So almost nothing would give him more satisfaction than winning the race July 22 on the 2.224-mile, 13-turn City Centre Airport circuit in the No. 3 Penske Truck Rental car. He started strongly by topping the 25-driver field with a lap of 1 minute, 16.4920 seconds in the second practice session, which also was quickest for the day in preparation for qualifications and the 75-lap race.
It also was quicker than the 2011 pole-winning time recorded by Takuma Sato (1:18.5165; 101.971 mph) in the Firestone Fast Six.
“Basically, the Penske Truck Rental team did a good job,” said Castroneves, who’s third in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings. “We came with a really good package, and between my teammates (Will Power and Ryan Briscoe) and I, we tried some random things in the first session to get where we were this afternoon.”
Scott Dixon, a two-time Edmonton Indy winner who’s driving the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, slid into second — only .0027 of a second back. Mike Conway, who recorded his first podium finish of the season two weeks ago at Toronto, was third (1:16.5122) in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing. He was in the top three in both sessions.
Also on July 20, Carlos Munoz was quickest through two Firestone Indy Lights sessions on the City Centre Airport circuit with a lap of 1 minute, 22.6122 seconds in the No. 26 Team Dialy-Star car for Andretti Autosport.
An early-morning qualifying session precedes the 40-lap race at 5:30 p.m. (ET) July 21.
DAY 1 NOTEBOOK:
The IZOD IndyCar Series will compete in Edmonton Indy, a 75-lap race at 2 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. Firestone Indy Lights will compete in the Edmonton 100, a 40-lap race at 3:30 p.m., Saturday. The Star Mazda Championship, part of the Mazda Road to Indy Ladder, will compete twice this weekend. Race #1 is slated for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, while Race #2 will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
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The Honda Indy Edmonton will be the eighth Indy car race at Edmonton City Centre Airport and the fifth IZOD IndyCar Series event. The race was held on a 1.973-mile temporary circuit from 2005-2010 and moved to a new 2.224-mile temporary circuit in 2011. Will Power is the defending race winner. Takuma Sato won the pole in 2011.
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The Champ Car World Series held three Indy car races in Edmonton from 2005-2007. A.J. Allmendinger won the pole for the first Indy car race at Edmonton in 2005. Sebastien Bourdais won the race.
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Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon and Will Power have each won at Edmonton twice. Bourdais won in 2005 and 2007; Dixon won in 2008 and 2010; and Power won in 2009 and 2011. Dixon, Power, Bourdais and 2006 race winner Justin Wilson are all entered in this year’s race.
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There have been six different pole winners in the previous seven races. Will Power has won the pole position at Edmonton in three of the last five Indy car races. He won the pole for the 2007 race and has won the poles at Edmonton in 2009 and 2010. Other pole winners entered in this year’s race are: Sebastien Bourdais (2006), Ryan Briscoe (2008) and Takuma Sato. One driver has won the race from the pole – Will Power in 2009.
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One driver has competed in every Indy car race at Edmonton – Justin Wilson. Two drivers entered in the event – Rubens Barrichello and Josef Newgarden – will make their first attempt to start an IZOD IndyCar Series race at Edmonton. Ed Carpenter will race on the new circuit for the first time.
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Live timing and scoring reports from the Edmonton Indy 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.
Belardi Auto Racing announced July 19 that TruFuel will serve as a sponsor of its No. 9 car in Firestone Indy Lights. The Shreveport, La.,-based company will debut its product’s logo on the No. 9 Belardi/TruFuel car, driven by Irishman Peter Dempsey, in Edmonton, Canada.
“We could not be more thrilled to welcome TruFuel as a partner of our No. 9 car,” said team owner Brian Belardi. “TruFuel comes from a truly top-notch company that produces great products and has an outstanding reputation. We hope that we can bring them some top-notch results in these final four races of the 2012 season with Peter, and we have all the confidence that we will be able to do so. Belardi Auto Racing is very proud to have TruFuel on board, and we can’t wait to see the No. 9 in victory circle.”
A pre-mixed fuel for 2-cycle engines, TruFuel is available nationally from many distributors and dealers like WalMart and O’Reilly Auto Parts. The product is produced by TruSouth, a leading company in the blending and packaging of industrial and automotive lubricants.
“I am very excited to have TruFuel join Belardi Auto Racing and myself as a partner on the No. 9 car,” Dempsey said. “It’s really exciting to have them come aboard for Edmonton, as well as the remainder of the season. I cannot thank everyone at TruFuel, Brian [Belardi] and [team manager] John [Brunner] enough for giving me the opportunity to represent this product. I am confident that we can all make this a successful partnership and I hope to do them proud this weekend as well as the final three races this year. Hopefully we can start out by getting the No. 9 on the podium this weekend with the aim of reaching victory circle before the end of the season.”
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IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #28 Hunter-Reay with a 10 grid spot penalty for an unapproved engine change following the Toronto event. IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #9 Dixon and #78 De Silvestro with a 10 grid spot penalty for utilizing a sixth engine this season. Dixon is utilizing his sixth engine this weekend after an approved engine change following Toronto (In-race failure). De Silvestro’s penalty is a carry-over from the Toronto event. (Fitting a sixth engine).
The post Castroneves Leads Opening Day of Practice for Edmonton Indy appeared first on Catchfence.
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