WEST ALLIS, WI: San Paulo, Brazil native Mario Romancini made his sixth Indy Lites start a winning one, dominating the Fine Diamonds 100 at the Historic Milwaukee Mile by leading all the way. Veteran J.R. Hildebrand ran in Romancici’s shadow from start to finish, but was never able to challenge the winner.

Pole winner Romancini, who finished third in his last two appearances at Kansas Speedway and Indy, appeared to be on cruse control from the drop of the green flag, making it look easy. Hildebrand in second, and third place Sebastian Saavedra also appeared to be virtually unchallenged throughout the 100 miles.

Behind the top three, however, a battle for fourth position was waged throughout between Gustavo Yacaman, James Davison and Wade Cunningham, who finished in that order behind third place Saaverdra.

There were four yellow flag situations for a total of 17 laps in the 100 miler, which was run in just under 54 minutes. The most serious looking incident occurred on lap 86, when Daniel Herrington appeared to loose control exiting turn 4, slamming the inside wall near the pit entrance with the left side of the car. Herrington was out of the car quickly, apparently uninjured. Earlier, Harrington’s in-car camera showed his nose cone to be loose. Whether this was a factor in the mishap is not clear.

Husar’s House of Fine Diamonds 100 Milwaukee Mile May 31, 2009 Indy Lights Series Round 6 1. Mario Romancini (R) 2. J.R. Hildebrand 3. Sebastian Saavedra (R) 4. Gustavo Yacaman (R) 5. James Davidson 6. Wade Cunningham 7. James Hinchcliffe (R) 8. Andrew Prendeville 9. Pippa Mann (R) 10. Charlie Kimball (R) 11. Pablo Donoso 12. Rodrigo Barbosa (R) 13. Sergey Mokshantsev (R) 14. Daniel Herrington (R) 15. Martin Plowman (R)

16. Jonathan Summerton (R)

Time of Race: 53:26.8054 Average Speed: 113.945 Lead Changes: 0

Caution Laps: 17

IndyCar SeriesJohn AtlasThe Dirt Guy

Emmo’s Formula One McLaren. [Photo by Eddie LePine]

By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

The 2018 Amelia Island Concours d’Elgance is now in the record books and as usual, the event founded by the great Bill Warner was a huge success. Despite having to condense the event due to a poor weather forecast for Sunday, the crowds were huge, Saturday’s weather outstanding, and the selection of cars on the field was second to none.

Without doubt, the 23rd annual Amelia Island event has to rank as one of the best yet and also without doubt Amelia Island is one of the top, if not the top, Concours events in the country.

This year’s Honoree was twice World Driving Champion and two time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, and a number of his legendary race cars were on display on the show field. Emerson was accessible and gracious the entire week, greeting fans, telling great racing stories and signing what seemed like endless autographs. It was nice to see Emerson again in person, as we both have covered his exploits in both Indy Car and Formula One in the past.

The event also featured IMSA GTP cars from 1981 through 1993 and a number of fine examples where one display on the show field. In addition to the fine display of GTP cars, on Sunday a IMSA GTP seminar was held in the Ritz Carlton, hosted by Bob Varsha and featuring racing legends such as Hurley Haywood, David Hobbs, Brian Redman, Rob Dyson and Chip Robinson, among others.

The show field also featured a special class highlighting the 50th Anniversary of the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, and the resulting Ferrari display was spectacular for Ferrari fans.

But that was not all. Also featured on the field were custom cars from “Big Daddy” Ed Roth and an outstanding display of Martini sponsored race cars throughout the years, including two spectacular Porsche 917s.

More than 300 cars in total were displayed on the show field on Saturday, a tribute to this outstanding event started by Bill Warner back in 1996. Since its inception, the show’s foundation has donated over $3.2 million to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Spina Bifida of Jacksonville, The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, Shop with Cops and other deserving charities in Florida.

The event just keeps going from strength to strength. Far more than single day Concours, the Ritz Carlton was filled to the brim with artwork, motoring memorabilia, high quality merchandise and vendors from around the world. Add to that the incredible cars showcased in the RM Sotheby’s Auction (since 1999 the official auction house of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance), and if you were a car guy, you were in heaven.

We can’t wait for the 24th Annual event a year from now.

Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.

← Previous Story Sculpted Beauty

Big Bend, WI (May 30, 2011) – How fitting that ABC broadcasted the 100th anniversary of the running of the Indianapolis 500, after all this was the network that started Wide World of Sports with the moniker, ‘The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat.’

It was a Hollywood ending with rookie JR Hildebrand slamming into the outside wall on the last turn of the last lap, cagey veteran Dan Wheldon beating his old team on the way to victory. Rest assured, Hildebrand, young, American, knows the history of Indianapolis. However, Wheldon, the Brit, appreciates the place as much as anyone and hears the ghosts of Hepburn, Vukovich, Bettenhausen and Sachs when he walks the track at night.

