Detroit Grand Prix Preview

History:

Although open-wheel racing has been around the Detroit area pretty much since the birth of the automobile, grand prix racing didn't come to motor city until 1982 when Formula 1 held the Detroit Grand Prix, alternately called the United States Grand Prix East. Although Alain Prost took the pole, it was Irishman John Watson who claimed the victory in that first race. There were many who would eventually find their way to Indianapolis in the race including Eddie Cheever (P2), Nigel Mansell (P12), Eliseo Salazar (P17), Roberto Guerro (P18), and Raul Boesel (P23). That year was remarkable because the US played host to three Formula 1 GPs, the other two being at Long Beach (USGP West), and Las Vegas. Originally, the Detroit GP was held around the Renaissance Center downtown and the track was hard on both car and driver. The racing surface was very rough and included a railroad crossing! The circuit was also very narrow with concrete barriers surrounding the track with little run-off room. This resulted in a high level of attrition. By 1989, F1 had had enough and terminated the Detroit GP, but CART stepped in and raced at the current location, but not the current configuration, on Belle Isle. Michael Andretti won the pole of that innaugural race at Belle Isle, but at the end of the day it was Emerson Fittipaldi, winner of that year's Indianapolis 500, who emerged victorious. Belle Isle was also the location of Helio Castroneves first major open-wheel victory, finishing first in both the 2000 and 2001 GPs. 2001 was the last year for the CART races at Belle Isle, and racing didn't return until Roger Penske organized a complete revamping of the circuit in 2007. The area was made much more accessable and many of the fan areas and paddock areas were paved to avoid the mudpits that the paddock had become in previous years.



Last Year:
2007 was the first year that the IndyCar Series raced at Belle Isle, but it was not the first time for many of its drivers, including the last driver to win at Belle Isle, Helio Castroneves. Helio picked up right where he left off by taking the pole position. Sadly for Helio, he made a bold move on the #2 of Tomas Scheckter which put both of them into the tire barrier. This allowed Tony Kannan to race away to his fifth win of the season. The real story of the day, though, was the epic battle between Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon for the series championship. Dixon had a 4 point lead going into the Detroit race, but when Buddy Rice ran out of ethanol and suddenly slowed, Dixon clipped his wheel while trying to overtake him. Dixon's car then rolled into the path of Dario blocking his further progress. The AGR pit was furious with Michael Andretti yelling out immediately, "He did that on purpose!" Did he? Did he not? Its still a debate and one that will surely be revisited this weekend. Here's the clip, you be the judge.



Dixon's day was done, but Dario did get back underway and gained seven points on Dixon retaking the championship lead by 3 points with one race left in the season.

Friday Practice:
Session 1:
The morning session took place on a semi-wet track with the cars starting on treaded tires. Its likely that the teams didn't aquire much data about the track or car setup except for doing a leak check. The forecast for Saturday and Sunday, as per fellow Garager Cassie, is for sun and temps in the 80s. Right now, the temperature is a misty 69F. Not to let the whole session go by without some excitement, Marty Roth stuffs his car under the tire barrier in Turn 12. Of all people on the grid, Marty most needed the practice on this track and his run in with the barrier certainly won't help. Toward the end of the session, the track did dry out and the teams were able to run on slicks, but the track temps were still way below what they'll be come qualifying and race day.

Session 2:
The afternoon session provided better conditions with the track dry and temperatures closer to what is expected for the weekend. Helio topped the charts with a 1:13.2059. Unfortunately for Helio, the driver he's chasing for hte championship was right behind him in time. Dixon posted a 1:13.6996. Vitor Meira and Ryan Briscoe were third and fourth on the charts with the big surprise being Danica rounding out the top five. It's not surprising that Danica was fast, its surprising that she was fastest among all of her teammates including Tony Kannan. Tony was two tenths off of Danica's pace with Hideki and Marco, along with Wheldon, well back in the pack. This is the first day of practice, though, so look for TK to improve his times by qualification tomorrow afternoon. Here are the combined practice times.

What to Watch:
Watch pit road. This is where most of the passing action will take place. Although improvements were made to the Belle Isle circuit, its still narrow and a difficult track for passing. Last year many people tried, and failed. As Kannan put it, "Crazy race behind me, so I think it was a good thing to stay in the front." The first turn of the race will be very important! Being out in front at this track is key to running well. If one is stuck mid-pack, there's a high likely hood of being involved in a "racing incident" or just outright getting punted out of the way. Once the race starts, don't bother too much with the leaders. They'll be doing what they can to stay clean. That is until they come into the pits. Pit stops is where the lead will change hands. This greatly favors Penske and TCGR with their top notch pit crews and race strategists. Mid-pack will be a lot of fun to watch. Expect quite a bit of midfielder and backmarker carbon fibre to litter many of the turns. Last year was a "crash fest" as Buddy Rice put it, but this year there will be even more cars on this very narrow circuit.

Chess anyone???

Is it me or do you feel like you are watching a chess match when it comes to the presidential election? Mc Cain has been all over Obama for his lack of experience then he chooses someone who has just as little as Obama. I am sure there will be a counter move coming from Obama's camp in the coming days. I really can't wait for Nov to get here so I can get back to my mindless TV that relaxes me so in the evenings, instead of the chess match that is the presidential election. Some call checkmate already!!!!!

Have a great long week, I plan to put the finishing touches on back to school stuff and get ready for the big day on Tuesday, still hard to fathom that I have a 1st grader, mom wasn't kidding when she said this time would go by in the blink of an eye!

So what are you up to this weekend?

A conversation with my son....

Jackson: Mommy, I want a bagel naked!

Me: What!

Jackson; you know a bagel with nothing on it

Me: oh ok where did you learn the phrase naked bagel

Jackson: I haven't

Me: you didn't here someone say O want a bagel naked?

Jackson: No, but if you have a bagel and you don't put anything on it then it is naked right?

Me: yes, you are right. I say scratching my head wondering what I am going to do with this boy when he is 8 if already has this line of reasoning at 4!

Bring on September

So last week while I was watching the wee bit of TV that I do I saw the promos for the upcoming season of Biggest Loser families and Lipstick Jungle. I love these shows!!!! I usually tivo them and watch in the morning while I am doing my workout or runs on the treadmill because there is no time when those shows are actually on for me to watch.

For some reason the idea of new shows got me all excited. Something to look forward to, then I thought Wow !!! I need to get some excitement in my life if new shows in September are what I am looking forward. Am I alone or are there others out that also get all hyped up for the new season of shows??? What are the shows you can't wait for in September?

