2009 Indy 500: Several Rookies in Starting Field Looking For First Drink of Milk

(Pictured: The starting lineup in 1911, the first and only time there has been a rookie only starting field.)

Dateline: Indianapolis, Indiana

The Rookies:

In the first of a four part look into the field for the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 we will take a look at the drivers who are making their Indy debut this coming Sunday. In later editions we will look at the past winners, the women in the 500, and finally a look at the other notables in this years race.

Pos. 33

Pos. 31

Nelson Philippe

Car # 00
D/H/F
Speed/Time: 220.754/2:43.0778

Nelson Philippe is a French driver who also got his start in go karts. Racing go karts from 1998-2002 gave him enough seat time and experience to move up to the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2003. He finished the season with one podium and four top five finishes. In 2004, Philippe became the youngest to ever drive a Champ Car when he was signed to the Rocketsports team at age 17. With experience in the Champ Car series he has experience on ovals and road courses and now finds himself in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pos. 27

Mike Conway

Car # 24
D/H/F
Speed/Time: 221.417/2:42.5889

Mike Conway comes to the Indy 500 from the GP2 series. This English driver also got his start in karting around 8 years of age. With experience in UK Formula Ford he moved up to the Formula Renault UK championship in 2003. In 2004 he was the Formula Renault UK Champion and moved up to the British F3 championship in 2005. In 2006, he won that Championship and had been in GP2 until this season when he made the jump to the IndyCar Series. One thing of note, Mike Conway has yet to run an oval race this season without ending up in the wall during the race. He will be one to watch our for from a fan perspective…and one to stay away from if you’re a driver.

Pos. 23

Robert Doornbos

Car # 06T
D/H/F
Speed/Time: 221.692/2:42.3877

This Dutch driver started racing in 1999 in the Formula Ford 1800 Benelux series. He started as a semi-professional tennis player in the Netherlands when he was invited to attend a Formula 1 Grand Prix. There he met former Formula 1 champion and Indy 500 champion Jacques Villeneuve and he recommended that Robert try a Formula Ford, as he was too old to start karting. Obviously “Bobby D” took to the type of racing as he moved from Formula Ford to Formula 1 in just 6 seasons. He spent 205 and 2006 in the Formula 1 championship and moved to Champ Car in 2007. In 2008 he raced in the Superleague Formula as well as representing the Netherlands in the A1GP. He makes the move to IndyCars and the famed Newman Haas Lanigan racing team.

Pos. 12

Raphael Matos

Car # 2
D/H/F
Speed/Time: 223.429/2:41.1252

“Rapha” got his start in karting in his native Brazil. He came to the States in 2002 and competed in the Skip Barber Formula Dodge championship which he won in 2003. He went to the Star Mazda series for 2004 and 2005. He again found himself a Champion in 2005 and made the transition to the Champ Car Atlantic Series in 2006 and 2007. He won the Championship in 2007 and moved to the Firestone Indy Lights Championship in 2008. He was once again successful in the new series and was the Champion for 2008. In 2009, he comes to the IndyCar series with the Luczo Dragon team which is owned by Jay Penske. Jay is the youngest son of Team Penske owner, Roger Penske. If there is a rookie who has a legitimate shot at winning this installment of the 500, I would put a big checkmark next to Rapha on your race day program.

Check back for the next installment in our four part series on this years field. Next, we will take a look at the previous winners of the 500 who are in the 2009 edition and look at their histories and chances for once again drinking the milk in victory lane.

Auto Racing: Honda pulls out of Formula 1 / IndyCar spared

The 2009 Formula 1 grid just got 2 cars smaller. The Japanese auto manufacturer announced that they will no longer compete in the Formula 1 World Championship. Citing the global economic slowdown, the auto maker announced on 12/5/2008, that it will not be a part of Formula 1 going forward. This is tough news for F1 considering Honda is the sports biggest spender.

