INDYCARNATION

Share |

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Ryan Hunter-Reay will receive plenty of track time this weekend. He’ll drive the No. 37 IZOD car for Andretti Autosport in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and compete in the American Le Mans Series race the day before.

"I guess I'm 'old school,’ ’’ said Hunter-Reay, who will co-drive an LMP Challenge entry of Level 5 Motorsports. “I'd rather be racing than doing anything else, so if I have a chance to run another during the weekend, that's fine with me. Don't get me wrong, it's demanding but it's workable. We don't have a lot of track time in the ALMS car this weekend, so I can handle it. You probably wouldn't sign on for it every weekend or at every track, but we'll be fine this weekend.

“Both teams are pretty cooperative letting me drive in both series. It shows that they have a lot of faith in my abilities. I’ve been used to jumping in and out of race cars pretty quick. So I think I can adjust to things pretty well. The lines will be the same. The braking and shifting points will be different though.”

Hunter-Reay, who also competed with Level 5 at Sebring last month, will have driven the temporary Long Beach street circuit in Formula Atlantics, Champ Car, the IZOD IndyCar Series and ALMS.

"Long Beach is one of the cornerstones of our sport,” said Hunter-Reay, who last October also participated in an IZOD IndyCar Series-Grand Am doubleheader at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “If this were golf, I think Long Beach would be one of the 'majors.' It has so much heritage, so much history and such a great vibe. I don't think there is a single driver that doesn't want to have a Long Beach win on their resume. It means that much."

Duno speaks to students

Dale Coyne Racing driver Milka Duno spoke to students at Hollenbeck Middle School in East Los Angeles and at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona on April 14. Duno, through her Milka Way program, strives to inspire students of all ages to "aim for the stars" and achieve academic excellence.

King Taco back for seconds

California-based King Taco Restaurants joins Bryan Herta Autosport for the second consecutive year at Long Beach and will be primary sponsor of Stefan Wilson’s No. 28 Firestone Indy Lights entry. William Rast, primary sponsor of the No. 29 car driver by Sebastian Saavedra, is also headquartered in Los Angeles.

Honda overtake assist numbers

Drivers will have the availability of the Honda overtake assist 20 times during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for 18 seconds each. There is a 10-second recovery period between pushes.

Drivers to visit Honda facilities

On April 19, IZOD IndyCar Series drivers will tour Honda Performance Development in Santa Clarita, Calif., and American Honda in Torrance. The day includes autograph sessions at both facilities plus lunch with senior executives. During the season, the drivers make several appearances for Honda, the official engine supplier to the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Isn’t that the Lotus?

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach enthusiasts will get a glimpse of the past this weekend when KV Racing Technology’s Takuma Sato drives the No. 5 Lotus car on the street circuit.

The Lotus car has been victorious at Long Beach with Mario Andretti driving the Formula One version in 1977 with a great late-race pass. The following season, Andretti drove the No. 5 John Player Lotus to the World Championship with six race wins. Andretti finished second at Long Beach in his 1978 title run.

Primary tires proven at St. Pete

Firestone Racing is bringing proven street-course tire specifications to Long Beach, as the identical primary and alternate specs were used last month in St. Petersburg. It marks the only time in 2010 that Firestone will repeat its tire specs for a road or street event.

Of note

The No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car driven by Mike Conway will have TranSystems as the primary sponsor. TranSystems is a global engineering ?rm focused on delivering solutions across the transportation world.  … Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing is competing in its 27th consecutive Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (CART, Champ Car, IZOD IndyCar Series). The team, founded in 1982 by Paul Newman and Carl Haas, has six victories and 11 pole starts on the temporary street course. ... Marco Andretti was the winner of the Firestone Tire-ific Award for his Lap 15 pass of Helio Castroneves in the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 11. The award, determined by voting on www.indycar.com, is worth $10,000 for each race.