9 Questions with Bia

IndyCar Garage had the opportunity to ask Ana Beatriz (Bia) a few questions about the season thus far...

Tell us about yourself, what do you enjoy outside of racing?

I enjoy sports, going out with my friends, going to the movies and talking with my family and friends from Brazil on the internet.

Any hints at an IndyCar Series test or even a move up to ICS with another team for 2009?

My manager, André Ribeiro, is taking care of my future. If he thinks I am ready and there is a opportunity at Indy Car Series next year I will be there.

What has been the biggest adjustment you've had to make this season in the Indy Lights Series?

I think it was learning the ovals. Now, because of all hard work with my Healthy Choice / Sam Schmidt Motorsports team I am definitely feeling comfortable in the oval.

What track on the Indy Lights schedule do you enjoy racing the most?

I loved to race in Indianapolis. It is a magical track and it was the best race of the season so far.

You won your first Indy Lights race at Nashville this year leading 45 of 77 total laps. Describe how the win felt and what did it mean for you and your team?

It was a incredible feeling. I was so happy and thankful for all the people that supported me since I was a little girl: family, managers and sponsors. Without them it would never happen.


You've had a very impressive season so far - currently third in the standings. With three race weekends left on the schedule, will your strategy change in an attempt to bring home the championship?

I believe the best way to win this championship is to think race by race. I am a rookie driver and having a chance to win the championship this year already is just amazing but it will be a hard fight and we have strong competitors.

Much of your current points standing can be credited to a strong second half of the season, 6 top five finishes in the last 7 races. What factors can you attribute this late season success?

I can attribute this success to my team Sam Schmidt and my managers Andre Ribeiro and Augusto Cesario that are always telling me the right things to do.

If you could spend a day at any track with any driver (past or present), what track and what driver would you choose?

I would choose Helio Castroneves at Indianapolis. I would learn his secrets to win the Indy 500 and because he is a really fun guy. Maybe he would teach me how to dance as well.

Any comments for the dedicated IndyCar fans of IndyCar Garage?

Thanks for all the supportive messages this year so far. I am really enjoying to race in Firestone Indy Lights and American fans are amazing.

Am I the hottest mommy blogger???

Ok I was nominated and now I want to win so I need your help! A friend nominated for the Hottest Mommy Calendar!
Go check out Hottest female bloggers

Vote for me and I might be a pin up girl! What more could a working mommy blogger want???? So go now vote!!!! I am listed as Steph (The Daily Grind) about 3/4 of the way down! Hit the CTRL key plus the letter F and type in Steph (The Daily Grind) in the prompt box. It will bring you right to my name. Double-click and it should say "voted successfully".

Please go vote!!!!!!! And tell your bloggy friends

Back to school

I am a planner by nature anyone close to me will tell you that I plan everything down to the littlest detail. So when I read some blogs that were bragging about the new school supply website, I thought I have to go check that out because it might save me a couple of hours going from store to store to buy the school supplies on our 1st grade supply list.

So I checked out Exschoolsupplies.com I was able to get everything on my list with the exception of the disinfectant wipes that were on the list. (still trying to figure that one out btw) So I added everything to my cart and within a week all of Lauren's supplies were here and I was able to pack her back pack for the first day with all of her supplies. Now I am still a novice when it comes to this school supply list gig since my daughter is only in 1st grade but I must say this was easy fast and really kind of fun.

Also they have a program that allows 10% of your purchase price to be donated to the school of your choice. Since I am the BoxTop coordinator at our school I am very interested in ways to earn money for our school and this just seemed to be so easy, I plan to bring the idea to our PTA president at our first meeting.

So I encourage you to go check them out, I don't think you will be disappointed. Now if only back to school clothes shopping was that easy!

** I was not paid for this post!

To My Little Man Jackson!

It was 4 years ago on the 23rd of August that you decided to come into this world, well you decided but so did I since I scheduled to be induced but was already having contractions when we arrived as the hospital so I guess it was a bit of a joint effort.

When I first found out I was having a boy I was a bit worried, I had never been around boys, who was going to teach me how to take care of a boy? Luckily it all came naturally and you have been a joy to watch grow.

From the start I called you my little man but that was not true at all you were quite the big man tipping the scales at a whopping 10lbs 2 oz and 22 inches long ! When they wheeled me by the nursery on my way to my room they asked if I knew which one was you and I said "of course the 3 months old in the center there!" You will always be my little man, my silly man and goofy man who likes to talk and explore. Happy 4th birthday little man!

Sonoma Preview

History:

Infineon Raceway was built in 1968 and originally named Sears Point Raceway, not after the department store, but after its location on Sears Point which is the 15,000 acre parcel of land purchased by Franklin Sears on the northern end of San Pablo Bay. The 2.52-mile natural terrain road course was first put to competition use in December of 1968 for an SCCA endurance sports car race. It wasn't long before the facility began hosting both IndyCar and NASCAR events along with the SCCA events. Among some of the first drivers at the track are legendary racing names: Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, and Al Unser, Sr. However in 1970, the track was closed by then owner Filmways and open-wheel racing didn't return until 2005 when Tony Kannan became the 2nd driver to win at Infineon, the first and only previous driver to win being Dan Gurney.





Last Year:
Last year's race was full of drama and excitement, not so much from any legitimate passing, but from several on-track scuffles. The most dramatic scuffle was between teammates Dario Franchitti and Marco Andretti. Dario was leading the race, and the series championship as Marco was exiting the pits. As they both turned into Turn 2, Marco made contact with Dario's left front wing. Marco was out of the running, and Dario's left front wing was damaged, crippling his car. When the green flag waved again, both Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves made it by Dario. Tony Kannan, Dario's teammate, ran interference for him while in 4th to protect Dario's position in the championship. This move was viewed by few as being a good teammate and by many others (most notably all the drivers behind Tony) as blatant blocking. Scott Dixon went on to win the race with Helio close on his heels. Dario limped across the line in 3rd saving valuable points for the championship. Had Kannan passed Dario and continued to race with the leaders, Scott Dixon very likely would have been the 2007 IRL champion.

Friday Practice:
Session 1:
Good news! New sponsors for a couple of drivers! Marty Roth now carries decals for the Men's Warehouse, and PCM in addition to the Visit Mexico City sponsorship will also carry the Imperial Capital Bank. The speeds and performances during Session 1 were really no surprise. Kannan topped the charts with a 1:17.3920 followed closely by Helio and Danica with Power and Briscoe rounding out the top 5. There was a couple spins by the usual suspects, but no damage was done.

