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J.R. Hildebrand from Sausalito Is Ready To Go Racing Again

Even though J.R. Hildebrand was surely heartbroken after last Sunday’s disappointing finish in the 100th Indy 500, he was back to work on Friday. He has shown steady improvement every race in this his rookie year and it would not be a surprise to see him in victory lane before the end of the season. Here is some news from his team on his latest test session.

J.R. Hildebrand from Sausalito answering questions after his 2nd place finish in the Indy 500.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – (June 3, 2011) – JR Hildebrand, the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year and runner-up in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, returned to the cockpit of his No. 4 NationalGuard Panther Racing machine during a one-day test at the Milwaukee Mile on Friday. The 23-year-old rookie, who has burst onto the open-wheel racing scene after the dramatics surrounding his last-lap crash at Indy last Sunday, spent Friday at the challenging flat one-mile oval for the first time in an IndyCar and turned a total of 99 laps.

The team conducted its first test with Hildebrand in December of 2010 at another difficult one-mile short track oval, Phoenix International Raceway.

Hildebrand currently ranks eighth in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings and leads fellow rookie James Hinchcliffe by 33 points in the chase for the series Rookie of the Year. In his five starts with Panther this season he has collected two Top Ten and one Top Five finish. Last weekend at Indianapolis he led the race on three separate occasions for a total of seven laps, his first career laps led as an IndyCar Series competitor.

The IZOD IndyCar Series is off this weekend before traveling to Texas Motor Speedway next Saturday night for the Firestone Twin 275s, a pair of exciting races on the high-banked 1.5-mile oval. Panther Racing has collected a total of five victories at Texas with three different drivers.

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda:

“For everybody at Panther Racing it was refreshing to focus on something different and Milwaukee and Indy are so different it was nice to be in a new situation and start moving forward. It’s been a couple years since I’ve ran here in anything, but we rolled out and were up to speed right away. We got settled in pretty quick and from there it was just all of us trying to make progress on the day. There were a lot of things I was picking up on as we worked through the day. It’s a different place, but having ran two days in Phoenix in December prepared me for running at Milwaukee even though those two tracks are very different. I got a good feel for short oval racing those two days at Phoenix and that served me really well today.”

“Indianapolis was a big sigh or relief for all of us because now we know we can do this right and be competitive. And we’re definitely taking that with us as we move forward. If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year the tracks were we’d be strong I would have told you Indy, Texas, Milwaukee and Iowa. But then from an attitude perspective, for me it will make for less pressure on all of us going back to road courses because we’ve shown we can do this and that simplifies the process and helps you get back to basics.”

www.JRHildebrandRacing.com – www.pantherracing.com – www.NationalGuard.com

– Panther Racing, Press Release

Thanks to all the Rain, Racing is Cancelled in Stockton Tonight

Because Mother Nature is having a hard time discriminating between Winter and Summer, Stockton 99 Speedway felt it was better to error on the cautious side and has decided to cancel and reschedule the SRL Race that was to be run on Saturday, June 4th. The Race Date has been rescheduled to Saturday, June 18th, same time/event schedule. However, due to the change, the Ford Focus Midgets have been canceled on this particular race card along with the Legends of the Pacific, the Legends due to a scheduling conflict. Not to worry, though, because a tentative date has been set aside for rain-out, make-up races which will fall on July 30th.

So, on June 18th, the new lineup for the event will be as follows: SRL Spears Southwest Tour Series Late Models, Western Late Models, Super Stock, Bombers and Mini Cup. Please take note, however, there will be no Heat Races that night. We will go straight from Trophy Dashes into the Main Events. We will post more information as it becomes available in the next week or so.

Also, there will be Wedding Bells Chiming in the Breeze as Stockton 99 Speedway’s own Richard Reese ties the knot with his lovely bride-to-be, Kelly Collins. This is going to be a great night of entertainment, so please don’t forget to mark those calendars.

The New Stockton 99 Speedway is located at 4105 N. Wilson Way, ¼-mile west of Highway 99. For more information on tickets and times, please contact the Speedway Office at (209)466-9999 or visit their Website at www.stockton99.com.

The New Stockton 99 Speedway is sponsored by Jackson Rancheria Casino Hotel, California Welding Supply, Budweiser, Alamo Alarm and Stockton Hampton Inn and Suites and Lodi Holiday Express.

The New Stockton 99 Speedway Media Release
Media Relations – David Holman

All Photos are provided by Jessica McAnelly of Jessie’s Fast Photos.

The Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival is June 4th and 5th

The Historic Race Car Festival, presented by PG&E, cruises back to the Sonoma Plaza on Saturday, June 4, to benefit youth groups in Sonoma County through Speedway Children’s Charities, the charitable arm of Infineon Raceway.

Following the on-track action at the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival on Saturday, fans and local residents are invited to the plaza to enjoy samplings from Sonoma Valley restaurants and wineries, as well as beautiful historic cars on display.

While enjoying local delicacies, attendees can stroll around the plaza and get an up-close look at more than 30 historic cars. The evening, which caps off Celebrate Sonoma Day at Infineon Raceway, will feature samplings from a variety of local favorite restaurants including Basque Boulangerie, Community Café, Hop Monk, The Red Grape, Swiss Hotel, Maya, Tuscan Cowgirl Dezerts and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, among others.

Many local wineries, including B.R. Cohn Winery, The Cellar Door, Cline Cellars, Deerfield Ranch, Highway 12 Vineyards & Winery, Larson Family Winery, Ledson Winery, VJB Vineyards & Cellars and Valley of the Moon Winery, will complement the food with wine tastings.

The event will begin with a parade of 30 historic cars departing under a full CHP escort from Infineon Raceway at approximately 5 p.m. on Saturday. The parade of cars will motor along Highways 121 and 12, before reaching the scenic Sonoma Plaza and taking a ceremonial lap around the square. They will then be parked around the horseshoe and on display for the public. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite cars in two different categories.

The parade and car display will feature many Sonoma car enthusiasts, including Stephen Cross (1965 E-Type Jaguar), Dave Lipsky (1964 Oldsmobile Cutlass), John Shirley (1958 Alfa) and Earl Whitney (1950 Muntz), among others.

McLaren will take center stage as the featured marque at the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival, June 4-5. The legendary McLaren name, which has graced the halls of motor sports since Bruce McLaren founded his racing team in 1963, will headline a full weekend of vintage racing, alongside machines from Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Corvette and many more! The weekend will also feature the Wine Country Pavilion with food and wine samples from the Sonoma and Napa valleys, headlined by notable Bay Area chef Victor Scargle.

The Historic Race Car Festival, presented by PG&E will run from 5:30-8 p.m. and tickets can be purchased for $30 in advance or $35 at the event. Call 800-870-RACE (7223) or visit www.infineonraceway.com for more information or to reserve tickets.