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Hinchcliffe holds on for second victory

EDMONTON, Alberta – It became apparent early in the Edmonton 100 that front-row starters James Hinchcliffe and J.K. Vernay would again duel for the victory.

On Lap 9, pole sitter Hinchcliffe in the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling held a 0.5214 of second advantage over Vernay’s No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. The next closest competitor, Martin Plowman, was 4.69 seconds back.

Following a restart for the only full-course caution (stalled car of Carmen Jorda in Turn 9), they remained within a half-second of each other. Halfway through the 50-lap race, Hinchcliffe couldn’t shake Vernay, leading by 0.5966 of a second. Plowman was 5.9 seconds arrears.

The front-runners retained that comfortable distance on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport circuit through the remaining laps, and Hinchcliffe celebrated Christmas in July with his second victory of the Firestone Indy Lights season. He also transformed the pole start at Long Beach into a trip to Victory Circle.

“To finally (win in his home country in open-wheel) feels extra special,” said Hinchcliffe, an Ontario native. “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. J.K. made me work for it.

“I think obviously the race was largely impacted by qualifying. And for us to sneak that pole out was a huge accomplishment. It led a lot to today. I have to thank the team, our boys a ton. From when we rolled off the trailer the car was quick.”

Vernay, who attempted to overtake Hinchcliffe in Turn 2 of Lap 44, closed to 0.2857 of a second on Lap 44 and crossed the finish line 1.2273 seconds behind. Hinchcliffe closed to 55 points of the championship leader heading to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 8.

“It was a great race with James,” said Vernay, who recorded his seventh podium finish in eight starts. “He had a great race, no mistakes, nothing for me to pass. I really tried to push hard and to take him, but he didn't give me a real chance.

“Canada has been good for me. One victory (Toronto), one second place. We have to continue like that for the next race and trying to push hard and to work with my engineer.”

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.

"Starting third, I was hoping that we had something to challenge the leaders,” he said. “We were very strong in practice. For whatever reason, it wasn't quite there today. I seemed to be running a race all by myself. I was containing my teammate (Charlie Kimball) behind me, but I didn't have enough to keep up with the leaders. We'll take the points.”

Kimball was fourth in the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen entry for the second consecutive race.

Dan Clarke, runner-up at Toronto a week earlier, finished fifth in the No. 40 Wasteco Deans Knight Special for Walker Racing, and Sebastian Saavedra advanced two positions in the No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport car to sixth. Teammate Stefan Wilson finished seventh and Adrian Campos Jr. moved up one position to eighth in the No. 22 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car.

Vernay goes wire to wire for fourth win

TORONTO – Race leader J.K. Vernay was anticipating a final-lap maneuver by James Hinchcliffe in an attempt to swipe the checkered flag in the Toronto 100. Instead, Vernay noticed in his mirrors that Hinchcliffe’s car was headed for the Turn 5 tire barrier.

Vernay, driving the No. 7 Lucas Oil/CJ/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, led all 50 laps in recording his fourth victory of the Firestone Indy Lights season and increase his championship points lead.

“I didn't take risks because I had the chance to lead and didn't have to pass,” said Vernay, who has stood on the podium in six of the seven races. “But I'm not focused on the championship. My goal is to win the championship, for sure. But I prefer to be focused race after race, great qualifying, because on the road courses it is really important. If you start on pole, second, the first two rows, really it's a big deal.

“I really wanted to win here because I know that on the road track, on the city track, I'm really quick. I finished second in the World Cup in F3 for a rookie in my car. I know that I'm confident.”

Dan Clarke, driving the No. 40 Wasteco Deans Knight Special, was second (his best finish of the season) and Gustavo Yacaman finished third (also a season best) in the No. 10 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing entry.

“We really were struggling at the beginning of the year. It’s a new car, new team, but we did a great job this weekend,” Yacaman said. “Everyone on the team worked together and succeeded as a team, which is the way to go. This race is really challenging. It’s a really long race and physically challenging. You’re just bouncing off of every wall and so close to them. I’ve never been closer to the wall in my life before, not even on an oval. But I’m just really excited. The car was really good and the guys just did an overall awesome job.”

Vernay was pursued by fellow front-row starter Hinchcliffe throughout – leading by 1.1112 seconds on Lap 35 following a Lap 33 restart and by 2.6053 seconds on Lap 48. On the final lap, Hinchcliffe outbraked himself entering Turn 3 with Clarke and Yacaman capitalizing. Entering Turn 5, Hinchcliffe’s No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car got the short end of bumping with the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen car driven by Charlie Kimball.

