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Before the lunch break today Panther Racing’s Pippa Mann found the extra speed in her car to propel her to the top of the speed chart yet again.  She seems to be setting the pace for the Firestone Indy Lights rookies as well as the veterans.  It is definitely media day here at the Speedway.  As I walk around the garage areas I am starting to see more and more drivers being interviewed by members of the media.  It is not as lax as it was yesterday in the garage area and on pit row.   You have 5 Firestone Indy Lights drivers that have best speeds today at 187 mph with the rest of the field trying to catch up.  Jay Howard is on track in the Palm Beach International Raceway car (PBIR).  PBIR is the slowest on the track today despite having the 2006 Firestone Indy Lights champion in the cockpit.  The top five in the speed charts currently are Pippa Mann, Ali Jackson, Sebastian Saavedra, Martin Plowman, and Mario Romancini.  We will see how the rest of the day plays out with Firestone Indy Lights testing wrapping up at 3:45 p.m.  You can continue to watch the live timing and scoring by clicking the link below:

Firestone Indy Lights live timing and scoring

What is going on at Roth Racing? Marty Roth is running as fast as the majority of the field and finishing races… This isn’t the Marty Roth that we know. Most of us place him in last place when it comes to fantasy racing due to the fact he can never go the distance. It would seem that he has turned his organization around and is looking towards a better 2009 season. I don’t necessarily mean that he will be having podium finishes just yet or even top fives. If Roth can consistently finish on the lead lap in the 2009 season then that my friends will be an accomplishment for that organization. I sure hope that he can treat his drivers a little better as well. We all know what transpired with Jay Howard this season. You can look at this decision from a fan standpoint or a business standpoint. Roth lost his chief engineer David Cripps just before the start of the month of May. At Indianapolis Marty Roth chose to replace Jay Howard with John Andretti. Marty Roth reportedly said that this was due to the fact that John Andretti had more experience and that his experience was crucial due to the loss of Cripps. There were other instances where Roth wrecked his car during a morning warm up or practice session and booted Jay Howard out of his car in order to run in the race. Roth Racing continues to be a controversial team amongst fans. Hopefully, Jay Howard can find a ride this season since it’s definitely not going to be an easy task with the large list of distinguished drivers already seeking a limited number of rides..