Castroneves leads First Day INDYCAR Practice at Edmonton Indy

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

The second race in the Canadian leg of the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series brings the 25-car opern wheel racing tour from Ontario's Toronto street course to the province of Alberta's Edmonton City Centre Airport. Headlining the 2012 Edmonton Indy, the IZOD INDYCAR Series circuit acclimated themselves to the 2.224-mile, 13-turn temporary road course for two practice sessions on Friday.

After two sessions, including a latter session that involved a fair share of interruptions for stopped vehicles, Helio Castroneves stormed to the fastest time on the Edmonton track 1-minute, 16.4920-second lap in his #3 Team Penske machine. "Well basically, the Penske Truck Rental team did a good job." said Castroneves adding "We came with a really good package, and between my teammates and I, we tried some random things in the first session to get where we were this afternoon. We like the direction that we are going and we are very encouraged for tomorrow."

Two years ago, Helio Castroneves made a name for himself at Edmonton when he was penalized for jumping a final restart. His animated behaviour at the end of the event resulted in additional disciplinary action and placed the IZOD INDYCAR Series on several sport highlight reels. After sweeping the first 4 races on the schedule, Team Penske has not won an event since the Sao Paulo event prior to the beginning of May.

Only a matter of 0.0027 seconds slower than Castroneves, Target Chip Ganassi Racing's #9 car driven by Scott Dixon was second-fastest. A two-time winner in the Edmonton INDYCAR event, Dixon will be facing a 10-grid position penalty as result to a blown engine at the last event in Toronto. Scott Dixon was ahead of other Honda runners Mike Conway and Simon Pagenaud on the combined track time sheet for Friday. Pagenaud's 4th fastest time in the #77 machine was the only case where a driver's top effort came from the 1st practice session.

As both Canadian drivers struggled in the pursuit of speed all weekend at the Honda Indy Toronto, both James Hinchcliffe and Alex Tagliani were much stronger on the Edmonton City Centre Airport track. Fastest of the Andretti Autosport bunch, James Hinchcliffe put the #27 GoDaddy-sponsored car fifth quick on Friday. "We're chipping away at it." said James Hinchcliffe eager to turn around his fortunes in Canada. Hinchcliffed included, "It's good to be in the top five heading into day two and hopefully we can keep that progress going. But, man... it's tough out there. It's very competitive and it's very tough to get a lap together because all these hairpins are so inviting, and it's so easy to overshoot it by a tiny bit or break too early and lose a ton of time. I'm happy with where we ended up with the Go Daddy car and we'll keep chipping away at it tomorrow." Just behind Hinchcliffe, the #98 Bryan Herta Autosport machine driven by Alex Tagliani was 6th fastest.

Friday at the Edmonton Indy was unforgiving for the winner of the last three IZOD INDYCAR Series events and current points leader Ryan Hunter-Reay. Penalized part way through the first practice for "unsportsmanlike conduct" by the series officials, the Andretti Autosport team was also required to change-out the #28 car's Chevrolet engine. Hunter-Reay will face a 10-grid position penalty after Saturday qualifying. Last race at the Honda Indy Toronto, Ryan Hunter-Reay's Andretti Autosport teammate James Hinchcliffe suffered similar engine setbacks. Friday did end with Hunter-Reay and the #28 team finding enough speed for the 9th fastest time prior to the engine problem.

Qualifying for the IZOD INDYCAR Series at the Edmonton Indy is set at 1pm tomorrow.


2012 IZOD INDYCAR Series
Edmonton Indy
Edmonton City Centre Airport
Combined Practice of Friday

1	3	Helio Castroneves	Brazil	Team Penske	Chevrolet
2	9	Scott Dixon	New Zealand	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
3	14	Mike Conway	England	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
4	77	Simon Pagenaud	France	Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports	Honda
5	27	James Hinchcliffe	Canada	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
6	98	Alex Tagliani	Canada	Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian	Honda
7	10	Dario Franchitti	Scotland	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
8	18	Justin Wilson	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
9	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
10	12	Will Power	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet
11	8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
12	67	Josef Newgarden	United States	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda
13	38	Graham Rahal	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
14	26	Marco Andretti	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
15	11	Tony Kanaan	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
16	2	Ryan Briscoe	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet
17	5	EJ Viso	Venezuela	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
18	15	Takuma Sato	Japan	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
19	19	James Jakes	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
20	83	Charlie Kimball	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
21	7	Sebastien Bourdais	France	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
22	4	JR Hildebrand	United States	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
23	22	Oriol Servia	Spain	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet
24	78	Simona de Silvestro	Switzerland	Lotus-HVM Racing	Lotus
25	20	Ed Carpenter	United States	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet

Red Hot Hunter-Reay Wins INDYCAR Toronto Street Race

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

A race weekend where hot temperatures tested everyone from the drivers, crews, fans right to the vendors at the temporary street course set up within the Canadian city of Toronto, the 2012 Honda Indy staged its own heat wave with the sensational IZOD INDYCAR Series. The hottest driver in the paddock area prior to the open wheel racing tour's arrival in Toronto has been Ryan Hunter-Reay, the pilot of the #28 Andretti Autosport machine. Winning at the Milwaukee Mile and on the Iowa Speedway, the return to road course racing could be seen as a potential obstacle to winning three races in a row.

