Team Penske Race Preview - Milwaukee IndyFest
June 13, 2013
THE RACE
Milwaukee IndyFest at The Milwaukee Mile (one-mile oval)
West Allis, Wisconsin
No. 3 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves - @h3lio
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Will Power - @12WillPower
THE BROADCAST
Race: Milwaukee IndyFest
Track: The Milwaukee Mile (one-mile oval)
Qualifying:
Friday 5:15 pm ET
(Broadcast at 7:00 pm ET on NBCSN)
Race:
Saturday 4:00 pm ET (NBCSN)
Radio Broadcast: IMS Radio SiriusXM 211
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 3 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves - @h3lio
· TERRIFIC IN TEXAS: Castroneves’ win last Saturday marked his fourth career victory at Texas Motor Speedway, breaking his tie with former Team Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr., for most all-time at the track.
· CHASING A LEGEND: The win at Texas was the 28th of Castroneves’ distinguished career, placing him 12th all-time in IZOD IndyCar Series history and just one victory behind his mentor and Team Penske advisor Rick Mears.
· POINTS PROMINENCE: For the fifth time in 2013, Castroneves enters a race as the IZOD IndyCar Series championship points leader. The Brazilian driver was also leading going into the races at Long Beach, Sao Paulo, Belle Isle Dual 2 and at Texas. Castroneves carries a 22-point advantage over Marco Andretti in the title chase entering the Milwaukee IndyFest.
· MILWAUKEE MEMORIES: Castroneves has a history of qualifying well at the Milwaukee Mile, as he secured the pole position in 1999, 2006 and 2007 and he owns an average starting position of fifth in 12 career races at the historic oval. Despite his qualifying success, Castroneves has never won at Milwaukee. Though he has led 281 laps at “The Mile” his best finish came in 1998 when he finished second behind Jimmy Vasser.
· PULLING AWAY: After leading 132 laps in his victory at TMS, Castroneves now has led 4,933 laps in his career, the most of any active IZOD IndyCar Series driver.
THE Q & A
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN MILWAUKEE?
"Hopefully we can continue our good momentum from Texas and have a good run at Milwaukee. We will be racing the PPG Chevrolet this weekend so we are really happy to have them on board. We always seem to qualify well in Milwaukee in the Team Penske car and I love racing there with all of the history. It would be great to bring home a top-five finish to make sure we keep pushing for the championship."
WHY DO YOU QUALIFY SO WELL AT MILWAUKEE?
“Our cars just always seem to be set up very well there at Milwaukee. You really have to drive the car on the short, flat oval so it’s definitely a challenge and there always seems to be a lot of action in the race so everyone should be sure to watch on Saturday!”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PENALTY AFTER TEXAS?
“We are obviously disappointed, however, we actually didn’t gain any advantage at all because by not tightening the diffuser braces on the underwing it actually created more drag, which hurt the car’s performance. I stand behind my guys all the way and it doesn’t take anything away from a great win.”
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Will Power - @12WillPower
· POLE COLLECTOR: With his pole position at Texas, the 31st of his career, Power moved into a three-way tie for seventh place all-time in IZOD IndyCar Series history. Power is now fourth among active drivers in poles won and his two poles in 2013 are tied for most among all drivers.
· MORE POLE PROWESS: Power has now won multiple poles for five consecutive seasons and, dating back to last season, he has earned poles at five out of the last 12 series races.
· MOVIN’ ON UP: Power’s performance at Texas, which included winning the pole, leading four laps and recording a seventh-place finish, elevated him from 16th to 12th in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings.
· LEADING LEADER: Power has led laps in six of the eight races in 2013, which puts him tied with Ryan Hunter-Reay for most among all IZOD IndyCar Series drivers.
· OVAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Power’s seventh-place finish at Texas was his best finish on an oval track since he recorded a top-five result at Loudon in 2011.
· POWER AT THE MILE: In four career races at Milwaukee, the last two of which were with Team Penske, Power started in the top-five twice (2006 and 2008) and earned one top-five finish (2011).
THE Q & A
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
DO YOU ENJOY RACING AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE?
"I'm looking forward to racing at the Milwaukee Mile this weekend in the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Milwaukee is a real driver's track because it's flat and you have to drive the car hard. We had a decent finish at Texas last week and we want to build on that this weekend to make sure we get another solid result on an oval and keep accumulating points. That's really what we need right now."
WITH A TOP-10 RESULT LAST WEEK DO YOU THINK THINGS ARE STARTING TO TURN AROUND FOR YOU?
“With the tough start we’ve had to the season it was good to finish seventh last week but I know we can do even better. I just want to keep improving every week and come out of each race weekend with the best result possible.”
HOW GOOD WAS IT FOR THE TEAM OVERALL TO GET A WIN LAST WEEKEND?
“It was a great result for Helio and Team Penske to get the win at Texas. We were able to get the Verizon P1 Pole Award and Helio was able to win the race so it was a good weekend all around for the team. Now, we just need to build on that and that’s our plan this weekend in Milwaukee.”