Kimball went on to fourth place, with Stefan Wilson fifth in the No. 28 Bryan Herta Autosport car. Toni Kasemets, competing in his second Firestone Indy Lights race, finished sixth in the No. 5 Andersen Racing Flexofit Allied car.

“It was a really long, hard, hot race,” Kimball said. “The No. 26 Levemir car was good from green to checkered. I could fight all day. Except for a mechanical issue during qualifying (started seventh), we were in the top five all weekend. On to Edmonton and, if not a win, definitely a podium finish."

AFS Racing Andretti Autosport teammate Martin Plowman recovered from a broken front wing assembly early in the race to finish seventh. Pippa Mann finished eighth in the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, while Rodrigo Barbosa was ninth in the No. 18 PDM Racing car.

Firestone Indy Lights
Toronto 100
TORONTO - Results Sunday of the Toronto 100 Firestone Indy Lights Series event on the 1.755-mile Streets of Toronto circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses,
driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) JK Vernay, 50, Running
2. (3) Dan Clarke, 50, Running
3. (4) Gustavo Yacaman, 50, Running
4. (7) Charlie Kimball, 50, Running
5. (10) Stefan Wilson, 50, Running
6. (9) Tonis Kasemets, 50, Running
7. (8) Martin Plowman, 50, Running
8. (13) Pippa Mann, 50, Running
9. (14) Rodrigo Barbosa, 50, Running
10. (2) James Hinchcliffe, 49, Contact
11. (11) James Winslow, 49, Running
12. (12) Philip Major, 46, Running
13. (5) Adrian Campos Jr, 43, Running
14. (6) Sebastian Saavedra, 33, Mechanical
15. (15) Carmen Jorda, 22, Off Course

Race Statistics
Time of Race: 58:52.0083
Winners average speed: 89.439
Margin of victory: 1.7469 seconds
Cautions: 2 for 4 laps
Lead changes: None
Lap Leaders: Vernay 1 - 50
Point Standins: Vernay 295, Hinchcliffe 227, Kimball 220, Plowman 218, Saavedra 211, Wilson 176, Yacaman 165, Clarke 154, Campos 141, Mann 138.

MANN MAKES HISTORY BY WINNING FIRESTONE FREEDOM 100 POLE

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, May 27, 2010) - Pippa Mann became the first female pole winner in the 101-year-old history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning the top starting spot for the Firestone Freedom 100.

Mann, driving the No. 11 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car, is the second female pole sitter in Firestone Indy Lights history, joining Sarah McCune in 2005 at Chicagoland Speedway. She recorded a two-lap average speed of 187.989 mph (1 minute, 35.7505 seconds) on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 40-lap race on May 28.

Wade Cunningham, seeking to win the Firestone Freedom 100 for a third time, will start on the front row after posting an average speed of 187.742 mph in the No. 77 Lucas Oil/BSS/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car.

Charlie Kimball in the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen entry for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport (187.375) and teammate Martin Plowman (187.209) will share Row 2.

INDIANAPOLIS - Qualifying Thursday for the Firestone Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with starting position, car number in parentheses, driver, time and speed in parentheses:

1. (11) Pippa Mann, 01:35.7505 (187.989)

2. (77) Wade Cunningham, 01:35.8761 (187.742)

3. (26) Charlie Kimball, 01:36.0642 (187.375)

4. (27) Martin Plowman, 01:36.1494 (187.209)

5. (17) Jeff Simmons, 01:36.1702 (187.168)

6. (7) J.K. Vernay, 01:36.5378 (186.455)

7. (49) Philip Major, 01:36.7925 (185.965)

8. (2) James Hinchcliffe, 01:36.9012 (185.756)

9. (10) Gustavo Yacaman, 01:36.9350 (185.691)

10. (40) Dan Clarke, 01:36.9704 (185.624)

11. (22) Adrian Campos Jr., 01:37.0710 (185.431)

12. (29) Sebastian Saavedra, 01:37.1481 (185.284)

13. (28) Stefan Wilson, 01:37.7807 (184.085)

14. (18) Rodrigo Barbosa, 01:38.0589 (183.563)

15. (4) Arie Luyendyk Jr., 01:38.1038 (183.479)

16. (32) Brandon Wagner, No time (No Speed)

Hinchcliffe Victorious at Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. – With cars that were equally matched on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit, it was the restarts that allowed James Hinchcliffe to record his first Firestone Indy Lights victory.

Hinchcliffe held off Californian Charlie Kimball by 0.8370 of a second to win the Indy Grand Prix of Long Beach. JK Vernay, who won the first two races of the season, finished third and Sebastian Saavedra in the No. 29 William Rast/Bryan Herta Autosport car was fourth.

Martin Plowman in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport finished fifth and Tonis Kasemets, making his series debut with Palm Beach Indy Racing, was sixth.

Hinchcliffe got good jumps on four restarts following full-course cautions – the last on Lap 41 of 45. It was the second victory for Team Moore Racing (Pablo Donoso won at Infineon Raceway in 2008).

“I made a few mistakes, but lucky they were small enough that nobody noticed,” said Hinchcliffe, the pole sitter who led every lap. “It was a great race. The car was solid from the drop of the green flag and we got a good start and into a rhythm. Those yellows kept coming out, but lucky we had good restarts because I just couldn’t shake Charlie.

Hinchcliffe, who had six top-five finishes (high of second at Mio-Ohio) in 2009 and was fifth in the inaugural race on the Barber Motorsports Park road course April 11, won in his 18h start.

“It feels like it has been a long time coming,” said Hinchcliffe, driving the No. 2 TMR-Xtreme Coil Drilling car. “There was a lot of pressure last year to win a race and we didn’t get that done, so that weighed heavily on my mind all through the off-season.

“We had a couple of close calls last season and starting from the pole in St. Pete didn’t work out for us. All weekend long the Team Moore Racing car was great and I owe a huge thank you to all of the boys. To get a first win out of the way and another pole is huge."

Kimball, who started second in the No. 26 Levemir FlexPen car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport, matched his career high (at Barber Motorsports Park).

"I think we had 75 people in the grandstands between Turns 5 and 6," said Kimball, of Camarillo, Calif. "I could see them on the parade laps so I knew they were there. I was pretty sure I could hear them as well. At the end of the race, with the podium finish, it meant a lot. I get to see them cheering and gave them a wave as I went by.

"We had had the pace for the win (at Barber) and we were definitely right up front today. I think the three of us on the podium were trading fastest laps every lap back and forth, back and forth. I don't think the gap was any bigger than a second and a half or 2 seconds between myself and James. I don't think it was any bigger than two seconds behind J.K. at any spot.

"Tough race, but the 26 Levemir FlexPen car was quick from start to finish."

Vernay leads the championship standings by 28 points over Kimball (112). Hinchcliffe is third (99 points) heading into the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 28.

"This morning the car was perfect in warm-up and I was feeling confident, but then during the race I didn’t really understand what was wrong with the car or what was happening," Vernay said. "It was difficult for me to stay behind Charlie and Hinchcliffe. I am happy to be in the front of the championship though, and as a rookie I feel great about my season to this point. And when fighting for the championship, third place is not bad."

Notes

Rookie Philip Major, who started a season-high sixth, finished a season-best seventh in the No. 49 Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. … Fellow rookie Niall Quinn earned his first top-10 finish (ninth in the No. 37 Palm Beach Indy Racing car). He advanced eight positions. … Stefan Wilson placed 17th, his first finish outside of the top 10 since Watkins Glen in 2009.

Firestone Indy Lights
Grand Prix of Long Beach
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Results Sunday of the Grand Prix of Long Beach Firestone Indy Lights event on the 1.968-mile Streets of Long Beach circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) James Hinchcliffe, 45, Running
2. (3) Charlie Kimball, 45, Running
3. (2) J.K. Vernay, 45, Running
4. (4) Sebastian Saavedra, 45, Running
5. (5) Martin Plowman, 45, Running
6. (7) Tonis Kasemets, 45, Running
7. (6) Philip Major, 45, Running
8. (12) Pippa Mann, 45, Running
9. (17) Niall Quinn, 45, Running
10. (16) Carmen Jorda, 45, Running
11. (13) Joel Miller, 45, Running
12. (14) James Winslow, 43, Contact
13. (15) Dan Clarke, 39, Running
14. (8) Gustavo Yacaman, 37, Contact
15. (11) Adrian Campos Jr, 33, Contact
16. (18) Rodrigo Barbosa, 27, Handling
17. (9) Stefan Wilson, 21, Electrical
18. (10) Junior Strous, 9, Contact

Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1:03:41.4082
Winners average speed: 83.429
Margin of victory: 0.8370 of a second
Cautions: 4 for 8 laps
Lead changes: 0
Lap Leaders: Hinchcliffe 1-45
Point Standings: Vernay 140, Kimball 112, Hinchcliffe 99, Plowman 90, Saavedra 85, Wilson 76, Yacaman 68, Major 62, Winslow 59, Mann 59.