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Ashley Freiberg Wins at Watkins Glen

Ashley Freiberg, in her first season of sports car racing ever, won the second race of the weekend at Watkins Glen. News release below. Story from the series' site here.

FREIBERG BECOMES FIRST FEMALE OVERALL NORTH AMERICAN GT3 CUP CHALLENGE WINNER

21-Year-Old Ashley Freiberg Makes History At Watkins Glen International

WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 30, 2013) - Watkins Glen International will be forever in the history books as IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama's Ashley Freiberg became the first woman to claim an overall GT3 Cup Challenge victory in North America with her win at The Glen after starting from the pole. The 21-year-old also broke the championship tie and now leads the series championship points battle by four points over Madison Snow.

Unofficial Test Speeds from IndyCar at Pocono

Based on UNOFFICIAL lap times reported by IndyCar PR via Twitter (@IndyCarPR) here are the UNOFFICIAL top speeds for the IndyCar test at 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway Tuesday:

Will Power                217.21 (41.434 sec.)

Ryan Hunter-Reay    217.05 (41.465 sec.)

Marco Andretti         216.64 (41.543 sec.)

Ed Carpenter            216.56 (41.559 sec.)

James Jakes            216.15 (41.637 sec.)

Tony Kanaan            216.07 (41.653 sec.)

James Hinchcliffe    215.91 (41.684 sec.)

Ryan Briscoe            215.59 (41.745 sec.)

Helio Castroneves  215.35 (41.793 sec.)

Josef Newgarden      215.28 (41.886 sec.)

Graham Rahal          214.86 (41.887 sec.)

EJ Viso                     214.47 (41.964 sec.)

Simona De Silvestro  213.12 (42.229 sec.)

Sebastian Saavedra    212.65 (42.323 sec.)

In 1989, Emerson Fittipaldi set a Pocono qualifying track record of 211.715 mph

NASCAR qualifying record at Pocony is 179.598 mph by Joey Logano in 2012.

The online speed calculator I used is here. AP story on the test is here.

But ups to IndyCar PR for sending someone to the tests and tweeting the UNOFFICIAL times.

Uncle pressdog’s Fireside Chat — Iowa in the Rear View Edition

Pippa Mann works it in the fan zone at Iowa Speedway  Sunday morning.

Peeps. What up? Time for a big-ass dark roast and some reflection on the big doings at Iowa Speedway over the weekend. I was there for a few hours on Friday, all day Saturday and all day Sunday then came home and watched it on the DVR and did some race notes. I was toast Monday morning. So let’s discuss today.

Notes from the 2013 IndyCar Race at Iowa

James Hinchcliffe (center) tastes victory at Iowa Speedway.

Welcome to Iowa Speedway, home of the track that Rusty (Wallace) Built. Insert many cornfield montages here.

pressdog® beer of the race is New Belgium’s Fat Tire. I’m trackside at Iowa Speedway, which is only 45 minutes from pressdog WORLD Headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Before I fire up here, a huge thank you to all the fans who buy tickets and show up for the races at Iowa Speedway. The fans are really the rock stars of this place and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Manly tears for everyone who invests time, money and effort into making the trek out here and showing up for the race. PLUS, bit ups to the Iowa Corn Growers, because without their sponsorship we’re done here. TOAST.

Josef Newgarden Credits Continuity for Improvement, Confesses to Being a Lifelong “Dork”

Josef Newgarden gets recognized at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

pressdog: You were P8 in Texas and P11 at Milwaukee, it seems like you have an improvement trend going.

Josef Newgarden: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve had some good results. Detroit Race 1 was good for us. We’ve had the potential to do even a little better. We got unlucky in Texas, but other than that I think we’ve had the potential to be in the top 5 at every event, even challenge for a win. So it’s there.

The consistency of us doing that every weekend and showing that we can make it happen, it’s only been good for us and it’s going to eventually get us into that consistent place where we are finishing inside the top five and contending week in and week out with the top guys.

Marco Andretti -- Working Hard in the Right Places, Jonesing for a Win, Feeling Iowa Love

Marco Andretti, part of an Andretti Autosport team that has had Iowa Speedway wired from the first race here in 2007, is looking for his second win at Iowa and career win Number 3.

I talked to Marco on Friday about his evolved approach to racing that includes a sustained effort to not overdrive and to control his "grab the car by the throat" natural urges, the impact of heat and wind on drivers and cars, how he handles fan expections and much more, 

pressdog: About Milwaukee, what goes through your head as a driver when you know something is screwy with your car? After the F bombs …

Uncle pressdog’s Fireside Chat — Iowa Speedway and Sonoma Edition

Cattle ... we got 'em.

Yo yo yo. Who’s coming to Iowa Speedway? My home track, just 45 minutes east on I-80 from pressdog WOOOORLLLD Headquarters, aka the Underground Lair (basement). That’s right; I’m a blogger who sits in his basement and blogs.

But it’s MY basement, not my mom’s, and I also make pretty decent coin down here as a full-time freelance writer. I never sit here in my jammies, but sometimes I’m … ah … rather unsightly in my non-showered state and ratty outfits. Today, however, I’m sporting the Danica Patrick #7 Nationwide t-shirt tastefully coordinated with olive-colored shorts. #Fashionista. (The previous Danica name drop, while 100% true, is brought to you by Search Engine Optimization.) And my desk looks like a land fill most of the time. It’s breathtakingly unimpressive. In fact, non-family is just not allowed down here for fear they will think we’re a bunch of hobos.

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. All times are CENTRAL (local) time.

Friday, June 21 --

Marco Andretti -- Casey's General Store, 1010 S.E. Oralabor Rd. in Ankeny from 4 to 6 p.m.

Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay -- 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 (no race ticket required). The show will be broadcast on "Iowa’s Best Country" KIX 101.1 FM.

Saturday, June 22 --

Marco Andretti -- Verizon Display, INDYCAR Fan Village, 1:30 - 1:40 p.m.

Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Oriol Servia -- Q&A, Chevy Display, INDYCAR Fan Village, 1:30 - 2 p.m.

All Firestone Indy Lights drivers -- autograph session, INDYCAR Fan Village, 2 - 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 23 --

Barracuda Racing Tweetup Scavenger Hunt  -- 9-11 a.m. Barracuda Racing will tweet 10 photo/trivia clues from our twitter account, @BHA. Participants will be asked to either Tweet the answer to a trivia question or a photo in response to a clue to @BHA using the hash tag  #BarracudaHunt. Everyone who participates will win a prize! Those who get the most right answers will be eligible for more deluxe prizes. Prize distribution takes place Sunday at 11:45 am on the INDYCAR Fan Village main stage. Must be present to claim your prize.

Marco Andretti -- signing autographs, Iowa Corn BioFuel Trailer, 9:30 - 9:45 a.m.

All IndyCar drivers -- signing autographs, INDYCAR Fan Village, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Marco Andretti & Ryan Hunter-Reay -- Q&A, Chevy Display, INDYCAR Fan Village, 11:35 - 11:45 a.m.

Pippa Mann --  INDYCAR Fan Village 12:30 p.m.

pdog Introvert-Friendly TweetUp with Pippa Mann -- 1 p.m. immediately following Pippa's Fan Village appearance in the INDYCAR Fan Village. Us introverts will feel free not to make direct eye contact!

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. 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.