DIXON WINS WILD EDMONTON RACE; HINCHCLIFFE WINS ON HOME SOIL

EDMONTON, Alberta (Sunday, July 25, 2010) - Scott Dixon was surprised, Helio Castroneves was steaming and Will Power continues to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings though he was thwarted again in seeking his third consecutive victory.

Dixon prevailed in the 95-lap race on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport circuit courtesy of a black flag issued to race leader Castroneves for blocking on a Lap 92 restart.

Castroneves and Power entered Turn 1 side by side, with Castroneves hitting the apex a car length ahead. As Dixon slipped past Power into second place, race chief steward Brian Barnhart immediately called Castroneves for blocking his Team Penske teammate.

The black flag call was radioed to the No. 3 car, but Castroneves failed to take the drive-thru pit lane penalty. Following the race, he was penalized 20 seconds and placed at the end of the lead lap (10th). A black flag cannot be appealed, according to Indy Racing League rules.

Castroneves overtook Power, the pole sitter, in Turns 1-2 of Lap 78 and recorded his fastest race lap on 79 (1 minute, 2.3139 seconds) to put a 1.5-second gap between him and Power. It appeared that Castroneves would go on to his second victory. His first of the season - at Barber Motorsports Park in mid-April -- derailed Power's bid for a series record-tying third consecutive victory.

But a full-course caution was called on Lap 89 after the No. 78 car driven by Simona de Silvestro ran out of fuel and pulled off course in Turn 7. Castroneves led the field into Turn 1 of the restart, with Power making a bid to regain the lead he had for 76 laps.

Power recovered to finish second, while Dario Franchitti finished third and Ryan Briscoe was fourth. Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay finished fifth.

Also on July 25, James Hinchcliffe outdueled J.K. Vernay to claim his second Firestone Indy Lights win in the Edmonton 100.

Hinchcliffe, who won his first race on home soil, closed to 55 points of the championship leader Vernay heading to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 8.

Martin Plowman finished third in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport - his season high on a street/road circuit. He's the only driver in the series to finish in the top 10 in all races and the only one to complete every lap.

DAY 3 NOTEBOOK:

The following rules in the IZOD IndyCar Series rule book were applied concerning Helio Castroneves' penalty:

Drivers were warned by Brian Barnhart during the pre-race drivers meeting on blocking: "You have plenty of options on where to put your car and we should not have any defending or blocking. Again we will be visually dividing the braking point through the entry into the corner in half. You can only be on the inside half if you are attempting to pass someone. If you are on the inside half because you are under attack from someone else, it is blocking. Don't move your car in reaction to a following car and don't impede the progress of a car with a run on you."

Rule 9.3 (B) A driver must not alter his/her racing line based on the actions of pursuing Drivers or use an abnormal racing line to inhibit or prevent passing. Blocking will result in a minimum of a black flag "drive through" penalty.

Rule 7.1 (B) (4) (C) (4) The senior official shall determine the type and length of any black flag. The penalized car shall proceed to pit lane as directed by Officials and may return to the Race only upon the declaration of Officials. In the case of the Driver Violating the Rules, no work may be performed on a Car during the execution of a black flag penalty. Should any such work occur, the conditions of the penalty are unfilled and the penalty procedure must be executed again in its entirety on a subsequent lap. The penalty may not be protested and/or appealed.

Rule 9.2 (A) Race Procedure Penalties are a result of on track conduct and are generally imposed during on Track activity. If the imposition of a penalty is near or at the end of on Track activity and Driver/Car does not fulfill it, the Senior Official may reposition the Driver/Car in the posting of results or apply the penalty to subsequent on Track activity to reflect the fulfillment of the penalty. The penalty including without limitation any repositioning in a posting is non-protestable and/or appealable.

***

During pre-race ceremonies, it was announced that Honda Canada and driver Paul Tracy has raised more than $112,000 for Make-A-Wish Canada through a program in which fans in Toronto and Edmonton have had the opportunity to sign the race suits worn by Tracy in the two Canadian events.

HONDA EDMONTON INDY POST-RACE NOTES:

·         This is the Scott Dixon's second victory of the season. He previously won at Kansas Speedway in May.

·         Scott Dixon won for the second time in three starts at Edmonton City Centre Airport. He won the first IZOD IndyCar Series event in 2008.

·         The win was Dixon 23^rd career IZOD IndyCar Series, extending his record for most wins.

·         Will Power, finished second, his sixth podium of the season.

·         Dario Franchitti finished third, his sixth podium of the season.

HONDA EDMONTON INDY POST-RACE QUOTES:

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, winner Honda Indy Edmonton): "Brian always says that if you're blocking going into any corner and you are on the right side - especially into Turn 1, you're going to get a penalty. We get told every week, so you could see something was going to happen. We had a great run with the Target car and kept it in a typical line. It was a tough day. The Target car was pretty loose. I can't believe that we won."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, finished 10^th): "I never moved my line. I actually did move him outside. When you go side by side like that with your teammate and they just take it away from you, it's just absurd."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske, finished second): "I got a run on him and he blocked me. I would say a black flag is a pretty harsh penalty, but it is what it is. It was just one of those racing things. When you're leading on the last restart you want to keep the lead."

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 77 Bower & Wilkins/Hot Wheels): "It was an unfortunate incident for the no.77 Bowers & Wilkins Hot Wheels car. I think our first stint was a good one. We went long saving fuel and doing the best thing with what we had. I think we could have finished in the top ten but it was just an unfortunate incident in turn 1 that ended our day. We made up six positions and the Fazzt guys did a really good job. Our strategy was good, our car was better than it had been so I think a top ten finish was in our reach." (About incident with Kanaan): "I think Turn 1 was the best place to pass. I got an opportunity and I took it. I think Tony (Kanaan) braked on the inside of Turn 1 and left the rubber line wide open. When I exited Turn 1, I felt like I left him a lot of room and stayed close to the wall. Then I felt a touch from behind on the right rear, got spun around then got hit on the left side. I'm disappointed. The whole Fazzt team is disappointed. This isn't the way we wanted things to go here in Canada. We had realistic expectation coming in but didn't leave with the results we had hoped for. This teams works hard and we'll regroup and look to do better at the next few races."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): "We had to give 110 percent with the Venom car today and things just didn't go our way.  Once we get on the right side of circumstance and once things actually go our way the 26 car will be pretty tough to get around."

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven): "I've raced a long time and I understand bad days, but this one was right up there with the longest of them for us. We have a lot of work to do to try and get better."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 37 Team IZOD, finished fifth): "Coming out of here with a top five almost feels like a victory. The guys did a great job and it was another good points day for us. We just didn't really have it this weekend. But, sometimes a team is measured by how well they do at a time when they're missing a little something and I think Team IZOD showed what it is made of."

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy.com): "It was a good effort by the #7 GoDaddy.com team. Overall the weekend was really rough and disappointing for not only me, but for the whole Andretti team. It was just a chain of events that led us to this finish, so we'll look to do better in Mid-Ohio."

HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 06 Formula Dream/Panasonic): "The race wasn't good for us. We started on the red alternate Firestone tires and the balance was good but we just couldn't find any grip. On the next set somehow the pressure in the rear tires didn't come up for maybe 15 laps. After that the car was very good at one point but I spun and lost some positions. On the final stint we put primary tires on and the car balance was loose again so it was very hard to stay on the track. I couldn't fight." 

