Special to indycar.com

Vapor Trail Racing, an industry leader in oil and coolant temperature and pressure control, is one of the hundreds of companies behind the scenes that support the IZOD IndyCar Series.

The company was conceived in 2001 by hydraulics expert Joe Flow and partner Bill Schlanger with the assistance of former Le Mans champion Price Cobb. Flow, no stranger to speed having raced motorcycles and power boats, designed the oversized prototype "Knueder" Valve for Cobb's CBR Racing Team.

Major race teams saw merit in VTR products and began contacting Flow to provide answers to other fluid control issues. In 2003, VTR developed the Klymax Pressure Relief Valve for the cooling system of NASCAR teams. In 2005, Roger Griffiths with Honda Performance Development approved the Klymax to be specified for all Indy cars and Vapor Trail Racing instantly became a supplier in the league. Soon afterward, on the suggestion of Andretti Green Racing engineer Tino Belli, the Gearzmo Oil Temperature Control Valve for gearboxes and differentials was born.

In 2007, VTR introduced the TurboStat Water Temperature Control Valve, which has become one of the company's most popular valves with both endurance and short track racers. In 2008, VTR introduced its newly designed motor oil temperature control valve, the Matchbox, which was the first oil temperature control valve that was small enough to fit into an Indy car. The Matchbox makes racing safer because it regulates the oil temperature automatically and takes the manual part of oil temp control out of the equation.

The company continues to conceive, design and manufacture fluid control products for the motorsports and marine industries.

With multiple IZOD IndyCar Series cars on the 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park course at the same time, Simona de Silvestro says she has "quite a bit of learning" on the horizon.

De Silvestro participated in the two-day preseason Open Test this week in the No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing car, logging 106 laps with a best time of 1 minute, 11.335 seconds (16th on the combined time sheet). She also tested with the team in January at Sebring International Raceway.

"I had a little bit of a rough start in the beginning, but it was the first time I had been in an IndyCar on a fast track and it is something still very new to me," she said. "However, at the end of the day, the team and I gained a lot of knowledge and we accomplished our goals and in that respect I think we managed to have a very successful test.

"We used the opportunity to try some new things and I believe collectively as a group we are heading the right way. Overall, I am so happy with everything and the team has helped me learn quite a lot and I look forward to learning more this season."

The team continues to put together details of its 2010 racing plans with announcements expected before the season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 14.

"It was another good test for Simona and another demonstration of her talent and what lies ahead," HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins said. "With her approach and our support, she will continue to improve and be a serious contender."

Panther Racing helped raise more than $125,000 for the National Guard Youth Foundation during the Feb. 23 Challenge Champions gala in Washington, D.C.

The team auctioned VIP race experience packages that included pit passes, suite tickets, Indy Racing Experience two-seater rides and logo signage on the team's No. 4 National Guard entry at the Indianapolis 500 and Infineon Raceway event. The team also brought renowned painter Bill Patterson, who produced two paintings that sold for a combined $50,000.

"For me, tonight is probably the most important evening our team will be a part of all year," team owner John Barnes said. "These Youth ChalleNGe cadets are the face of America's youth, and if a majority of the young people in the country have the spirit, attitude and ability to overcome obstacles like the young men and women we met tonight, our future is pretty bright."

Barnes and driver Dan Wheldon have been actively involved in the Youth ChalleNGe program since attending the gala last season. Wheldon is a spokesperson for the Youth Foundation and Barnes has been elected a member of the foundation's board. Panther hosts Youth ChalleNGe cadets at IZOD IndyCar Series events where there is a Challenge facility nearby.

"These kids are really amazing," Wheldon said. "For me it's a great honor to be here, and I can honestly say that this event is one of the biggest I've ever attended. I take my role as a national spokesperson for the Youth Foundation very seriously, and I think it's important for people to understand just how many kids drop out of high school each year. There are literally 1.3 million students who drop out of school every year and that costs this country more than $335 billion dollars. If myself and Panther Racing can play a small part in helping this epidemic, then we're honored to do so."

The National Guard Youth Challenge Program is a 17-month co-ed program for 16-18 year-old high school dropouts that offers them the opportunity to enhance their life skills, earn their GED, pursue higher education, improve their employment potential and broaden their chances at success. Since being founded in 1993, the Youth ChalleNGe has grown to 32 programs in 27 states and Puerto Rico and has graduated more than 92,850.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Last week, Gil de Ferran was announced as the president and managing partner of Luczo Dragon Racing/de Ferran Motorsports. Today, on his first at-track day on the job, the team announced it will add a second car for IZOD IndyCar Series veteran Davey Hamilton for three races this season.

Hamilton will compete in the Indianapolis 500 on May 30, at Texas Motor Speedway on June 5 and at another oval venue later in the season. De Ferran also announced that sponsors include HP, McAfee and Bell Micro.

Click it: Hamilton's career stats | Listen to interview

Hamilton and de Ferran go back to 1995 - when both were Indianapolis 500 rookies. De Ferran, the 2003 Indy 500 champion, knows how important the race is to Hamilton.

