2010 IRL Rd.11-Honda Indy Edmonton

[mlittle]

As the dust settles from the crashfest that was this past weekend's Honda Indy Toronto, the stars of the IndyCar Series travel west to Alberta and the city of Edmonton for the Honda Indy Edmonton.................



WEEKEND SCHEDULE..............
note...........all times US MDT(-2 hrs. US EDT/-6 hrs. GMT)

Practice Session 1: 11:30am-12:30pm, 23 July 2010
Practice Session 2: 2:45-3:45pm, 23 July 2010
Practice Session 3: 10:15-11:15am, 24 July 2010
Knockout Qualifying: 3:30-4:50pm, 24 July 2010
Final Practice: 10-10:30am, 25 July 2010
Honda Indy Edmonton: 4pm, 25 July 2010


PAST POLE & RACE WINNERS
2005: A.J. Allmendinger/Sebastien Bourdais
2006: Sebastien Bourdais/Justin Wilson
2007: Will Power/Sebastien Bourdais
2008: Ryan Briscoe/Scott Dixon
2009: Will Power/Will Power

[mlittle]

TrackMap, Edmonton City Centre Airport

[mlittle]

Honda Indy Edmonton Entry List
Raphael Matos, #2 HP-Luczo Dragon
Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske
Dan Wheldon, #4 National Guard
(R)Takuma Sato, #5 Lotus-KV Racing
Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske
Danica Patrick, #7 GoDaddy.com
E.J. Viso, #8 PDVSA-JetAmerica
Scott Dixon, #9 Target
Dario Franchitti, #10 Target
Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-11
Will Power, #12 Verizon
Vitor Meira, #14 ABC Supply Co.
Paul Tracy, #15 Make-A-Wish
Milka Duno, #18 CITGO
Justin Wilson, #22 Z-Line Designs
Tomas Scheckter, #24 Mona Vie
Marco Andretti, #26 Team Venom Energy
Mario Moraes, #32 KV Racing
(R)Mario Romancini, #34 Conquest Racing
(R)Bertrand Baguette, #36 RAC Belgium
Ryan Hunter-Reay, #37 IZOD
Alex Tagliani, #77 Bowers & Wilkins
(R)Simona de Silvestro, #78 Team Stargate Worlds
Hideki Mutoh, #06 Panasonic

[mlittle]

----The final 20 laps of the Honda Indy Toronto gave Paul Tracy renewed hope of being a contender this weekend in the Honda Indy Edmonton. After starting 24th on the 1.75-mile, 11-turn circuit at Exhibition Place, Tracy led the 26-car field for 14 laps until he pitted for fuel. He was hoping to then race the leaders, but multiple yellow flags, traffic and spinning/stalling in Turn 3 of a Lap 65 restart left him 16th. He gained three positions over the final 20 laps, including being the fastest car on Lap 83, to finish 13th.

Tracy, of Scarborough, Ontario, will be contesting his sixth race in Edmonton and third in the IZOD IndyCar Series (he’s finished sixth and fourth the past two years). “We suffered through most of the weekend at Toronto with an ill-handling car,” he said. “But in the middle of the race, (the) car came alive. That last stint has me champing at the bit for Edmonton. We need to roll off the truck ready to go there. We know that the Ganassi and Penske cars will be tough there, especially Will Power. He was fast at Edmonton last year. If we can qualify better this time, I believe we can be competitive against those top teams. I’m ready to go.”

As in Toronto last weekend, Tracy’s No. 15 KV Racing Technology car will be sponsored by Honda Canada and will support Make-A-Wish Canada. Fans can sign his firesuit (photo above) by making a donation to Make-A-Wish. Last week, fans contributed $25,000, which was matched by Honda Canada.

“Honda is a company built on the dreams of its founder and all of its associates, which is why Honda’s corporate slogan is The Power of Dreams,” said Steve Hui, assistant general manager of the Honda Prairie Zone. “It’s the power of dreams that has led us to innovations and new technologies over the years. We’re very pleased to be associated with Make-A-Wish Canada, which is helping to turn the wishes and dreams of Canadian children with life-threatening medical conditions into a reality.”

