By Amy Konrath
Today’s IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:
1. Daly to contest Firestone Indy Lights with Sam Schmidt Motorsports
2. Franchitti honored by Motor Sport Magazine
3. Power earns Road Racer of the Year from RACER
4. Philips gears up for IZOD IndyCar Series as official emergency care equipment sponsor
5. Construction begins on famed Long Beach circuit
1. Daly to contest Firestone Indy Lights with Sam Schmidt Motorsports: 2010 Star Mazda Champion Conor Daly will graduate to Firestone Indy Lights in 2011 with a limited campaign for the championship-winning Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
Daly, whose Firestone Indy Lights schedule will complement a schedule of racing in Europe’s GP3 Series, will contest the road/street course events at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach, Trois Rivieres and Baltimore.
“I’m extremely pleased to have all the plans worked out for 2011,” said Daly, the son of former Indianapolis 500 starter Derek Daly. “It’s taken a lot of work, and I’m extremely thankful to everyone at Mazda who spent a great deal of time making sure my program was in order. It really shows how dedicated Mazda is to their ladder drivers. With the significant changes to the ladder system in 2010, Mazda still stayed devoted to supporting their champions. I’m honored to have the support of Mazda for the 2011 season and beyond.”
The 19-year-old from Noblesville, Ind., claimed the Star Mazda Championship setting a series record with nine poles and seven wins for Juncos Racing. Daly’s domination was shown with a string of finishing in the top four positions in the 12 races prior to clinching the title at Mosport International Raceway.
Daly has been a standout on the Mazda development ladder system, winning scholarships to compete in Skip Barber National Series and Star Mazda Championship from Mazda.
“Conor has done an outstanding job of delivering the goods both on-track, and off-track to his business supporters,” said John Doonan, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Team Development Manager. “As we transition into the Mazda Road to Indy beginning with the 2011 season we needed to make sure that Conor could take a step up in his career, while meeting everyone’s business objectives. Thanks to Mazda, the people at INDYCAR, Sam Schmidt Motorsports, and Carlin, Conor should have an outstanding year.”
2. Franchitti honored by Motor Sport Magazine: Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti joined Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Frank Williams and Jody Scheckter in being the second class of inductees into the Motor Sport Magazine Hall of Fame during ceremonies Feb. 15 in London.
Franchitti, of Scotland, is a three-time IZOD IndyCar Series title-holder, including winning the past two, with Andretti Green Racing and Target Chip Ganassi Racing. He recorded three victories in 2010, tying Rodger Ward for 11th on the all-time Indy car victory list with 26 (16 in INDYCAR, 10 in CART). Johnny Rutherford (27 wins) is next on the list.
Franchitti won the first of his two Indy 500s in 2007 on the way to winning his first series title. In December, Franchitti was named British Competition Driver of the Year by Autosport.
Accepting the award on behalf of Sir Jack Brabham was his son David Brabham, with Sir Stirling Moss delivering the introduction. Brabham won Formula One World Championships in 1959, 1960 and ’66. He is only man to ever win the F1 drivers’ title in one of his own cars.
F1 commentator Murray Walker announced Sir Frank Williams, founder of the Williams F1 team, as an inductee, while TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Christophe Babin and five-time Grand Prix winner John Watson introduced Scheckter, the 1979 F1 World Champion. He’s the father of IZOD IndyCar Series driver Tomas Scheckter.
In 2010, Mario Andretti, Tony Brooks, Jacky Ickx and Ron Dennis were inducted, along with founding members Enzo Ferrari, Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Sir Jackie Stewart, Sir Stirling Moss, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.
3. Power earns Road Racer of the Year from RACER: Will Power missed out on winning the IZOD IndyCar Series title, but the Verizon Team Penske driver’s prowess on road/street courses did not go unnoticed.
Power was voted Road Racer of the Year by the readers of RACER Magazine, narrowly defeating Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel in the vote.
The annual RACER of the Year Awards presented by Mobil 1 celebrate the drivers, cars and events that shaped the last 12 months in motorsports, and the four biggest awards – overall RACER of the Year, plus Oval Racer, Road Racer and Drag Racer of the Year – are all voted for by race fans.
The winners are all featured in the March issue of RACER.
4. Philips gears up for IZOD IndyCar Series as official emergency care equipment sponsor: Royal Philips Electronics announced today that it is the official emergency care equipment sponsor of the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The sponsorships will last through the 2012 season.
The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing and holds 17 events in the United States, Canada, Brazil and Japan. As part of the sponsorship, the IZOD IndyCar Series medical team will have advanced medical technology from Philips at each racing venue. The team will be identified by its Philips-branded medical vehicle and racing suits.
“Philips’ sponsorship of the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway demonstrates our commitment to provide solutions for on-demand emergency medical support of the IndyCar drivers, as well as for the nearly half-million attendees on race day,” said Steve Laczynski, general manager, sales and service, North America for Philips Healthcare. “The race provides Philips an opportunity to support medical team efforts in one of the most demanding situations for rapid patient assessment and treatment.”
Under the supervision of Dr. Mike Olinger, IZOD IndyCar Series director of medical services, the Philips-sponsored medical team will include trauma physicians and nurses who will work with local hospital trauma centers, helicopter and ground-based emergency medical service (EMS) and fire rescue personnel to help manage the medical needs of all IndyCar drivers and fans at motor speedway events.
“The Indianapolis 500 presents the ultimate challenge within emergency medicine. The 500 attracts the largest single-day attendance of any sporting event in the world and therefore requires the most reliable, rugged and accurate medical equipment to care for racing personnel and fans who may need medical treatment on site,” said Dr. Geoffrey Billows, medical director for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “The sponsorship from Philips provides us assurance that we will continue to administer the highest level of care possible to participants and spectators. The new Philips equipment will ensure we have the necessary tools to quickly and efficiently respond to an emergency on the track or around the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
5. Construction begins on famed Long Beach circuit: The green flag waved on construction of the circuit for the 37th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 15-17.
Formula Drift driver Joon Maeng helped kick off the construction, which includes setting in place more than 14 million pounds of concrete barriers. He’s preparing to contest the Formula Drift season that gets underway the weekend before the Grand Prix on Turns 9, 10 and 11 of the 1.97-mile circuit in downtown Long Beach.
Grand Prix Association of Long Beach Director of Operations Dwight Tanaka and his staff will put in more than 30,000 working hours installing concrete blocks, three miles of fencing and 16,000 bolted-together tires, along with 16 spectator grandstands, seven pedestrian bridges and video boards.
“We also install porta-johns, hospitality suites, tents, trash containers, electrical equipment, phones and a hundred other little things up until race weekend,” Tanaka said. “Then Sunday night, when the last race car has left the track, we start taking everything down, inspecting it and getting it ready for 2012.”
All businesses along the race circuit, which includes Shoreline Drive, Aquarium Way and Pine Avenue, will remain open during construction of the racetrack.
“We want to keep the circuit exciting for our fans and, of course, competitive and safe for the drivers,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “While Dwight and his staff do a terrific job, we couldn’t do it without the help of many Long Beach city departments and a host of private entities.
“That phenomenal support is what helps us make the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach America’s No. 1 street race.”