Session 2:
Turn 3a claims its first victim. Hideki got loose making approaching the apex of the turn and slid out toward the wall. Fortunately, the run off area was large enough that although he bumped into the wall, most of his speed had been scrubbed off and no damage was done to the car. Watch this corner on Sunday. It will be action packed! Helio topped the 2nd session times with a 1:17.1703. The mild surprise of the session was the great performance by Oriol Servia who posted a 1:17.4712. Here's a summary of the combined practice results:

1. Helio Castroneves - 1:17.1703
2. Tony Kannan - 1:17.3920
3. Oriol Servia - 1:17:4712
4. Will Power - 1:17.5851
5. Vitor Meira - 1:17.7236

What to Watch:
In spite of having a transporter fire in the middle of Wyoming that destroyed both of Team Penske's primary cars, look for both Briscoe and Castroneves to be fast this weekend. After all, Briscoe set the current course record at 1:16.4913 to take the pole of the 2005 event. Dixon will be reasonably quick, but his performace on road courses this year is not at the level it was last year. Dixon doesn't need to win in order to mathematically clinch the championship. If he leaves this race 86 points ahead of Helio (he's +78 now), the championship is his even if all he does is show up for the starting grid and parks it at Belle Isle and Chicagoland.

This course is VERY technical, so look for the road racing skills of the drivers to really become evident. Watch how the drivers turn into Turns 2 and 3a. Both of these turns are righthanded over-crest turns. The driver needs to begin the turn long before they can see the apex. Also as the cars come up over the crest of the turn, the susupension unloads and the car becomes very light. Throttle control upon exit for these two turns will be critical. Bruno, Oriol, Wilson, and Rahal are some of the new drivers that will do well and find speed after the first few practices, but Briscoe, Helio, and Kannan will be the top three battling for the lead. Dixon will hang back, and Wheldon will struggle as usual on the twisty tracks.

A wild card to watch out for is Tomas Scheckter. He and Luzco Dragon Racing are back in town with the #12 yellow and black Symantec Special. He's never done especially well in the past at this track, but his new team really seems to have things together. In their last outings, they showed significant speed and will very likely make a top 10 finish for the first time at Infineon.

Marco will have a new paint job on his car promoting the new animated Star Wars movie coming out this weekend. Lets just hope that this year, all that expensive paint remains on his car and doesn't get rubbed off onto someone else's.

Wendi's favorite things swap

Oh how I love my favorite things ...and other people's favorite things too!

So since I am such a lover of things favorite I have decided to join Wendi's favorite things swap and you should too! Here is how it will work

1. Let Wendi know you want to participate.
She will need an RSVP by August 30, 2008.

2. If you choose to participate, you will simply pick three (or more) of your favorite things to share with your partner.

I am sure no one would complain if you wanted to send more.
This does not have to be expensive.
It could be your favorite book, a new mascara, or a book of your favorite recipes.
It might even be some personalized note cards, or a box of your favorite chocolates.
Items can be new, bought, or even homemade.
Just remember to send a package that you would be excited to receive.
Be creative!
3. Email Wendi at becausewendisaidso@gmail.com with the following information.

Your name

Your mailing address

Your email address

Your website/ blog /or flickr address.
(you must have one of these)

A little something about yourself.

Please let her know if you would be willing to ship internationally.

4.Wendi will email you the information about your swap partner shortly after the sign up deadline.

The delivery deadline is September 22, 2008.
Be sure to have your packages ready and postmarked by then.
So...are you ready to join in the fun?
Share this with your friends!
Tell your neighbors!
Email your associates!
Go to Wendi's blog and Grab a Favorite Things button and post it on your blog!

Our Vacation

Well let me first give you a little history! We have gone to the beach 2 other times with families once to the Outer Banks and then last year to LBI. This by far was the best of them all. Outer Banks I now realize had a lot of tension between families never a good thing on a vacation. Last year we got rained out, it rained from Saturday night when we got there to Wednesday morning when we left because we couldn't take it anymore.

This year it rained only the night we arrive monsoon rains, I thought to myself oh no here we go again. We woke up Sunday morning to the sun beaming in our window. Could it be that the curse was broken? Yes it was and we had 6 glorious days!

We shared a house with 2 other families, in total there were 6 adults and 5 kids which consisted of 3 16 year olds and my 6 and 4 year old. Quite the age range. The teens of course were on the late to bed late to rise program and my kids were on the late to bed early to rise program. It really worked out ok.

As for our house it was one of those homes that grow on you, at first I was not impressed by what I saw but as the hours then days went on it grew on me. It was a house that was built in 1954 and had been renovated in 1974 with the needed improvement such as microwave, tv, etc. Why you are thinking do I care about how old the house was? Well at Long Beach Island (LBI) ocean front beach homes typically are million plus homes ridiculous sized homes! Some of them rent as high as 15K a week.Way out of our range even with 2 other families. So if you were out on the beach and looked at the houses down the beach all you saw were mc mansion after mc mansion. I came to love our little house, it felt inviting warm and most of all comfortable. Ok with the exception of the bed we had which had mattress with two huge dips in it where it looked like two elephants had slept for 15 years! Other then that it was a quaint house and I loved it!

This isn't a great picture but at the very top it shows our house next to the big one on the other side, then if you look down the coast line here are all the other houses.

Every morning we would get up get my kids some breakfast then head out to the beach for morning playtime. The best part of this is that our house was right on the beach! all we had to do was walk over the sand dune and bam there you were. It made going back and forth with fickle kids a breeze. That was pretty much our day back and forth to the beach finally coming home at 5 for cocktails, showers and dinner and yes in that order.

Each night we had a theme night for dinner One night was Polish night we made perogies and they were to die for think of dumplings only better. Then there was Italian night Seafood night yum my mouth is watering thinking about it. I put on 5 lbs because all I seemed to do was eat drink and sit on the beach. Ah the life.

I told Dan that since we live a fast paced double career life that we need to do this kind of vacation every 6 months. First it was inexpensive as far as family vacations for 4 are concerned and it was totally low stress just the right environment to relax regroup and recharge. He agreed so next year LBI here we come now I need to come up with a winter plan I am sure I will find something.

I took a ton of pictures some of which I have included in this post the others can be seen below. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Home

We are home and Dan is resting, the surgery took 2 hours but it looks as though everything went well. However I now have 2 sickies in the house since Lauren has a horrible case of swimmers ear. Ah tonight should be a blast between taking care of her and her dad!

Thanks for all the well wishes!

