Backstretch Motorsports

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Sunday, July 5) — Facing a Lap 54 restart with the Nos. 6 and 9 cars of Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon trailing, Dale Coyne said driver Justin Wilson had to hold off “two goliaths.” Well, that’s one for the little guys. Wilson provided Dale Coyne Racing its first IndyCar Series victory — in its 558th open-wheel racing start over 25 years - in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen on July 5.

Wilson, whose only previous top 10 this season was third in the opener at St. Petersburg, also was the last driver other than one from Target Chip Ganassi Racing or Team Penske to win — at Belle Isle last August with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. “It feels fantastic,” said Wilson, who started on the outside of the front row and led a field-high 49 laps. [read more...]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (Sunday, April 5, 2009) - Ryan Briscoe kicked off the 2009 IndyCar Series season with a victory in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The win was Briscoe’s third and Team Penske’s 30th in the IndyCar Series. The combo also won the non-points race in Australia after the 2008 season.

Briscoe led 46 of 100 laps and held off Ryan Hunter-Reay by 0.4619 of a second to claim the victory. Justin Wilson finished third after leading a race high 52 laps. [read more...]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Friday, April 3, 2009) - Defending race winner Graham Rahal topped the time chart on the first day of practice for the 2009 IndyCar Series season opener. Rahal, 20, who became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing history when he won the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg a year ago, seems ready to defend his title. He lapped the 14-turn, 1.8-mile circuit in 1 minute, 3.4078 seconds, 102.196 mph in the No. 02 McDonald’s Racing entry to set the pace for the 22-car field.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Justin Wilson, who led 18 laps in last year’s race, was second with a lap at 1:03.5881, 101.906 mph. Dario Franchitti with Target Chip Ganassi Racing was third, E.J. Viso with HVM Racing was fourth and Tony Kanaan with Andretti Green Racing was fifth. [read more...]

Castroneves second after penalty; Dixon fifth

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.

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Three races remain in championship battle

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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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