AVONDALE, Arizona – Sebastien Bourdais said he needed to “drive the wheels” off his No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda to win the Verizon P1 Award for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix on Friday.
It was an ironic comment, considering how the day started for his Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan engineer Craig Hampson.
Hampson discovered the tires and wheels on his rental vehicle had been stolen overnight Thursday, with the car up on cinder blocks in the parking lot of his Phoenix area hotel.
“My reaction was, ‘I didn’t need to start my day like this,” Hampson said. “As you can imagine, I had a busy day planned and it took up a whole chunk of time. I had to file a police report and contact the rental car company.”
The experience left Hampson the butt of jokes in the paddock. Teammates planned on removing the wheels from his office chair in the team transporter engineering office, but were unable to do so before Hampson caught on to the scheme. He still managed to find the silver lining for it all.
“It basically sucked six hours of my time that I really didn’t have available,” said Hampson, who spent Saturday morning getting a replacement rental car. “These things happen, but those guys (who stole the wheels) can change tires pretty quick, so if they need a legitimate job, maybe they can be on a pit crew.”
Phoenix race marks win No. 500 for Bridgestone Firestone since 1995 re-entry
Bridgestone Americas, which has supplied tires for Indy car competition since 1995, collect the 500th race win of its current area when Josef Newgarden took the checkered flag waves at Saturday’s Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix.
Using the Firestone and Bridgestone brands in CART, Champ Car and INDYCAR competition, Bridgestone Americas has been the sole supplier to Indy car racing since 2000. Scott Pruett earned the first win of the modern era when he passed Al Unser Jr. on the last lap to win at Michigan International Speedway in July 1995. Sebastien Bourdais collected the 499th win at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 11.
Along the way, more than 70 drivers have won at more than 55 Indy car tracks. It was appropriate for Newgarden to register the 500th win since he hails from Nashville, Tennessee, where Bridgestone Americas’ headquarters is located.
“Indy car racing is part of our DNA dating back to Harvey Firestone using racing as the ultimate proof point for his best-in-class tires,” said Lisa Boggs, director of motorsports for Bridgestone Americas. “Bridgestone Americas is very proud to reach this milestone. It reflects the company’s continuing commitment to the sport and innovation in producing dependable and durable tires.”
Firestone was involved in Indy car racing from the sport’s beginnings, dating to the tires on Ray Harroun’s winning car in the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 and before. Firestone remained involved in the sport until taking a two-decade hiatus starting in 1975.
Chaves draws smiles from young patients at Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Harding Racing driver Gabby Chaves visited with nearly 75 young patients on Thursday at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, the latest effort from Racing For Kids to connect INDYCAR drivers with hospital patients in race markets. Phoenix Children’s Hospital, in fact, was the site of the first Racing For Kids visit in 1990.
Chaves spent more than two hours making bed-to-bed visits, even donning a hospital gown and mask to spend time with a boy in isolation. He joked with the young patients and told them about his racing career in Colombia, Europe and North America. He also signed autographs, posed for photos and gave each patient a Racing For Kids cap.
“I am happy we make these visits,” said Chaves. “They are really good for the kids.”
ABC Supply also generously supplied an Indy car show car located at the rear entrance to the hospital for patients and family members to see.