The pre-race ceremonies were spectacular, Parnelli Jones driving the Marmon Wasp, the rest of the Indianapolis winners present driving winning cars of the past. Nice touch. On Saturday perhaps over 100 former drivers came back for the world’s largest autograph party in the Pagoda pavilion. It was neat revisiting with many of the drivers, some like Art Malone had not been back since the 1960’s. Chatted with drivers such as Chuck Hulse, Dennis Firestone, Vern Schuppan, Billy Englehart, John Martin, Steve Chassey, Tom Bagley and several others making it a special day for me.

This year as well as in years past, there is so much to do race weekend. It’s the epitome of – it’s not a race, but an event. For the fan, there are races all weekend, whether it’s O’Reilly Raceway Park, the Indiana State Fairgrounds or Anderson Speedway open wheel fans will be entertained. This place is like Mecca, all race fans should go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race day at least once in their lifetime.

The crowd and buzz was the most since the “split” in 1996. Writer, John Oreovicz who himself has admittedly at being one of IMS’s hardest critics acknowledged along with Gordon Kirby and Robin Miller that the buzz and crowds at Indy may be back. Traffic was backed up all around the Speedway and several media members spoke about taking two hours just to get into the track race morning after arriving within parking distance. Although empty seats were noticeable in the stands going into Turn three, the infield was packed. Just an extraordinary mass of people. There may have been more people on the inside of Turn three then in the stands outside of Turn three.

There are pros and cons regarding the ABC broadcast that has to juggle keeping to the new fan informed and the die-hard fan interested. As I watched the broadcast on Monday, yes there were many commercials in the early part of the race, however, producers have to try to get as many as possible early in the broadcast, the side-by-side during commercials help, but can be frustrating while watching live. I recommend listening to the radio broadcast on your laptop or following on Twitter if you want to stay up to date.

The race was really a sprint. Even for the cars running 15-25th place, they were running hard. One early restart in particular, Ana Beatriz had faster cars behind her, however was faster than some in front. She did a yeoman’s job of keeping her line while letting some of the top-10 cars go and still was able to pass several cars for position. Beatriz wasn’t happy with the final result (21st), “The conditions were pretty difficult. We made a mistake on our fuel calculation and had to stop a little bit earlier than everybody. That cost us a lap. We got left behind and couldn’t really recover. It’s a shame. The car was pretty good. Hopefully we can put it together next year. I mean, it’s tough. It was very competitive, and we just couldn’t get the yellows where we wanted so that we could get our lap back. We can’t really accept mistakes anymore. We need to understand how to get it right. If we do that, maybe we can have a chance at getting a win at the Indy 500.”

One point is the strong cars that took turns leading or making strong runs to the front, Scott Dixon took command and the start. For awhile with Dixon and Dario Franchitti running 1-2, some were thing, this could be a wipeout for the other in competition. Then pole sitter, Alex Tagliani took command and others like Oriol Servia, Dan Wheldon and later Graham Rahal took their turns at the point.

Who honestly thought going into the race that Andretti Autosport would have a strong race than Team Penske?

Easy money. If there was one driver causing the first crash in the first double-file restarts, over 50% if not more would had picked E.J. Viso in their “500” pool. Sure enough, there was Viso making hard impact into the Turn One wall on the first double-file restart. Smartest thing KV Racing did was hiring experienced hotshoe, Tony Kanaan. The new Lloyd Ruby of Indy looked good with about 20 laps to go however faded to fourth place.

How unbelievable was Dan Wheldon’s charge? With 19-laps to go, Wheldon was in 10th place, 33-seconds behind leader, Danica Patrick. 15-laps to go, Wheldon is 28.4-seconds behind leader, Patrick. 10-laps to go, Wheldon was 25-seconds behind leader, Baguette. 6-laps to go Wheldon is still 22-seconds behind Baguette. Baquette pits with three laps to go, Wheldon is running 5th about to be fourth with Baquette’s pit-stop running 18-seconds behind the leader. Hildebrand takes over the lead on lap 198, Wheldon is 7.8 seconds behind the Panther No. 4 car. The Ganassi cars of Dixon and Franchitti have their fuel problems, Hildebrand smashes into the wall, Wheldon charges to the win. In my opinion, surpassing the 2006 “500” finish of Sam Hornish, Jr. (in a Penske car and favorite to win) passing rookie, Marco Andretti. However, Wheldon and team knew they had a chance, You know what, it probably is different to what you guys were thinking. On the radio with 20 to go, they said: ‘Listen, this is the deal. Some people are going to try to make it on fuel. You’re one of the guys that can make it to the end. But you’ve got to go and you have to make sure you get everything out of the car that you possibly can.’

Wheldon continued, “So I said to myself at that point, I’m going to move the weight jacker every lap to optimize every single corner, adjust the roll bars to be able to just maximize everything. I didn’t have a problem. I was able to catch traffic perfectly without having to lift. They said that there was one person that potentially could make it, I believe. So that made me even more hungry. I started pressing the overtake that Honda brought to the series. On that last lap I was trying to deal with bears between Turns 3 and 4. In the corner of my eye, I saw him hit the fence. I just carried on by. As Bryan says, you have to make it to the bricks with a car that can go forward with all four wheels. At that point, I knew it was mine.”