Another Andretti Autosport also had much of the attention of the 2012 Honda Indy. Hometown native James Hinchcliffe arrived wearing the high-profile Godaddy.com sponsorship for what is his second IZOD INDYCAR appearance on the street course. After a painful Friday where Hinchcliffe was bit by a sour Chevrolet engine inside his #27 car, James Hinchcliffe would start 19th on Sunday as a result of a series mandated penalty for an unapproved engine change. Along with Hinchcliffe representing Canada at the Honda Indy, Alex Tagliani was also present driving for Bryan Herta Autosport. Tagliani would start 16th in the #98 car after he was penalized for an engine change from the previous race.

Fastest around the 1.755-mile road temporary street course around the CNE grounds of Toronto, Dario Franchitti bettered his own lead through Friday practice with a qualifying effort of 59.351 seconds. Will Power, Justin Wilson, Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon rounded out the top-5 in qualifying setting the field for the 85 laps for Sunday.

On a Sunday where the humidity has brought some much-desired relief to everyone in the area, the Honda Indy Toronto race for the IZOD INDYCAR Series started under a bright summer sky with the #10 car of Dario Franchitti shooting to an advantage early.

Photo Credit: Phillip Abbott. LAT Photo USA/Honda

On lap 6, the front row-sitting #12 Penske Racing car of Will Power swept past Franchitti. While losing the lead of the Honda Indy race early was a minor setback for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, a more terminal problem affected Dario Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon. On lap 7, the #9 car lost power into turn 1 as the Honda engine expired. The winner of the last street race, Dixon settled with a last place finish in the 25-car field in Toronto.

While last year's Honda Indy event left many remembering a rough and tumble affair, the first caution in the 2012 race would not occur until lap 24 when the #38 Chip Ganassi Racing car of Graham Rahal met the turn 1 wall. A full course yellow winding up in the middle of a pit stop cycle for the racing grid, the top-7 cars at that time in the event had not pitted ahead of the caution. A group that included Will Power and Dario Franchitti, those vehicles pitted once the pits opened on lap 25. While the Penske Racing team were able to send Power back out quickly, the same was not said for the pit crew #10 Target Chip Ganassi. With Dario Franchitti pitting too far from the wall, the crew were forced jack up the Dallara-Honda simply to move the car within range of the fueling hose. Franchitti left the pits far back in the field and would never fully recover through the event.

When the Honda Indy restarted on lap 27, the IZOD INDYCAR field launched back into competition with one major exception. In front of a crowd eager to see James Hinchcliffe charge from 19th place through the course of the afternoon, engine troubles once again plagued the #27 Andretti Autosport team. While the team tried determinedly to return Hinchcliffe to his long-prized race, the Honda Indy ended for Toronto driver who left his race car somberly.

Leading continuously for 23 laps, Simon Pagenaud was at the front with the #77 Honda-powered machine in his rookie appearance in Toronto. With exception to the winner of the inaugural 1986 race winner Bobby Rahal, a first-time driver had never won the Toronto street event. Pagenaud or any other rookie year would not change that statistic in 2012.

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

On lap 49, the Andretti Autosport #28 car piloted by Ryan Hunter-Reay took the lead for 6 laps before pitting on lap 55. After the #4 Panther Racing car of JR Hildebrand was able to hold the race's lead for a lap before his pit stop, Hunter-Reay retook the top spot in the Honda Indy.

The #28 Chevrolet-engined vehicle stormed around the street course in a comfortable lead while other front-running competitors suffered faults late in the event. On lap 66, the #18 car of Justin Wilson (who was running steadily in the top-5 at the time) wacked the frontstratch wall of the Honda Indy circuit hard. Losing power, Wilson coasted his race car to the pits retiring from competition. While that incident did not require a full course caution, Josef Newgarden's #67 car getting pinned into a spin-out in turn 3 would result in the double yellow flag conditions on lap 80. Newgarden had been running a strong 4th place for the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team.

