Backstretch Motorsports

Justin Wilson celebrates his first IndyCar Series win at Detroit's Belle Isle street course (Chris Jones/IRL)

DETROIT, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008 - Justin Wilson didn’t let a steering problem ruin his day. The IndyCar Series rookie turned only two laps in the morning warm-up due to the problem, but went on to lead the final 15 laps of the Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone in the afternoon to claim his first IndyCar Series victory.

[read more...]

AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing driver Raphael Matos is No. 1 in Firestone Indy Lights Series hunt for the Firehawk Cup (Ron McQueeny/IRL)

With three races remaining in 2008, Scott Dixon holds a 78-point lead over Helio Castroneves. Dan Wheldon is 138 points back, and Tony Kanaan trails by 147. Dixon has a record-tying six wins this season, while Castroneves has seven second-place finishes. Can Dixon extend his lead or will his competitors close the gap?

[read more...]

EDMONTON, Alberta, Saturday, July 26, 2008 - Scott Dixon solidified his lead for the IndyCar Series championship with his fifth victory of the season, winning the Rexall Edmonton Indy by 5.9327 seconds over Helio Castroneves, who fell to 65 points behind in the standings with his sixth runner-up finish of the season.

Heading into a pit stop on Lap 51, Dixon radioed his crew to give him an extra push out of pit lane. That push got him out of the pits first and helped Dixon take the lead on Lap 62 when the field cycled through pit stops.

[read more...]

LEXINGTON, Ohio, Saturday, July 19, 2008 - Helio Castroneves put himself in the perfect position to chip away at the 63-point deficit in the IndyCar Series championship point standings. The series all-time leader in poles added No. 25 to his career tally during PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance.

Castroneves advanced through the first two qualifying elimination rounds to the Firestone Fast Six for the 13th time in 14 IndyCar Series road/street races. In that session, he lapped the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit in 1 minute, 7.2480 seconds, 120.878 mph to earn his second consecutive pole of the season and his second consecutive pole at Mid-Ohio.

[read more...]

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., Saturday, July 5, 2008 - Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe survived three rounds of knockout qualifications to win his first PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award in the IndyCar Series since 2005.

Briscoe survived the unique qualifying format narrows the field from 26 to 12 to six. In the Firestone Fast Six session, Briscoe surpassed Justin Wilson in the final minute of the 10-minute session with a lap at 1 minute, 29.3456 seconds, 135.787 mph.

[read more...]

INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, May 4, 2008 - Ten drivers completed all four phases of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie Orientation Program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the track opened for the 92nd Running of 500-Mile Race.

Will Power (left) was the quickest among a class of 13 rookies, the most since 1997. The rookies have two days of practice on the historic 2.5-mile oval before the track is opened to all drivers on May 6.

Power’s fastest lap in the No. 8 Aussie Vineyard-Team Australia entry was 40.7804 seconds, 220.694 mph.

[read more...]