Milwaukee IndyFest at The Milwaukee Mile (one-mile oval)
West Allis, Wisconsin
No. 3 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves - @h3lio
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Will Power - @12WillPower
THE BROADCAST
Race: Milwaukee IndyFest
Track: The Milwaukee Mile (one-mile oval)
Qualifying:
Friday 5:15 pm ET
(Broadcast at 7:00 pm ET on NBCSN)
Race:
Saturday 4:00 pm ET (NBCSN)
Radio Broadcast: IMS Radio SiriusXM 211
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 3 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves - @h3lio
· TERRIFIC IN TEXAS: Castroneves’ win last Saturday marked his fourth career victory at Texas Motor Speedway, breaking his tie with former Team Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr., for most all-time at the track.
· CHASING A LEGEND: The win at Texas was the 28th of Castroneves’ distinguished career, placing him 12th all-time in IZOD IndyCar Series history and just one victory behind his mentor and Team Penske advisor Rick Mears.
· POINTS PROMINENCE: For the fifth time in 2013, Castroneves enters a race as the IZOD IndyCar Series championship points leader. The Brazilian driver was also leading going into the races at Long Beach, Sao Paulo, Belle Isle Dual 2 and at Texas. Castroneves carries a 22-point advantage over Marco Andretti in the title chase entering the Milwaukee IndyFest.
· MILWAUKEE MEMORIES: Castroneves has a history of qualifying well at the Milwaukee Mile, as he secured the pole position in 1999, 2006 and 2007 and he owns an average starting position of fifth in 12 career races at the historic oval. Despite his qualifying success, Castroneves has never won at Milwaukee. Though he has led 281 laps at “The Mile” his best finish came in 1998 when he finished second behind Jimmy Vasser.
· PULLING AWAY: After leading 132 laps in his victory at TMS, Castroneves now has led 4,933 laps in his career, the most of any active IZOD IndyCar Series driver.
THE Q & A
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN MILWAUKEE?
"Hopefully we can continue our good momentum from Texas and have a good run at Milwaukee. We will be racing the PPG Chevrolet this weekend so we are really happy to have them on board. We always seem to qualify well in Milwaukee in the Team Penske car and I love racing there with all of the history. It would be great to bring home a top-five finish to make sure we keep pushing for the championship."
WHY DO YOU QUALIFY SO WELL AT MILWAUKEE?
“Our cars just always seem to be set up very well there at Milwaukee. You really have to drive the car on the short, flat oval so it’s definitely a challenge and there always seems to be a lot of action in the race so everyone should be sure to watch on Saturday!”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE PENALTY AFTER TEXAS?
“We are obviously disappointed, however, we actually didn’t gain any advantage at all because by not tightening the diffuser braces on the underwing it actually created more drag, which hurt the car’s performance. I stand behind my guys all the way and it doesn’t take anything away from a great win.”
THE NEWS AND NOTES
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Will Power - @12WillPower
· POLE COLLECTOR: With his pole position at Texas, the 31st of his career, Power moved into a three-way tie for seventh place all-time in IZOD IndyCar Series history. Power is now fourth among active drivers in poles won and his two poles in 2013 are tied for most among all drivers.
· MORE POLE PROWESS: Power has now won multiple poles for five consecutive seasons and, dating back to last season, he has earned poles at five out of the last 12 series races.
· MOVIN’ ON UP: Power’s performance at Texas, which included winning the pole, leading four laps and recording a seventh-place finish, elevated him from 16th to 12th in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings.
· LEADING LEADER: Power has led laps in six of the eight races in 2013, which puts him tied with Ryan Hunter-Reay for most among all IZOD IndyCar Series drivers.
· OVAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Power’s seventh-place finish at Texas was his best finish on an oval track since he recorded a top-five result at Loudon in 2011.
· POWER AT THE MILE: In four career races at Milwaukee, the last two of which were with Team Penske, Power started in the top-five twice (2006 and 2008) and earned one top-five finish (2011).
THE Q & A
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
DO YOU ENJOY RACING AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE?
"I'm looking forward to racing at the Milwaukee Mile this weekend in the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Milwaukee is a real driver's track because it's flat and you have to drive the car hard. We had a decent finish at Texas last week and we want to build on that this weekend to make sure we get another solid result on an oval and keep accumulating points. That's really what we need right now."
WITH A TOP-10 RESULT LAST WEEK DO YOU THINK THINGS ARE STARTING TO TURN AROUND FOR YOU?
“With the tough start we’ve had to the season it was good to finish seventh last week but I know we can do even better. I just want to keep improving every week and come out of each race weekend with the best result possible.”
HOW GOOD WAS IT FOR THE TEAM OVERALL TO GET A WIN LAST WEEKEND?
“It was a great result for Helio and Team Penske to get the win at Texas. We were able to get the Verizon P1 Pole Award and Helio was able to win the race so it was a good weekend all around for the team. Now, we just need to build on that and that’s our plan this weekend in Milwaukee.”