With the full course caution setting up a 3-lap finale for the Honda Indy Toronto, Ryan Hunter-Reay had to fend off the charge of others wishing to pounce for the lead in this pivotal time in the event. As Hunter-Reau launched perfectly when the green flag flew for the restart, it was a battle for the runner-up spot as #7 Dragon Racing car of Sebastien Bourdais flew past Charlie Kimball's #83 Chip Ganassi Racing entry as they head tightly into turn 1 with the added challenge coming from Mike Conway. Close quarter racing that would result the #14 of Conway making contact with the #83 which, in turn, made contact with the #7 car. Bourdais received the worst of the incident with his Dragon Racing Dallara-Chevy knocked into the tire barrier.

While the #7 car was stopped in turn 1, the calamity of late laps led into a wild hustle for competitors heading into turn 3. Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti made contact that also led to a secondary incident on the corner involving Marco Andretti, Simon Pagenaud along with several other competitors. 
 
Under yellow and checkered flags, Ryan Hunter-Reay won his third straight IZOD INDYCAR Series race for Andretti Autosport. " I think we'd rather just keep doing this." Hunter-Reay joyous after winning the 2012 Honda Indy Toronto. The #28 Andretti Autosport driver added, "This is awesome. There's a championship run going on right now. I'm a part of it as much as everybody on this team is and they did excellent pit stops. They gave me the car to win today. We had it when it mattered again - at the end."

Photo Credit: INDYCAR/LAT USA

Joining Ryan Hunter-Reay on the podium were two first-timers for 2012. Grabbing his career-highest IZOD INDYCAR Series finish, Charlie Kimball was the shining light for the Chip Ganassi Racing team who largely endured a dismal outing on Sunday. Kimball managed to continue a podium streak for the Chip Ganassi Racing squad at the Honda Indy Toronto event stretching back to when the race fell under INDYCAR sanctioning in 2009. In third place was Mike Conway who delivered the AJ Foyt Racing team its first podium since the 2010 Sao Paulo INDYCAR race.

Photo Credit: Perry Nelson LAT Photo USA/Honda

Troubles for Will Power and Scott Dixon during the course of the event combined with Ryan Hunter-Reay's finish at the Honda Indy Toronto vaunted the American into the series points lead resting 34 markers ahead of Power. Helio Castroneves also met fortune in the points standings after the 85-lap street race. Traditionally an event that his been harsh on Castroneves, the Brazilian result of 6th allowed him to overcome Scott Dixon for 3rd place in the overall points tally.
With James Hinchcliffe out of the event ahead of one-third distance, Alex Tagliani carried the Canadian flag to a 10th place finish on his #98 Bryan Herta Autosport racing machine. "I think we had a fast car but we never had the chance to prove it." said Tagliani and the team were fighting numerous issues to finish the 2012 Honda Indy Toronto in the top-10. "We had a wing problem early on, then some tire pressure and then finally when the car was good we didn't have sixth gear. I'm very proud." Tagliani said in post-race. Despite the fact Canadian fans were not able to see the maple leaf flag flying for a podium driver at this Toronto race, the winner is well-connected to the area of the Honda Indy. His mother was a native of nearby Hamilton, Ontario and Ryan Hunter-Reay has several relatives still residing within the Toronto area.   
Remaining in Canada, the IZOD INDYCAR Series next visit is to the Edmonton City Centre Airport for July 22nd's Edmonton Indy.



2012 IZOD INDYCAR
Honda Indy Toronto
Race Results

	Car #	Driver	Driver Nationality	Race Team	Engine
1	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
2	83	Charlie Kimball	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
3	14	Mike Conway	England	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
4	11	Tony Kanaan	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
5	22	Oriol Servia	Spain	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet
6	3	Helio Castroneves	Brazil	Team Penske	Chevrolet
7	4	JR Hildebrand	United States	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
8	19	James Jakes	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
9	15	Takuma Sato	Japan	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
10	98	Alex Tagliani	Canada	Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian	Honda
11	8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
12	77	Simon Pagenaud	France	Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports	Honda
13	67	Josef Newgarden	United States	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda
14	6	Sebastien Bourdais	France	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
15	12	Will Power	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet
16	26	Marco Andretti	United States	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
17	10	Dario Franchitti	Scotland	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
18	20	Ed Carpenter	United States	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
19	2	Ryan Briscoe	Australia	Team Penske	Chevrolet
20	5	EJ Viso	Venezuela	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet
21	18	Justin Wilson	England	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
22	27	James Hinchcliffe	Canada	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
23	38	Graham Rahal	United States	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
24	78	Simona de Silvestro	Switzerland	Lotus-HVM Racing	Lotus
25	9	Scott Dixon	New Zealand	Target/Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda