Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights headlines:
1. Kanaan, Meira, Hildebrand fare well in triathlons
2. Lloyd, Coyne participate in National Boy Scout Jamboree
3. Martinez in for Genoa at Mid-Ohio
4. Of note
1. Kanaan, Meira, Hildebrand fare well in triathlons: Appropriately, Tony Kanaan’s number for the 19th Huntington’s Disease Triathlon on Aug. 1 was 711.
Kanaan, the 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion who drives the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car for Andretti Autosport, and A.J. Foyt Racing driver Vitor Meira were among 560 competitors in the event in Miami. All proceeds go to support research to combat and potentially cure the inherited degenerative brain disorder.
Meira finished third in his age group (30-34) in the Olympic-distance race that includes a 1,500-meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run. He had a total time of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 16 seconds. Kanaan finished fourth in his age group (35-39) in the sprint triathlon that includes a 400-yard swim, 12.4-mile bike and 3.1-mile run in 1:10.14.
“I don’t think I can call myself a triathlete, but I’m in love with the sport,” Kanaan said. “It’s harder than racing my own car. Here it’s just you; you can’t blame anyone else for how you do.”
Kanaan will compete in the inaugural Miami 70.3 on Oct. 30, while Meira will compete in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship on Nov. 13 in Clearwater, Fla.
In Indianapolis, 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion J.R. Hildebrand, who will make his IZOD IndyCar Series debut this weekend in the No. 24 RollCoater car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, finished 17th overall (second in his age group) in the Tri Indy Sprint Triathlon. He completed the 500-meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run in 1:05.27. Firestone Indy Lights drivers Dan Clarke and Gustavo Yacaman also participated in the sprint triathlon event.
2. Lloyd, Coyne participate in National Boy Scout Jamboree: IZOD IndyCar Series team owner Dale Coyne and driver Alex Lloyd attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree over the weekend at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Scouting.
The No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing car driven by Lloyd carries the Boy Scouts of America centennial logo on its sidepods.
About 80,000 Boy Scouts from 50 states and 26 countries attended the festivities July 31. The Jamboree, which began July 26, continues through Aug. 4.
“I love working with the Scouts and doing events with them, and to be able to be a part of a very special day for all Scouts was a great honor,” Lloyd said. “I met some great people and saw thousands of Scouts enjoying the great outdoors and have fun doing activities celebrating being a part of Scouting. As a former Scout back in England, it was amazing to go such an event and witness the magnitude first hand.”
3. Martinez in for Genoa at Mid-Ohio: David Martinez will join the Firestone Indy Lights grid for the event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 6-8. The 28-year-old native of Monterrey, Mexico will drive Genoa’s No. 36 entry with sponsorship from telecommunications company Quamtel and the Racing for Mexico program.
“I am extremely happy and proud to be able to drive the Quamtel car and to be part of this program with Genoa,” Martinez said. “There has been a great amount of effort put into making all this happen, we have an impressive group of professionals working with us behind the scenes, and we are very confident that all the hard work and preparation will pay off with a top-notch program and a strong result on the track.
“Genoa and Quamtel have put a lot of hard work into making this happen and they have put their trust in me, so now it’s my turn to make it happen on the track.”
Martinez has 19 years of racing experience, including Champ Car, A1GP, The Rolex 24 at Daytona, The 12 Hours of Sebring, and Atlantic Championship. Martinez has chosen Firestone Indy Lights to re-ascend the ladder to the IZOD IndyCar Series.
“I have not previously driven the Indy Lights car, and we won’t have a chance to test before the event, so I’ll have to adapt quickly,” Martinez said. “With a great team, a great car, and a great engineer behind me, I’m confident that after a few laps I’ll have the feel for it, so we can start working through our event plan. Mid-Ohio is a track that I love and one that I’ve had success at in the past so I feel very comfortable to make my Firestone Indy Lights debut there.”
The Mid-Ohio event and future 2010 events help prepare him for a potential full campaign in 2011.
“It’s a pleasure to have David aboard,” said Genoa owner Mark Olson. “He’s a pro, and it’s always a pleasure to work with professionals. Naturally one wants to manage expectations a bit, but we have great engineering, great equipment and a great driver, so we’re expecting a great result. We’ve assembled a pretty good plan for getting David up to speed, continually developing David and the car with each stint, and then going for a result at the appropriate time.”
4. Of note: Bobby Rahal, president of the Road Racing Drivers Club, announced the election of 31 members for 2010, including eight with IZOD IndyCar Series ties. Invitees included Ryan Briscoe, Gil de Ferran, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal, Jimmy Vasser, Dan Wheldon and Justin Wilson…Work began Aug. 2 on more than $5.5 million of road improvements to prepare for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix in 2011. Officials estimate work will be completed by mid-November… Chip Ganassi will be the Honorary Chairman of the 22nd Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Ceremony on Aug. 25 in Detroit. Ganassi is the first team owner to capture in a single season the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.
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The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season continues Aug. 8 with the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 3 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 212. The race also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The 2010 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Mid-Ohio 100 on Aug. 8 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.