The estimated annual budget of the Honda F1 team was $220 million dollars per year. The team which was piloted by Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello in 2008 will leave quite a void in the world’s richest sport. The combined costs of all F1 teams in 2008 exceed 1.2 Billion dollars. Costs have been a main concern with many F1 teams over the past few years as the sponsorship packages and contributions from the worlds elite have slowed.

Sadly, this also could put a damper on one of F1’s most refreshing stories. Bruno Senna, the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, was to take over the vacated seat of Rubens Barichello in 2009. That now looks like an impossibility. Honda has said they would try to sell the team, however in this market condition, finding a buyer seems increasingly more difficult.

IN RELATED NEWS:

The IndyCar Series, which is powered solely by Honda engines, has been spared any interruption…at least for now. Honda has an exclusive contract with the IndyCar Series to provide the series with it’s engines. A pull out of Honda from the ICS would be crushing to the series, and the Indianapolis 500.

The agreement with the ICS is a leasing agreement and it is basically a financial wash for the Japanese auto maker. Honda leases it’s engines and technicians to the IndyCar Series. Honda outlays only marketing capital for the series and the liabilities associated with it’s involvement in the sole American Open Wheel series is somewhat controllable.

This is great news for all IndyCar fans.

EJ’s two cents:

Look, the financial crisis shows signs of weakening each day. This move by Honda came as a shock to everyone, but perhaps the next ones to be worried are my NASCAR fans. GM, Ford, and Chrysler are on their death beds. How can these companies continue to pour money into motor sports when they are facing bankruptcy and worse? I don’t know…but if things don’t get any better, be ready for anything. At this point, nothing is off the table. The safety of the Daytona 500, and the Indianapolis 500 are there today.

Let’s hope it’s there come race day.

Formula 1 : Lewis Hamilton is World Champion | Felipe Massa wins Brazilian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton’s head must have been spinning in regards to all the scenarios where he would end up as World Champion of the FIA’s prestigious racing series, Formula 1. I expect he found one he knew he could control, or at least attempt to and had it written inside his visor, on his steering wheel, and on his racing gloves. It said simply: FINISH 5th.

Felipe Massa needed a host of things to happen to win the championship. If his plan was to win the race, all that had to happen was for Hamilton to finish anywhere from Sixth place on back. Half of his plan worked, as Felipe Massa won his home grand prix in Brazil. The other half just didn’t pan out.

Lewis Hamilton ran an incredibly disciplined race strategy, and ran just fast enough to finish 5th in the race; therefore sealing the deal and being able to be the youngest driver to win a Formula 1 world championship. Amazingly, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.

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Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix : Lewis Hamilton Wins GP but not Championship

In Shanghai, the circus known as Formula 1 once again proved that nothing is impossible. With a growing lead in the drivers Championship, Lewis Hamilton headed into the race that had previously derailed his quest to be World Champion.

Lewis Hamilton won the pole giving himself the best shot at the championship he could have asked for. More importantly, he won last nights Chinese Grand Prix. Yet he isn’t champion. Here’s why.

As I mentioned in my pre-race report last night, Felipe Massa was trailing him by 5 points in the championship. The running order showed Lewis in 1st, Kimi Raikkonen in 2nd, and Felipe in 3rd. If the race had ended this way, Lewis would be World Champion. Yet the two Ferrari driver’s were given “team orders” to switch places and Raikkonen let Massa slip past. With Massa in 2nd place, and not having the horses to catch the McLaren driven by Hamilton, he had assured himself of keeping the hopes of a world championship alive.

Lewis Hamilton needs just a 5th place finish in Brazil to win the Championship. This has to give him a bit of confidence going into the final GP of the season. Massa, even with a win, would be unable to surpass the point lead Lewis currently holds over the Ferrari driver.

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Formula 1: Chinese Grand Prix Pre-Race Report | Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has got to be thinking. “Here we go again.”

In the closing rounds of the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship, rookie McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was on the verge of clinching the championship. It was this race, the Chinese Grand Prix, that ended his hopes of being a World champion. Instead through mistakes in the race the title slipped out of reach and it landed with Kimi Raikkonen.

