Category Archives: IndyCar Series

New items continue to be added to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway eBay auctions to benefit American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti, as the motorsports world shows its care and concern for the victims of the devastating earthquake Jan. 12.

All proceeds from the eBay auction of racing memorabilia, which began Jan. 15, are being donated to Red Cross relief efforts. Items are designated as part of the Haiti relief program.

Memorabilia contributed by race teams and drivers continues to pour in, including these items added to the auctions Jan. 22:
• Team Penske IZOD IndyCar Series nose cone autographed by Ryan Briscoe
• Miller Lite Dodge sheet metal autographed by Kurt Busch
• Cap autographed by 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr.
• 2009 Red Bull Indianapolis GP poster signed by famed motorsports artist Randy Owens
• Piece of asphalt from Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval mounted in acrylic case
• IMS Centennial Era Balloon Festival banner

CLICK HERE FOR AUCTION AND BID

Many other autographed items remain up for auction, including memorabilia signed by Indianapolis 500 winners Scott Dixon and Buddy Rice, Indianapolis 500 legend Michael Andretti and IZOD IndyCar Series stars Ed Carpenter and Milka Duno.

Another deluxe auction item is a VIP ticket/hotel package for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 race weekend May 28-May 30. Included are four tickets in an IMS luxury suite for Miller Lite Carb Day on May 28 and Race Day on May 30, four pit and garage credentials (if age 18 or over) and a police escort to IMS on Race Day morning. Also included is three nights' accommodation for four persons at the Hilton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites, provided by Hilton.

More items are arriving from race teams and competitors from around the world and being added to the auction regularly. Check the auction site daily for updates. Fans visiting Brickyard Authentics retail locations at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum and Indianapolis International Airport will receive a 20 percent savings on any purchase with a donation of $5 or more to the American Red Cross canisters located near the register. This program is valid at the retail stores only.

Robert Doornbos recently has witnessed the financial canyon between Formula One and the IZOD IndyCar Series. It's an eye-opening view.

Doornbos was quoted by nusport.nl that USF1 and Campos are seeking $5 million (U.S. dollars) from drivers to be put in their vacant seats for the 2010 season.

Doornbos raced with Minardi and Red Bull and has been a F1 test driver. He competed in the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2009 with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and HVM Racing with five top-10 finishes (high of ninth four times). He's penciled in for the No. 33 HVM Racing car for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season that kicks off March 14 in São Paulo, Brazil.  

Doornbos, 28, of The Netherlands, said he held talks with the two new F1 teams about 2010.

"If I had that much (sponsorship money), I would be at the front in the IndyCar Series rather than at the back in Formula One," he said.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is contributing $10,000 to the American Red Cross to assist its relief efforts for Haitian earthquake victims.

Thousands were killed and injured when a massive earthquake struck Jan. 12 near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The catastrophic damage destroyed the infrastructure of the capital of the Caribbean island nation, creating an urgent need for funds for water, food, medical services and temporary shelter.

"Our fans have responded to the needs in Haiti by offering generous donations through our auctions on the Internet, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for supporting this cause," said Mari Hulman George, chairman of the Board of Directors, Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Given the ongoing and long-term needs of the people of Haiti, our family felt it important to do more. The American Red Cross is doing wonderful things in the wake of this tragedy, and we're proud to partner with them on these relief efforts."

Motorsports fans also can contribute to the American Red Cross in many ways, including an online auction at the IMS eBay site and a Brickyard Authentics retail store price reduction. All proceeds from the eBay auction of racing memorabilia, which began Jan. 15, are being donated to American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

CLICK HERE FOR AUCTION AND BID

Items are designated as part of the Haiti relief program.

Menard Competition Technologies on Jan. 14 was presented the Motorsport Industry Association's Business Excellence Award at the NEC in Birmingham, England, for its outstanding design and engineering work undertaken on the Superleague V12 racing engine.

Subject to a strict judging process and decided by a panel of industry experts, the MIA Business Excellence Awards recognize outstanding work within the motorsport and high-performance engineering industries.

"All of us at MCT are thrilled with our success at this year's awards," managing director Kevin Lee said. "To be awarded this honor by a panel of our peers is truly gratifying. The whole team back at Leafield (in Oxfordshire) continues to deliver reliable, innovative and high-performance products and this award is vindication of their hard work.

"We have an exciting year ahead of us; the Superleague championship has been extended to 12 rounds and the Bloodhound SSC land speed record project continues to gather pace as engine testing continues. This has been a great way in which to start the year and further demonstrates MCT's passion and commitment to being one of the world's leading motorsport and high-performance engineering organizations."

The MIA Business Excellence Awards are presented at the industry association's annual Autosport Show dinner. Menard Competition Technologies is owned by John Menard Jr., president and CEO of Wisconsin-based Menards home improvement stores and an Indy Racing League car sponsor.

The Board of Directors of Hulman & Company and affiliated companies, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has received the resignation of Anton H. "Tony" George from the board of directors effective immediately, according to Mari Hulman George, chairman.

"As members of his family, we are sorry to see Tony leave," said Mrs. George. "We are grateful for his service to our company as a board member and of course for formerly serving as CEO and president of our companies. I speak for our whole family in wishing him well.

"All of us had hoped that Tony would continue to serve on the board, and we made that clear to him. We are disappointed with his decision to step down despite our wishes."

His resignation removes George from any remaining role in Hulman & Company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League, IMS Productions and other affiliated companies. His term as CEO of the family companies ended June 30, 2009. He continues to be involved in racing through his ownership of Vision Racing, a competitor in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

The board vacancy will be addressed at a later date. In addition to Mari Hulman George, board members include Nancy George, Josie George, Kathi George-Conforti and Jack Snyder.

