the inaugural Sao Paulo race in 2010.

· Scott Dixon qualified third for the third time this season. He also qualified third at St. Petersburg and Barber.

· Graham Rahal qualified fifth and Sebastien Bourdais qualified 12^th — their best qualifying performance of 2011.

· Helio Castroneves (7^th) was the best qualified driver among the Brazilians in the field.

· James Hinchcliffe qualified 11^th, the highest-qualifying Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate.

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske, PEAK Performance Pole Award): “We tried to do as minimal laps as we could in the first two sessions. The second session was close. We got a lap in at the end on our last bit of fuel and we made it the Fast Six. The car was so good that I just had to lay a really good lap, stay clean, put all the sectors together and we came away with the pole again. I want a good, clean race tomorrow. I don’t want to be involved in any incidents. I just come away with a win.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda, qualified second): “The team did a great job with the car. It was a lot of fun out there all day. With qualifying being the same day as the first practice, we had to stay on our toes, but I think that it suited us. Unfortunately we didn’t get pole. We just have to back and work to make the car better so we can get by Will (Power) on the straights to reverse that result from last year.”

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, qualified third): “It was pretty decent. I think with the compressed schedule, you have to act and think fast. We’re happy. We have three cars in the top six today. The race pace of the Target cars are usually a bit quicker than the qualifying speeds so we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Penske Logistics, qualified fourth): “It was a good day for the yellow Penske Logistics car. What an awesome effort by all my guys – they came in late (due to travel problems from the U.S.) and they were rushed to get ready for the first practice this morning. We came out with a really good setup right away and the car is definitely fast. I have to say I’m really impressed with the circuit here in Sao Paulo. The did a great job repaving the surface and I think it’s going to be a really exciting race tomorrow.”

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 38 Service Central, qualified fifth): “Overall, it was a great day for the Service Central guys. We felt good coming in here and I felt it was a track that I’d really like after watching last year’s race and from the first session, we felt competitive. After the second session we felt like we would be faster that our final result and it came through. We were competitive in qualifying. We were fastest in the first group and made it to Fast Six. I just made a mistake in Fast Six and messed up my rhythm a bit. But I’m happy to qualify fifth. At the end of the day, you have to look at the positives, and this is a result that will help keep the team moving forward.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Kellogg’s, qualified sixth): “The Kellogg’s car felt OK, we just weren’t fast enough today.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Ipiranga Team Penske, qualified seventh): “It’s a shame we didn’t make it into the top six in qualifying in the Itaipava Team Penske car. We pushed really hard, but it just didn’t work for us. We were three tenths-of-a-second off the sixth-fastest time and I think if we could have gotten more a draft we would have put ourselves in a better position, but we gave it our best. Starting seventh tomorrow isn’t too bad – maybe it will be my ‘Lucky 7′ this weekend.”

JUSTIN WILSON (No. 22 HP/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, qualified eighth): “Unfortunately, we didn’t make the Firestone Fast Six today. It’s a shame because we have been OK all day. I thought that we had a little bit more in it, but we just couldn’t get the balance where we liked it for qualifying. It’s how it goes. We’ve made three out of four Firestone Fast Six’s so far, which apart from Will (Power) that’s not a bad average. We have some work to do. We’ve got to try and make the car a little bit quicker and a little bit better. All in all, I think we made good progress today. We made some positive steps and moved forward. I think it’s been good, but the competition level is high and it’s pretty tight. It’s disappointing, but I think we have a good race car.”

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 06 Sprott Newman/Haas Racing): “The track is cool; it’s super-technical in some parts but then you have the longest straights on the entire calendar mixed into a street circuit so there is a huge variety. It really becomes a compromise on setup because you’ve got to trim the car for the long straights but you have still got to have downforce for the corners. It’s a tough, technical place and from what I’ve heard it’s improved a lot from last year in terms of the bumps and grip so it has been a lot of fun to drive. I think qualifying went reasonably well for the Sprott team. We didn’t have a great first or second practice — especially second practice this morning. So to make it out of the first round was great. These are a different compound Firestone reds than Long Beach so again it was a new tire for me to learn. We managed to get out of Round 1 and we made big gains in Round 2 but it wasn’t enough to get any higher than 11th. I’m happy to be starting on the inside line. Again we are really close to the top-10 but I think that is all we had today after the limited running we had in the second practice so we’ll take it. We finished fourth after coming from 11th two weeks ago in Long Beach so maybe it’s a good sign. The race is going to be about keeping clean in Turn 1 and hopefully we have a good race car.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America): “I thought the #19 Boy Scouts of America car was great in qualifying today. I was very happy for the team that we made it into the next round of qualifying. I think starting in the P12 spot will give us an excellent opportunity to have a great finish in the race tomorrow.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy/HVM Racing): “This qualifying session was a little bit disappointing. I think we’re just missing something on the red tires, so we just need to figure it out. It seems like the other teams are just picking up a bit more grip than we are, but I think we’ve got an idea of how we’re going to fix it. For the race tomorrow, I think we’re going to be alright. The track is a lot of fun and there’s plenty of straight-a-ways so we’ll be able to pass. If the car is solid for the race, I think we can definitely drive it to the front.”

ANA BEATRIZ (No. 24 Ipiranga/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing): “Well, the session was a little bit disappointing for us. We thought with the Firestone “red” tires we could gain more time and we didn’t. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that much grip and I couldn’t put a lap together. We were a little bit disappointed in some of the corners, I think we should be better tomorrow. My wrist still hurts a little bit especially when the track grips up and you to be more aggressive, so we’ll see for tomorrow. It’s frustrating because we didn’t have a very good session.”

ORIOL SERVIA ( No. 2 Telemundo/Newman/Haas Racing): “The course is interesting. I think it is going to provide great racing. I think that if I had to choose a place to start 16th it would be the one with the longest straights in the whole championship. This place definitely provides passing opportunities which helps our situation. We didn’t get it right in qualifying; I wasn’t totally happy with the Telemundo car. No excuses, we were not ten-tenths. We missed it but I am still very confident we can have a great car tomorrow. Our superb engineers are working hard and I think that if we have a good car there is no reason why we can’t move up to the front.”

JAMES JAKES (No. 18 VisitOrlando.com):”It was a little frustrating, but overall I was happy with how the #18 VisitOrlando.com car did today. This is a very challenging track and I am looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

VITOR MEIRA (No. 14 ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt Racing): “There was a time last year when we would have thought that this was ok but now we are the point where we want more and believe we can get more. Our ABC Supply team has been evolving and I think we have evolved more than the others but it is definitely tougher this year—you just have to look at how close the times are. We are seventh in our group for three out of the first four races — it is a bittersweet feeling.”

