Tag: Sausalito

IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie Lands National Guard Team in Second Row for Iowa Corn Indy 250

NEWTON, Iowa – (June 24, 2011) – National Guard Panther Racing driver JR Hildebrand laid down his career-best qualification effort Saturday at Iowa Speedway, where the IZOD IndyCar Series rookie will start fourth for tomorrow’s Iowa Corn Indy 250. Hildebrand had recorded his previous best starting effort of 11th position earlier this month at Texas Motor Speedway, but secured a spot in the Second Row alongside Tony Kanaan for tomorrow’s 250-lap event.

The qualification effort is the best starting position since Ed Carpenter started on the pole for Panther Racing at Kentucky Speedway in 2010.

Hildebrand posted lap speeds of 179.422 and 179.717 mph for a two-lap combined average speed of 179.569 mph. The team’s previous best starting position at Iowa was a sixth-place start by Dan Wheldon in 2009, a year in which he led the race and finished fourth. In the final practice session of the day Hildebrand finished in the tenth position.

KV Racing driver Takuma Sato captured his first career IndyCar Series pole position and will be joined on the front row by Andretti Autosport driver Danica Patrick.

The Iowa Corn Indy 250 will be broadcast live on VERSUS, Saturday, June 25th at 8:00 pm (ET) with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212.

J.R. Hildebrand had this to say after qualifying:

“We got the ole girl a little loose there in practice, so we made a bunch of changes during the break and obviously rolled out there in qualifying and felt pretty good. We’re excited about what we had in qualifying there and even more excited about what we can have in the race. When we rolled out in practice we were really good and then we lost it a little bit. We started to have some issues at the end of that practice, but we locked ourselves into the transporter until qualifying and we definitely got it right. We’re excited that we had a good run there in qualifying and we’ve got another practice session tonight to work on the racecar.”

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

IZOD IndyCar Series, Panther Racing Move to Bullring at Iowa Speedway Next Weekend

WEST ALLIS, WI. – (June 19, 2011) – The Milwaukee 225 ended early for Panther Racing and National Guard driver JR Hildebrand after contact with the outside retaining wall on Lap 122 concluded the IZOD IndyCar Series rookie’s day in the 21st position. A faulty weight jacker during the race made for a difficult day for Hildebrand, who had to fight the car’s handling from an early point in the race on The Milwaukee Mile’s challenging one-mile oval.

The finish moves Hildebrand into the 11th spot in the IZOD IndyCar Series points championship, and the 23-year-old remains the leader in the Rookie of the Year chase, where he leads James Hinchcliffe by a total of 17 points.

Hildebrand started the race in the 18th position but was able to advance several spots quickly at the start of the 225-lap event. A malfunction in the car’s on-board weight jacker at some point during the early portions of the event caused the handling on the No. 4 car to get very unpredictable, which is especially challenging at a short flat track like Milwaukee. After the first caution of the race from Laps 1-6, a long green-flag run caused the team to lose a lap and then following a yellow for contact involving Ana Beatriz, Hildebrand made his first pit stop of the day on Lap 79.

On Lap 122 leader Tony Kanaan passed Hildebrand in Turn Three which caused Hildebrand to go high in the corner and the car got into the marbles and slid into the outside retaining wall, ending the day for the Panther team in 21st position.

Ganassi Racing driver Dario Franchitti captured the race victory and was joined on the podium by Oriol Servia and the driver of the No. 38 car.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will now travel to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 which will be broadcast live on VERSUS,Saturday, June 25th at 8:00 pm (ET) with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212.

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda:

“I was struggling with the car a little bit, for sure. At that point, I’m kind of trying to stay out of my own way out there. We’re just trying to survive through the race. With the leaders going by, a lot of the guys can stay on the bottom and some of the guys just sort of can’t. It’s not their fault. I just got through with TK (Tony Kanaan), and I got shoved up in the marbles. Once I got up there, I couldn’t get it back.”

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

– Panther Racing, Press Release

J.R. Hildebrand from Sausalito is anxious to get on the track again after a difficult weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. He and his team struggled a bit in the twin Firestone 275’s, finishing 23rd and 18th. We expect to see J.R. and the National Guard car moving to the front this weekend in Milwaukee.

WEST ALLIS, WI. – (June 17, 2011) – An electrical gremlin caused the National Guard Panther Racing team to sit and watch IZOD IndyCar Series practice for over an hour Friday at the Milwaukee Mile, but driver JR Hildebrand hopped into the seat and quickly posted the 20th overall time on the day in a limited number of laps.

In just 30 laps on the challenging one-mile oval, Hildebrand posted a quick time of 22.4248 second, which is an average lap speed of 162.945 mph. Team Penske driver Will Power was quickest on the day with a top speed of 167.648 mph and was followed on the speed chart by fellow IZOD IndyCar Series championship contender Dario Franchitti, who was second-quick with a top lap speed of 167.462 mph.

There will be two more practice sessions tomorrow in addition to qualifications that will set the grid for Sunday’s 225-lap event.

The Milwaukee 225 will be broadcast live on ABC starting at 3:30 pm (ET) with additional coverage provided by the IMS RadioNetwork, XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212.

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda:

“The National Guard guys worked really hard to just to get the car back out on the racetrack. So it was good to be able to get back out on track and we had a pretty decent first run and then decided to cut our losses with the lack of time on track and just go out and do some heavy fuel runs. Our time isn’t very representative of how quick we can go although we felt OK about it considering we didn’t run at all. We’ll take what we did today and compare it to what we did at the test and try to make it a little bit better for tomorrow.”

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

– Panther Racing, Press Release