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, finished 10th): "Obviously, I disagree with the decisions made by the race officials on the last restart in today's race, but there is no excuse for my actions after the checkered flag. I apologize to my team, our sponsors, the fans and the entire IZOD IndyCar Series community for my behavior. My actions were totally wrong and I acted inappropriately to some people who are my friends and people I respect very much. Obviously, I am a very emotional person and today I let my emotions get the better of me and I'm very sorry for that."

PAUL TRACY (No. 15 Make-A-Wish KV Racing Technology, finished sixth): "It was a good finish for the Honda Canada - Make-A-Wish - Motegi Wheels - KV Racing team today.  Our goal was to make money for Make-A-Wish these last two weeks and they raised over $112,000 for the two races.  It feels great to help the kids and the families.  My second goal was to have a good time.  Then we wanted a good finish and we pulled it off today.  It feels so good to race in front of the Canadian fans.  They really enjoy their racing.  Both Toronto and Edmonton support these events so well.  It is tough to come in as a spot driver and perform well.  This place is so hard and physical on a driver.  So coming from 15^th and finish sixth feels very good.  I just wish we could get the car figured out earlier in the weekend to get a better starting spot.  I think we can race with the leaders if can do that.  Overall, today was good for the whole KV Racing team.  I just wish I could race again this year." 

MARIO MORAES (No. 32KV Racing Technology, finished seventh): "It was a good race for our KV crew.  I was trying to be patient with the tires in the first stint.  We were able to run long on fuel in the first stint and that helped you.  I am happy with the top-ten finish after the problem we had in qualifying.  We had some great pit stops and a great team effort in the race.  Now, I hope we can continue that momentum into Mid-Ohio." 

E.J. VISO (No. 8 PDVSA-Jet Aviation-KV Racing Technology): "It was definitely a tough race.  I made a couple of mistakes early in the race.  But overall, my PDVSA - KV Racing crew did a great job with a strong qualifying performance.  The car was good in the race.  We were in a fuel conservation mode and I lost a few positions.  I considered it a racing incident with Simona (de Silvestro).  She didn't give any space and I think she didn't see me.  So we banged tires.  The officials gave me a driving through penalty and that didn't help us going back in the pack.  But we recovered well and we got back to eighth.  We want to be ready for Mid-Ohio now after the team did a good job this weekend."

MARIO ROMANCINI (No. 34 Conquest Racing): "I am very disappointed as everybody knows that this might be my last race because we don't have any sponsors, so I really would like to have had a good result. We had a good pace during the race but unfortunately it's such a bad luck as it is the third race in a row that I can't finish. In Toronto, someone took me out and here I got involved in an accident that I could not avoid, with Tagliani spinning in front of me. Other than that,we had a great weekend and I hope I can be back in the car soon and maybe I can do some more races this year".

BERTRAND BAGUETTE (No. 36 Conquest Racing RACB): "I think we had a consistent race today. On my first stint I was able to gain some positions and then I got stuck in traffic and I worked on saving fuel. On my second pit stop I lost some positions but I was on black tires and my car had a good balance and I was following Tony Kanaan all the time, which I consider a good reference, but unfortunately I couldn't improve my track position. Overall it was a good weekend and now I am looking forward to our next race in Mid Ohio."

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 HP de Ferran Dragon Racing): "Taking into account the incident on the second lap, I'm happy we were able to salvage some points and finish in 13th.  It's so frustrating that Paul compromised our race.  The guys did a great job in the pits to help recover.  Overall, I'm very frustrated, as we had the pace to finish much higher but, again, I think it was a great effort to come back after that set back."

JUSTIN WILSON, No. 22 Z-Line Designs: "The Z-Line Designs car was improving in our first stint and I was able to drive the car the way I had wanted.  Right after our first stop my right rear shock broke and I was just trying to control the car and not get into anyone.  We will have a look at why the shock failed and continue on.  I'm looking forward to testing at Mid-Ohio next week to prepare for the race."

TOMAS SCHECKTER, No. 24 MonaVie: "It was a really tough race today.  I think that I misled everyone and pointed them in the wrong direction with the car.  We had to come in and make an early stop to change the front wing, I really don't know what went wrong there.  Overall it was a really tough day and I just tried to hang in there the whole race.  I just have to thank MonaVie and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the opportunity.  We can definitely leave Edmonton with some positives like qualifying well and hopefully we can take that on to some more races."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 Lotus - KV Racing Technology): "It was a good day for the Lotus - KV Racing Technology team.  I enjoyed racing here and the race itself was very exciting.  There was a lot of side-by-side and overtaking on this circuit, which I experienced a lot of today.  On the last stint, I was so frustrated being stuck behind a lapped car.  Its okay for a few corners or even a lap, but it held me up for so long, almost 15 laps.  We tried to speak to their team to ask them to move over but for some reason it wasn't happening.  On the last restart, my teammate PT (Paul Tracy) went wide and onto the grass.  I was alongside him when he came back on track forcing me wide and nearly losing it, but I managed to hold on and and keep position.  Later TK (Tony Kanaan) hit me from behind and spun me round, so I lost a couple of positions on that lap, but he did apologize to me after the race.  That was a shame but it was still a good day for the Lotus team."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, finished fourth): "It was a tough race because I nicked the wall only a few laps into the race and bent the rear toe link. From that point on the car was a handful, especially on the restarts. When the tires were clean and hot, the car was still very fast and I was able to get by the Ganassi cars. Unfortunately, I just couldn't hold them off on the restarts. It was disappointing that we couldn't battle for the win today but I'm happy that we were able to hold on and get a good finish."

EDMONTON 100 (Firestone Indy Lights) POST-RACE NOTES:

·         This is James Hinchcliffe's second Firestone Indy Lights win.  He won earlier this year at Long Beach.

·         Both of Hinchcliffe's wins were flag-to-flag. This is the fourth time this season the race winner has lead flag-to-flag (Long Beach, Iowa, Toronto, Edmonton). 

·         Rookie J.K. Vernay finished second, his seventh podium finish in eight starts this season.

·         Martin Plowman finished third, his best road/street course finish in 2010.

·         Plowman continues to be the only driver to finish in the top 10 of every Firestone Indy Lights race this season.  He is also the only driver to complete every lap of every race in 2010.

EDMONTON 100 (Firestone Indy Lights) POST-RACE QUOTES:

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 2 Xtreme Coil Drilling TMR, winner Edmonton 100): It's obviously a fantastic feeling. It's the first time I've managed to win here in my open wheel career. To get it finally done ‑‑ I've come close a couple times, come close here a couple times. To finally get it feels extra special. That cool‑down lap was a lot of fun, seeing all the fans in the stands. And thanks to all them for coming out because it's such a great event. It certainly wasn't easy. JK made me work for it, that's for sure.

J.K. VERNAY (No. 7 Lucas/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, second): It was a great race with James. Did a great race, no mistakes, nothing for me to pass. Since the start I was behind him. I really tried to push hard and to take him. But he didn't give me a real chance, I have to say. And it was really good. Canada looks good for me. One victory, one second place. So I think it's good. We have to continue like that for the next race and trying to push hard and to work with my engine. But it was great. And just yesterday, I mean, qualifying is really important. And in Toronto I was in front for half a tenth and here I'm behind half a tenth again. So it's racing. And we hope to come back in the first position for the next race.

MARTIN PLOWMAN (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinkles/KEP Printing, third): I think there's a lot of hard work. We're pushing for the first win, trying to hold that consistency, just a one race win. So this year we're just building a lot of momentum with the team and I'm growing confidence all the time with my engineers and we're getting faster. Starting to challenge for the podiums and front rows now. One of these days we're going to get it, I hope.