PT's Results in Edmonton.......................
2005: #3 Mountain Grand Lodge Lola/Cosworth, Start-3rd, Finish-3rd
2006: #3 Indeck Lola/Cosworth, Start-2nd, Finish-5th
2007: #3 Indeck Panoz/Cosworth, Start-14th, Finish-5th
2008: #22 Subway Dallara/Honda, Start-15th, Finish-4th
2009: #15 WoundedWarriors Dallara/Honda, Start-9th, Finish-6th

[mlittle]

-----When the concept for FAZZT Race Team was unveiled last July, Alex Tagliani said it would be the perfect situation. “I can just focus on driving.” That would be novel for the 37-year-old Canadian, who annually knocked on the doors of potential sponsors to bring to CART/Champ Car World Series teams. Tagliani recorded a victory, four poles and 29 top-five finishes in eight full seasons in 2000-07. He transitioned to the IZOD IndyCar Series on a part-time basis in 2008-09 with Conquest Racing before joining fellow Montreal native Andre Azzi in forming FAZZT Race Team.

Tagliani has netted four top-10 finishes entering the Honda Indy Edmonton, where he’ll compete this weekend in the No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins/Hot Wheels car.

“What a difference a year makes,” Tagliani said. “I’m very fortunate and very happy I didn’t give up. It’s a tough sport, but when you love it so much you have to keep working at it. We’re fortunate now we’re investing a lot of our time and our energy into making a pretty good commercial team with some innovative ways of bringing in sponsorship for our team. It’s a dream come true. We have an amazing group of people. It’s kind of back to what racing was all about and I’m enjoying it more than ever.”

Tagliani and Azzi are seeking to spearhead a rebirth of a Canadian driver development program, which Tagliani came through in the mid-90s, for the IZOD IndyCar Series. “This country has a wonderful history in motorsports,” Azzi said before the Honda Indy Toronto last weekend. “I still remember watching Gilles Villeneuve and admire how his achievements brought so many Canadians, and people from other nationalities, together. After careful reflection, I have made a decision to spend the next years building a Canadian race team and driver development program that ensures that young drivers in this country get the support they need to reach the higher echelons of the sport.

“No one can do this alone, so I will be reaching out to corporate Canada to join me in filling this important need. As Canada’s only team in IndyCar racing, we can offer sponsors ratings, a full schedule of events, exciting spokespersons, solid fan base and, here in Canada, an uncluttered business platform. We are passionate and confident about our vision, and are well under way.

“Canada is showing hints of a racing renaissance. “We now have a Canadian team thanks to our sponsors Bowers & Wilkins, Hot Wheels and others, and leading organizations are starting to reinvest in a variety of racing properties. I am committed to making FAZZT Race Team a driver of this renewal.”


Alex Tagliani's Results in Edmonton.......................
2005: #15 Aussie Vineyard Lola/Cosworth, Start-6th, Finish-7th
2006: #15 Aussie Vineyard Lola/Cosworth, Start-11th, Finish-12th
2007: #8 Wal-Mart/Tide Panoz/Cosworth, Start-9th, Finish-14th
2009: #34 Rexall Edmonton Indy Dallara/Honda, Start-17th, Finish-13th

[mlittle]

----Will Power shook his head in mock disbelief. The drivers who have earned all six PEAK Performance Pole Awards on street/road courses this season will compete in Group 1 of the first round of IZOD IndyCar Series qualifications July 24.

Sorry about that, Will, but though the division is about as harsh as Edmonton in February, it was a blind draw among the 25 drivers entered in the Honda Indy Edmonton. "It will be the toughest qualifying session of the year," Power said. It certainly will stir up the starting grid for the July 25 race on the City Centre Airport circuit.