We are all a little stressed

Tomorrow the hubs is having sinus surgery all will be fine I have no doubt but there is a definite fear in the air of our house tonight. Dan went to bed at 7:30 it is 9:30 now and he is still sleeping and I am sure he will till morning. This is not normal for Dan as he is the night owl and I am the early to bed one off our family, yet here I sit a good 20 minutes past my bedtime.

So how do I combat my stress about tomorrow? I clean... yes clean. I went into our master closet and focused on my side and ended up straighting the entire top shelf on one side and we have a walk in closet! 2 trash bags of goodwill clothes later here I am reading blogs and typing my own. Gee no pent up stress here in this house!!

Surgery is at 12:30 and should be over by 2pm I will be sure to post an update till then I guess I have a lot more cleaning to do.

New Bed

So... since before we were married, Adam has talked about building a bed for us out of antique doors. I was all game for it (way cheaper than buying one) so we bought two doors from Scipio (where else?) last year and stripped the paint off right away. Well, those doors sat in his mom's garage for A YEAR but we finally decided to make it cheap and paint it instead of getting expensive wood for it. So it's finally done! The bed we've been talking about forever! I'll put up some pics as soon as I can, but Adam is doing our side tables and I'm making our quilt and pillows, so I might wait til it's all done. It's so huge, it barely fits in our tiny room :) Big, just like us!

Not so Worldless Wednesday

Ok I will admit I was a bit hesitant to put this photo of me up but then I got to thinking, while I was running my 3 miles this morning. why not I don't look that bad for 36 and 2 kids. Plus if I drop the last 15 that I want to I will have a picture to compare it too! But I also included a cute picture of the princess from the beach so you won't focus on mine too long, pretty sure of herself isn't she?

File this under downright creepy!

Ok I read a lot of news on the Internet, it is how I konw what is going on in the world, who has time to comb through the paper everyday? Not Me! Every now and then I come across stories that I just can't be live and this morning was one of those times.

Check out this link: Corpse Kept Upright for 3-Day Wake

When I saw this title I thought surely you must be joking! Who in their right mind would have a corpse kept upright for a 3 day wake in their home? I remember a long time ago my mom telling me stories of having her dad laid out in the family house for his wake in 1954 and that freaked me out, but it was understandable because that is what they did in those days but this was down right creepy, go check out the link and the picture!

Mom always said I was special

For most of the summer I have had bees, huge bees lurking on my back deck. I saw a few trying to burrow their way into the wood of my kids play set, but we stopped them before they got to far into their nest making. Yet, still I had bees. Big Bees, Killer Bees, look!
These suckers were big!!! They didn't bother anyone so I let them be, no need in upsetting the circle of life right??? Until I stepped on one of those suckers and he stung me. I guess I would sting someone too, if I were stepped on. It hurt like no other bee sting I have ever had, that was it, the bees needed to go. Ecosystem or no ecosystem.

I told the hubby to get on it even if it meant calling in the pros, which I knew is what would happen because he is not Mr. Fixit. He did however identify the area the were coming from. Seems they had found a cozy place under my sons bedroom window. They were taking off and landing as if on an aircraft carrier. I stood in my sons room and put my ear close to the wall where they were on hte outside and you could hear the buzz of all those little critters, how did I miss this????

The pest guy came that day, looked up and asked if we had any dead ones around. Sure guy I keep them on ice for my kids upcoming science fair projects! No, I don't have any dead ones! However the bee gods must have been with me because we did eventually find a dead one in the corner of the deck. Pest guy pokes at it and proclaims you have European Hornets. Excuse me? Yes, European hornets, they should have stayed in Europe he says to me.

Great, I have special insects, international insects, lucky me. Mom always said I was special. How much to get rid of them I ask? $195. Great! Get to it I say. As I take out the check book and feel that same stinging sensation all over again.

This is what the nest looks like, getting rid of that was worth. every penny of the $195

A few words to sum up my vacation.......

Enjoyable, excellent, extraordinary, fabulous, fantastic, grand, incredible, lovely, magnificent, marvelous, phenomenal, sensational, stupendous, superb, surprising, terrific, wondrous!!!! whew I think that about covers it!

I hope you all enjoyed the guest bloggers I lined up last week, thanks again to Leah, Steph and Elaine. You ladies rock!!!

So I have tons of pictures, some stories, a google reader that is about to explode and a limited amount of time, what's a girl to do????

Well, I will give you a sneak peak at some photos!!!

Stories will need to come later this week as I am still trying to get myself back in the work mode. That google reader well it is going to be marked all read and I will start anew. If there is a post that you really think I need to see please email me and I will go check it out.

I missed you all a ton and I am very happy to be back!

Is it weird if it's normal?

Me again!

I have a tear-off calendar that gives helpful tips, or quotes, or little messages to ponder, etc each day. Recently, one of the pages had this quote on it: “Serve the dinner backward, do anything-but for goodness sake, do something weird.” ~Elsa Maxwell~

My VERY FIRST THOUGHT was of how we do Family Fun Night every Friday. FFN consists of the kids picking out a movie, bringing their little chairs up to the coffee table in the family room, and then we sit down as a family and eat our dinner in front of the movie. Generally, we will do popsicles, or popcorn, or something treat-like after the main meal. To us, this is part of our normal routine, but for other families, this would be something different, something odd, maybe even something…WEIRD??? I know, I know, eating in front of the TV, and letting little kids watch TV are on the list of the worst things we can supposedly do, but I honestly believe it’s bonded our family together. As a family, we look forward to the tradition of FFN, and it opens discussions of what movie to choose, and why, and opens discussions during and after the movie of what happened and what choices were good/bad (choices in character’s behaviors, or use of words, or their physical actions), etc. When the meal and treats have been consumed, we snuggle up together enjoy each other’s company for the rest of the movie. And even though we do it every single Friday, it’s still “weird” and not part of the NORMAL routine of the rest of the week. What do you guys do to change things up a bit around your own homes? It doesn’t necessarily have to be about a mealtime, but that’s just where my mind went upon reading that quote! I’d love to hear what other families do that might be a bit “weird”!!

13 Questions with Will Power

Will Power answers questions about the adjustments to the IndyCar Series and what he's looking forward to in years to come.

Tell us about yourself, what do you enjoy outside of racing?

Cycling, Fitness with my trainer, Playing the drums


What have you enjoyed most about the transition to the IndyCar Series?

The competition is great, have so many great drivers all on one track. I enjoyed being part of the Indianapolis 500. The variety of having ovals and road/street courses


What has been the biggest adjustment you've had to make this season in the IndyCar Series?