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 26 Levemir FlexPen, fourth): "It was really good. It was very and a ver physical track. I got hung up behind my teammate and he's driving the same car as me, so there was no way I could pass him. The last five laps, I had a vibration, so I was really just holding on at the end."

DAN CLARKE (No. 40 Wasteco Deans Knight Special, fifth): "It was a good weekend. I'm happy for the top-five finish. It shows how much this team has improved over the last two months."

POWER TAKES POLE FOR HONDA EDMONTON INDY

EDMONTON, Alberta (Saturday, July 24, 2010) - Will Power earned his sixth PEAK Performance Pole Award of the season (the fifth on road/street courses), slipping past Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves by 0.0765 of a second in the Firestone Fast Six session on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport course, for the Honda Indy Edmonton.

Scott Dixon, the 2008 race winner, in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car had a best lap of 1:01.2395 in the Firestone Fast Six and will start next to teammate Dario Franchitti (1:01.2481) on Row 2. Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe (1:01.3799) and E.J. Viso, making his first appearance in the Firestone Fast Six this season in the No. 8 PDVSA KV Racing Technology car (1:01.6122), will be on the third row.

Rookie Simona de Silvestro will start a season-high seventh in the No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing car, and Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay also will be on Row 4 in the No. 37 IZOD entry.

Also on July 24, James Hinchcliffe earned the pole for the Edmonton 100, edging championship points leader J.K. Vernay late in the qualifying session.

Hinchcliffe, the driver of the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car, recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 6.2159 seconds. It's the fourth time this season that Hinchcliffe will start on the pole and fifth time on the front row.

Martin Plowman (1:06.2707) in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport will join teammate Charlie Kimball (1:06.3802), driving the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen entry, on Row 2.

DAY 2 NOTEBOOK:

The chief mechanics for Team Penske's No. 3 and No. 6 cars are not in Edmonton this weekend due to injuries sustained away from the track.

Sean Hanrahan, chief mechanic for No. 3 Helio Castroneves is not at Edmonton after surgery for a hernia this week. Rick Rinaman, who served as chief mechanic on the car prior to this season, is filling in as chief mechanic and as outside front tire changer on the car. Hanrahan is expected to return to chief mechanic duties at Mid Ohio.

Matt Jonsson, chief mechanic for No. 6 Ryan Briscoe, remains out of action with a broken right ankle. Jonsson, who served as chief mechanic at Toronto, is not in Edmonton. John Stanchina, who was the outside front tire changer on the car last week in Toronto, will return as chief mechanic and outside front tire changer on the car Jonsson is expected to return to chief mechanic duties at Mid Ohio.

***

Firestone Indy Lights driver James Hinchcliffe is doing double duty this weekend. The Canadian is serving as a driver analyst for the Honda Indy Edmonton public address system during IZOD IndyCar Series practice and qualifying.

"I've done some television and radio work in the past and was the color analyst at the Indianapolis 500 this year for the IMS Radio Network," he said. "I'm happy to lend my expertise to the event when I can. Obviously, driving the TMR car takes priority.

***

IZOD IndyCar Series entrant FAZZT Race Team and Canadian driver Alex Tagliani are lending their support to Montreal-based non-governmental organization ONE DROP. The ONE DROP logo has been on display on the No.77 FAZZT Bowers & Wilkins Hot Wheels at the Honda Indy Toronto (July 17-19) and Honda Indy Edmonton (July 23-25)

Established in October of 2007, ONE DROP—an initiative of Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil®—fights poverty through its projects aimed at supporting access to water in developing countries and raising each and every one's awareness of water-related issues worldwide.

ANDRÉ AZZI (FAZZT Race Team owner): "As CEO of Fazzt Race Team, I am so proud to be associated with ONE DROP. It's sad to know that in 2010, people around the world still lack access to safe water. Our hope is to help raise awareness and get race fans in both Canada and the United States, as well as our international followers, to support water for all."

ALEX TAGLIANI (driver, FAZZT Race Team): "Our goal is to use our team, the sport we love and our visibility amongst IndyCar fans to help bring attention to this vital issue and make the world just a little bit better for everyone. We're blessed to be able to go racing or enjoy it as a fan, but it's also nice to have the opportunity to do something important for others as well. We hope to an impact even just by educating people and letting them know about what ONE DROP is all about."

LILI-ANNA PEREŠA, executive director, ONE DROP): "We very much appreciate the support of the FAZZT Race Team in spreading our message and supporting safe water for all. Water and poverty are closely linked. When populations have easy access to water, they have more time to devote to activities that enable them to improve their living conditions. Health, equality between men and women, a decent income and food security all depend on having access to water."

***

John Cummiskey, team manager of de Ferran Dragon Racing, is wearing the CF-18 Hornet patch presented to him by Capt. Brian Bews during last year's Edmonton race weekend.

Capt. Bews ejected from his CF-18 Hornet as the plane plunged toward the ground during a practice session July 23 for the Alberta International Air Show in Lethbridge. Capt. Bews remained in a Saskatchewan hospital July 24, listed in stable condition. The Defense Department is investigating the crash.

Capt. Bews was among the guests of de Ferran Dragon Racing at the City Centre Airport in 2009.

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING NOTES:

·         Will Power won the pole for the Honda Indy Edmonton, his sixth pole of the season. He also won the pole at Edmonton in 2009.

·         This is Power's fourth consecutive front row start.

·         Helio Castroneves will start second. Castroneves has started no worse than third in three starts at Edmonton.

·         Scott Dixon will start third, his 43rd consecutive top-10 start, further extending the series record.

·         Dario Franchitti will start fourth, his seventh consecutive top-five start of the season.

·         Ryan Briscoe will start fifth, his sixth top-five start of the season.

·         E.J. Viso will start sixth, his best start of the season. His previous best start in 2010 was ninth at St. Petersburg. This is the first time that Viso has qualified for the Firestone Fast Six in 2010.

·         Simona De Silvestro will start seventh, her best start of the season. De Silvestro missed the Firestone Fast Six by .146 of a second. Her previous best start was 11th at Sao Paulo.

·         Raphael Matos will start 8th, his best starting position of the season. His previous best was 11th at both Watkins Glen and Toronto.

·         Tomas Scheckter will start 12th, his best qualifying effort of the 2012 season.

PEAK PERFORMANCE POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske): "It's awesome to get the Verizon car on the pole again. All the points count and I know here it's important to be at the front because it is tough to pass. If all the strategy goes well, like it did last year, it makes it easier to win. It's a long day tomorrow. We have a good starting spot and we have to keep going to win this championship." (What makes you so good at this track?): "We've all work really hard. Obviously, last year the cats were really good. But this year, I had trouble trying to beat my teammate. It's good to see two Team Penske cars on the front row."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske): "We had a very good lap out there and I just made a little mistake and this place is about not making mistakes. Will is making us better - me, Ryan and the team. He's pushing hard and I'm pushing hard, too. It's a shame we couldn't make it, but we're getting closer. We can win the race from (second)."

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing): "We just missed it a little bit. Ultimately, it wasn't a bad (Firestone) Fast Six for us."

E.J. VISO (No. 8 PDVSA-Jet Aviation-KV Racing Technology): "It was a good run today and a good qualifying effort against very tough guys. We put in so much effort to go up against the Penske and Ganassi drivers that we didn't have a set of stickers that we could use in the last run. We needed another two or three tenths from a set of stickers and we could have qualified in P4. We're happy. It's a tough race and a long race and we have the resources to finish up with those guys."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 5 Lotus - KV Racing Technology): "The first group was the toughest group today. I didn't get a good feeling during the first run with the primary tires. However, when we went to the alternate tire, the car was getting better and it looked like it was all coming together. Unfortunately the times were so close that we missed the top-12 by just a tenth. I tried everything we had but we just couldn't find the grip so I'm very disappointed we didn't make it through to Q2 today."