E.J. VISO ( No. 59 PDVSA – KV Racing Technology- Lotus): “Unfortunately, after going over the car the team found we had a mechanical failure that caused me to crash during the second practice session. The car suffered a lot of damage and even thought my crew, with help from some of the guys from the other two KVRT – Lotus crews, worked very hard we just didn’t have enough time to fix the car for qualifying. Obviously I am disappointed. We improved the car a lot during practice and I thought I had a chance for a good qualifying session. However, with this track and the way things have gone in the last three races anything is possible, so I am hoping for the best tomorrow.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): “I think the Venom car is stronger than our qualifying results showed today. We didn’t get a solid, strong lap in and had a mistake on the track and that really hurt us in the end. Track position is obviously important on a road course, but luckily there are some decent passing zones here. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow but anything’s possible.”

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy): “Obviously disappointed with the results of qualifying today but I think the GoDaddy car has potential. Last year’s race showed this is a track you can pass on which will be a darn good thing for us tomorrow. Here you need overall lap time and speed because it’s not a normal road course because there’s a long straight away you can draft someone on. But you’re also going to need to finish. A lot of people have gone off and it’s easy to lock up the brakes and make mistakes here and there. We’ll do our best tomorrow and hopefully have a strong result.

MIKE CONWAY (No. 27 Window World Cares): “The car felt okay really, I thought we’d be up a bit further with the Window World Cares car maybe in the Firestone Fast Six but the last lap I screwed up in the last corner. We could have gone quicker but don’t think we could have gone right up to the front. We’re obviously not that far up so we’ll do our homework tonight and see what the other guys tried and come out a bit stronger tomorrow. Anything can happen in the race. Overall not too unhappy we’re in the top 10 and we can do something from there.

MARK JOHNSON (KVRT – Lotus General Manager): About E. J. Viso): “We are very disappointed that we had a mechanical failure today which ended up with E. J. crashing through no fault of his own. The team takes 100 percent responsibility for what happened today. We are all working hard to help E. J. overcome the bad luck that has hampered his performance at the start of this season, so today’s problem is even more frustrating.”

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series event is the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on May 1 on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The race will be televised live at noon (ET) by VERSUS and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is Firestone Freedom 100 on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It will be televised live by VERSUS.

- INDYCAR, Press Release

INDYCAR LOGO

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines:

1. Matos comfortable at home

2. Memory of Senna prominent in drivers’ mind

3. Rice joins Panther Racing for Indy 500

4. INDYCAR drivers get the beat

5. Jakes helps Orlando reach out to potential visitors

6. Firestone Indy Lights race in Iowa lands sponsor

1. Matos comfortable at home: Yes, Raphael Matos understands, you can go home. The native Belo Horizonte (the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, about 450 miles from the Anhembi circuit) is looking forward to standing on the podium May 1 with the green and yellow Brazilian flag draped over his shoulder.

In another context, the third-year IZOD IndyCar Series driver is comfortable with his old/new home at AFS Racing. Matos won the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights championship in an AFS Racing car, and reunited with owner Gary Peterson just before the season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., to drive the No. 17 entry in the team’s inaugural standalone race.

“Gary and (his wife) Tammy are wonderful people and as I’ve told him several times he’s saved my career two times,” said Matos, who competed with two iterations of Jay Penske/Steve Luczo/Gil de Ferran racing operations the previous two seasons. “It’s certainly a place that I can have a long-term career.

“The chemistry of the team is great. I feel a lot of support from the engineers, mechanics and (GM) Neil Micklewright.”

Matos delivered a seventh place on the St. Petersburg street course, and is 12th in the championship standings heading into the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle. AFS Racing, which had competed in Firestone Indy Lights since Peterson was a driver, ran two IZOD IndyCar Series races in 2010 through an association with Andretti Autosport.

“Finishing seventh in the first race when we did the shakedown of the car on Friday is not bad,” said Matos, the 2009 IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year. “Having the program come late to the season, without going to the Open Test (10 days before the opening event) was tough. But it’s that support from everyone, the chemistry that got us through. I know that I can give insight to the engineers and help them with the development of the car for this track.”

Matos, whose Automatic Fire Sprinklers Inc. car carries associate sponsorship from Nova Schin (a popular Brazilian pilsner), was out of a ride in December. Now he’s the foundation of a team that is seeking to expand its imprint in the highly competitive series.

“It only gives me confidence,” said Matos, who recorded one of his four top-10 finishes in 2010 on the São Paulo circuit last year with a fourth (started 12th). “I put a lot of pressure on myself as a driver, and having support from Gary and the sponsors is what I’m looking at.

“(Peterson is) committed to this program, very passionate about this sport and loves his team. I expect big things out of this team. Obviously, we need to get the right partners and we need track time.”

2. Memory of Senna prominent in drivers’ mind: Two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon was one of the many drivers who paid his respects to Ayrton Senna, the legendary Brazilian racing champion, who is buried in São Paulo’s Morumbi Cemetery.

“Popped out to see Senna’s grave,” Dixon wrote on Twitter. “Very quiet in a busy city. What a legend!”

Senna remains a hero to many drivers from around the world but no place more than in his home country of Brazil. The fact that the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle occurs on the 17th anniversary of his passing (May 1) provides extra motivation to the five Brazilian drivers in the field.

“It would be an extremely important win to me because he was a hero not only to me, but for all of Brazil,” said three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves. “(Winning on Sunday) would be a memorable day for me not only to win here in Brazil, but on a very special day to many Brazilians. I am going to do everything I can to make sure that can happen.”

Like Castroneves, Ana Beatriz considers Senna her hero, even though she had only begun to race go-karts a few months before his death.

“Senna means a lot to me,” said Beatriz, who like Senna is a native of São Paulo. “He is still a big reference when I think about the sport. We can still watch his races on video and we can see his determination and focus when he raced. He’s still a big hero in Brazil and everyone remembers the anniversary of his death and his birthday. Racing on May 1 and maybe winning the race in Brazil will be the perfect way to say thank you to him for all he did for us. ”

Vitor Meira will carry a very personal tribute to Senna during the race weekend. Meira had his helmet painter Art Rotondo paint a mural of Senna’s racing accomplishments on the back of the helmet he will use in the race.

“I remember May 1, 1994, when he unfortunately passed away,” Meira said. “It’s just a way to say he’s still in our minds. I put him on my helmet and wanted to do something individually out of respect to what he meant to me.”

3. Rice joins Panther Racing for Indy 500: Panther Racing rookie JR Hildebrand will have an Indianapolis 500 champion as a teammate for the 100th anniversary race on May 29.

The team announced that 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice will drive the No. 44 entry. A Panther Racing driver has finished runner-up in three consecutive Indy 500s (2008 with Vitor Meira and in 2009, 2010 with Dan Wheldon).

“I’m pumped to be at Panther, and the intention is that we’ll be able to run more than Indy, but this is the first step and I’m here to help JR and help the team,” said Rice, who last competed in the ’500′ in 2008 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “The whole key for me coming back is that I wanted to be in competitive equipment and have a chance to win. I didn’t want to come back to Indy just to pound out laps, and given how competitive the series has become that’s how it has to be.

“I’ve had offers in the past that didn’t work out for different reasons, and I wasn’t coming back and driving unless I had the chance to run up front. That’s always been my goal. Panther is a team that can win the race so when I had the opportunity I couldn’t say no.”

