Tag: Indianapolis 500

When the month of May rolls around each year the state of Indiana takes center spotlight on a world stage for the Indianapolis 500, and this year the City of New Castle, Ind. will play a role in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing through an associate sponsorship of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR).

New Castle, located 44 miles east of Indianapolis, has a population of just over 18,000 people. The city raised funds for its sponsorship of SFHR through private investors.

"The City of New Castle, Ind. is proud to team up with SFHR for the 2013 Indianapolis 500," said New Castle Mayor Greg York. "With help from private investors in New Castle, this has become a reality for our community. This will allow us to promote New Castle on the largest advertising stage in the world. Our community looks at the big picture. We want to compete with worldwide companies, which is why we wanted to be involved with Sarah Fisher and the Indianapolis 500."

SFHR also has a unique connection with New Castle, home to New Castle Motorsports Park (NCMP), where SFHR driver Josef Newgarden grew up racing go karts.

"I learned my race craft at NCMP and go back there every year I can for the Robopong 200 kart race," Newgarden said. "It will mean a lot to me to carry a decal of the city where I started my racing career on my livery at the Indianapolis 500."

The family culture that SFHR co-owner Sarah Fisher has created for her team is also a logical fit for New Castle, a small Midwestern city that has established itself as a an attractive place to work and live.

"With one of the Midwest's most coveted karting tracks in New Castle Motorsports Park where our own driver Josef Newgarden spent time training, this partnership made perfect sense to highlight their city," Sarah Fisher said. "To be a small part of a community that deeply embraces our sport is an honor for a family culture oriented team. I look forward to working with the City of New Castle to let Indianapolis 500 visitors know the uniqueness that a Midwestern town has to offer."

Gates open at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 11th to begin practice for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500. The Greatest Spectacle in Racing will air live on ABC at 11am ET on May 26.

LAS VEGAS (March 13, 2013) -- Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of the world's largest real estate sales organization, today announced it will take its CENTURY 21® Agents: Smarter. Bolder. Faster® campaign to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when it will team up with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR). CENTURY 21 will serve as the primary sponsor for IZOD IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden's car in the Indianapolis 500.

SFHR co-owner Sarah Fisher joined CENTURY 21 System members today in Las Vegas at its Global Conference to unveil the car design for the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Newgarden's Dallara/Honda/Firestone car will forgo its traditional No. 67 in favor of No. 21, the world's largest real estate sales organization's signature number, for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

The No. 21 CENTURY 21 Dallara/Honda/Firestone car will debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12, when the track opens for practice. The 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place on May 26, and be broadcast on ABC television.

"Our sponsorship of the No. 21 car in the Indianapolis 500 provides another outstanding opportunity to highlight our Smarter. Bolder. Faster. campaign," said Bev Thorne, chief marketing officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "Whether it's the Super Bowl, the Olympics, U.S. Soccer, or the Indy 500, we want to showcase the capabilities of our sales professionals in front of the largest audience possible."

The Indianapolis 500 is the world's largest single-day annual sporting event with more than 300,000 people in attendance each year.

"Being part of a team that brings new partners to IndyCar is an honor for us here at SFHR," said Fisher. "We are very proud to represent such a strong brand whose household name resonates well beyond their industry. It will be a "Smarter. Bolder. Faster." Indy 500 for us painted in the CENTURY 21 colors."

The CENTURY 21 marketing campaign is a perfect fit for Newgarden, who as a 21-year old rookie turned heads at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2012 by topping the speed charts on multiple practice days.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) was established in 2008 and is owned by former driver Sarah Fisher, the youngest woman ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the first woman to run a full IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, and businessman Wink Hartman. SFHR has competed in the IZOD IndyCar Series since 2008, earning its first victory in 2011 at Kentucky Speedway.

Century 21 Real Estate LLC (CENTURY21.com) is the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, providing comprehensive training and marketing support for the CENTURY 21 System. The System is comprised of approximately 7,100 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 73 countries and territories worldwide with more than 100,000 sales professionals. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services.

On a sweltering day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when records for on-track action and heat were shattered, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) rookie drivers Josef Newgarden and Bryan Clauson both received some tough love from the storied track.

Josef Newgarden started his first Indianapolis 500 in the seventh position as the highest qualifying Honda-powered driver.

Newgarden’s teammate Bryan Clauson had a clean start from the 31st position until his luck changed on lap 14.