MARIO MORAES (No. 32 KV Racing Technology): "Unfortunately, my KV Racing car had some understeer in qualifying. We couldn't put a lap together to reach the Top 12. We just missed at the end of session. Overall, our balance in the car is pretty good for the race. I hope to get a good start and move up in the race." 

PAUL TRACY (No. 15 Make-A-Wish KV Racing Technology): "We were put in the hardest group possible today. There were three Penskes, a Ganassi car, Wilson and others. That group was just stacked with a lot of fast guys. It's a shame because we just didn't have enough to transfer to the second round. We missed by a little today. It's tough to start 15^th on Sunday. I really wanted to start further up in the grid for the Make A Wish, Honda Canada and Motegi Wheels people. We had been a top-seven car all weekend leading into qualifying. I'm disappointed for everyone. We'll have to drive through the field again in the race."

DAN WHELDON (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing): "A lot of the things we've learned from the Soldiers in the National Guard are really helpful on a day like today - it's their 'never give up' and 'never say die' attitude that gets them through tough situations and that's what everybody on the National Guard Panther Racing team is going to strive for as we look forward to tomorrow's race. We've learned some key things in the last two days here in Edmonton and myself and everybody on this team are going to work hard tonight and tomorrow in the warm-up to improve the No. 4 car so that we're a factor in the race. We've overcome some challenges in each of the past two IZOD IndyCar Series races and the fans that will be here tomorrow and the ones watching on TV are going to see the same effort during the race tomorrow."

MARIO ROMANCINI (No. 34 Conquest Racing): "After the morning practice, we got a pretty good balance and I was happy with the car. But in qualifying when we tried the red tires, the balance changed a lot, and the car was very lose and we missed quite a lot of time because of that. It wasn't so bad for us as P17 is the best position start so far in the season, so we can't complain a lot, but based on what happened this morning, we were expecting to be a bit better, but the race is going to be long tomorrow, and I think we will have a solid race car."

BERTRAND BAGUETTE (No. 36 Conquest Racing/RACB): "The qualification session was a little bit better for us. On the first set of tires it wasn't so good, but then we did some few good modifications for the second set. Unfortunately, I hit the wall on my second lap and I damaged the left corner of my car; and after that it was harder for sure. I still did my best driving the car, but without that damage it would be a lot quicker. We are P20, the race is long and quite physical so everything is possible".

HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 06 Formula Dream/Panasonic):  "We improved a lot overnight; it was a significant improvement. Then we had a good practice session and ended fourth fastest and I was quite happy, balance-wise so we kept the same balance in qualifying but the temperature went a lot warmer and the balance changed. We tried many things during the qualifying session to try to find a better balance but we just didn't find it in the limited time. It was good to get back in Round 2 after not making it the past two events. It was good news for me and I was trying to get into the next round for the top-six but it was difficult because the balance changed a lot. In Toronto we found a good race setup and although it's not the same layout here at all but I think we can apply it here. It's going to be a tough race. My arms are already banged up a little." 

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy.com): "Coming off of a strong weekend in Toronto, we were hoping to keep the momentum going into Edmonton for the GoDaddy.com car. I was in a really tough qualifying group, and I didn't have the speed to make it into the top six today. The first couple laps of tomorrow's race will be very important, and hopefully we'll come out with some clean laps."

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven): "It was a tough day for Team 7-Eleven and for the whole team. Sometimes when you're struggling as a team, you try to do too much when you get in the car, and that's what happened. I'm driving the car, so I'm the only one to blame. You try to set the world on fire because you trust in yourself and have a lot of confidence that you can make a difference. Sometimes you go over the limit."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 37 Team IZOD): "We definitely recovered a little bit since yesterday, but we're still struggling with something. We're not satisfied with our qualifying effort overall as a team. But, I know the IZOD guys will give me a great race car. I always know when I wake up in the morning on race day that I've got a shot to put that thing in the top five. We'll do our best at getting a good race car under us tomorrow, but eighth today was like a home run."

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 HP de Ferran Dragon Racing): It was a good qualifying session today. It was great to advance to the second round. We made some improvements to the car between the first and second rounds. We're missing a little bit, but we are close on the set-up and we keep getting closer. This is a physically demanding track and that will make for a long race, but I have been training really hard and I feel really fit. So I'm hoping that will help me in the race tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): "We really needed to take advantage of the Firestone reds today and unfortunately we just weren't able to find the grip we needed. Track position is crucial at a place like this so it's frustrating for the Venom car to start where we are. We'll do what we can to make the best out of the race tomorrow."

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins/Hot Wheels): "It wasn't so much that the group one draw was so competitive it's that we just weren't competitive like we should be. It's no secret that we've been struggling to find a set up all weekend. We're a bit lost at the moment with a car that has a lot of understeer, is very nervous with some push. I just feels really unstable and just doesn't have any bit even with the Firestone red tires on. The way the car feels on the track, I would have been very surprised if we had made it out of our group to battle for the Firestone Fast 6. We're not going to give up. The Fazzt guys will keep working to find something to make the no.77 Bower & Wilkins Hot Wheels car better and we'll also try to be creative with our strategy for the race. Until that checkered flag drops we're going to fight."

JUSTIN WILSON (No. 22 Team Z-Line Designs/DRR): "The Z-Line Designs car was quick and I would have thought I was running P2 if the crew hadn't told me my lap times and position. I lost a bit of rear grip on my final two laps and unfortunately we missed the Firestone Fast Six by a couple of tenths. I think we have a good race car and will go over the data tonight and work out a game plan for the race. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully we can pick up positions throughout the race."

TOMAS SCHECKTER (No. 24 MonaVie/DRR): "Today was a lot better. Considering the fact that I have only been on road courses for only about four or five days this year,  we definitely are getting better and developing the car and getting the time that we need. We didn't want to do any more  so after we made the top-12 we saved two sets of the Firestone Firehawk Alternate (red sidewall) tires. I'm really pleased with the MonaVie car and it really seems to suit the Firestone Firehawk "red" tires, so I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske): "It's really exciting as usual. This track, it's exciting. It's really fast and bumpy, but you can really attack the bumps and push the car hard. It's a lot of fun out there. My car wasn't really to my liking. We made probably too many changes going into qualifying just trying to find an extra couple of 10ths and sort of went backwards a bit. It was a little disappointing for me. I thought we would have a shot at pole today, but we didn't have the speed. It was good to get in the Fast Six. It was tough to get through Q1. It was just really good. I mean, no yellow flags at all, so the whole field was very consistent on such a challenging track. But fifth is good. I started on the front row the last two years and it didn't work out for me, so maybe starting fifth will help."

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO (No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds/HVM): "Starting seventh with some of the big guys in front of us is something pretty special. We put two sets of reds (Firestone alternate tires) on in the first session. I think if we would have had a fresh set of reds in the second session we would have been a bit quicker. But the whole team at HVM can be really happy. They've worked really hard all weekend, and now we just have to try to move forward and I think it could be a good race for us. If we can duplicate what we did in Toronto -- moving forward in the race -- I think with this starting position it's going to be good."

VITOR MEIRA (No. 14 ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt Racing): "It's not a weekend we were expecting to be honest. We came out of Toronto with a decent result, it wasn't an optimum weekend there, but we learned a bunch of things. We unloaded here and it wasn't good, we have been chasing a moving target here. We don't know where to pinpoint where the problem is. We're trying things, very aggressive things. We're going through every piece of information, but so far, we have not figured out what we can improve. We're talking about a second here, so it's not a small detail. Maybe it's a lot of small things or one big thing but we'll keep our heads down and keep working. We have one practice left to get it right."