In 1967, Parnelli Jones was leading the “500” in the revolutionary STP turbine with three laps to go when a mechanical problem dropped him from contention as A.J. Foyt wins his third “500.”. That amazing finish is remembered in many Indy 500 books. In 2011, virtual unknown, Bertrand Baguette was leading with three laps to go when he had to pit to top off with gas. Baquette driving a “one-off” race for Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing had one of the most impressive runs of the day. The Belgium driver had made a good accounting for himself last year with Conquest Racing returned to the race to place seventh at Indy. He responded after the race, “My car was really great. I was hoping for better, but that’s racing. We tried. We failed. I would love to be back with this team. They did a fantastic job. They deserve to be full time in the championship. We’ll see what we can do.” (How did it feel to lead the race?): “It’s incredible – leading the 100th Anniversary of the race. It is something unbelievable. We had a good chance to win the race. We were hoping for a yellow, but unfortunately we were two laps too short. We had to pit for some more fuel in the car and go again. I enjoyed my time out there, and it was a great day for me.”

Jim Wilke, fellow race enthusiast from Alaska e-mailed me and made the excellent point, “The saddest thing for Hildebrand to consider is that he was -this close- to winning an Indy 500 and may never get another chance as Kevin Cogan and many others will wistfully tell him.” Others made the same point. I hope they are wrong. He should have a strong future.

It’s amazing to think on Memorial Day weekend that both National Guard-sponsored cars were leading the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola World 600 into the last turn and both lost. Unbelievable.

The No. 98 returns to victory lane. Last time was 1963 in which Parnelli Jones drove the Watson roadster “Ol’ Calhoun” to victory lane for owner, J.C. Agajanian. Son, Cary Agajanian is involved as a partner with Bryan Herta Autosport.

The question will be, how will promoter, Eddie Gossage get Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon into a car for the Firestone Twin 275’s at Texas Motor Speedway June 11th?

Steve Zautke, a Milwaukee, WI native, was raised in the sport of auto racing. His father, Bill, was a movie photographer that shot racing footage at tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1960’s and 1970’s Steve’s first professional job in racing was as an Emergency Medical Technician at tracks such as Angell Park and Hales Corners Speedway (1988-1991). Steve has also worked for the Milwaukee Mile as videographer, in media relations and historian (1993-2011). Steve also has worked as a reporter for Racing Information Systems (RIS) and has written features for ‘Vintage Oval Racing’ and ‘Victory Lane’ magazines. Most recently, Steve has written a book on Road America for Arcadia Publishing. ( http://www.amazon.com/Road-America-Nascar-Library-Collection/dp/1467111457 ) Steve co-hosts “Sparky’s Final Inspection” a motorsports-based radio show with hosts, Steve “Sparky” Fifer and “NASCAR Girl” Summer Santana on Sports Radio 1250AM in Milwaukee and is also available on the internet at www.Sportradio1250.com. A member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Steve follows all types of racing from the dirt tracks to Formula One.

Around The BendIndyCar SeriesSteve Zautke

MACON, Ill. (May 12, 2012)-Zach Daum drove to his first victory in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series and Alex Harris claimed his first triumph in the POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series Saturday at Macon Speedway.

“It’s nice to get one,” Daum said. “I’ve won in USAC (Midgets), SMRS (Southern Midget Racing Series) and now POWRi and Badget. I’ve won in every (Midwestern) Midget series.”

Daum’s triumph Saturday also counted as a victory in the Stark Automotive Group/Mid-State Equipment Badger Midget Series, which co-sanctioned the event.

Daum led all 30 laps on the one-fifth mile track. The 21-year-old from Pocohontas, Ill., started on the outside of the front row and had to fend off an aggressive mid-race attack by Bubba Altig of Mechanicsburg, Ill.

Altig started fourth and moved into second on the fourth lap. He managed to stay close enough to Daum following a restart on the ninth lap to try a series of slide jobs attempting to pass. It got tricky for Daum trying to maintain the lead when they got into lapped traffic.

“I had to be careful in the traffic and I wanted him (Altig) to either clear me or come up short,” Daum said. “I didn’t want to get wrecked. He got into me pretty good one time in Turns One and Two.”

Altig’s challenge ended on the on the 25 th lap when he spun trying a slide job in Turns One and Two. He finished 12 th .

Gehrke, of Broken Arrow, Okla., was nearly taken out by Altig’s spin but made it through to finish second. Daniel Robinson of Wayne City., Ill., tapped Gehrke from behind in the same incident, but kept going to take third.

“I thought I was going to get wadded up,” Gehrke said. “When Bubba (Altig) spun, Daniel ran over me, hit my airbox. I stayed on the gas a little and Daniel came off me. I got through, but I’m not sure how.

“Considering the way we started (from pole), second isn’t bad. We were terrible and I was getting passed. I did some shock adjustments that worked and figured it out and we got going pretty good in the middle part of the race.”

Robinson started sixth, jumped up to third on the first lap and never ran lower than fourth.

“Chett was sideways trying to get around Bubba and I got into him,” Robinson said. “The engine in my car died and I was fortunate that it started back up when I rolled down the hill (from Turn Two). If it hadn’t, I would have had to gone to the back.