"He still harbors strong ambitions as a driver, particularly regarding the Indy 500," de Ferran said. "He has also shown a keen interest in helping develop our team and young drivers. He is a highly experienced oval driver that can not only bring us a good result, but very importantly, can help bring us a point of reference and lift the whole team's performance."

Hamilton, who will team up with 2009 rookie of the year Raphael Matos, was the series championship runner-up in 1997 and 1998. He has competed in 51 IZOD IndyCar Series races (eight podiums and 15 top-10 finishes), and will be an additional resource for Matos during the season.

"It's exciting for me to back and able to run the Indy 500," said Hamilton, who has posted three top-10 finishes in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." "It's always been something I wanted to do, run more than Indy and I haven't been able to put that together the last several years. I'm able to do that finally.

"This team coming together, Luczo Dragon already has some success and with Gil joining this team I'm very excited about the possibilities. Rafa has done a fantastic job. He's out of his rookie season now so he's been to these tracks before and has experience. We're hoping to be able to give each other a lot of information to excel the team and to get a victory. Hopefully we can do it sooner than later."

Hamilton retired as a driver after a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2001. After enduring 21 surgeries to reconstruct his feet, Hamilton returned to the cockpit for the Indy 500 in 2007 and finished ninth. He returned in 2008 and '09.

"I will have mixed emotions for sure going to Texas and competing on that track for the first time since the accident, but it is important for me to return to Texas and to finish that race," said Hamilton, who will continue to drive the Indy Racing Experience two-seater on race weekends.

The 17-race schedule that begins March 14 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, will be the second full-season effort for Luczo Dragon Racing/de Ferran Motorsports.  

"We have been working hard on expanding our program," said de Ferran, who noted that team co-owner Jay Penske would continue to be the race strategist for Matos and he'll "be the coffee guy" on race weekends. "We wanted to make sure we were expanding in the right way with the right amount of funding so that we make the right investment and make it worthwhile for everyone involved. Our sponsors were the key to making this happen."

Throughout much of the first day of an Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park, de Ferran and Hamilton watched Matos' No. 2 car on the 2.38-mile circuit. Matos will appreciate the feedback.

"It's extremely difficult to be a one-car team," he said. "There's no comparison for data or driver input. Adding Davey with his experience, as well as Gil, they've been through a lot of the situations I have not. I was fortunate to run the full season last year, and I was able to learn a lot but there's still a lot of learning for me. You don't learn everything in just one year. There's a lot of hard work for me and a lot of hard work for the team.

"We must improve at a lot of the tracks and we have a really good direction. We have good support from our new sponsor, HP, and I'm just very honored to be on my second year with the team."

Andretti Autosport's Danica Patrick appear in the Feb. 10 (10 p.m. ET) episode of "CSI: NY" on CBS as an open-wheel racing driver who is the top competitor of a racing star who dies under suspicious circumstances. Here's hoping she's not typecast ala Bob Denver (Gilligan). 

Click it: Watch the episode trailer

Antonio Sabato Jr. plays the driver who dies in a car explosion on the streets of Manhattan two days before a race as the result of car tampering. The CSI team investigates.

The series is a crime drama inspired by "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and is about forensic investigators who use high-tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes in the Big Apple. "CSI: Miami, "NCIS" and "NCIS: LA" also are CBS shows of a similar vein.

A few days earlier, Patrick was featured in GoDaddy.com commercials aired during Super Bowl XLIV on CBS (the most-watched TV program in history).

Patrick will participate in the IZOD IndyCar Series Open Test on Feb. 24-26 at Barber Motorsports Park. The season opens March 14 with the São Paulo Indy 300 on the streets of the Brazilian city.

An IZOD IndyCar Series show car will be on display at the Pike Helps Haiti fund-raiser from 5:30-8 p.m. Jan. 29 at Pike High School in Indianapolis.

Pike High students, teachers and community members will be presenting live musical performances, and there will be numerous games and interactive activities for the entire family. Admission and most activities will be free.

Goodwill donations will be accepted. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Red Cross to help the people of Haiti.

Vision Racing co-owner Tony George has suspended racing operations because of a lack of sponsorship for the IZOD IndyCar Series season that kicks off March 14 in Brazil.

"He had a meeting with all of his staff this morning and he was fairly emotional," team spokeswoman Pat Caporali said.

A few staff members will continue to seek sponsorship to re-open the Indianapolis-based shop and return to the racetrack with driver Ed Carpenter (George's stepson). Vision Racing began competition in 2005 after acquiring the equipment of the former Kelley Racing.

Carpenter, who finished 12th in the 2009 series standings, has made 99 IZOD IndyCar Series starts. His best finish of second - tying a team high - came at Kentucky Speedway in August.

"They've been a valued part of the series since their debut with Ed Carpenter in 2005 and we really appreciate all they've done, especially with their fan initiatives last season," said Brian Barnhart, president of competition and racing operations for the sanctioning Indy Racing League.  "The past year really demonstrated the progress the team has made since its debut, with James Davison delivering the team's first win in Firestone Indy Lights and Ed putting on a breathtaking show at Kentucky, battling Ryan Briscoe wheel-to-wheel in the closing laps and nearly walking away with his first win.

"Hopefully they'll be able to retain their equipment should funding become available so they can reassemble the team and make a seamless return to the series full time or as an Indy-only effort."