The oval racing – I had only one previous oval race experience at Milwaukee in 2006


What track on the IndyCar Series schedule do you enjoy racing the most?

Watkins Glen for a road/street course and Milwaukee for an oval

The series is headed to your home country in October to run at the Surfer's Paradise street course. What are you thoughts about this event, and what should first-time viewers of the event look for?

I am very happy to have it back on the schedule, first-time viewers will find it action packed.

How do you feel about the lack of Surfers on the 2009 schedule?

Not good, unfortunate because it is a good event and hopefully it will be worked out

If no agreement is reached for a Surfers event in 2009, what effect will that have on your sponsorship? Are you working on contingency plans?

No Comment


The league has been hearing input from several manufacturers regarding the new engine specs due out for 2011, and Dallara will be preparing a new chassis to be released at the same time. Has the league also asked the drivers what they'd like to see for the new car?

NO

What changes would you as a driver like to see for the new 2011 specifications?

More horsepower for road courses. A car built for both ovals and road courses. A car that is less pitch sensitive


You dominated this year's LBGP in the Panoz DP01, but for next year's GP you'll be in a Dallara. Explain how your approach to the circuit will differ in the Dallara.

Its hard to know until you get there, I was surprised that despite speed there was no real difference when we went to Edmonton.


So far, no Australian has won the Indianapolis 500. How do you like your chances to be the first?

I think the way this KVRT Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia team is progressing then in the future we have a chance.


If you could spend a day at any track with any driver (past or present), what track and what driver would you choose?
Jimmy Vasser at Long Beach


Any comments for the dedicated IndyCar fans of IndyCar Garage?

Watch carefully as this series grows more and more, I think next year could be a lot more interesting when the transition teams have got more experience.

Rebel without a cause

I want to start off with a quick thanks to Steph for being trusting enough to allow me (Leah from Laughing Leah Loves Lilies) to guest blog for her while she’s away. Hopefully I don’t scare off all her loyal viewers, and with any luck, maybe I’ll gain a few loyal viewers of my own in the process!

Now on with the show…

Was there anything from your childhood that you just couldn’t stand, and you swore when you were an adult and could make your own decisions, you’d do that particular thing VERY differently? Or was there something you did around your friends you wouldn’t have done at home? When I was a kid, we weren’t allowed to use words such as butt, fart, or pee. It was bottom, stinker, and potty. When I was REALLY little, it wasn’t a big deal, but when I got into elementary school, it became a bit of an embarrassment, and then it became a battle between remembering to use bottom, stinker, and potty at home, while using butt, fart, and pee at school around my friends. I swore when I grew up, my kids weren’t going to have to use bottom, stinker, and potty. WELL, GUESS WHAT? The first time my then two-year-old daughter said the word “butt”, I cringed, because apparently it was burned into my brain that little kids shouldn’t say those words and it sounded awful to my ears. So now “bottom”, “toot”, and “potty” are all used at our house, with an occasional slip up of “fart” and “pee” from my six-year-old, who has attended one year of elementary school…LOL

I also recently got an email from my Auntie, who was remembering from her childhood how much she hated to have to remake her bed with clean sheets. I have to include a portion of the email as she typed it, because it cracked me up: “I slept in, so got up around 9:30...Felt good, and the sheets were clean and there is nothing more glorious than clean sheets. I have been a rebel against them since childhood as Mother made us change them every Saturday. I used to scream and kick and throw myself on to my bare mattress (after she'd tear the sheets off on Sat AM while I was trying to watch cartoons) and cry, and SWEAR, if I ever grew up I'd never change my bed. SO, I grew up, and said NOT! She also made me vacuum under my bed every Sat. AM. To THIS DAY, I refuse to vacuum under my bed. There is a giant spider (I AM SURE) under there scoffing at me every Saturday morning...BUT. I. DON'T. CARE.”

(don’t worry, she really does clean her sheets, and I’m totally with her about vacuuming under the bed!)

I’d love to hear what you swore you’d do differently as an adult, and whether or not you stuck with your plan!!

Wordless Wednesday -- This is my view this week, wish ya'll were here!

Guest Blog from Manic Mommy

Stephanie Elliot
Aka Manic Mommy http://www.manicmommy.blogspot.com/


School starts in two weeks. 14 days. I am teeter-tottering on both ends of the spectrum. Anxiously awaiting the start of school, but also not really ready for summer to be over. This is my first year that all three of my kids will FINALLY be in school for full days. Yes, my youngest, my Tukey, will start first grade. I remember when I was in the throes of the diaper warfare, down in the trenches, with interrupted sleep every single night, with teethers and babies waking to feed, and toddlers having night terrors.
I remember thinking, “OK, the year they are all in school together full time, I am going to take THAT year off. Completely off, and just SLEEP. For the whole year because I figured it was going to take a full year of sleeping every single day while they were at school for me to catch up on the missed sleep from those first five years of parenthood.
Do I feel this way now? Maybe. I long for afternoon naps on the couch under my favorite blankie, while the sun streams through our skylight window. I long to turn off the phones, rest my eyes, to lay there uninterrupted for even just a fraction of an hour. To close my eyes and think, “OK, what do I want to do now? What can I do for myself today?”
But I’m not going to do this. I’m not going to go into this self-induced hibernation like I thought I wanted to. Even though I do still kind of want to. Because there’s still so much to do. There’s the grocery shopping, and the laundry, and oh God, do I ever-so-much loathe the laundry! And there’s trips to Target and back-to-school shopping, which I never do till late September, because, hey, come on, I’m frugal, and I’ll do that when all the cool stuff is gone and there’s just crappy stuff left that I can get for really cheap. Because my kids are still pretty young, and maybe they won’t realize that I’ve just bought them the leftover back-to-school crappy stuff?
And well, while I kind of would like to take a year-long hiatus and catch up on the sleeping, I also kind of want to … okay, I can say it here… I kind of want to work. Don’t shoot me. It’s the kind of work I love. This. Writing about how I feel and sharing the thoughts with those who understand what it’s like, or maybe those who have not yet been there, and need to know that there is a light at the end of that really dark and smelly “I-will-die-if-I-have-to-change-another-blowout-diaper-at-four-a.m.” tunnel.
There really is a light.
Because they do stop waking in the middle of the night. And they do stop needing that night-time feeding. And they do stop wearing diapers. And they do grow in all of their teeth and stop teething. And they will start using the toilet and wiping their own butts. And they will start using utensils and napkins and regular cups, and then they’ll start asking for play dates, and they’ll go off to the neighbor’s house and you won’t hear from them for hours and you’ll sit at home and wonder, “Where the heck have my babies gone, and don’t they need me anymore?”They will. And that’s why maybe I don’t need a year off to nap.