“The track got tight and I was bound for the fence a couple of times. I’m happy to finish third.”

Harris, of Atwood, Ill., started sixth and passed Zach Hampton of Clayton, Ind., for the lead midway through the 20-lap race.

“It’s not too bad,” Harris said of his first POWRi victory.

Joe B. Miller of Millersville, Mo., finished second and Justin Peck of Monrovia, Ind., was third.

“We went from (starting) 11 th to second, it’s a good points night and we’ll take it,” Miller said.

The 13-year-old Peck started 18 th to take his best POWRi finish.

“I passed seven cars on the start,” Peck said. “I’m definitely happy, especially starting 18 th . I owe it to my crew chief (dad Steve Peck).”

POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series results (30 laps): 1. Zach Daum, 2. Chett Gehrke, 3. Daniel Robinson, 4. Davey Ray, 5. Andrew Felker, 6. Austin Brown; 7. Shane Cottle, 8. Jake Blackhurst, 9. Brett Anderson, 10. Cameron Hagin, 11. Colten Cottle, 12. Bubba Altig, 13. Dereck King, 14. Chris Bell, 15. John Campbell, 16. Rich Camfield, 17. Jake Neuman, 18. Tyler Robbins, 19. Derrick Myers, 20. Derek Rossio, 21. Nick Knepper, 22. Tyler Thomas.

POWRi Speedway Motors 600 Outlaw Micro Series (20 laps): 1. Alex Harris, 2. Joe B. Miller, 3. Justin Peck, 4. Jeremy Camp, 5. Paul Nienhiser, 6. Aaron Andruskevitch, 7. Jacob Patton, 8. Steven Russell, 9. Ethan Fleetwood, 10. Spencer Montgomery, 11. Ryan Frantz, 12. Austin Brown, 13. Carlee Gress, 14. Zach Hampton, 15. Cale Thomas, 16. Parker Price-Miller, 17. John Parker, 18. Jimmy Wells, 19. Trey Datweiler, 20. Andrew Felker, 21. Jason Harms, 22. Derek Schuett.

For more information, go to www.POWRi.com.

POWRi RacingPOWRi Racing Press Release

• Is Sunday’s Indycar race at the Milwaukee Mile a lame-duck event?

• Austin Dillon knows multi-car wrecks are a part of racing at Daytona, but…

• Dave Despain loves to dig a little deeper on his MAVTV show.

• Kyle Busch thinks making NASCAR’s Chase is feasible.

• Tony Kanaan admits he doesn’t have the answer to Indycar racing’s dilema.

• Returning to Daytona this weekend, Joey Logano says he hasn’t had time to reflect on his 500…

• JD Davison, Sunday’s race winner at Elkhart Lake’s Road America, says there is no shortage of contenders…

• Daytona International Speedway will have a different look this weekend according to track president Joie Chitwood III.

• According to Martin Truex Jr., rookie crew chief Cole Pearn deserves a lot of the credit for…

• RealTime Racing’s Peter Cunningham is cautiously optimistic about this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge races at Elkhart Lake’s…

Chase Elliott, racing during the NASCAR Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

By Holly Cain – NASCAR Wire Service

Chase Elliott has been declared the winner of Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway after first and second place finishers, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified following post-race technical inspection.

It’s a series-best fourth race victory for the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who now leads the championship standings by 105-points over Ross Chastain and 111-points over Ryan Blaney.

It is the first time this season a race winner has been disqualified.

“Yeah, unfortunately we were doing our post-race inspections, which we do,” said NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran. “There were some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle. The part was the front fascia. There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ. It is a penalty, both for the 11 of Denny Hamlin and the 18 of Kyle Busch have been DQed. Their vehicles are being loaded in the NASCAR hauler and they’re going to go back to the R&D Center.”

Hamlin won the pole position, led 21 laps, and ultimately crossed the finish line .927-second ahead of Busch for the apparent win in an action-packed afternoon at the 2.5-mile Pocono track.

But both of the JGR cars failed post-pace inspection leaving the victory to the 26-year-old 2020 series champion Elliott, who now has a series-best four victories – three wins and a pair of second-place finishes in the last five races alone.

The updated finishing order of the race includes a runner-up showing now for Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick. Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, JGR’s Christopher Bell, and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson – who won Stage 1 of the race – round out the top five.

Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell was sixth, followed by JGR’s Martin Truex Jr., the Hamlin-owned 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Petty GMS Racing’s Erik Jones and RCR’s driver Austin Dillon.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A.J. Allmendinger is the defending race winner.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – 49th Annual M&Ms Fan Appreciation 400 Pocono Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania Sunday, July 24, 2022 1. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 160. 2. (16) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 160. 3. (9) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 160. 4. (11) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 160. 5. (4) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160. 6. (25) Michael McDowell, Ford, 160. 7. (8) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 160. 8. (7) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 160. 9. (34) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 160. 10. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160. 11. (17) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 160. 12. (18) William Byron, Chevrolet, 160. 13. (12) Aric Almirola, Ford, 160. 14. (26) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 160. 15. (13) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 160. 16. (10) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, 160. 17. (32) Cole Custer, Ford, 160. 18. (19) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 160. 19. (23) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 160. 20. (14) Joey Logano, Ford, 160. 21. (30) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 160. 22. (27) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 160. 23. (28) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 160. 24. (22) Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 160. 25. (29) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 160. 26. (36) Cody Ware, Ford, 160. 27. (24) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 160. 28. (33) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 159. 29. (5) Chris Buescher, Ford, 158. 30. (35) BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 158. 31. (20) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 154. 32. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 142. 33. (6) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 135. 34. (31) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 35. 35. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160.

36. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 160.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 122.459 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 15 Mins, 59 Secs. Margin of Victory: .927 Seconds. Caution Flags: 9 for 37 laps.

Lead Changes: 15 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Busch 1-12;K. Larson 13-30;H. Burton # 31-34;C. Bell 35-48;K. Busch 49-64;M. Truex Jr. 65-66;R. Blaney 67-73;E. Jones 74-84;B. Wallace 85-87;K. Busch 88-122;R. Chastain 123;D. Hamlin 124-126;B. Wallace 127;R. Chastain 128-142;D. Hamlin 143-160.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch 3 times for 63 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 21 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 18 laps; Ross Chastain 2 times for 16 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 14 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 11 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 7 laps; Harrison Burton # 1 time for 4 laps; Bubba Wallace 2 times for 4 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,9,99,12,43,24,19,4,7,34
Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,12,43,4,24,99,9,5,20,19

Provisional No. 1?s are JR Todd, Jeff Arend, Richie Stevens and Chip Ellis

POMONA, Calif. — Countdown to 1 Top Fuel points leader “Hot Rod” Fuller may be in for a sleepless night as he remains unqualified at the midway point of time trials at

the 43rd annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals.

Should Fuller fail to qualify, he could be caught by any of the other three drivers ? Larry Dixon, Brandon Bernstein and Tony Schumacher ? still alive in the title chase. But the Las Vegas-based racer shrugged off the pressure while watching J.R. Todd stay No. 1 in Top Fuel to join Jeff Arend, Richie Stevens, and Chip Ellis on the Day 2

provisional low qualifiers podium.

“Everyone’s asking me if I’m panicking and I’m really not,” Fuller said. “We just had some little gremlins in there today but I know we’ll be fine. We have a great race

team over here. I think everyone else is way more worried about us than we are.”

The Countdown to 1, the two-race championship round of the NHRA Playoffs, began last weekend at Las Vegas and it concludes this weekend in Pomona. ESPN2 will show qualifying highlights Saturday night at 7 & 11 p.m. ET and final

eliminations will be televised Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

Dropped cylinders and tire smoke ended Fuller?s Friday run early while simultaneously pegging his stress meter as the POWERade series roars to its conclusion at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. He’ll have two more chances to make

the cut on Saturday in his Caterpillar dragster.

Fuller has only once this season come to the track on Saturday without a qualified run and on that occasion, at Sonoma in July, he delivered a No. 3-qualifying run on his third qualifying pass. Temperatures are expected to be at or slightly above 90

degrees Saturday with Top Fuel qualifying runs scheduled at 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

An hour or so after announcing a new deal that will pair him with good friend Morgan Lucas in 2008, Todd returned to the pressroom as Friday’s low qualifier. Todd didn’t improve on his opening pass of 4.521 at 328.22 mph after smoking the tires of his Skull Shine dragster, but no one else managed to pass him so he retained the top

spot.

“I’m excited about our announcement and joining Morgan over there with that second car of his,” Todd said. “John Stewart has that car running great. In my opinion, it’s been the best car in the sport since the Countdown deal started. Hopefully next year we can get in that deal again and make another run. It’ll be great

if we can help Morgan get his first win also.

“The track’s not as good today as it was yesterday. We ran a little later in the day Thursday and that probably made a difference. I think we were probably a little too

aggressive and smoked the tires but we got lucky and no one went around us.”

Brandon Bernstein remains the quickest of the Countdown to 1 racers, dropping one position to fourth place with his Round 1 pass of 4.529 in his Budweiser rail. Tony Schumacher is now seventh with a best of 4.544 in his U.S. Army dragster while Larry

Dixon in ninth with a 4.572 in the SkyTel dragster.

Friday’s slightly increased temperatures kept the nitro racers in check, which meant Arend was able to hold onto the top spot in Funny Car with his first round time of 4.781 at 324.90 mph in his blue Checker, Schuck’s, Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS. “Things are looking pretty good for us,” Arend said. “It’s supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow so if someone can come out there and run quicker than a 4.78,

more power to them.

“My mom, Sylvie Arend, flew out here from Toronto to watch me race. She’s never seen me race in person and she is really impressed with the action and the facility here. She was surprised at how loud it was and she watched from the suites in Round

1 and really enjoyed herself. I think she’s really proud of me and that’s cool.”

