Well, not exactly punted. Helio landed this morning after being aquitted of federal tax evasion charges yesterday in Miami. He retook the cockpit of the #3 Team Penske car pushing Will Power into the #12. Penske will be running three cars this weekend.
Will Power showed his skill on the streets of Long Beach after transfering into the new Dallara. Sponsorship did not seem like it was an issue with the car having Verizon livery on it. This does not come as a surprise from Roger Penske. While some are a step ahead of things he has always proved to be several.
Helio had a rough day after putting the car attenuator first into the turn 1 wall during qualifying. He missed the tire barrier by a few feet causing him to hit hard. Today was his first day in the car since October.
Will Power started 4th in Long Beach last season and led all but two of the 83 laps to finish P1. He stated that starting from pole is especially important since Long Beach has very few places to pass.
You can join us on our reader interactive blog tomorrow during the race.
You can watch the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach tomorrow on VERSUS and VERSUS HD at 3:30 ET.
…jurors acquitted him on all charges except for a single charge of conspiracy. The judge declared a mistrial on the count of conspiracy after jurors were unable to return a verdict… CBS4
Helio Castroneves has been acquitted after five days of deliberations. Helio’s sister, Katiucia was also acquitted on all charges except the conspiracy charge. His lawyer, Alan Miller, was acquitted on all charges since he had not been charged with conspiracy. The government has not declared if it would re-file a new trial for the count of conspiracy.
“I love this country, and I love racing. I’m glad I’ll be able to do it,” he said.
“Instead of going to Disneyland, I want to go to Long Beach and race,” he said after thanking his racing sponsors for continuing to support him.
“Let’s go race,”
According to 16th and Georgetown , Curt Cavin has reported that Team Penske would have the #12 car ready for Will Power to ride in if Helio was cleared today.
Here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming Danica Patrick / IndyCar Series promo to be aired on the Versus Network. I think they’ve made the folks at Andretti Green Racing proud with this one. Check it out online in case you miss its debut during the Versus Network’s coverage of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend. Don’t get the Versus Network? Call your cable/satellite provider and request that they add it to your current programming. Those of you who would like to spread some IRL joy to those who are specifically on Dish Network, click HERE.
Paul Tracy might have landed a part time ride this year for the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 with KV Racing technology. This team which is owned by ex Champ Car owner Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser could field Tracy in a few other races as well. I would think that they would be the Edmonton and Toronto races.
The last time that Paul Tracy ran in Indy was at the 86th running of the Indy 500 in 2002 where he finished second behind Helio Castroneves after a controversial call was made stating that Paul Tracy made the pass after the yellow flag had flew in turn 3 of lap 199.
Paul Tracy showed that he still has what it takes last year when he ran at the Rexall Edmonton Indy for Vision Racing with Subway sponsoring him. He just missed the podium finishing in P4. This was Vision Racing’s best finish up until this years Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg where Ryan Hunter-Reay finished in P2.
The Firestone Indy Lights double header and IndyCar Series opener were less than uneventful this weekend in St. Petersburg. With the exception of Friday morning the weather was stellar and the race conditions were optimal. Versus did a great job of showcasing downtown St. Petersburg during the race coverage and showing off the location of the course. They really sold the town to the viewers.
The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was full of surprises. Graham Rahal, who seemed to be one of the favorites amongst the locals won the pole. Unfortunately when the IndyCar Series took the green flag Sunday afternoon, Rahal was involved in a turn one incident as the field of cars, 3 and 4 wide in some places, had to bottle neck to make it from the runway onto the city streets. That incident ended the day for rookie Mike Conway of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. That is a tough start to the 09 season with Dad’s Root Beer on board as a sponsor.
Danica and Raphael Matos got into each other headed into turn 12 on lap 31. Everyone in the stands waited for the drama to unfold. A what appeared to be calm and collective Danica Patrick emerged from the car. As Matos and Danica waited for the safety vehicle to give them a ride back to pit lane. They CALMLY voiced their point of views of what had just taken place. The fans were waiting to see Danica catch a tantrum or throw a fit, but to everyones surprise it was just the opposite.
One of the big stories of the race had to have been Ryan Hunter-Reay. Here we have a driver who lost his ride last season and was out of the seat up until about a week ago. He recorded Vision Racing’s best finish ever finishing 2nd. That is great for someone who had to jump in and set up a street course car in 3 days. I am for one anxious to see how he does at Vision this season.
Who is Junior Strous? That’s what everyone was asking over the course of the weekend. That was of course until he won both races of the Firestone Indy Lights double-header. Strous is a rookie from the Netherlands that used to run in the Champ car Atlantic Series. He ran a strong and consistant two races. He is proved that himself along with The Winners Circle Group should be a force to be reckoned with on the road and street courses. I would not count him out on the ovals either. Strous was 6th fastest at the Homestead-Miami open test in February. I am excited to see how this Firestone Indy Lights rookie does this season.
You can watch the Firestone Indy Lights highlights tonight on Versus at 6p.m. and a re-air of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at 10 p.m.
Unfortunately when the IndyCar Series took the green flag Sunday afternoon, Rahal was involved in a turn one incident as the field of cars, 3 and 4 wide in some places, had to bottle neck to make it from the runway onto the city streets. That incident ended the day for rookie Mike Conway of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. That is a tough start to the 09 season with Dad’s Root Beer on board as a sponsor.
That was of course until he won both races of the Firestone Indy Lights double-header. Strous is a rookie from the Netherlands that used to run in the Champ car Atlantic Series. He ran a strong and consistant two races. He is proved that himself along with The Winners Circle Group should be a force to be reckoned with on the road and street courses. I would not count him out on the ovals either. Strous was 6th fastest at the Homestead-Miami open test in February. I am excited to see how this Firestone Indy Lights rookie does this season.