Two groups are drawn for street/road course qualifying during the initial drivers meeting of the weekend. Thirteen cars for this race are in Group 1 for the 15-minute first session and 12 are in Group 2. Only the top six in each group, according to best lap time, move to the second round on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn course. From Round 2, another 15-minute session, the top six by lap time advance to the 10-minute Firestone Fast Six shootout that determines the pole winner and first three rows for the 95-lap race.

Power has participated in each of the Firestone Fast Six segments and earned four pole starts. He’ll be joined in Group 1 by – among others -- teammate Helio Castroneves (five appearances in the Firestone Fast Six), Justin Wilson (five appearances, won pole last week at Toronto) of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti (three appearances, won pole in Brazil), Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe (two times in the Firestone Fast Six) and Alex Tagliani of FAZZT Race Team (one shootout appearance).

No wonder some were calling this the “knockout group.” Eight of those Group 1 drivers were among the top 12 on the time chart in the afternoon practice session July 23.

Power, the defending race champion, topped the field with a best lap of 1 minute, 1.6689 seconds (115.176 mph) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car. The top 11 cars were separated by less than a second.

"It's great to see the Verizon car on top in practice, but I'm not quite happy with it," said Power, who is seeking his third consecutive victory. "The Penske team is very strong again here and with how competitive the field is now we have to work extra hard. We're feeding off each other and see if we can be 1-2-3 again tomorrow." Briscoe was two-tenths of a second behind and Castroneves was third with a best lap of 1:02.0152. Franchitti (1:02.0357) was fourth.

Among the drivers in Group 2 are Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Andretti Autosport’s Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay – all with three Firestone Fast Six appearances. Dixon (1:02.1086) was quickest of the group on the combined practice time sheet.

Takuma Sato, driving the No. 5 Lotus KV Racing Technology car, jumped to fifth (1:02.0608) in the final minutes. Wilson, the pole sitter at Toronto, was seventh (1:02.2572) in the No. 22 Z-Line Designs car and E.J. Viso (1:02.4789) was eighth in the No. 8 PDVSA KV Racing Technology car.

"We have a pretty complete car after the first day," said Viso, whose is in Group 2. "The grid is so tight and this is one of those places that you have to push so much harder to pick up positions. You have to go over the limit sometimes. Putting all of the sectors of the track together is difficult, too. This is a bumpy and unstable track, so it is very hard to run consistent laps here."

Paul Tracy, who has finished fourth and sixth the past two seasons at Edmonton, was ninth quick (1:02.5559) in the No. 15 Make-A-Wish KV Racing Technology car. Kanaan (1:02.6513) was 10th in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car.

[mlittle]

Edmonton Practice Session 1 Top-5
1. 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 1:03.0885 112.585
2. 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 1:03.1726 0.0841 0.0841 112.435
3. 12 Will Power Team Penske 1:03.1732 0.0006 0.0847 112.434
4. 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 1:03.3504 0.1772 0.2619 112.119
5. 22 Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 1:03.4923 0.1419 0.4038 111.869


Edmonton Practice Session 2 Top-5
1. 12 Will Power Team Penske 1:01.6690 115.176
2. 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 1:01.9474 0.2784 0.2784 114.659
3. 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 1:02.0152 0.0678 0.3462 114.533
4. 10 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 1:02.0357 0.0205 0.3667 114.495
5. 5 (R)Takuma Sato KV Racing Technology 1:02.0609 0.0252 0.3919 114.449

[mlittle]

Edmonton Practice Session 3 Top-5
1. 3 Helio Castroneves Team Penske 1:01.6643 115.185
2. 12 Will Power Team Penske 1:01.7342 0.0699 0.0699 115.055
3. 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 1:01.9521 0.2179 0.2878 114.650
4. 06 Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas Racing 1:02.2237 0.2716 0.5594 114.149
5. 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 1:02.2414 0.0177 0.5771 114.117

[mlittle]

(from SpeedTV's coverage of qualifying)
-----Under threatening skies and even more threatening efforts from an inspired Helio Castroneves, Australia's Will Power grabbed pole today in dramatic fashion at Edmonton. Bounding over curbs and sawing at the wheel to keep his Verizon Wireless Dallara-Honda on the tarmac, Power put down a lap of 1:00.712 during the Firestone Fast Six that withstood a gutsy, determined effort by Castroneves to take the top spot away from the championship leader.