As Clauson exited Turn 1, his No. 39 SFHR/Curb Agajanian Dallara/Honda/Firestone car spun. He managed not to hit anything, but his car struggled after the incident.

“My car wasn’t good after the spin,” Clauson said. “We were struggling with the handling and couldn’t get much speed out of it after that.”

Clauson was able to rejoin the race, but had to retire permanently after completing 46 laps. He finished in 30th position.

Newgarden pitted for the first time after Clauson’s spin, but stalled in the pits and lost valuable track position.

“We had a couple of issues trying to get gears in the pits, which put us back in a bad position,” Newgarden said.

The No. 67 SFHR/Dollar General Dallara/Honda/Firestone car fell a lap down and Newgarden went on to battle an ill-handling race car. Despite struggling in traffic, he managed to earn his lap back.

“We were struggling from the start,” Newgarden said. “We got really lucky when we got our lap back. We just kept pounding on the laps and finally got it.”

Just when things started to look up however, the No. 67 car rolled to a stop on the back straightaway with no power. Newgarden received a tow back to pit lane, but his team was unable to restart his car.

“After we finally felt like we were in the mix again with getting our lap back, that’s when we lost power,” Newgarden said. “It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t get to finish the race.”

The No. 67 SFHR/Dollar General car ended the day in 25th position.

Dario Franchitti won the race after starting 16th. It was Franchitti’s third Indy 500 victory, all three of which ended under caution.

Franchitti entered Turn 1 with two laps remaining in the race side-by-side with Takuma Sato. Unfortunately, the pair touched wheels sending Sato spinning into the wall, bringing out the yellow and white flags and allowing Franchitti to coast to victory.

Scott Dixon finished second, followed by Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia and Ryan Briscoe. Marco Andretti set the fastest lap of the race at 220.172 mph and also led the most laps of any driver (59).

The 500-mile race was completed with an average pace of 167.734 mph. There were eight caution periods for a total of 39 caution laps.

The front of the racing pack was dicey as the lead changed hands a record-setting 34 times. The race also set a record for the hottest-ever in history with a high temperature of 93 degrees.

The IZOD IndyCar Series returns to action June 3 for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.

Following the fan-favorite IPL 500 Festival Parade on Saturday, Sarah Fisher will join her Indianapolis 500 drivers Josef Newgarden and Bryan Clauson at a meet and greet autograph session for fans at the Embassy Suites downtown Indianapolis location. The Embassy Suites is Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing's official hotel for the Month of May. Fisher, Newgarden and Clauson will be available for autographs from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Fans are invited to come show their support for the team and its rookie drivers on the eve of the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

WHAT:  Autograph session with Sarah Fisher, Josef Newgarden and Bryan Clauson

WHEN: Saturday, May 26: 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

WHERE:  Embassy Suites
110 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

A track as unforgiving as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tests the most experienced drivers in the IZOD IndyCar series year after year, but Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) has decided to throw a curve ball at the storied track with two young rookie drivers.

Josef Newgarden, 21, and Bryan Clauson, 22, will drive the team’s cars around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in hope of drinking milk in victory lane at the end of the 500-mile race.

The IZOD IndyCar series is running brand new cars in 2012, which could work to the advantage of SFHR’s rookie drivers. The new Dallara DW-12 cars have never competed on oval tracks, which gives a touch of rookie status to all IndyCar teams.

With several practice days in the books for the 2012 Indianapolis 500, SFHR’s rookies have shown that they will not let their rookie status slow them down on the track. Newgarden topped the speed charts on three of the first five days of practice, and has been in the top 10 on three practice days.

That the two drivers have meshed so quickly as teammates may have something to do with them having worked together as teammates in 2011.

Newgarden and Clauson teamed up to compete in the Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2011 at IMS, with Clauson starting on pole and Newgarden scoring the victory.

They also have a strong mentor to lean on in team owner Sarah Fisher, who made nine Indy 500 starts in her driving career.

As practice continues and race day draws nearer, Newgarden and Clauson will set out to show that older doesn’t always mean wiser.

QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (Driver- Nashville, Tenn.)

On being teammates with Bryan Clauson:

“Bryan and I were teammates last year so we know how each other work. He feels very similar to me about the car, and that’s a good thing. We can work together on the same page. We’re both really happy with it. I think the car’s great, but I can see some areas I want to work on to maximize its performance. We’ve had a decent time so far this year of getting a handle on it.”