SUNOCO POLE QUALIFYING NOTES

·         This is James Hinchcliffe's fourth pole of 2010. He was previously on pole at St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Watkins Glen.

·         J.K. Vernay will start on the front row for the fifth time in eight races

SUNOCO POLE QUALIFYING QUOTES:

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 2 Xtreme Coil Drilling- TMR, SUNOCO Pole Award winner): "It never hurts to start up front, but it was a little bit too close there. As I said to my engineer Lee Dykstra, it's a little bit of payback for Toronto, where we sort of sat up at the top and then J.K. (Vernay) pulled it out on us at the end. But credit to him, he's been super quick all weekend. He's such a tough competitor. A huge thanks to Team Moore. This is sort of (team co-owner) Tom Wood's hometown here so to get a pole at the home race is great."

MARTIN PLOWMAN, (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing, qualified third): "That was a really tough qualifying session. The times were extremely close. At one point, I was two-thousandths from pole. I put in another quick lap, but we ran out of time. The top three were separated by less than half a tenth. When it's that close, it's just about who gets it that day. I think I got the best out of the car today. I know we have a really strong race car, so it's going to be a great race tomorrow."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 26 Levemir FlexPen, qualified fourth): "That was a great effort by everyone. Qualifying is really close. We didn't quite have that last couple of tenths to put it on pole. I know the #26 Levemir® car will be quick on lap 50 tomorrow, when it really matters. I think we should be ready to go have a good race tomorrow."

SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE (All time local):

POWER LEADS OPENING DAY OF PRACTICE AT EDMONTON

EDMONTON, Alberta (Friday, July 23, 2010) - The drivers who have earned the six PEAK Performance Pole Awards on street/road courses this season gave a preview of what's to come in the first round of IZOD IndyCar Series qualifications July 24 for the Honda Indy Edmonton. Of the top 12 on the combined practice time sheet July 23, eight are in that first group.

"It will be the toughest qualifying session of the year," said Will Power, the defending race winner who topped the field with a quick lap of 1 minute, 1.6689 seconds (115.176 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car over the two hours of practice on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport circuit.

Teammates Ryan Briscoe was two-tenths of a second behind and Helio Castroneves was third with a best lap of 1:02.0152. The top 11 cars were separated by less than a second.

"It's great to see the Verizon car on top in practice, but I'm not quite happy with it," said Power, who is seeking his third consecutive victory. "The Penske team is very strong again here and with how competitive the field is now we have to work extra hard. We're feeding off each other and see if we can be 1-2-3 again tomorrow."

Also on July 23, Martin Plowman topped the time chart in Firestone Indy Lights practice for the Edmonton 100.

Plowman, driving the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport, jumped to the top of the chart with two minutes remaining in the hour-long session with a lap of 1 minute, 7.1508 seconds (105.774 mph).

James Hinchcliffe, who has started on the front row of all three street circuits this season, transferring the pole start at Long Beach into his first Firestone Indy Lights victory, was second quick (1:07.3366; 105.482 mph) in the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car.

Charlie Kimball (1:07.3765), series points leader J.K. Vernay (1:07.8383) and Adrian Campos Jr. (1:07.8491) filled out the top five.

DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:

The IZOD IndyCar Series will compete in the Honda Indy Edmonton, a 95-lap race at 4 p.m. (MT) Sunday (live on VERSUS). The Firestone Indy Lights series will compete in the Edmonton 100, a 50-lap race at 1 p.m. Sunday.

***

Live timing and scoring reports from the Honda Indy Edmonton and Edmonton 100 are available on the Internet at www.indycar.com. The live timing and scoring module provides statistical information, including track segment speeds, lap information and much more.

Feature stories, reports, driver quotes and notes, and photos will be posted on the site each day. More detailed information, including media advisories and VNF coordinates, is available at media.indycar.com.

IZOD IndyCar Series technical information for the Honda Indy Edmonton:

Honda overtake assist

Overtake assist was introduced to the series in August 2009 and will make its debut at Edmonton City Centre Airport in the Honda Indy Edmonton.

The system employed by Honda Performance Development is an ECU software alteration. It is activated by the driver via a button on the steering wheel and provides an extra 200 RPM (about 10 horsepower) to the Honda Indy V-8 engine. Parameters are updated before each race weekend to meet the circuit layout.

For the 1.973-mile, 14-turn Edmonton City Centre Airport course:

20 uses

18 seconds duration each use

10-second recharge period between uses

Firestone Firehawk tires

Each car receives six sets (24 tires) of primary tires and three sets (12 tires) of the alternate (red-sidewall) tires.

Firestone Racing has developed an all-new primary tire specification for Edmonton this year, while the alternate was previously used at Barber Motorsports Park. The primary is on the more durable end of Firestone Racing's road/street course spectrum, while the alternate is in the mid-range of its tire lineup. The rain is the softer rain, and is the only rain tire we will be using for the 2010 season.

AL SPEYER (Executive Director of Firestone Racing): "This track is one of the bumpiest and fastest of the road and street course races, so we are bringing a durable primary tire to withstand the challenge. The alternate spec is a few steps softer than the primary, so it should create a noticeable difference in speed and durability."

Aero package

Edmonton is in the road course/short oval category of aero packages for the IZOD IndyCar Series. Here are mandatory and optional items for teams:

Rear wings: Tire ramps and sidepod extensions are optional.

Front wings: Wing flaps are open development area. Maximum of two elements per side is permitted and a divider is mandatory.

***

Andretti Autosport driver Danica Patrick is among the three top female sports stars in the nation, according to an annual Harris Interactive poll. Tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams are Nos. 1 and 2.

***

Team Penske has won the pole in Edmonton each of the past two seasons (Ryan Briscoe in 2008 and Will Power in 2009) and it's earned three podium finishes and one victory (last season with Power).

"It's a very tough, fast circuit and the No. 3 Team Penske car has done well, finishing second the last two years," Helio Castroneves said. "I love the fans in Edmonton. They appreciate our racing and they always seem to draw a big crowd."

Penske Racing earned its 150th open-wheel racing victory as Power won on the Toronto street circuit. Sixteen drivers have combined to produce the record number of wins since 1968.

***

Tony Kanaan of Andretti Autosport and Justin Wilson of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing incorporate cycling into their workout regimens. On July 21, they rode in Colorado with triathlete Julie Dibens, who the 2009 champion in both Xterra and 70.3 triathlons. Kanaan will compete Oct. 30 in the Rohto Ironman 70.3 in Miami.

JULIE DIBENS (Professional triathlete): "It's great to see how other professional athletes can be so passionate about the sport of triathlon."

***

Xtrac, a global leader in motorsport transmissions, this weekend marks its 2 millionth mile run in IZOD IndyCar Series races, practices and tests as it prepares its specification for a lightweight transmission for the new chassis being introduced in 2012.

The UK- and U.S.-based gearbox manufacturer has been an exclusive supplier to the series for the past 10 years.

"Passing this momentous milestone marks a highly successful decade and longstanding relationship with one of the greatest race series in the world," Xtrac president and managing director Peter Digby said. "We now look forward to submitting our proposals for a new lightweight transmission and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dallara for winning the contract to supply the new chassis. We have already indicated to the series' promoters that we are willing to relocate to the new Speedway (Ind.) redevelopment area, which is very close to our existing facility in Indianapolis where we've been based since 2003."