Am I Raising a Target-a-holic?

Steph is away for the week and has asked me Elaine from The Miss Elaine-ous Life to step in for the day !!!

I am pretty sure that most of us “mommy bloggers” take a liking to Target (a.k.a Tar-jay, Tar-zhay, etc.). Perhaps it’s because whenever anyone in our facet of blogging mentions giving away a gift card from there I tend to picture an episode of Oprah’s favorite things where everyone in the audience is screaming and crying (from joy of course). And due to the amount of comments on any post I’ve seen in which free money to the bull’s eye is up for grabs, I just assume we all likey. I have to admit my heart starts to palpitate a little faster whenever I come across such a generous giveaway. At the beginning of the year I was lucky enough to win such a giveaway and be the recipient of a decent denomination of free cash to my favorite store and you would’ve thought that Miss Winfrey herself had shown up at my door I was so excited. Just proves it doesn’t take much…
Of course free money or not, I am a frequent customer and my four-year old seems to be following suit on his preference for the place. Whenever we go there he wants to head straight for the toys, of course and he also likes to check out the food section (yes, this IS definitely my kid) and the dollar spot. I’m afraid that’s my fault . I super puffy heart love the dollar spot. And of course who doesn’t need more junk in their lives, right? (oh me, I SO don’t but it doesn’t matter…) Before I even really get into the store my cart is already full of “to do” notepads, ice trays shaped like shamrocks and cheap water color paints. Because who doesn’t like a cool drink with frozen shamrocks in March while writing their to-do list and watching their child paint, right? Certainly nobody I know…
But back to the four-year old. Yeah he likes the store but he also LOVES the catalogs we get in the mail. At the beginning of summer they sent one out with all the summer-ish toys and he practically slept with the dang thing and at this point it’s a little tattered. He pointed out 5 or 10 things he wanted in there and continued to do so over and over for about two weeks. Well, guess what came in the mail the other day? The back to school goodies catalog from Tar-jay. And guess who has already found his most favoritist things in there and wants to constantly call my attention to them? Yep, you’re right.
So since I know you are so interested let me just go ahead and share with you too the items that his little heart desires. And if you have your Back to School catalog handy, please feel free to follow along. On pg 9 he would like the kid’s meal that has mac n’ cheese, even though he’s not really a fan. Next, on pg 19 he wants the recorder at the top left. He doesn’t even know what a recorder is, but it’s mostly green (favorite color) so he’s in for that too. Oh and I almost forgot, he would like the play kitchen on pg 16 because he wants a kitchen really bad. And he doesn’t really care what color it is (pink is JUUUST fine). See we’re not into gender roles around here. Really were not. He would also like the entire bedroom set-up on page 20 even though he has a perfectly fine room already. And if you would be so kind as to flip to page 30, he wants the polka dotted tea set that you see there. Because my boy, quite a fan of the tea (not). Lastly, he’s in for all of page 34 because he loves ANY.THING. Thomas and the Geoair plane thing is just a bonus.
If you do not already have your fall catalog I am sorry for my rant but feel free to return to this post for future reference once you’ve received it. And be sure to pocket the $5 coupon on the back for a $50 purchase or more (not hard for us to do) as I did. So, no, I am not giving away free moolah to Tar-jay, but they are ! : ) And don’t worry, I won’t go there about how elated I was to see that coupon. Thank me later.

So, here’s your Tip of the Day: Make sure to hide said catalog from your kids when it comes in the mail. That’s what I plan to do from now on…

Thanks to Steph for letting me “take the reins” at her place for a day – what an honor! I love reading her blog and keeping up with her life. You can usually find me at The Miss Elaine-ous Life on the daily.

Post Race Interview with Ryan Briscoe

I'm outta here!

If you received an update in your reader today that read blog bling I apologize, I am making some much needed changes to my blog so it was not my intent to blast out awards that you all have so graciously given me in a "hey look at me fashion" I also have been reminded by my mistake that I have a few awards that I have failed to post and give out. I will take care of that when I get back.

I am off for a week at the beach and I can't wait, last year was a complete dud due to rain and our house guest that week. This year the forecast looks wonderful and the house guest is no longer with us!

I have lined up some great guest blogger's for my site next week. Drum roll please!
Stepping in for me next will be:
The Miss Elaine-ous Life
MaNiC MoMMy - WHaT i aM iS WHo i WaNNa Be
Laughing Leah Loves Lilies

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

See you in about 7 days, WooHoo!

10 Questions with Sarah Fisher

IndyCar Garage was fortunate enough to get a Q&A with Driver/Owner Sarah Fisher before this weekend's return to the track at Kentucky!

Tell us about yourself, what do you enjoy outside of racing?

“Racing has been my life ever since I was five. When I’m not racing in the IndyCar Series, I’m out with my brother-in-law helping him with go-karts. He is 12 and is moving up the ranks so my husband and I are at the track quite a bit with him. When we aren’t racing Kyle, we can be found out at the lake or working on our house.”

You hold the record for being the fastest qualifier ever at Kentucky Speedway. You've again shown great speed leading up to this weekend at Kentucky - what makes Kentucky Speedway a place that you enjoy racing and run so well?

“Racing at KY Speedway is a lot of fun for a driver. The sweeping corners and getting on the right line entering the corners is like a rollercoaster because the corners are all different. KY Speedway has always been good to me and I call it my home track.”

Your drive to start your own race team has really allowed fans to relate to you. How did you make the decision to send pieces of your wrecked car to donors after the unfortunate exit at Indy?

“We received so much fan support that we had to do something to give back to the fans. We treated it like a wedding, when you receive a gift from someone you sent them a thank-you card and we just happen to have a little extra to send along with it.”

Where do you see Sarah Fisher Racing next year? Does the support from sponsors like Dollar General and dedicated IndyCar fans give you the feeling you will be running more races next season?

“The goal for the 2008 season was to run three races and the goal for 2009 is to run all the ovals. If we were able to secure enough sponsorship to run the entire season, that would be icing on the cake.”

What is the biggest challenge being an owner/driver? Which do you have more fun doing?

“The biggest challenge is time management. I have to keep myself very organized to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row. I’d be lying to say I didn’t enjoy the racecar driving the most. I’ve always enjoyed a challenge and being an entrepreneur has brought its fair share of challenges.”