Holding onto his fleeting championship hopes, Ron Capps posted the best run of the day in his Brut Dodge Charger, a 4.812 at 323.50 mph, which moved him up to fourth place. That displaced teammate and fellow title hopeful Gary Scelzi to fifth with a best of 4.813 in his Mopar/Oakley Dodge. Currently third in the points, Robert Hight is ninth here with a 4.827 in his Auto Club of Southern California Ford

Mustang.

Funny Car leader Tony Pedregon, who can only be caught if he fails to qualify for the event, is 12th with a 4.847 in his Q Horsepower Chevrolet Impala SS. There are

14 drivers capable of moving Pedregon down at this point.

While the big dogs in the Pro Stock Countdown to 1 battle for position and qualifying points, Stevens snuck by them all and into the No. 1 qualifying position with a 6.665 at 206.76 mph in his Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T. Stevens also was told by

team owner Don Schumacher that his deal will carry on next year.

“So far, so good,” Stevens said. “We’ve finally got this thing running good in qualifying. Now we need to translate that over to raceday. It’s nice to go out there and throw a curveball at those guys in the top four. The reality is we’re all trying to win traces, whether it’s now or at the start of the year; every race is another chance

to win.

“We never really got it together this year for long periods of time. When I was off the car was working good and when the car was off I was driving great. We’re looking forward to carrying these strong performances from the end of this year over to

2008.”

The points leader until the last race in Las Vegas, Dave Connolly came back to life Friday with a second-best 6.667 at 207.43 mph in the Torco/Seelye Wright Chevrolet Cobalt. Vegas winner Greg Anderson was next with a 6.673 at 207.02 mph in his

Summit Racing Pontiac GTO.

Stevens’ teammate, Allen Johnson, is fifth with a 6.678 in his Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T, while Thursday leader Jeg Coughlin dropped to eighth in his Jegs.com Chevrolet

Cobalt when he failed to improve on his Round 1 pass of 6.689.

Ellis’s move to the top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying sheet was important as it closes the gap between Ellis and No. 1 points earner Andrew Hines to less than two rounds of action. The rider of the Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin has been low

qualifier at the last four races in a row.

“One run a day makes for a long day,” Ellis said. “I’m just glad to be here and glad to be No. 1 again. Yesterday we had the same motor in there from Las Vegas and it was a motor that was capable of winning. The only reason we didn’t was because the rider screwed up and short-shifted in the final round. But we still didn’t think it was our best motor so we switched it out. I just want to turn on win lights; the best thing is for me to race him early and try to take him out. I’m ready for this. I’ve never felt more ready to race in my life. The pressure is not on me, it’s on Andrew. I’m second. He’s the one that is expected to

win. That’s Larry Dixon’s line but I’m stealing it because I like it.”

Countdown to 1 participant Matt Smith made the biggest move of the day, coming from out of contention to the No. 2 spot overall on his Torco Buell. Thursday leader Angelle Sampey improved to a 6.973 at 188.94 mph but dropped to third on her U.S.

Army Suzuki.

Hines and Peggy Llewellyn stayed in the mix with Hines running a 6.996 on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod and Llewellyn a 7.003 on her Rush Racing

Products Buell V-Twin

* * * * * * * * * * * * POMONA, Calif. — Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 43nd annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, final of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final

eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. J.R. Todd, 4.521 seconds, 328.22 mph; 2. David Baca, 4.523, 329.50; 3. Melanie Troxel, 4.525, 326.87; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 4.529, 329.83; 5. Doug Foley, 4.540, 330.72; 6. Bob Vandergriff, 4.543, 324.51; 7. Tony Schumacher, 4.544, 323.04; 8. Cory McClenathan, 4.566, 321.50; 9. Larry Dixon, 4.572, 323.50; 10. Hillary Will, 4.573, 328.94; 11. Doug Herbert, 4.574, 314.83; 12. David Grubnic, 4.574, 313.73; 13. Morgan Lucas, 4.576, 325.45; 14. Alan Bradshaw, 4.589, 324.36; 15. Doug Kalitta,

4.593, 322.96; 16. Scotty Cannon, 4.600, 317.64.

Not Qualified: 17. Joe Hartley, 4.608, 321.81; 18. Rod Fuller, 4.643, 265.85; 19. Clay Millican, 4.764, 320.66; 20. Mike Strasburg, 4.806, 241.84; 21. Urs Erbacher, 4.849, 297.88; 22. Steven Chrisman,

5.019, 287.11.

Funny Car — 1. Jeff Arend, Chevy Impala, 4.781, 324.90; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.786, 320.89; 3. Kenny Bernstein, Charger, 4.804, 322.19; 4. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.812, 323.50; 5. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.813, 319.98; 6. Phil Burkart, Ford Mustang, 4.813, 319.98; 7. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.819, 322.27; 8. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.819, 308.35; 9. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.827, 316.45; 10. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.831, 308.07; 11. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.840, 305.22; 12. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.847, 315.49; 13. Tommy Johnson Jr., Impala, 4.856, 318.62; 14. Jerry Toliver, Toyota Solara, 4.869, 320.36; 15. Scott Kalitta, Solara, 4.876, 323.12; 16. Grant Downing, Pontiac Firebird,

4.917, 286.19.