As a major international customer, the IZOD IndyCar Series typifies for Xtrac the global nature of its business and represents a significant contract that has been successfully renewed six times since 2000 and which extends to the end of 2011.

The targeted minimum weight of the IndyCar Safety Cell is 1,380 pounds - almost 200 pounds lighter than the current car.

"This will require a significant weight saving for the transmission without compromising reliability and our well-established low running costs," Digby said. "This will be an interesting and exciting challenge for our technical capabilities, and we'll draw heavily on our experience in other premier motorsport series.

"It's serious business, but it's also tremendous fun and deeply satisfying designing a gearbox able to handle the prodigious power of a 650 horsepower race car capable of reaching speeds in excess of 230 mph," Digby said. "We also applaud the ICONIC's mission to reach out and challenge the automotive and aerospace industries to join in and enhance the relevancy of the series with advanced and innovative technology. We are fully supportive of technology transfer between industry sectors as demonstrated by our recent success at transferring motorsport technology into the military sector."

***

Kevin Martin toured the IZOD IndyCar Series garage area July 22 much like Danica Patrick did during the opening night of the Taste of Edmonton - incognito.

The Olympic gold medal-winning skip of Team Canada, however, was the center of attention (and it wasn't because of the gold medal from the Vancouver Games he was toting) of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing assistant engineer Daniel Louks, who just happens to be president of the Circle City Curling Club. Indianapolis? Who knew?

"It's always something I've been interested in and now it's one of my passions," said Louks, who attended the Games in February specifically to watch the curling competition. "We've been trying to get more people in Indianapolis involved. It's a sport you can play at almost all ages and it's a great way to get people active in the winter. It's less an individual sport; it's a full-on team sport. A lot of the things that interested me in racing apply to curling."

Martin, an Edmonton resident, is grand marshal of the Honda Indy Edmonton.

"I don't get star-struck very often, but it was pretty cool."

Martin received tutorials about the speed and technology of the cars and multi-functional steering wheels from IZOD IndyCar Series drivers Justin Wilson and Will Power.

"To be asked by Northlands to serve as grand marshal for both the Capital EX Parade and the Honda Indy Edmonton is a huge privilege," he said after leading the annual parade watched by more than 200,000 people lining the streets July 22. "I'm really looking forward to be able to tell the world's best and fastest open-wheel race drivers to start their engines."

***

De Ferran Dragon Racing's Raphael Matos received some coaching from longtime friend and former open-wheel champion David Empringham during last week's Honda Indy Toronto. They used to work together in the Atlantic Series. Matos swept the Atlantic doubleheader at Edmonton in 2007

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 HP de Ferran Dragon Racing): "He is the kind of guy who pushes me very hard and he sees the specific areas I am lacking. He made me focus on one problem at a time. You cannot fix all the problems in the car at once. You have to fix the main issue and go from there. That really helped me focus on what was working and better communicate what I was feeling with the engineers."

***

Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti are two of nine current IZOD IndyCar Series drivers to make at least four starts on airport courses (CART previously held races at the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland). Of the nine, Franchitti and Dixon are among only four to have recorded a victory: Franchitti in Cleveland, 2001; Dixon in Edmonton, 2008; Paul Tracy in Cleveland, 1993, 2005, 2007; Will Power in Edmonton, 2009.

***

Defending Honda Indy Edmonton winner Will Power has ties to Edmonton though he hails from Australia. Power's paternal grandmother, Jean Ella (Buchan) Power, was born in Brandon, Manitoba, but grew up and worked in Lethbridge, Alberta. Power's grandmother met Doug Power while he was stationed in Edmonton for flight training for the Edmonton Air Force. They were married in Montreal in 1944.

***

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mario Andretti will be at the IZOD Haskell Invitational on Aug. 1 - along with vintage Indy cars - at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

***

Medical update from Dr. Michael Olinger, IRL medical director: Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver Pippa Mann, who suffered a broken bone in her left hand during the Toronto race weekend, has been cleared to drive in the Firestone Indy Lights Edmonton 100.

***

Canadian Web hosting company BlackSun (www.blacksun.ca) will be sponsoring Team Moore Racing in the Edmonton 100 during the Honda Edmonton Indy event July 23 to 25. TMR, which is co-owned by Calgary native Tom Wood, fields cars for Canadian James Hinchcliffe and Spaniard Adrian Campos Jr.

 "BlackSun is excited to be on the TMR car again this year," BlackSun chief executive officer Steve Rogoschewsky said. "The race weekend will also be a re-branding of our 'FAST, Reliable, Web Hosting' slogan, in conjunction with the 'accelerate your business' initiatives that have recently been announced at BlackSun."

***

Walker Racing's Dan Clarke is making his first Firestone Indy Lights start in Edmonton, but he has two prior starts Edmonton City Centre Airport. Clarke recorded a pair of top-10 finishes in Champ Car races in 2006 and 2007.

***

FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

MARTIN PLOWMAN (No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing, fastest of the day): "We rolled out of the truck pretty much where we needed to be. I was confident with the guys in the setup here. We've tested at circuits similar to this and the car was on rails. This circuit was very green to begin with, so I don't think it's representative of where we need to be in qualifying. We were constantly in the top two or three with the used tires. We tried a set (of sticker tires) at the end, but we didn't get up to speed with the new tires. We still have time to get on the new tires. We still have some work to do but I think we can be challenging for the podium, if not the win."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 2 Xtreme Coil Drilling -TMR, second fastest): "It's always great to come back here. I like the circuit, since the first time I came here. It's fast flowing. I have to thank the (IZOD) IndyCar (Series) drivers for going out first this morning, it was really kind of them. The track had a good amount of grip for a Friday first practice. The cars are pretty close. We are still having some of the same issues we had at the beginning of the weekend in Toronto. We saw what happened to us in the race there, so we are going to try and fix those in a hurry. But this really isn't a bad place to start the weekend.

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 26 Levemir FlexPen, third fastest): "I forgot how fun this place is to fun to drive. It's a blast for sure. The No. 26 Levemir® car was quick right out of the box. We ended up P3, but we have a few more adjustments to make. I know exactly what we want to do. The team did a great job getting it ready right after Toronto last weekend. We're going to have a lot of fun this weekend."

***

The flames that briefly engulfed the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car on the City Centre Airport pit lane during last year's race was "one of the scariest moments of my career," Andretti Autosport driver Tony Kanaan recalls.

Quick action by pit crews and safety workers to douse the car and driver with water, along with Kanaan having the presence of mind to stop the car, was credited with minimizing damage and preventing potential serious burns.

"I said that I wanted to have a different kind of a shower this year," Kanaan jokes. "I want to have a champagne shower."

The fuel hose spewed ethanol on the car as it pulled away from the pit stall and a spark ignited the fuel.

"We always look back on incidents like that to find out what really happened," Kanaan said. "I've been around a long time and between the crashes and some accidents that have happened, you always go 'Wow, that was close.'

"Thank God our equipment is very safe, the driver's suit and the helmet did its job and I just burnt a tiny bit of my hand and my face."

Honda Performance Development has been testing a first gear lockout system, in which sensors on the fueling hose and car will disengage the gears until there is appropriate separation between the two. It is expected to be introduced yet this season.

Kanaan, with a victory at Iowa Speedway in June and coming off a fourth-place finish in the Honda Indy Toronto, enters the Honda Indy Edmonton in seventh place in the standings.

HPD parts and services division expands to Canada

***

Honda Performance Development is expanding its Honda Racing Line program to make HPD parts and services available to amateur and entry-level professional racers in Canada.