Rice has made IZOD IndyCar Series starts, with three victories and five pole positions. He finished a career-high third in the championship in 2004.

“Buddy and I have talked for years about him joining the team and never had an opportunity that aligned itself, so when this came about to run a second car at the Speedway he was high on our list and he was excited about being a part of Panther,” CEO John Barnes said. “He’s going to make a huge impact on JR and his development, and from the time we decided Hildebrand was the future of our team we wanted to bring along a mentor and somebody that could help our entire team.

“When the opportunity came along with Buddy, it was a no-brainer for us. We hope this isn’t a one-and-done thing; we want Buddy for more races this season, and we feel this opportunity is a win-win for all of us.”

Hildebrand had reached out to Rice on more than one occasion earlier in the season about helping the team in some capacity.

“I’m super excited to have Buddy on board,” said Hildebrand. “Having him as a teammate at Indy is the best-case scenario; he’s a guy that for his accomplishments and his attitude is a guy I’ve always admired and thought that he took things very seriously and has been known to be a good teammate.

“All those things for me personally make it even more exciting to have him on board with Panther. It will really hit when we actually show up to Indianapolis. I definitely never would have thought when I was young that I’d have an opportunity to race in the Indianapolis 500. To be in a position with a team that’s capable of winning at Indy and with a teammate that’s done it before, it’s just a crazy circumstance when you really think about it and I’m really looking forward to the month of May.”

Hildebrand is the current leader in the IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year standings and will become the first rookie to start in the Indy 500 for Panther since Tomas Enge in 2005.

“I own my own go-kart team and I like helping out young drivers and seeing them develop,” Rice said. “For me to deal with JR, we have some mutual friends and my reputation as a teammate has been good, so I’m excited about it and I like the challenge. I’ve been in JR’s shoes before and I feel like I have a lot to offer especially because he’s a kid who wants to learn and I feel like I have some insight and it will be great to help him out and be a part of Panther.”

Sponsorship details for Rice’s No. 44 car will be announced at a later date.

4. INDYCAR drivers get the beat: They quickly got the rhythm of the dance and drums, and subsequently were invited to participate in one of the parades of Carnival in 2012.

“That would be a lot of fun,” said Raphael Matos, who joined Helio Castroneves, Oriol Servia and E.J. Viso at the samba school Vai-Vai (loose translation: go and just do it) in São Paulo.

Participants at samba schools — a gathering spot, social club and community outreach program rolled into one — in many Brazilian cities plan their theme for Carnival, make costumes and their float, plan and practice the music and dance, etc., for more than nine months. Come Carnival time (in 2012 it’s late March), samba schools compete for various prizes and trophies in the multitude of parades that take place in the Anhembi Sambadrome that is part of the circuit for the Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle.

“I had a little experience playing drums in Brazil a long time ago, and I enjoyed it much to be next to the people who are professionals teaching the samba,” Matos said. “It was great to join some of the tradition in Brazil.”

In another part of the city, Ana Beatriz visited the nation’s soccer museum and the Assistance Association for Disabled Children as part of Racing For Kids. AACD is the largest association in Brazil supporting physically disabled children.

5. Jakes helps Orlando reach out to potential visitors: Visit Orlando is the primary sponsor on the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing car of James Jakes for the race on the streets of São Paulo.

It’s the organization’s first-ever sports sponsorship and is part of Visit Orlando’s global marketing campaign, “Orlando Makes Me Smile,” which recently launched in Brazil.

“James is an outstanding athlete and, as an Orlando resident, we’re honored to have him as an Orlando ambassador on this worldwide sporting stage with millions of global fans and viewers,” said Gary Sain, president and CEO of Visit Orlando. “It’s also fitting that he is a native of the UK, one of Orlando’s long-standing top international visitor markets, racing in Brazil, one of Orlando’s fastest growing visitor markets.”

6. Firestone Indy Lights race in Iowa lands sponsor: Sukup Manufacturing Co., will serve as the title sponsor of Iowa Speedway’s Firestone Indy Lights race on Saturday, June 25.

The Sukup 100 will be held prior to the Iowa Corn Indy 250 IZOD IndyCar race, as part of an action-packed weekend fueled by Iowa’s agricultural industry.

“Sponsoring the Sukup 100 Firestone Indy Lights race provides a great opportunity to connect with our current and potential customers as we join together to cheer our favorite drivers — and the ethanol industry — on to victory lane,” said Sukup Manufacturing Co., CFO Steve Sukup.

Sukup Manufacturing Co., is a family-owned grain storage, drying and handling equipment manufacturer located in Sheffield, Iowa. Sukup has been providing top-quality products to agricultural producers since 1963.

“Agriculture is big business to the state of Iowa, and Iowa Speedway is no exception,” said Chuck Spicer, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Iowa Speedway. “We are delighted to welcome Sukup Manufacturing Co., as a new official partner.”

Sukup believes the partnership is a win-win for Iowa’s corn growers, ethanol industry and racing fans.

“IndyCar and Iowa Speedway are leaving the naysayers in the dust and showing the world what ethanol can do. The use of ethanol lessens our dependence on foreign oil and supports our neighbors — Iowa’s corn growers,” said Sukup. “It also makes for an exciting race series.”

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series event is the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on May 1 on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The race will be televised live at noon (ET) by VERSUS and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is Firestone Freedom 100 on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It will be televised live by VERSUS.

- INDYCAR, Press Release

KV Racing Technologies / Lotus

After the first two races of the 2011 season KVRT – Lotus has two drivers in the top-eight in the standings and a third just outside the top-10.  Kanaan, No. 82 GEICO – KV Racing Technology – Lotus, is currently third in the championship race with 63 points just 31 out of first place and 24 out of second.  Sato, No. 5 KV Racing Technology – Lotus, sits eighth in the standings with 44 points, but is just 10 points out of fifth place.  Meanwhile, E. J. Viso, No. 59 PDVSA – KV Racing Technology – Lotus, currently 24^th in the standings, is just 18 points out 10^th place.

Kanaan has started the season strong.  After signing with KVRT – Lotus just six days before the season opener he has put together two outstanding races.  The talented Brazilian and 2004 IndyCar Series Champion finished third in the season opener at St. Petersburg then had a spectacular performance in the second event improving 18 positions to finish sixth at Barber Motorsports Park.  Kanaan will be making his eighth appearance on 1.968-mile, 11-turn Long Beach temporary street circuit this weekend.  In seven previous races he has qualified in the top-six a total of four times including capturing his first career U. S. based open-wheel pole in 1999.  He has finished in the top-seven on four occasions with a best showing of third in 2009 (placed fifth twice, last year and in his TGPLB debut in 1998).

“It’s always good to go back to Long Beach, a track that I always liked since the CART days,” Kanaan said. “It’s actually one of my favorite races of the year.  In 2010, I had a Top-five result there and hopefully we can have another strong result to keep our momentum going before we get to Brazil.”

