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photo: Ron McQueeney

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.

The IndyCar Series just took to the track for what is the first evening of a two evening test down here at Homestead Miami Speedway.  Teams were anxious to get on track after setting the cars up over the past two days and the drivers were sure to hurry back to the garage after the drivers meeting.   Scott Dixon for the first two hours of testing has been the fastest turning in a lap at 211.024 mph.  Ryan Briscoe has been jumping between the #6 and Will Power’s #3.  The majority of the drivers are in the 207-208 mile range.  With this just being the first hour of 12 hours of testing over the next two days, I expect the speeds to pick up and the new teams and drivers to start adjusting and settling in a groove.  One thing I have noticed is that we have an abundant amount of red cars this year.  Perhaps the other teams think Target Chip Ganassi and Penske (technically orange) luck and skill with rub off.  Milka Duno is testing tonight but it has been reported that her deal with Newman Haas Lanigan Racing has not been finalized yet.  The same goes for Justin Wilson at Dale Coyne Racing.  You can follow the live timing and scoring and watch a live video feed from Homestead Miami Speedway by clicking on the links below.

IndyCar live timing and scoring

Live Homestead Miami Speedway video stream