Author: krystin

The Indianapolis 500 is built on tradition, and Curb/Agajanian has been right in the mix of the storied events of the 500-mile race by sponsoring and entering cars in the field for the past 40 years, including being the co-owner of Dan Wheldon’s winning car in last year’s centennial Indianapolis 500.

For 2012’s “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” Curb/Agajanian will join forces with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) as an associate sponsor for Bryan Clauson in the No. 39 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing with Curb Agajanian/ Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

Clauson and Curb/Agajanian have a history of their own, and Curb/Agajanian was the co-owner and sponsor for Bryan Clauson in 2011 when he won the overall USAC National Championship which included midget, sprint and Silver Crown cars. As a multi-time USAC national champion, Clauson has over 50 victories.

“It’s really cool to bring another company to our Indy 500 program that is highly involved with my USAC programs,” Clauson said. “With Curb/Agajanian’s rich background in racing, I really hope we can bring them to victory lane this May.”

Curb/Agajanian has been a long-time supporter of USAC in addition to IndyCar racing and jumped at the chance to be part of Clauson’s ascent from USAC to the pinnacle of motorsports with the Indianapolis 500.

“It’s exciting to see Bryan have the opportunity to race in the Indianapolis 500 with the excellent team of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing,” Mike Curb, founder and chairman of Curb Records, said. “Both Sarah and Bryan exemplify the history of Indianapolis champions coming from dirt tracks and ovals in America and ultimately racing in the world’s greatest auto race.”

Sarah Fisher, co-owner of SFHR, welcomes the addition of Curb/Agajanian to Clauson’s program as they have been instrumental to his past racing programs as well as multiple Indianapolis 500 programs for various teams and drivers in the past.

“We are so happy to be part of the tradition of the Curb/Agajanian association with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Sarah Fisher said. “Bryan having support from them on both the USAC and IndyCar programs helps promote his background as he takes the next steps of his career.”

Day five of practice for the Indianapolis 500 brought highs and lows for Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.

Newgarden topped the speed charts for the third time this month with a lap of 222.785 mph, but shortly after he posted that quick lap his momentum changed. The rear end of the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car bobbled in Turn 4, did a quarter-spin and came to a rest after making mild contact with the pit lane retaining wall.

“Everyone’s trying to figure out the race car around this place and obviously I have a little more work to do,” Newgarden said. “We were old on our tire run trying to run as far as possible to see how the car reacts and I think it’s just difficult to run in the tow and today I got bit by it a little.”

At a track as unforgiving as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Newgarden and SFHR were fortunate to exit the incident with minor damage.

“You don’t get many lucky breaks around this place and I think I just got one,” Newgarden said. “The SFHR guys have done a great job putting together such a good Honda-powered car and I don’t want to hurt the thing. I’ll try to learn what happened and why it got around on me.”

Team co-owner Sarah Fisher is confident in her team’s ability to repair the No. 67 by the time practice resumes on Thursday.

“The car looks good, and there is very little damage,” Fisher said. “We’re really lucky that we have a couple kids who can save race cars as well as make them go fast.”

Newgarden’s teammate Bryan Clauson completed a solid day of race preparation with multiple long runs and pack racing.

“It’s such a different feel when you get the car in a pack,” Clauson said. “We’re going to focus on getting in heavy traffic over the next few days and continue to learn how to manage the car when it’s running by itself as well as when it’s in traffic.”

Clauson’s quickest lap of 221.031 mph notched in at seventh fastest overall.

Looking to the race, Clauson predicts that the drivers who manage to become the most comfortable with their cars in large packs will see the best results.

“The tow is so big here that speed behind other cars isn’t that difficult to find if you can keep the throttle in it,” Clauson said. “Finding balance as you pull out of the draft to pass is kind of like hitting a wall though, so it’s hard to complete a pass right now.”

Practice for the 2012 Indianapolis 500 resumes Thursday, May 16 from 12 – 6 p.m.

The fourth day of practice for the 2012 Indianapolis 500 was a quiet one for the Sarah Fisher Hartman race team, if driving at 220 mph can be considered a ‘quiet day.’

Josef Newgarden’s speed of 220.650 mph Tuesday landed him in 12th position overall for the day. The No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone car ran 37 laps total.

Bryan Clauson ran only six laps on Tuesday and his quickest lap of the day clocked in at 219.882 mph. Clauson’s lap speed was good enough for 16th on the speed chart.