Because you’re running a shortened schedule, how does your race strategy change from a driver/team who is racing for points standings?

“Well, we really have to bank on my experience at Indy, Kentucky and Chicago because we aren’t running week in and week out. Just because we aren’t racing for the points championship doesn’t mean we aren’t going to be aggressive and give it our all. We are racing for the win just as much as much as the next person and we will do what it takes to achieve that.”

The IndyCar Series just released their 2009 schedule - was there a track that you would've liked to have been included in the list?

“I’d like for Las Vegas to be on the schedule which is where I took my rookie test. I’d like to see how much it’s changed. It’s a great place for a vacation and to see a race.”

Many athletes talk about getting into a groove or being able to zone the crowd out and control the adrenaline once "something" happens after the start of the contest. In racing, for you, what is this something?

“When I put that driver suit on I zone everything out except driving. I’m very focused. I leave the owner and other duties on the other side of the pit wall.”


If you could spend a day at any track with any driver (past or present), what track and what driver would you choose?

“I’d have to say Janet Guthrie at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She’s an idol of mine.”

Any comments for the dedicated IndyCar fans of IndyCar Garage?

“Thanks for all the support. Everyone has been great to our team and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

Kentucky Preview

History:


Like the Nashville Speedway, the Kentucky Speedway is a relatively new facility. It hosted its first IndyCar Series event in 2000 during the tracks inaugural year. Winning that first race, and the second in 2001, was Buddy Lazier for Hemelgarn Racing. Sam Hornish, Jr was the only other multiple race winner at Kentucky taking the top spot in 2003 and 2006. The track was originally intended to be a site for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. When NASCAR refused to even entertain an offer by the track, the speedway, in 2005, filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and ICS. Earlier this year, the case was finally dismissed. After the dismissal of the lawsuit, the track was sold to SMI which also owns other venues that the IndyCar Series visits: Texas Motor Speedway, and Infineon Raceway.





Last Year:


Last year, Tony Kannan took the pole position and lead the first 38 laps of the race until the field pitted. Tony and his then teammate Dario Frachitti flipped positions and Dario ran in the lead. Kannan resumed the lead after the next series of pit stops which happened under green-flag conditions. Coming in for his third pitstop, Frachitti ran into teammate Danica Patrick coming into the pits putting him well back in the pack and out of contention, but still on the lead lap. Patrick, in a hurry to get back out on the track, spun on the pit-out lane. She was push-started by the safety crew only to blow out her tires and spin again, narrowly missing the safety truck. During the remainder of the race, the lead was taken at times by Dixon and AJ Foyt IV, but not for long as Kannan would always resume his position in front and lead for 131 of the 200 laps. The most inexplicable incident of the afternoon had to be Dario's failure to slow down after the checkered flag. He ran at speed up and over the back of Kosuke Matsuura's car and once again found himself looking out of the top of his car at pavement instead of sky.





What to Watch:


Sarah Fisher! This will be her first time back to the track after her tragic excursion at Indy. Having her primary sponsor fail to execute its part of their contract with Sara Fisher Racing and suffering a devastating collision with Tony Kannan, the team looked close to shutting their doors before they even got started. The support of text4cars.com and the generous donations of a great many of her fans helped keep the fledgling racing team afloat. Now the team is on much better footing with solid support from Dollar General for this week's race and the Chicagoland race.



Sarah has finished well here before, and its the track where, in 2002 with Walker racing, she became the only female driver ever to qualify in pole position. During the testing last week, she was very please with her car and her new engineer. Don't look for her to repeat her 2002 pole-winning performance, but do look for her to be in the top 10.



Other things to watch? Well, Dixon, Kannan, and Briscoe should put on one heck of a show. All three have been very fast on 1.5-mile ovals, with Briscoe coming on strong in this last half of the season. Briscoe had a disastrous start to the season, tearing up several race cars. Since his win at Milwaukee, the Briscoe Inferno has been on a rail! It seems that every track, he has speed. This week is likely to be no different. Dixon has owned just about every 1.5-mile oval the series has been at this season with wins at Homestead, Texas, and Nashville. (ok, I know, Nashville is only 1.33 miles) At the other 1.5-mile ovals, Kansas and Motegi, Dixon was very quick. He dominated both of these races losing only because of fuel. Kannan has the potential to be fast at Kentucky. He won here last year from pole, and he's had moments of speed this year. The funk that continues to pervade the AGR stable may drag him down, however. Watch what Kannan does in practice and qualifying. If he has pace, then look out!



Will others be fast and run up front? Sure they will. The other three drivers at AGR, Hideki, Marco, and Danica, all have the potential to be quick on this type of track. Certainly Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon can be fast as well. However, don't expect any of these drivers to be leading at the end.

More Good Mail

I am digging this Good Mail stuff! Elaine at The Miss Elaine-ous Life sent me this cool notepad! I make lists all the freaking time. I can always use another notepad around the house. Thanks Elaine


Also, Thanks Kristin for your Birthday wishes, your card made me smile!

New Job for Adam!!!!

Since i started my new job at AVI, I have loved it, especially the great guys I work with. So, pulling some strings (and working the charm himself), I got Adam and interview at my company and they hired him before they even looked at his resume! He's so excited to leave his current company (though they hate to see him leave) and he gets to start on August 18. We can't wait!!!

It was bound to happen....

Monday afternoon I get a call from my husband "I am having a really bad day" he says no hello, hi hows your day, just those 7 words. When I asked what was wrong he said he had just had a car accident. He quickly said I am fine I think because he heard my gasp. He went on to explain the damage and told me it happened because he had been cut off. Shit happens right? I was just happy he was ok.

Fast forward to dinner, we are all at the table, and Dan is not saying much I can tell he is still steaming, at this point I know better to ask about the accident. After about 10 minutes of what did you do today talk he starts to talk about the accident and says that he was in a rush and didn't know where he was going because he GPS crapped out then this lady cut in front of him. Ah ha I think there is the real story is the GPS, I am always on him when we are in the car together about messing with the GPS. I sat there quietly biting my tongue. Then he says the GPA didn't have any juice because you (me) took the wrong cord out of the car for the portable DVD. What! I am thinking to myself, somehow this is going to be my fault? I again sat holding my tongue no reason to add fuel to an already huge fire. Then I hear and "I didn't get a police report" I swear to you I was ready to hit the ceiling. This from the man who gave me hell 8 years ago for not getting a police report when I was hit from behind?????