Not Qualified: 17. Bob Gilbertson, 4.959, 302.08; 18. Cruz Pedregon, 4.977, 303.64; 19. Jim Head, 5.008, 244.29; 20. Bob Bode, 5.067, 302.48; 21. James Day, 5.198, 265.90; 22. Mike Ashley, 5.205, 222.69; 23. Peter Russo, 5.799, 183.22; 24. Del Worsham, 7.384, 113.84; 25. Gary Densham, 8.199, 113.87; 26.

Terry Haddock, 8.380, 109.14.

Pro Stock — 1. Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 6.665, 206.76; 2. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.667, 207.43; 3. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.673, 207.18; 4. Jason Line, GTO, 6.675, 207.98; 5. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.678, 207.27; 6. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.679, 206.57; 7. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.682, 206.80; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.689, 207.82; 9. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.692, 206.73; 10. Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.692, 205.60; 11. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.694, 206.89; 12. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.695, 207.34; 13. Justin Humphreys, GTO, 6.699, 207.11; 14. Craig Hankinson, GTO, 6.705, 206.07; 15. V. Gaines,

Stratus, 6.710, 206.48; 16. Kenny Koretsky, Cobalt, 6.722, 205.72.

Not Qualified: 17. Jim Yates, 6.727, 205.41; 18. Mike Edwards, 6.732, 206.07; 19. Tom Hammonds, 6.737, 205.13; 20. Tommy Brown, 6.761, 205.38; 21. Ben Watson, 6.761, 204.11; 22. Gordie Rivera, 6.779,

202.64; 23. Todd Hoerner, 6.804, 204.57; 24. Bob Panella, 14.026, 62.24.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.965, 191.46; 2. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.968, 189.76; 3. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.973, 190.40; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.995, 189.58; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.996, 190.75; 6. Peggy Llewellyn, Buell, 7.003, 188.10; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.015, 190.24; 8. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.033, 191.43; 9. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.035, 190.30; 10. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.035, 187.68; 11. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.035, 188.65; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.049, 188.89; 13. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.070, 187.36; 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.096, 189.39; 15. Shawn Gann,

Suzuki, 7.101, 187.68; 16. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.102, 183.92.

Not Qualified: 17. Mike Berry, 7.129, 185.51; 18. Michael Phillips, 7.145, 185.61; 19. Michael Ray, 7.170,
181.23; 20. Ryan Schnitz, 7.375, 178.76; 21. Freddie Camarena, 11.096, 73.36.

• Dreyer & Reinbold Racing tabs Conway to drive in 2009 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced today that…

• HAMMOND, IN: Since 1911, sixty-seven different drivers have scored victories in the world’s most famous auto race:…

• LAS VEGAS, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 – Not many people leave a Las Vegas casino a million…

• (October 25, 2008) – Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe celebrated his first IndyCar Series race in his…

• Indianapolis, In – October 2, 2008 – Indycar-Racing.com, a new interactive website for fans of the Indy…

• BRASELTON, Ga. (October 2, 2008) – The 10 members of the 35th Anniversary Atlantic Championship All-Star Team…

• WALLER, Texas Sept. 25, 2008 – IndyCar veteran Vitor Meira has signed to drive A.J. Foyt’s No….

• Joliet, IL (September 7, 2008) – It was quite a day for Andretti-Green Racing’s Indy Lights team…

• Joliet, IL: In what should go down in history as one of the great open wheel races…

• Joliet, IL – With the recent announcement in Detroit that Target-Ganassi Racing would replace Dan Wheldon with…

Speedway, IN (May 16, 2009) ? May in Indianapolis is more than a race, its two weeks of events, gatherings and a festival of speed. One of the classiest events on the calendar is the Auto Racing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Special Recognition Dinner presented by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum and Indianapolis 500 Old-timers Club. The suit and tie event held Friday evening at the downtown Marriott was hosted by local television and IMS announcer, Dave Calabro. The 2009 Hall of Fame Inductees were 1966 ?500? winner, Graham Hill and two-time ?500? winner, Arie Luyendyk. A hall of fame membership medallion was presented to Hill?s daughter, Brigitte who did a wonderful job accepting the award and reflecting on her father?s life and career. Arie Luyendyk the fastest driver ever at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was presented with the Hall of Fame ring, designed and produced by the famous Tiffany?s. Luyendyk was eloquent accepting the award and made a point to thank many in his career including his longtime P.R. Rep, Dick Miller.

Also introduced were the Indianapolis 500 legends, featuring the 33 legends of the Speedway as selected by a panel of officers and board members of the 500 Old-timers Club.

The List, Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Tony Bettenhausen Helio Castroneves Jim Clark Bill Cummings Ralph DePalma Emerson Fittipaldi A.J. Foyt Dan Gurney Janet Guthrie Ray Harroun Harry Hartz Ted Horn Gordon Johncock Parnelli Jones Frank Lockhart Arie Luyendyk Rick Mears Louis Meyer Tommy Milton Jimmy Murphy Duke Nalon Jim Rathmann Mauri Rose Johnny Rutherford Eddie Sachs Wilbur Shaw Al Unser Al Unser, Jr. Bobby Unser Bill Vukovich

Rodger Ward

The Louis Meyer Award is given as a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is permanently housed at the Hall of Fame Museum at the Speedway. This year?s deserving recipient is Louis ?Sonny? Meyer who is the son of three-time ?500? winner, Louis Meyer. Meyer started rebuilding Offenhauser engines at the age of sixteen has been one of the most sought after ?wrenches? for many years. Now retired, Meyer built engines powered 15 cars to victory in the Indianapolis 500 and Scott Brayton to two pole positions in 1995 and 1996 for John Menard.

