KV Racing Technology

Tracy, the oldest driver in the field at age 41, had the crowd on their feet throughout the 95-lap feature with the No. 15 Honda Canada—Make A Wish—Motegi Wheels—KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone entry with a solid sixth place finish. Starting from his 15th position, Tracy kept his aggressive reputation by passing five drivers in the first two laps and ran as high as fifth before taking his second consecutive sixth spot in the Alberta city.

The Las Vegas resident made a valiant passing maneuver for fourth with two laps remaining but Penske driver Ryan Briscoe held off the challenge and moved Tracy wide. Ryan Hunter-Reay was able to slip by for the fifth spot ahead of the No. 15 driver.

The bumpy 1.96-mile, 14-turn circuit near downtown Edmonton always provides wild action and Sunday’s competition didn’t disappoint. While Tracy was the focus of many Canadian fans, the other three KV Racing Technology drivers also performed well.

An impressive drive was turned in by Mario Moraes, who came from the 14th starting spot with a superb fuel mileage drive to place seventh in his No. 32 KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone car. It was the Brazilian’s third top-ten road finish in 2010.

E.J. Viso, driver of the No. 8 PDVSA — KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine, started sixth Sunday after a tremendous qualifying performance. However, a mid-race tangle with Simona de Silvestro hurt Viso’s chances for a possible top-five finish. The 25-year-old Venezuelan fought his way back to finish eighth, his best road placing in 2010.

Formula One veteran Takuma Sato, driver in the No. 5 Lotus — KV Racing Technology Honda/Dallara/Firestone mount, turned in an impressive performance in his debut on the tough Edmonton track as he raced into seventh late in the event. However, Sato’s car was hit from behind on the final lap and the Japanese star lost two positions for ninth overall.

Sunday marked the first time KVRT had four drivers finish in the Top Nine in a race.

DRIVER QUOTES:

PAUL TRACY, #15 HONDA CANADA—MAKE A WISH—MOTEGI WHEELS—KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 6th: “It was a good finish for the Honda Canada– Make A Wish–Motegi Wheels–KV Racing team today. Our goal was to make money for Make A Wish these last two weeks and they raised over $112,000 for the two races. It feels great to help the kids and the families. My second goal was to have a good time. Then we wanted a good finish and we pulled it off today.

It feels so good to race in front of the Canadian fans. They really enjoy their racing. Both Toronto and Edmonton support these events so well. It is tough to come in as a spot driver and perform well. This place is so hard and physical on a driver. So coming from 15th and finish sixth feels very good. I just wish we could get the car figured out earlier in the weekend to get a better starting spot. With a better qualifying, I think we can race with the leaders. Overall, today was good for the whole KV Racing team. I wish I could race again this year.”

MARIO MORAES, #32 KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 7th: “It was a good race for our KV crew. I was trying to be patient with the tires in the first stint. We were able to run long on fuel in the first stint and that helped us. I am happy with the top-ten finish after the problem we had in qualifying. We had some great pit stops and a great team effort in the race. Now, I hope we can continue that momentum in two weeks at Mid-Ohio.”

E.J. VISO, #8 PDVSA — KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 8th: “It was definitely a tough race. I made a couple of mistakes early in the race. But overall, my PDVSA – KV Racing crew did a great job with a strong qualifying performance. The car was good in the race. We were in a fuel conservation mode and I lost a few positions. I considered it a racing incident with Simona (de Silvestro).

She didn’t give any space and I think she didn’t see me. So we banged tires. The officials gave me a drive-through penalty and that didn’t help us going back in the pack. But we recovered well and we got back to eighth. We want to be ready for Mid-Ohio now after the team did a good job this weekend.”

TAKUMA SATO, #5 LOTUS – KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HONDA/DALLARA/FIRESTONE, Finished 9th: “It was a good day for the Lotus – KV Racing Technology team. I enjoyed racing here and the race itself was very exciting. There was a lot of side-by-side and overtaking on this circuit, which I experienced a lot of today. On the last stint, I was so frustrated being stuck behind a lapped car. Its okay for a few corners or even a lap, but it held me up for so long, almost 15 laps.