Mari Hulman George said she is very pleased with the direction of the company and the progress that has been made during the last six months.

"Our company is healthy and is weathering the economic recession well," she said. "Jeff Belskus, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Curt Brighton, president and CEO of Hulman & Company, are both doing excellent jobs in guiding our companies through this difficult time. Many hard decisions have been made, and now our companies are well positioned for the future."

Spectators and drivers will notice major changes in several turns when they return to Watkins Glen International in July for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen.

"We make it a point to evaluate our entire facility every year and we identified these areas as needing improvement," track president Michael Printup said. "The feedback we received from each of the sanctioning bodies was very positive and in agreement with our recommendations.  We think the drivers will like what they see when they return here and should lead to even better on-track action for our fans."

Along the portion of the course known as the Inner Loop or "Bus Stop," the existing gravel trap will be replaced with a paved runoff area, which will allow more side-by-side racing throughout the tight turns. Additionally, a SAFER Barrier will be installed along the interior concrete barrier wall and the existing catch fence system will be removed with a modified version installed.  

Changes in Turn 5 will include the removal of the existing grass to pave an extended runoff area and the installment of a rumble strip built to FIA specifications along the track edge of pavement.  The existing guard rail system will be modified to install a crash attenuator system, to help absorb the impact when a car makes contact with the wall.

Similarly, the project in Turn 10 will include the removal of a portion of the current gravel trap, which will be replaced with another paved runoff area. Additionally, the current FIA rumble strip will be extended along the track edge of pavement. 

Turn 11 improvements will feature the installation of a SAFER Barrier in front of the exterior guide rail system.  Additionally, all grass areas between the new SAFER Barrier and the track will be paved to help provide better traction when a driver is attempting to bring their car to a stop. 

Tickets for the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen (July 2-4) are on sale now by calling the Watkins Glen International ticket office at 866-461-RACE (7223) or logging on to www.TheGlen.com.  Tickets, gift certificates and track merchandise also can be purchased at The Shop located at 2 North Franklin Street in downtown Watkins Glen. 

This just in: Justin and Julia Wilson have announced the birth of their second daughter, Jessica Lynne, who was born Jan. 12.

Justin, who drove for Dale Coyne Racing during the 2009 IZOD IndyCar Series season, exited the season preview meeting at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway quickly and quietly to be with his wife at Exempla Good Samaratin Medical Center in Lafayette, Colo.

He made it. Jessica Lynne arrived at 7:12 p.m. (MT). She checked in at 5.13 pounds and 18 inches long. Big sister Jane will undoubtedly be excited.

Jeff Britton has joined A.J. Foyt Racing as chief engineer of the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. car driven by Vitor Meira. Britton will be renewing an alliance with Meira as they worked together in 2005 when Meira finished second in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time.

"I'm very excited to be joining the A.J. Foyt Racing family," Britton said. "I'm looking forward to being able to rely on the wealth of experience that A.J. has and also working with Vitor again. He makes things very easy for engineers because he can boil down the problems of the car to the biggest problem. He enables you to work on one thing at a time to really make progress in setting up the race car.

"The other thing is his attitude; he has the most positive attitude of any driver I've ever worked with. He never gets upset in the car, always has his emotions in check and is constantly trying to push the team in a positive direction."

Repect is mutual.

"Jeff was the first guy that I had big results -- with the first time that I finished second at the (Indy) 500 was with him," Meira said. "We had three cars on the team. Buddy (Rice) and Danica (Patrick) were in the other two cars and we were much faster than both of them so I always thought that we worked well together. I like the way he works. He's very quiet, you tell him what the car is doing and what the problems are, then he asks you to leave and he thinks about it and comes up with a solution. It's very simple. I think it will be good, very good."

Team director Larry Foyt interviewed several candidates before hiring Britton, who brings 15 years of IZOD IndyCar Series experience to the team.

"In the end, I liked the fact that Jeff worked well with Vitor and together they had some good results,"  Foyt said. "With the limited practice time that you have on race weekends, it really helps to bring in someone who can communicate well with Vitor, so we aren't starting from square one. With Jeff having been around the IRL since its inception, he and A.J. have a lot of common experience and that also was important in our final decision."

Britton's experience includes stints with Treadway Racing, Kelley Racing (when driver Scott Sharp won the 2001 pole at Indianapolis), Access Motorsports (Greg Ray) and Mo Nunn Racing (Tora Takagi). In 2005, he joined Rahal Letterman Racing, where he worked with Meira in 2005, Rice in 2006 and Sharp in 2007. Britton moved to Vision Racing in 2008, where he spent the past two years working with Ed Carpenter.

The elegant Champion of Champions ring is one of the most coveted spoils of winning the Indianapolis 500 for any driver.

Now fans of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" also can wear a similar piece of beautiful racing jewelry. Herff Jones, which produces the Champion of Champions ring, is offering for the first time an exclusive Indy 500 Fan Ring.

This gold, college-style ring can be ordered in various sizes at www.herffjones.com/indy500 or by calling (800) 473-2895, ext. 112.

The ring features the words "INDIANAPOLIS 500" engraved on the face of the ring, around an engraved brick motif featuring the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway "Wing and Wheel" logo. Two cubic zirconia stones also adorn the ring's face, with genuine diamonds available at an additional cost via phone order.

One side of the ring features crossed checkered flags, while the other side features crossed green-and-white flags.

A charm comprised of the face of the ring also is available.