365 days later we are once again faced with an historic Grand Prix.

Maybe.

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Formula 1 French Grand Prix Canceled | Bernie Ecclestone Against Magny Cours

It’s the economy, stupid.

The World of Motorsports feels a bit like Joe The Plumber today. The economic crisis has taken it’s toll on our 401(k)s and investment accounts and today it has officially affected the 2009 Schedule for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The French GP at Magny Cours has had its promoters pull its backing for the 2009 event. The Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile is currently in talks with Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to relocate the GP to a different venue.

Bernie Ecclestone has been openly against the French GP at it’s current location of Magny Cours, mainly due to its geographic location. Wanting the circus to have three rings, as opposed to one, is a main concern for Ecclestone. He has expressed interest in having the GP closer to Paris. For teams and fans, having a Grand Prix close to a major metropolitan area can provide days of entertainment over and above the race itself.

So for right now, France is without a Grand Prix in 2009…if the situation changes, midwestsportsfans.com will keep you up to date.

Be on the lookout for our preview editions for the F1 and NASCAR races this weekend!!!

[tags]bernie ecclestone, formula one, auto racing[/tags]

Auto Racing Recap : NASCAR @ Lowe’s and F1 @ Japan

JEFF BURTON WINS AT LOWE’S, MOVES INTO SECOND PLACE:

What a weekend it was for Carl Edwards. On Thursday between practice sessions he got ahold of Kevin Harvick for comments regarding the week ago crash at Talladega and a comment referring to Carl as a “pansy”. As seen in the AP photo, the “pansy” title seems quite fitting. It’s probably good thing Kevin doesn’t have longer hair, as it appears Mr. Edwards would have pulled it.

Going into the weekend, Carl Edwards sat in 2nd place in the Chase. At the end of the weekend, he was in 4th place in the NASCAR season standings. First place Jimmie Johnson continues to lead the Chase standings but a big move was made by Jeff Burton going from 4th to 2nd over the weekend with the win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Saturday night. Burton sits now just 69 points behind Johnson, who was won the past 2 Cup championships. Burton, whose rookie year was 15 years ago, sits right where he needs to be to challenge for the Championship. In my opinion the only thing that will keep him from claiming the Cup will be the driver currently in P1.

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Weekend Auto Racing Report: NASCAR / Formula 1 | October 10-12

The weekend is here and for auto racing fans around the world there is plenty of excitement as we head into the final weeks of all the major racing series schedules. With Winter around the corner racing fans had better soak up the sights and sounds of the remaining events before the sport goes into hibernation for a few months.

This weekend the eyes of NASCAR fans are focused on Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Qualifying was rained out on Thursday so the lineup has been set based off of owners points. The top ten for the Bank of America 500 is as follows:

For tonight’s race ( 7pm EDT/ ABC ) the forecast calls for a high of 74 degrees with a 20% chance of rain.

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Formula 1: North America Left Off 2009 Schedule

Today, the FIA announced the official schedule for 2009 after its meeting in Paris. The schedule is different than its proposed schedule in June. Most notably, the Canadian Grand Prix is gone. For a series that held two races in North America in 2007, they have switched their direction post haste.

The United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis was left off the 2008 calendar and in 2009 that continues. There are rumors about a potential return for the World’s most watched racing series to the United States. If anything, I feel this has become even less likely with the new schedule for Formula 1. In 2007 and the years prior, it made some sense to have a US date when there was a Canadian date. Logistically, this made the trip overseas much more viable. With the removal of Canada from the Grand Prix season, the only thing that could bring the Formula 1 circus back to America is an awful lot of dough.

Tony George has made it clear he would welcome back a Formula 1 race to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2000, he spent millions of dollars to revamp the inside of “The Worlds Greatest Racecourse”, so more F1 races would certainly help to pay for those improvements. The most recent news we have there is that they are searching for a “big league” corporate sponsor to help with the dollars requested by Formula 1 to host an event.

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