INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES – June 27, 2013

Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:

1. Unpredictable first half sets stage for championship battle

2. IZOD IndyCar Series drivers nominated for ESPY Awards 

3. Davison eyes more after successful test with Dale Coyne Racing 

1. Unpredictable first half sets stage for championship battle: Entering the second season of the chassis-engine platform, IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and team personnel knew that the competition at each of the 16 venues would be exceptionally keen.

The field’s depth of talent and experience, combined with knowledge gained about the car’s characteristics on the diverse racetracks, immediately set in motion scintillating racing and unexpected results. 

• There have been seven different winners representing six teams in the 10 races.

• There have been three first-time winners.

• Seven different teams are represented in the top 10 of the standings.

• Nine points separate 1-2 in the driver standings.

• Twenty-one drivers have at least one top-five finish.

• There have been seven different winners of the Verizon P1 Award for earning the pole.

• No driver has led laps in all 10 races. Reigning champion Ryan Hunter-Reay is tops with seven races led for a total of 216 laps.

• There were a record 68 lead changes in the Indianapolis 500 among 14 drivers.

“It’s circumstances. All the teams are improving. It shows that the series is very, very competitive,” said Helio Castroneves, the championship front-runner who is seeking his first IZOD IndyCar Series title. “It gives an opportunity for a guy — rookie — to win races. That is why our series is one of the best.”

With nine races left, including a pair of doubleheader race weekends in which each race pays full points, championship contender additions – or deletions – won’t come into clear view until early October.

“These races are so hard to win,” said James Hinchcliffe, who’s won a series-high three races. “You’ve got to be with a good crew, good car, good pit stops, call it right, drive smart and have some luck.  And you can’t take anything for granted. You can’t assume you’re in a good position, because there are legitimately 12 guys any weekend that can win a race, and you just never know if you’ll ever win another one.”

A look at some items that stand out as the series moves into the second half:

WHO’S HOT

Hunter-Reay has totaled 176 points in the past four oval races (all podiums, including a victory in the Milwaukee IndyFest) and added 53 points from the Detroit doubleheader. In that span, he’s moved from sixth in the standings exiting Sao Paulo to second.

Andretti Autosport has won five of the 10 races (three by Hinchcliffe and two by Hunter-Reay), including the past two on short ovals. Three of its four drivers are 2-3-4 in the championship.

“I think the team has a lot of confidence in each other and themselves and now we can just try and rip off some consistent results because you look at Marco (Andretti) and you look at Helio, I’ve got more wins than anybody but those guys are ahead of me because they have been more consistent,” Hinchcliffe said.

MR. CONSISTENCY

Castroneves has recorded 216 points in the past six races – all top-10 finishes. Over the 10 races, he has one victory and one finish out of the top 10. Bonuses totaling 25 points have aided his drive for a first series title.

The three-time Indianapolis 500 champion is the only driver to complete all 1,423 laps. He’s been running at the finish in the past 22 races.

CLOSE AS ALWAYS

4.34 seconds – Average margin of victory in the six street/road course races. There’s been a low of .3463 of a second at Sao Paulo and a high of 12.9707 seconds in Detroit 1.

3.66 seconds – Average margin of victory in three of the four ovals (Indianapolis 500 finished under caution). There’s been a low of 1.5009 seconds at Iowa and a high of 4.8059 seconds at Milwaukee.

NUMBERS TO NOTE

20.6 – Average number of cars running at the finish with 25 the average number of starters in nine events (outside of the Indianapolis 500, which had 26 of 33 cars running at the finish).

12.6 – Average number of lead changes. There’s been a record-high of 68 at Indianapolis.

6.1 – Average number of lap leaders. There’s been a high of 14 at Indianapolis.

2 – Fewest DNFs at Sao Paulo and Texas Motor Speedway.

1 Laps led by a race winner (Hinchcliffe at Sao Paulo). Conversely, Takuma Sato led a field-high 109 of 250 laps at Milwaukee and wasn’t the winner.

1 –  Fewest cautions at Barber Motorsports Park for four laps.

187.433 mph — Average speed (race record) in Indianapolis 500.

WHAT’S AHEAD

Another superspeedway – Pocono Raceway on July 7 – kicks off the second-half push, immediately followed by another doubleheader weekend on the streets of Exhibition Place in Toronto. Natural-terrain road course events at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma follow before the third event on the streets of Baltimore on Labor Day weekend.

The third doubleheader of the season – on the streets of Houston, the first Indy car race there since 2007 – will either define or muddle the championship chase heading into the finale on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval. The champion has been decided in the season-ending race each of the past seven years.

2. IZOD IndyCar Series drivers nominated for ESPY Awards: 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan have been nominated for an ESPY Award in the “Best Driver” category.

The 21st ESPYs will be broadcast live July 17 (9 p.m. ET on ESPN) from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles with host Jon Hamm. The event celebrates the best sports moments of the year.

Fans have the opportunity to select the winners in each category by voting online through July 17 at http://espn.go.com/espys/2013/

Hunter-Reay became the first American IZOD IndyCar Series champion since 2006 as he won four races in 2012. Kanaan captured the 97th Indianapolis 500 on May 26, a record-setting race that saw 14 leaders and 68 lead changes.  Jimmy Vasser was the last Indy car driver to win the Best Driver Award in 1997.

The ESPYs and related events benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research in memory of the late Jim Valvano.

3. Davison eyes more after successful test with Dale Coyne Racing: James Davison, a two-time winner of Firestone Indy Lights races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, joined Dale Coyne Racing for testing on the road course this week.

“It was great to finally get a proper chance to see what I could do in these impressive cars and have a bench mark with Justin running on a track we race on,” Davison said. “It is great to be here as a rookie and especially have Justin Wilson as a teammate to help in all that happens on and off the track in preparation for this day.”

Davison, who earned victories at Mid-Ohio in 2008 and ’09, received the 2008 Sunoco Most Improved Driver Award.

“James did a great job,” team owner Dale Coyne said.  “James had won two races here in Indy Lights but has not raced an open-wheel car in four years. To be within one second of Justin’s comparable times was very impressive.”

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The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco on July 7 at Pocono Raceway. The race will be televised live at noon (ET) by ABC and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211, www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 13 App for most smartphones and tablets. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Pocono 100 at 4 p.m. on July 6 at Pocono Raceway. NBC Sports Network’s coverage of the Sukup 100 from Iowa Speedway will be telecast at 11 p.m. (ET) on June 28.