A total of 1,602 laps were completed by 30 cars on Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Three practice days remain before Pole Day on Saturday, May 19.

"JOSEF NEWGARDEN (Driver- Nashville, Tenn.)

“We did more of our own thing today. We also got to step through some qualifying stuff, which was good. With limited running we won’t be as high on the time sheets as we have been previous days, but that’s fine. We’re not going to be the quickest every day. We’ll just pick back up tomorrow. We’ve got a new engine going in tonight. The Honda engine has been strong so far, and I’m sure it will continue to be a powerful unit all the way through the month."

"BRYAN CLAUSON (Driver- Noblesville, Ind.)

On running six laps today:

“The car had good speed by itself, and we were pretty happy with what it did in those six laps. We were very encouraged with some of the changes we made overnight. Hopefully we’ll keep gaining in the next few days.”

On watching other cars run together in a pack during happy hour:

“When you have the interest of being out there on the track in the next few days, you really pay attention to how fast or how late you can pull out when guys make their moves. You pay attention to the timing of everything on the track. Hopefully in the next few days we get out there and do some race running and get to feel it ourselves.”

For the second time in three practice days, Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing topped the speed charts during practice for the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

In the final hour of practice, Newgarden ticked off a lap at 222.486 mph. He ran a total of 47 laps for the day.

Teammate Bryan Clauson ended up in 19th position with a speed of 218.334 mph. Clauson ran only 20 laps to conserve tires and mileage for the remaining practice days leading up to the 500-mile race.

With 29 cars running on the track, both Newgarden and Clauson gained valuable experience running in traffic. Practice resumes tomorrow in anticipation of Pole Day on Saturday, May 19.

Quotes:

Josef Newgarden--

On topping speed charts in practice:

“It was another strong day. We’re stepping through it each time and we have a lot more to go still, but our good start is continuing to roll forward. We’re feeling positive.”

On finding more speed:

“I think a lot of people found more speed in the end, and it looks like everyone was trying race runs and we kind of jumped in as well. It was a lot of fun. It was good to run out there with the guys and I think we need to do more of that and figure out how the car operates in the draft a little bit. We certainly learned a lot about the way the car reacts today and we just have to keep progressing and trying to make it even more comfortable during the race. Obviously that’s the important time, so we’re feeling good about it.”

On his team’s performance:

“The team is good. It’s Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and they’ve got a great group. We’ve obviously got a good car and we’ve come out really strong as well. We just need to maintain that. It’s definitely a good sign that we started off strong. Normally when you do start off strong you can hold your form, so we’ve just got to try to make that our case. It’s been great having Dollar General back on with us and we have a good looking race car. It’s performing well and we’re really pleased with where we’re at right now.”

Bryan Clauson--

On running a shorter day of practice:

“It’s a bummer not to do as many laps because we had so much momentum from the past two days. I feel really confident about the car we have though. We tried some new things today and seemed to pick up a little speed from where we started. Every day is a different goal and I think today we worked through what we needed to. We ended up learning quite a bit and I think we’ll be set up well for the rest of the month. It’s tough trying to make sure your mileage all lines up with how much we’re allowed to run, and we ran a lot the first two days to get acclimated to the track. Today was an easy day and we’ll get back to work tomorrow.”

On pit stops:

"We’ve been working on getting in and out of the pits because I’ve never done a pit stop in an Indy car. We’ll continue working on it as we get closer to the race. It’s hard to simulate a pit stop until race day, but we’ll keep working on it. I’ve done pit stops in stock cars but this is a little different."

Of Note:

Josef Newgarden is sporting a very bright black and yellow livery and driving suit thanks toDollar General sponsorship for the Indianapolis 500. He has asked his team to buy him a high-quality and similarly colored Batman suit if he wins the race. “I want it to be straight from the “Dark Knight” if we’re lucky enough to win this thing,” Newgarden said.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing is well known for its family atmosphere, but driver Bryan Clauson turned to a man with a different famous racing family name before starting practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Bobby Unser.

“Uncle Bobby (Unser) took me out for a couple of pace car rides yesterday and showed me some racing lines at this place that he said he’s never shown anyone else,” Clauson said. “He’s a guy that if you get a chance to learn anything from, you have to soak it all in.”

The advice has paid off.

On the second day of practice for the 2012 Indy 500, Clauson posted the second quickest lap speed (221.173 mph) of the day and showed that Unser, who has three Indianapolis 500 victories, still knows his way around the famous track.

