NEWTON, Iowa -- A familiar name returned to Indy cars this weekend.
The Bardahl brand is on the sidepods of the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing car driven by Ana Beatriz in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB. Bardahl's line of petroleum lubrication products was founded in 1939 by Ole Bardahl, a Norwegian immigrant, and regularly sponsored Indy cars dating to the roadsters of the 1950s.
“When I think of Bardahl, I think of racing and their long history in the sport,” team owner Dale Coyne said. "From the Bardahl Special to the Miss Bardahl, here we can have a little bit of both.”
Beatriz, competing in her seventh IZOD IndyCar Series race this season, has made one other IZOD IndyCar Series start at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway. She won the Firestone Indy Lights race in 2009.
“I have great memories of this oval circuit," she said. “Getting back to Iowa and with this new partnership with Bardahl makes me even more excited.”
Fuzzy's Triple Crown Trophy on tour
Pocono Raceway is hosting a tour featuring the Fuzzy's Triple Crown Trophy, leading up to the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco on July 7.
The tour kicked off with the help of Blues Traveler following their June 21 concert at the Sherman Theater Summer Stage at Mount Airy, Pa., and continues with various public stops across Eastern Pennsylvania.
Check the track's Facebook (www.facebook.com/poconoraceway) and Twitter (@poconoraceway) accounts for locations. Certain stops will feature on-site ticket giveaways for the race.
The Fuzzy's Triple Crown trophy was created to recognize a driver who wins the Indianapolis 500, the Pocono INDYCAR 400 and the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in the same year. Accomplishing the goal nets the driver a $1 million bonus.
Tony Kanaan won the first leg -- the Indianapolis 500. The first Indy car race at Pocono since 1989 is the second leg and the IZOD IndyCar Series season finale at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 19 is the third leg. Failing to realize the trifecta, a driver who wins two of the three will receive a $250,000 bonus.
Of note
Kanaan is driving the No. 11 Sunoco "Turbo" car for the second time. He finished third with the livery June 8 at Texas Motor Speedway. The special livery also will be used at Pocono Raceway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Aug. 4). ... Panther Racing technical director Tino Belli is the race engineer for the No. 4 car driven by Oriol Servia this weekend. ... Dario Franchitti will visit with Philadelphia Union players and staff during their June 24 practice at PPL Park.