Launched in July 2009, the Honda Racing Line is a program targeted at licensed participants in sanctioned amateur and entry-level professional racing. Licensed Canadian competitors may register for the Honda Racing Line through HondaRacingLine.com.

***

Former Firestone Indy Lights driver and Indianapolis 500 competitor PJ Chesson became a father July 22. Cash Alan Chesson weighed in at 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES POST-PRACTICE QUOTES:

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske, fastest of the day): "The Verizon car is doing great, but we still have some work to do on the car to make it better. I don't have the feeling in the car that I had earlier in the day. The track is coming up to grip and I'd like to get a better feel for the car because the field will get faster and tomorrow will be the toughest qualifying session of the year."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, second fastest): "I'm really happy with the Team Penske car right now. It's a good start to the weekend. I love this track. It is just so exciting. You're out there really pushing hard, jumping over curbs, it's just a lot of fun.  It's good to be out there. The balance feels pretty close like we were use to last year."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, third fastest): "This is a good start for Team Penske, finishing the second practice 1-2-3. The No. 3 car group was struggling through some technical issues, but we figured out what the car needed and we are confident going into tomorrow's practice and qualifying. It's great to be back in Edmonton. I love this place."

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, fourth fastest): "The Target boys have done a good job and improved the car since last year when we were here. I need to do a slightly better job and hopefully we'll be up there in the mix for the race on Sunday."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, sixth fastest): "We worked on mostly just general setup today in both sessions. It seems as thought we were chasing the track. At the end of the second session today traffic played a bit of a role so we're looking forward to qualifying tomorrow."

RAPHAEL MATOS (No. 2 de Ferran Dragon Racing): "It was a complicated session today. We tried some things in the first session that didn't work, but we were able to recover during the second session. We made some huge improvements. We've got a reasonable start and are heading in the right direction, but we need to work further overnight."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Team Venom Energy): "The Venom car didn't roll off quite as strong as we'd hoped it would. But we made good use of practice today, and we're chipping away at it. We'll use tomorrow's morning session to re-evaluate what we've learned and should be in better shape for qualifying."

HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 06 Formula Dream/Panasonic): "The track is a little bumpier than last year but that is what we would expect. The track is getting more grip in each session but we aren't gaining as much as we would like with each lap. We made a lot of changes, some good some bad, during the session. At one point I felt one change made the car better but at the same time I think the track got more grip so now I'm not sure if the lap time was because the setup improved or if it was the track. We're going to make a big change overnight that we hope will give us more grip."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 37 Team IZOD): "Practice 2 was just a messy session (with all the traffic). We never put a lap together on new tires. The good news is we've got some more speed in the car, but it's a question of how much. We have a lot of homework to do tonight. It's going to be a pivotal discussion to see what we can do find the speed we need."

TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven): "This is a tough track for us, for sure. We're a lot better this year than we have been, but we need to find a lot more. We have a lot of work to do. Ryan and I are trying to put our heads together and we're going to figure something out. It's not going to be easy. We'll make a plan together; we'll start on different paths in the morning and then meet somewhere before qualifying."

DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Team GoDaddy.com): "The time sheets don't show much, but we are making progress with the GoDaddy car. The track was really green this morning, but was better this afternoon. It was hard to get a solid feel on the car during the second session because of traffic, but we are headed in the right direction."

Justin Wilson, No. 22 Z-Line Designs:  "The Z-Line Designs car feels pretty good.  We just need to keep working on it.  We tried a couple of things during practice, which helped. We need to look through the data and try to understand if everything was improving and look at what we need to change.  There is a lot of information to study before tomorrow and hopefully we can make some more improvements.    We ended up 7th and that's not exactly where we want to be.  We are just one or two good changes away and we need to make sure that we find those changes."   

Tomas Scheckter, No. 24 MonaVie:  "The MonaVie car is getting better.  Today, we just kept working at it and kept improving.  Again, this is a tough track, especially when I haven't been doing a lot of the road courses.  The team is doing a great job and we will look at it some more tonight.  The times are extremely close, so if we can improve a little bit we will be good for tomorrow."

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE:

9:15 - 10 a.m. - Firestone Indy Lights practice

10:15 - 11:15 a.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series practice

2:15 - 3:15 p.m. - Firestone Indy Lights Sunoco Pole Qualifying

3:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. - IZOD IndyCar Series PEAK Performance Pole Qualifying (Knockout qualifying and Firestone Fast Six)

EDMONTON, Alberta - Results Sunday of the Honda Indy Edmonton IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.973 mile Edmonton Airport Circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (3) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

2. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

3. (4) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

4. (5) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

5. (8) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

6. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

7. (14) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

8. (6) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

9. (13) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

10. (2) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

11. (16) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

12. (24) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

13. (10) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

14. (20) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

15.  (21) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

16. (23) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 93, Running

17. (11) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 93, Running

18. (18) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 92, Running

19. (12) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running

20. (22) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running

21. (9) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 88, Running

22. (7) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 87, Out of Fuel

23. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 52, Contact

24. (17) Mario Romancini, Dallara-Honda, 52, Contact

25. (25) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 4, Handling                                 

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 01:50:37.0551

Winners average speed: 101.666

Margin of Victory: 2.6688 seconds

Cautions: 4 for 10 laps

Lead changes: 4 among 3 drivers

Lap Leaders: Power 1 - 34, Dixon 35, Power 36-77. Castroneves 78-94, Dixon 95.

Point Standings: Power 420, Franchitti 370, Dixon 349, Briscoe 324, Hunter-Reay 316, Castroneves 305, Kanaan 291, Wilson 252, Andretti 244, Wheldon 243.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Results Sunday of the Edmonton 100 Firestone Indy Lights event on the 1.973-mile Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) James Hinchcliffe, 50, Running
2. (2) JK Vernay, 50, Running
3. (3) Martin Plowman, 50, Running
4. (4) Charlie Kimball, 50, Running
5. (5) Dan Clarke, 50, Running
6. (8) Sebastian Saavedra, 50, Running
7. (7) Stefan Wilson, 50, Running
8. (9) Adrian Campos Jr, 50, Running
9. (6) Gustavo Yacaman, 50, Running
10. (10) Philip Major, 50, Running
11. (11) Pippa Mann, 50, Running
12. (12) Rodrigo Barbosa, 50, Running
13. (13) Carmen Jorda, 6, Mechanical 

Race Statistics
Time of Race: 58:33.2721
Winners average speed:  101.085
Margin of victory: 1.2273 seconds
Cautions: 1 for 3 laps
Lead changes: 0
Lap Leaders: Hinchcliffe 1-50
Point Standings: Vernay 335, Hinchcliffe 280, Plowman 253, Kimball 252, Saavedra 239, Wilson 202, Yacaman 187, Clarke 184, Major 184, Campos 165.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Qualifying Saturday for the Edmonton 100 Firestone Indy Lights event on the 1.973-mile Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, time and speed in parentheses:

1. (2) James Hinchcliffe,  1:06.2160 (107.267)
2. (7) JK Vernay,  1:06.2269 (107.249)
3. (27) Martin Plowman,  1:06.2707 (107.179)
4. (26) Charlie Kimball, 1:06.3802 (107.002)
5. (40) Dan Clarke, 1:06.7234 (106.451)
6. (10) Gustavo Yacaman, 1:06.7522 (106.405)
7. (28) Stefan Wilson,  1:06.7741 (106.371)
8. (29) Sebastian Saavedra,  1:06.9172 (106.143)
9. (22) Adrian Campos Jr.,  1:07.2857 (105.562)
10. (49) Philip Major,  1:07.4408 (105.319)
11. (11) Pippa Mann,  1:08.1569 (104.212)
12. (18) Rodrigo Barbosa, 1:08.9418 (103.026)
13. (4) Carmen Jorda, 1:09.1981 (102.644)

