pressdog.com

Driver Appearances at and Around Iowa Speedway

Below are the driver appearances in connection with the IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway that I know of. Check back because I'll add to the list as I discover any more.

Friday, June 21 -- Helio Castroneves and Ryan Hunter-Reay will appear at the Newton Club (center structure in the Iowa Speedway grandstands) from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for "Horsepower Hour," a live weekly racing-focused radio show. Helio and RHR will be there in person, the public is invited, and it's FREE. The show will be broadcast on "Iowa’s Best Country" KIX 101.1 FM.

Uncle pressdog’s Fireside Chat — IndyCar, NASCAR and Danica Patrick Edition

The GoDaddy pit posse was on its game Sunday.

Howdy peeps. Big contrasts in racing between IndyCar and NASCAR this weekend, plus our favorite driver (Har. Speaking for myself, of course) did well. So let’s get some dark roast going and BANZAIIIII (dive) in.

IndyCar on the Flat Oval — IndyCar hit the flat (9 degrees of banking, max) Milwaukee Mile again this weekend. Race notes here: http://pressdog.typepad.com/dogblog/2013/06/notes-from-the-2013-indycar-race-at-milwaukee.html First of all, huge props and shout outs to Andretti Autosport for everything they’ve done to promote the Milwaukee Mile. The weekend was a festival of driver appearances, stuff going on at the track, and super fan focus. Standing ovation for all that.

Notes From the 2013 IndyCar Race at Milwaukee

Ryan Hunter-Reay and son Ryden celebrate the W.

Notes taken during the NBC Sports Network broadcast of the Milwaukee IndyFest, Milwaukee Mile, on June 15, 2013.

Welcome to Milwaukee, home of brats and beer … and what else do you need to know? pressdog® Beer of the Race is Stella Artois.

Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Mr. David Hobbs (insert tinkle of scotch on the rocks here) are in the both. Kevin Lee, Will Buxton and Jon Beekhuis are the pit infantry.

Weekend NASCAR & IndyCar Viewing Guide

All Times EASTERN

INDYCAR SERIES

Saturday, June 15:

Firestone Indy Lights Race, 2 p.m. (No TV, listen online at http://racecontrol.indycar.com/)

IndyCar Race, 4 p.m., NBC Sports Network

SPRINT CUP SERIES:

Saturday, June 15:

Practice, 9:35 a.m. (No TV)
Final practice, 12:30 p.m. on SPEED

Sunday, June 16:

Quicken Loans 400, 1 p.m. on TNT

NATIONWIDE SERIES:

Saturday, June 15:

Qualifying, 10:30 a.m. on ESPN 2
Alliance Truck Parts 250, 2 p.m. on ABC

Complete NASCAR weekend viewing guide including Camping World Truck Series HERE.

IndyCar Race at Texas Gets Final TV Rating of 1.0

The final rating for the IndyCar race from Texas Saturday night was 1.0 with 1.4 million average viewers.

The AP's Jenna Fryer tweeted earlier this week that ABC was happy with that rating. I seriously only post it here to create a forum for comments below. I've retired from commenting on ratings.

Uncle pressdog’s Fireside Chat — Rain Outs and Putrid Racing Edition

OK, I apologize for the headline. Someone on Twitter accused me of being “the TMZ of racing” and I let it go to my head, I guess. I’m not even sure what TMZ is. I’ve heard of it. They do all the who’s screwing who stuff, right? Yeah, that’s me in a nutshell.

ANYWAY, I’m at Caribou Coffee in tony West Des Moines, Iowa, since the 20 mps DSL line that serves pdog WORLD HEADQUARTERS is operating at 0 mps right now and the repair personnel are coming this afternoon.

Try going without Internet access for a few days. It’s total systemic shock. Aside from The Twitter and everyone over 30’s addiction to Facebook, every time we wanted to know something like store hours or an address for something we’d go to the computer and then realize the Internet is out. All we had was the 3G DROID X. It’s like living by digital candlelight.

Notes From the 2013 IndyCar Race at Texas

Notes taken during the ABC broadcast of the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 8, 2013.

Welcome to Eddieville, the cavernous Texas Motor Speedway operated by Eddie Gossage. pressdog® Beer of the Race is Alpha King from Three Floyds Brewing in Indiana.

The big question (for me, anyway) going into this one is how much the speeds will drop off during the fuel run. Last year IndyCar reduced the downforce on the cars. Less downforce equals more tire wear and by the end of the stint cars were going a lot slower than the beginning. Insert debate here whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Sam Hornish Talks about NASCAR, IndyCar and Winged Sprints

Sam Hornish Jr. posses for a photo after his qualifying run at Iowa Speedway.

Sam had just finished his qualifying run at Iowa Speedway on June 8 that would eventually have him starting P2 when I ambushed him for a quick Q&A.

Below are his thoughts on how to handle rain delays, IndyCar and the Indy 500, his progress as a NASCAR driver, Iowa Speedway and the prospect of climbing aboard a 900-horsepower, festival of racing rage (410 sprint car).

pressdog: How do you handle rain delays?

Sam Hornish: Try to keep yourself hydrated and fed. When you’re not sure what is going to happen with the rain sometimes you lose that focus of doing the things that you need to so that you are on top of the game when you get in the race car so that you have the right meal in you and that you are hydrated and all those different things.

2013 NASCAR Next Drivers Introduced at Iowa Speedway

Members of the 2013 NASCAR Next driver development program at Iowa Speedway

The NASCAR Next drivers were introduced Friday at Iowa Speedway. News release from NASCAR ...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 7, 2013) – Filled with prospects coming from Nevada to Georgia, from Canada to Mexico, and a number of hometowns in between, NASCAR unveiled today the 2013 driver roster for the NASCAR Next program at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.

NASCAR Next, an evolution of the Next9 initiative that began in 2011, is an overarching industry initiative to help spotlight NASCAR’s rising stars – and bolster fan recognition around talent that will grow into NASCAR Sprint Cup Series mainstays. In addition to competing on various NASCAR series across the country, drivers in the program will participate in several media and promotional activities throughout the next 12 months.

NASCAR, IndyCar, F1 Weekend Viewing Guide

All times are Eastern ...

IndyCar at Texas (full track schedule here)

Friday:

1:30 p.m. -- Practice (no TV, www.indycar.com for timing and scoring)

2:30 p.m. -- Qualifying (no TV, www.indycar.com for timing and scoring)

7:45 p.m. -- Practice  (no TV, www.indycar.com for timing and scoring)

Saturday:

8:30 p.m. -- Race (ABC, green flag at 8:40)

NASCAR Sprint Cup at Pocono (Full viewer's guide here)

Friday:

Noon -- Practice (SPEED)

3:40 p.m. -- Practice (SPEED)

Saturday:

10 a.m. -- Practice (SPEED)

11:40 -- Qualifying (SPEED)

Sunday:

1 p.m. -- Race (TNT)

NASCAR Nationwide at Iowa

Friday:

4:30 p.m.-- Practice (No TV, www.nascar.com for timing and scoring)

7 p.m. -- Practice (No TV, www.nascar.com for timing and scoring)

Saturday:

5:05 p.m. -- Qualifying (No TV, www.nascar.com for timing and scoring)

8 p.m. -- Race (ESPN)

F1 at Montreal

Friday:

10 a.m. -- Practice (No TV)

2 p.m. -- Practice (NBC Sports Network)

Saturday:

10 a.m. -- Practice (No TV)

1 p.m. -- Qualifying (NBC Sports Netowrk)

Sunday:

2 p.m. -- Race (NBC, pre-race show on NBC Sports Network at 1:30)