Sato has also been impressive in the opening two events of the season.  The Japanese star finished a career-high fifth to start his second IndyCar season, then qualified a team-high 11^th at Barber where he was running securely in the top-10 before a couple of on-track incidents and a refueling problem dropped him to 16^th.  Based on his performance on the streets of St. Petersburg, Sato is primed for another strong weekend here in Long Beach where he will be making his second start.

Commenting on this weekend’s race Sato said, “Long Beach has a great history and atmosphere so hopefully we will have a successful weekend here. The track is a slippery and bumpy street course and because of the various different corner characteristics it’s quite tricky to get the car balance right here. Last year we struggled getting up to speed in qualifying but at St Pete recently we found some useful set-up lessons that could help us here. My KV Technology-Lotus team is working well together this year and in the first two races so far we have always been able to improve performance over the course of the weekend, so I hope this pattern continues at Long Beach.”

Viso has had two eventful weekends to open the season.  He suffered a puncture in the season opener when he ran over some debris and then was the victim of an on-track incident at Barber.  Never-the-less, the young and determined Venezuelan is just one good performance away from getting himself back into the thick of things and Long Beach may be just the place for him to do it.  Viso’s career best qualifying effort came here at Long Beach in 2009 when he started fourth and he has a solid ninth place finish to his credit in three previous starts.

“Long Beach is definitely one of my favorite venues and tracks, there is something special about this place,” Viso said.  “It always attracts a huge crowd and it’s a beautiful city with the ocean and downtown area.  In 2009, I started on the second row, so I hope this year we can do even better.  I am sure with the good weekend we had at St. Petersburg a few weeks ago, we can translate some of those setup advances we made to this race, where the actual characteristics of the setups are similar.  This weekend is definitely one I am looking forward to.”

Vasser to be inducted into Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame:

The City of Long Beach and the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach will honor KVRT – Lotus co-owner Jimmy Vasser by inducting him into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame.  The ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 14, at 11:00 a.m. at the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame on South Pine Avenue in front of the Convention Center.  The public is invited.  Vasser won the TLBGP in 1996 in route to the championship.  He took another checker flag in Long Beach last year when he won the Pro category of the 2010 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.  Vasser’s last open-wheel start came at Long Beach on April 20, 2008.

KV Racing Technology – Lotus Long Beach Grand Prix history:

KVRT – Lotus has made 17 starts at Long Beach between 2003 and 2010.  They have qualified in the top-10 five times with a best starting position of fourth by Will Power in 2008.  They have finished in the top-10 eight times with two top-five showings including a win, again by Power in 2008.  Also in 2008, in the Champ Car World Series finale, KVRT placed three cars in the top-10 with Power winning, Oriol Servia finishing fifth and Vasser, in his last open-wheel race placing 10^th.

Kanaan looking to extend consecutive race streak:

Kanaan will be attempting to qualify for his 134^th consecutive IndyCar race this weekend extending his streak as the active driver with the most consecutive starts (Scott Sharp holds the series record with 138 and KVRT – Lotus co-owner Jimmy Vasser is the all-time leader with 211 consecutive starts).

TGPLB television times:

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be broadcast live on Versus at 3:30 p.m. ET.

For more information about KV Racing Technology visit: www.kvracingtechnology.com or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kvracing and Facebook: www.facebook.com/kvracingtechnology

- KV Racing Technology/Lotus, Press Release

Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing

Race:

Track: Streets of Long Beach (1.968-mile street circuit)
Location: Long Beach, Calif.

NOTES/NEWS

Follow CGR on Twitter: Follow @CGRTeams for official updates from Chip Ganassi Racing’s INDYCAR and GRAND-AM teams.

Managing Director Mike Hull on Long Beach: “The Long Beach Grand Prix has enormous Open Wheel equity – the winners of this race in F1, CART, and IndyCar represent the very best. The locals refer to it as the “race.” For us, it’s a Big Race to Win. All of our people are very energized to be recognized in Long Beach. Over the years, the race track configuration has been changed to match the downtown planners aggressive growth, but the common denominator continues to be curbs, concrete, and uneven surface. It truly represents a technical driver who finds the quickest route. Watch closely, as it isn’t always conventional.”

CGR Wins: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Indianapolis-based operations have won four out of the five races they’ve entered so far in 2011 (Rolex 24 At Daytona-GRAND-AM, Grand Prix of Miami-GRAND-AM, Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg-INDYCAR and the Porsche 250-GRAND-AM). The TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team’s win at Barber Motorsports Park gave CGR its 138th victory.

Charlie Kimball and the No. 83 Novo Nordisk Team

Follow Charlie on Twitter: Follow @charliekimball for updates as the driver of the No. 83 Levemir and NovoLog FlexPen Honda completes his rookie year with Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Drive the Switch: Kimball kicked off Drive the Switch, a national campaign for Novo Nordisk on options for insulin delivery on March 23rd in Tampa, FL. Fans can check out the Drive the Switch booth located in the Long Beach Expo Center and sign a replica of the No. 83 Levemir and NovoLog FlexPen Honda Dallara. Kimball will be signing autographs at the Drive the Switch booth on Saturday, April 16th from 12:30 -1:00 pm PST.

Hometown Hero: The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is a hometown race for Kimball. The 26-year old is from Camarillo, CA and will have over 50 friends and family members watching from the stands as he competes on one of his favorite tracks Sunday, April 17th.

First Top-10: Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing scored their first top-10 in Round 2 of the IZOD IndyCar Series at Barber Motorsports Park.

Kimball on Barber: “It was a great day for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing. This was the first IZOD IndyCar Series race that I finished and I definitely learned my lesson from St. Pete. The guys pulled off great pit strategy throughout the race. All I had to do was drive by cars on the track and was able to come home 10th. Points mean prizes at the end of the year and now we can build on this for my home race at Long Beach next weekend.”

Points Gain: Kimball gained 10 positions in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship point standings, advancing to 14th place.

Blog About It: Keep up with Kimball’s progress as an IICS Rookie in his season-long blog with SPEEDTV.com.

TEAM ROSTER

Mitch Davis – Team Manager

No. 83 (IndyCar)
Crew Chief (Air Jack): Mark Sampson Race Strategist: Mitch Davis
Engineer: Brad Goldberg Gear Box (L/F): Jerry Bouchard
Assistant Engineer: Luke Goldenstien Rear End (R/F): Josh Junge
Tires/Transport Driver: Mark Easley Front End/Fueler: Brad Wright
Spotter: Mike Burrell Front End (R/R): Mike Soboleski
Rear End: George Sladky Composite/Body (L/R): Jeremy Washburn

About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams

Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with sponsor, Target. Today, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams includes two entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, four in the IZOD IndyCar Series and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Cars Series. Overall his teams have 12 championships and 138 victories, including three Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and four Rolex 24 At Daytonas. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.

- Chip Ganassi Racing, Press Release

Service Centeral Chip Ganassi Racing

Race:

Track: Streets of Long Beach (1.968-mile street circuit)
Location: Long Beach, Calif.

