Welcome to the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen, the ninth race of the 2009 IndyCar® Series season. John Griffin, vice president of public relations for the Indy Racing League, and Eiron Smith, director of communications for Watkins Glen International, and their staffs are here to assist you. Please direct your questions and requests to anyone in the Media Center.
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TODAY'S SCHEDULE (all times local):
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7 a.m.
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Garages open
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10:30-11:15 a.m.
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Firestone Indy Lights practice
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1:45-2:30 p.m.
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Firestone Indy Lights qualifications
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The IndyCar Series will compete in the Camping World at The Glen, a 60-lap race at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Firestone Indy Lights series will compete in the Corning 100, a 30-lap race at 1 p.m. Saturday.
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Firestone Indy Lights entry update: Pablo Donoso has switched from car #6 to car #9 at this event. His RLR/Andersen Racing teammate Ali Jackson has switched from car #9 to car #6 at this event.
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Live timing and scoring reports from the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen is 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 www.indycar.com/media. The user name is media, and the password is indycar. The username and password are case-sensitive.
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The Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for Firestone Indy Lights, has penalized driver Ana Beatriz for on-track actions during the race June 20 at Iowa Speedway.
Beatriz has been penalized five grid positions for this weekend's event at Watkins Glen for failing to respond to yellow flag conditions, which is a violation of rules involving caution periods as listed in the Firestone Indy Lights Rule Book.
Beatriz may appeal the penalty as prescribed in the Firestone Indy Lights Rule Book. An appeal may result in an increase, decrease or no change to the penalty.
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FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS PRACTICE:
At 10:30 a.m., the ambient temperature was 65 degrees with a relative humidity of 84 percent and variable winds at 11 mph. Skies were mostly cloudy.
10:30 a.m. - GREEN.
10:40 a.m. - #21 Davison quickest at 1:42.2282, 118.676.
11:05 a.m. - #21 Davison quickest at 1:38.3219, 123.391.
11:15 a.m. - CHECKERED. #21 Davison quickest at 1:37.7887, 124.063.
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FASTEST TIMES/SPEEDS OF SESSION:
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Pos.
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Car
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Name
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Time
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Speed
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1.
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21
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James Davison
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1:37.7887
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124.063
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2.
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27
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Sebastian Saavedra
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1:37.8683
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123.963
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3.
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26
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J.R. Hildebrand
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1:37.8747
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123.954
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4.
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37
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Richard Philippe
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1:38.3712
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123.329
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5.
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11
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Wade Cunnningham
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1:38.4626
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123.214
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Firestone Racing brings three types of tires to Watkins Glen this weekend. IndyCar Series teams have six sets of primary dry racing slicks, five sets of rain tires and three sets of alternate "red" tires.
Each entry must declare to the Indy Racing League within one hour after qualifying on which dry-condition tire spec it intends to start the race. All cars must use at least one primary set and one new alternate set during the race, each for a minimum of two green-flag laps.
Firestone Racing is bringing a new primary tire specification to Watkins Glen, while alternate tires will be used here for the first time. The rain tire is the more durable, "road course rain" specification. The primary spec is a durable road course compound and construction, designed to withstand the high speeds encountered on the IndyCar Series' longest permanent road course. The alternate tires are identical in construction to the primaries but contain a softer tread compound, which will provide more grip and faster lap times, yet will trade off compound durability in exchange for those shorter- term advantages.
AL SPEYER (Executive Director, Firestone Racing): "After nearly three months of racing on ovals, Firestone Racing is looking forward to a few consecutive road and street course races. Not only does the move from ovals to road courses like Watkins Glen showcase the talent of the IndyCar Series drivers through the differing demands of the diverse track lineup, it also gives Firestone Racing an opportunity to once again feature our alternate tire concept. Last year's event in Watkins Glen was one of the more exciting road/street course events of the season, and with alternate tires in the mix this year, I anticipate that this year's race will be as good or better. There is a significant gap between the primary and alternate tire specifications for this event, so tire management and strategy will no doubt come into play. And with ever-changing weather forecasts, it remains to be seen whether our wet tire will be necessary, as well!"
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The timeline for today's Firestone Indy Lights practice and qualifying sessions is located between Turns 9 and 10.
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Any Firestone Indy Lights driver who causes a full-course yellow during qualifying will lose their quickest qualifying lap to that point. A second offense will result in the driver losing all qualifying laps, with the driver banned from the remainder of qualifying.
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2005 Firestone Indy Lights champion Wade Cunningham has a strong record at Watkins Glen, with podium finishes in each of his four starts here. He won the first race of a double-header in 2007, finished second in the second race of the double-header in 2007, second in 2006 and third in 2005. Cunningham also won two poles here, in 2005 and 2007.
Cunningham will drive the No. 11 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car this weekend.
WADE CUNNINGHAM: "Because Watkins Glen is such a fast-running track, you're not forcing the car around like a street course. But because of the high speed corners and long straights here, you can't run a lot of downforce. So the track requires a lot of confidence and commitment from the driver in order to be quick. If you can get it all right, you're rewarded as a driver."
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When the United States men's soccer team lost, 3-2, in the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup June 28, Firestone Indy Lights team owner Sam Schmidt lost a friendly bet with one of his team's drivers, Brazilian Ana Beatriz.
SAM SCHMIDT: "First off, I want to congratulate USA Soccer for its tremendous performance in the FIFA international tournament recently completed, beating Spain and almost winning the title. However, I am quite bummed they didn't beat Brazil in the finals as Bia would have had to wear a Team USA jersey all weekend per our bet."
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The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation and Sam Schmidt Motorsports will play host at 11 a.m. (ET) Saturday, July 4 to its "Day at the Races" event in the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Hospitality area. Around 50 guests will be provided lunch and learn about the quality-of-life programs available to the spinal cord injured and their families.
Media inquiries about the foundation can be directed to Ida Cahill, the foundation president, at (609) 638-2083.
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Vitor Meira isn't exceptionally flexible at the moment, so "I'm just not going to be very good changing tires and fueling," he said.
But the veteran IndyCar Series driver is attending the race weekend at The Glen to support the A.J. Foyt Racing team and driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.
It will be the first race Meira has attended since suffering two broken lower vertebrae during the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 24, but his thoughts have been with the team while recuperating and rehabilitating. Meira is wearing a torso brace in lieu of surgery.
VITOR MEIRA: "They've been giving me a lot of support since the accident, and most of all, they're all my friends and I want to be with them. Second of all, to be at the racetrack, that's where I always want to be, and that's where I love to be. I don't want to be at home if I can be at the racetrack. I'll probably go around the track and watch some cars with a stopwatch and take some times and take notes on some different lines so I can keep Ryan updated on what people are doing out there."