Clauson’s teammate, Josef Newgarden, was right behind in third position on the second day of practice with a speed of 221.158 mph. SFHR’s performance backed up its strong showing on opening day when the team finished first and third.

Speeds may change as the team continues practicing leading up to Pole Day on Saturday, May 19, but one constant to be counted on is that Clauson will not forget the lessons he learned from Unser. And he may be keeping those valuable pieces of information to himself.

“Bobby told me two things. One was what he showed me about the track and the other was not to tell anybody else what he told me,” Clauson joked.

Bryan Clauson:

“If you had told me that we were going to come out here the first two days and top the speed charts, I would have told you that you were crazy. It was another great day for us. These SFHR boys build fast Honda race cars. It’s been a lot of fun to step into a great situation for myself, and I’d like to say I was doing an awesome job, but they are making my job a heck of a lot easier with the race cars they put out there. I don’t know what else to say. It’s been a great start to the month, but we have a long way to go, and sometimes speed charts can lie a little bit. But we have a real fast race car. We did some long runs today and I felt like we had a good balance. I’m a rookie, so I don’t know what to expect for the rest of the month, but I’m really confident.”

Josef Newgarden:

“Our speed today shows how competitive the team is. Our consistency and speed solidifies the job that they do and how well they go about it. We’re learning a lot more having a second car here, and it’s really elevated the program overall. I feel super comfortable in the car because the team makes me feel comfortable. They’ve done a great job of giving us a good program and making it easy on us.”

It was deja vu for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) on opening day of practice for the 2012 Indianapolis 500 when rookie driver Josef Newgarden topped the speed charts with a lap of 220.250 mph.

Last year the team was also quickest on opening day of IZOD IndyCar practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with driver Ed Carpenter.

Newgarden's teammate Bryan Clauson made a splash in his first official day of IZOD IndyCar series practice in the No. 39 SFHR/RW Dallara/Honda/Firestone car with the third quickest lap of the day at 219.632 mph.

There are six full days of practice between opening day and Pole Day for the Indianapolis 500, but SFHR has shown that they can back up their early speed on road/street circuits in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar season with solid Honda-powered speed on ovals.

Click here for a full Indianapolis 500 schedule and ticket information.

QUOTES:

“JOSEF NEWGARDEN (Driver- Nashville, Tenn.)

How does it feel to see your name on top of the speed charts on the first day at Indy?

"The team has done it all year. People have seen before that they can produce a good road/street car and there’s no issues oval wise. They’ve built really good, reliable, comfortable race cars for me and they’re doing the same for Bryan now. That’s all it is really. They make our job really easy and I think that’s what you guys are seeing. It bodes well, if anything, it’s not really a big deal to be quick on this day, but it speaks well for the team. I think the team deserves that credit. I’m really happy for them that they get the credit because they do deserve it, they do a good job and I’m proud to be with them."

“BRYAN CLAUSON (Driver- Noblesville, Ind.)

Bryan on his first official day of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

"I don’t know that it could have gone much better. Those SFHR boys prepared a fast Honda race car for us for this month. We were really quick out of the gate. The fastest laps can be misleading because of the tow you catch, but even by ourselves, Josef and I were very quick all day. It will be interesting to see as the month goes on where guys end up. It’s hard to tell who's flat-out at this point and who is not. But, I felt really good about our car and the program we have in place for the rest of the month.”

“SARAH FISHER (Team Owner)

Sarah Fisher on her first team's strong performance on opening day:

“Today is very encouraging, but it’s still a very long month and we still have a lot of room to grow and room to learn. Having two rookies and it being their first experience, we need to make sure we have an even month so that when we arrive on both Pole Day and Race Day we’re as prepared as today.”

NOTES:

IZOD IndyCar Series rookie driver Bryan Clauson loves to eat the Paradise Club sandwich at HoneyBaked Ham of Bloomington, Ind., and this May his favorite sandwich shop has stepped up to sponsor his No. 39 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing/RW Dallara/Honda/Firestone car in the Indianapolis 500.

HoneyBaked Ham of Bloomington has been a strong supporter of Clauson throughout his racing career, and the relationship will continue when Clauson debuts in the biggest race of his career.