EDMONTON, Alberta - Qualifying Saturday for the Honda Indy Edmonton IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.973-mile(s) Edmonton City Centre Airport circuit, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, time and speed in parentheses:

1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 1:00.7126 (116.991)
2. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 1:00.7891 (116.843)
3. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.2395 (115.984)
4. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.2481 (115.968)
5. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.3799 (115.719)
6. (8) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.6122 (115.282)
7. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5438 (115.410)
8. (37) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5596 (115.381)
9. (22) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5887 (115.326)
10. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.7015 (115.116)
11. (06) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1935 (114.205)
12. (24) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.8751 (112.967)
13. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.9181 (114.713)
14. (32) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1324 (114.317)
15. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.3264 (113.961)
16. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1465 (114.291)
17. (34) Mario Romancini, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.4191 (113.792)
18. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.2203 (114.156)
19. (77) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5240 (113.601)
20. (36) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5193 (113.610)
21. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5795 (113.500)
22. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.7397 (113.211)
23. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.7511 (113.190)
24. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, No Time (No Speed)
25. (18) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, No Time (No Speed)

INDY RACING LEAGUE PLACES MILKA DUNO ON PROBATION

EDMONTON, Alberta (July 24, 2010) - The Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the IZOD IndyCar Series, has placed driver Milka Duno on probation through Dec. 31, 2010 for not consistently meeting minimal performance standards.

Duno's probation requires immediate and substantial improvement to her driving during the remaining events on the 2010 schedule.

Substantial improvement is defined as consistently meeting the performance standards set by the league on a particular circuit. On road and street courses this is measured in terms of time (107 percent of lead car), and on ovals it is measured in terms of speed (10 mph of the lead car). In addition to time and speed, other requirements include car control/placement and interaction with other cars on track.

If the improvements are not met, the league may impose other penalties at its discretion.

Pursuant to Rule 9.3 (C): The Senior Official may place a member on probation. Probation is a state of limitation upon a Member's privileges usually following an act or omission occurring before or during membership with which calls into question the Member's willingness or ability to abide by standards required for membership. The purpose of probation is to establish a process to allow a Member to prove, by the Member's conduct, that the standards of membership are understood and will be honored at all times. During probation, a member is under heightened scrutiny and a Member can be required to abide by specific standards of conduct which are more stringent than those which are otherwise applicable. If a Member violates probation, the Member is subject to a more severe penalty. The duration and condition of the probation are within the discretion of the Officials.

Duno will have the opportunity to contest the penalty, pursuant to the IZOD IndyCar Series rule book.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES NEWS AND NOTES - July 26, 2010

Today's IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines:

1.      Power strengthens point lead at Edmonton Power

2.      Tracy leads four KV Racing Technology drivers in top 10

3.      Another rookie posts season best

4.      Streaks continue

5.      Vote for Tire-ific Move of the Race

1. Power strengthens point lead at Edmonton: Will Power didn't make it three victories in a row, which would have the accomplishments of three other IZOD IndyCar Series drivers, but the 43 points earned in the Honda Indy Edmonton is ample consolation.

Power, the runner-up to Scott Dixon in the 95-lap race, takes a 50-point lead over Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti into the Aug. 8 Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance. Dixon, who is 71 points back with six events remaining (two road courses and four ovals), has won two of the three races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Power, who picked up one bonus point for winning the PEAK Performance Pole Award in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, led a field-high 76 laps on the demanding 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport circuit to earn two more bonus points. He's accrued 12 bonus points, and handily leads the Mario Andretti Road Course championship standings.

"It was a good day. It was a tough battle. Still a good finish for us points-wise," said Power, who's competing in his first full season with Team Penske.

All four of Power's victories this season have been on road/street courses, and his victory at Edmonton in '09 was the first of his IZOD IndyCar Series career. In his lone race at Mid-Ohio, Power started 12^th for KV Racing Technology in 2008 and finished fourth.

"To start closing the gap in the championship, we've got to start finishing ahead of Will," said Franchitti, the reigning series champion who finished third at Edmonton.   

2. Tracy leads four KV Racing Technology drivers in top 10: Before the green flag for the Honda Indy Edmonton, it was announced that Honda Canada and IZOD IndyCar Series driver Paul Tracy had raised more than $112,578 for Make-A-Wish Canada through a program in which fans in Toronto and Edmonton had the opportunity to sign the race suits worn by Tracy for a donation.

Tracy gave something back to fans - leading a four-driver top-10 performance for KV Racing Technology with a sixth-place finish in the demanding 95-lap race on the City Centre Airport circuit.

Mario Moraes advanced seven positions to finish seventh (his fourth top 10 in 11 races). E.J. Viso, who started a season-high sixth in the No. 8 PDVSA Jet Aviation KVRT car, followed in eighth and Takuma Sato earned the first top 10 of his initial IZOD IndyCar Series season with a ninth place in the No. 5 Lotus KVRT car.

Tracy, who finished 14th at Watkins Glen International on July 4 and 13th at Toronto on July 18, overtook five cars on the first two laps and was running as high as fifth. He finished sixth last year on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn circuit and fourth in 2008.

"It was a good finish for the Honda Canada/Make-A-Wish/Motegi Wheels KV Racing team," said Tracy, an Ontario native.  "Our goal was to make money for Make-A-Wish these last two weeks and they raised over $112,000 for the two races. It feels great to help the kids and the families. My second goal was to have a good time. 

"Then we wanted a good finish and we pulled it off. It feels so good to race in front of the Canadian fans. They really enjoy their racing. Both Toronto and Edmonton support these events so well. It is tough to come in as a spot driver and perform well. This place is so hard and physical on a driver. So coming from 15th and finish sixth feels very good. 

"I just wish we could get the car figured out earlier in the weekend to get a better starting spot. I think we can race with the leaders if can do that."

3. Another rookie posts season best: Bertrand Baguette, competing at Edmonton for the first time, advanced six positions in the No. 36 Conquest Racing RACB car to finish a season-best 14th.

"At the beginning of my first stint I was able to gain some positions but then I got stuck in some traffic so I worked on saving fuel," he said. "I had a good run later on with the black Firestone tires, I had a good balance on my car and I was able to keep up with Tony Kanaan when I ended up behind him in the second part of the race. I think that was a good reference for us but unfortunately I couldn't improve my track position.

"Overall, I'm happy with my race in Edmonton, it was a good weekend and now I'm looking forward to our next one in Mid-Ohio."

4. Streaks continue: Tony Kanaan, who moved up 12 positions to finish 12th, competed in his 12tht consecutive race. The series record is 138 by Scott Sharp.

Andretti Autosport teammate Danica Patrick extended her record to 27 races running at the finish with a 15th-place finish. The series record is 28 by Scott Dixon. Dario Franchitti has been running at the finish in 25 in a row.

5. Vote for Tire-ific Move of the Race: Fans select the Firestone Tire-ific Move of the Race winner by voting on indycar.com after every race. This $10,000 prize is awarded to the driver best utilizing his or her Firestone tires to make a bold, dramatic move during the event.

Nominees for the Honda Indy Edmonton are: Scott Dixon for his move from third to second on alternate tires on the final restart; Helio Castroneves for his Lap 78 pass of Will Power for the lead on alternate tires; Paul Tracy for a hard charge from 11th to finish sixth.