We tried to speak to their team to ask them to move over but for some reason it wasn’t happening. On the last restart, my teammate PT (Paul Tracy) went wide and onto the grass. I was alongside him when he came back on track forcing me wide and nearly losing it, but I managed to hold on and and keep position. Later TK (Tony Kanaan) hit me from behind and spun me round, so I lost a couple of positions on that lap, but he did apologize to me after the race. That was a shame but it was still a good day for the Lotus team.”

SPECIAL NOTE: Paul Tracy’s Make A Wish effort at Toronto and Edmonton raised $112,578 to assist the children and families.

- KV Racing Technology Press Release

Dan Wheldon

Wheldon qualified 10th for the event, and was able to move up to seventh position at the start of the race, when quickly moved past Danica Patrick, Alex Tagliani and Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe. The team was able to maintain its position inside the Top Ten while the field cycled through pit stops.

Andretti Autosport driver Tony Kanaan captured his first victory of the season and was joined on the Iowa Speedway podium by Penske driver Helio Castroneves and KV Racing’s EJ Viso.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will have a weekend off before traveling to Watkins Glen International Raceway for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen, which will be broadcast live on Sunday, July 4th on ABC, with additional coverage provided by www.indycar.com, the IMS Radio Network and XM Channel 145 and Sirius channel 211.

Dan Wheldon, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda

“The entire team did a really good job, it was just on the longer runs for whatever reason we just seemed to burn up the left-front. So we were really strong at the beginning and just seemed to fade more than others at the end of each run. We also got a bit unlucky with the last yellow flag, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Like I said the National Guard Panther Racing team did a good job and carried on working throughout the weekend.”

- Panther Racing Press Release

Infineon Raceway

- TAKING THE VISION TO INFINEON: The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be Vision Racing’s fifth trip to Infineon Raceway. The team’s best finish at Infineon came in 2007 season when Tomas Scheckter finished eighth. The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be the team’s 80th IndyCar Series event since their first season in 2005.

- WILLIAM RAST RETURNS: Vision Racing is bringing back the William Rast branded livery on the No. 20 machine which as most recently run by Carpenter during the Canadian swing through Toronto and Edmonton. This time the No. 20 William Rast Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine will ride in the sponsor’s home state. William Rast, a People’s Liberation subsidiary known for its stylish high-end denim, based in Los Angeles, Calif. and the premium lifestyle brand with emphasis on stylish denim, has been a mainstay on the Vision Racing body work all season. William Rast was also featured earlier in the year as a primary on the team’s No. 21 car driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in April. Carpenter’s car will feature a grey matte finish, day-glow orange accents and of course, William Rast branding.

- TWEET-UP: @VisionRacing is getting together with @InfineonRaceway to organize a “Tweetup” on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 at the race track from 5-6 p.m. for Indy Racing League fans on hand. The gathering of Twitter followers will take place in the Wine Country Winner’s Circle, following IndyCar Series qualifying for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. In addition, several IndyCar drivers who are regulars on Twitter are expected to attend the Tweetup, including Vision Racing’s Ed Carpenter and fellow competitors Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kaanan, Graham Rahal, Mario Moraes and others. The Firestone Firehawk is also slated to make an appearance. Additional teams joining Vision Racing will be Luczo Dragon, KV Racing, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, Conquest Racing, Penske Racing and other team representatives will also be in attendance. Motorsports writers who Tweet will also be joining in on the fun. The Tweetup will feature light food, refreshments and giveaways from Vision Racing and Infineon Raceway. All fans have to do to attend is have a Twitter (www.Twitter.com) account and access the official invitation at http://twtvite.com/84ask4 . Only those who RSVP will be allowed at the Tweetup. The invitation does not include a Saturday event ticket; that must be purchased separately.

- OH SO CLOSE: Earlier this month at Kentucky Speedway, Carpenter earned a career-best finish of second, led 34 laps, was the most improved driver (started 14th) had the fastest lap of the race for the second consecutive season and put on an impressive display that stole the show as by crossing the finish line just 0.0162 of a second behind Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske. Not only was it Carpenter’s career-best finish in 93 starts over six seasons, it was also Vision Racing’s best oval finish and it also matched Ryan Hunter-Reay’s second place finish for the team earlier this season on the streets of St. Petersburg. Hunter-Reay was runner-up to Briscoe in that race as well. It was the closest finish in the history of Kentucky Speedway and the 11th closest finish in IndyCar Series history.

- HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: After forming and joining the Indy Racing League in 2005, Vision Racing is celebrating its fifth season of competition in 2009. Since the team embarked upon IndyCar Series competition, eight drivers have piloted five (Nos. 2, 20, 21, 22, 90) different team entries. Those drivers have combined for an additional 45 top-10 finishes, plus 10 top-five finishes, four more podium finishes and 76 laps led. Over the previous four years the quest for the team’s first victory has been top priority and Vision Racing is confident that year five will be the season where that it happens. The team’s best ever finishes occurred in the 2009 as Ryan Hunter-Reay drove from 14th to finish second in the season opener at St. Petersburg and Carpenter also drove from 14th to second at Kentucky Speedway. Hunter-Reay’s podium finish also put Vision second in the championship point standings at the time which was also its’ the highest-ever ranking. The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be the team’s 80th IndyCar Series event since their first season in 2005.

- FIRST-HAND FROM THE FAMILY: Since the beginning of the season, Vision Racing team co-owner, Lauren George has been writing a blog, much to the enjoyment of the fans, which has been featured both on the team’s Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/VisionRacing) and on the team’s new website (www.VisionRacing.com/fans). Her highly anticipated blog post that recaps the team’s weekend at Kentucky is up and ready for reading. And if that’s not enough, her father and fellow team co-owner, Tony George, got into the act in Edmonton by publishing his thoughts and opinions in response to a recent announcement he made exclusively on the team’s website early in July. The latter George’s post drew more than 16,000 hits to the site in less than one day. The pair are planning to continue submissions periodically throughout the remainder of the season, exclusively at VisionRacing.com. Not to mention, Carpenter has begun adding a video blog to the site now in addition to his updates on his continued “tweets” at www.twitter.com/edcarpenter20.

- ON ROAD/STREET COURSES: The team’s best finishes on a road or street course is second, recently scored in the 2009 season-opener at St. Petersburg by Ryan Hunter-Reay in his debut with the team. It’s is also the team’s highest finish overall. Prior to Hunter-Reay’s podium finish, the previous best road and street course drives include a fourth place finish scored by Paul Tracy in 2008 at Edmonton, and a pair of sixth place drives; one captured by Tomas Scheckter on the streets of St. Petersburg in 2007 and the other by Ed Carpenter in 2006 at Watkins Glen International. The team’s best finish at Infineon came in 2007 season when Tomas Scheckter finished eighth.

- FIND US ONLINE, ANYTIME: In late June, the team launched the newly remodeled www.VisionRacing.com. The site not only features great design and features, but also boasts its own fan site with additional content just for fans. The site is also the hub of the team’s social media experiment for the 2009 season. Vision Racing has established itself in the realm of online social media and networking via accounts at Twitter, Facebook and YouTube this season; allowing fans, friends, followers and even members of the media the opportunity to closely follow and interact with the five-year IndyCar Series participant. Be sure to follow the team’s Twitter feed all race weekend long at Mid-Ohio for behind the scenes info, pictures and maybe even an impromptu, trackside “tweet-up!” The team’s new site was designed by RACERSITES.COM.

- ON LOAN: Considered a win-win situation for all involved, Vision Racing driver Ryan Hunter-Reay has taken over piloting duties of A.J. Foyt’s No. 14 ABC Supply entry for the remainder of the 2009 IndyCar season in a deal that began at Iowa. Hunter-Reay, who drove the No. 21 Vision Honda Dallara to a second place podium finish in the 2009 season opener at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida, and has transferred his driving services to A.J. Foyt Racing as a temporary replacement for the injured Vitor Meira.

- 2009 TEAM HIGHLIGHTS: This season’s highlight to date came in the season-opener in St. Petersburg, Fla. when Ryan Hunter-Reay started 14th and drove all the way to finish in second place and again just last weekend when Ed Carpenter also started 14th, led 34 laps and finished second by just 0.0162 of a second at Kentucky Speedway. Carpenter has also added four top-ten finishes at Kansas, Indianapolis, Texas and Iowa.