“I had the privilege to sponsor Bryan in his Firestone Indy Lights car as well as his sprint and midget cars last year, and I am excited to be part of his IZOD IndyCar series debut with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing in Indianapolis this month,” said Phil Randall, owner of HoneyBaked Ham of Bloomington. “Bryan is a very talented driver, and I’m looking forward to watching him perform in this year’s Indy 500!”

Clauson’s talent and hard work landed him the Indy 500 ride with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, but sponsors that have stood behind him for several years also played a pivotal role in getting to Indy.

“This Indy 500 program has a lot of continuity in sponsorship from cars I’ve driven in the past,” Clauson said. “I’m so glad they’ve stepped up to make this happen for me. To be able to add Phil and HoneyBaked Ham to that list is special.”

Randall is a life-long supporter of open-wheel racing, in which Clauson has excelled at many different levels as a multi-time USAC national champion.

“I have attended the Indianapolis 500 every year since 1971, and I’ve always been a huge open-wheel racing fan,” Randall said. “This sponsorship is a dream come true for me.”

More than ever, Noblesville residents have a reason to follow activities surrounding the Indianapolis 500 as its hometown racer Bryan Clauson has landed a ride withSarah Fisher Hartman Racing for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

To thank the community that has supported him throughout his journey to the pinnacle of motorsports, Clauson will host a community day in Noblesville on Sunday, May 6. In addition to a car show, food, games and entertainment a Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing IndyCar will be on display. Fans will also get to participate in a meet and greet autograph session with Clauson.

WHEN: Sunday, May 6: 2-6 p.m.
Noblesville Mayor Appearance: 2 p.m.
Media interviews: 3 - 3:30 p.m.
Autograph session: 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
WHERE:  Moose Lodge -- Noblesville
950 Field Drive
Noblesville, IN 46060

The Itaipavo Sao Paulo Indy 300 circuit runs straight through the Anhembi Sambodromo where Sao Paulo hosts one of the biggest carnivals in the world, and for rookie IZOD IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden, today's race was full of incidents fit for a carnival more than a race.

On lap one, Newgarden danced the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car past three other cars to move from eighth to fifth. Newgarden then rose to fourth position with a pass on Graham Rahal on lap six.

The atmosphere changed from competition to carnival for Newgarden on lap 30 however when Simona de Silvestro's car made contact with the back of his car and spun him around.

"I’m not really sure what happened with Simona," Newgarden said. "I was coming through the corner, and the next thing I knew I was turned around. It was an unlucky break that set us really far back in the race, which is a real shame for the SFHR boys."

Damage to the No. 67 car was quickly repaired by the SFHR team, and Newgarden rejoined the race although he could not avoid losing a lap to race leaders. Despite the setback, Newgarden and SFHR used the rest of the race to glean new information for their street circuit program.

One thing SFHR team leaders did learn, if they didn’t already know, is that they have one fast rookie driver. After returning to the track after the accident with de Sivelstro, Newgarden used his Honda power to set a blistering pace. On lap 58, the 21-year-old driver set the fastest lap of the race – by all competitors – with a lap of 1:22.6313 seconds at 110.486 mph.

SFHR's day ended on lap 63 when Newgarden went wide in turn five and made contact with a wall.

"We learned a lot in this race, as far as strategy and learning how fuel and tires are affected throughout an entire stint," Newgarden said. "There’s a lot of valuable information we can take away from this race moving forward."

SFHR and Newgarden will take on the Indianapolis 500 next on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar series schedule. SFHR is the last IndyCar team to score a victory on an oval with their win at Kentucky Speedway last October.

"Indy’s exciting because it’s a whole month of action and you’ve got to use your time wisely," Newgarden said. "We’ll try to learn as much as we can throughout the month and come to race day with a really solid package."

Team Penske continued its domination of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series by winning Sunday’s Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 with driver Will Power. The team has won the first four races of the season.

Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay continues to run strong in 2012. He chased Power across the line for a second-place finish. It is his second straight podium finish.

Scoring the first podium finish of his IndyCar Series career was Rahal Letterman Racing’s Takuma Sato. Rounding out the top five were Castroneves and Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti.

Five caution periods allowed the yellow flag to wave for 15 laps. There were five lead changes among five drivers. Power led an impressive 63 laps.

The next IZOD IndyCar Series event is the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on May 27, with Pole Day qualifying on May 19th.

When the sun peaked through the clouds of rainy Sao Paulo today, rookie Josef Newgarden made a splash during qualifying for the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 when he qualified ninth with a lap of 1 minute, 21.8128 seconds at 111.591 mph.