Castroneves pitted after setting a 1:00.8, but soon returned to make a final run at pole, ending up second with a lap of 1:00.789. Matching Power's commitment to crash the curbs, the three-time Indy 500 winner looks ready to fight Power for the win at the Canadian airport course tomorrow. Power, claiming his third Edmonton pole in four starts, also earned his eighth IZOD IndyCar Series pole and the 13th of his combined ChampCar/IndyCar career.

The Target Chip Ganassi duo of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti filled the second row, with Dixon's 1:01.239 just nine-thousandths faster than Franchitti's 1:01.248. Fifth went to the third member of the Team Penske squad, as Ryan Briscoe posted a lap of 1:01.379, more than a half-second behind Power.

Despite yet another crash in practice, KV Racing's E.J. Viso recovered to make a surprise appearance in the Firestone Fast Six, recording a 1:01.612 to take sixth. SPEED.com columnist Simona De Silvestro will make her best start of her rookie season, taking seventh, while Ryan Hunter-Reay, the top driver from the Andretti Autosport stable, starts eighth.

His teammate, Tony Kanaan, crashed in the final practice session before qualifying and was unable to post a time. He will start 24th. The two Canadians in the field, Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani, had a dismal day and will set off in 15th and 19th places, respectively.

After a strong sixth-place finish last weekend at Toronto, Danica Patrick will have a challenge on her hands to repeat that performance after setting the 21st fastest time. The only driver who left Edmonton Saturday more frustrated than Patrick was Panther Racing's Dan Wheldon, as the 2005 series champion will start 22nd -- on the next-to-last row -- with a lap of 1:02.739.


Honda Indy Edmonton Starting Grid
1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 1:00.7126 (116.991)
2. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 1:00.7891 (116.843)

3. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.2395 (115.984)
4. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.2481 (115.968)

5. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.3799 (115.719)
6. [8] EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.6122 (115.282)

7. [78] Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5438 (115.410)
8. (37) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5596 (115.381)

9. (22) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.5887 (115.326)
10. (2) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.7015 (115.116)

11. (06) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1935 (114.205)
12. (24) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.8751 (112.967)

13. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 1:01.9181 (114.713)
14. (32) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1324 (114.317)

15. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.3264 (113.961)
16. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.1465 (114.291)

17. (34) Mario Romancini, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.4191 (113.792)
18. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.2203 (114.156)

19. (77) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5240 (113.601)
20. (36) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5193 (113.610)

21. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.5795 (113.500)
22. (4) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.7397 (113.211)

23. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 1:02.7511 (113.190)
24. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, No Time (No Speed)

25. [18] Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, No Time (No Speed)

[mlittle]

The Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the IZOD IndyCar Series, has placed driver Milka Duno on probation through Dec. 31, 2010 for not consistently meeting minimal performance standards. Duno's probation requires immediate and substantial improvement to her driving during the remaining events on the 2010 schedule.

Substantial improvement is defined as consistently meeting the performance standards set by the league on a particular circuit. On road and street courses this is measured in terms of time (107 percent of lead car), and on ovals it is measured in terms of speed (10 mph of the lead car). In addition to time and speed, other requirements include car control/placement and interaction with other cars on track. If the improvements are not met, the league may impose other penalties at its discretion.

Pursuant to Rule 9.3 (C): The Senior Official may place a member on probation. Probation is a state of limitation upon a Member's privileges usually following an act or omission occurring before or during membership with which calls into question the Member's willingness or ability to abide by standards required for membership. The purpose of probation is to establish a process to allow a Member to prove, by the Member's conduct, that the standards of membership are understood and will be honored at all times. During probation, a member is under heightened scrutiny and a Member can be required to abide by specific standards of conduct which are more stringent than those which are otherwise applicable. If a Member violates probation, the Member is subject to a more severe penalty. The duration and condition of the probation are within the discretion of the Officials.