- AS SEEN ON TV: Patrick Dempsey joined Vision Racing prior to the 2006 season, taking on a new role that has been making hearts race in a literal way as a team co-owner. Known for his scene-stealing turns in such ’80s nostalgia classics such as Can’t Buy Me Love and Loverboy, Patrick Dempsey continues to please America with his explosive charisma and versatile talent. Dempsey is the star of the ABC drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” Dempsey’s no stranger to the racetrack when he’s not in front of the camera. A true racer at heart, he’s currently driving professionally in Grand American Cup class sports car racing with Dempsey Racing, formerly Hypersport. He raced a Ferrari F430 GT with Team Seattle in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and also competed in the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

- A TEAM WITH A VISION: Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George, their daughter Lauren George and actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition and second year of Firestone Indy Lights racing. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and Indy car racing.

Ed Carpenter

Birthday: March 3, 1980; Hometown: Marshall, Ill.; Residence: Indianapolis, Ind.

Finished second by 0.0162 of a second at Kentucky earlier this month; leading 34 laps.

- AT INFINEON RACEWAY: Carpenter has been running at the finish in all four previous attempts at Infineon Raceway. However, he is still looking for his first top-ten finish there. In his first attempt at Infineon Raceway in 2005, Carpenter started 20th and finished 15th with Vision Racing. In 2006 season he started 16th and finished 12th, in 2007 he started the race from the 14th spot, ran as high as 12th and ultimately finished 13th, and last year he started and finished in the 23rd position.

- MOST RECENTLY: Starting from the 21st spot, Carpenter drove a clean race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course two weeks ago. He drove as high as 13th in the event and finished 17th. Unfortunately, Carpenter fell one spot to 14th in the IndyCar Series championship point standings with 239 total points after 13 races (221 points behind the leader).

- BABY ON BOARD: Just as planned, Carpenter and wife Heather (Pettigrew) welcomed their second child into the world on June 1st as the 8 lb. 1 oz., 20 inch long Ryder Carpenter arrived on his due date. Young Ryder has been traveling the IndyCar Series circuit with his family at just a few weeks old; joining the schedule back in June for the Iowa event and tagging along ever since. Big sister, Makenna was born in October 2007, while the couple was married November 8, 2005 on the Island of St. Thomas.

- TWEET, TWEET: With the birth of his second child in June, son Ryder, Carpenter decided it would be the perfect time to make his debut on Twitter.com as well; joining Vision Racing’s Twitter efforts. You can view Carpenter’s Twitter updates at www.twitter.com/edcarpenter20 and follow the team at www.twitter.com/visionracing.

- 2009 SEASON: This is the sixth full season in IndyCar Series competition for Carpenter and the seventh season that he has participated in overall. Carpenter is looking to build off of four top-ten finishes and a career-best second place finish at Kentucky Speedway. His top-ten finishes came on the ovals of Kansas, Indianapolis, Texas and Iowa. The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be Carpenter’s 14th event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season.

- LEADER LAPS: In his fifth IndyCar Series start in at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2008, Carpenter recorded his first laps led in an IndyCar. He led the field for three laps under caution and finished an Indianapolis 500 career-best, fifth. He led again this season for a lap at Texas Motor Speedway and again last weekend for 34 laps at Kentucky Speedway. He has a total of 38 career-leader laps.

- BACK WITH MENARDS: The No. 20 Vision Racing machine again features the most recognizable car on track as it carries the day-glow yellow color of Menards for the second consecutive season. Menards returned as the primary sponsor of the No. 20 Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, driven by Ed Carpenter. The Menards sponsorship also continues a long-lasting relationship between the home store retailer with Carpenter. The 28-year-old driver carried the Menards livery in 2002, with Sinden Racing in Firestone Indy Lights competition and well before that his days of dirt track racing behind the wheel of quarter midgets.

- NEW VIEW FROM THE COCKPIT: Carpenter still has the same view from the cockpit that he’s always had, but fans of the driver will notice a different look coming from his cockpit this season as his helmet is carrying the distinct colors and logos of the premium jean and clothing retailer, William Rast, for the 2009 season.

- ED “CARPENTER”: Carpenter and his arsenal of power tools were busy again this past off-season as he was knee deep in a house flipping project with a long time friend as well as occupied with rehab projects around his own home. Of course, Menards has been an essential part of Carpenter’s home repair ventures. Prior to his current real estate investment, Carpenter and his “do-it-yourself” mentality crafted his home repair skills with his first home and family heirloom. The home is located in Speedway, Ind. was purchased as new in 1955 by stepfather Tony George’s parents, Elmer and Mari George. Tony grew up in the home as a boy and for a time, drivers A.J. Foyt and Roger McCluskey lived in the basement.

