INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES – Aug. 26, 2013

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

1. Sonoma win boosts season for Power 

2. Wilson looks forward to debut

3. Inside the numbers – GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma 

 

1. Sonoma win boosts season for Power: With four races remaining in the IZOD IndyCar Series season, Will Power remains among the 13 drivers in championship contention, but unlike the last three seasons, the Australian is happy to assist Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves in securing the series title instead of striving for his own.

 

It’s a different position for Power, who is eighth in the standings after finishing as the series’ runner-up the past three seasons. A bright spot, in what has been an atypical season for Power, occurred Aug. 25 on Power’s personal playground – Sonoma Raceway – where he won the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma for the third time in the past four years.

 

“Of course I would love to be in the battle right now,” said Power, who beat Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing to the finish line by 1.1930 seconds. “We just have had one of those years where things don’t flow. But it’s slowly coming on.

 

“Obviously, next year’s mind-set is different. This year is to make sure Helio wins the championship. We’re going to help him any way possible for the next four races.” 

Castroneves, who finished seventh in the 85-lap race on the 2.385-mile, 12-turn course, takes a 39-point lead over Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon into the Sept. 1 Grand Prix of Baltimore on a 2-mile street circuit.

 

It was Power’s 19th career victory and first of the season. He’s the 10th different winner through 15 rounds. That list includes four first-time winners (James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato, Simon Pagenaud and most recently Charlie Kimball on Aug. 4 at Mid-Ohio). 

 

The record is 11 different winners during the 20-race 2001 CART season, which matched the 20-race 2000 season.

 

Power presented Team Penske its fifth consecutive victory at Sonoma and secured his fifth top-five finish of the season. The victory was his first since April 29, 2012, at Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Power said he’s “learned a lot about myself” through the uncharacteristic results on the mixture of road/street courses and ovals.

 

“I just think you start really looking close at your weaknesses,” he said. “My oval performance wasn’t very good. This year I definitely had to get points on ovals because we weren’t winning races on road courses. Also, the mental aspect. I really believe it makes you stronger, having a year like this. You’ll come back next year a serious contender.”

2013 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES WINNERS

Driver Circuit SP Career win
James Hinchcliffe St. Petersburg  RC 4 1
Ryan Hunter-Reay Barber  RC 1 10
Takuma Sato Long Beach  RC 4 1
Tony Kanaan Indianapolis  Oval 12 16
Mike Conway Detroit  RC 2 2
Simon Pagenaud Detroit  RC 6 1
Helio Castroneves Texas  Oval 6 28
Scott Dixon Pocono  Oval 17 32
Charlie Kimball Mid-Ohio RC 5 1
Will Power Sonoma RC 3 19

 

2. Wilson looks forward to debut: Stefan Wilson is looking forward to the upgrade in Honda horsepower.

 

The 23-year-old Englishman, who has spent much of the season as one of the race drivers who gives VIP rides in a Honda Civic Si safety car, will make his IZOD IndyCar Series debut on the streets of Baltimore.

 

“I’ve known about it for about six weeks and I want to get there now because I’ve spent so much time thinking about it,” said Wilson, who will drive the Honda-powered No. 18 Nirvana Tea car for Dale Coyne Racing in the 75-lap Grand Prix of Baltimore on Sept. 1. “Every now and again you start psyching yourself up but then you realize it’s still two weeks out. I’m just ready to be in the car and get a feel for what it’s like.”

 

Wilson, a Firestone Indy Lights race winner, will be a teammate to his brother, Justin, who drives the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America car. It will mark the first time that brothers will compete as teammates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Mike and Robbie Groff competed at Walt Disney World Speedway in 1998 but not on the same team.

 

“I’ve been trying to do everything I can to prepare, but it will be tough because we’re not going to get any testing beforehand,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of going to be thrown into the deep end without any armbands. I’ve been studying data and video from Justin’s race last year.

 

“It’s going to be a tough weekend to get up to speed,  but the main thing I’m concentrating on is having a clean weekend and an opportunity to get experience for next year.”

 

Stefan Wilson competed on the Baltimore circuit in 2011, finishing fifth in an Andretti Autosport-prepared car on the way to placing third in the championship. He graduated to open-wheel cars in 2007 in the Formula Palmer Audi Series, where he earned four victories and four poles on the way to being the championship runner-up.

 

“I am very happy for Stefan and this great opportunity. It should be a lot of fun racing against each other as we both have similar driving styles,” Justin Wilson said.

 

As part of the sponsorship, Nirvana Tea will create special blend of tea for the race that will feature the No. 18 team on the packet.

 

“It’s quite fitting that an Englishmen will be representing a tea company,” Stefan Wilson added. “I’ll definitely be switching out the traditional energy drink bottle full of water, for a cup of Nirvana Tea at the post-race interview.”

 

3. Inside the numbers – GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma: Some numbers to note from the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, the 15th race of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season. 

 

3.32 – Average running position of Will Power during the 85 laps of racing.

 

5 – Consecutive top-five finishes by Dario Franchitti.

 

7 – Leaders during the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, a race record. The previous record was five in 2005.

 

8 – Consecutive top-five starts by Will Power.

 

10 – Different winners in the 15 IZOD IndyCar Series in 2013. 

 

11 – Consecutive top-10 finishes for Helio Castroneves.

 

13 – Positions improved by Simona De Silvestro (22nd to ninth) in the race, the most gained by any drivers.

 

27 – Laps that JR Hildebrand improved his position over the 85 laps of competition, most of any driver.

 

153 – Consecutive Indy car starts for Scott Dixon dating to the 2004 race in Michigan. Dixon ranks seventh on the all-time list.

 

211 – Consecutive Indy car starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland. Kanaan tied his team owner Jimmy Vasser’s record of 211 straight starts at Sonoma.

 

1,928 – Laps completed by Helio Castroneves. He is the only driver to complete every lap of every race.

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Grand Prix of Baltimore on Sept. 1 on the Streets of Baltimore. The race will be televised live at 2 p.m. (ET) by NBC Sports Network 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 Baltimore 100 on Sept. 1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The race will be televised by NBC Sports Network at 1 p.m.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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