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IndyCar Notes: Sebring, Pro Series and more “Dancing” fallout

In addition to Panther Racing and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Green Racing also joined the testing fun at Sebring International Raceway this past Monday. The three-time IndyCar Series champions decided to use one of their bonus test days to put 2005 Indy Pro Series champ Wade Cunningham in an IndyCar for the first time. Also testing for AGR were Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Hideki Mutoh. Since I’d pretty much be re-writing the Autosport article if I put in a quote or two from Cunningham on his day, I’ll let you click on the link and see for yourself what his thoughts were.

As for Panther, their IPS test with prospective drivers P.J. Chesson and Leilani Munter (pronounced MOON-ter) went swimmingly according to a team press release. Chesson handled the bulk of the testing and despite having very little road course experience to fall back on, his fast lap was only three-tenths of a second off what former Panther IPS driver Hideki Mutoh put down during his own Sebring test last summer.

As for Munter, a former stock car pilot, she said that her footwork and shifting are in need of some work:

“The biggest step for me is going to be my footwork, because when the footwork is messy, it hurts the rest of your racing. I need to get into a go-kart and practice my shifting so I can get used to it – it’s a lot different from what I’m familiar with in a stock car.” 

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News on the Indy Pro Series front has been steady lately, so let’s get to it.

First off, another Andretti is set to get involved in the IRL developmental league. Adam Andretti, nephew of Mario and cousin of Michael and Marco, will drive full-time for a new IPS squad, Fuzion Autosport. Both team and driver made their debut at the Sebring tests last week and will base their operations in Brownsburg, Ind.

While the Fuzion team is new, the men running it aren’t. The ownership group includes a former Indy Pro Series driver, a Formula BMW team owner and a former stock car owner on the West Coast. Andretti’s hoping that this experience will help him get through any growing pains he may face in his first IPS season. He told IndyCar.com:

“FuZion was a no-brainer for me. Even though the team is new, the engineers, mechanics and management have been around the series since its inception, and the ownership group is made up of true red-blooded racers…It is an honor to drive for a well-respected group of owners who have the talent needed for the team to succeed.”

The IPS also announced this week that they will return to ESPN2 for the 2008 campaign, a total of 12 broadcasts in all. Included in that is same-day coverage of the Freedom 100 from Indianapolis on May 23 (Carb Day) and a special live telecast of the Sept. 7 season finale at Chicagoland Speedway. Bob Jenkins, Robbie Buhl and Mike King will be back in the broadcast booth as well. For the TV schedule, click here.

Finally, midget car driver Brad Loyet and his five-car Loyet Motorsports team will have sponsorship backing from the IPS during the 2008 Chili Bowl Nationals on Jan. 8-12 in Tulsa, Okla. Currently in the lineup for the team are Loyet, World of Outlaws hero Danny Lasoski, Indy 500 regular P.J. Jones, non-winged sprint car star Jon Stanbrough and a fifth driver to be named later.

Team owner Joe Loyet had this to say about the partnership with the IPS:

“…Everyone worked hard to put this program together and we fully expect to take the Indy Pro Series to victory lane. We can’t wait for the green flag to fall and the racing to begin.

“We have five new cars for this event, with brand new Spike chassis’ and we’ve always been very competitive at the Chili Bowl. I feel like with our driver lineup for this year’s event, we’ll have five cars contending for the win in the A-Main.”

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The perks keep on coming for two-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves after his victory on “Dancing with the Stars.” He and dance partner Julianne Hough took part in the taping for this year’s Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, riding a float alongside other contestants from this season’s competition.

You can catch Helio on Christmas morning at 10 a.m. ET on ABC or you can read about his exploits in the latest edition of ESPN The Magazine, which counts down the 100 biggest sports stories of 2007. He’s also sharing a special cover of the publication with Barry Bonds. According to this IRL release, about 1.8 million subscribers will get their hands on the “Helio edition.”

This entry was posted on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.