- DOUBLE DUTY: Ed Carpenter made history in September 2003 at Chicagoland Speedway when he became the first driver to compete in a Firestone Indy Lights event and an IndyCar Series event on the same weekend.

- INAUGURAL BRICKYARD WINNER: Carpenter won the inaugural Firestone Indy Lights Firestone Freedom 100 in 2003 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Making him an inaugural winner at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with Ray Haroun (Indianapolis 500), Jeff Gordon (Brickyard 400), and Michael Schumacher (United States Grand Prix).

- BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: Carpenter graduated from 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament qualifying Butler University, Indianapolis, Ind., with a marketing degree in May 2003.

- DID YOU KNOW? Carpenter enjoys water skiing, snowboarding, hunting and cycling. His racing heroes include Al Unser Jr., A.J. Foyt, and Lance Armstrong and he has two dogs; a Rottweiler named Bentley and a Chihuahua named Rosco.

- ED AT-A-GLANCE: Carpenter is participating in his sixth season in the IndyCar Series, and his fifth with his second team in Vision Racing. The 28-year-old made his IndyCar debut at Chicagoland Speedway in 2003 for PDM Racing, which made him the first driver to compete in an IRL Indy Pro Series event and an IndyCar Series event on the same weekend. Carpenter, who has been with the team since it’s inception in 2005, is determined to make his sixth season overall, the best for both he and the team. So far he’s done that with a career-best second place finish at Kentucky Speedway in August with 34 laps led.

About the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma:

The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway air live on Sunday, Aug. 23rd at 5:00 p.m. ET on VERSUS, as well as IMS Radio Network, XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145, XM Sports Nation Channel 144 and on the web at www.IndyCar.com.

About Vision Racing:

Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition. The team features returning IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and welcomed veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay for the start of the 2009 season. Also new for 2009 is a return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series with driver James Davison, as well as a technical partnership with new FIL team Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Daniel Herrington. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Racing.

- Vision Racing Press Release

Ed Carpenter

While running in the top-ten on lap 23 for the restart, competitor Mario Moraes completed an ill-advised move approaching turn five and made significant contact with the No.20 Menards car. The incident forced Carpenter to take the road course short cut on his way back to the pits and caused damage to the car.

Carpenter was obligated to make two stops due to the incident as he took on new Firestone Firehawk tires, a refill of Ethanol, and a repair of the right-rear tow link. The Menards/Vision Racing crew made a speedy repair of the car, but Carpenter was still forced to go a lap down as a penalty for taking the short cut.

Dropping back to the 19th position, Carpenter put forth his best effort to salvage a decent finish. In doing so, he was able to move up three spots and take the checkered flag in the 16th position. Unfortunately, it was not the sort of result that Carpenter desired as he dropped one spot in the IndyCar Series championship point standings to the 14th position with 157 total points (156 points behind the leader).

Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing won the event, which marks the first race this season in the IndyCar Series that a car other than that of Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing has won. It was also Dale Coyne Racing’s first-ever victory as an organization. Rounding out the podium were Ryan Briscoe of Penske and Scott Dixon of Ganassi. Dixon also took control of the championship points lead with 313 total points.

Watch the IndyCar Series in action next weekend for the Series’ debut at Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for the Honda Indy Toronto. The race broadcast will air live from the streets of Toronto on Sunday, July 12th at 1 p.m. (ET) on ABC.

Post Race Quotes: (July 5, 2009)

Ed Carpenter - No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Finishing Position: 16th

Qualifying Position: 21st

On race:

“It ended up being a disappointing race. We looked like we were falling into a decent strategy when we pitted and caught the yellow to find ourselves mid-pack after doing our pit stop. We took the restart in 10th spot but it isn’t a real race unless Mario Moraes does something stupid. He’s very fast and very talented but until he gets a little smarter he’s never going to run up front in a race. It’s a shame because the KV Racing team is a good team that puts together fast cars but all he does is run over people every race. That’s what ended our day.”

About Vision Racing: V

Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition. The team features returning IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and welcomed veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay for the start of 2009. Also new for 2009 is a return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series with driver James Davison, as well as a technical partnership with new FIL team Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Daniel Herrington. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Racing.

- Vision Racing Press Release