On the difference between IndyCar and Firestone Indy Lights at Indy:

“Everything is magnified in the IndyCar at Indianapolis. When you have an issue they tend to grow and they grow a lot faster than in a Firestone Indy Lights car. When the wind picks up you really notice it around this place. That really changes the car and the way it handles around the corners. This place could bite you really easily in an IndyCar compared to Indy Lights if you get too confident or comfortable.”

On the extended practice periods leading up to the Indy 500:

“This is a long month. Indy Lights is a junior series, and they come to IMS and run like a normal race weekend. In IndyCar, we have a long process. You have to use that time and process in the right way. The teams who have been here a long time know how to use that time properly and to their advantage.”

BRYAN CLAUSON (Driver- Noblesville, Ind.)

On finding speed quickly:

“I was pleasantly surprised at how good we were right out of the box. The speeds we ran were even faster than what we thought they would be with the trim package we were in. We were happy with the speeds and I think it bodes well for what we’ll be doing this week leading up to qualifying.”

On working with another rookie driver:

“I think having two rookies is tough on a team, but with the new car this year everyone is a rookie of sorts. No one has raced this car on an oval yet. We’re not the only ones who don’t know how this car is going to react as we move forward. With Josef and myself, we spent a lot of time together last year as teammates in Firestone Indy Lights. Since we have that relationship from having already worked together, we already have great chemistry."

NOTES:

There’s nothing a band-aid can’t fix, including a failed qualifying attempt on Pole Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that ended in a crashed race car.

Bryan Clauson rallied and dug deep today to earn a spot on Bump Day in the 2012 Indianapolis 500 after his Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team thrashed all night to repair the No. 39 Angie’s List/Dallara/Honda/Firestone car.

When Clauson returned to the Gasoline Alley garages on Bump Day morning, his team had applied a band-aid decal to the spot where new un-painted carbon fiber met up with the sleek blue his entire car was prior to the crash.

“It was heartbreaking yesterday and I didn’t sleep much last night,” Clauson said.

Multiple teams in the IndyCar paddock came to the aid of SFHR with spare parts after Clauson’s crash.

“Pretty much every team here offered to help us yesterday,” said Mike O’Gara, team manager for SFHR. “We’re all competitive but the minute someone’s in trouble we’re here for each other.”

With his mended car, Clauson posted a four-lap average of 214.445 mph and will start his first Indy 500 from 31st position.

“We had to go out there today and make a conservative run,” Clauson said. “We’ve got a great race car though, and we’ll be ready next weekend.”

The No. 67 car driven by Josef Newgarden, which qualified in seventh position on Pole Day, switched to race-mode and made several race runs on Bump Day.

“We tried to work through our race setup more today and get prepared for Carb Day and the race,” Newgarden said. “I think it will be really interesting to see who has figured out their car best on race day.”

On-track action resumes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 25 for Miller Lite Carb Day, which is the last chance for IZOD IndyCar Series teams to practice for the Indianapolis 500.

Putting on the band-aid

What exactly goes into repairing a crashed race car? Read SFHR Team Manager Mike O’Gara’s step-by-step summary of what the crew did to return Clauson’s No. 39 car to a qualifying-ready state:

Saturday, May 19th

1:15 p.m. Clauson starts his first qualifying attempt

1:18 p.m. Contact with turn 1 SAFER Barrier during his last lap of qualifying

2:00 p.m. Car is returned to the SFHR garage by the INDYCAR’s Holmatro Safety Team; crash assessment and disassembly begins

3:00 p.m. Car is completely disassembled and reassembly begins; parts from Dallara, the SFHR shop, and other teams begin to arrive

7:00 p.m. New Honda engine is installed; new plumbing and wiring is run throughout the car

9:00 p.m. New Xtrac gearbox is installed; plumbing and wiring continues

Sunday, May 20th

12:00 a.m. No. 39 Honda engine is re-started for the first time

1:00 a.m. New undertray and sidepods are installed

2:00 a.m. No. 39 crew leaves IMS for a few hours rest

6:00 a.m. No. 39 crew arrives at IMS; work continues on the car to complete final repairs

8:30 a.m. No. 39 car passes INDYCAR tech to allow it to compete on track

9:15 a.m. Clauson takes his first laps in his repaired car