NOTES/NEWS

Follow CGR on Twitter: Follow @CGRTeams for official updates from Chip Ganassi Racing’s INDYCAR and GRAND-AM teams.

Managing Director Mike Hull on Long Beach: “The Long Beach Grand Prix has enormous Open Wheel equity – the winners of this race in F1, CART, and IndyCar represent the very best. The locals refer to it as the “race.” For us, it’s a Big Race to Win. All of our people are very energized to be recognized in Long Beach. Over the years, the race track configuration has been changed to match the downtown planners aggressive growth, but the common denominator continues to be curbs, concrete, and uneven surface. It truly represents a technical driver who finds the quickest route. Watch closely, as it isn’t always conventional.”

CGR Wins: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Indianapolis-based operations have won four out of the five races they’ve entered so far in 2011 (Rolex 24 At Daytona-GRAND-AM, Grand Prix of Miami-GRAND-AM, Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg-INDYCAR and the Porsche 250-GRAND-AM). The TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team’s win at Barber Motorsports Park gave CGR its 138th victory.

Graham Rahal and the No. 38 Service Central Team

Follow Graham on Twitter: Follow @GrahamRahal for updates as the driver of the No. 38 Service Central Honda completes his first season with Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Tire Strategy: The No. 38 Service Central car will support Big O Tires, Service Central’s California retail center this weekend. Big O Tires is one of North America’s largest retail tire franchisors, with nearly 500 locations in 21 states. For more information, please visit www.bigotires.com.

Barber Recap: Rahal started in the 10th position and ran consistently in the top-10 until contact with another car sent the No. 38 Service Central Honda to pit lane for repairs. The Service Central team returned to the track and focused on gaining as much track position as possible before ending the day two laps down in 18th position.

Rahal on Long Beach: “The Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing team is headed off to the West Coast which is Big O Tires country, so that’s what we’ll have on the No. 38 Service Central car. I think Long Beach will be a great event for us. We’re going to have a lot of guests there, so we will be looking to get some good points and put on a great show for them. Even with the first two races not turning out as we’d hoped, we’re feeling pretty good. We’ve shown we have the speed and now we want to get rolling at Long Beach and start to turn things around.”

Road/Street Stats: With 36 starts on a road/street course, Rahal has one win, three top-fives, and seven top-10s. Rahal has one pole on a road/street course which came in 2009 at St. Petersburg where he finished seventh.

Winning Combination: Tim Keene will call the shots for the No. 38 Service Central team in Long Beach. Keene is the Team Manager and Race Strategist for the four-time GRAND-AM Rolex Series No.01 TELMEX Dinan-prepared BMW/Riley with TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing. Keene first worked with Rahal when the No. 01 TELMEX team went to Victory Lane for the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.

Rahal, the Blogger: Keep up with Rahal as he provides his perspective on the Service Central team, his competitors and post-race recaps in season-long blogs with SPEEDTV.com and AutoWeek.com.

TEAM ROSTER

Mitch Davis – Team Manager

No. 38 (IndyCar)
Crew Chief (Air Jack): Matt Swan Race Strategist: Tim Keene
Engineer: Martin Pare Rear End (L/F): Dan Rushing
Assistant Engineer: Zack Eakin Rear End (L/R): Pat Nelson
Tires/Transport Driver: Mike Briggs R/R: Eric Prentice
Spotter: Lee Orebaugh Front End (R/F): Nick Cooper
Gear Box: Mike LaFontain Front End/Fueler: Trey Harkins

About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams

Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with sponsor, Target. Today, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams includes two entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, four in the IZOD IndyCar Series and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Cars Series. Overall his teams have 12 championships and 138 victories, including three Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and four Rolex 24 At Daytonas. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.

- Chip Ganassi Racing, Press Release

INDYCAR LOGO

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines:

1. If You Missed It: Paul Tracy & Jay Penske Teleconference

2. Road course qualifying procedures altered for Long Beach

3. Commute for Europe is first race for Daly

1. If You Missed It: Paul Tracy & Jay Penske Teleconference: IZOD IndyCar Series driver Paul Tracy and Dragon Racing owner Jay Penske participated in a teleconference today discuss Tracy’s 2011 season debut at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with Dragon Racing. Below are selected quotes from the call. A full transcript and MP3 audio of the call is available at www.indycar.com/media.

Q. Paul, how excited are you to get behind the wheel of a car finally.

PAUL TRACY: I’m really excited to get the opportunity to work with Jay and his crew; to come back to Long Beach, which is really the place where I started my IndyCar career. My first ever start was there with Dale Coyne, and then my first‑ever win with Roger and Marlboro was there.

It’s been a fantastic venue for me. It’s one of the crown jewels of the series and I’ve been lucky enough to win it, win the race four times.

So you know, from that standpoint, it’s been extremely difficult having to kind of sit and watch the last couple of years, and I’ve been there the last couple of years making press announcements for other races that I’ve been doing but having to walk the paddock has been extremely frustrating.

So I’m excited for the opportunity to work this weekend with Jay. And like I said, we’ve got a whole fleet of new sponsors on board with Ralph’s and Pepsi and Frito‑Lay and Rock Star and the list goes on and on of people that have come on to support us. It’s going to be an exciting weekend that’s for sure.

Q.  You talked about your history at Long Beach, obviously winning there four times and getting around the place as well as you do. How confident with the other teams having two races under their belts are you that you can get up to speed this weekend?

PAUL TRACY: Well, I don’t think it’s going to be any problem I think for us. We have got Jay’s group of guys and he can touch more on it, but he’s got a core group of guys that have been in the Penske organization a long time. They are guys that I have all worked with in the past and know we are not just hiring on a bunch of guys that nobody has worked with before. I’ve worked with all of the guys on the team at one stage of my career. I’ve known some of the guys on the team for 20 years.

So you know, the engineer on the team, Eric Zeto, has been my race engineer when I was with Forsythe, we won the Long Beach race a couple of times together. I think he understands exactly what I need and I understand exactly how he works.

So really it’s just getting back on track and getting back in the groove of practice sessions and qualifying sessions.

Q. Your record at Long Beach, do you feel any realistic goals or expectations when you come in or do you look at trying to get a Top‑10 or Top‑5 your first time back?

PAUL TRACY: Honestly, I’m looking at, you know, just the best result that we can possibly get, and I think, you know, I always go into any race with the expectation of, I’m going to do everything I can possibly do to try to win. Is that realistic? Sometimes, no.

But I think in any sport, if you’re going out there, noting a 110 percent and giving everything you have, it’s time to get off the field or get out of the game. So.

From my standpoint, I’m going to go out there and from the time that the green flag drops till the checkered comes out, I’m going to give everything I have to try to get the best result. If that’s a Top 3 or a Top‑5 or a Top‑10, we give 100% all the time and we’ll focus on the next race as we go along.

Q. Jay, can you talk a little about how the off‑season was for you with having Tony Kanaan and having that partnership dissolve and then having your team kind of have to be reborn?