I've said nothing, I am venting here. He is safe which is really all that matters, the car and be fixed and even if it couldn't it is just an object. But you better believe I am sitting on this one and it may be pulled out of my arsenal when he decides to get on my case about some stupid mistake! :)

Allie's Baptism

As some of you may remember I was asked by my best friend to be her daughter's Godmother; over the weekend (on my birthday) Allison Paige was baptized. Magin is a great mommy and I am honored that she and her husband Jim asked me to be Allie's Godmother. Below are some of my favorite pictures from Sunday.

Make a Smilebox postcard

12 Questions with J.R. Hildebrand

First off, tell us about yourself; what do you enjoy outside of racing?

“Well, for starters I was born and raised in Northern California, graduating from Redwood High School before moving away to get more involved in my career. I've always played sports both for fun and in competition, so I would say that being outside and active are two of my favorite things to do outside of racing.”

Congrats on your acceptance to M.I.T. Have you decided on a field of study yet? Will this mean a hiatus or even a departure from racing, or is the IRL off-season long enough to not interfere too much with the school year?

“The people at MIT have been great about everything. When I first found out I got in, they gave me two years off to pursue my racing career, and have since extended that for another year. I have every intention of going back to school to get a higher education, but will not sacrifice my career in racing to do so. I may only have one legitimate chance to be successful, and it means too much to me right now to risk messing that up, so I'm going to be careful when deciding what to do. During my senior year of high school I was taking a calculus class and had an opportunity in racing that I couldn't pass up. Unfortunately that meant I was going to be gone from school for two weeks right before finals! I think it's safe to say that I'm one of a select few drivers who have ever done differential equations at the racetrack, but that's the only way I could keep up! It's tough to do both; I found that out pretty quickly. I had planned on going into mechanical engineering, but I guess that all depends a little bit on when I go and what stage of my life or career I'm in at that time.”

In 2006, you demolished the Formula Ford 2000 series, and had a solid season in 2007 in Atlantics. Your new teammate, Daniel Herrington, hasn't enjoyed the same level of success that you have. How do you think he will fare in the remainder of this Firestone Indy Lights season, and going into 2009?

“I've worked with Daniel before, and I think he's a great addition to the team. Success is all relative; he hasn't been in one car for very long or for a long stretch, but he's been competitive and I think he's a team player. Hopefully we can work together and finish the year strong.”

Any hints at an IndyCar Series car test or even a move up to ICS with RLR or any other team for 2009?

“It's tough for everyone right now to plan down the road because the schedule is so busy, particularly for the IndyCar teams. I would love to get a chance to get in the big car, and am confident that I could do a good job, but it's tough. Right now the team and I are trying to stay intently focused on finishing the year strongly, in the hope that that puts us in good standing by season's end.”

What has been the biggest adjustment you've had to make this season in the Firestone Indy Lights Series?

“Well, the obvious answer is that driving on ovals is the biggest adjustment, but there's definitely more to it than that. It requires such a different mindset, and even that changes drastically depending on the size and speed and all that. I feel like it's much more a mental and strategic type of racing, which I've definitely come to enjoy. As one could see by looking at the results, it really mixes things up in the championship as well. So I'd say that adjusting my preparation for such a variety of circuits has been the biggest change.”

What track on the Firestone Indy Lights schedule do you enjoy racing the most?

“I think the schedule of road courses is really stout in terms of the quality of tracks. Infineon Raceway is my home track and therefore my favorite. In regards to the ovals, Indianapolis is such a special and unique track that it's hard to beat. It was quite an experience just driving there let alone racing there, definitely making it my favorite non-road course.”


You had a great outing in Kansas, taking your first and the team's first victory in the Firestone Indy Lights Series there. Indy proved to be a bit more challenging for you and your team. Any insight on why Indianapolis Motor Speedway posted a greater challenge?

“Well to be entirely fair, I would say that we were equally, if not possibly even more competitive at Indy than at Kansas in the big scheme of things! We topped the first practice there by a big margin and had a chance to win the race from 21st on the grid after having to change motors after qualifying. It's a different animal for sure, but I felt like we were very good on the whole there. If there's one race of the year I wish I could get back, it's that one.”

Two races could hardly have been run under any more different conditions than the two earlier this month at Mid-Ohio. From a driver's perspective, how do you approach these two races? How from Race 1 to Race 2, did your approach to Turn 4 (Turn 9 as the track calls it) and your racing line through the esses change?

“We were having a little bit of a tough time finding our way that weekend to start with because we hadn't tested there and we wanted to try some things in practice. So we went into qualifying and the first race still looking to improve on what we had. It took a few laps in the first race to get a handle on what we had come up with, but when it's dry you can push pretty hard right away because it's at least a relatively known quantity. For the wet race I was expecting something a bit different. I had driven the car in the wet at Sebring earlier in the year and thought it was solid, but found myself in a much lower grip situation at Mid-Ohio and got caught out by that. I should have gone in with a more conservative outlook, especially since most everyone that should have been quick in the wet went off or crashed. It was a tough weekend but we pulled out with a better standing in the championship after all of it, so that was positive.”

Back in the spring, you gave pointers to a young karter and member of the IndyCar Garage, Laura (aka TopKartGirl). Do you still play a mentor role, and have you heard of her progress this year? How important is karting to the development of an IndyCar driver now?

“I always like helping people out because I know how much I appreciated it when I got help from other drivers when I was younger. I would love to know how she's doing, but I haven't heard anything lately. I think that karting is huge, especially with more and more road and street courses being added to the schedule. It gives drivers a lot of feel for what a race car is going to feel like, and it trains a driver's reactions very well.”

You've had a solid season so far. Fourth in the championship and -51 with four races left. Any thoughts on being able to catch Antinucci and Matos?

“I think realistically they will have to have a couple of bad races to get past either of them, but I think that we will be extremely quick and competitive for the remainder of the year. I feel like the tracks suit our strengths and we will be a threat right to the end.”

If you could spend a day at any track with any driver (past or present), what track and what driver would you choose?

“Wow, that's a nearly impossible question! I'm going to take the liberty of choosing a road course and an oval; I hope that's OK! I would spend a day with Ayrton Senna at Monaco and a day with Rick Mears at Indy. Both were masters both mentally and physically in their own right, and I wish I could have the chance to witness that first hand.”

Any comments for the dedicated IndyCar fans of IndyCar Garage?

“I think it's awesome that so many people are interested in what we do. I've been a fan for my entire life and still am, so to be able to take part in the sport first hand and share that with others is a great way to be involved. Thanks to everyone for all their support!”