Duno will have the opportunity to contest the penalty, pursuant to the IZOD IndyCar Series rule book.

[mlittle]

(from SU, 25 July 2010)
-----EDMONTON, Alberta – Scott Dixon was surprised, Helio Castroneves was steaming and Will Power continues to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings though he was thwarted again in seeking his third consecutive victory. That capsulizes the Honda Indy Edmonton at City Centre Airport, where the podium finishers on stage were subdued while Castroneves was animated on pit lane. But it's far from the entire story.

Dixon prevailed in the 95-lap race on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn circuit courtesy of a black flag issued to race leader Castroneves for blocking on Lap 93. Castroneves and Will Power entered Turn 1 side by side following a restart, with Castroneves hitting the apex a car length ahead. As Dixon slipped past Power into second, race chief steward Brian Barnhart immediately called Castroneves for blocking his Team Penske teammate.

“Helio had the inside line,” Power said. “I tried to go around the outside, sort of got pushed wide, and Scott got through. I would say a black flag is a pretty harsh penalty, but it is what it is. It was just one of those racing things. When you’re leading on the last restart you want to keep the lead.”

The call was radioed to the No. 3 car, but Castroneves didn't heed the drive-thru pit lane penalty. Following the race, he received a 20-second penalty, which placed him at the end of the lead lap (10th). A black flag cannot be appealed, according to Indy Racing League rules. “I never moved my line,” Castroneves said a few minutes after the checkered flag. “I actually did move him outside. When you go side by side like that with your teammate and they just take it away from you, it’s just absurd.”

Castroneves, who was issued a blocking penalty late in the 2008 race on the streets of Belle Isle that allowed Justin Wilson to take the point and eventually the victory, three hours after the decision issued this statement: “Obviously, I disagree with the decisions made by the race officials on the last restart in today’s race, but there is no excuse for my actions after the checkered flag," said Castroneves, who confronted three IZOD IndyCar Series officials, including grabbing one by the collar. "I apologize to my team, our sponsors, the fans and the entire IZOD IndyCar Series community for my behavior. My actions were totally wrong and I acted inappropriately to some people who are my friends and people I respect very much. Obviously, I am a very emotional person and today I let my emotions get the better of me and I’m very sorry for that.”


The following rules were applied:
--Rule 9.3 (B) A driver must not alter his/her racing line based on the actions of pursuing Drivers or use an abnormal racing line to inhibit or prevent passing. Blocking will result in a minimum of a black flag “drive through” penalty.
--Rule 7.1 (B) (4) (C) (4) The senior official shall determine the type and length of any black flag. The penalized car shall proceed to pit lane as directed by Officials and may return to the Race only upon the declaration of Officials. In the case of the Driver Violating the Rules, no work may be performed on a Car during the execution of a black flag penalty. Should any such work occur, the conditions of the penalty are unfilled and the penalty procedure must be executed again in its entirety on a subsequent lap. The penalty may not be protested and/or appealed.
--Rule 9.2 (A) Race Procedure Penalties are a result of a on Track conduct and are generally imposed during on Track activity. If the imposition of a penalty is near or at the end of on Track activity and Driver/Car does not fulfill it, the Senior Official may reposition the Driver/Car in the posting of results or apply the penalty to subsequent on Track activity to reflect the fulfillment of the penalty. The penalty including without limitation any repositioning in a posting is non-protestable and/or appealable.

Barnhart discussed blocking during the morning drivers meeting. “You have plenty of options on where to put your car and we should not have any defending or blocking,” he said in the closed-door meeting. “Again, we will be visually dividing the braking point through the entry into the corner in half. You can only be on the inside half if you are attempting to pass someone. If you are on the inside half because you are under attack from someone else, it is blocking. Don’t move your car in reaction to a following car and don’t impede the progress of a car with a run on you.”