JAY PENSKE: Sure. I certainly think we have tried to rip the rear‑view mirror off and just trying to look forward. But I think it was a very difficult off‑season. We had a lot of ‑‑ I think we were very close in establishing a full‑time ride with Tony and when fell apart instantly we were looking to put together for either a limited run or build something again for the entire season.

We were very close with Paul trying to get this whole thing wrapped up for a full season this year but unfortunately we got these five races which we are going to try to do our absolute best and try to add races as we go throughout the rest of the year.

Q. And just talk a little about having a team start late and having the driver the caliber of Paul available for you to build your team around.

JAY PENSKE: Sure. I think first of all, they have not only done the open tests, but they have had two races under their belt. I think that’s one of the reasons we thought this was a great place to start with Paul. It’s a place he’s clearly had a ton of success in the past. He’s one of the most tenacious guys and who can get the most out of every car he drives.

We have reasonable expectations here. This is a place we want to build from. We have four other races that we are confirmed for this year, three others on road courses, street courses. So I think this is the beginning of Dragon Racing and we have great expectations for the future.

Jay, if you could talk about what your Indy 500 plans are, because I know Paul already has a deal already committed for that race.

JAY PENSKE: Sure. Two things, I think we are still aggressively looking to put someone in the seat for the 500. We have got the cars available. We have got some sponsorship lined up I think at this point it’s just trying to find the best person to take us 500 miles come May 29. We are in discussions but nothing has been finalized yet. We are hoping to do that probably right after Long Beach.

2. Road course qualifying procedures altered for Long Beach: INDYCAR officials have modified the IZOD IndyCar Series road course qualifying procedures beginning with this weekend’s race on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif.

Friday practice sessions will play a key role in determining the starting lineup for the IZOD IndyCar Series.

The times from Friday’s practice sessions will be used to determine the qualifying groups with the driver posting the fastest combined practice lap time having the option of selecting qualifying group.

All odd numbered positions in practice (fastest, third-fastest, fifth-fastest, seventh-fastest, etc.) will be in one group and all even number positions in practice will make up the other group.

“This change was made at the request of the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers, who were looking for a system that enhanced the competition,” said Brian Barnhart, president of competition and racing operations for INDYCAR, sanctioning body for the IZOD IndyCar Series. “It puts a premium on Friday practice sessions and helps even out that groups, which couldn’t be achieved with a random draw.”

3. Commute for Europe is first race for Daly: Before Conor Daly can record his first laps around the famed Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit, he’ll have to rack up some more frequent flier miles by racing nearly halfway around the globe.

Daly, who is competing in a limited schedule of Firestone Indy Lights road/street course races for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, has been “commuting” between Europe and the U.S., as he prepares to compete in GP3 this season.

“It hasn’t really been too bad, so far,” said Daly, whose itinerary since the St. Petersburg season opener has included GP3 tests in England and France, the Firestone Indy Lights race in Birmingham, Ala., and another GP3 test in Spain. “If I keep up with a bid of sleep and get some nutrients in me, I think I’ll be all right.”

After racing at Barber Motorsports Park on April 10, Daly left Alabama for three days of testing at Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain.

On April 14, he’ll leave Spain for Los Angeles and arrive on the following day, where he hopes to jump behind the wheel of his No. 77 Mazda Road to Indy/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car for the day’s only practice session at Long Beach.

“If the airlines mess up, then I might miss the first practice, so I’m hoping they don’t mess up,” said Daly, who joked that he may have gotten rid of his bad travel luck by arriving in Barcelona without his luggage.

“I’d really like to be there for the first practice. If I’m not, I’m not that worried because I have good teammates and I’ll have plenty of data to look at and some video to watch. I love street courses, anyway, so I think we’ll get to pace quickly either way.”

But the main issue out of the car for Daly is rest and recovery.

Most experienced travelers need about a day of recovery per time zone crossed.  The 19-year-old Daly said he hasn’t really tried to stay on European time or U.S. time over the last month.

“I’m trying to sleep whenever I can, and after that, we’ll sort out what time it is,” Daly said.

“I think going over (to Europe) is not as hard as it is when you come back home. When I come back (to the U.S.), I seem to be more jet lagged. We’ll see have to see how that works out this week at Long Beach.”

***

The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series continues with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17 on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 3:30 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 212 and www.indycar.com. The 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season continues April 17 on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. with the Long Beach 100. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 2 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS.

- INDYCAR, Press Release

INDYCAR LOGO

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines:

1. Dragon Racing, Tracy to debut at Long Beach

2. Gen. Colin L. Powell Announced as Grand Marshal for Baltimore Grand Prix

3. IZOD Presents Hot Wheels Fearless at the 500

4. Team E signs Mitchell for Long Beach

5. Carpenter, Fisher launch in Laps for Literacy

1. Dragon Racing, Tracy to debut at Long Beach: Jay Penske, former co-owner of de Ferran Dragon Racing and Luczo Dragon Racing, today announced the formation of Dragon Racing, a new team created to compete in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series.

Dragon Racing will begin the 2011 program with a start on April 17 at the Long Beach Grand Prix, and has secured the services of veteran Paul Tracy as the driver for Dragon Racing’s No. 8 entry. A total of five races are planned with Tracy during in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season, including Long Beach, Texas, Toronto, Edmonton and Sonoma. In addition, the team will enter a car in the Indianapolis 500 with a driver yet to be named.

“We are very excited to be returning to the IZOD IndyCar Series and delighted to have a driver like Paul Tracy piloting the race car,” Penske said. “Paul is an outstanding driver and we are confident this partnership will become the building blocks for something longer term. After discussing available options with my former co-owners, and with their full support, I decided to take a different path and as a result I am extremely pleased to continue the Dragon name with a team that is substantially the same as our 2010 lineup managed by 21-year-veteran John Cummiskey.”

Tracy, now in his 21st season of Indy car racing, has compiled an impressive career. He’s listed among the top 10 in almost every statistical category, including wins (tied for seventh with 31), poles (ninth with 25) and laps led (sixth with 4,238). Tracy earned 75 career podium finishes, 102 top-5 finishes and captured the Champ Car World Series championship in 2003. Tracy has won at Long Beach four times.

“It’s great to be racing again, and I’m excited to be working with Dragon Racing,” Tracy said. ”I explored several options for the 2011 season, and partnering with Jay Penske makes it that much more special for me. I’ve known Jay for many years, since my time with Penske Racing. After just a few discussions I realized we shared the same vision and that the newly formed Dragon Racing team was the best fit for my extended return to the IndyCar Series. We’ve been working hard to bring this partnership to life, and I look forward to competitive runs at a number of tracks I’ve had success in the past.”

Added Penske: “Even though we are initially only running a limited schedule, the team is very realistic and understands we will face challenges together during the season. However, with Paul’s talent, and our crew’s collective racing experience of over 150 years, I feel that we can be competitive at any race we compete in and may even surprise a few people along the way.”