A who?s who of auto racing attended the event including ?500? winners, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Rick Mears, Helio Castroneves and the aforementioned Luyendyk. Famed Indy Car builder A.J. Watson attended as well as IMS President, Tony George, Vice-President, Joie Chitwood III, Team Penske President, Tim Cindric and Indianapolis 500 Legend, Janet Guthrie. Drivers, Steve Chassey, Eldon Rasmussen, mechanic Ronnie Kaplan and Chris Paulsen of C&R Racing also attended this splendid event. National Midget Hall of Famers, Kevin Olsen and Bob Higman were in attendance as well as Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian, Donald Davidson. The event which had over 400 attendees certainly had many other notable attendees that I?m sure I missed. Many thanks to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Old-timers Club for their hospitality.

Steve Zautke, a Milwaukee, WI native, was raised in the sport of auto racing. His father, Bill, was a movie photographer that shot racing footage at tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1960’s and 1970’s Steve’s first professional job in racing was as an Emergency Medical Technician at tracks such as Angell Park and Hales Corners Speedway (1988-1991). Steve has also worked for the Milwaukee Mile as videographer, in media relations and historian (1993-2011). Steve also has worked as a reporter for Racing Information Systems (RIS) and has written features for ‘Vintage Oval Racing’ and ‘Victory Lane’ magazines. Most recently, Steve has written a book on Road America for Arcadia Publishing. ( http://www.amazon.com/Road-America-Nascar-Library-Collection/dp/1467111457 ) Steve co-hosts “Sparky’s Final Inspection” a motorsports-based radio show with hosts, Steve “Sparky” Fifer and “NASCAR Girl” Summer Santana on Sports Radio 1250AM in Milwaukee and is also available on the internet at www.Sportradio1250.com. A member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Steve follows all types of racing from the dirt tracks to Formula One.

Around The BendIndyCar SeriesSteve Zautke

Ford GT. M. Zuiko ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO. [Photo by Jack Webster]

By Jack Webster

My relationship with Olympus Cameras goes back to 1978, when I used both Olympus OM-1 and OM-2 cameras to cover the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. At the time, Mario Andretti was driving for JPS Lotus and one of his sponsors, prominently displayed on the side pod of his car, was Olympus Cameras.

Their cameras and lenses were quite good back then, and were much smaller and lighter than other similar cameras that were on the market at the time. I made many excellent photos using their gear and when the opportunity came about to try their newest digital camera, the OM-D E-M1X, I jumped at the chance.

Their new digital mirrorless camera is quite interesting. Instead of requiring a separate grip with a battery pack to get a second battery in the camera for longer shooting, Olympus designed the E-M1X with the vertical grip/battery holder built into the body. Now for a micro 4/3 camera, this made the body a bit larger than other Olympus models, but frankly it fit quite comfortably into my hands and was a well-balanced package, in particular when using a larger lens like the M. Zuiko ED 300mm F4.0 IS.

By the way, Olympus is holding true to their history with their new cameras and lenses. They are much smaller and lighter than similar gear from other makers and just as I recalled from using them back in the 1970’s, their optics are superb. Since they use the Micro 4/3 system, lenses can be quite small and light. For instance, their 300mm lens gives the equivalent power of a 600mm on a full frame camera and can be easily carried around all day without feeling like your arms are going to fall off.

At Mid-Ohio for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race last week, I had the opportunity to put the Olympus gear through its paces and in most trying circumstances, as there was quite a bit of rain until finally clearing up for race day on Sunday. One of the unique features of Olympus cameras is their weatherproofing and I can attest that both their camera and lenses performed exceptionally well in the wet – nothing stopped working properly even though at times I had to dry off the exterior of the camera and lens with a towel they got so wet.

The autofocus system also performed perfectly and was able to track cars driving both toward and away from me at full speed. The autofocus was spot on, even at high shooting rates, and the light metering was perfect as well. I tried the camera on full program mode as well as aperture priority, shutter priority and full manual as well. The resulting images were excellent.

Accompanying this story are a number of images that I took at the Mid-Ohio race and the quality of the images speak for themselves. I used the Olympus OM-D E-M1X with a combination of the M. Zuiko ED 12-40mm F2.8 PRO, M. Zuiko ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO and the M. Zuiko ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO. ISO settings were anywhere from 100 to 1000, depending on lighting conditions and all the images were made hand held, without a tripod or monopod.

Overall, an excellent shooting experience with superb equipment that has all the latest technology built in, while paying tribute to the historical film cameras that make up its photographic DNA. For the serious enthusiast, definitely worth a look.

Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com