Dixon, who started third, was running third after pitting for the final time on Lap 74 along with Castroneves and Power. He said he thought that because Castroneves and Power were far right of the racing line that they would be in the marbles and he could slip past both. “Brian always says that if you’re blocking going into any corner and you are on the right side – especially into Turn 1, you’re going to get a penalty,” said Dixon, who won for the second time this season. “We get told every week, so you could see something was going to happen.Obviously, Will had a pretty good run. The only way from stopping him was blocking. So if that's what you call it, yeah, that's blocking.

“All in all, not what I expected to happen at the end. In some ways, I knew those two, Will and Helio, were fighting pretty hard. You could see that the first time Helio passed Will. But to go that far to the right I think in Turn 1, I just continued on with the regular line where it's nice and clean and figured or hoped that they picked up a lot of debris and were going to make it tough through 1 and 2. That's kind of what happened. Pretty strange to not lead a lap and actually win the race.”

Castroneves overtook Power, the pole sitter, in Turns 1-2 of Lap 78 and recorded his fastest race lap on 79 (1 minute, 2.3139 seconds) to put a 1.5-second gap between himself and Power. It appeared that Castroneves would go on to his second victory. His first of the season – at Barber Motorsports Park in mid-April -- derailed Power’s bid for a series record-tying third consecutive victory.

But a full-course caution was called on Lap 89 after the fuel pump broke on the No. 78 car driven by Simona de Silvestro, who pulled off course in Turn 7. Castroneves led the field into Turn 1 of the restart, with Power making a bid to regain the lead he had for 76 laps.

Power recovered to finish second -- his sixth podium of the season.Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti finished third -- also his sixth podium of the season -- and Ryan Briscoe was fourth. Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay finished fifth. KV Racing Technology cars finished 6-9 with Paul Tracy, Mario Moraes, E.J. Viso and Takuma Sato occupying those spots. Power retains the series championship lead, taking a 50-point lead over Franchitti into the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance on Aug. 8.

[mlittle]

Spiderman's wallet took a $60,000 hit this week courtesy of his actions at Edmonton last week...........


-----IZOD IndyCar Series officials have fined driver Helio Castroneves $60,000 and placed him on probation for the remainder of the season for his actions during and following the July 25 race at Edmonton City Centre Airport.

Castroneves was penalized for refusing to follow the direction of officials as well as portraying unsportsmanlike conduct when he engaged in physical contact with two officials on pit lane after the conclusion of the race. IZOD IndyCar Series officials met with Castroneves at the Indianapolis headquarters Aug. 1. He will issue a statement later.

“This rule is unique to IndyCar racing,” said race chief steward Brian Barnhart, who is president of competition and racing operations for the sanctioning body. “It was put in place to protect our competitors, officials and fans, prevent unnecessary damage to these cars and allow for more passing opportunities. Bad things happen when these cars touch and there have been serious incidents with major consequences on temporary circuits throughout Indy car history. With the new wheel interlocking prevention technology that is coming in our 2012 car, we will be re-evaluating this rule in the future.”

Castroneves was leading the race at Edmonton when he was issued a black flag for blocking Team Penske teammate Will Power on Lap 93 following a restart. But the driver of the No. 3 car failed to take the drive-through pit lane penalty. Following the race, Castroneves was penalized 20 seconds and placed at the end of the lead lap (10th). After exiting his car, Castroneves engaged in altercations with two officials on pit lane.

“I fully support the decisions of chief steward Brian Barnhart and Race Control,” IZOD IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard said. “The drivers have been aware of the blocking rule for quite some time. Brian reminded the drivers of the blocking rule in the Edmonton pre-race drivers’ meeting, which serves as the first warning, and the rule was executed during the race just as it dictates.

“This sport is so close and competitive that emotions are always on display. However, that does not justify the post-race conduct of Helio toward series officials. This is a very serious matter and we weighed all options, including suspension. But we felt suspension would hurt the fans more than anyone else. Fans have paid their hard-earned money to watch the best drivers in the world and many bought their tickets for upcoming events with the expectation of watching Helio. He is a great ambassador for this sport and we know his actions after the race in Edmonton are not indicative of his normal behavior.”