Ralphs Grocery will join Dragon Racing as the primary sponsor for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in a retailer partnership that includes support from PepsiCo, FritoLay, Berringer Wine and Rockstar Energy Drink. Motegi Racing and Wheel Pros will provide extended sponsorship support for all Dragon Racing events in the 2011 season.

“Motegi and Wheel Pros have a strong association with racing, and we are thrilled to join with Dragon Racing in support of Paul Tracy this season,” said Jody Groce, President of Wheel Pros. ”We have been a long-time sponsor of Paul and to be a part his new partnership with Dragon is just great for our brands and associates throughout the organization. We look forward to helping bring the team back to prominence within the IZOD IndyCar Series.”

The team will have additional sponsor news, to be announced soon.

2. General Colin L. Powell Announced as Grand Marshal for Baltimore Grand Prix: The Baltimore Grand Prix announced today that former Secretary of State, Gen.Colin L. Powell, will be the honorary Grand Marshal for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix to be held Sept. 4.

As Grand Marshal, General Powell will give the command to “Start Your Engines” to the field of IndyCar drivers at the start of the 80-lap event which will be televised live on VERSUS. Gen. Powell will also be given the opportunity to take a 180 mile per hour tour of the 2.0 -ile temporary street circuit in downtown Baltimore from the passenger seat of the famed INDYCAR Racing Experience two-seater.

“I’ve always had a passion for racing and a passion for the city of Baltimore,” said General Powell. ”The opportunity to be Grand Marshal for the inaugural grand prix is an honor as it will showcase the city of Baltimore and the beautiful Inner Harbor to a worldwide audience and I’m very happy to be a part of that, and I must admit, I’m really looking forward to my 180 mile per hour tour of the city.”

Baltimore Grand Prix President and CEO, Jay Davidson, was enthused by the General’s acceptance of the Grand Marshal role. ”The city of Baltimore has a long history with the United States Armed Forces and to have General Powell in our city to experience this inaugural event is an absolute honor,” said Davidson. ”We are planning a number of activities surrounding the Baltimore Grand Prix that will thank and celebrate the role and sacrifice that members of the military have given to our country.”

3. IZOD Presents Hot Wheels Fearless at the 500: Since the inaugural running of the Indianapolis 500 in 1911, men and women have risked their lives chasing speed and glory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On May 29, a Team Hot Wheels member will attempt both in the IZOD Presents Hot Wheels Fearless at the 500.

The masked driver will attempt to break the world record distance jump of 302 feet in a four-wheeled vehicle preceding the 100^th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500. The driver will sit atop a 10-story frame, speed down a 90-foot ramp and soar across an infield section in Turn 4 at the Speedway.

The stunt brings to life the iconic Mattel Hot Wheels V-Drop track set that youngsters have attached to their bedroom doors for years, and is part of an overarching brand campaign designed to extend the Hot Wheels experience to fans of all ages.

“The essence of this multi-year, multi-platform campaign is all about taking the feelings you experienced when playing with Hot Wheels as a kid and bringing them to real life in full scale,” said Simon Waldron, vice president of marketing for Hot Wheels. “Featuring an epic vehicle stunt at this year’s centennial anniversary of the Indy 500, we are engaging fans with a jaw-dropping moment in a way that only Hot Wheels can.”

The jump will be attempted by the Yellow Racer from Team Hot Wheels – professional stunt drivers spanning four vehicle disciplines: rally (green), drift (blue), off road truck (yellow) and freestyle motocross (red). The driver’s identity will be revealed following the world record attempt. A 30-minute documentary-style special is in the works to air on Race Day.

The experiential marketing campaign includes a sweepstakes – with prizes including a VIP trip to the Indy 500 – and social media applications.

Fans can engage with Team Hot Wheels branded content at www.hotwheels.com/videos and become a fan on www.facebook/Hot Wheels to watch exclusive behind-the-scenes training and stunt videos.

Through April 30, fans can go to www.hotwheels.com/forreal for a chance to win a VIP trip to the Indianapolis 500 or thousands of other prizes.

“It’s all about evolving Hot Wheels,” Waldron said.

4. Team E signs Mitchell for Long Beach: Texan Rusty Mitchell will make his Firestone Indy Lights debut at the Long Beach 100 with Team E.

Mitchell is the latest up-and-coming driver to join the Florida-based Firestone Indy Lights team. The Star Mazda graduate earned his seat in the No. 17 Team E/Motorola/ Petro Communications entry after impressing the crew and Team Owner Neil Enerson recently in private testing at Firebird International Raceway.

“Team E is happy to be back on track again this season with Rusty Mitchell,” said Enerson. “Rusty, although a rookie to our series, is not a rookie to racing. Rusty ran his own Star Mazda team. His understanding of the owner and driver side of the business at this level is rare. We look forward to him competing at Long Beach.”

Based in Midland, Texas, the 28-year-old Mitchell has had plenty of success in his racing career.

He captured four IKF regional championships, one WKA divisional championship and a SKUSA Long Track National championship in go karts before making the move to cars.

Mitchell captured both the SCCA Southwest Division National Formula Enterprises title and the FormulaCar Magazine FE Championship Midwest/Southwest crown in his first season of action.

Mitchell raced in the Star Mazda championship the past two seasons, earning one pole position, one podium position, four top-fives and 14 top-10s with a privateer effort. Prior to joining Team E on the streets of Long Beach, the Texan has made the transition to sports car competition this season, co-driving an Intersport Racing LMP Challenge entry in the American Le Mans Series.

“I can’t wait to compete at one of the most prestigious events in North America with such a great team,” said Mitchell. “Neil and all the guys at Team E have shown they have the personal and equipment in place to win races in the (Firestone) Indy Lights series. I think this is a great opportunity for myself, as well as my sponsors to get our feet wet in the series, and hopefully put together a multi-race package later in the season, and possibly a full year in 2012. I want think my sponsors Motorola and Petro Communications, as well as Neil Enerson and the guys at Team E for getting this deal put together in such a short amount of time.”

5. Carpenter, Fisher launch in Laps for Literacy: IZOD IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and team owner Sarah Fisher have started a program entitled “Laps for Literacy” developed by Heather Carpenter and supported by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

“I am very excited to finally start our ‘Laps for Literacy’ program,” Carpenter said. “We have all been working very hard to put this together, and I especially have to thank my wife, Heather, for heading this program. I can’t wait to meet all of the kids and talk to them about our sport and the importance of reading and education in everyday life. Leading into the Centennial 500, I can’t think of a better way for our team to serve the kids and schools of our state.”

In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 in May, the duo will be visiting 100 classrooms across Indiana.

“I’m really honored to have the support from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for our first annual ‘Laps for Literacy’ program,” Fisher said. “Developed by Heather Carpenter, it shows the strength in Ed’s family and speaks highly in regards to the type of people they truly are. It will be a tremendous opportunity to share our sport with kids and schools which otherwise might not get to see Indy, and an even better opportunity to help them with some of their needs.”

For more information on the ‘Laps for Literacy’ campaign or to view a detailed schedule of school visits, visit www.sarahfisherracing.com/laps.

***

The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series continues with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17 on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 3:30 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 212 and www.indycar.com. The 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season continues April 17 on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. with the Long Beach 100. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 2 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS.

- INDYCAR, Series

INDYCAR LOGO

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines:

1. Kanaan quickly makes up for lost time

2. Inside the numbers: Barber

3. Goncalvez has career day at Barber

4. Drive over to INDYCAR’s Car Town

1. Kanaan quickly makes up for lost time: Tony Kanaan has slept on and swept up floors early in his motorsports career. He’s known the capricious nature of the business, the ups (2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion) and downs (not having a ride 10 days before the 2011 season opener).

He’s appreciative of the opportunity with KV Racing Technology-Lotus, respectful of the competition and thrilled to be third in the championship standings after two events.

Kanaan, who recorded a third-place finish in the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg two weeks ago, followed with another stirring run in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy. He gained 10 spots on Lap 1 (from 24th on the grid), remained unscathed during the tightly-contested 90 laps and brought home the No. 82 GEICO car in sixth place.

He had predicted a top 15 during a pre-race interview.

“I think we took advantage to pass a lot of cars on the start, and that actually changed my strategy,” Kanaan said. “I have to thank my team. The guys did a great job on the starts. We’re fairly new as a team. If you think about it, we’ve done, what, six pit stops so far this year.

“I struggled all weekend. It was not a coincidence that we had a problem that I was dead last every session. We worked pretty hard. We went to Takuma (Sato) set up after the morning warm up. It was a car that hadn’t been driven all weekend long, and it worked. So I did my thing. We stayed out of trouble and we had a great finish.”

Kanaan, who left Andretti Autosport in the fall after eight seasons when sponsorship from longtime partner 7-11 dissipated, was announced in December as the driver for de Ferran Dragon Racing. But sponsorship for that collaboration didn’t materialize and Kanaan was getting antsy as the season approached.

He hooked up with the Jimmy Vasser-Kevin Kalkhoven-led team, which gladly accepted his leadership and undiminished racing skills.

Though he started 24th of 26 on the grid at Barber Motorsports Park, he wasn’t unbowed.

“I’ve been through so many things that I don’t get like down, down,” he said. “I was mad at myself because I’m like how can I be that last every session. But I never doubt myself. The day that I start doubting myself I should hang up the helmet and go do something else.

“So I was disappointed, but it doesn’t help to be disappointed, because being disappointed is not going to fix the set up. So I tried everything I could on my end to help in the warm up, and nothing that I did worked. So we went to (Sato’s) set up and tried to make it work and that’s pretty much it. Yeah, I wasn’t happy, but the race is a whole different game.”

2. Inside the numbers: Barber: Numbers to note following the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the second of 17 events in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

2 – Drivers who have finished on the podium in the first two IZOD IndyCar Series events – Will Power and Dario Franchitti.

4 – Drivers who have finished in the top-five in both races at Barber, including Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitit, who finished second and third, respectively, for the second straight season. (Marco Andretti and Will Power are the other two).

5 – Drivers who have finished in the top-10 in each of the first two events of the 2011 season – Power, Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia and Simona De Silvestro.

8 -Teams represented in the top 10 of the series point standings.

10 – Positions improved by Tony Kanaan on the opening lap of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Kanaan, who started 24^th in the race, gained 18 positions, the most positions gained by any driver. Simon Pagenaud gained 15 positions, while Charlie Kimball gained 11 spots.

15 - Consecutive top-five starts by Will Power.

90 – Laps led by Will Power at Barber Motorsports Park. The winning driver has averaged 92 laps led through the first two IZOD IndyCar Series events this season.

3. Goncalvez has career day at Barber: The fact Jorge Goncalvez has completed all the laps of the his rookie season in Firestone Indy Lights season isn’t that impressive until you realize he’s been racing his No. 4 Belardi Auto Racing car while recovering from a broken leg.

The Venezuelan teen broke his leg in a road car accident near his home in early March. He was back in a race car at the season-opener at St. Petersburg, but struggled for comfort in the car as he adapted his driving style to compensate for his injury.

But 10 days rest and further healing changed the young driver’s performance, especially with his ability to left-foot brake. After qualifying 13^th, Goncalvez worked his way through the field and got a huge break when Conor Daly and James Winslow came together on Lap 22.

“We made some changes to the car and didn’t really know how fast we would be,” Goncalvez said. “We got a really good start today, that was great. Then the spin happened in front of me and with cars stacking up, I just found a hole a got through.”

The result was a fourth-place finish for the rookie, who moved into eighth in the tightly packed point standings. Goncalvez hopes to find more and more pace as he gets more comfortable in the car and his leg heals.

“In P4, this is really good for me,” he said. “At this point I just didn’t want to make any mistakes. I’m very happy with fourth today. The car was really great to drive and we look forward to keep improving.”

4. Drive over to INDYCAR’s Car Town: Invite friends into your garage to see your collection of IZOD IndyCar Series cars and even allow them to practice pit maneuvers or compete in the Indy 500 Challenge.

It’s possible through the popular Facebook game Car Town, which starting Arpil 12 will feature the IZOD IndyCar Series. Launched in August 2010, Car Town is a social game in which players collect and customize virtual cars, build their dream garage and help their friends do the same.

The launch of the Car Town in-game integration coincides with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17 — the third race of the IZOD IndyCar Series season — and offers the availability of cars from 13 drivers, including reigning series champion Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal. Also available is the 2011 Indianapolis 500 Event Car, which honors the 100th anniversary of the first running of the race.

In the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Garage users can select a car driven by top IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and complete the Indy 500 Challenge with the help of a pit crew they select from among their Facebook friends or by spending in-game points. Players can even race against the clock and compete against other Car Town pit crews, striving to top the Indy Pit Stop Challenge leaderboard.

Additional in-game features and INDYCAR brand assets are scheduled for release throughout the IZOD IndyCar Series season.

“We’re only scratching the surface in terms of the ways the virtual world of social gaming can bring new experiences to players and new marketing opportunities to companies and brands across the spectrum,” said Dennis Suggs, chief creative officer of Cie Games, whose headquarters office overlooks the Long Beach Grand Prix course. ”The sky’s the limit in terms of the creative executions brands can deploy to break through to new audiences using social media and social games.”

Car Town has attracted 8 million players, making it one of the most in-demand games available on Facebook.

“We’re very excited about this association and the opportunity to present our cars, drivers and the Indianapolis 500 to fans through this popular interactive application,” said INDYCAR director of marketing Kasey Coler. ”Car Town is providing INDYCAR a desirable audience and a platform that effectively engages the user with the INDYCAR brand. INDYCAR racing gives the Car Town players an opportunity to experience the fun and excitement of owning and driving an IndyCar and an opportunity to be part the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.”

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The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series continues with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17 on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 3:30 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 212 and www.indycar.com. The 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season continues April 17 on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. with the Long Beach 100. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 2 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS.

- INDYCAR, Press Release